Omaha daily bee., 1907-02-24
IcoDvrlrht 10 ~ ceo-rs Ba-fon)

||' actor in uhat has Etrce curne t.
b known Hs the great mixed
pickles plut-
II wa sust prior 70 the suanish-Ausri-
can WI. The Cuban Insurgents we're xiv
ina the king o. Spain no end q truuhis.
sithouFh the United States authorittss ue-.
doing All In their power 20 ohse7ve the
neutrality Laws But In srfts a. extreme
precautions munitions q VA Continued 70
leavs this oountry and we're eventually
a-uurEled into the rebel lines
The representative Of His Nort Chris
tan Majesty made life miserable fer the
bead Of the State department ct wash
inrton. He In turn passed the trouble on
20 the secretary Of the treasury. and that
ofhcisl issued countless proclsrnatious 20
the collectors Of customs al the var41us
ports saying the violstions o. the Law must
be stopPed al any cost But the Cuban
flfbuste-s continued TO be az nur1erous
and az active a. mosquitoes in a Jersey
swamp
Vsry early IN the game Barnes got his
eye on one Captain Levi Cross a sailor
q fortuna. who was deficient In what some
persons call scruplss. TIE captain was q
man who had his UPS and downs in the
world. but he was persistent and resource
ful and would never stay beaten
One morning maritime circles swoks -
IND that the captain had chartered the
tramp steamer Golden Rod for the pur-
pose Of carrying a cargo OF food surs 10
Jamaica When Barnes reached his once
he learned that the vessel was already
loaded and that the snterpr1sing Cross had
his clearance papers. A sense Of DUTY
prompted the chief 20 send an inspector
20 the wharf to make a careful exzruina-
rsun Of the cargo before permitting the
vessel 70 leave it's dock The man returned
with the information that everything vas
In proper shape. The principal fem IN ths
miscellaneous cargo was one hundred casks
Of MIXED pickles. the tops q which were
all stamped with the trade mark q a wei
known hrm- When the inspector showed
sorns soepticisn about this the captain
seized a hstchet and pried open the top
Of the nearest barrel revealing layer after
layer Of Symmetrical pickles Of various
sizes and shapes.
IN spite Of this vtEfble evidence Barnes
had the Golden Rod spotted ali the time
81 was IN the dock During the morning
the crew arrived. They were simple lock-
ing fellows and there were not more than
enough Of them 10 barely navigate the boat.
Shortly before noon Captain Cross called
for a messenger and gave him a note 70
deliver. The boy had been conveniently
provided by Barnes and as soon as he 70;
the letter he went direct to him II was
addressed to Mr.. John Polk" IN care OF a
sailors boarding house not many blocks
away. The chief quickly copied the lettsr.
which read as foIlOws: 'Sorry you can't
Join Us. An Of US remember you. especially
st meal time Joe Tompkins Unexpectedly
lost his vile yesterday. II happened Al
little before 6; leaEtwiss before O'Clock.
Wont you tel this 20 John this evening.
and DO II sureYT
The old man hastily sealed the original
letter in the envelope and bAde the mes
senger deliver it TO the address designated
by Captain Cross. Clancy watched the
proceedings with an unfrfeDdly eye. Finally
he unbUrdened hts mind. reluctantly. but
with q sort Of defiance.
Dangerous business. isn't IT. chiefg'
''whatg'' snapped Barnes.
'1ntercepttn' peoples letters"
Clancy" said the old man solemniy,
there are times when your moral sense
O-erclouds your gigantic intellect
The blank look on the faoe Of his as
sistant made the chief laugh
"AIrs fair In war and this IL war" he
added sharply 10 close the discussion
You didn't get much grunbled the
faithful serT1tor. who had been permitted
TO see the letter.
de later" said Barnes. But in the mean
time let 10 one disturb me for the nsxt
half hour"
He entered his private once and closed
the door behind him C1ancy's mind
worked slowly and there were times when
he could not comprehend ms superior. but
what he lacked II keenness Of intellect he
more than made up in loyalty TO his chief
Barnes knew and appreciated this faith
fulDesS. and although he occasionally
twitted the faithful one. he would not
have parted company with him under any
consideration Clancy patrOiled the space
IN front OF the doorway with both eyes
alert 20 prevent any one from interrupting
the old man Ten fifteen and then twenty
minutes went by. and Etm Barnes re-
nEined clossted IN his room Clancy was
beginning 10 wonder how much longer Il
would last when a loud shout came from
within II was CRY Of Joy The door was
thrown open and Barnes appeared on the
SIN beekoning sxultantly 70 his faithful
sentinel
Its all right Clancy; it's an right. 80
exclaimed the chief putting ms arms
around the young MAJ
whats an rightg" asked Clancy. with
q lAmeutAbly weak attempt ct pretended
ignorance
The letter cried Barnes Get ready 10
leave town with me on the clock train
Might ask Why This with a look Of
injured dignity.
certainly" and he handed him the let
tar. Look ~ that I've underlined every
fourth word. and the whole things as
clear as daylight"
Clancy sic ally spelled cut the eleven word
message. which. as the chief had under
scored II. appeared in the letter as fol-
lows;
"sorTy you can't JOIN Us AL Of rs
remember you, especially At meal time
Joe ToMPKINs Unexpectedly lost his
VILE yesterday. II happened At q little
before SIX - leastNise before seven
O'CLOCK Went you ten THIS 10 John
this EVENING. and do 81 SURE
While Clancy was Etin gaEping for
breath over the solution Of the seemingly
innocent message. Barnes went % the teie-
phone and got IN communication with
Captain Farewell CT the United States reve-
nue. cutter AIbatross- rive minutes late;
the ofhoer a manly looking feIloW. hasteasd