Strangest Case
BY GUY BOOTHBV.
Autlior of "DU. NIKOLA," "THR BIEAUTIFUL WHITE DEVIL,"
"PHAROS, THE EQYPTIAN," Etc.
Coi'jrik'liteil, i'Ml, f Ward, Lock 4 Co.
PAIIT I.
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if you nro
may' consider
bO
AM, of course,
prepared to ad
mit thai there
arc p r c 1 1 1 b r
places on the
face of this earth
of on i'H t li a n
Singapore; there
are, howcer, J
wiit tire to as
sort, few that
arc more inter
esting, and cer
tainly none that
can afford u bel
ter Bluily of lu.
inaii life a n d
character. There,
disposed, you
tho subject ot
British rule on the one hand,
and the various aspects of the Chi
nese question on the other. If you
are a student of languages you will
ho able to hear half the tongues of
the world spoken hi less than an
hour's walk, ranging, say from Paris
ian French to Pigeon English; you
ohnll niakcithe acquaintance of every
sort of smell the human nose can
manipulate, from the tweet perfume
of the lotus blossom to the diubolical
odor of the Durlen; and every sort of
cooking from a dainty vol-au-vent to
a otuffed rat. In the harbor the ship
ping is such as, I feel justified in say
ing, you would encounter in no other
port of its slzo in tho world. It
comprises the stately man of war and
the Chinese junk; the P. and O., tho
Messagcrio Maritime, the British
lndiu and the Dutch mail boat; the
homely sampan, the yacht of the
globe-trotting millionaire, the collier,
the timber ship, and in point of fnet
very description of craft that plies
between the barbarian cast and tho
civilized west. Tho ilrst glimpse of
the harbor is one that will never be
forgotten; tho last is usually associ
ated with a desire that one may never
set eyes on it again. He who would,
of his own free will, Bottle down for
life in Singapore, must have acquired
the tnstcH of a salamander and the
sensibility of a frog.
Among its other advantages, Singa
pore numbers the possession oi a mul
tiplicity of hotels. There in stately
ltaflles, where the globe trotters do
mostly take up their abode, also the
Hotel do l'Europo, whose virtues I
can vouch for; but packed away in
unother and very different portion of
the town, unknown to tho wealthy
Q. T., and Indeed known to only a few
of the white inhabitants of Singapore
itielf, there exists a small hostelry,
owaed by a lynx-eyed Portuguese,
which rejoices in the name of the
Hotel of the Three Desires. Now,
very man, who 'by mischance or de
liberate intent has entered its doors,
Iia hie own notions of the meaning
of lta name; the fact, however, re
mains that it is there, nnd that it is
regularly patronized by Individuals
of certain or uncertain clnss, as
they pnB to and fro through the
gateway of the further enst. This in
itself is strange, inasmuch as it is
aid that tho proprietor rakes in the
dollars by selling liquor that Is as
bad as it can possibly be, in order
that ho may get back to Lisbon be
fore he receives that threatened knife
thrust between tho ribs which has
been promised him so long. There
are times, as I am unfortunately able
to testify, when the latter possibility
ia not so remote as might be expect
ed. Taken altogether, however, the
Hotel of the Three Desires is an ex
cellent place to take up one's abode,
provided one is not desirous of at
traotlng too much attention in the
.city. As a matter of fact, its patrons,
for aome reason of their own, nro
-moro en evidence after nightfall than
.during the hours of daylight. They
are also frugal of speech as a rule,
.and are chary of forming new ac
quaintances. When they know each
other well, however, it ia surprising
how affable they can become. It Is
not the smallest of their peculiarities
that they seldom refer to absent
friends by their names. A will ask
B when he expects to hear from
Him, and C will inform D that "tho
old man is now running the show,
and that, if he doesn't jump from Cal
cutta inside a week, there will bo
troublo on tho floor." Meanwhile the
landlord mixes tho drinks with his
own dirty hands, nnd retlects con
tinually upon the villainy of a certain
American third mate, who, having
borrowed ilve dollars from him, was
sufficiently ungrateful as to catch
typhoid fever and dlu without either
repaying tho loan, or, what was
worse, settling his account for tho
board and lodging received. Manuel,
for this was tho proprietor's name,
had one or two recollections of a sim
ilar bort, but not many, for, as a rule,
ho is a careful fellow, and experi
ence, haviue; taught him tho man
ners and idiosyncrasies of his custom
ers, he generally managed to emerge
from his transactions with credit to
himself, and what wns of much more
importance, a balance on tho right
bide of his ledger.
Tho time of which I am now writ
ing was the middle of March, the hot
test and, in every respect, the worst
month of the year in Singapore.
Day and night the land wns oppressed
by the same stilling heat, a swelter
ing calidlty possessing the character
istics of a steam laundry, coupled
with those of the stokehole of nn
ocean liner in the Hed sea. Morning,
noon and night, the quarter in which
the Hotel of the Three Desires was
situated was fragrant with the smell
of garbage and Chinese tobacco; a pe
culiar blend of perfume which, once
smelled, is not to be soon forgotten.
Everything, even the bottles on the
shelves In the bar, had a greasy feel
about them, and the mildew on one's
boots when one came to put them on
in the morning, was a triumph In the
way of crysiphaccouB fungi. Singa
pore at this season of the year is
neither good for man nor beast; in
this sweeping assertion, of course, I
except the yellow man, upon whom it
seems to exercise no effect whatso
ever. It was towards evening, and,
strange to relate, the Hotel of the
Three Desires was for once practical
ly empty. This wns the more ex
traordinary for tho reason thnt the
customers who usually frequented it,
en route from one end of the earth
to the other, are not affected by sea
sons. Midwinter was to them the
same as midsummer, provided they
did their business, or got their ships,
nnd by those ships, or that business,
received their wages. That those
hard-earned wages should eventunlly
find themselves in tho pocket of the
landlord of the Three Desires was
only in tho natural order of things,
nnd, in consequence, such of his
guests ns were sailors, as a general
rule, eventually hoarded their ships
without as much ns would purchase
them a pipe of tobacco. It did not,
however, prevent them from return
ing to the Hotel of the Three Desires
i ' ji, . r- I flBBHV I I
"I HAD MADE UP MY MIND THAT YOU
WERE NOT COMING." HE SAID,
AH TJ1BY SHOOK HANDS.
when next they happened to be thnt
way. If ho had no other gift, Manuel
at least possessed the faculty of male- j
lag It comparatively homelike to his
customers, nnd that is the desider
atum not to be despised even by sail
or men in tho far east.
As I hare said, night was falling on
ono of the hottest days .of the year,
when a man entered the hotel and
inquired for the proprietor. Plonsed
to find thnt there wns at last to be a
turn in the tide of his affairs, the
landlord introduced himself to the
stranger, nnd at the same time in
quired in what way lie could have the
pleasure of serving him.
'U want to put up with you," said
the stranger, who, by the way, was a
tall man, with n hawk's nose, thnt was
not unlike the beak of the snmo bird.
"You nre not full, I suppose?"
Manuel rubbed his greasy hands to
gether and observed that he was not
ns full as ho had been; thereby Insin
uating that while ho was not over
flowing, he was still not empty, it
will be gathered from this that he
was a good business man, who never
threw a chance away.
"In that case, I'll stay," said the
stranger, nnd set down the small vn
lise he carried upon the iloor.
From what I have already written,
you will doubtless have derived the
impression that the Hotel of the
Three Dcbircs, while being a useful
place of abode, was far from being
the caravanserai of the luxurious or
der. Tho stranger, whoever he might
be, however, wns either not fastidi
ous, or, as Is more probable, was used
to kimilur accommodations, for he
pnW as little attention to the perfume
of the bar as he did to the dirt upon
the floor and wnlls, and nlso upon the
landlord's hands. Having stipu.nted
for a room to himself, he desired to
be shown to It forthwith, whereupon
Manuel led htm through the house
to a small yard at the back, round
which were several cabins, dignified
by the name of apartments.
"Splendced," said Manuel, enthusi
astically, throwing open tho door of
one of the rooms as he spoke. "More
splendced than ever you saw."
The stranger gave a rnvenous sort
of croak, which might have been a
laugh or anything else, and then went
In and closed the door nbruptly be
hind him. Hnviug locked it, he took
off his coat nnd hung it upon the
handle, apparently conscious of the
fact that the landlord had glued his
eyes to the keyhole in order that he
might, from a precautionary point of
view, take further stock of his pa
tron. Foiled in his intention he re
turned to tho bar, murmuring "Ang
lish pecg" to himself a's he did so.
In the meantime the stranger had
seated himself upon the rough bed in
the corner, and had taken a letter
from his pocket.
"The Hotel of the Three Desires,"
he reads, "and on March the fifteenth,
without fall." There was a pause,
while he folded the letter up and
placed It In his pocket. Then he con
tinued: "This is the hotel, and to-day
is the fifteenth of March. But why
don't they put in nn nppcnranceV It
isn't like them to be lntc. They'd
better not play me any tricks or
they'll find I have lost none of my old
power of 'retaliation."
Having satisfied himself that it wns
Impossible for nnyone to see into the
room, either through the keyhole or
by means of the window, he partly
disrobed, and, when he had done so,
unbuckled from round his waist a
broad leather money belt. Sentlng
himself on the bed once more lie un
fastened tho strap of the pocket, nnd
dribbled the contents on to the bed.
They consisted of three Napoleons, 15
English sovereigns, four hnlf sover
eigns nnd 18 one-franc pieces. In his
trousers pocket he had four Mexican
dollars and some cosmopolitan change
of small value.
"It's not very much," he muttered
to himself after he had counted it,
"but it ought to be sufficient for the
business in hand. If I hndn't been
fool enough to listen to thnt French
woman on board, I shouldn't have
played cards, and then it would have
been double. Why the deuce wasn't I
able to get monsieur ashore? In that
case I'd have got It all back, or I'd
have known the reason why."
The idea seemed to afford him some
satisfaction, for he smiled, and then
said to himself ns if in terms of ap
probation: "By Jove, I believe you,
my boy!"
When ho had counted his money
nnd had returned It once moro to its
hiding place, he buckled the belt
round his person nnd unstrapped his
valise, taking from it a black Tussa
coat which he exchanged for that
hanging upon the hnndle of the door.
Then he lighted a Java cigar and sat
down upon the bed to think. Taken
altogether, his was not a prepossess
ing countenance. The peculiar at
tributes I have already described were
sufficient to prevent that. At the
same time it was n strong face, that
of a mnn who was little likely to al
low himself to be beaten, of his own
free will, In anything he might un
dertake. The mouth was firm, tho
chin bquare, the eyes dark and well
bet; moreover, he wore a heavy black
mustache, which he kept sharp-
pointed. His hair was of the same i
color, though streaked here and
inch nnd a half above six feet, but
by reason of his slim figure, he looked
somewhat taller. His hands and feet
were small, but of his strength there
could bo no doubt. Taken altogether,
lie was not n mnn with whom one
wduld feel disposed to trifle. Unfor
tunately, however, the word adventur
er was written all over him, and, as a
considerable section of the world's
population have good reason to know,
ho was as little likely to fail to tako
advantage of his opportunities as he
was to forget the man who hnd
robbed him, or who had done him an
ill turn. It was said in Hong-Kong
that he was well connected, and that
he had claims upon a viceroy now
gone to his nccount, thnt, had ho per
bevered with them, might have placed
him iu a very different position. How
much truth there wns in this report,
however, I cannot say; one thing,
however, is quite certain; If it were
true, he had fallen grievously from
his high estate.
When his meditations had con
tinued for something like ten minutes
he rose from the bed, blew a cloud of
smoke, stretched himself, strapped
his valise once more, gave himself
what the sailors call a hoist, that ho
might be sure his money belt wns in
its proper position, and then unlocked
tho door, passed qut, relocked it after
him, and returned to the bar. There
he called for certain curious liquors,
1 smelt them suspiciously before using
' them, and then proceeded deliberately
I to mix himself a peculiar drink. Tho
'landlord matched him with nn ap
preciative surprise. He imngincd him
self to be familiar with every drink
known to the taste of man, having
hnd wide experience, but such nn one
ns this he had never encountered be
fore. "What do you call it?" he asked,
when the other hnd finished his prep
arations. "I call It a 'Help to Iteformntion,' "
the stranger replied. Then, with a
sneer upon his fnee, he added: "II
should be popular with your custom
crs."
Taking the drink with him Into th
veranda outside, he seated himself in
a long chnlr and proceeded to sip it
slowly, as if it were some elixir whose
virtue would be lost by haste. Some
people might have been amused by
the motley crowd that passed along
the street beyond tho vernnda rails,
but Gideon Hnylc, for such was his
name, took no sort of interest In it.
He hnd been it too often to find any
variety in it. As n matter of fact the
mere sight of a pigtail w.as sufficient
tof remind him of a certain episode in
his career which he had been fox
years endeavoring to forget! '
"It doesn't look as if they are go
ing to put in an appearance to-night,"
he said to himself, as the liquor in
the glass begnn to wnne. "Can thla
letter have been a hoax, an attempt
to draw me off the scent? If so, by
nil the gods in Asia, they may rest as
sured I'll be even with them."
He looked ns though he meant it!
At last he rose and, having returned
his glass to the bar, donned his topee,
left the hotel und went for a stroll.
It was but a short distance to the
harbor, nnd he presently found him
self strolling along the several miles'
of what I have already described as the
most wonderful shipping In the world.
Knowing the spot where the British
indln boats from Calcutta usually lie,
he made his way to it, and inquired for
a certain vessel. She had not yet ar
rived, he was informed, and no ono
seemed to know when she might be
expected. At last, tired of his occupa
tion, he returned to his hotel, and in
due course sat down to supper. He
smoked another cigar In the veranda
afterwards, and was on the point Of
retiring for the night, when two men
suddenly made their appearance be
fore him, nnd accosted him by name.
He immediately sprang to his feet
with a cry of welcome.
"I had made up my mind that you
were not coming," he snid, as they
shook hands.
"Tho old tub didn't get in until a
qunter to nine," the taller of the two
newcomers replied. "When did you
arrive?"
"This afternoon," said Hayle, and
for a moment volunteered no further
information. A good poker player is
always careful not to show his hand.
"I biipposc this place is not full?"
inquired the man who had last spoken.
"Full?"nskedIInyl'e,scornfuHy. "It's
full of cockroaches and mildew, if
that's what you mean?"
"The best company we could possi
bly have," said the taller man. "Cock
roaches and black beetles don't talk
and they don't listen at keyholes.
What's more, If they trouble you, you '
can put 3our heel on them. Now let's
see the landlord and see what he's got
to offer us in the way of rooms. We
don t want any dinner, because we had
it on board the steamer."
To Be Continued.
MOVED THE HOLE.
TEAM WORK AMONG SQUIRRELS '
What One In Unable to Curry Oth
ers Aid In Gettlnir Array
With.
A party of young people who wero
tenting in a grove near a glen at a
Northiield conference witnessed an
Incident which seems to show a
friendly understanding among squir
rels. The Deerfield Valley Endeav
orer tells the pleasing story.
An out-of-doors dinner had just
been finished and the party was still
sitting at the table, when a red squir
rel, with glistening, enger eyes, camo
creeping down a tree which stood
near the table. He crept nearer and
nearer, and finally leaped upon tho
table.
The lady who was presiding said:
"Yes, help yourself to anything you
want!"
Upon this invitation the little fel
low made bold to creep up to a loaf
of bread from which only a slice or
two had been cut. Ho seized it nnd
dragged it to the side of the tablo,
and bomehow mannged to scramble
down the side with it to the ground.
He then fixed his teeth in the crust
nnd dragged it away and down the
Btrepsides of the glen.
But when he reached the bottom
and confronted the steep riso on tho
other side it was too much for him.
Then he gave a sort of call, which
seemed to bo understood, for soon
squirrels were seen coming from sev
eral directions. They crowded round
him, and after a little conference nil
took hold, and with tug and strain
they managed to bring the loaf to
tho top of the hill and disappeared
with it in the woods beyond.
llU'hrn of MIml.
A rich niiud will cast over the hum
blest home a radiance of beauty and
wholesoinencss which an upholsterer
or a decorator can never equal. Emer
son says: "There is no beautitier of
complexion, form or behavior like the
wish to scatter joy, aud not pain,
arouud us." Succesi.
The I) u eh mini's Irnu Obeyed HU
Instruction nutl Ilium Wm
Cleverly Outwltteil.
"Wc'ro having our own trouble
with the trolley octopus out my way
just now," bald the suburbanite, ac
cording to tho New York Muil aud
Express.
"It is laying tracks and putting up
polos Tor a now lino. There's a Dutch
man, Hans Gelblcr, out there, who
owns a little seven by ten place oa
tho line of tho new trolley route.
Tho workmen began to dg a post
hole in front of his dwelling the other
day, and it didn't suit Hans a littlo
bit, so ho came out and forbade them
to continuo work. They explained
that they had authority from tho
proper officials, but this didn't pacify
Oeiblor, who intido up his mind that
he could not, would not and should
not huvc the nuisance in front of his
house.
"After a good deal of wrangling
tho foreman declared they couldn't
waste their time in gabbing, nnd or
dered his gnng to sot to work. There
upon tho Dutchman called his wife,
and, with a dexterous and unexpected
movement, succeeded in Hinging over
the hole the men had begun a heavy
plank, upon which he established his
frau.,
" 'Now, Grctchen,' says he. 'dot ish
vnro you standts till 1 comes me back
mit cin injunction,' nnd with many
charges to her not to move from tho
board till his return, ho departed on
u fast trot. Tho stolid frau stood 1
like a statue, hands on her hips und
defiance painted on her face. But no
sooner had tho old man disappeared
than tho foremnn directed his men
to tako the board, with the woman
on it, and lift it from Jts place. It
was a heavy tug, but it was accom
plished, and with perfect politeness
tho corpulent lady was set to one
side, ns if she had been a fat tea urn
on a salver.
"The digging then went merrily on,
and while the old lady held to tho
letter of her husband's command
with silent fidelity, the men set up
tho pole. It was well in its place
when Hans returned in breathless
haste, waving in his hand the coveted
injunction. When he came panting
up and saw what had been done, ho
wns overcome with astonishment
first, and then burst out in wrath:
" 'Vy you not stood on dot hole, nl
retty?' he demanded of his wife.
"'It vns on dis poard dot you puts
me, nin't it?' she answered, with con
fidence. "He looked at her in helpless indig
nation for a moment nnd then cried:
'1 vns not mennt you standt on dot
poard von dot hole vns carried ,
nvny!'" "
OpiMi to Conjecture.
It is not quite clear whether the fol
lowing excerpt from a recent speech of
Ashbel P. Fitch, ex-comptroller of
New York, should be considered ns a
lociological fact, or an ingenious at
tempt to push the bald-headed man
still farther to the fore. Said Mr.
Fitch:
"While I was comptroller of New
York I thoroughly investigated the
subject of baldness, and I reached the
conclusion that it is an index of intel
lect. In the last year of my incum
bency ns comptroller mj curiosity im
pelled me to inquire ns to the hair of
the paupers that had been sent to the
county,poorhou.e. Out of 8,793 paupers
who hnd come under the charge of the
county thnt yenr, there was only one
bald-headed man, and he had been
icnlped by the Indians. Youth's Com
panion. THE GENERAL MARKETS.
Kansas City, Juno 17.
CATTLE Beef steers $5 00 7 35
Natlvo Htockers 3 50 0 4 80
Texas and Indian steers 2 SO 0 5 10
HOGS 5 25 0 7 CO
SHEEP 2 50 4 85 ,
WHEAT No. 2 hard C9VMP 70tf 1
No. 2 red 72 0 72 A
CORN No. 2 mixed IB 0 CO
OATS No. 2 mixed 41 41
RYE No. 2 57
FLOUR Hard wh't patents. 3 43 3 95
Soft wheat patents 3 CO 3 75
HAY' Timothy 6 00 12 GO
Prahlo 4 00 010 00
URAN 72 0 74
BUTTER-Cholco to fancy.. 18 0 19
EGGS 14V4
CIIEESE-Full cream 11
POTATOES ,.. 75 85
ST. LOUIS.
CATTLE Beef stoors 4 05 0 7 75
Texas steers 3 40 0 6 20
HOGS Butchers 7 20 0 7 65 '
SHEEP Natives 4 20 0 4 80
FLOUB Red winter patents 3 CO 0 3 70
WHEAT-No. 2 red 78 0 78
CORN No. 2 G1U0 C2Vi
OATS-No. 2 44V-0 45
RYE GO
BUTTER-Crenmery IS 2
DRY SALT MEATS 10 75 01100
BACON 11 50 1175
CHICAGO.
CATTLE-Steers 5 00 7 00
HOGS Mixed nnd butchers. 7 10 0 7 45
SHEEP Western 4 75 0 5 50
FLOUR-SprliiK patents .... 3 50 0 3 80
WHEAT No. 2 red 79Q SO
CORN No. 2 C(
OATS-No. 2 42H
RYE-July CG0 5SV&
LARO July 10 15 010 22
PORK-July 17 40 17 G2
NEW YORK.
CATTLE-Steers 540 7 75 .
HOGS 7 50 7 55 -A
SHEEP 2 75 4 75
WHEAT-No. 2 7S1.0 go
CORN-No. 2 C70 6S
OATS-No. 2 ' n 46
1
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