The Huttig news., 1911-06-10

only by the port of Calcutta In 6e- ferring to this the Virginian lost sev- eral days waiting in London for the fortnightly P & O. boat for Calcutta: delay which might have been ob- viated by taking the overland ronte to Br'udisi connecting there with the weekly P & Q beat for Bombay, from which latter point Calcutta could have been quickly reached by rail across the Indian reninsuia
 Now Quan's letter to Labe,toucfe went by this quicker route and 20 an ticipated Amhcrs arrival at the earl tai of India by about wcek: dusirg all of which time it lang1ishe1 un- read
 A nice young English boy in Mir. I.abertouche's employ received and stamped it with the date of delivery and put 1t away with the rest of the Incoming correspondence in a sub stantial-looking safe. After which he returned to his desk in the ante-room and resumed his study of the law: which he pursued comfortably enough with cigarette In his mouth h s chair tilted back. and his feat gent'v but firmly implanted upon the fair pinted pages of an oran volume of Blackstone. His official duties. otf er- wfse. seemed 10 consist solely in im- 1 parting to all and sundrv the inforrs a. ton that MT Labertoucho was .some- where up In the Mofnssil hunting bugs--I don't know exactly where
 Precisely why Mir Laherf oucl,e maintained his office was matter for casual conjecture to his wide circle of 1 acouaintances: although it's not rn- likely that. were he the subject of dis eussion. the bnlk of the wonder ex- l pressed would be inspired bv hs m reasonable preference for Calcutta as place of residence
 Now uron the morning af tte day i that found the stealr ship Poonah nnz- l ing up tho Hooghly's dirty yellow 1 flood. Mir. Labertouche's clerk arrived at the Dhurrumtollah street office at 1 the usual hour: which. in the absence i of his employer. was generally be- l tween n o'clock and noon. Havi- assorted and disposed of the mo IT. 1 ing's mail, he donned his office coat, sat down. thumbed through Black l stone until he found two perfectly clean pages, orened the volume af that place, tipped hack his chair, and with every indication of an untroub ed con- science imposed his feet uron the book and began the days labors with cigarette.
 Presently he became aware that an especially dirty and travel-wo n Attit mendicant had squafted down across the way. in the full g'are of sunlight, and was composing himself for one of those apparently purpose less and intermiaable vigils peculiar to his vocation Beneath their dreer- ing lashes the eyes of the clerk frightened But he did not move Neither did the Attit mendicant.
 Tn the cor-se Of the next half hcnr the clerk consumed two cigaret es and entertained visitor in the p|r- son of dapper little Greek cniio- dealer from the Lal bazar. who eft behind him an invitation to Mr La bertouche to call and inspect soue scarabs in which he had profeesei an interest Ii was quite fresh im-
 
 clerk was to be careful to remember i that
 When he had gone the clerk made a note of it. Then. glancing out of the window, he became aware that the Attit mendicant. for some reason dissatisfied was preparing ta move on. Yawning. the clerk resumed his street coat. and went out to lunch. carelessly leaving he door unlocleJ and the memorandum of the Greeks invitation exposed upon his hiotfer When he returned at three oc' eek, the door of Mir. Iabsrtonche's private office was ajar and that gent emass was at his deck The memorandum was, however gone
 MT Labertouche was in the pro cess of opening and reading ten days accumulation of correspondence an occupation which he suspended temporarily to call his clerk in and receive his report. This proved to te a tolerably lengthy session. for the clerk. whose name appeared to be l Frank, demonstrated his command Of surprising memory. Without netexs he enumerated the callers at the o. l fee day by day from the time when Labertouche had left for the Mofussii with his specimen box and the st of his bug hunting paraphernalia. nam ing those known to his employer. minutely describing all others, even repeating their words with almost photographic fidelity.
 Labertouche listened intently. with. out interrupting. abstractedly tapping his desk with paper-cutter At the, end he said Thank you" with dry. preoccupied air; and resumed consid- eration of his letters These seemed to interest him little: one after the other he gave to his clerk. saying: File that. or Answer that so-and- thusly." Two he set aside for his i personal disposition. and these he took up again after the clerk had been dismissed. The first he read and rec0nsidered for long time