The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-04

was left streaked with damp; and there was faint, purpiish stain on the nanukerchief, observing which with evident dismay he stuffed the big square of coarse cambric hastily into his pocket.
 The little beast must dye his hair" l thought contemptuously. Perhaps nes an alhino. really. His eyes look like it."
 With that, he threw a frightened glance at me, which caused me to turn away and spare him the humiliation of knowing that he was observed. But immediately after. he made an effort to pull himself together. picking up a book he had laid down to wipe his forehead, and holding it so close to his nose that the printed page must have been mere blur. unless he were very near-sighted. Thus he sat for some time; yet I felt that no look thrown by the other two was lost on him. He seemed to know each time one of them peered over the newspaper; and when at last the train slowed down by the Admiralty Pier. all his nervousness re- turned. His small. thin hands, freck- led on their backs. lowered over one piece Of luggage after another as if he could not decide how to pile the things together.
 Naturally had not brought my man with me on this errand, therefore had let my suitcase go into che van, that I might have both hands free and had nothing to do when the train stopped but jump out and make for the boat. Nevertheless I fingered, folding up newspaper and tearing an article out or magazine by way of excuse; for 1t was not my object to be caught in q crowd and hustled. perhaps, by some clever wFetches who might be lying in wait for what had in my pocket. It seemed impossible that anyone could have learned that l was playing mes senger between the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Maxine de Renzie; still, the danger and difficulty of the apparently simple mission had been so strongly impressed on me that did not intend to neglect any precau. ton.
 l fingered therefore; and the Jewish looking man with his heavy faced friend fingered also, for some reason of their own. They had no luggage. ex- cept very small handbag each but these opened at the last minute to stun in their newspapers, and apparently to review the other contents Presently, when the first rush for the boat was over. and the porters who had come to the door of our compartment had gone away empty-handed, I would have got out, had I not caught an imploring glance from the little man who had re- served the carriage. Perhaps I imag- ined 1t. but his pink-rimmed eyes seemed to say, 'For heavens sake. |don't leave me alone with these oth- I CTS"
 slr.S. %0aia sir. you he Ss .o ss,a 'sfs tg me, ito beckOn a porter, as you are near the door? find after all that I shan't be able to carry everything my self"
 did as he asked; and there was so much confusion in the carriage when the porter came, that in self defense the two friends got out with their bags. also descended and would have fol- lowed in the wake of the crowd. If the little man had not called after me. He had lost his ticket he said Would be so extremely obliging as to throw I an eye about the platform to see If 1t had fallen there?
 l did oblige him in this manner, | without avail; but by this lime he had found the missing treasure in the folds | of his travelling rug; and scrambling
 out of the carriage attended by the | porter had secured for him. he would have walked by my side towards the boat. had not dropped behind a few I steps. thinking--as always--of the contents of that inner breast pocket. He and l wer now at the tail-end of the procession hastening boatward, or I almost at the tail. for there were but four or five other passengers--a family | party with a fat nurse and crying baby behind us. As I approached the | gangway, saw on deck my late travel ling companions, the Jewish man and | his friend, regarding us with interest. | Then, just as I was about to step on board. almost on the little mans heels. there came cry apparently from some one ahead: Look out-gangway's fall | ing"
 In an instant all was confusion. The l fat nurse behiad me screamed, as the nervous fellow in front leaped like a l cat, intent on saving himself no matter | what happened to anyone else, and i flung me against the woman with the baby. Two or three excitable French | men just ahead also attempted to turn, l thus almost throwing the little man onto his knees The large bag which he carried hit me across the shins; in | his terror he almost embraced me as he helped himself up; the nurse, as she | stumbled, pitched forward onto my shoulder and if I had not seized the | bowling baby, 1t would certainly have 1 fallen under our feet. .. | My bowler was knocked over my eyes, and though an officer of the boat | cried the reassuring intelligence that ] 1t was a false alarm--that the gangway was "all right" and never had been anything but all right, could not read just my hat nor see what was going on until the fat nurse had obiigingly retrieved her charge, without a word | of thanks.
 My first thought was for the letter | case in my pocket, for I had a horrible z. Idea that the scare might have been l got up for the express purpose of rob ping me of 1t But could feel its out l line as plainly as ever under my coat, l and decided, thankfully, that after all the alarm had had nothing to do with l me.
 I had wired for a private cabin,
 thinking 1t would be well to be out of
 the way of my fellow-passengers dur
 ing the crossing; but the weather had
 been rough for a day or two Cit was not yet the middle of ApriD and every thing was already engaged; therefore
 l walked the deck most of the time,
 always conscious of the unusual thick
 ness of my breast pocket. The little
 man paced up and down, too, though his yellow face grew slowly green, and
 he would have been much better of
 below, lying on his back. As for the
 two others. they also remained on deck
 talking together as they leaned against
 the rail; but though passed them now
 and again, noticed that the little man
 invariably avoided them by turning
 before he reached their pitch"
 Al the Care du Nord. I regretted
 that I had not carried my own bag
 because if had 1t would have been ex'
 amined on the boat. and all bother
 would have been over. But rather
 than run any risks in the crowe
 thronginE the douane, I decided to lei the suitcase look after itselfl and senC l Nra Ha kA2