The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-09-08
A Riddle of Con
temporary history

1TOIIi rage SCfCA-l
Aim with a quantity of choice cigar
cites, favored with opium.
He lit one OF these before addressing
me.
Now I will tell you what I wan
you TO do.t
He took a few puffs and leaned
hack on the pillows of. the bed, which
he had chosen as his seat.
THE man for whom I have a mes
sage is Casimir- Perier.''
1.-THE President" / calculated.
The Oriental lazily fiicked off the
ash of his cigarette before answering.
IT suppose so. / was told that ev-
cry one in France would be able to
point him OUT
/ listened to this singular reference
TO the head Of the Republic with
amazement. My client spoke as if he
knew nothing of the parsonage to
whom he was sending message ap-
parently of the last Importance.
1.-THE message is this: The Compass
Is out of joint
For a moment 7 asked myself IL
the man before me was in his right
mind. The idea of going to a Euro
pean statesman. the head of a great
nation, and addressing to him what
seemed to be unintelligibIe jargon,
struck me as preposterous.
what does that mean?''T demanded.
The Persian appeared to close his
eyes
II can not tell you"
do you expect the President to I'M
derstand it ?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
7 rose to my feet in indignation.
Il can not convey a message which
I do not understand. I have no wish
to make myself ridiculous
The Oriental smiled family as he
took another cigarette and lit it from
the stump of the first.
sfYour reception will be perfectly Sc
rious.'' was all he said.
I'm spite of myself, I felt my power
Of resistance giving way. The impas-
sfve manner of the unknown, his calm
and half-dIsdainful smile, exercised a
fascination over me which / couN
neither account for nor Withstand.
'-But if 1 tell you that I refuse to
take this messenger" I protested with
what I felt to be weakness.
The Oriental repeated a gesture with
which I was becoming familiar. An
other banknote for the equivalent of
thousand dollars lay within my reach
\ think the motive that really decided
me TO accept the mission was an over
mastering curiosity. I could not resist
The temptation to find out what effect
abe mysterious words would have on
the parsonage to whom I was to re-
ueat them. From his demeanor it was
probable that / should learn more
about my strange client than I had
from the Persian himself.
It was not easy for me to obtain adj
mission to the presence of NJ. Casimir-
Perier.
At the Elysee, where presented my
self about nine o'clock, I was obliged
20 give my own name. and even then
was forced to wait a long time and
resist the efforts of host of secre-
faries and aides-de-camp to extract
my message.
When r was at last shown to the
President I found him wearing the
grand chain of the Legion of Honor.
He had been giving a dinner to the
heads of the French Army, and ]
could hear the sound of a band in an
adjoining room.
resolved to be as brief as possible.
ar. lie President, I have been COM
nnissioned by a client whose name
,4ra unable to tell you to deliver
ure ssage for your private ear
The surprised frown with which the
Mead of the French Republic greeted
this statement warned me to finish
promptly.
.sThe message is this: 1.-THE Com.
pass Is out of joint.
The words were scarcely out of my
mouth when I saw that the President
understood them only too well.
For a moment he sat still IN his
chair, too indignant to speak.
s.Ah! I was told that this was COM
sng!" he exclaimed presently. $50
they have actually dared''-His ex-
eellency interrupted himself to glance
at me. do you Know the meaning of
the message you have brought, Mon
vieur W"
mo, NJ. lie President"
at is as well And now perhaps