The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-08-05
By Harold MacGrath

the aid Of q fat perfecto and a lib
eral stack Of blues, he proceeded to di- I
vert himself till the boat reached quar-
antire. l shall not say that he left any
OF his .patrimony 1t the mahogany table |
with its green-baize covering and it's
little brass disks for cigar ashes, but l
am certain that he did not make one of
those stuperdous winnings we often
read about and never witness. This
much, however: he made the acquaint- !
ance OF very important parsonage, |
who was presently to add no insignif- |
can't weight on the scales Of Mr.. Rob- |
crt g destiny.
He was Russian, young, handsome,
calling, distinguished bearing. He spoke
English pleasantly but imperfectly.7 lie
possessed capital fund Of anecdote,
and Warburton, being an army man,
loved a good droll story. 1t was a
revelation to see the way he dipped the
end OF his cigar into his coffee, slim
ulant which he drank with Balzacian
frequency and relish. Besides these &C
hand at the great American game.
While MIR. Roberts admiration was not
| aroused, it was surely awakened.
My hero had no trouble with the Gus
| toms officials. A brace Of old French
| dueling pistols and a Turkish scimitar
were the only articles which might pos
Silly have been dutiable. The inspector
looked hard, but he was finally con-
WINGED that Mr.. Robert was not a pro-
fessional curio collector. Warburton,
never having returned from abroad be-
fore, found deal Of amusement and
food for thought in the ensuing scenes.
Ihere was one man, prim, irascibIe
old fellow, who was not allowed to pass
III two dozen fine German razors. The,e
was time of it. angry words, threats,
protesta tions. The Inspector stood firm.
The old gentleman, in a fine burst Of
passion, tossed tho razors into the
water. Then they were going to arrest
him for smuggling. A friend extrlcated
him. The Oh! gentleman went away,
saying something about the tariff and
an unreasonably warm place which has
as many synonyms as an octopus has
tentacles.
Another man, his mouth covered
by an enormous black mustache,
which must have received
bath every morning in coffee or
something stronger, came forward pomp-
ously. I don It know to this day what
magic word he said, but the inspectors
took never peep into his belongings
Doubtless they knew him, and that his
word was as good as his bond.
Here woman wept because the neck
lace she brought trustingly from Rot
terdam must be paid for once again;
and here another, who clenched her
fists edo women have fists? and if looks
could have killed there would have been
a vacancy in customs forthwith. All
her choicest linen strewn about on the
dirty boards, all soiled and rumpled and
useless!
When the colonel's turn came, War
burton moved within hearing distance
How glorious she looked in that smart
gray travelling habit! With what we'll
bred indifference He; , she gazed upon the
among the circles Of strange faces, and
ever and anon returned to the great
ship which had safely brought her back
to her native land. There were other
women who were just as we'll bred and
Indifferent, only Warburton had but one
again. Ha! if only one Of these med
ding jackasses would show her some
) disrespect and give him the opportunity
J of avenging the affront!
| (Come, now; let me be your confes-
, sor. Have you never thought and acted
like this hero of mine9 Haven't you
been just as melodramatic and ride
? Of For my part, I should confess, to
. it with the same equanimity as I should
: to the mumps or the measles. It comes
Y with, and is part and parcel Of, all that
. strange medley we find in the Pandora
E box Of life. Love has no diagnosis, so
e the doctors says. TITS all in the angle
E Of vision.) :.
But nothing happened. Colonel An
. nesley and his daughter We're old hands
i they had gone thru all this before
$ Scarce an article in their trunks was
: disturbed There was a slight duty of
e some $12 (Warburton s memory is mar
t velousl, and their luggage was free
But alas, for the perspicacity Of the
b inspectors! I can very well imagine