Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-07-11
GIoRY OF THE
LAST MANS CLUB

The pungcnt odur of freshly boiled cof-
fee IN the neighborhood of Barnes apart
meats. in Washington square,. one crisp
afternoon in November, gave notice to the
outside wcrld that the veteran Inspector
was at hone. Ills friend. Forward. The
chemist. was with him. and he sat in slip
pcred state discussing the value of red
blood corpIsclcs as evidence In murder
tria!s. The old man insisted, with much
~vclemencc. that while blood corpuscles,
II property proven. were more highly con-
vincing I. the mind Of the average jury
man than the red article. Clancy. Of the
sparkling eyes and the ever present smile,
listened with Il total lack of understand
ing, Indeed, he felt relieved when a maid
entered the room and handed the chief Il
card. Barnes puchcrcd up his eyes and
held the rasteboard near the window In
ORDER 10 read IL.
"Clarcncc Pottcr!'' he exclaimed. finally.
why that's an old school chum | haven't
seen In twenty-five years. Tell him to
come up ut once"
IN a sho:, time the door opened and an
agreeable hooking gentleman OF middle
age entered. The moment the old man
caught sight of him he rushed across the
room and gave him a bearish hug. and fol-
lowed this unusual performance by taking
both CT his hands In his own and shaking
them with vigor ard enthusiasm.
Hello. Garry. old boy" he cried,
'many a day has come and gone since l
last set eyes On you. Where In the world
have you been keeping yourself. and why
haven you ever come to see me-"
Ut, your fault" replied the other re-
provingly. you know tina when we
formed our Last Mans club | begged you
to join. II has been the connecting link
that has held MS together for a quarter of
n century. There hasn't been n year that
we haven't met In friendly intercourse"
Every true answered Barnes, nodding
his head regretfully. But you know l was
never of ? convivill nature; I didn't go in
for biz dinners or anything of that kind.
My slippers. a cup of coffee and "A stogie.
and I'm the most agreeable man you'd
want to meet. BY the way. have a cup of
coffee. No? Why. on a cold day like this
a dish of hot coffee Is tho acme of bliss.
You'li have a stogic. I'm sure. l thought
so. Here's , match"
BY the way resumed Rarncs. while
Potter was lighting his cigar, is your
Last Mans club still in ex!stcncc?"
Yes" said the other, with some agita-
rtur.-
about"
OH" laughed the chief. I'm too old
to join anything OF that kind now"
It's not that" retorted Potter hurried
ly: NO new men can come in. The COW
enant prohibits additions. AS deaths &C.
cur the club gradually ceases to exist. To-
nigh: l am TO entertain the club at my
house. and there are just thirteen sur
vivors.
Makes you feel creepy" suggested For
ward, hitherto silent.
purely a coincidence" said Potter, ner-
vously. But what | came to see You
about he continued. turning to the chief
inspector, Concerns both the customs and
the Last Mans hub"
MIR. Forward. my friend. and Mr.. Clan
cy. IN assistant. are both in my conf
dence.' said the old man, anticipating the
next remark of his visitor. you may
speak with tho greatest freedom"
My story can he told briefly" responded
Potter. sinking back into an easy chair and
putting away at his stogie. "It has been
customary at each of our dinners to pre-
sent the members with some little souvc-
mir Of the occasion. The character of the
keepsake has always been kept a secret
until 1t was presented to the members.
This year. when I learned that ! was 20
be the host Of the Last Mans club. / de-
termined to give my associates Il genuine
surprise. So l sent abroad and ordered
thirteen Hungarian opals. Now. although
these rare stones were ordered two months
ago, they did not arrive until today. l
called at the custom house, made the en-
try, paid the duty and received the goods.
! opened the little case containing the
gems. and was delighted with my pur-
chase. When exposed 10 the sunlight
numhcrless rainbow tints flashed forth
from a series of. sinai fakes. The re-
Election came from surfaces CT Irregular
dimensions. The goods were imported
from Krcmnitz. and were all that could
he desired"
Now comes tue queer part of the story.
On account of some official red tape / was
not permitted to take the opals with me
Immediately, but was told to call for them
later in the day. AT the hour designated
l was too busy to go. so I sent my conf
DENTAL clerk. Mr.. George West. He re-
ceipted for the stones and delivered them
at my residence. They were received there
by Mary Martin. an old family servant,
and she placed them on top of my desk In
the library. When l reached home at &
o'clock this afternoon the opals were
gone
Gomez" echoed Barnes.
Eyes. gone repeated the other despond-
emily. "A most careful search has been
made, and 1 have not been able to locate
them anywhere"
but. they had left the custody OF the
customs % suggested the inspector.
Apparently" replied Potter. .'Official-
~ ] suppose you have no interest In the
matter, but I appeal to you on the score
of old friendship to help me find the
opals."
Well" sighed the chief. looking at the
cosey fire and then at his slippered feet,
III you give me plenty of time l may trace
them"
"Time!' cried the other. excitedly,
there isn't a minute to spare. The dinner
Is set for 8 o'clock. The money loss Is
the least part of the affair. My wonder
full souvenirs are gone. "'he d~isappoirt-
ment will be intense
But surely the members are in ignor-
ances of this character OF the surprise you
had in store for them?"
Most OF them are rcclirf Potter. but
] let two OF the boys into my confidence.
Only this morning ! met Charles Hazard.
the secretary of the club. and Howard
W!nchcll. the treasurer. and told then