New Ulm review., 1912-10-02

"@"'' ''''''"'' ~
and watchful individuals, and every
bulky German, every passing Japanese
or Chinaman, loomed large as a pos.
sible emissary of the foe.
Marching majestically amid the
throng, and towering above them like
Gulliver among the Liliputians, 81.
gantic negro came up the street. The
black man must have been seven feet
high, and was gayly costumed in scar.
let coat, blue trousers, and silk hat,
With either hand he dealt out the ad.
vertising cards of some dentist, and
kept continual stream Of pasteboards
flying through the crowd. The boys
| sidestepped to let the giant pass, but
the mammoth negro checked his
| course for the fraction of second
and thrust a couple of his cards into
Brockett's astonished hands. Resum-
ing his march, he paraded up the
street, with a mob of small boys
strlnging in his wake, turned corner
and disappeared with his attendant
train.
"Some advertising agent, that boy"
laughted Brockett. wonder who
hires him, anyhow"
One of the cards bore the name of
some dental parlor." Across the
other, in small but clearly written
letters, were these hieroglyphs:
"HR E L TO w Fin R TO HR TIC
e L Pos TO CUBS"
instructions at Chicago" Brockett
translated. "Say-let's catch that
black man and ask him where he got
this card"
They hurried to the cross-street
where the negro had changed his
course. but the gigantic African was
nowhere visible.
When they boarded the Chicago
bound train that night, Solanos rest
less brain hatched new idea.
1T occurs to me, Harry" he ven
tured, that anyone who is tracking
US on sleeping cars will naturally
prowl into the lower berth. Why not
frame up a dummy, leave him in the
lower, and both of us climb into the
upper? Then we can take turns
watching, and ought to come pretty
near to landing any inquisitive gen.
tleman who gets his locations mixed"
The idea appealed to Brockett, and
was quickly carried through. 1t was
by no means difficult to construct a
fair imitation of a sleeper in the low
er berth, simply by rolling up the
blankets, rumpling the pillows, and ar
ranging a few articles of clothing
round the bunk. When the work was
finished, and the electric light turned
off, the life-like effect was wholly sat-
lsfying, and the boys could hardly re-
strain their laughter as they climbed
like Alpine chamois into the noun
famous regions above. Brockett took
the first watch-and nothing happened
to disturb the tranquility of the car
except wrangle between two claim
ants of lower seven, each, through
some mistake, holding the proper
coupon.
Solano was on guard, and Brockett
was peacefully dreaming, when tho
green curtains were slightly agitated.
The Cuban stretched himself towards
the edge of the berth and peersd
downward. Nothing visible. II any.
ono had been trying to rummaEe in
the lower berth, he had fed with
snake.like silence and lightning speed.
solano, deciding that he had been In
error, drew back, and waited out his
watch without further incident.
With the first rays of sunlight, both
boys were astir. Slipping down into
the aisle without waiting for the por.
ter's ladder, they looked into the low
er berth. Something was jutting out
from the b}anket-roll that had simu.
lated a peaceful sleeper-a black han.
die, from which huttered tiny bit Of
paper. Brockett seized the handle,
and drew forth q vicious knife, with q
strangely modelled, almost half-moon
blade.
"A Filipino knife" exclaimed So
lalo. Spanish writing on the papqr.