The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-06-09
PART.
The Story OF Doctor Dare, as Told to the
Scribe

PART l.
The Story OF Doctor Dare, as Told to the
Scribe.
~ was In the bazaar at Calcutta that
light tap touched my shoulder. Turn
ing, l saw the wrinkled visage of Moham-
med Ben Ali. a merchant whose acouaint- =
ance mad made the day before.
Sahib. word with YOU he said I
saw you buying curios in the shop opposite
mine. VIII YOU come with me for a few
moments? have a. rare box would like
to sell you.'
Nothing 10th, I went with the old man
TO MS shop, where with an air of great se-
crecy he produced this box for my In
spection. 1t was about six inches square
and contained an ivory tablet with some
capalistic figures engraved on it.
IL Is very pretty I said, admiring its
workmanship
True assented the merchant But
1t has another value than it's beauty
"'What?'
It Is believed by the Brahnins to hold
talisman. which for seven years brings
fortune and prosperity to the possessor
But If he retains it to the completion of
that period. evil befalls him."
'Pshaw!'' I cried. contemptuously
" I'm not a Brahmin, Sahib. but a true
follower of the Prophet. and therefore no
more a believer In the superstition than
yourself. bought it yesterday from
constituencies thief who by some means
had stolen II from the Brahmin temple in
which 1t has been kept for years. I wish
to get rid OF 1t not because of the super
stition attached to it, but because I fear
assassionation atthe hands of the priests of
the temple should it become known that it
is In my possession. If you wish it you
may buy 1t at your own price, providing
You promise secrecy as to where you got
Accordingly bought it, partly to test
the truth OF the superstition, but more
particularly because of it's beauty.
whether or not it was owing to the
tallsman being in my keeping, 1 will not
say, but certain it Is from that time
forth, for the following two years 1 sue
ceeded wonderfully in everything l under
took. My fame a successful medical
practitioner. and of the difficult cures
had effected, rapidly extended over a great
part of Bengal. I soon found myself grow
ing rich. which Is ever an agreeable dis
covery to make. My practice was very
large, and I numbered among my patients
many of the wealthy native princes, as
we'll as a large share Of the upper class of
the European quarter. .,t
A month after the talisman came into
my possession l began to notice that
was being swallowed by an evil-looking
fakfr. who hung around my residence and
logged my footsteps wherever went.
Il gave the matter no thought until late
one night received a call to visit a
patient. As he lived near 1 set out on
foot. My way led thru narrow dimly
lighted street. While passing down it
was suddenly set upon by an unknown
thug who leaped at me from a doorway
and aimed a vicious blow at me with a
knife. whoch only just escaped by quick
move of my body. l grappled with my as
hnuyovar S1innoH NV
hold and ran off down the street; but as
he passed under the light 1 recognized in
him the fakir who had been haunting my
house.
THE next day the fakir was nowhere to
be seen. This awoke within me the sus-
picion that by some means the Brahmn
priests had become acquainted with the
fact that had the talisman. and that the
fakir was employed by them to effect my
death and restore the box to its niche
in the temple. But this made me all the
more determined to retain possession of
it, I kept 1t stored away under lock and
key in a strong safe built in the wall of
my private office. Believing myself to be
g. marked man I went armed and took
care not to go out at night any more than
I could help.
However. as time passed without any
similar occurrence, / began to think I was
wrong in my surrnfse. and relaxing my
quently to remove it from the safe to show
to friends and expatiate upon its virtues.
zone evening, two years after purchas-
ing it from the merchant, I was at the
house of friend. There was no one with
us save an old and trusted native servant,
who apparently paid no heed to our talk,
but passed unobtrusively in and out Of the
room attending to his duties.
1.-The conversation turning upon the
talisman, I promised to bring it with me
the next night and show 1t to my friend
Accordingly, the following evening
slowed 1T safely In my pocket and set out
for my friends house. but had not gone
far when four thugs sprang upon me al
a preconcerted signal. I was taken en-
trely off my guard and. tho made some
show of resistance. / was knocked dowr
and beaten into insensibility. On re.
covering discovered that I had beer
robbed of the talsnan-and tho I i'm
mediately offered large reward for 1t:
recovery, and employed several Of the
shrewdest detectives to ferret it out nj
trace of it could be discovered.
"Soon after, my good luck took a turn
lost large sums of money in speculation!
which had heretofore proved very success
full. A number of my most wealthy
patients died on my hands; lost prestige
and in four months was comparatively
poor man.
$50 1 resolved to leave Calcutta, AM
went to British Burmah in the hope o
lettering my fortunes. But in vain