The San Francisco call., 1906-08-12

news that MS deaf Irlend was dSau.
The lawyer sailed from New York on
February for Mediterranean cruise
on the steamer Arabic In the party
was none other who had been of the
house party of Asheville when the
matchbox was lost. OF the guests at
the house party were persons from
Detroit, Chicago and Toledo, but they
had returned Immediately to. their re
spective homes. They knew, however.
of Achorn's loss and of his exceeding
anxiety to recover his souvenir.
That any of them might have been
implicated in mysteriously returning
the matchbox has been eliminated by
careful investigation, but especially be-
cause none of them would have made
practical joke of a matter of friendship
sacred friendship. Had any of the
Christmas coterie learned of the finding
OF the matchbox in the Asheville woods
he would have lost no time in notifying
the distressed loser
A conjecture that Achorn did not lose
the matchbox but misplaced it and him
self carried il to Egypt in some one of
his pockets is almost absolutely impos-
sible, and indeed highly improbable.
He carried the matchbox habitually in
the right side pocket of his trousers,
with keys and small change. This
mode OF carrying these articles was a
personal eccentricity. any deviation
from which would have Immediately
attracted his notice. Every suit had
been minutely searched at least twenty
times. There were no holes in any of
the pockets and even the suit Innings
we're carefully hunted The winter
gray suit which Achorn wore on the
morning when he lost the matchbox
was worn up to the time of sailing.
Achorn also knows how many times he
anXiously and curiously emptied the
i
he packed the suit in a trunk and
wore a lighter weight blue serge suit,
which had not been at AsheviIle. but
which had hung in a closet at home
since the preceding October. OF other
wearing apparel which had been used
at Asheville and which was taken on
the cruise abroad were a dark over
coat and an evening dress suit carried
i'm a leather suit case. These garments
had all been repeatedly and carefully
searched. The evening suit had been
worn on the cruise nearly every even
ing at dinner through all the tour of
Spanish. Algiers, Madeira, Greece, Tur-
key and Palestine. In it the matchbox
could not have escaped notice The
nized during the voyage and 1t was not
at Luxor, where the matchbox was re-
covered.
During the trip up the Nile the over
coat was left in the steamer, $50 miles
away Achorn wore the blue serge
suit and is positively convinced that he
did not carry the matchbox about him.
Three days before Attorney Achorn's
arrival at Luxor" says John H. Stew
ems, I also stopped at Luxor and while
there l was accosted by Hindoo, who
insisted in a pleasantly courteous man
ner on telling me something that was
about to happen. I confess that l was
so impressed by his confident claim
of mystic power and the soft spiritual
CLEAN in his handsome eyes. that l
shrank from venturing into the realm
of the future.
One day after dinner Mr.. Achorn
was sitting in the magnificent hotel
garden OF Luxor. apparently enjoying
with friends the coming OF night over
the historic ruins in tHe desert. when
suddenly the coterie OF friends was at
tracted by an approaching Oriental.
He was differentiated from the Egyp-
tian hotel attendants by long robe
and turban.
AS he neared the group the fellow,
whom we took to be a Hindoo, sud-
denly paused and centering his gaze on
Achorn again approached. When with
in a few feet of Achorn, who seemed
greatly puzzled by the mans peculiar
actions. the latter extended his right
hand as he uttered in a low voice:
This is your matchbox
Taken so completely unawares, the,
amazed lawyer curiously gclutched the
matchbox from the strangers hand. He
turned, muttering inarticulate words OF
surprise, to say, Where did you get
But the Hindoo had departed. He had
vanished quite as quickly as he had
appeared to the gtoup.
1T was no apparition, for we all
had seen the stranger. Being absorbed
in the surprise of the matchbox, how
ever. and intSrested in the profound
effect the incident had made upon
Achorn, none had noted the strangers
departure. Who he was or whence he
came no investigation disclosed.
"Achorn Immediately pronounced the
matchbox to be the one he had lost in
Asheville during the preceding Christ
mas week. Its pattern of half turned
leaves growing from a double scroll
was readily recognized, as were its
details of daisies and leafy vines.
Friends with the lawyer were doubtful
of the Identification. but the owner
showed them a dent in the side which
he had made by accident by striking
it with rife during a hunting trip
in Mexico.
- / can further verify it, he said. If
ii be mine the inside OF the lid is
burned black from an accidental firing
of matches.
The recovered matchbox lid inside
was fire black-.ed."