The times., 1899-02-19

the door opened very gently. Assuming it
I to be one of the sailors. he rOared an i'm
perative order to bring refreshment the
door opened wider and the two matronly
/ ladies presented themselves.
/ 1T is the right cabin" said Catherine.
Come on, Edward; come in and smut the
door"
/ Mr.. Large sat upon the couch and stared
/ at the three with undisguised astonish
I mcnt The mufiied- up man kept his head
down and examined the floor of the cabin
with an assumption OF great interest.
/ Well" said Mr.. Large. satirically, Il
/ hope you're making yourselves thoroughly
/ at home.
Margaret and her husband would insist
; on seeing you and the only plan was for
us all to come in here together"
PITY there wasn't some other plan"
Edward, where's that bottle of special
you said you'd got?'
I side pocket of his overcoat large, fiat
bottle. and. uncorking it, passed it across
/ to Mr.. Large.
Ladies FIRST said Mr. Large
Il could no more touch spirits" said
| Catherine, making wry face. than l
I could fly. l did have sip when l lost my
poor husband, and the mere smell of it
/ brings him all back to me-
! Il was always a strict Band of Hopper
| as a child" remarked Margaret, primly,
"and l don't want to begin at my time of
! life
There was nothing for Mr.. Large to do
/ but to wipe his lips with the back of his
hand, nod to each of his visitors. say tAat
| here was a happy New Year to them all.
| bottle. Having done which. he replaced the
| fiat bottle on the table unsteadily and
| looked around for a few moment at the
! three with half-closed eyes.
! Then Mr.. Large slipped from the couch
to the ofior
Now, Edward" said Catherine. with
! prompt, decisive manner, "off with your
scarf and try to play your part.
Edward obeyed silently, in the manner
| of one accustomed to do as he is told
without argument. This done, 1t could be
seen that he bore an amazing resemblance
| to the stupefed man: his whiskers had
been carefully trimmed in like manner;
he had the same burly appearance and the
same fresh -colored type of face. When he
had taken Mr.. Large's frieze coat and
| tied the travelling cap under his chin he
looked rather more like Mr.. Large than
Mr.. Large himself, when with pair OF
scissors he cut off Mr.. Large's whiskers
| few could have correctly given the identi-
| ty of the two men.
so far so good, said Catherine.
Mr. Large was placed in a restful posi-
ton on the couch of the cabin with his
face to the wall. He was breathing ster-
torously.
Now do listen, Edward, like good
man. and attend to what We say. Tell
him, Margaret. once more what he's to do
Everything depends on him.
You go up on deck said Edwards $
wife, in dictatorial way, "and you-are
you listenlng?"
Edward replied briefly that his ears were
not made of cloth.
| You go upstairs and you say a word
| or two to the captain in casual kind OF
| way. You speak about the three cases of
bonds that We saw them put in the strong
| room. Very we'll then. You give half a
crown to several of the men. and you keep
close to them while they carry them on
shore. Don't forget your names Large,
and don't forget to be very friendly with
the customs officers If they say anything
to you. You'll clear them through the
customs here, mind, so that there shall be
no bother at the other end
| Edward said that ii was in this same
clearance through the customs that he
foresaw a chance Of ructions.
"NOnsense!" cried Catherine, sharply.
| Don't be so stupid"
Then" went on Margaret, enforcing
her points by tapping her!forefinger on the
table, then you have them taken into the
train; they'll reserve n frst-class COM
partment for you. and You'll find Monsoon
Delafon on the platforms You remember
Monsoon Delafon?"
VI. Delafon remained IN Edwards mem
ory, it seemed, by reason OF the length
of NJ. Delafons nose. Edward said he
could pick him out of a thousand
You won't have to pick him out at ALL
He'll come up to the carriage window. and
you'll get one of theiporters to unlock the
! door and let him come in with you and
the three cases. Then on the way to Bou-
logne he'll know what to do with the con-
tents of the cases, and he'll know how to
get them out of the carriage. He will
leave at Boulogne and meet his friends.
Edward said glOomily that it was all
very we'll. but he wished the job over and
done with.
"On the way TO Paris you change your
appearance in every possible way and the
moment the train arrives you nip out and
make yourself as scarce as you can. Now,
repeat it all over to me-"
Edward. like a reluctant schoolboy. re-
peated the instructions sulkily rather as
though he were anxious to avoid a can
ing, and Catherine, who had been writing
inpaled the sheet OF notepaper on the
table with pin. On it she had written:
DO not wake me. Am returning to
Dover"
Then more injunctions were given to
Edward by the two anxious women; the
fact was once more impressed upon him
that he had only to get the three cases in
the train and all his trouble would be
over, and moderate competence assured
to him for life.
"Goull be able to say good by to work
Edward" said Catherine, cheerfully.
Edward answered that he didn't know
that he'd ever said how dye do to 1t as
yet. but be that as it might. he should not
be sorry when he found himself on the
boulevards a job like this, said Edward.
complainngly. told on a mans brain.
If you don't do your best said his
wife, severely, "Tll never forgive you"
The two women went into the saloon
and Edward ascended the gangway to the
upper deck. The lights of Calais were in
sight, and the captain, meeting him at the
top of the steps said cheerily that she had
made a good journey. How had Mr.
Large managed? Fairly well? That was
right Edward endeavored to evade the
captain. but the captain, before going out
on the bridge TO superintend the entrance
into Calais harbor, seemed anxious to be
genial to the representative of SO inipor-
tant bank. and offered polite inquiries
concerning the health OF other couriers
of the firm. inquiries to which Edward in
low voice returned diplomatic answers
Il tell you what's wrong with you. Z"
said the captain. suddenly. Edward start
ed. You've caught cold | can tell 1t
by your voice
Edward asked what else could be ex-
pected on a night like this. Enough to
give anyone cold. When would the three
cases be taken out of the strong room?
Won't have them out till the last mo-
ment, said the captain. How many years
have you been over on New Years Eve
with little consignment like this? Pret-
ty good number | know. They'd be dis
| annnint ed in Paris L eYnact IL thnu dihn,t Z