Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-09-27
CHAPTER ii.

Hotel Scribe, which is by the opera house.
Mary uttered a hundred EXPLANATIONS of
JOY as we passed through the city of
lights; and Roderick, who loved Paris,
condescended to keep awake.
"I'll tell you what he exclaimed, ''the
beauty of this place is that no one thinks
here, except about cooking. Suppose we
plan a nice little dinner for four?"
For two, my dear fellow. if you
please" said Hail. with mock of state
he was quite the Perfect Fool again. Mr..
Mark Strong condescends to dine with
NEEDN'T you, Mr.. Mark:"
The fact is, Roderick,' l explained
that 1 made a promise to meet one of
Mr.. Halls friends tonight, so you and
Mary must dine alone"
Hall and l mounted the stairs of the
coy little hotel, whose windows overlook
the core of the great throbbing heart of
Paris, and so until we were alone in my
room, whittier he had followed me.
"Quick's the word" he said, as he shut
the door, and took several articles from
his hat box. Zone pair of spectacIes, one
wig, one set of curiosities to sell-do l
look like a secondhand dealer in odd
lots, Mr.. Mark Strong?"
| had never seen such an utter change
in any man made with such little show.
The Perfect Fool was no longer before
ne; there was in his place a lounging,
shady-looking, greed-haunted Hebrew. The
Launching of the shoulders was perfect
the stoop, the walk, were triumphs.
Its five minutes from here" he said,
land the clocks are going eight-you are
right as you are, for you are a cipher
in the affair yet"
He passed down the stairs and fol-
lowed him. So good was his disguise and
make-pretense that the others, who were
IN the narrow hall drew back to let him
go, not recognizing him, and spoke to me,
asking what l had done with him. Then
| pointed to the new Perfect Fool, and
without another word of explanation went
on into the street.
We walked in silence for some little
distance. Finally he turned, crossing a
busy thoroughfare and stopped quite sud
denly at last in a narrow street. He had
something to say to me.
This is the place." he said. You carry
this box of metal''-he meant the case of
curiosities-' don't open your mouth.
Keep hold on your eyes, whatever you
see or whatever you hear. Do | look all
right?'
Perfectly just a word if we are
going into some den where we may have
a difficulty in getting out again, wouldn't
it be as well to go armed?"
Armed !-pish !"-and he looked I'M
utterable contempt, treading the passage
with long strides, and entering a house
at the far end of it.
Thither l followed him and found nv
self at last on the third floor before a
door of thick oak. Our first knocking
upon this had no effect Then | heard
a great rolling voice which seemed to echo
on the stairway, and so leapt from flight
to fight, almost like the rattle of a can
non shot with its many reverberations.
For the moment indistinct, | then be-
came aware that the voice was that of
man singing and walking at the same
time.
When the noise stopped at last there
was silence, complete and unbroken. Hall
stood motionless After that we heard
a great yell from the same voice, with
the words, Alloy, Splinters, shift along
the gear, will you?" A mumbled dis
cussion seemed to tread on the heels of
the hullabaloo, when, apparently having
arranged the gear" TO satisfaction, the
man stalked to the door.
"Hullo-the little Jew and his kick
shaws; why, matey, so early in the morn
ing?"
The exclamation came as he saw us.
putting his head round the door, and
showing one arm swathed all up in dirty
red flannel. He was no sort of a man
to look at, for his head was q mass of
dirty yellow hair, and his face did not
seem to have known an ablution for
week. But there was an ugly jocular look
about his rabbit-like eyes, and a great
mark cut clean into the side of his face,
which were a fit decoration for the red
burnt, pitted. and horribly repulsive coun-
tenance he betrayed l looked at him
and drew back repealed. This he saw,
and with a flush and a display of one
great stump of a tooth which protruded
on his left lip, he turned on me.
And who may you be, matey, that you
don't go for to shake hands with Roaring
John? Dip me in brine, if you was my
son I'd dress you down with a two-foot
bar. Why don't you teach the little He
brew manners, old Josfos; but there and
this he said as he opened the door wider,
so long as our skipper will have to do
with sinners to sell and land barnacles,
what can you look or?-walk right along
here"
The man who called himself Roaring
John" entered the apartment before us,
bawling at the top of his voice, "Josfos,
the Jew, and his pardner come aboard =
and then l found myself in the strangest
company and the strangest place l have
ever set eyes on. SO soon as 1 could
! see things clearly through the hanging at
moSphere of tobacco smoke and heavy
| vapor, l made out the forms of six or
| eight men, not sitting as men usually do
! in a place where they eat. but squatting
| on their launches by a series of low mar
] row tables, laid round the four sides of
the apartment. Each man lolled back
! on his own pile of dirty pillows and
! dirtier blankets each had before him a
| great metal drinking cup, a coarse knife,
! long rolls of plug tobacco, and a small
red bundle. which l doubt not was his
| portable property. Each, too, was dress
! ed exactly as his fellow. in a coarse red
| shirt, seaman'S trousers of ample blue
serge. a belt, and each had some bauble OF
| a bracelet on his arm, and some strange
rings upon his fingers. They were men
marked by time as with long service or
the sea men SCARED, burnt, some with
| traces of great cuts and slaShes received
on the open face; men tiercelooking as
painted demons, with teeth. with none
with four fingers to the hand, with three
men whose laugh was Il horrid growl
whose threats chilled the heart TO hear
whose very words seemed TO POISON the
air. who made the great room like Gag,
of beasts, ravenouS and ill-Seeking.
Martin Hall put himself at his ease the
moment we entered. He made his wa!
to the top of the room and stood befor,
one who forced from me individual no
tice, so strengthening was he, and 81
deep did the respect which all paid hin
appear to be- He sat at the head of tn
rude table. but not as the others sat, 70
there was a pile of rich-looking skins
bear. tiger. and white wolf-beneath him
and he alone of all the company wor
black clothes and white shirt. He wa
: short man. black bearded and smooth