Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-25

On. I had almost forgotten. Do you
know Mr. Baumgartner?'
only by sight
THAT is useful. 1t might help if you
were to meet him in some unexpected 10
cality. And his yacht. the Sans Souci.
you have noted her main features such
as tine exact number Of windows in her
Lighthouses. or the cabin ports fore and
aft Of the BRIDGE
II watched her closely many hours last
night. but I fear I missed those precise
Details" laughed Warden. Il shall cor
rect the lapse at the earliest oppor-
tunity.'
THAT sort of definite fact assists ones
judgment. Paint and rig can be altered.
but structural features remain. / recall
the case of the Sylph. foreign cargo
steamer. loaded to the funnel with dyna-
mite, and about to pass Port Said at a
time when 1t was peculiarly important to
the British feet that TIE canal should re-
main open. She resembled a hundred
other disreputable-lookng craft of her
class. but lieutenant on the Cossack had
seen her year earlier at Bombay and
noticed a dent in the plates on the port
bow. His haphazard memory settled a
delicate and complicated discussion in
Picking. Good morning. Don't forget TO
send your address,.
Standing in Downing street to light a
cigar. Warden glanced up at the stately
building lie had just quilted. His views
on 'red-tape'' officialdom had undergone
rapid change during the past hour. 1t
was borne in on him that generations of
men like himself had come from the ends
Of the earth to that stOrehoEse OF Sc
crets, and each was convinced that he
alone could reveal the solemn tidings
which might be the forerunner of modern
Europe'S battle of ArmagedCon. And the
under secretary was called on to hear
every prophet. From such a standpoint
the presence in England of half-caste
Portuguese and three full-blooded negroes
dwindled to insignificance. True. the
under secretary had listened. and Warden
almost shlvered when he realized how
narrow was his escape from committing
the grave error of discountins his hear
er's sympathy and measure of compre-
hension.
1t was not his business to ask questions.
but lie gathered that others than himself
were alive to the dangers that might
spring from conference between SEMI
rebellious subjects of Britain in West
Africa and the ruler Of mighty nation
pent within cramped confines for want of
colonies Oddly enough. the bent plates
of the dynamite-laden Sylph suggested a
strange connection between the carved
gourd and the strained position of af-
fairs in the CamerOOns. He had no man
ner of doubt that when the royal yacht
crashed into a sunken wreck tie previous
day it liberated the calabe sh. which forth
with drifted into the Solent, and escaped
notice until discovered by Evelyn Dane.
suppose SIZE mao not seen IL. All theh
subsequent actions would have been af-
fected. He might never have known OF
the strange gathering on board the yacht.
Queer train of circumstances: he
thought. IF only l could use pen.
what a romance l might contrive with
that as a beginning-and this he added.
when. in searching for a box Of matches
his fingers closed on the crisp roll OF
skin. this as the frontispiece.
He hailed a cab He wanted to open
<l1 10, 1nFf t,o and
deposit the gourd with the rest of his be-
Iongings in a small fat hired months ago
as a pied-a-terre. His stock or cigars
needed replenishing. and the weird docu-
reminded him that Portuguese diction-
airy was lacking. A glance at his watch
showed that he could not reach Cowes
until late hour. SO he resolved to pass
the night in town. go to theater and
return to the Nancy next morning.
From Waterloo, therefore, he tele-
graphed to Peter:
Remaining here until tomorrow. Keep
your weather eye open.
He was sure that his friendly factotum
would grasp the full meaning of the sec
ond sentence. but he would have been the
most surprised man in London could he
have known that Peter at that moment
was plying three men Of Oku with gin.
An accident brought about slight
variation OF his plans. 1t happened that
no other passenger claimed the attention
of the lugsa se-room clerk at Waterloo
when the pOrtmanteau was unlocked.
Warden deposited the gourd on the zinc
counter and CROPPED among his belongings
for something to cover 1t.
The attendant, WHO was watching him.
uttered a gasping exclamation
Good Lord! SIR" he cried, what sort
Of horrible thing is that?"
1t was then that Il hitherto undiscovered
property in the gourd brought itself i'm
evidence. No sooner was 1t placed on a
smooth surface than 1t promptly wobbied
into a haif-upright position. with tie
negros face on the upper part. Chance
could hardly accomplish this movement.
1t was the designer intent. brought
about by conceal led weights, and Warden
instantly remembered that the calabash
iloated much deeper in the water than
would have been the case otherwise. A
Shaft of sunlight came through broken
pane In the glass roof and fell directly
on the scOwling apparition.
(To be continued tomorrow