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About Bandon recorder. (Bandon, Or.) 188?-1910 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1890)
4 t I BLIND LOVE. UY WII.KIE COLLIN".-5. CU.VTINrKD.l "That." s.4.tl ti.i tUeii: ;.nl. ' is the nurse J lit new must-- tin- Mrn.ij.vr: He took oil" the hatMikeiciiift iroin U. bye's face, looket nb.MU room a- II enri-lul that everi Una.; sin. in. I i... m it- riislit place, ami went out i .n!:uw th-. woman. Ixnl Han sj.rui-.; t.. !.- : -. t ,.i S passed his haml i.U I" tile -li Hi - tar1. "Is It ii'Un-'1 l.t- :. A- I. "Van the man be po s..t v i..- .r.;itv ueailr already? lielutv m e- IIlaM Ids thi on th Y'0 m.iu'.s '.!. lint l 1m !: rs step nttd voire -t.p:l Uitti. Tiieu the nurse enuie in. l '.;. i tie Vmifin. S tie was an eldetiv, qu ei l.okm.: r reneli woman. l.-.r-l lUrrv ivti.-mel tandin at the side ot the sola, hoping to see the man re vive. Nmv." snid Yiuipmv rh 'erfull "here i vior ;wietit. uur-. U- t- a-leep now-. 1.-1 him h.ive h .--:' out -he has taken his m theme ;vu will want nothing more vet nwhib- It oii want auvtliitu; let nte know. We -hall be m the next room or in the a udeti ouievvliere about the hoii-e. Conn, m; mend." He ilrewaway Lonl Harrv !ieiitlv b the arm. ami they left the mom IMiitul the 'ttrt.iiii I'.muv Mere bewail to wonder how s'le wa- to et oil unseen. Thi nurse, lett al.,e. look-. at her pa tient, who lay with his hea 1 turned partly round, his eyes elo-ed. his mout'j open. "A strange sleep." she murmured; "but the doctor knows, 1 suppose. He is to have his slt.p out." "A strange sleep, indeed!" thought the watcher. She was tempted at this mo ment to disclose herself and to reveai whit she had seen: but the thought of Lord Harry's complicity stopped her. With what face could she return to her mist re.s- ami tell Iter that she herself was the means of her husband beini; charged with murder? She stayed herself, there fore, ami waited. Chance helped her at last to escape. The nurse took oil lir bonnet and shawl and beirau to look about the room. She stepped to tne bed and examined the sheets and pillow-case, as a good French house wife should. Would she throw back the curtain? If so what would happen, next? Then it would become necessary to take the new nurse into confidence, otherwise Fanny did not put the remainder of the sentence into words. It remained a terror: u meant that if Vtmpanv found out wiie e she had been ami what she lu I seen ami heard, there would be two, instead of owe. cast into a deep slumber. The nure turned from the bed. how ever, attracted by the half-o.pen door of the cnpbo-ird. Here were tne medicine bottles S.ie took them out oue by one, looked at them with professional curiosity, pulled out the corks, smelt the contents, replaced the bottles. Then the went to tne window, which stood open; she stepped out tipon the stone steps which led into tne rarden, looking about her to breathe tne -'ft air of noon anion; the Mowers. Sue came ba-k. anil it aiMin seemed as if she would examine the bed. but her ntu-ntioii was attracted b.-a .-m ill b ok ejtse. She began to pull down tne bo.iks uae iift-r the other ami to tarn them over, ms n half-educated person does, in the hope of tinl.ti: something amu-in. Sae found t; btk w.lii pictures. Then she s-u down in the armchair beside the sofa and begun to turn over the leave; slowly. How long was thi- t;oin;; to last It la-tcd about halt an hour. The nurse lad down tne volume with a yawn, -'.retched herself, yawned again, crossed hr h:i nds and closed her eyes. She was tZin Jo sleep. If she would oulv fall so Ja-t !leep that the woman behind the eurta a could creep aw ay: lt :t -.mwimes at the sleepiest moment sleep s- driven away by an accident. The c d.ii iu this l-iss was that the nurse be o.v Maally dropping oil remembered that -h- wa- nursing a sick m in. ami sat up to I'l ik m him before -he allowed herself to tr-o 0;f. :uii: with su Idea inspiration she sprang t- r fet aii'l bent over the man. "D ies h- breathe" she a-ked. She bent lower. " II.- pulse does it beat?" She caught his w : .t "Doctor:" she shrieked. : unniug into the uardeti "JJjctor: Come--come quickl lie is dead'" Fanny Mere stepped from her hiding place and ran out of the back door, and by the gimleti ate into the road. She had escaped. She hail seen the crime committed. She knew now at least what was intended and why she was sent away. The motive for the crime she could not guess. CHAI'TEIt 5LVI WHAT SV.XT. What should she do with the terriblo secret? She ought to Inform the police. But there were two objections. First, the nurse may have beeu mistaken iu suppos ing her patient to be dead. She herself had no choice but to e.-cape as she did. Next, the dreadful thought occurred to her that she herself until the previous day had beeu the man's nurse his only nurse, dav and night. What was to prevent the doctor from Uxing the guilt or poisoning upon herself "av; it would be Ins most obvious line of action. Tin man was left alone all the morning; the day before he had shown every -igii of returning strength, she would hae to confess that she was in hiding. Ho.v long had she been there Why was -he in hiding? Was it not after she ha 1 poi-oned the man and when she heard t lie doctor's footstep? Naturally ignorant of p-ji-:is and their symptoms, it seem-1 to her as jf these facts so put together witiid b inclusive against her. Then-lore, she dei. imiued to keep quiet in I'an- that day, and to cross over by the night boat from Dieppe in the evening. She would at first disclose erervthing to Mrs. Vimpany and to Mount jov. As to what she would tell her mistress she would be guided by the ad vice of the others. She got to London In safety aud drove straight to Mr. Mount joy's hotel, propos ing first to communicate the whole busi ness to him. But she found iu his sittiug room Mrs. Vimpany herself. "We must not awako him," she said, "whatever news you bring. ITis perfect recovery depends entirely on rest and quiet. There" sho pointed to the chim uevpiece "Jsa letter iu my lady's hand writing. I am afraid I know only too well what it tells him." "What does it tell?" "This very morning," Mrs. Vimpnny went on, "I called at her lodging. She has gone away." "Gone away? My ludy .gone away? WBere is she gone?" , "Where do you think she Is most likely to have gone?" "Xot? oh! not to her husband? Not to him? oh! this is more terrible far more terrible that you can imagine!" "You wilLtcll me why it is now so much more terrible. Meantime I find that the cabman wius told to drive to Victoria. That is all 1 know. I hnve no doubt, how ever, but that she has gone back to her husband. She has been in a disturbed, despondent condition ever since she nr rivedTln London. Mr. Mount joy has been as kind as usual: but he has not been able to chase away her sadness-. Whether she was fretting after her husband or whether but this I hardly think she was com paring the man she had lost with the man she had taken but I do not know. All I do know is that she has been uneasy ever since she came from France, and what I believe is that she has been reproaching herself with leaving her husbaud without good cause." , . "Good cause!"' echoed Fanny. Oh I good gracious! If she only knew, there s cause enough to leave a hundred husbands!" "Nothing seemed to rouse her," Mrs. Vimpany continued, without regarding the interruption. "1 weni a i' ii iter to t ne farm to see her former maid, lllio la. The girl's health is re-establis'i.-d; she is en caged to niarrv the rai'ii-r's brother. Lady Harry was kind, and -aid the in -st leas,iut taings; -he even pulled oil one ot h.r pretties; ri.ius and gave it to the g rl. But I cou hi see that it was an eil'oi'1 t .r her to appear interested -her thoughts were with her husband all the time I was sure it would end in this wav. and 1 am not in the least surprised. But what will Mr. Mountjoy say when he opens the letter" "B ick to her husband" F.rany repeated "Oh. w hat shall we do" ' " 1 .-II m what you h:i-etifd mean. What has r must tell you. I thought I would tell Mr. M mutiny drst: but I must tell vou, abhougit -" f-:n stopped. "Although it concerns my husband. Never mimt that consideration--go on." Fanny lold the story In.ni the beginni.ig When she had iinj.:ied Mix. Vi'iipi 7v looked towards the bedroom door. "Thank tl.id " she said, that you told this Mo.-v to me instead of to Mr. Mount jov. At all events it gives me time to warn vou not to tell him what you have told fue. We f.i i do nothing. Meantime there is one t ii ag on must do- go away. I) i not let Mr M.'untjoy liml vou here. He must tioi t.'.irn your story. If he hears what has happened and reads her b-tier nothing will keep him liom following her to I'.i.snvT II will see that there is every prospect of her being entangled in this vile conspu-at-., an I h w ill run any risk in the t.. -le- itiea.p' to save her. II is ton weak to . ;t.ejo.irne -Jar too ik for the viol, nt emotions '.hat will to.l .a: and. oh, ho.v unit ii tihi weak to cop .villi i.iv Hus band as stmag atid as er..t ' as he in uu- p: :te'.pl-d'.'" l'aea. what, it: He:. n"s name, are we to .!.' " Anything -atiMiiuig -;.t 'ier than .suf fer Mr. Moue.tj . in In u .ik ,-t i.e. toiu lertere bel . ;n:itt aud Wife." 'Yes- b.i ue i a man! M.-. Vimp- an. lie '..a-n.e 'i-n the lime was pn:-one !. He knew rial the man was po-o'i.-1. il-siT. ia tae ca-or. in- fae wh:i". and h. -.mi iio'.iMig Hi" liwa-as iniic.i a- 1 e til t ilo ii.i to ; -isSi ,,.it and dash tne g.a from Harry said uotaiiig." "Mv dear, do oa not his na id-. L rd un let s;and what you have got to .;o' Fanny made no ivpiv. "Consider m tiii-uni- L.rl H trry neither of them k i s :!i it you were pres ent. You c in iv; .;. i t. .t:i the greatest safely; and the i. . .... .er happens, xoti will beat li t ii 1 to ji. i'.t-i my lady. Con sider, again, a- her oi no. yu can he with her always in ner o u room, uigtit; everywhere, an I at ill tune.-; while Mr. Mouutjoy c-Mil i i :l be with her uowaiid then, atnl atj a.-iin. e of not quarrelling with her hiishaad." "Yes." slid F. .in. "Aud you are -Uo-ig. an ! Mr Mouutjoy isiweak ami .11." "You think that 1 should go back to I'.'.s-y?" " V once, without the del iv of an hour. Lid Il irry started last night. Do you .- ar. tais evening. Sue will thus have vou w ith ller tweuty four hours after her arrival." Fan ti v t'os.. "! will go. ' she said. "It terrMles me even to think of going back to that aytnl cottage with that dreaded man. Yet I will go. Mrs. Vimpany. I know that it will be of no Use. Whatever is going to happen now will happen without am? power of mine to advance or to pr. ve it. I am certain that my j -it aey will prove useles. But I will go. Yes. I will go th s evening." Then, with a final protirse to write a soon as possible as soon a- there sho.il 1 be anything to communicate Fauny w -t t awi-. Mrs. Vsmpiiny. alone, listened. From the bedroom came no sound at all. Mr. Mount j y s!ept t ill. Wheh he should 1m strong enoii li it 'vould b time to jet ii 'n know what haii been done. But she s.ki thinking thinkingeven wii-u .n- 1. the worst husband in the world, and v.-r-, wellknowshischaraeter.it i- di-a i-.e.-i ble to hear such a story as Fanny In 1 it.'.d that wife this morning "He Is quite dead." said the doctor, with one linger on the man's piil-e and an .th.-i lifting his eyelid. "He is d.-id. I did not look for so speedy an end. It is : half an hour since I left him breath. Mg peacefully. Did he show- signs of c m fciousuess?" "No. sir; I found him dead." "This morning he was cheerful. It is not unusual iu these complaints. I have observed It iu many cases of my own ex perience. On the last morning of life, at the very moment when Death is standing on the threshold with uplifted dart, the patient is cheerful and even t'oyous; he is more hopeful than he has felt for many mouths: he thinks nay, he is sure that he is recovering: he says he shall be up and about before long:" he has not felt so strong since the beginning of his illness. Then Death strikes him, and he falls." He made this remark in a most impressive manner. "Nothing remains." he said, "but to certify the cans of death and to satisfy the proper forms and authorities. I charge myself with this duty. The unfortunate young nrin belonged to a highly distin guished family. I will communicate with his. friends and forwArd his papers. Oie last ollice I can do for him. For the sake , of his family, nurse, I will tnke a last p'-o- j tograph of him as he lies upon his death- bed." Lord Harry stood in the donrwav. listening with an aching nnd a fearful heart. He dared not enter the chamber. It was the Chamber of Death. What was his own part in calling the Destroying An gel who is at the beck and summons of ; every man even the meanest? Call him and he comes. Order him to strike and ' he obeys. But under penalties. I . The doctor's prophecy, then, had come ' true. But In what way and by wn it " agency? The man was dead. What was his own share in the man's death? Ho knew when the Dane was brought into the house that he was brought there to die. As tin man did not die, but began to recover fast, he had seen iu the doctor's face that the man would have to die. He , had heard the doctor prophecy out of his medical kuowledge thnt the man would surelv die; nud then, after the nttrs had been sent away becauso her patient re quired her services no longer, he had s en the doctor give the medicine which burn ed the patient's throat. What was that medicine? Not only had it burned his throat, but it caused him to fall into a deep sleep, in which his heart ce -ed to beat and his blond ceased to How. He turned away aud walked out of the cottage. For an hour he walked along tlie road. Then he stopped and walked back. Bop s drew him; lie could no long er keep away. He felt as if something must have happ'.'tied. Possibly he would find the doctor arrested and the police waiting for himself, to be charged as an accomplice or a principal He found no such thing. Tthe do.-tor was in the salon, with letters ami ollicial forms before him. He looked up cheer fully. "My Kngiish friend," ho said, "the un expected end of this .young Irish gentle man is a very melancholy affair. I have ascertained the name of the family solicit ors and have written to them. I have also written to his brother as the head of the house. I find also, by examination of iis papers, that his life is insured tin; amount is not slated, but I have communicated the fact of the death. The authorities they arc, very properly, careful iu such matters have received the necessary no tices and forms: to-morrow, all legal forms having been gone through, we tutry the deceased." "So soon?'' So soon? In these cases ol advanced pult monarv disease the sooner the better. The French custom of speedy interment may be defended as more wool so n jlian our own. On the other h.ui I . a i a t that it has its weak points. Ci.-m o per haps, thejest and oiilv met no I oi r. .wv iug the dead which is open to noooj. c tons except one. I m an. of course, the chance that the deceased may have met w. ;ii his death bv means of pi-oi. But su. h . ases are rare. and. in most l.islanceS, w ould lie'deteeted bv the medical men iu attendance before or at the lime of death. Itiiinkwe need not My dear friend. o:i look ill. Are you upset bv such a simple thing as the death i)f a sick man? Let me prescribe for you. A glass of br.indv neat. So." lie went into the utile a ;;ihk;. t and returned with his iiieda-i.ie. "Take that. Now let us talk." The doc tor continued his conversation in a cheer fully scientific strain, never alluding to the conspiracy or to the conequ Mires' which might follow. He told hospital stories bearing on deaths sudden and un evoeeted; some of them he treated in a jocular vein. The'deail man iu the next room wasaciiMi'T He knew of many simi lar and equally interesting cases. When one has arrived at looking up n a d a I man as a case, there is little fear of'the ordinary hum. in weakness wn t a makes us tremble in the awful presence ! d ;j h. I'resently step were he ml o itsjite The doctor rose ami left the ro,.ni but r -t ura cil in a lew mini:..--. "The Croq'iemoris hae come." he s.-.id. " I'hev ar u it'i I lie nurse eiiga red upon thc'r tus!:ies. It seem-revolting to the 0 its !. world. To them it is nothing but t ie daily routine of work. Bv the wav I too',, a pViio r iph of litri loroship ia """.ie P s-i, eof ta- nurse. L'nlort unately i. ui it it '.t is h far. of t he dead man" -Lore". H.u'-v turm-d aavav. "1 don't want to see it. 1 cannot bear to see it. You forgot 1 w-.s ;ie:ua!ly present when" "Not wiien h-died, ('tune, don't be a f i. What I was going to say was this: Th face is no longer iu the least like you. N ibody who ever saw vou omv even would believe that this is your lace. The c vaiure he h is given us an unconscion able quant it v of trouble was a liltle like yo:i when he lirst came, l was wrong iu siipptising that this likeness was perma nent. Now he is dead, he is not in the least like vou. I ought to have reniem-U'l-e 1 that the resemblance would lade aw av an. I disappear iu death. Cjme and 1 k at him." "No. no." " We tkiies-! I) -nth restores to every man !iis individual ty. No two njen are ui lit d' i' '. ' ho.igli t hey might be like it; ii. ' i ' It comes to this; We are i g to oflr. I. rd Harry Norland to luo .iv. aa. I we must lime a photograph ol i.u s he lav on his de.ttiibj.l." 'We!!?" "W,-.. mv friend, go upstairs to your own room, aiii I will toliow with the cam-ni.'" lu a quarter of an hour he was holding the gl-i-s agnn-t hi- sle-ve. " Admirable'" 'ie said. "The cheek is a li.tle s'l'tkeu - !i ir wa s the effect of the chalk a. id the a ija-tmeiit of the shadows the ees closed, the face white, the hands co:i:o . I. It is admirable! Who says th.-1 ue cannot make the sun telt ties?' I?. --.'nt .in hour or two in developing an I pi- 'ititig a lresh cop. from his nega tive. Thi- he nvuiuTt I and gave to Lord Harry. "There." he s it !, "we-hill get a bet ter print to tno'Tow. This is the first copv." He had ni.-n-iti! it on a frame of card and had wt.tieii under it the name oace b .-n- ! the dea l man. with the o hi.- death. The picture secme I in- .i- :a' deed t h i. of a dead mail. Lord Harrv shuddered. "There." he said-. 'V verytlrug else has been of no u-e to us he presence of the su k m-.i: the ,-nsp cious of the nurse his death even his death has been of no Use to us! We might have beeu snared the ineniorv the awful memory--of this death!" "Yon forgot, my Knglish friend, that a dead body was necessary for us. We had to burv somebody. Why not the man Ox byo?" " ciiAi'rki: xt.vir. Tin: wife's i:i:n:i:.v. Of course Mrs. Vunpany was quite right. Iris had gone back to her husband. Shu arrived, in fact, at thy cottage iu the evening just before dark--in the falling day, when some people are more than commonly sensitive to sights and .sounds, and when the eyes are mon; apt than at other times to be deceived by strange ap pearances. .Iris walked into the garden, finding no one there. She opened the (loot with herotvn key and let herself in. The house struck her as strangely empty and silent. She opeiitd the dining-room door; no one was tlieiv. Like all French dining-rooms, it was used for no other pur pose than for eating, and furnished with little more thin tin barest necessaries. She closed the door and opened that of the salon: that ni-0 w as empty. She called her husband; there was no answer. She called the naitieof the cook; there was no answer. It was iortunatu that she did not open the do. r of the spire room, for there lay the body of the dead man. She went upstairs ! her husband's room. That, too. was emp'y. But there win something iv;ug on she table a photo graph. She to ik ' up. Her lace became white sud It at, a i I s.v :i'ii. Sae shriek ed aloud, then dripp-d the picture aud t .1-1 . T-L f s7 itsn 1 1 He picked up thcjaiutlmj trtmwu. fell Tainting to the ground. For the pho tograph was nothing less than that of her husband, dead, in his white grave-clothes, his hands composed, his eyes closed, his cheek waxen. Tito cry fell upon the ears of Lord Harry, who was" in the garden below. He rushed info the house and lifted his wife upon the bed. The photograph showed him plainly what had happened. sjhc came to her senses again, but seeing her hush mil alive before her, and remem bering what she had seen, she shrieked again, and fell into another swoon. "Wnat is to be done now?" asked the husband. "What shall I tell her? How shall I make her understand? What can I do for her?" As for help, there was none: the nurse was gone on soni'; errand: the doctor was arranging for the funeral of Oxbyc under the name of L -ml Harry Norland: the cot tage was einpt v. Such a fniuUng fit does not hut forever. Iris (vune round, and sat. up. looking wild ly around. "What is it?" she cried. "What does it mean?"' "It meatip. my love, that yon have re turned to your hnsiiaml.'' He laid an arm round her, ami ki-ed her again and again. "You are my Ham ! living! my own Uarry.'' "Your own Harry, my darling. What else should I hc?4a "Tell me then, what die's it mean that picture that horrid photograph?" "That means nothing -nothing a freak a joke of the doctor's. What could it mean?" lie look it up. "Why my dear. W TV , Tain living -living and well. Whatsnouid this mean hut a joke? ' He laid it on the lahle again, face down ward. But her eyes show e I thai she was not satisfied. Men do not make jokes on "l)eath; it is a sorry j st indeed to dress up a man in grave-ciotnes, and muke a pho tograph of him. as of one dead. ' But you you. my Ins;.you are here tell me how and why aud when, aud everything. Never mind ttfht a; lipid pic ture; tell me." "I got your letter, Harry,'' she repled. "My letter'' he repeated. "Oh, my dear, you got my letter, and you saw that your husband loved you still ?' "I could not keep away from you, Bar ry, whatever had happened. 1 stave I as long as I could. I thought about you day and nigltt. Aud at last 1 I I came back. Are you angry with me, Harry?'' "Angry? ' (loud Uol! my deare.-t - -align"-' " He kissed her passionately not the less passionately t hat she had returned at a mm: so terrible. What was he to say to her? How was he to tell h er? While li'. showered kisses on her he was asking himself l hese questions. When she found tint- when he should confess to her the whole truth; she would leave him again. Ycf he did not understand the nature of the woman who loves. He h-Id her in his arms: his kisses pleaded lor Jnia; they mastered her she was readv to oelieve, to .accept, to surrender even iter tr th and honesty: anil she was read, tao.i Ji she knew it not, to become the accomp ice ol n crime. Bather than leave her husoatid again she would do anything. Yet, Ljr.l Harry felt there waoa.; res ervation; he might confess e cry thin ;, ex cept the murder of the Dine. No word of confessio.i nad pissed the doctor's 1 ps, yet he knew loo we. I that the man had beeu mm it-red: a. id. so Tar as Hie man had been chosen lor his resem'ol.inee to himself, that was perfectly usele.-s. be cause the leseaihlaiice. though sinking at the first, had beu g;a.hially disappear ing as the man (Kiiye grer.' n tier; ami was now. as we have see. i, u.i-.liy lost af ter death. "1 have a gi" it d.'.a1 a great deal to tell you, dear. ' s i I the it u l tuA. holding both her h unl- t '.nlerly. "Von w ill have to be very pitieut witn me. You must make up ar mind to he s.hk . I it fir..t, though l sna.'. b-ah.e tocoiiv: i. on that there wa- it-o;. n i.u ; el-. to .; me nothing else at a!.. ' "Oh! go a, liaiiy. Tell me alt. lli-.h nothing. ' "T will tell - on all.' he replied. "First, where is that poor man whom the doctor brought here and Fauuy nursed? And where is Fanny?' " The poor nrin." ho r -plied carelessly, "made so rapid a recover, that he has got on his logs and gone away I believe, to' report himself to the hospital whence he. came. It is a great triumph for the doc-1 tor. whose new treatment is now proved to be successful. He will make a grand tl 'ii'ish of trumpets about it. I dare say. if ail he claims for it is true, he has taken a great step in the treatment of lung dis eases."' Iris had no disease tf the lungs, and con sequently cared- ver. little for the scientific aspect of the question. "Where is my maid, then?" "Fanny? Sim went .away let me see; to-day 'is Friday--t n Wednesday morning. It was no use keeping her here. The man was well, and she was anxious to get back to you. So she stalled on Wed lies !;..' morning, proposing to take the night boat from Dieppe. She ::i isr, have stupp-'d soiii"Wl:ere on tiie way.' "I suppose she will g i to see Mrs. Vimp any. I will s iid her a line there." '('.rtainlv. That will be sure to find her.'" "Well. Harrv, there anything else to tell tne?' "A great deal," he repeated. "That pho tograph. Iris, which frightened you so much lias been very carefully takeu by Yimp inv for a certain reason." "What reason?" "There are occasions,' ho replied, "when the v.ry best iiiug t hat cm happen to a maq is the bed' f that he is dead. Such a ju:e f lire of air-i rs has happ-ued to myseil and to you -nt this moment. It is con veiii it -t v-n ii cesyarv -for me that the wo 1 1 1 should b -li.'iv me dead In point of fat, 1 mu-: b; de id hen. e "orth. Nat forauvfhiugth.it 1 have done, or that I am afraid of d :'t t hink t hat. No; it i. 1 r the -;!iij.le reason that I have no long er aa inoue. or any resources whatever. That is wnv I must be dead. Had vou not returned in this unexpected manner, my dear, vou would have heard of my death fr nil the doctor, and he would have left it to chance to find a conieiiie it op portunit v of Icltiug you kispiv tne .iiitli. 1 am. Iio.vever. deeply grieved that I was so carel '-s as to leave that photo-graph unou t he table. I tlo not understand. ' she said. "You liavr pretend to be dead?" "Yes. 1 must have money. I some left a very little. I must have mnuev; and, iu order to get it, 1 must be dead." "How will that help?' "Why, my dear, I am insured, and my insurances will be paid after my death; but not b -fore." "Oh! f.instyou gel money even by a" She hesitated. "Call it a conspiracy, my dear, if you please. As there is no other way what ever left, 1 must get money that way." "Oh. this is dreadful! a conspiracy, Harry? a a--fraud?" "If'you please. That is the name which lawyers give to it." "But. oh, Harry! it is n crime. It is a thing for which men nre tried and found guilt y and sentenced." "Certainly if they are found out. Meantime, it is only tho poor, ignorant, clumsy fool who gets found out. Iu the city these things are done every day. Quite as a matter of course," he added, tirelessly. "It is not usual for men to take their wives into confidence, but in this case I must take you into confidence; I have no choice, as you will understand direct iv. ' "Tt II in-, Harry, who this wav?'' "Vimpany. of course. first thought of Oh! give him lUr credit where real cleverness is concerned Vimpany suggested the thing. He found me well'nigh as desperately hard up as he Is himself. He suggested "if . At llrst. ' con I ess, 1 did not like it. I refused to lis 'Oh, tin in ,'r '.; -a .piracy! ten to anv more falk about it. But. you pee. when one meets destitution face to face, one will do anything everything. Besides, as I will show you this is not real ly a fraud. It is oulv an anticipation of a few years. However, there was another reason." "Was it lo find the money to moot tho nmpjiscpry nolo"'' To b: Ocmlinucrt. jU-J .k yLkmwm THE VERY SJECINNING. TTlien Our CIulu Was Wrapped la a Mint forty .MiltM Thick. Iu the burning mass that composed our earth at lirst. there existed copper, sulphur, ami all the other substances that are on ami in our earth now, oulv all were in a gaseous state. The cold had not yet hardened tlieni into soliils. They tell us that this collection of huniitijr material belonged originally to the sun. ami was thrown oil 'from it iu consequent:' of a natural law, and 'w hirling; in space." Do you under stand what the word space" means? This globe of ours is wrapped up in a huge cloak, some forty miles thick, cailed tin atmosphere. Bcond this thick envelope stretches far away that unknown region railed '.space." What an ifs boundaries, no one can tell us. Whether it holds other worlds than ours we ran only guess. But one thing about it is known for certain, which is. that it is very cold. Its tem perature is two hundred degrees below zero; so uu have ured of our thick, warm atmosphere. What etl'eri did this intense eold have upon the mass of licry gas sent spin ning out through its depth? Just the same ell'ect that the cold mountain peaks have upon the vapor of water. It cooled the gases upon the outside, hardened them, and in the course of time formed a thin crust. This was ('oil's first day oi creation, and sumo men think it was equal to thousands and thousands of our years - may be millions -because this forming of the crust must haebeen slow work. First, little patches of gas became solid. Then these floated together, perhaps succeeding iu making one crust joined all over and a hot. rumpled crust it was! Then the boiling, seething inass inside broke through, and the work had to be done all over again. When the vapor of water was con densed, fain began to fall. Then came another struggle. As quickly as the rain fell on the hot crust, it was changed into vapor again, and sent up into the air to repeat its work. What a boiling, steaming, hot ball this world must hae been! During all this time there were ter rihe peals of thunder ami Hashes of lightning. Whenever any fiqutd is changing into vapor, electricity is pro duced: ami when so vast a quantity of wider was changing into steam, the iiit4Mis.it and frequency of the light ning must ha e been iiiiuieasurab! be yond ain thing w e ran imagine. If oulv we could hav e been at a safe dis tance above thi- steaming world and looked don it. upon it. w hat a sigiit we .should have seen, and what deafening peals of thumb r wo should have heard. Ma en though the rain was almost ini mediatelv ei. anged into vapor, it must hav e cooled ti arth's crust a liltle, coming diiveth from the icy realms of space. And at la-t came :i day when the cold conquered thi! heat, and the the rrttst became cool enough for the water to stay down. It filled up all the cracks and crannies, and then was so much of it that oulv a little bit of the earth's ern-t could peep' above its surface. Of otii'iiv.ti continent, onjy a narrow strip of land, extending from what is now Nova Scotia to where the (jreat Makes were to be, and thence westward to the region now called Alaska, remained above t lit? waters. Thick, d.irk'vapors brooded over the earth and shut out the light of the sun. And these gloomy vapors, the little pieces of dry. hut crust, ami the surg ing, boiling watei. were the beginnings out of w Iiieii (iod was to make our beautiful world, with its pure air, its hluesk. ami snowy clouds, its dense woods ami fertile lields, its hiils aud valleys, its lakes and rivers. There could have been no life in those days neither plant life nor ani mal life. In the lirst place, the crust was too hot; neither animal nor plant could live on it. nor in the waters that touched it. lu the second place, ani mals ami plants can not live without .sunlight; nnd, no sunlight could pierce those masses of heavy vapor. - Teresa C. Crufton, in St. Xicholus. A Great North American Chart. A person named McKay has recently invented a. peculiar chart which, for originality and unique egotism, beats the record. It is called the McKay Anatomical and ideographical Chart of the ('omniereo of North America, and sundry copies of it already adorn the walls of the various ticket ollices. Whether Mr. McKay is some unappre ciated genius or the idea of the anatom ical map was conceived in the throes of some midnight horrid dream it would he hard to say. I'erhaps the latter, for it would be dillieult to understand how anyone could otherwise think of such a thfng. According lo this unique map, the North American continent is liken ed unto a human being, and the various commercial channels constitute tho veins and limbs and organs. The im age of a man is laid out Hat across the continent. One hand rests upon Alas ka, and the projected Alaskan-Siberian road represents the einsand arteries of the arm. The other hand aud arm reach out for Japan, and in similar manner the Pacific steamship tines rep resent the veins. One foot rests upon the British Isles, while the other lingers upon the coast of Spain. The digestive and circulatory structure of the man, however, is calculated to arouse tho wonder and admiration of the looker on. The heart is represented by West Superior, from which it may be infer red that the originator of the ma)) owns dirt iu that iutlated city of the unsalted sea. The chain of lakes represent the digestive apparatus Lake Superior the stomach. Lake Michigan the liver, and so on to the waterways' upon the Atlantic coast. The. twin cities are the centers of the pulmonary circula tion of the right lung, for which gra tuitous compliment the twain will doubtless feel duly pleased. Minucti) oiis Tri fiti in: A I'elini; Solar Spectrum. A man of Morgan county. Ohio, has a cat w lii.'h is known by the neighbors as the "solar spectrum.'" From the tip of its tail to the end of its nose thcru are distributed all the colors of tho rainbow. It nose shines like a car buncle and there are several shades of violet on the forelegs. (living a Lift. A boy picked up a sparrow which had daubed its wings with fresh paint and was unable to Hy. says tire N. Y. Sun. He was carry! ug it off when a poorly dressed man held out his hand ami asked for it. The boy passed it to him and he at once took out a ragged handkerchief and began wiping on the paint. "That's the way o'f the world." he said. "Go for a feller when he is down. Fifty would wring your neck for one who would give you a show." He wiped the smeared plumage for a minute or two longer and theu cou tiued: "If somebody would give nie an en couraging word and half a chance, I could be a man yet, but somebody won't do it. It's easier to kick a man down hill than to boost him up. There, young chap, your wings are all right now." (Jo and be happy. Next time your nose smells fresh paint, vou shy oil'." . He gave the sparrow a toss and it Hew to the naked limb of one of the elms and then turned about and cried, "Peek! peek!" as if in gratitude for the kindness shown him. "All right! all right!" replied the philosopher with a wave of his hand. "Perhaps you'll do as much for me some time. (Jo along now and attend to business.'1 Wasted Prayers in the Senate. It is a raid thing for the presiding oflicer of the Senate to call a quorum to order at the hour of the daily meet ing. In fact, there are frequently not more than a half-dozen Senators pres ent. Senators admit that it is a re proach to the body thus to ignore the only religious service iu connection with the proceedings, but nevertheless they do not effect a reform. A few years ago a Senator offered a resolution to require the presence of a quortim at the prayer, but the second day after he himself failed to appear iu time. When the prayer had been de livered he entered the chamber wear ing somewhat of an air of embarrass ment. His delinquency was observed, and the resolution became a dead let ter. This ignoring of the prayer has grown to be a habit of the Senate. When Judge Davis of Illinois was Pres ident pro tempore he entered the cham ber with the chaplain one day and the only Senator visible was Mr. Butler of South Ctroliua. Judge Davis did not pause an instant, but with all the solemnity and gravity usual 1 observed by him on such occasions gave a stroke with his gavel and said: "The Senator from South Carolina will come to order." The summons was treated as a jest by the galleries and the pages on the floor, but it was not so intended. Tho presiding oHier took that method of rebuking the Senate and of having his lebuke go into the Record. Ar. Y. Tribune E. H. ROSA, DEALER TN Rouffh mid Planed Lumber u Bandon, Oregon. Cedar Flooring-, Celling' and Hustle Manufactured to order. Orders Promptly Filled For All Kind o Kmigh Lumber. Geo. M. ' Dyer & Son, BANDON, OREGON, Merchants. Shipping nnd Forwarding. Have on hand and are receiving by every vessel Groceries & Provisions Of standard brands and guaranteed purity and strength. Dry Goods and Clothing Of latest stvles and patterns, and from tho leading manufacturers. Boots and Shoe3, and Kubber Goods, Of all sizes and kinds always in stock and on the way. GENTLEMEN'S FURNISHING GOODS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS. Ocean and Itiver Wharfago and W ehous OIK General
