HOW DUNSTAN GOT HOME DRY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1266, 4 June 1896, Page 41

HOW DUNSTAN GOT HOME DRY.

B* John Arthur Barry.

A STORY OF THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

lie never appeared to take much notice of his wife or her friends and admirers. And his one cry, in and out of season, was, ' I won't, Ijj buried at sea.' A hollow-eyed, wan-cheeked, coughing skeleton, resiles.; and irritable in the knowledge of the near approach of the Destroyer, DnnsLvi used to look over at tie} foaming wake with a shudder of fear, and mutter to himself. 'Not there ! not there 1' The woin.iti, his wife, was pel He, fair and very pretty, and the other lady passengers used to hate her, because she monopolised the men and, above all, the D >ctor—the handsomest man on board the s.s. Kaiwi. Late o' nights, long after the electric lights were out, the pair used to be watched by female vigilantes in datk corners of alleyways; also in the dispensary; and, once, it was even tumotned, in the Doctor's cabin itself. ' Shameless thing !' hissed the women. ' Devoted wife !' exclaimed the men. 'Always hunting around getting medicine and stuff for her husband—pour devil !' But airs Dunstan seemed to care little for what anybody said. In his cold - blooded, cautious, Scotch fashion, the Captain admired her; and with two such potentates on her side as the D ctor and Skipper, a woman, or indeed anyone, can do much as they please on board a ship. Once, it was after Mrs Dunstan had been seen emerging from the Doctor's cabin at midnight laden with bottles of medicine, a deputation of female passengers interviewed the Cap'aiu. Formally they denounced the 'goings on' of Mrs Dunstan and Dr Gordon as a scandal, and implored him if he valued the reputation of his ship to interfere at once. They were all ladies of very unc rfain ages, and the Captain listened politely, but was without sympathy. In his time he had gone through similar ordeals. But, in private, he gave the Doctor a hint. ' it's all right;,' said the latter, with a conceited nod of his empty, handsome hem l ..

'She's a smart little woman. And she's got money —whips of il. Dunstan can't list round the Capo. I'm sick of this life, When wc'ie married I'll buy a place I know ot in Kent, and you shall come and stop with us twe. It flip i.'

'Uniphl' said the Captain, turning away with a sour smile on his hard features.

Unable to influence the skipper, the female deputation waited on Dunstan himself, and gave him their views on the situation. But in between coughing fits he only swi re at ami reviled them for a pack of envious mischiefmakers. Aggravated beyond the bounds of decency, the spokeswoman at last told lorn to hi-i face that very shortly he would die and lie thrown into the sea, and that his wife would be delighted to witness the ceremony.

Then Dunstan reviled them some more, and after i fashion to make them lly with lingers stuffed in their ears.

Besides keeping the ship well amused, fore and aft, these proceedings had another effect, altogether unlocked for by their promoters.

Hitherto Dunstan had taken little more notice of the Doctor than in a professional way. Now he not only grew excessively friendly with him, but, rather to Cordon's annoyance, followed hint about the ship, exhibiting a sort of clinging dependence on him that became at times quite ludicrous. Fool as he was, the Doctor had sense enough to feel thi < and attempt to shake his persecutor off. Horribly sick, too, did the Doctor become of DutisUn's eternal question, day and night, ' You won't lei, them throw me into the water, wid jou'-' t° which the only reply he ever gave was the same —'No, old man, don't be frightened ; I'll keep you dry somehow.' But, as the sequel proved, Dunstan kept himself dry, and presently a fresh whim seized the invalid, and he talked incessantly, and in the most confidential manner, to Gordon about Mrs Dunstan.

1 She's a good little sort, old chap,' he would say, in the half-sneering, half-cajoling tone in which he always spoke to the Doctor —' a good little sort, no matter what those hags say : and I know there's no harm in her. It's hard to be tied to a sick man, you know. But I'm not selli-h, and I want her to enjoy herself.' And Gordon, following his companion's eye as it turned to where, amidst a group of men, his wife, a picture of warmth and comfort in her furs, sat in a deck chair, would catch a look in his companion's face that puzzled him, and might, had he cared, have given him cause for thought. Then Dunstan tcok to constantly coupling the Doctor's name with 'Lizzie's,' and quite its a matter of course, until it seemed to Cordon thai the man already tacitly guessed at, and acquiesced in, the fact, long settled in his own mind, as to who was to be his succesi or.

Some details of tho pair's pecuniary affairs the Doctor knew; and when Dunstan actually showed him a will, drawn up and signed before starting on what he felt would be his la-t journey, and allowed him to read it, and note the more than ample provision it contained for the widow-to-be, his exultation was boundless.

With all his good looks, he had only just brain enough to be capable of mischief where a woman was concerned; and, excited and spurred nn by Dunstan's scarcely-veiled hints and innuendoes and ghastly little jokes, he so far forgot himself as to one night aelually discuss with him the future ho had mapped out when ' 1/izzie ' should be Ir's wife.

They were in the middle of their second magnum of champagne—ordered and paid for by Dunstan —and as Cordon unfolded his plans the other swore, with tears in his eyes, that a better friend could no man have ; also, that he felt easy now, not only as to ' poor lizzie's future,' but as to his own chance of dying a dry death. Dunstan was a man who had travelled far and wide, and in his berth, to which he often invited the Doctor, were heaps of curios brought out of the hold and unpacked for the hitter's edification.

And one day, opening a little velvet-lined case, he tool; therefrom a beautifully-cut flask of rock-crystal, about the size of a pigeon's egg, and similar in shape, only square at the bottom. At intervals it was bound with gold bands, and close to the stopper, of the same metal, was a black pearl of large size and line lustre.

'This should interest you,' said Dunstan, as he hell the flask up to the light, and showtd it full of a bright, yellowish liquid ' It was given t > me by Alang tlusein, Rajah of Pasir-Salrtk, in Borneo, to whom I had been able to render some slight service. Watch how the stuff seethes and glows, always in a state of restless efferve.ceiicc.'

'What is it?' a-dced Cordon, after looking awhile,

'That I don't know,' replied the oilier. ' But I do know it's eiLcU Look here !' and pulling at the black pearl he drew out, attached

to it a<i to a hilt, a curved steel thread made to Jit into a gold groove that ran round the H\£k. 'Now,' went on Dunstan, as ho unscrewed the top and lightly dipped the needle in the liquid, ' you observe these minute sawlike serrations. Well, the tiniest scratch on your skin, unfelt, really nnperceivable, from one of these, and you're a dead man in three minutes,' and as he spoke, holding the delicate little instalment gingerly between finger and thumb, ho made playful passes at Gordon's hand.

' Both,' replied the Doctor, roeoiling, however. ' There's no known poison acts so quickly. Your Rajah Thingumbob's been stnfiiag you. All thoso nigg ; rs are lis '•s, more or lfsj.'

On a settee between the two men lay a tine Angora cat belonging to one of the steward-es.-es, fast asleep, and purring as it slept, Bending over, Dunstan touched it lightly—the merest Hick—on the tip of the ear with Ids tiny weapon. ' Now watch,' he said to the Doctor, who had followed his movements with a face of sneering incredulity. Suddenly the purring ceased; the animal awoke and shook its head violently. Then, jumping on to the carpet, it drew all its four paws in a heap together, arched its back, swayed to and fro for a few seconds, then fell over sideways—diad—having uttered no

sound. Hardly a minute had eLpsed since the giving of the f tlal touch, 1 lunstan grinned at the Doctor, who, with all tha colour gone from hi* tl irid cheeks, sat staring as if unable to believe his eyes. Then, as he carefully wiped the deadly instalment on his pockethandkerchief and replaced it in its groove he said-

' Well, what of my friend the Rajah now? Simple, isn't it. I've often been tempted to physic myself in similar fashion. Only then you'd servo me as I'm going to serve poor puss here,' wrapping', as he spoke, the kerchief round the stiffened body and throwing it through the open port. 'Why I could kill you,' he went on, 'or my wife, in your sleep, couldn't 1? There's no pain much, I'm sine ; and you'd not have time to know what was happening. But don't be frightened. You've got to get me home dry, you know,' and ho grinned and cougho I in ghastly fashion, nevi r moving his eyes fiom his companion's pile face. 'But (he Doctor was shaken, and made

no reply ; only sat and looked, beginning ah o to faintly rtidise tha', tho man whom lie leu! regarded as merely a fooli-h, fullish monomaniac, was actually something else —something to be marked danger, us, and dealt cautiously wi!h. And f>r everal d lys after the c:l episode hoseirce'y ventured near Mrs Dunstan, and Hipped savagely overboard tha dozens of little notes he f, und in his berth and underneath the dispensary window. Nor did he perpetu illy remark, as heretofore, to his friend the Captain respecting the utter sofine.-s of the good thing he had in hand.

Dr Cordon had seen something in a nun's ey< s, and got a fright. but gradually the impression wore off, ami nutleis beUc'en himself and 'Lizzie' fell back into the same old groove. Also Dnnslan's c ugh grew worse and the man himself visibly weaker.

Ab mt this time if was that Dunstan mado fiieuds with the refrigerating engineer, even going so far as once or twice to accompany him on his rounds amongst the cargo—an experience that did his health nog 1. Still, as he remarked, he had never allowed any consideration of that kind to hinder him in the pursuit of knowledge.

Bart of the .Kaiwi'.; cargo had been discharged damaged last trip because of, so experts said, too close packing. On this occasion alleyways had been left between the piles of carcases in chambers 1, 2 and !i; anil these, at intervals, the engineer was supposed to traverse, thermometer in hand, noting ternperatuie-;. A cold job this, and one to bo dressed up to. Dunstan insisted on going as he was, clad in tropical whites. Tho ship was cru-sing the Equator, and he said he wanted cooling, Perhaps, had they been aware of this last freak, the Doctor and Mrs Dunstan might have interfered perhaps, But the matter did not leak out until afterwards.

The bit, grey steamer was off the Western Islands, a line bright morning, and the passengers' luggage on deck for the last time, when, all at once, a rumour of something terriblo pervaded the ship, and speedily the news spread that not only had the Doctor and Mrs Dunstan been found dead in their berths, but that Mr Dunstan was missing.

There was not a suspicious mark to be seen on either of the bodies, nor was there, to tho lay eye, any sign of poison. It might havo been a coincidence, certainly, so people said ; but if 'twas, why then . And the weather was very hot, so they buried them—everybody except the Captain with the word 'suicide 5 on their lips.

But the Captain kept his own counsel. Not so long' ago the Doctor had told him tho story of the cat, making light of the incident to show that he had r.ot been frightened. If Dunstan could have been found, the skipper might have behaved differently ; as it was, ho felt justified.

But not the remotest trace of Dunstan came to light, and the notion that ho had fallen overboard became the popular one—jump, they said, he never could. However, the tragedy lent unexpected zest to the finish up of the passage, which was becoming monotonous. To the Captain's disgust, tho cargo was again found not up to the mark—temperature too low, the expert said. But what caused the refrigerating engineer to lose his billet was the fact that when the Tilbury Dock lumpers came to No, 3 chamber, which was the furthest for'ard, they found a corpse doubled up amongst the other carcases, and frozen hard and stiff as a board. Now, had the engineer gone his round properly, this could hardly have happened,

Also, clutched between the rigid fingers waa a little crystal flask, unstoppercd and empty. Asked at the inquest whether ho had ever before s-en the'exhibit,'the captain replied truthfully enough that he never had. But the rceret of the ocean tragedy, which, so far, he had but guessed, was no more a secret to him now than was the manner in which Dunstan hail managed to get home dry, ~Th<;A<islni.Uoi> I'nylomlhh' llnvkm.