Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-17

shipping it to you 1t to have you convey it
to some canal or pond as soon as possible
and pour 1t in Then await the result. This,
my esteemed friend and partner, is but the
commencement of mutual business enter
prise which I trust will lie as pleasant as it
may be profitable. Yonr obedient servant
"HEZEKIAH SMITH,
otherwise know as O'keefe, Akoond of
Swat"
THE DEVIL" muttered Ellington O'Keefe,
and his voice sounded the knell of all his
expectations. How the dickens did he
do it7'
He wasn't sure that Smith had been sue
cessful in Drawing all the perils, but he
was afraid SO. His heart sank within him.
In the meantime, here was this cask.
What was 1t? 1t might be anything al
most. In itself it might be an instrument
o. revenge. He called a servant.
You open that cask,' he said, land find
out just what's in 1t. Bore hole in the
side" He did not want to have the bung
hole knocked out in the regular way, be-
cause he was afraid 1t might contain ex-
plosives. The servant bored hole and
held pail underneath Then he plugged
up the hole and took the pail to his master.
1t contained nothing but a greenish,
muddy sort of water. 1t looked harmless
enough. 1t certainly was not dangerous in
any imminent sense.
O'Keefe thought it over. Then he read
the letter over. Then he determined to fol-
low the directions of the letter. He didn't
want the cask around and it would have to
be carted somewhere.
But say, john he suggested to the
servant, keep that pail of water in cor
ner of the garden and cover it up and We'll
see what like it is at any rate. Cart the
other stuff away"
But Ellington O'Keefe was not the only
man who received letter from the Isle OF
Swat. John Lorimer, consulting chemist,
was busy one morning in his laboratory In
the little building which he occupied, when
he CHANGED to look up only to see dray
back up to the curb in front. Two men
and a sailor were upon this dray. The
sailor jumped down and handed Lorimer q
letter.
This stuff" he announced, rs for you.
It most particular"
This stuff was none other than several
large bales of green leaves, partly dried.
For me?" echoed Lorimer, ARE you
sure?"
Sure" answered the jack tar land it's
most important, so l understand"
Lorimer read the letter. Then he looked
in a puzzled way at the bales We'll" he
said dump EN- in at any rate" Accord
ingly they were dumped in.
IT'S queer proposition" said John
Lormer to himself. but there may be
something in it. But who the dickens is
the Akoond of Swat?'
1t was late spring-almost early sum-
mer-in the city of Monroe. That same
day John Lorimer sailed forth to the out
skirts of the town and dipped up about
gallon of dirty ditch water. This he took
back to his little shop. He lit an alcohol
stove and adjusted upon it small stand
ard. Then he poured small quantity of
ditch water into one pan and small
quantity into another. Beneath them he
kept very moderate heat. Into one pan
he put several of the greener and fresher
leaves, which he distracted from one of
the bales. He left the other pan un-
touched. The next day he lifted the pans
off and watched them carefully From one
OF them now and then very small insect
would rise and spread it's tiny wings
From the other nothing rose. Lorimer
secured the insects which rose from the
former pan and placed them in a box
near the open window. Then, having
macerated some of the leaves in a mortar
and mixed the moisture with a little wa :
ter, he filled small spray syringe, and
cautiously opening the box SPRAYED the
vapor into it. He noted carefully the re-
suit.
so far. so good" he Acknowledged to
himself and not bad idea"
He went back to the letter again. Again
he read 1t. This is what it said
Dear Sir:-Monroe is a large citv ana
prosperous one. 1t has always prfded IT.
self on the fact that 1t has all the adj
santages and none of the disadvantages
of other places of its size. have some
private information that there will be in
Monroe this year an epidemic, scourEe
of mosquitoes. No matter how know It
you can rely upon my information. Down
in this principality the natives use the
boughs of certain tree to keep the NOS
quitoes on-there are plenty of them