Newport weekly independent., 1903-07-10

Tl- peared m any party of these perturbed alseoYerers. Why didn't somebody md a bluecoat and inform him? Sure- y It must be of importance to theml
 Tn a blockade at Fourteenth street our ear caught up with the on,e bearing the terrifying black and green. Ahoht- Ing to the pavement I dashed forward an ana caught it just as they started on. me conductor was in the extreme rear end and was looking calmly up the street in the opposite direction from "nlch the ear was travelling, so he was evidently unaware of the disturbances arising on the sidewalks. Tn my undue agitation l caught his arm with such 10rce that we came near crashing into each other head-on.
 What in the Devil is the matter with this car? Who is that woman?"
 "Why-why?''~
 Look! Look out there al those ex- cited men. Don't you see where they're pointing?"
 lie faced around and fastened his eyes on the only other passenger aboard. Then as the light of discovery semed to break over his features he suddenly became white and purple as a corpse. He shrank back almost con- vulsively.
 What is the matter? Speak," I i'm. plored.
 "Have-have you change for $5?" he stammered. "Quick.''
 
 l jerked out what money had.
 "I just have a ten and four ones"
 They'll do," he said eagerly. almost sayavgely, thrusting the five into my hands.
 What! the ten and the ones?" I gasped.
 "No-just the ones-here!"
 A signal came from the lady and the man pulled the rope.
 While l was trying to beat into my brain why this man had taken four ones for a five the woman had alighted rom the car and was disappearing down East Ninth street
 Tell me, who was it?" I yelled.
 Somebody shouted Madame Bar bette!"
 Who in seven worlds could be Mad anne Barbette? l knew almost as much as did before. However, came to ny senses again and rushed like a wild man down East Ninth street in search of the sinister, lugubrious, city-upset- ting madame.
 As I tore along I remembered "the five dollar bill!"
 The conductor must have had it from Madame Barbette in collecting her fare. Not having paid any particular attention to the passenger he had over- looked her identity until I aroused his especial interest. Then he thought of the bill! He was afraid of it! He would have gotten rid of it at any sacri- feel He had palmed it off on mel had been duped-had probably sold my life for a dollar!
 Or maybe it was counterfeit-per haps the madame was the chief and queen of some notorious swindling gang.
 l hurriedly pulled the thing from my pocket and held it up to the light-it appeared faultless in every detail. so I tried to think of some other reason.
 The other reason, which was not long coming, sent cold chills all over me Maybe she had some deadly contagion some horrible, zymotic disease! The thought paralyzed me!
 I stopped a policeman, quickly de- scribing the madam; he hadn't seen her l ran three blocks farther, look ing into stores and buildings, stopped another bluecoat-if he had seen her we could approach her together. He knew nothing of her.
 Then followed a futile search for hours. I haunted every street corner from Wannamaker's to Chatham square to no avail. Till late in the aft ernoon I hung around Mott and Pefl streets, thinking she might put in an appearance there, but she never came in sight.
 Sick, tired and disgusted I made my way home that evening and threw my self dejectedly on a couch. I had lost a day, worried myself ill and dscov- cred nothing-nothing but a name Ma adame Barbette.
 A morning paper which had not yet read lay beside me. Iwearily picked it up and glanced over it's pages. My eyes fell on a sensational article with scare headlines had been read that morn- ing, no doubt, by every man and wo- man in New York but myself. My blood froze in my veins!
 IS IT BLACK DEATH?