The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1902-08-28

pART I-rnN1INrEn

Hayle accompanied them into the
bar, and was a witness Of the satisiac-
tion the landlord endesyored, from
business motives. 60 conceal. In due
course he followed them 20 the small,
sitting rooms In the yard NJ he back,
and observed that they were placed
on either side ~ himself. he had al.
ready taken the prccauilon OF rapping
upon the walls In order 20 discover
their thickness, and to find gu; wheth-
er the sound Of chinking money
wss io hr heard through them.
~ must remember that thirty-srvrn
and siNpcncc and two Mexican dollars
are an have in the world" he said 10
himself 1T would be bad business
10 allow them to suppose that | had
more, until find out what they want"
The last time I was here was with
Sirllman," said the taller Of the men,
when they met again In the courtyard.
lie had got concession from the
Dutch. su be said, TO work a portion Of
the West Coast for she'll lie wanted
me to 20 IN with him"
And YOU couldn't see your way
20 it?"
1--WE seen two Dutch IailE," said the
othcr; land ! have no use for them"
And what happened 10 Stcllman7"
asked Haylc, but without any appar-
Ont interest he was thinking Of some
thing else ~ the lime.
"They got his money. his boat and
his sholl, with three pearls that would
have made your mouth water" replied
the other.
And Strllm1n?"
"Oh, they buried him At Sourahaya.
He took the cholera. SO they said, hut
have heard since that ne died Of star
vaiion. They don't feed you too well
In Dutch iails. especially when you've
got concession aud consul"
The spcaker looked up at his com.
panion as he said this, and the other,
who. as I have already said, was not
interested in the unfortunate Siell.
man. or had probably heard the tale
before, nodded his mead In the dircc-
ton ~ the room where the smaller
man was engaged on his toilet. to the
accompaniment Of splashing water.
The movement Of the head was as sig.
uificaut a. the nod OF the famous lord
OF Burleigh.
''Just the same rs ever" the other
replied. Always pushing his nose into
old papers and documents. until you'd
think he'd make himself III. Lord,
what man he would have been for the
British museum! There's not his
equal on ancient Asia In the world"
"And this particular business?"
"Ah, you shall hear all about IL In
the proper time. That'll be tomorrow
morning. ] reckon. In the meantime
you ran GO 60 bed. and content your
self with the knowledge that. all being
well, you're going TO play a hand in
the biggest scoop that ever ] or any
body else have tackled"
NJ. Kitwater. for such was the name
Of the gentleman. began his prepare
tlons for the night, vigorously cursipg
the mosquitoes as ne did so. He was
a fnc-lookinE man, with a powerful.
though somewhat humorous cast Of
counicnancc. His eyes were large and
not unkindly. His head was n good
one from chronological point of view.
hut was married by the possession Of
enormous ears which stood out on
either side Of his head like those of a
bat. Tie wore n close-croppsd beard.
and he was famous for his strength,
which indeed was that Of a giant.
"Haylc. " can sum II mp Alright, iE
iust the same az ever" he said, as he
arranged the mosquito netting Of his
bed. "IIe doesn't trust me, and don't
trust him. Hut he'll he none the less
useful for that. Let him try 10 play
me FALSE, and, by the Lord Harry, he'll
not live 70 do u again"
With this amiahle sentiment Mr.. Kit
water prepared himself for slumber.
Next morning they met az break
fast. All three were somewhat silent.
II was as II the weigh, Of the matter
which was that day TO be discussed
pressed upon rhrir spirits. The small.
est of the trio, Septimus Codd by name,
who was hahitualIs taciturn, spoke
scarcely word. lie was strange
little sann, Nineteenth century vii
lain in sense. He was rogpe and q
vagabond. yet his one hobby. apart
from his business, was study Of the
past, dnd many an authority on east
ern history would have been aston
ished st the exten. Of his learning.
He was never NO happy az when bur
srwing amongst ancient records. and
70 Was mainly dne 10 his learning In
the iIrst place. and 10 q somewhat sim
gnlas accident In the second. that the
trio were pow foregathered In singa.
pore. His personal appearance wss
peculiar ere. His height was ncarce-
III more IMAM four feet six inches. His
ise~ WAS round. aad a. flstance ap-
peared almost noyiKh. II WAS only
wbrn onv came to look into Il more
closely thaf {, was seen 10 be scored
By numberlesk small lincs. Moreoser,
Il was unadornsd ~ either beard OF
mnstAche, His hair was gray. and Was
worn somewhAs longer than Il Usual.
BE sould kp<ak iSusasIy almost esssrx
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