The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-09-08


message till know what it is
My client bent his head with an in
scrutable glance. I had given way to
him twice; and no doubt he felt as
sured as to the next time.
To my surprise l found that he had
nowhere to go while 1 was arranging
a retreat for him. He denied possess
ing any luggage, and evaded any ex-
| PLANTATION of the circumstances under
which he had arrived in Paris.
In the end I was obliged to leave
him in my office to await my return.
/ First changing my appearance SO as
| to resemble one of those penniless ar
fists and journalists who drift into
| Paris from all the corners of the earth,
/ went off to the Latin QUARTER, as
| the neighborhood in which strange
corners excite least remark.
| Passing along the Boulevard ST. Mi
| chel I caught sight of the familiar
| placard, Chambre 1ouer, projecting
| from a tall, narrow house halfway
! up the Place de la Sorbonne. On in
J quiry, the room to let proved to be
| on the fifth floor, overlooking the
| Place and not easily penetrated by in
quisitive eyes from across the way.
1t was a typical Students den. The
| last tenant had left some scarlet run
| ners growing on the leads outside the
window. which formed a partial
screen, and it needed only a pair of
cheap curtains to make the room one
of the most private retreats in Paris.
The rent was two hundred and fifty
francs a year. which 1 paid in ad,
vance, giving my name to the con-
cierge as William Arbuthnot from San
Francisco.
Knowing that the first step of the
police would be to make a round of
the lodging-houses and examine all
new arrivals, 1 made a point of con-
sulting the concierge as to my ar
rangements. as though I We're a stran-
ger to Paris. She gave me the card
of a secondhand furniture-dealer in
the Rue Gouffroy, from whom I or
dered in about five dollars worth of
rubbish, and also that of neighbor-
ing restaurant willing to send in meals
at a fixed tariff. The concierge ad-
vised me to go out for my pension;
but I explained that 1 was under a
pledge never to take my meals on
pAClhi5CS 4AbOALCdLlS WCEG Sblu
I obtained the address of a femme
de menage to clean the room, whom,
of course, 1 had no intention of en-
ploying. By way of final corrobora-
ton I volunteered the information
that I was a newspaper correspondent
on the staff of the San Francisco
Globe, and that my movements would
be. therefore, irregular.
L stayed on the premises till the fur
niture had arrived, nailed up a pair
of curtains myself, and then locked
up the room and came away. having
arranged that the first dinner be sent
round at six O'Clock that evening.
1t was past four by the time 1 got
back to my office, which was then on
the Boulevard Malesherbes. / ex-
planned my arrangements to tho ORR
entail
You will come around to the house
at half-past six this evening and
walk straight upstairs. If the con-
cierge should notice you, which is UNI
likely, she will be unable to tell what
floor you are going up to. and it will
be quite impossible for her to know
that you have not gone away again
later on. For greater security I will
give you a coat and hat of my own.
81 shall be there to let you in when
You arrive, and from that moment you
will not go out again.
II shall come to the room twice a
day, before the meals arrive from the
restaurant-you viii have to make
your own coffee when you get up
and remain till they are taken away
again. OF course, my own meals will
have to be taken elsewhere. Every
time the door has to be opened you
will conceal yourself behind a. curtain
which is supposed to serve the purpose
of a wardrobe When T come away
shall lock the door after me, and
you must not open it, on any pretext
whatever.
$50 far as can judge, this will pre-
vent any one having the slightest sus-
picion that there is any occupant in
the room except myself. And If any
one is inquisitive enough to want to
see Mr. William Arbuthnot they will
find him there, fnnocently eating his
dinner"
My client listened carefully to these
explanations. He made only one re-
mark
of the door"
81 viii have one made for YOU"
promised.
Two hours later the Persian was
safely housed, and I watched him
hastily swallowing his first dinner. At
seven the boy returned for the plates
and dishes, and we were secure from |
till eleven the next day.
The voluntary prisoner was. like
most iMohammedans, a strict abstain |
err; but by his request I had supplied |
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