Show t N L 1 S su 4 tatti J 1 BEIN reminiscences 0 EXCITING f PERSONAL MONSIEUR MARTIN genral DIRECTOR CD chronicled WILLIAM LB copyright by W G chapman copyright in great britain and the united states by wm 1 queue queux THE JOLLY ROVE met in quite a casual ay I 1 was lounging after dinner in the lead ing room of the hermi tage that deiy chic ho tel which has of late the paris and the as the rendezvous of the elite it was the evening of christmas eve two years ago and as Is well known with christmas eve commences the season at the sign of the seven sins the hotel had only been opened a few days and the only other occupant of the reading room was a solitary looking man a round shouldered rath er haggard looking old fellow about 60 with pointed grey beard and his mustaches trained upwards t he w as an entire stranger to me but his shab biness caused me some surprise for those who frequent the hermitage are always smart good evening he exclaimed good humo in english when he had thoroughly inspected me in that man ner which sometimes becomes a habit with the elderly by the way the day of the montha the twenty fourth I 1 responded christmas eve ive played here regularly for 15 years and have never lost he an simply looking me full in the face with his black piercing eyes never lost I 1 echoed pricking up malars why that s impossible with such chances against you ah I 1 see you don t believe me be exclaimed with a hard dry laugh 1 tell you I 1 can win every time I 1 play I 1 m open to bet you a thousand pounds upon it it like me to prove what I 1 say come into the ca sino to morrow and taking from his pocket a well worn leather wallet he drew from it a bundle of french bank notes adding these are my usual stakes tor christmas day francs the name archibald grant was printed upon the card he handed me and before we parted I 1 had accepted his invitation to go with him and wit ness his luck at the tables the morning was sunny balmy and cloudless my gray faced friend sauntered along paused at the last center table in the roulette room and watched the ball tall upon the number 27 which Is red and then glancing at the revola ing wheel and noticing that the next square to that wherein the ball was lying was the number 13 black be carelessly took from Us pocket six thousand branc notes and bending over with his lean claw like hand placed them on the black the wheel was again revolved the croupier launched the ball which a few minutes later tell with a click black gained and my friend won the maximum of 6 francs or pounds with the s confidence he al lowed his original stake to remain and once more the invitation to play arose above all other sounds again the wheel revolved and again he won next moment a dozen other notes some gold plaques and a few five branc pieces were showered upon his stakes tor the crowd of excited play ers witnessing his luck were eager to follow his fortune again the wheel was spun and the same wearied voice a moment later cried that the number 16 had won and a so the red therefore the sum of 12 francs was handed to my gray faced companion amid quite a chorus of well he asked with a cynical smile as he raised his glass have I 1 convinced you 0 my power of win ninga of course I 1 responded but may you not lose it all again like so many others doa ah he smiled I 1 see you are not yet convinced well to night you shall have further proof with a sudden grunt he twisted some notes together tossed them upon the black and won the croupier counted them and paid out the maximum at that moment one of the players who lost rose and offered him a chair which he took and then settled down to play staking each time the max mum around that table the crowd grew larger as soon as it was an bounced that high play was in ress and at each spin of the wheel my strange friend placed his notes un hesitatingly staking the maximum al ways and scarcely ever failing to gain the respectable maximum of 6 francs time after time he played until a than an hour had passed and ills grew so great that his pock eta could hold no more the ball fell and he still won whereupon the brou pier turned to the chef de partly after swiftly counting the money be fore him and in an instant the eager crowd divined the truth archibald grant had broken the bank so strangely fascinating was this remarkable old man s companionship that I 1 felt constrained to accept his invitation and we went down the steps together into the place where many people were stroll ing about and the band was still play ang before the gay cafe we did not enter his hotel as I 1 expected but kept on down the steep hill to la conda mine until I 1 wondered where we were to eat our meal the moon was hid den by a bank of cloud and as we de scented the hill the great steep for tress rock of monaco looming up in the darkness across the bay was aglow with its rows of street lamps chile in the little harbor the mast head lights of one or two yachts looked like fire files in the distance the deep toned note of the clock on the palace of monaco struck 11 and at last having passed the baths my friend stopped at the steps leading to the water and said here we are i I 1 glanced down in surprise and then saw in the gloom a boat waiting manned by four smart sailors who sa without a word I 1 stepped in followed by my companion and a moment later the dip of the oars sounded and we sped swiftly across the bay to a huge magnificent white painted bacht the only light showing being the one at the mast head which gleamed white like a miniature search light first we 11 see how much we ve relieved the malson de blanc of this time he said inviting me to a seat and then taking handful after handful of thousand franc notes from the pock eta of his shabby clothes he piled them together on the long table after wards counting them an operation in which I 1 assisted seven hundred and fifty two thou sand francs he observed when he had concluded just S more thin last christmas really my dear sir I 1 cried you ought to consider yourself fortunate last christmas I 1 won from the infernal tricot tripot he observed in a strange croaking voice and opening a box he took out some great packets of french bank notes adding and here they are then you never touch your win I 1 exclaimed amazed tor I 1 had recognized that in the tiny cabin was an enormous store of wealth never he answered you see that row of boxes each with the date of a year upon them all my winnings are there you spend a good deal of your time yachting I 1 suppose 7 I 1 said yes be answered ive sailed a good many seas in the garbino I 1 run either into Villet ranche or here into monaco each december cruise from the constant to gib through the spring and run up as tar as the north cape in june but you must be hungry and he touched the electric button suspended over the table whereupon there appeared the ugliest and most gigantic negro that I 1 have ever set eyes upon grant chatted affably as we fed and when I 1 referred to the gruesome decor actions of bis saloon he merely laughed saying it s a whim of mine when I 1 bought this vessel I 1 turned her inside out the cigar he had given me was un commonly strong As a rule I 1 smoked cigarettes but this havana had a sub tie flavor which I 1 1 ked therefore 1 consumed it until in the smoke clouds all seemed to become misty and indis and I 1 saw before me the strange rather grotesque looking face of my affable friend the millionaire and be hind him the black and silver hang ings the gruesome emblems of death the face seemed slowly to assume a hideous repulsive expression with its thin lips parted in a grin of satis fac tion at the mysterious fascination which that pair of dark eves exercised over me there was a t about my chest and I 1 held my breach feel ing that I 1 must rouse myself 1 fought against the curious nauseating drowse ness which crept over me and tried to announce inn ounce mi departure but my jaws seemed fixed my tongue refused to articulate and with the sound of strange voices in my ears a sudden blank tell upon me and I 1 knew no more how long I 1 remained unconscious of things about me I 1 know not I 1 rose unsteadily shook myself and staggered upstairs to the deck the vessel was of larger proportions than I 1 had believed trim and well kept the brasses shining in the sunlight the deck freshly washed down and the ropes coiled evenly ready for use A fresh breeze was blowing from the yellow tunnel came a huge column of black curling smoke which lay out behind in a long straight stia ight line as we headed at full speed leaving a track of white foam on the blue sun lit aters I 1 glanced round in abject sur prise for no land was in sight we were far out at sea stern harsh va ce sounded and looking up I 1 saw standing on the bridge a b ariy riy blick bearded man in a captain s m with gold braid on 1 is sleeves peering through his glass u at the distant horizon at the same instant three of the crew passed me dark faced looking fellows dressed in shabby cotton suits which had once been blue each carried a knife in his belt and as they passed they eyed me with some curiosity one word I 1 overheard and by it I 1 knew they were neapolitans for a vessel of that size the crew I 1 found was an unusually large one and at first I 1 could not understand what work was in progress hut very goon the startling truth was evident from below a number of quick firing guns were being brought up and swift b fixed in position while the fore and aft serviceable v ere already mounted their long blai h muzzles pointing out I 1 am not altogether a landsman and a single glance told me that the gar was something more than a pleas ure yacht for on peering over the side I 1 saw she was steel built and armored what do you meana I 1 asked a north countryman only that you 11 see a bit of fun before you ve done that s all you ve been asleep this three days a for it three days I 1 gasped then where are wea at sea the man answered vague ly and then went on with bis work ol 01 helping to fix a revolving gun carriage while t ascended to the bridge and tried to obtain some explanation of the captain but he was a neapolitan and answered my questions with such an ingeniously bad ot italian that I 1 failed to understand him through the vessel from end to end I 1 went exploring every part but failed to obtain information from anybody the crew were certainly the most vil laynous looking set of men I 1 had ever encountered and comprised dark skinned greeks lascars turks in fact the very scum of mediterranean ports below forward were about 30 ugly faced scoundrels idling some playing dominoes smoking all keeping up a polyglot chatter but strangely enough as I 1 entered I 1 heard one man exclaim in cockney english ere comes tl e bois am t he a I 1 glanced around but could not dis cover who had thus betrayed bis eng lish birth wandering on I 1 mei a man in of bleers uniform and inquired of him where the owner was but he only shrugged bis shoulders and replied in french that he supposed he was still in monte carlo I 1 glanced at the ship s boats and saw that the name i pon them had been fleshly painted out and the word cagnes substituted in the three days of my unconsciousness the yacht had been transformed into a vessel of war armed to the teeth with aery appliance 0 mode wai tare and we were apparently bei t on some mysterious offensive expedition why the affable archibald grant had gone ashore leaving me on board was an enigma and my surprise was con sider ably increased when halt an hour later on passing through the saloon with the funereal hangings I 1 came to the door of the strong room and found it aar upon the floor were the tin boxes which had contained the monte carlo i winnings open and empty everything I 1 had been removed 1 through the long anxious day I 1 paced the deck taking my meals alone in the saloon waited upon by the gl gantic negro who however knew no word of any language I 1 was acquainted with the north countryman to whom I 1 had spoken and whose name I 1 learned was bird chatted with me dur ing the afternoon but from him I 1 could learn nothing of our intention 01 destination I 1 glanced at the stern compass and saw that we were head ing almost d ie west and thereby cal that ere long we ought to sight bibi altar now and then the captain swept the horizon anxiously with his glass and although not a speck could now be seen our engines were still working at the highest pressure the boilers could withstand the ves sel had been built tor speed and we flew through the waters in the golden track of the dying day my position was a very strange one and I 1 passed a restless night tossing in my narrow berth until at last ex hausted I 1 fell into a sound sleep from which I 1 was awakened by the engines suddenly ceasing their thud I 1 opened my eyes we had stopped and were only rising and falling with the waves dawn was just breaking and from porthole high rocks rising from the water bore and sun blanched swiftly I 1 dresse 1 and ran up on deck eager to land b it on looking ro ind w that we were lying up a small creek and that the aspect of the land was cal with palms aloes and flowering plants it was the coast of north at rica the shore was but a short dis tance off yet no one attempted to lower a boat for two whole days we lay at an chor in that natural harbor with a lookout look out vigilantly kept and to all my requests to land the captain merely shook hib head while in answer to my inquiries ot bird he laughed saying this Is morocco it you went ashore here among the riffs our life would n t be worth we shall sail to n orrow 01 the next day so with that I 1 awaited events acx ious and puzzled there seemed to be a conspiracy of silence on blaid for I 1 could discover nothing about noon on the following day as I 1 was eating my lunch the propeller suddenly commenced to revolve and rushing up I 1 foun 1 we were slowly creeping out of alie cicek it was misty the sea i grav bl e and as I 1 stood on deck watch ig ani we got clear of the coat coa t I 1 s saw a good sized mei chant steamer at a lit tie distance from us its the furness liner from liverpool for constantinople I 1 heard bird explain to a ing companion and almost before the words had left his mouth there was a bright flash a report which caused the vessel to tremble and one of our bow Norden felts sent a shot full at the vessel we were overhauling already the crew were at their posts with a precision that would have done credit to any vessel in the service there was a pause for a moment then the liner ran up her red ensign while we at tile same time showed the french tricolor again the gun boomed forth and again and again but the steamer did not slacken speed or seek to parley she kept on her way as it contemptuous of our attack in a quarter of an hour however we had drawn up at close range and our strong lunged skipper in an entirely new uniform using a long string 0 foreign oaths shouted to his crew to open fire next instant the vessel shook from stem to stern as time after time our guns spat forth their fire and deadly hall upon the inoffensive steamer while our maxim on the port bow rat tied out its withering rain of bullets sweeping the deck ot the liner and tearing the canvas awnings to rib bons suddenly one of our well direct ed shells carried away part of the tore funnel of the liner and a moment later another entering amidships ex plodded and must have wrecked part 0 the machinery for the steamer at once slowed down and stopped what do you mean by thise cried the angry captain of the liner elating from his bridge when we drew up within speaking distance consider yourself a prize m answered our black bearded captain in french but you re french and we are ang lish you 11 hear more of this my fine friend I 1 can tell you you blanked I 1 FOUGHT AGAINST THE CURIOUS nauseating drowsiness SINESS WHICH CREPT ME foreigners can t fire on i hi british flag tor |