The Inola Register. (Inola, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 17, 1908 Page: 3 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
(
THE SECRETS OF
MONTE CARLO
li Kr MWIfM KWtMpt INCITING
t;\pr kiknc r; & o/MpvsiriiR \Moi\r
MM. IHkH I Ok o/ lho M «VriM/ANCr
i ruh^ IIm^ ITTWI.
HtlMi
IfKSOW!
n vitih, or,\i
OrPAlUMCNT" ! IIKOMl
IMtfclMJAMlXQlitUX.
ttfewnghi. i . by W U i (rt.pyrlsl.i In Omi lirliala so4 Mm lJnii«l luu*. by Wro, M qtrsua.)
THE JOLLY ROVERS
IS met lit quite a ra^Ml | .u .| he still won. wlieteii|ioii (be i ron
pier turned iu the chef do partle,
iii« r swiftly counting the motley be-
fore him, and In an UMant the eager
crowd divined the truth.
Archibald Giant had broken the
bank!
H<> strangely fascinating wm this re.
itiarfcable ulil mail compaiiiout>*iip
i bat I felt constrained to accept his
Invitation. and we went down lite
*ieps together imo the brightly lit
place, where many pooplo were stroll-
ing nbom, mid ihe band was mill play-
ing before the gay cafe. Wo did not
enter bit bold a* 1 expt-clod, but kept
on down the steep hill to U Couda-
mine, until I wondered whore wo were
to cat our meal. The miNin waa bid-
den by a bauk of cloud, and a* we de-
scended tbe bill tho great, Keep for-
tress rock of Monaco, looming up in
ibo darkness across the bay, waa
aglow with Its row* of street lamps,
whllo In^he little hurbor the mast-
head IlKbta of one or two yachta looked
like fireflies In tho diaiance. Tho
deep-toned note of tho clock on tho
Palace of Monaco atruck 11, and at
luat, having paatied tho bntha, my
frit-nd stopped at tho atepn leading to
the water, and said:
"Hero we are!"
I glanced down in surprise, and then
saw in tho gloom a boat waiting,
manned by four smart sailors, who sa-
luted. Without a word I stepped in,
followed by my companion, and a mo-
ment Inter the dip of tho oars sounded,
and we sped swiftly across tho bay to
u huge, magnificent, white-painted
yachi, tho only light showing being
tho one at ibo masthead, which
gleamed white like a miniature search-
light
"First, wo'U see how much we've
lelieved the Mnlflon de Diane of this
time." be said, inviting me to a seat;
and then taking handful after handful
of thousand-franc notes from the pock-
ets of his shabby clothes, he piled
them together on tho long table, after-
wards counting them, an operation in
which I assisted.
"Seven hundred and fifty-two thou-
sand francs," he observed, when he
had concluded. "Just 3,000 more than
last Christmas."
"Really, my dear sir!" I cried. "You
ought to consider yourself fortunate."
"Last Christmas I won 719,000 from
the infernal trlpot," 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-
nings?" I exclaimed, amazed, for I 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 suppose?" I said.
"Yes," be answered, "I've sailed a
good many seas in the Garbino. I run
either into Villefranche or here into
Monaco each December, cruise from
the Constant to Gib through the spring
and run up as far as the North Cape
In June. But you must be hungry,"
and he touched the electric button
suspended over fhe table, whereupon
there appeared the ugliest and most
gigantic negro that I have ever set
eyes upon.
Grant chatted afTably as we fed, and
when I referred to the gruesome decor-
ations of his saloon he merely laughed
saying:
"It's a whim of mine. When I bought
this vessel I turned her inside out."
The cigar he had given me was un-
commonly strong. As a rule, I smoked
cigarettes; but this Havana had a sub-
tle flavor which I liked, therefore I
consumed it until in the smoke clouds
all seemed to become misty and Indis-
tinct, and I 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 satisfac-
tion at the mysterious fascination
which that pair of dark eyes exercised
over me. There was a tightness about
my chest, and I held my breath, feel-
ing that I must rouse myself. I fought
against the curious, nauseating drowsi-
ness which crept over me, and tried
to announce my departure, but my
jaws seemed fixed, my tongue refused
to articulate, and with the sound of
strange voices in my ears a sudden
blank fell upon me and I knew no
more.
How long I remained unconscious
of things about me I know not
I rose unsteadily, shook myself, and
staggered upstairs to the deck. The
vessel was of larger proportions than
I had believed, trim and well-kept.
■ ^ A T\ way, I w * lounging,
I YY I tt,lrr dinner. In Hi read
I UK room of I lie Meruit*
mutt, ibat very cblc ho-
'"l which ha* of late
^^ outsbined ihe Pari* and
the Metropole, as the rendezvous of
Ibe elite It waa the evening of
Christmas Eve two year* ago, and,
as Is well known, with Christmas Kve
commence* the season at The Hit;u
of the Woven Hill*.
The hotel had only been opened a
few duya, and the only other occupant
of the reading room was a solitary-
looking man -a round-shouldered rath-
er haggard looking old follow about
60. with pointed grey beard and bis
mustaches trained upward*. Ho was
an entire stranger to me; but his shah-
blness caused me some surprise, for
those who frequent tho Hermitage arc
always smart.
"Good evening!" he exclaimed good-
humorediy In English, when he had
thoroughly Inspected mo In that mnn-
ner which sometimes becomes a habit
with the elderly.
"By tho way, what's the day of tho
month?"
"Tho twenty-fourth," I responded—
"Christmas live."
"I've played hero rfgularly for IS
years, and have never lost," ho an-
swered. simply, looking mo full In the
face with bis black, piercing oyes.
"Never lost!" I echoed, pricking up
my oars. "Why, that's Impossible with
such chances against you."
"Ah! 1 sec you don't believe me." be
exclaimed, with a bard, dry laugh.
"I toil you I can win every time I
play. I'm open to bet you a thousand
pounds upon It. If you'd like me to
prove what I say, come into tho 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 for Christmas Day—100.000
francs."
The name "Archibald Grant" was
printed upon the card he handed me,
and before we parted I had accepted
his invitation to go with him and wit-
ness bis luck at the tables.
The morning was sunny, balmy and
cloudless.
My gray-faced friend sauntered
along, paused at the last center table
In tho roulette room, and watched the
ball fall upon the number 27, which Is
red, and then glancing at the revolv-
ing wheel, and noticing that the next
square to that wherein the ball was
lying was the number 13, black, he
carelessly took from his pocket six
thousand-franc 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 fell with a click.
Black gained, and my friend won the
maximum of G.000 francs, or 240
ponnds.
With the habitue'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-
franc pieces were showered upon his
stakes, for 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
also the red, therefore the sum of
12,000 francs was handed to my gray-
faced companion amid quite a chorus
of "Oh's!"
"Well," he asked, with a cynical
smile, as he raised his glass, "have
I convinced you of my power of win-
ning?"
"Of course," I responded. "But may
you not lose it all again like so many
others do?"
"Ah!" he smiled. "I 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 maxi
mum. Around that table the crowd
grew larger as soon as it was an-
nounced that high play was in prog-
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 6,000
francs.
Time after time he played, until
more than an hour had passed and his
winnings grew so great that his pock-
ets could hold no more. The ball fell
the brasses shining in the sunlight, the
deck freshly washed dowu and tbe
ropes tolled evenly ready for use A
(Mk breeae waa blowing; from the
yellow funnel came a huge column of
black, curling smoke, which lay out
l>< Mnd In n long, straight line as we
beaded at full Speed, leatiug a track
of white foam on Hie blue, sun lit
IVougb tbe vessel front etui in end I beard |t|i4 e*|4*ib i« a iwAani)
•rt t, ei*. luring every pan, bit UiM ' tag companion and almost before tbe
u> obtain Information 'tom utuadf
Tbe crew «=r teriainh tbe u w i vil
lainou* looking sd of u*er« | bad «<•"
entoomered, and comprised dark >
skinned Greeks, Turk*. i
fact ibo very M um of Mediterranean ,
word* had left bis Hsmik there waa a
might Bash, a report wbicb «a>r««d tbe
*• **! lo iretnUe. *ud one of our bow
,\tirdenfe|l trill a shot full at tbe
tc e| we were o* > i hauling.
Already tbe nee aeteal Ibeir posts
porta Itelow forward weie about 30 I with a prtcUion that would hat« done
ugly faced scoundrel* idling some j credit lo any ■> • I in ibe service
playing domino -«. others smoking all i Tnere as a |i*o<e for a moment, then
bee plug up a polyglot chattel but.! the liner tan up her red ensign, while
strangely euough, as I entered I heard « ai the same time bowed tbe
one man esciaiin in Cockney Kntlisb Fieocb tricolor. Again tbe gun
"'Kre conies tbe boas. Ain't be
Pandering on I met a man In of
fleers uniform and inquired of him
where Hie owner was, but be only
shrugged Ida shoulders and replied In
Krem h that be supposed he was still
iu Monte Carlo. I glanced at the ship's
boats, and saw that the name upon
them had been fre.bly (minted out,
and the word Cannes substituted. In
the three days of my unconsciousness
Hie yacht had beeu transformed luto
a vessel of war, armed to the teetb
wp'i every appliance of modern war-
fart., and we were apparently bent ou
some mysterious ofleuslvu expedition.
Why the affable Archibald Hraut had
gone ashore leaving me on board sas
waters. I glanced round in ablect aim
prise, for no loud waa Id aigbL We ^M>r *e wU(f con
h Llornhlv i tw %fclt««lt liulf M ti It/sisr
were far out at aea.
For a vessel of that sUe the craw, 1
found, was an unusually large one,
and at first I could not understand
whut work wn* In progress; but very
soon tho startling truth waa evident.
slderably Increased when half an hour
later, on imsslng through the *aloon
with tbe funereal hangings, I came to
tbe door of tho strong room aud found
It ajar.
Upon the floor were the tin boxes
which had contained tbe Monte Carlo
boomed fo, ib, and again and again
liut the steamer did not *iacken speed
or seek to parley, lilie kept on lier
way as if contemptuous of our attack.
Iu a riuaiier uf an bour, however, we
had drattii up ai c|o«e range, and our
strong lunged skipper. Iu an entirely
new uniform, m>lug a long string ol
foreign oaihs, shouted lo hla crew to
open lire.
Next instant the vessel shook from
ateui to stern as time after time our
guns spat forth their ttr and deadly
hall upou the Inoffensive steamer,
while our Maxim on the port bow ra<
tb-d out ita withering raiu of bullets,
sweeping the deck uf the liner and
tearing the canvas awnings to rib-
bons. Suddenly one of our welPdlrect-
•d hbells carried away part of the
fore funnel of the liner, and a moment
later another, eniciiuK amidships, ex-
ploded, and must have wrecked part of
the machinery, for the steamer at once
slowed dowu and stopped.
"What do you mean by thlaf cried
the angry captain of the liner, geatlc-
FOUGHT AGAINST THE CURIOUS NAUSEATING
DROWSINESS
WHICH CREPT OVER ME.
From below a number of quick-firing
guns were being brought up and swift-
ly fixed in position, while the fore and
aft serviceable-looking Nordenfelts
were already mounted, their long black
muzzles pointing out threatingiy.
I am not altogether a landsman, and
a single glance told me that the Gar-
bino was something more than a pleas-
ure yacht, for on peering over the side
I saw she was steel-built and armored.
"What do you mean?" I asked a
north-countryman
"Only that you'll see a bit of fun
before you've done. That's all. You've
been asleep this three days a-preparin'
for It"
"Three days!" I gasped. "Then
where are we?"
"At sea," the man answered, vague-
ly, and then went on with his work of
helping to fix a revolving gun-carriage,
while I 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 pronounclation of
Italian that I failed to understand him.
winnings open and empty. Everything
had been removed!
For two whole days we lay at an-
chor in a natural harbor, with a
look-out vigilantly kept, and to all my
requests to land, the captain merely
shook his head, while in answer to my
inquiries of Bird he laughed, saying:
"This is Morocco. If you went ashore
here among the Riffs your life would-
n't be worth twopence. We shall sail
to morrow, or the next day."
So with that I awaited events, anx-
ious and puzzled. There seemed to be
a conspiracy of silence on board, for
I could discover nothing.
About noon on the following day, as
I was eating my lunch, the propeller
suddenly commenced to revolve, and
rushing up I found we were slowly
creeping out of the creek. It was
misty, the sea a gray-blue, and as I
stood on deck watching and we got
clear of the coast, I suddenly saw a
good-sized merchant steamer at a lit-
tle distance from us.
"It's the Macclesfield. Furness liner
from Liverpool for Constantinople," I
ulating from his bridge, when we drew
up within speaking distance.
"Consider yourself a prize, m'sieur,'
answered our black-bearded captain
in French.
"But you're French, and we are Eng-
lish. You'll hear more of this, my
fine friend, I can tell you. You blanked
foreigners can't flre on the British flag
for nothing!"
"How many days have you been
out?"
"Six from Liverpool." came the an-
swer from the liner.
"Then you'll perhaps be surprised
to hear that war was declared by
France against England three days
ago," answered our captain, grimly.
"Therefore you'll just haul your flag
down, and I'll send a prize crew
aboard."
The captain of the liner seemed
dumfounded by this startling an-
nouncement, and no further resistance
was offered, although we could see
what panic we had created among the
passengers. Our boats were lowered,
and after a long and excited parley
it
\\
%
y
i ft# trieri we •«*! lo Ibe steamer rowed
back wllb nine large iron bouad but
lion esses loeked and sealed
"Bravo'" cried . raptaiw. «s< ueO-
If, when he saw litem °Tbe liter*
was tto mi.uke'" Tbe boats were ai
once swung up, and new ohiu*>m tbe
electric siauai laug out ung Hug ling,
and we moved off leaving ibe dis-
abled steamer lying helpless as a log
I stood by while I he inert broke open
ibe ra*«* on deck, and was amased
to SCO that Ib<> were filled full of
KnJIfb sovereigns
This Is piracy!" I remarked ei
cliedly, lo the cai 'aln.
U'ell, mister, you needn't call n by
that name, scour that you're boa* e'
this blooinln' tub," observed the black-
bearded skipper, who, until then, had
affected utler ignorance of either
French or English
"I—boss of ihla ship! Whai do you
mean?" I gasped
"Tbe guv'uor sold 'er to you in
Monte Carlo, didn't he? K lold us you
were a bit mad like, and now It's guile
plain. From the lime you woke up
after that bust o' champagne, you've
pone about like a ('hinuuiau woi's 'ad
his pigtail cut off."
"I don't understand you," I said
"You are captain of this vcsael, and
ought to know who your owner is "
"Why, you are, of course. You gave
50,000 quid for the boat—tho receipt *
In my liiliiu The o|.| uii ml.| in. n.
give It to you when you woke up."
in obedience to my demand be
brought It and handed It lo me It
was wHtien on a sheet of uofe paper
bead. "M. Y. Uurbliio," and stated thai
1 hud bought Ibo vessel for £K0,00U
and was signed "Archibald Grant."
"Who Is ihla man Grunt?" I de-
manded, amazed at finding myself
owner of this piratical craft.
'"K was our boss; and a darned
good boss, too," the captain ropllod
"We've 'nd a lot of fun around Cape
Juby, but the game ain't quite safe
Just at present, Ix-ciuse of tho Italian
gunbouts. Tho old boy must "nve
made over a million out of tho stuff
wo took, for my share alone In a
couple of yenrs waa 20,000 golden
quids, and all the men 'ad a thousand
a year each."
"Hut I hnven't given your owner six
pence for the boat," I declared. "There
must be some extraordinary mistake"
"No mistake on his part, you bet."
tho skipper replied. " 'K showed us
the newspuper in which It was said
that tbe Macclesfield was carrying bul-
lion consigned to the Turkish govern-
ment. and explained that although you
were a bit touched you had conceived
an Idea of getting hold of It by flying
tho French liag. giving 'em a bit of
bounce, and staling that war had been
declared."
"But I was Ignorant of the whole
thing!"
"Well, we've got the money, any-
how," the man said, placing his cap
at the approved nautical angle. "What
shall we do with it?"
"I don't care," I answered. "Sink
the lot if you like. I'll land at the
nearest port, and wash my bands of
the whole thing. It's a very ugly mat-
ter, this."
The remainder of the day was spent
in stowing away the guns and warlike
appliances—some of which I dis-
covered were merely of painted wood
—and that evening Swale and myself
dined together in the saloon, when he
admitted to me that the mysterious
Grant, who always had marvelous luck
at Monte Carlo, had sailed In that boat
for several years, committing all sorts
of acts of piracy, disposing of the cap-
tured merchandise in the smaller
towns along the west African coast,
and gaining enormous sums yearly.
Next night, having bade farewell to
Swale and his ruffianly gang, I was
rowed ashore close to Marseilles, and
on landing stood watching the green
light presently move away, and stand
far out to sea.
The attack on the Furness liner by a
supposed French gunboat was made
the subject of very serious representa-
tions on the part of the British am-
bassador in Paris, ard French gov-
ernment, unable to prove that their
gunboat Canges was not in those wat-
ers on the day in question, were ac-
tually compelled to pay a very sub-
stantial indemnity.
Having no desire to be mixed up in
the affair, I returned to Monte Carlo,
and kept my own counsel. I made in-
quiries about Archibald Grant, but all
I discovered was to his discredit and
went to bear out what the captain had
told me. One fact was, however, cer-
tain, that he won an enormous sum at
roulette before my very eyes. Some
months later I, however, read with
more than passing interest how, In a
dense fog off the Island of Gorgona, on
the Italian coast, a North German
Lloyd liner had been in collision with
an unknown yacht, which was sup-
posed to have sunk with all hands
There was no doubt from the fact
that a boat with the name Garbino
upon it was afterwards found, that the
vessel run down was Grant's, and I
have since come to the conclusion
that the reason why I was put on
board and placed in the curious posi-
tion of ownership, was in order that
if we were captured during our cruise
after the bullic I might bear the
prosecution. Likewise, I have no
doubt that after putting me ashore
the piratical Swale ran the boat up
the Mediterranean and picked up his
employer.
One further fact have I discovered. Not
many weeks ago, while passing along
the Promenades des Anglais, at Nice,
I noticed an elderly man in frock coat
and silk hat standing on the temce
of the Cercle de la Mediterranee draw-
ing on his gloves with dandified air.
At the same instant our eyes met. Ht«
gray face became blancbed, and ton-
ing he quickly disappeared within
It was Archibald Grant—tbe 1
Yachtsman.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Inola Register. (Inola, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 17, 1908, newspaper, September 17, 1908; Inola, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc180118/m1/3/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.