The Florence daily tribune., 1898-04-18
was secured II was strais,itway carried

on board her."
IAN right Go On. -
Quite quiet for three moutha Then
the sultan Z; 6ur~bays chAnced 10 make
the acquaintance In Batavia Of Ar ex.
traordinariiy beautiful woman. They
went about . good deal together, after
which she lured him on board steam
yacht In Tanjons Prick. presumably to
say goodby. Having done 20. she ooaxed
him below, sailed on with him there
and then kept him under lock and key
until he had paid ransom of over AOO,-
goo guilders, when he was put ashore
again. Two months later vessy-you
know Vesey-of Johore street. probably
the richest man In HongkonR, mot .
woman staying at this very hotel She
pretended to be just out from home and
no end innocent
"Wsll, vesey was % awfully smittcn
that he wanted 10 marry her-bad ~
all thst She took him in hand and one
day got him 70. take her for . cruise In
his yacht OF course hs jumped at the
chance, and on they sailed. Out at sea
they were met by white schooner.
believe vesey was In the middle Of pro-
testing his undying love. and all that
sort of thing. you know. when my lady
olapped revolver to his head and bade
him heave to. A boat put OF from the
stranger. and both lady and friend
boarded her. The long and the short of
1t was when vesey WAS released he
had signed check for $50, 600, and,
by Jove, the money was paid ON tho
nail Chinese government had soore
against her for nbduoting mandarin of
the gold button. They tried to oatoh
her. but failed. English cruiser went
after her for two days and lost her near
Formosa. Silence again for three
months, then new governor and wife,
Sir Prendergast Prendersast, were COM
ing out here on the Oloomoo. Her lady
ship, who, you know. was mixed up in
TINT Belleville business, had her famous
diamonds with her-said to be worth
$50, 900. There was also $50, 900 In
gold going mp TO Shanghai. It Ia sun
posed that the purser must have been
bribed and In the business. At any rate
when they arrived at Hongkong both
bullion, diamonds and purser were mys-
toriously missing. Couldn't find trace
Of 'em high or low. Whether they went
overheard in fog, whether they were
still slowed away on board. nobody ever
knew. They were gone; that was
enough. The governor was furious and
worried the admiralty 30 with dis
patches that two cruisers were sent of
with instructions to look for her They
pottered about and at last sighted and
chased her to the Philippines, where
they lost her IN fog. Those arc tho
principal counts against her, believe.
Rum story, amt it7"
Extraordinary Has anybody ever
seen hsrf''
II should just think 70; sultan Of
surabaya. vesey. native prince and ali
the people staying at this house when
she was here" e
What description do they give Il
her?'
"Quise q young woman-eigbt and
twenty at most, tall and willowy; beau
tiful features, clear cut ~ cameo; ex-
quisite complexion and rippling golden
hair, voice like . flute, figure like
Venus and eyes that look through yours
into the uttermost depths Of your soul. "
And isn't she worth being enthud-
astic about! By Jovei I'd like to know
her history"
"And do you mean to tell me that
with the English, American, French,
German, Chinese and Japanese fieets
patroling these waters it's impossible 70
oatch her?'
"Quite-up to the present. Look at
the facts Of the case. She's here today
and gone tomorrow. White yacht seen
near Singapore today-oopper colored
on Macassar on Thursday-black with
white ports near Shanghai the week
following. Tho police and tho poor old
admiral are turning gray under the
strain"
"By Jovel I'd like to 80 her,"
Don't say that or you will. Nobody
ever knows where she'll turn up next.
1t is certain that she has agents every
where and that she's In league with
half the junk pirates along the coast.
Glad I'm not man worth abduoting." ="
But in spite of what you say oan
hardly believe that It's possible for
woman to carry ON such q trade. It's
like romance"
IT'S not like 1t; 1t 10 romance, and .
pretty unpleasant one too. Sultan Of
Surabaya and poor old vssey were glad
enough to see the final chapter Of 1t, I
can assure you. You should Just hear
the latter's description Of the yacht s,nd
Its appointments. He used to make %
creep when he told us how this woman
would sit on deck, looking him through
and through out Of her half closed eyes
till he began to feel as II he'd have to
get up and scream or sit where he WAS
and go mad. He saw two or three things
on board that boat that he says he'll
never forget, and I gathered that he
doesn't want any moro excursions In
the lady's company"
He must be a man without imagina.
ton"
"He'sa man blessed with good sound