Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1912 — The Grand Babylon Hotel [ARTICLE]

The Grand Babylon Hotel

(Copyright The Frank A Munsey Co.) ,7. —— O' (Chapter ll—Continued.) “Two thousand a year, and the treatment of an ambassador.” “ Ishall give him the treatment of an ambassador and three thousand.” “You will be wise, ’ said Felix Babylon. At that moment Rocco came into the room, very softly--a man of 40— thin, with long, thin hands, and an inordinarily long, brown, silky mustache. “Rocco,” said Felix Babylon, “let me introduce Mr. Theodore Racksole of New York.” “Sharmed,” said Rocco, bowing, “Ze —ze —vat you call it, millionaire?” * “Exactly,” Racksole put in, and continued quickly. “Mr. Rocco, I wish to asquaint you before any other person with the fact that I have purchased the Grand Babylon Hotel. If you think well to afford me the privilege of retaining your services I shall be happy to offer you a remuneration of three thousand a year.” “Tree, you said?” “Three.” < “Sharmed.”

“And now, Mr. Rocco, will you oblige me very much by ordering a plain beef steak and a bottle of Bass to be served, by Jules—l particularly desire Jules —at table No. 17 in the dining room in 10 minutes from now? And will you do me the honor of lunching with me tomorrow?” Mr. Rocco gasped, bowed, muttered something in French and departed. Five minutes later the buyer and seller of the Grand Babylon Hotel had ach signed a curt document scribbled out on the hotel note paper. Felix Babylon asked no question, and it was this heroic absence of surprise on his part that more than anything Impressed Theodore Racksole. How many hotel proprietors in the world, Racksole asked himself, would have let that beafsteak and bass go by without o' word of comment? “From what date do you wish the purchase to take effect?” asked Babylon. “Oh!” said Racksole lightly; “it doesn’t matter. Shall we say tonight?” “As you will. I have long wished to retire. And now that the moment has come—and so dramatically—l am ready. I shall return to Switzerland. One cannot spend much money there, but it is my native land. I shall be the richest man in Switzerland.” He smiled with a ki/.d of sad amusement. “I suppose you are fairly well off,” said Racksole in that easy, familiar style- of his, as though the idea had just occurred to him. “Besides what I shall receive from you, I have halt a milltom invested.” “Then'you will be nearly a millionaire” .. Felix Babylon nodded.

“I congratulate you, my dear sir,” said Racksole, in the tone of a judge addressing a newly admitted barrister. “Nine hundred thousand pounds, expressed in francs, will sound very nice—in Switderland.” “Ah, my friend, you little know what you have bought-” “Oh, yes, I do,” returned Racksole, “I have just bought the first hotel in the world.” “That is true, that is true,” Babylon admitted, gazing meditatively at the antique Persian carpet “There is nothing anywhere like my hotel. But you will regret the purchase, Mr. Racksole.” “I never regret" “Then you will begin very soon — perhaps tonight” “Why do you say that?” “Because the Grand Babylon is the Grand Babylon. You think because you control a railroad or an iron works or a line of steamers, therefore you can control anything. But no. Not the Grand Babylon! There is something about the Grand Babylon” - He threw up his hands. “Servants rob you, of course.”

“Of course. I suppose I lose a hundred pounds a keek in that way. But It Is not that I mean. It is the guests. The guests are too—too distinguished The great ambassadors, the great financiers, the great nobles, all the men that wove the world, put up under my root London la the center of everything, and my boel—is the center of Londan. Once I had a Kink and a Dowager Empress staying here at the same time. Imagine that!” “A great honor, Mr. Babylon. But wherein lies the difficulty?" "Mr. Racksole,” was the grim reply, “what has become of your shrewdness —that shrewdness which has made your fortune so immense that even you cannot calculate it? Do you not perceive that the roof which habitually shelters all the force, all the authority ot the world must necessarily also shelter nameless and number-

iesfi plotters, schemers, evildoers knd workers of mischief? The thing is as clear as day—and as dark as night.' 4 "Mr? Racksole, I never know by whom I am surrounded. I never know What is going forward. Only sometimes I get hints, glimpses of strange acts and strange secrets. You mention my servants. They are almost all good servants, skilled, competent “But what are they besides? For anything I know, my fourth subchef may be an agent of some European government. For anything I know my invaluable Miss Spencer may be in the pay of a court dressmaker or a Frankfort banker. Even Rocco may be some one else in addition to Rocco.” “That makes it all the more interesting,” remarked Theodore Racksole. “What a long time you have been, father," said Nella, when he returned to table No. 17. “Well, ou see, >had to wait for the steak to cook.” “Did you have much trouble in getting m-y birthday treat?” “No trouble, but it didn’t come as cheap as you said.”’ “Wiiat do you mean, father.?’ “Only that I’ve bought the entire hotel.” ' * \

“Father, you always were a delicious parent. Shall you give me the hotel for a birthday present?” “No, I shall run it —as an amusement. By the way, who is that chair for?” He noticed that a third cover had been laid at the table. “That is for a particular friend of mine who came in about five minutes ago. Of course, I told him he must share bur steak. He’ll be here in a moment” “May I respectfully inquire his name?” ‘‘Dimmock—Christian name, Reginald, profession, English companion to Prince Aribert of Posen. I met him when I was in St Petersburg with cousin Hetty last fall. Oh, here he is! Mr. Dimmock, this is my father. He has succeeded with the-steak.” Theodore Racksole found himself confronted by a very young man, with deep black eyes and a fresh, boyish expression. They began to talk. Jules approached with the steak. Racksole tried to catch the waiter’s eye, but could not. The dinner proceeded. “Oh, father,” cried Nella, “what a lot of mustard you have takeh!” “Have I!” he said, and then he happened to glance into a mirror on his left hand between two windows. He saw the reflection of Jules, who stood behind his chair, and he saw Jules give a slow, significant, ominous wink to Mr. Dimmock —Christian name, Reginald. He examined his mustard in silence. He thought that perhaps he had helped himself rather plenteously to mustard. (To be continued