The Halifax Comet. — 1894-01-13 (Halifax, West Yorkshire, England)

THE COMET.  relate his story, and, besides, he was occupied with many another care than enlightening his governmlnt 'and fellow-countrymen upon a fact to which he was apparently a total stranger. Miraculously escaped from drowning, the guards' officer had been driven by the flood out upon the Al-Meydan, whence he had fled before the place was inundated without abandoning his precious burden. This was in the night, and police patrols are• rare in Stamboul. He met nobody on the way to the old bazaar, at the gates of which he deposited the stall-keeper's body found by the watch next morning. The inquest about this tragic death resulted in nothing, as usual, and the' murder of the pilgrim Abdul-Karim was put down to the account of the robbers whom the police had been unsuccessfully 'hunting since the disappearance of the Galata: hanker. Muraol had his reasons to keep silent, even towards the jeweller's servant as 'towards our captain. The catastrophe he had escaped made him circumspect, and, moreover, all was ended; the drama he had been playing this month, despite himself, had had its last act. Papas Oghloo was dead, and the treasure of Byzantium dwelt with the remains of Mahmud Bey at the bottom of an unfathomable abyss. The soldiers guarding the dry cistern had noticed le,aks, and the minister had 'given the prudent 'order to vacate the dangerous post and have the entrance walled. up. The lieutenant wanted strongly to forget the sinister adventures, and did ?Al he could to _ _ _  persuade himself it was an'ugly dream. His only thought naturally pivoted on marriage with Henriette. The prospect was bright, although one he had not dared hope for a fortnight previously. The worse and worse ruined Vergoncey nowise demurred at his daughter wedding a Turk, provided the Turk was rich; and granting Murad had had to renounce putting in as the hr;degroom's present the jewels i-)f the crownn, of the empire of the East, still he possessed a well-filled money-chest, and, over and above that, by Hadji Abdul-Karim's will, he was constituted sole heir. And the old  jeweller left much in cash, to say nothing of precious stones, among others the famous diamond which Vergoncey had chaffered for on arriving in town, the valuable brought from the cistern by Mahmud Bey and sold by his widow.  Therefore Murad had become an excellent match, particularly for poor Henriette without any marriage settlement.  To cap the sorrowful uncertainty in which dwelt the captain upon his ward, so to call her, he still'bore the weight of a heavy 'responsibility. The gold, of which Baya had made him - the custodian without consulting him, worried him dreadfully, and ho thought of entrusting it to Murad, in hopes he would find the chance some-time to return it to the lady. The captain was at this point when, one evening, in crossing the Valideh bridge on the return from a long stroll, he was stopped by an old Turkish beggar-woman, who appealed for alms. He gave her a piece of silver, in taking which she dexterously slipped a folded paperinto his hand, and the recipient instantly thought it was from , Baya. He put it preciously into • his pocket, and continued his way, without stopping to question the mendicant, who did not wear the mien of understanding any french. He deemed it prudent not to read the mysterious message m the street, and quickened his pace the sooner to enter his hotel, where he eagerly shut himself up in his own room not to be surprised by any spy. The message did come from Baya, and was of a terseness but mildly a reassuring. "I feared I should never more see you