Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-27

art1SlS ever uCuFlSn6O III ILc ldtHCi
land, Schmitt should have been
crowned king of them all. Ny OBJ
servations of the man and his meth
DDS in Port Arthur before the war justify
me, l think, in making this statement.
But he was nothing If not progressive.
and it is not Of his petty achievements
that I wish to tell In Port Arthur they
are still talking about the grand coup
he planned. and Of how 1t was carried
through to a successful conclusion.
At the time of which I speak Schmitt
had captured the hearts of the military
by his jovial activities. and had become
the social. hub around which the social
spokes revolved. Then a man was
judged by his storage ability; and for
the various and sundry braus on the
Manchurian market Schmitt had capac-
ity like a bulk oil freighter.
Moreover, he had a, good, solid, North
Country headpiece, SO firmly set on his
vast shoulders that the highest tide OF
burgerliches brau could not bulge it
from its balance. Vaselinovitch. the
Russian colonel who used to be the
champion absorber, tried conclusions
with Schmitt few times, but always
fioated away from his moorings. and
finally resigned his title, and became
henceforth a humbled but ardent admirer
Of that mighty man.
Schmitt flourished in those prosperous
days. and the adulterated foods. French
wines, German beers, and other neces-
sites Of life which he supplied to the
Russky hordes enjoyed tremendous
popularity. Vaselinovitch was really re-
sponsible for this satisfactory state OF
affairs, for he let the contracts for all
supplies Of the kind. He exacted the
usual Russian Squeeze and Schmitt
his one per cent, SO both seemed satls.
fed, loved each other apparently, ana
became bosom companions. That's where
the colonel made mistake He was
all kinds of a riproa. ing good fellow.
but he allowed valuable information to
spill over from time to time that should
have reposed forever in his falth1ui
into the possession of Schmitt the un-
scrupulous Rosy rainbow dreams OF
mile high stacks o. rubles lulled to slum-
Der every night that acauisitive: deceit
full tricky treacherou n',ow son han Oh IN his
native city he had what he called his
Hamburg stake, which consisted of q
goodly store of ill-gotten gold. drawing
interest and awaiting his return:
On the other hand, Vaselinovitch was
generous to q fault, and spent his money
like the royal prodigal he was Schmitt
shared the colonel's pleasures. took de-
light in his company. and accepted MS
hospitality, but chung to MS own caSh
And SO it was wine, feasting and song
to an unconscionable degree. and both
of the worthless were having the times
If their lives But one bright day It
changed, as all things WILL, ana thls -
the way it came about
At O'Clock on that calamltous AFTER
noon the colonel closed with Schmitt a
monster deal for army supplies, ana 10
celebrate it they repaired straightway
IN a drink emporium. In retired cor
nor thew talked things over again. mean
while consuming just enough liquor 10
raise their spirits to a never-mind ptcn.
Soon they had not care In the "loe,
wide world-all was sunshine. roses anu
maGguerites and the more gooo .rielus
Who came in to join them In draught
the more carefree they became. In fact,
Vaselinoyitch became downright reckless.
.I toll YOU what" said he. his mind re-
vertinp to former occasion When tns
ssme conviyial crowd sat grouped around
81 awe table: II bet you a thousand
tue ae can drink more beer than you
this once. .1 toLa ,t"
Rabelais could have described the po o,,
that ensued. ! cannot Sumce 10 say
that at the end of three hours OF strenu.
oms anplication Schmitt was still prisnt
o,-ad and rosy checked whereas poor
Va selinoyitch sank back In ms aIHie'ah
va. - purpling cry of "Nemets!
"cet him to his room at once saio
ard this they did with the assist
o, ~ some Cinnamon with Wneei-
barrow. DONE know but
Az it." said Schmitt. Leave me to
h;na.'. and he waved the crowd from the
house. e..,,o. feI
low, to the accompaniment of string OF
snmttering, gasping. choking protesta-
tons and placed him on couch.
~ drown" murmured the colonel. Zee
bly,. cool
heaver. He was past master of all the
ayTs If first aid to the injured in a strug-
Ole With the amber tide. Soon he had
the satisfaction Of seeing the colonel es-
tahlished in comfort upon his bed, where
he sank forthwith into deep sleep Poor.
moor Petrofsy, Makaron Vaselinovitch!
His life was saved, but at what a price!
And now Sing makes his appearance.
Sing was a Shanghai man. bright as a
shiny brass button. and crooked as
hopvine gone wrong. Schmitt and he
were after-dark cronies, and together
! they had pulled off many and many
shady deal. They met presently in the
street, exchanged a few words, and at
| that evening Schmitt slid through the
side entrance to Sings house. Dinner
was ready and the two sat down.
'sWhat thing?" asked Sing. munching
a f1fty-two-year-old egg. His beedy