A QUEER TEANSAOTION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXX, Issue 139, 13 June 1896, Page 4

A QUEER TEANSAOTION.

AN INOIDENT IN MEXICO.

HOW A DESERTER SOLD A MILITARY PWISON. '

"itea," said the drummer. dreamily, •*■ I will take another soda,'' and as he said this he drummed upon the table and gazed oat into the smokefilled, room with far-away eyes, "It. , was a curious story," said he ; , "Tie 7waj:l happened to be in Mexico was this : I was travelling for tlie house of Guggenheimer & ( ; 0., wbo were . interested •in OaliCornian wines. Guggenheimer bae gone nndei, I am sorry to say. He was forctd to suspend payment when there came thai crash in 1593. Well, Guggenheimer wanted to start a branch establish- - ment in Nogales, right across the Arizona line. Our firm had told me to purchase a cheap building for an office anywhere in the town. I was yonng then, hadn't been travelling* long, and my inexperience was enormons. There were a greaft many things I didn't know. When I arrived in the to#n, I was struck by the shabby Bhanties of which 1 it was composed. A good wind looked as if it wonld blow the , whole town down. However, as I was walking around the place, I saw near the barracks a little shanty with a roughly scrawl .on it in Spanish whioh meant : " This building ' to let or forjsale.' The architecture of this edifice : was extremely simple. In faot, it was nothing bnt four walls and a roof. T said to myself : * 'Ihis | will do well enough tor our tern office,' and, approaching the nildjng, I noticed that it had a ; barred window, behind which I saw a Head. The Head saw me as soon ad I saw the Head, and i. smiled a ' .rank and kindly smile. . '_ hen the . ; Head opened its mouth and cried : • How are yon ? Better itf than I em, I'll swear.' ■ I waa struck with the frank smile of the head, and particularly as it afforded an opportunity to talk business. •'-■"*. ' "As for that,'. said 1, 'it rdsts en- ., i tirely with you to change our' ' * pla&S.' ■-■ The head looked at me without -'-jraplyiog. ' j have just noticed,' said Ij 'that 7 this building is to let or. for sale.' 7lhe hdad'-'burst into a roar of laughter. :, ; . ; ' „ sW e ll, Bir,' said J, somewhat net- "'."' tied, (I don't see anything to; laugh at.. 7 .1f this building^aits 11 ; me, I ■■would like to bny it.' . ' 7.'* '."•Ton would like to buy it P' _. Z,.** Yes, Is it possible for me to . inspeot-it?' 'Oh,; nothing is. easier. All you , * ; have to: do is to push back tlie bolt ,- ,-widcpme in.' 7'lt seemed singular, but thp door was fastened by a bolt on the out-

! side. • I pushed back the bolt and r Aaother thing strnfak me strangely-:- tho building was re- . markabi? for a ciirplete absence of fxmai'ture, but inasmuch as all"; I ' intended to do with it was toinse it ' for storing winej of course I Ididn't _ rsed l any furniture. • '"*>Ttj>7flead*Vn6tioed my astonishment, and said again, with its' open smile: 'lhe furniture is ; being u^hblßtered.' ' fffiih,\ 1 replied, 'and let me ask "wiether yort are willing to sell, and •• if gd^whether your price is high . ' y- *«OH-"i i think not. I wodld be . willing to sell ata reasonable figure.' 7< 'Suppose I were to give yon a hundred dollars, would yon take it ?' ihe 'Head again laughed. '1 should smile I would.' [Oreo gui . ■ 7* jCHe deuce 1' said I to niyself, 'perhaps there iB something wrong with' the building,' ahd then 'aloud I added, ' Will yoa guarantee that * the building ia solidly constructed ?' •86lid ? My dear sir, if yoiu had Spent 'as much time in it as L'have, . ypu wpuld'never dream of trying to . break out— l mean, to break it down;'

'Very: well, then, I will give you a hundred dollars; for it.' .The Head regarded me with the same open smile. ; ' Are you in earnest ?' said hie.

7 "lt was evident that he doubted my financial responsibility, _o I took bnt my purße, and from it extracted 'five twenty-dollar pieces. •There is your hundred ddllars,' said I.

, He extended bis hand, took the gold* pieces, looked at me, and as he apparently hesitated, I said to him : ' I wish to enter into possession soon, bo yon must sign the usual documents.'

7 .'.Very well,' he said, ' I'm sofcry I can not offer yon ahy refreshments, but my servant has gone out and taken the keys of the cellar with Her,';,:, I thanked bim, assuring him that I was' much obliged, but that I was sot in the habit of drinking between meals.; I took out of my pocket-book aßheetof paper, and drew dp c. contract of sale, and when he sighed it, I bade him farewell.

( A few days afterwards I appeared before my newly purchased building, with^wo big truoks filled with -.asks of ijripe,. But what was my astonishment when I found eight men in my house. I ordered them to go away.* Bat as they stared at me without replying, I informed thtfm that I had bought the bnilding some dayß before from a man who was in the house, and to whom I had paid a hundred dollars.

■ At theße words the eight inmates laughed like lunatics. At first 1 believed tbat they were jeering at my foreign accent; but, as they would not leave my building, I at once went And complained to a police officer, to whom I related my story. "He looked at me scrutinizingly while I was talking, and by his looks 1 could have sworn that the man was laughing internally. When I had finished, he told me to wait for him, and he 1 entered the barracks near my building. I thought he had gone for reinforcements, but he returned alone after some minutes.

' said he, • 1 am sorry, IV you bave lost yonr hundred doilai-B, J'he man whom you negotiated with was one of this regiment, and bad been placed nnder arrest for five days. When hio time was up md he was xeleased, he Beemed to be unusually flush with money. No one knew how, and after treating his companions, he suddenly fled. < He is now a deserter.'

' Bat,' said I, ' what is this building which I bought— or, rather, whioh I thought I bought ?' 4Oh aenor,' said he, shrugging he shoulders, l ha comprado usted el carcel. it is the cainboose — what jon oall ?— military prison.' ' My friend, the deserter, before he bad skipped, had sold me the jail !' •'Smi Franoiaoo Aigonatit."