Image provided by: St. Helens Public Library; St. Helens, OR
About The Columbia register. (Houlton, Columbia County, Or.) 1904-1906 | View Entire Issue (July 29, 1904)
t MASTER OF By Robert oOo CHAPTER XV. Absorbed I was in my newly wakened love for Madeline, 1 failed to notice for some time the changes which were-coing on about us; but 'I was soon brought from dreamlaud by the attitude .which the young master chore to take. Ueorse Redruth haJ made np his mind to woo Madeline Graham, and he honor ed me ao far as to fear that my presence In St Gurlott's might be the means of prevent ing him winning his cousin's land. A marriage with Madeline would te advantageous to him, principally be vausc his own position was becoming very insecure, he having gambled and tot away most of his fortune, and so be ing in danger of losing the position which her money would restore to him. Thus It was that be watched the growing friendship between myself and his cousin with ever-increasing anger: and finding lio could not openly control her, he de termined, I afterward learned, to gain liia ends by treachery. At home things were going very badly with us. My uncle remained in the same desponding state, while every day fresh wrinkles appeared in my aunt's face. It seemed a fin for me to be happy while bo much grief remained at home; and I sometimes felt inclined to go right away and not return till I could bring our lost one along with me. I began to wonder, too, if my uncle could be right when he said that the new overseer had a hand iu poor Annie's , flight This idea had resolutely fixed it elf in his mind. It was strange, but since the night of Annie's disappearance ' Johnson's face had not been seen in St Gurlott's. I was pondering over a solu tion of all these mysteries when one day an event happened which threatened to bring matters to a climax indeed. I had come up from the mine after a prolonged inspection of it, when sudden ly I heard a w ild sound of voices, and looking round I saw two men facing each other, and looking as if they were about to close in a deadly grip. One of the men was my uncle, the other was Johnson, the overseer. At sight of the man whom he believed to be his bitterest foe, all my uncle's feebleness seemed to fall miraculously from him. He towered above the other, and raised his clenched fist as if to strike. "You villain!" he cried. "You coward ly, treacherous villain! Tell me, whar is -my lass? Tell me, or I strike 'ee dead before me!" In another moment the arm would have defended, for Johnson was par alyzed with fear? but I sprang forward and caught it with a cry. My uncle tried to wrench himself free. "Let gaw, Hugh!" he cried, fiercely. "I told 'ee what I'd do if I met the -villain, and I'll do it Look at 'un, the white-faced cur; he" brought trouble to my lass! And naw, while she's wander in' about the earth in misery maybe, he cooms yar to laugh at us!" I still held him firmly; and Johnson, cur that he was, Seeing that the danger was passed, recovered his presence of mind. , "Perhaps, now you're a little calmer," he said, "you'll tell me what you're rav ing about?" "I will answer for him," I replied. "Where is Annie Pendragon?" He shrugged his shoulders, and raised his brows. "It seems to me you are all having lu natics together. Why do you ask me these things? What do I know of the girl?" "You were seen with her in Fal mouth." My uncle had learned that this was true. "I don't know where she is. I met her in Falmouth, it's true, and spoke to "her; but her being away from home was no concern o' mine." "It's a lie!" cried my uncle, fiercely; and again he tried to free himself from iny grasp, but I held him firmly. "It's no use," I said; "we shan't mend matters with him. We must find out by tome other means whether or not he is speaking the truth." The result of all. this was a serious ill ness, which laid my uncle low, and for some weeks threatened his life. During this time Madeline came frequently to the cottage, accompanied by Anita, who carried little tempting things for the poor old man to eat. At last, the terrible time passed, and he rose from his bed the feeble, wornout wreck of his old telt. From that day forth his intellect seein , ed shaken, but he clung with strange per sistence to the one idea that Johnson was lu some way responsible for all that had taken place. I had my own reasons for refusing to share this belief; neverthe less, I raw the overseer again, and after the interview with him, I became more firmly convinced than ever that my uncle was wrong in his surmises. Meantime, having seen my uncle on the high road to recovery, I was com pelled once more to turn my attention o the mine, which grew every day more dangerous. I had spoken to the master of these dangers again and again, and he had taken no heed. Nevertheless, I knew that something must be done; I resolved . to make one last appeal to him. I had fully made up my mind to seek him at home, when I was spared the pains. He tstrolled down to the counting house one morning in company with Johnson. "Mr. Redruth," I said, approaching him, "I should like to speak a few words with you, sir." He 'looked at me from head to foot . -with a cold, supercilious sneer which sent 'my blood up to boiling heat, as he re plied: "Well, you can speak, then I am all attention." "It is about the mine," I began, when be Interrupted me. "Oh, the mine!" he said, Impatiently; "I think I have heard a good deal on this subject from you before?" f "You have, sir, and you have taken no heed; but the time has passed for all that each day . the danger grows, and now at any moment the sea may break in and every soul be killed!" "Do the men know of the danger which you say Is threatening them?" "Most assuredly they do." "And do they refuse to work ?" "No; where would be the use? If they left the mine, they would be thrown out of employment, and then their families would starve. Better 'fur them to hold THE MINE Buchanan. their own lives In their hanJs than to pose their wives and children to such a fate!" "Very good; then, since by your own showing you are the only discontented spirit, it's time for you to go." "1 have been expecting this for a long time, and it has come. Well, so much the better," I retorted. "I warn you. however, that I shall do my duty, and let the compaay know the exact state of affairs." He turned to Johnson, and I saw the two exchange a significant smile; then his face hardened as he replied, contemp tuously: "You will, of course, do as you please; only oblige me by getting out of my -employment as quickly as possible." "It will be a good riddance!" muttered Johnson, breaking in for the first time. "Troiawnoy has always, heou a croaker." "I'll croak to some tune," I cried, fac ing him, "if you presume to talk to ine!" "Presume, indeed:" he repeated, turn ing white with fear or malice. " 'Tain't must presumption, I guess, to take down a young eock-o'-the-walk who puts on airs as If he was a gentleman. If Mr. George had listened to my advice, he'd have got rid of you long ago!" "Come along, Johnson," said Redruth; "he's not worth talking to." Hut I clenched 'my fists and blocked the way. I suppose there was something lu my face which looked ugly, for the two men recoiled before me. Several of the miners, attracted by our high words, had now gathered, and were looking on in astonishment. "1 know well an honest man Is not wanted here." I said. "I've known that for many a long day. Like master, like man. You, sir, want a scoundrel to do your dirty. work; and here he is, ready made, to your hand ns mean and cow ardly a scoundrel as ever drew breath!" "Out of the way, jm rutllan!" cried Redruth, lifting his cane. But he knew better than to strike me; he knew that, if he had done so, I would have thrashed him within an inch of his life; and he knew, too, that not one man there would have raised a finger to pro tect him, though he was the master of the mine. But the presence' of the onlookers, I suppose, made his companion foolhardy; for, stepping forward, livid with passiou, he shook his fist in my face.. "Who are you calling a scoundrel?" he cried. "Do you know who I am? I'm overseer of this here mine, and you, you're a beggar, that's what you are! He had proceeded thus far when, with out more parley, unable to resist the provocation of his close proximity, I quietly knocked him down. As he fell, George Redruth sprang to ward me, and struck at nie with his cane; but I tore the cane from his hand, broke It into pieces, and flung it away. "Take care, sir!" I said, "I may hurt you, too, if you go too far." He drew back, trembling. It was not for hours afterwards that I renlized what I had done; and even then I am afraid I did not regret my hasty conduct. Young and'rash, I did not fear to face the world, though the mine was my bread, and I had no other means of maintenance. CHAPTER XVI. The news of my .dismissal from the miue was received by my aunt with in finite wailing. The poor soul, knowing that for some time past I had been the mainstay of the house, saw nothing be fore her but misery and starvation: in deed, she was for going straight to Red ruth House and appealing to the master, but I checked her. "Don't grieve, aunt," I said. "It will be all right by and by. Say I am dis missed from the mine what then? The mine isn't nil the world. I shall get something, never fear. I'm going up to London, aunt." "To Lunnon! And what for?" "I am going up to see the company, and tell them what's going on nt the mine. Keep your mind easy till I come back, aunt. 'Twill, maybe, all be right then." - When all was ready. I stepped down to the village to .tell John Rudd to call for me on the morrow, when he was to start before daybreak. Having done my errand, I strolled slowly bock to the cottage. It was a splendid night All the earth, hardened by the keen touch of frost, was flooded by the brilliant moonrays; and the sky was thick with stars. All was so quiet and peaceful I could hear the click clack of my footsteps on the frosty road. My mind was sorely troubled, I walked np and down the road and turned to re enter the cottage, when I started back with a half-suppressed cry. There, not very far from me, standing in the shadow of one of the laurel bushes in Annie's garden, was the tall figure of a woman. She. came quickly toward me, and laid her hand upon my arm. "Madeline!" I murmured, for It was indeed she, dressed in her evening dress, with her mantle thrown lightly over her head and shoulders, and her dear face raised wistfully to mine. "Mr. Trelawney," she said, quietly, "is it true that you have been dismissed from the mine?" "Yes; it Is quite true, Miss Graham." "Oh, why will you not be as you were just now, and call me Madeline?" she cried passionately. "Why have all those years come and gone since we were chil dren, and left us so far apart, Mr. Tre lawney? Hugh, let us be children again; I was your help and solace once, let me be so to-night!" She hpi spoken truly why should a few years separate us? Once before she had offered me her friendship and I had accepted it; why not accept it now? I took her hand and kised it "You shall be the Fame to me now as you were then!" I answered, "you shall be my friend!" I think she understood me. She made no reply, but for a moment she turned her head aside; when she looked at me ngnin, she was as calm as the moonrays which lay all about her. "Tell me what has happened," she said, "and what you nre going to do." "Very Utile has happened," I replied. "I have got the dismissal which I have all aluug expected, and I am going awsy. You will get your death; let tn take you back." I drew the shawl closer about her shoulders, put her haud upon my arm, and led her away. "Huso,' she said, presently, "you have not told me the cause of all this trouble. Why have you and my cousiu disagreed so terribly T" "There is nothing," I said, "but what had best be kept between man aud man." "Then you absolutely refuse to make any concession?" "I refuse to receive any favor from George Redruth." . "I am rich, you know very rich, and now that you are In trouble 1 tuight help you." "No," I answered, quickly; "don't think or it. It Is impossible." I walked with her as far as the en trance to the ground surrounding Rod ruth House, then 1 left her. Her eye were full of tears as she said good-by, and her little hand clung to mine with a persistence which well nigh unmanned me. I was too much .beside myself to return to the cottage, so for -about half a mile 1 followed the road which led to the mine. It was late, there was not a living soul abroad it seemed to me; yet, as I turned to retrace my steps, I came face to face with a man who had evi dently been following close upon my heels. It was Johnson. Madeline's softening intluence was rtill upon me. Yet at night of this evil face it seemed to fade, and there arose with in me all that w-as worst in my soul. He paused, blinking my way, and suoer (ugly addressed me: "I guess, young uun." he said, "you'll get iuto worse trouble before you're done. Jest you let the governor ree you as I saw you with Mis Graham to night!" "You scoundrel!" I cried, "mention that lady's name again and by heaven, I'll strike you dead where you stand!" "Oh." he sneered, "killing's your game, Is It? Repeat that to-morrow before wit nesses, young man, aud your doom U sealed." He passed me by, and walked on to ward the mine, wjiile 1. glad at heart to be safely away from him, walked with some speed toward home. I found my aunt alone; I asked for my uncle. "He be gone back to the mine, Hugh," she returned. "But dawn't 'ee sit up for 'un. lad. I daresay Jim Rivers'll brina 'un Inline." As I knew I should have to be ready to join John Rudd nt five o'clock In the morning, I took my aunt's advice and weut to bed. When I awoke it was still pitch dark. I struck a light, and found that it was four o'clock. I therefore got up and began to prepare for my jour ney. I went about my work as quietly as possible, hoping to disturb no one; but shortly after I eutered the kitchen my uncle appeared fully dressed for the day. He looked so white and strange that, for a moment. I was startled into the belief that something was rhe mntter. As noth iug seemed to have transpired, however, I concluded it was sorrow ut parting with m How the memory of that white, wan face came back to me in after days! It was the memory of it, and of the patient, pitiful eyes, which sealed my lips when one word might have proved my salva tion. When John Rudd made his appearance and my aunt came out of the bedroom, and began crying on my shoulder, I saw the wan, sad eyes of my uncle still fixed upon me. As I left the cottage, I looked back and found them gazing after me still. (To be continued.) HIS CHECK WAS NO GOOD. A Place Where a Dollar In the Hand Was Worth Two in the Bunk. A check for $.", signed by a man who could well be rated ns one of the "captains of Industry," proved to be an almost worthless piece of paper In the bands of Us recipient a few days ago. It served to illustrate the difficulty which people have In han dling such piece of financlnl paper, providing thej have neither bank ac count nor commercial rating. The $3. check came from a Con necticut manufacturing town. It wua drawn on a local bank and signed by a merchant credited with millions. The man who received It Is fairly well known about New York City. He has always been on a salary, and he does not happen to hnve a bank account. It also happened that he needed the cash at once, so he first took the check to ap acquaintance In one of the city olflees. "Can you cash this for nie?" ho asked. "Sorry, old man, but we have mafle our deposits for the day and there Is no cash on hand." Then the check holder tried his tailor, who explained: "Can't do It to-day. I'm short." "Will you Indorse this for me and help me to get the money?" said the seeker for cash to another friend who was well acquainted at a bank near by. "Against my rules," was the em phatic answer. "Take It to a saloonkeeper," Rig gested another man. The advice was accepted, but the proprietor, after listening to the request, silently poiut ed to a sign over the bar, which read: "No checks cashed here." Other tribulations followed the pos sessor of the check, until finally he found a good Samaritan, who kindly consented to deposit It In his own bank for collection and turn over the money when It was reported as paid. It was ten days before the needy one obtained his money, says the Kansas City Journal, and he concluded that he would rather have small sums sent In letters, without eVen the piveaution of registration, as long as he was un able to have a bank account or a rating. Wanted to Have It Over. "Mamma," said Ben nie, as there came a brief pause In the conversation on the part of the callers, "isn't it time for you to ask me what I learned at the kindergarten to-day? If you don't do it pretty soon I'll forget what von told me to say." Rnral Free Delivery an Aid. At the recent Iutcrnatllnal Good Road Convention, at St Loula, Hon. Frank E. Nevlna, of the Vnlted States Postottlc Department, delivered au address In which he said: "Th establishment of the rural free delivery of mall throughout th coun try ha produced a marked Improve ment In the condition of th highways. When ther la a prospect of rural free delivery In community, work Imme diately begin on th roads. There are how In operation U3.000 rural routes over which carrier trtvel 6V),- 000 mile delivering mall to about IMXKUHW people. Mr than 13.000 bridge hnv been constructed over streams that would not have been built If It had uot beeu for the estab lishment of the free delivery system. Nearly every portion of. the country, where road conditions will warrant it, la now aupplled with this service. But In many sections the bad condition of the wad, or the lack of bridge, pre veut the extension of the service. The rural carrier of a standard route Is now expected to travel about twenty five miles each day to earn bis salary of f tWO a year. He la required to fur nish and maintain his own outfit and team, and to give a bond of $500 for the faithful performance of his duties. F.xperlence has demonstrated that this distance Is too great on account of t ho bud condition of the roads. So many carriers have resigned, thereby caus ing much confusion and labor in the department, that the Congress Just ad journed has been compelled toadd $170 a year to the salaries of the car riers of the country. This Increase of salaries amounts to 'about $4,000,000 a year additional that the department has to pay to maintain this service on account of bad roads. Over a good graveled or mncadamlzed plko road a carrier can easily make twenty-live miles a day six times a week." With the roads as .they are, it Is a question whether the next Congress will not be called upon to add another $4,000,000 to the salaries of the carriers. "Under the road laws of most of the Western States at the present time work Is done upon the roads In the fall by the various road districts, when there Is no work to be done on the farms. In the sprlyg this work disappears.- Nothing permanent remains, and the roads are In as bad condition, or worse, than they were before. The cost of $2,000 to $tJ,000 a mile for the construction of hard roads in this Western country Is too great, in most Instances, for road districts, townships and counties to bear; neither Is it right that they should bear the entire cost The public at large, which shares directly or Indirectly in the benefits, should contribute to the expense. There never will be good roads in this country until the National Government takes the Initiative In this movement, and the respective States of the Union Join in with liberal contributions, aud this again is supplemented by local enterprise. Continental Europe, Eng land and Ireland are covered with hard broad pikes built at the expense of the governments of those countries. No country In the world ever yet had or ever will have permanent and pass able highways constructed and main tained by local authority. "Sixty per cent of the population of this country lives In the cities and vil lages; 40 per cent lives In the country. It is not fair or Just to place the en tire burden of good roads upon the shoulders of the farmer. The general public shares directly or indirectly In the benefits and should beur the ex pense of an equitable tax for this pur pose on all assessable values. The weight of it upon the Individual would then be as light as a summer shadow. While this specter of taxation may frighten some of our skittish country friends and cause them to rear and plunge a little, they will find on closer inspection that the goblin is a barm less creation of the imagination. They will get back in benefits ten times more than they will pay out in taxes. "Why some of our friends spurn Government aid when it Is offered them I cannot understand. They claim to be opposed to it on principle, and can see no good in it. There are some people so constructed that when look ing into a pool of water they can nev er see the sky and the clouds above it reflected on its. surface, but only the mud at the bottom. "This Government never falls to do the right thing in the end. It. will not fall to do the right thing In this in stance. The impetus given to this movement by a few progressive states men who introduced measures in Con gress last winter authorizing national aid in the construction of highways, will ultimately produce the results aimed at. It cannot 'fall to do so be cause the public interest demands it; the progress of the age demands It,' the welfare and development of the country at large demand it, and It Is bound to come in spite of those who raise their voices in opposition to it" Fewer Death by War. If a French writer on military sub jects is correct, the advocates of peace can no longer fall back upon war's In creasing destructlveness to human life its an argument On the contrary, he claims that experience shows that the greater the destructive power of mod ern rifle and artillery th lets it th percenUg of men killed. During th Seven Year' War betwen Germany and Austria aud th dynastic war of the eighteenth ceutury th rival armle opened flr at a dlitanc of on hun dred yard, and after th first few volley cliargod with th bayonet or pike. Th averag loa in the war was seventeen per cent of th total number of combatants. During th time of the Civil Revolution and th Napoleonic era th losses were sixteen per cent In th Italian war and Cri mean wa?, with improved weapon, the loss fell to fourtecu per cent In IStSrt, in the war of Prussia against Austria, with Improved needle-guns aud greater distance, the losses were even per cent In the Franco Prus sian war the leasee sank to live per cent This is both fortunate and un fortunate, according to one's view point But the flnauclal argument for peace cannot be gainsaid. INVISIBLE HANDWRITINO, Transfer Left by Ink Which May II Kaudlly Developed. In writing with certain forma of ink on ordinary paper, placing the sheet after thorough blotting lu contact with a whit sheet of paper, It Is possible to make on this latter au Invisible trans ference, which, as M. A. Bertlllon bus shown, may be rendered visible by the use of certain methods. Iu fact, a lot tor placed for several hour between th leave of a book will leave it secret in this book, and a falsification In a ledger may be proved by th ex amination of the page against which the falsified page rests. A Swiss Investigator (R.A. Retss, of Lausanne) ha recently made Investi gations In reference to the above phe nomenon and In reference to 'the con ditions under which It may be pro duced. It nppeara that the forma tion of the Imago depends principally ou tho Ink, although It was discovered that the latent Image may be produced by nearly one half of tho luk In cur rent use, out of thirteen different varie ties of Ink seven having produced a positive result It further appeared that the formation of the linage de pended upon tho presettco of adds In tin colored mixture, the gum and the sugar having no part In tho phenom ena, although tho paper on which the writing has been placed gives different results. The best results were obtained with paper well sized and polished, for the reason that the contact In this case Is closer, thus favoring the production of the Image. The duration of the contact Is not necessarily long, in general about au hour, while In order to reveal the lin age two very simple measures are ro sorted to. The first method Is to ap ply the back of the sheet on which the latent image Is supposed to bo a warm Iron, an ordinary flatlron, which is held In place until the paper 1s slightly browned, after which the Image will appear sometimes very clear and com plete. The other method does not mak any change In the paper to be exam ined, and consist In placing In con tact with the latter a sheet of nitrate of silver photographic paper for sev eral hours six to twelve the two sheets belngexposed to the light The photographic paper will completely blacken, but the Intent Image will stand forth very distinctly. It should be stated that the leaf on which a latent Image exists loses this Image by contact with water or alcohol Pari I'lllustratlon. Thf Great Itusslan Lake. Lake Baikal, which figures so much In the Oriental situation, Is a some what remarkable body of water. Iti name' Is a corruption of tho Turkish Bel-kul, "rich lake" the reference be ing, presumably to the valuable flsh with which it swarms. Lake Baikal Is the third largest body of water in Asia. The Caspian and Aral seas are the two larger. Both are salt, however, while Bulkal Is fresh. It Is, therefore, the largest fresh wa ter lake in Asia, and the sixth In size in the world, the five Great Lakes of North America each exceeding It lu area. Its waters occupy a remarkable depression in the vast plateau of Cen tral Asia. The level of its waters is 1,800 feet above the sea, while the bot tom of the lake is, In some places, more than 3,000 feet below the sea level. Its depth Is, therefore, 4,500 feet lu the deepest parts. The lake Is 330 miles long, and from nine and a quarter to forty miles wide. Its waters are a deep blue, and re markably clear. There are a number of Islands in it; the largest Olkhon, Is forty-two miles long. There are nu merous hot springs on the shores, and earthquake vibrations are frequent The annual value of its salmon, stur geon and other fisheries Is about one Hundred and sixty thousand dollars. Fresh water seals are abundant, and they are caught for their fur. It re ceives the waters of several "sVeams, the main one being the Salnega River, eight hundred miles long. The upper Angara River, also of considerable size, enters its northeastern end. Its outlet Is the Lower Angara, on which Irkutsk is situated. The reason why the Slberjan Rail road was not built around the southern end of the lake Is that the solid rock of the mountains reaches to the wa ter's edge, and the task would be her culean. Events In the East may com pel it nevertheless. ' ( . ( Consolation. It may be dat yo'-sweeflheart Done lef yon feel In' blue, But de melon coolln' In de well Wid a ripe, red heart fer youl Atlanta Constitution, Consider the other side. You may be unreasonable. RAM'S HORN BLASTS. Waralas Mote Tailing th Wicked t ' Itepeatanc. F.LF .SIC ARCH ing will rurt self seeking. Tho soul Is the secret of civili sation. .The dutiful are seldom the doubting. They who de fer decision in cur death. Slu aears over the senses of th soul, Ther nre no shipwreck In a pud dle. Character 1 fashioned bjr chasten ing. He who seek honor oft finds a har ness. Fanaticism I (he greatest foe of faith. God put out no light because It la little. The law consumes where It cannot re tine. There Is no blessing In the tie that binds the church and tho devil. Tho garment of holiness la not sub ject to the vagaries of fashion. The church must keep her sympa thies down to lift the world up. The hope of th world Is In that to which our hearts turn In sorrow. The Parent of all cannot honor those who fall to honor their parents. There I no value lu your grist ot knowledge unless you ran grind It There Is a difference between the gain of godliness and the godliness of gain. The Iwauty of Christ cannot, be proven by arguments on the baseness of others. COMPLEXION AND INSANITY Fewer Blonde thun Brunette liiSHtnt limuiio Asylum. "Several months ago I hnppcned across a pamphlet published by the government of a Southern State In which were some Interesting statistic regarding the complexion of the In mates pt the State Inmino Asylum," Hobnrt Ijtngdon said to a St. I.oiili Globe-Iemocrat mun. "Only 3 per cent of tho total had light hulr, ami only 2 per cent blue eyes. . . "It struck me as a rather curious fact that dark-halrcd aiM 'dark-eye! people should so largely predominate among the Insane, but the matter of latitude might play some part In this, I thought; for naturally there were more dark tliHn light-haired people lu that section. Just as a matter of cu riosity, ' however, 1 thought I would write to asylum authorities In certain other parts of tho country to seo what the' ratio of llght-halred Inmates wo to those who were dark, ami expected to find the percentage Increase In com munities where the total of light haired was larger, but In this I wal mistaken, so I am led to Infer from the sta tistics I gathered that thero Is a great er possibility for Insanity anion dark haired than among llght-halred people. "My figures were obtained from sixty-eight asylums, located in nearly every State In the Union, and a few lu Canada and England. Tho total num ber of patients . In these ItHtltu'lon was 10,612. of whom "08 hud light hair, ami only sixty-six red or auburn locks. In other words, JK1 per cent of the In mate were brunettes, with either black or brown bnlr. the hitter In vary ing shades. In one asylum In New England there was not a single In mate that was not a brunette. Of course, I do not know how to account for this, for I nm not a specialist In such matters, and only secured the sta tistics out of pure curiosity, but It cer tainly looks as though blondes were less liable to Insanity than those with darker hair or eyes. "Another peculiar feature about the facts I obtained, however, was that the percentage of those regarded ns In curably Insane was much greater among the blondes than among the brunettes. The totals show thut among the dark-halred Inmates on'y E3 per cent were marked hopelessly Insane, while among the blondes 81 per cent were put In this category, and that only three among tho red haired pa tients escaped the same classification." A Boy at Sea. A waterspout is one of the first things a green sailor boy wants to Bee. He has read about it as one of the wonders of the sea, and It rouse his keenest curiosity. He gets the old sailors to promise to .call him when one Is sighted. They promise, winking stealthily at each other. Tho ship gets down into tropical waters, aud the boy it told that a waterspout may be, coming along al most any time. One night he is awakened suddenly. An old sailor shakes him. "Come on! Hurry up, young feller; there's a waterspout on the starboard bow bearing right down on us." The boy hastens up the companion way without waiting to dress, and as he starts out on deck- he Is thrown down by a massif water descending on him . like a wet mountain. Hd struggles to .bis feet gasping, sput tering; "W-a-a-s tha-a-t a wa-a-a-ter spout? The sailors are around ' him, roar ing. Then he looks up above the com panlonway and sees- an empty hogs head. Having seen and felt the water spout, he descends to . his bunk, wipes himself dry, and turns in. Next time waterspouts in great numbers may be reported on both bows, but he will have no particular desire to observe them.' ' s