THE MYSTERY OF SILAS SHLOTE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3675, 27 February 1899, Page 2

THE MYSTERY OF SILAS SHLOTE.

Theihie'r Chimborazo was lying in Tilbury Docks, steam up aud ready to sail, and I, the purser, was up to my eyes in work, when, in hurrying., along, the crowded deck, armed with a sheaf of papers, I felt myself gripped by the arm. My captor was a pursy' little man of mature -agej-well-groomed, close-cropped and; clean-shayen, save for a small grizjdcdi. moustache, elaborately waxed and fiercely twirled! Although in mufti he had. a '.seini-military "appearance; he looked as aggressive as a war correspondent, but by his' side, clinging to his arm as if to moderate his ardour, was one of the prettiest girls I ever saw in my life. At a first glance I judged her to be but a child, but shc .was more than that, probably about seventeen. Petite in figure,! her i "delicate, •‘-eleah-cut -features had the clear, pure pallor of creole birth; her silky hair was of lustrous black,y hfKtfaeeolighteUvdJjM dark eyes—syft,. limpid ,an,d languishing at one moment, 1 bright; 1 sparkling, and misebeyiaus theaOie^tiVAaShe.-iwas certainly a very “ fetching ” little fairy, one tojturn/the,'heads of;a tvhble .ship's company- , , r -. “Mr Purser;' I-think,’''"queried the little man. •i “At your-service, sir.”-'' ■’ ' “Ahem ! lam 'Senor Vinetto, the Honourable 1 Carlo { yVmetto,-'- member of the Legislative Council.of Bahia,” he announced pompously, standing_qn tiptoe, and like a bantom cock, “ and this young lady is my' only daughter;i Maderaoisclle Viola Vinetto.” “Very pleased ,to meet you,” , I replied, with-a bow to the fair one. - Then, my memory assisting , mo,. I referred ; to my passenger list, and. added i “ Yes, all right; both booked for Bahia;; 'You are justin time. , ‘ Your ' birth is . No. 71 If you will come below I will show it you, and will introduce Mademoiselle to our chief .The,.young .lady' will travel in the ladies’ cabin.”; ; . “’One moment,” interposqdthe gentleman, detaining mo. as I turned to lead the way -“ one moment, please; , I understand, that a young scoundrel calling - himsoL Silas Shlotel has. passage by 'this very vessel.; I’ve .only just learnt, it. Confound , his, impudence—gross' importinauce T call ■ it.” y y ,“ We ’ certainly ..have .a I geiitlcman bearing tl>at . name • booked • -also for Bahia,” I replied, consulting my list again. . : ..... ■ “ He’s a-sneaking rascal,” exploded the honourable ' one, . while, ;, his ~ daughter looked .on doprecatingly, “ a mean,pitiful, intriguing rogue, who is making this voyggo jpelely, toiVaunbyj'Tne. ;i a .perfect vagabond, begad—a worthless reprobate. I won’t,’,s.ail. in the .same ship with the wretch, that’s, A “ Sorry {dir ’that,sir, ”;I repjied ; politely, but firriily." “I cannot J interfere Vin personal .misunderstandings»between pas-. sehgers,_ [Flic ■ CliimbpfaKb'/will;;'sail in less than ah hour withoyouVor. without. Excuse my leaving you dsKile^yoii - make up your'mihdj Arr Vi'netTby i aiiCratlier busy at present.” . Turning on my heal I hurried away, but not without receiving from the young lady a swift, scintillating glance, half of annoyance, partly of amusement; then she made haste to soothe and caress the old hear, doing her utmost to smooth his ruffled fur and coax him back to good humour. I judged the irascibility ’of the old fellow ;t'd .be .aroused the young folk, but of coursej SUclypersohal squabbleshhad mpthiugS to? do I (with- me, and ; I 'wbiflil hb i t^hh I mixed : ’u]i'ili thpm if 1( I possibly qquld, ,avp|cl .it.- $ .th’qcfen.ettos ere sailiiigyvbut •'.•emdentlyiHlie •''endOarmeiits ahS -jferkdasmhs, ,0f ,thb;"-:dau^tpjc'‘over-came, of- ;tbe,, as I learpt*. frpjnj the 'phief,-steward j thfifi; both had taken up ‘the 1 qiihfters r tp themfiiT no gr.fjry" .T'JJjL fcV£JiKifc'AO, •;

Shlotel next. He..-had: beeni billeted Th No. ;15jja. :dOublo cabin,: the-other 1 , berth havihg ! ibeen ■: assigned'• to'. Samuel (Juthfie,' a yougg* u §cpj^ii^^]^;rQßt6. for Brazil, where he-had obtained some Go|venimbht- rhppohiim<mt?’\ r .; .Haviiig: met Guthrie^.previously, t ’ dropped'-into hit state-room tolsee-.thatv he \Vas properly fixed, ■ and there was introduced to th-p much-abused Silas Shlotel. My word, if, .as I shrewdly-surmised,.the fellow, was a hone of contention between the Vinettos, I thought little of the taste of thi lady. There was nothing of the gay Lothario about that callow yduth. Shlotel was languid, and limp, a cadaverous, washed-out, weak-lookiug la i with straggling, -.sandy hair, water), blinking eyes, and a depreciatory, ape - logetic manner. He reminded me cf “Mr Toots,” and I rather pitied Guthrie for his cabin chum, Sam being a very decent,'and ■'decidedly~j6viary6'ung”'fello - vr, A greater contrast than that between the volatile Yiola and the lymphat c Shlotel it would . have been impossib e to conceive,"'biVfc,'perhaps, that constituted the attraction.

For the,. first day ,or- Wo the Yiiettos remained in' 'seclusion. ; Shlot 3] kept to his" cabin,likewise,, but, as the weather held fair,-all three quickly grew their sea-legs.' ' Then the fun begai. And, by Cupid; there was sport galore, endless entertainment for all ’hands in watching the antics of the trio. “The Honourable.” .was dike a fusjy old hen with a single chick strutting around proudly, and' king ” arrogantly while the offspring was close by, anxious and fretful if she. disappeared for ten minutes. And Mademoiselle, sly little puss, perhaps just because of his peevish jealousy,’ gave hler anxious old parent ample cause for disquiet. The girl was .continually slipping away,''and'' after a'diunt morc~br Us lengthy, the irate father would probalJly discover his wilful daughter cosily Ensconced in; some ! fecbluded"nook,- : 6hlotel by her side;' sighing' likc a: furnace.", Then usually followed an expldsicn, and/ under a volley of remarks mere forcible than polite, Mr Vinetto would bear away the perverse maid; but nothing the resolute, parent ■'could say jor do served to keep the; Iqyersjlongdapart. It was quite evident, however, that of the pair the lady was the more ardent, certainly the more enterprising. But “The Honourable” had hardly

fair -play, . Sam .Guthrie helped His cabin r chum most loyally by acting as scout, giving timely’ warning of each approach of, the irate when ’Viola would flutter back to’her place oiVdeck, or seek sanctuary in the ladies’ cabin, on -—shameless woman—would declare, if questioned, that Mademoiselle had been under hbr wing ..fpr^.tljig.lj^ghalf-lynir..or so'.' For our"nautical ”dueifna was “ in the.know ” —for a consideration of course —and often did 'T ‘ hear that brazen creature assure the deluded father that his daughter was “resting” in the ladies’ sanctum, and-must not be disturbed, when, to my certain knowledge, the skittish maid was “spooning” with Sila somewhere outside; The other - passengers - also, especially the ladies, screened the lovers in a tolerant, ged-natured way. ! The old man - was nowhere in the game, and little suspected ( the many hands arrayed against him,, ■Thus matters went on day after .day. Of course, in such a ship as ours flirtations are frequent (if usually as fickle as the , wind, and seldom i enduring beyond thG'-vov r a'g6)‘UlTßT'l 'w;is“(preltl}' well accustomed to billing and cooing. Ido not object to a little on my own account occasionally, but in the present case the game v/as carried too far, and I grew rather sick- of it. Plot ami counterplot pervaded . the ientire ship.,;,There was ho getting away from the affair. ■ ThecthMttnt the ''cohtinu^u%,qrryi^ 7r ;an<i worrying, even IdoprosSed jtlie spirit of'-the ■ lovesick'swain uhofd than it-was iu tffe -power: of his charmer to raise. Shlotel gradually grew moody and morose, a pitiful object of Cupid’s power. I could not help feeling sorry for the fellow, fool though he was, and after dinner one evening,- noticing him lounging forlornly by the bulworks gazing lackadaisically into the * seaj T strolled up, meaning to cheer him ,up/if. I: could. • - Cheer' him?. ; - One' might as well have tried to hearten ;a squid,; s After, some dreary; .. disjointed-dtalk; ! Shlotel ’remarked L, ' r ' “How calm andt’.'peaceful;is. the' sea. What. Complete‘rest majvthere’be found. J?Jjer.e,_ui)-‘iieaitlfissj. jealous-guardian can' interfere to sunder two loving hearts, to induce infinite misery j hopeless despair. How easy would it be to enter that perfect rest—only. to drop off quietly 1 unperceived. ~ ,One swift plunge, one brief struggle,, perhaps; perchance one pang, then oblivion—endless, eternal peace.” ’ '■ Rubbish.:. Don’t; talk, rot; your stomach is out of order. You want a good dose of physic; I must' get the doctor to prescribe for you,” I rote,.'tod rather .brutally, l disgusted 'with the mooning calf; ( .I'could stand no :norc, and left the fellow, paying no more heed to his' dolorous plaints than to the screaming of sea-birds. 1 That same.-evening, about 11 o’clock, Sam Guthrie, considerably agitated; burst, into my , don ; with the query hot on. his lips : * ’ ‘'“Seen anything of Shlotel lately ? He usually turns in earlier than ’this, but I can’t find him anywhere. , I hope the poor fellow has done nothing rash. lie has bdeh exceedingly depressed of late.” “ Ninseusej ..Sam._ He !is spooning away j somewhere with Viola Vinetto, 1 and has forgootten the time.” i “ Nothing of the: sort,” asserted" Guthrie positively. “ Mademoiselle is really in her own quarters—that’s a fact this time.” ■ 1

Jusfthen a sailor poked iin hishead; and thrust, a folded paper into my hand, muttering hoarsely 1 ; ' ' “ Found that., jammed in the glass of the after binnacle-light, sir.’,’ The paper was addressed very shakily in pencil: ' ' r ’ ‘ 1 ' i . for the, .Hon Carlo-Yinetxo.; , And, full of vague.forbodings, I hastened to deliver the missive. I found Mr Yinettpdn.his own cabin. ;; "Ho unfolded the sheet, looked at it in, a puzzled way,** then handed it back, and with some difficulty A deciphered, reading aloud : - . “Sir,: —No;longer may I endure your cruel persecution:: 1 ' Since I cannot' winmy heart’s desire’, my Viola, life holds no charm , for me. Death is welcome l ! ’Tis easy—’tis waiting now. You, sir) and you Alone, are the cause of my present action, rash as it may appear; but Ivprayjsyou- ; may be forgiven, as I hope I I feeltsivro' ysuicerely sorry; shocked at the unexpected, l ablo affair. ’ , There the, fooligh, distracted youl3E”?|i’ad' ; committed. suicide;• liis;«feeblebrain* un* liinged by -the strairfi •’ • I blamed myself for my inattention to', our last - ednveijsation, but-had. not at the time taken it seriously: —Toe Tate nbw"~fio"fTagfels! The - captain and ,all hands wers aroused; we - - searched the. ■ entire snip from stem- to stern,, .from-truck to keelson, but of course without result." Pooir misguided Silas; must now bor , lyinjg fathoms deep at test-at last; ■_ ■ , . i Viola, poor girl, seemed r to ■; feel the tragic affair more deeply. thanXsujrposed possible•"forjpne- of!jfriyblo’ps nature. She '.dpnitejl; dpepbstj > fully,oideclared c herselfunwedde d widow.” ( 5palhetig eye 5, and ar the -girE turned ; lifer Ttofeksc wis bfully on jher : f.^{hew^om 1 ’tiineß to ‘/time, I could see jhau sUr-Cuneasijy under-ithe m6uriifhr,!-U|ffiraiaffl'g. ? :g{lze. A funeral, : ship’s company. The' day tie., tragic evehtvlyhappei^'^p-be, on ,dei}k in the aft(srno'on,',idlipg,'ajyqy the lagging hours with a book, snugly ensconced within a huge hawser cod. The day was hot, few folks wers stirring, but presently I heard footfalls on deck, one pair heavy and stumping, tho other, light and dainty; and peering’ outX noticed Mr Ymetto 1 ’ Apparently they-did continuing,, , their y; iconversition ■;duripg their tie" {prl’S. pleading voice'. { “ Then father, ’ deary, you premise that should; iny ySilas ..gyer, appear in may up by not-hfeßtoVSgfeekljSyou know—you will no longer object to our marriage ?” “ Oh, yes, indeed, my pet,” replied the old man, all his former austerity broken down; “I promise you that

faithfully, though X fear -there vis.no hope for the poor lad’s 'life. j Heaven; knows I.. had. no thought-, to, dtivfe him’, to h’is . deaths Oil, yes,"’! accept as my soiwn-law should he live to make another application ; and ing.” “There’s my dear, good old daddy 1 --''jt camp- -the,wityei flie“maid, f6llowid~'Hy~the'“chTrrnc ’’ of. -- hiss; and as the girl bent across her sire; I-could have sworn , she shot over his, shoulder in my. direction a roguish, triumphant glance, brimful of exultation. _ ’ What did the siren mean ? Had she seen me ? Did she desire me as a witness to that strange compact ? What was in the wind now ? Qnien safco. Girls are, queer creatures, especially, on ship-board. - - As our voyage progressed, the effects of the shook gradually wore away, and wd became a. fairly lively company again; It was ‘difficult to remember death ajul disaster stick continuous,hie and sunshine, and inur/totherl passengers had, .of .course., tlieir..o.wji.xiffairs to occupy them. Viola,, however, remained gravely staid and reserved, maintaining her role of “ the widow unwed.” She indulged i t no flirtatious now, although often holding long, private, conversation .with Mr Guthrie.. That, however, was. natural enough, he being the cabin-mate of the lost one. Besides, Sam was a staid, “canny” Scot. ~ • - Now, Guthrie had appeared as genuinely distressed as any over the dreadful affair, hut. the trouble had not affected his appetite Sa.m sat close by my end of the table, and, more-than once since the tragedy, I could not fail to remark his extraordinary voracity. It ’ was appalling, even in a •-strOng, healthy man with. 7 his” sea-legs fully developed, possessed of an easy conscience and a sound digestion. Gertainly thero was neither stint nor limit at our, ‘.table,' and Guthrie -had every opportunity for gorging.. I am a pretty fair trencherman but he beatjflte hollow-—by-courses. . •

At dinner one evening I remarked a strange circumstance’in this connection. Guthrie had before him a heaped plate of roast beef' and 1 -Yorkshire, witli a liberal supply of-vegetable s. He carefully salted and peppered the mess, flavoured it with a dash of “sa!magundy,” regarded -it with a fond} satisfied smile, then, to mj r amazement, passed, it 'defly' as ' a~coh'jurer to a steward who stood heltind.j What waslthe meaning of- that ? Wat Sam sick P i . Had the i gourmand overeaten himself ? Not a biti Instantly accepting ■ another portion presented by another attentive waiter,' .Sam fell.upon it ravenously. Here was some mystery, and quietly, slipping.-fioni, my, place; I followed the steward hearing, the cln4 carded platter. ■ .Tho-man did not return it; to tho-pantry; but continued along the corridor, carried it to stateroom 15, opened the door, then slipped in. '

I saw it all now. . Guthrie was even a greater glutton than I had supposed! He gorged privately in his cabin, as well as wolfed at the public table. What a hog ! . I would not'have believed the thing had 1 not' : seen it. The affaiij concerned our chief steward more tliaii myself ; but having'; gone thuS • far, I resolved tq see the-thiug through. . ' j Unceremoniously I burst into theCafci.i then halted in amazement on finding niy-j' self face to face with the presumably dead man, Silas Shlotel; And this wa; no thin ghost or disembodied" spirit; the man was very material indeed, seated in his bunk, the piled, plate or. his knees, a wolfish grin, on his fatuou; features;‘"there~Teclmed~Sil£ts~Slll6tbl : as much alive as/ ever.)he 1 had 'be6h. I gave him a pretty “how d’yo do,” of course; and the~captain, who camo promptly on . the scene, was .still, mere vehement.- ; But,what could skipper'oe purser do ? It was all 'too Absurd. Thus'the bubble was pricked, the in it der' was but, inr rather, there 1 had hgf'r no murder lat all, self or otherwise. Tin whole affair was an elaborate, audadiou; hoax, hatched in the feathery brain o; • the volatile Viola, with the- object; 1 1: induce her' stern parent to consent Ac her marriage with her latest fancy In playing on the old man’s remo;sc Shlotel had . never been lost at all; hut after depositing his valedictory letter h the binnacle, had quietly slipped bulou to his cabin. ’ ' y ,

Sam Guthrie managed the rest, O;’ course, Sam being the fellow-oocupai:: of the cabin,, and seeming so manifest'y concerned and perplexed by the di- . appearance,:, wo -never doubted his bon;', fides, never questioned for a moment hi.i tacij; assurance .that Shlotel .was. miss/! from , bis berth ,and cabin;. Wo .neve thought of searching' stats -rourt, To- -T< i have done have'scorned, clcr o■ cration. * The cabin steward; who vvas nocosssii’ji r embraced in the; conspiracy, .material! ■ assisted in carrying on the fraud. I; was anticipated that Shlotel after lyin > perdu in his berth,. would,; aided by Li - confederates, contrive to slip ashore u.:.perceived at our first port of? call; fron whence he would make his way to Bahi:;, there, presenting himself $o Mr Yinett; with the cock-and-bull story of his resells: by another vessel, all as artfully pr< - pared by that. deceitful minx,. .Yiob. The. girl would then claim fulfilmer < of her bather’s promise, and all shoul : go merry as the proverbial man-lap c bell. ■ That was; all. the “mystery of Sibs Shlotel.” I don’t know why the co - spirators sought to inveigle me in'.o their ridiculous, plot-—the boy by h s rambling talk, the girl by making n e witness' her“successful ■ weedling” of“hc r deluded old father; with Guthrie (mi: e own familiar friend) humbugging a l round. Confounded cheek, I, thougl t it. I sir thankf::! before of since to, see the last of any < f my passengers psr x that;<.qnsrtet^., (T f But ;the.’promise' was definitely, jjjifp;- . Subsequently, during ■our-ivoyageji;son?« - limes wondered whether ‘bfee,.Jjonoi:; - able’bhad A; - parently not, although the'queef events did lead up. to a wedding. On retumig to London, upon completion of our round trip, amongst other communications waiting me in the hands

•"VM i,-,' if of ..our 'agents, was a large square ena couple of sumptuous, wedding-cards, lashed together with the usual white satin ribbon, tied in the regulation true-love knot.—By W. Shaw Rae, in “ Pearson’s