BY MISADVENTURE
:BY:
FRANK BARRETT
CHAPTER I.
My name Is Keene Anthony Keene. I
m a lawyer; sixty-four years is my age.
You may see what kind of man I am by
my portrait; not over pleasant with any
one. ,
George Flexmore and I were friends,
lie was my first client when I set up In
Coneyford, a small town Just large enough
at that time, as I believed, to keep a law
yer of its own ; there are a couple of us
now, and we have as much to do as we
need. Flexmore had just then come into
a fortune and he did not know what to
do with it I prevented hjm from losing
It, as be certainly would have done with
out proper direction, for he was an easy
going man, of a credulous disposition,
such as your needy adventurer and shifty
peculator love to take lu hand. For ev
ery man that bas money there are ninety
nine who are anxious to spend it for him.
"If any one asks yon for money, Flex
more," said I, "don't refuse him ; send
him to me." And he did so, with this re
sult he never lost a penny bythese good
natured friends.
He had a great respect for me more
than I deserved doubtless; He seemed to
think that whatever I did must be right,
and I believe it was the sheer force of ex
ample tUl topt tiaj out of atr!wwiT so
long; because I did, not care to take a
wife, he thought it best to keep single.
But the conditions were different I am
not an easy-going man, and marriage
would have been purgatory for me or my
wife, and the result must have been equal
ly bad for both of us in either case. But
Flexmore had nothing to do from morning
to night that might not very well be set
aside to attend to the wants of some
body else. He saw that he ought to l have
some other object in life than to eat and
sleep and kill time J hat his life was la
complete in fact. But he still made pre
tense of beinz content with a bachelor's
-uiatence.
One day I caught him singing his old
song, "When a man's single he lives at his
ease," but In such a lugubrious strain
that it would have made me laugh if It
bad not Irritated me.
"That's humbug, Flexmore," said I,
"and you know it A -man's happiness
consists in making other people happy
unless he's a lawyer; . You re not a law-
vr. and von oueht to be making some
body happy. You'd be moVe at your ease
if you had somebody else to think about,
nd somebody else to think about you.
"Do you mean that I ought to marry,
Tony?" he said, blushing like a girl.
"That Is exactly what I do mean,
Ieoree.- There's little Miss Vaughan,
who hns been waiting to be asked these
three vears; there are'dozens of girls to
be chosen from." ""
"Do you think she would have me?" he
interrupted eagerly.
"Well, the best way of deciding that
oint is to go and ask her this afternoon,"
a id I.
The result of this advice was that
Flexmore married Miss Vaughan just six
weeks after- ,
She was much younger than he, as
jvife should be. A liappier couple I never
saw. He lived to please her, and she to
please him that was the chief object of
their lives.
A year after their marriage they had a
.hlld, and a nice fuss they made about it
She grewjjp a pleasant little thing, shy
and timid, with a clinging affection for
lovable persons and things. I never saw
nvthine like the passionate attachment
that existed between her and her sweet
tempered mother. Poor Mrs. Flexmore
bad never been a robust person, and
well, to cut short a story that is too pain
'ful to dwell upon, she died when little
Laure was eleven years old.
Flexmore was then sixty-two, but he
was not too old to suffer. The loss nn
" nanncd him completely. He-took on like
a woman; and he would have been less a
uan if he had not, perhaps. '
" "My poor old friend," said I, "it would
bnve been better to let you live on an
old bachelor."
"No, no," he replied.' "After such hap
piness an eternity i of suffering would find
me still a gainer."
"You have your child your little
t,aure," said I; and then, to turn bis
thoughts from the past, I talked about
the future, and what be Bhould do for
the child's welfare. Indeed the child's
grief gave me almost as much concern as
the father's. It was not a pasnionate out
burst, that spends Itself like a summer
shower ' and gives place to peace and
miles, but a Continued fruitless yearn
ing for that loved one to come back who
was gone forever. .
"You must have a woman here to com
fort her," I said to Flexmore.
He agreed to this, and sent for his de
teased brother's widow, who had married
again and been a second time left a
widow, as. being his nearest female rela
tive, and she came 'readily enougha
woman of fifty, hard as nails, and stringy!
as an old crow, one looxea upon little
La tire's distress as unnatural In a child,
ind her morbid condition as the result of
defective education ; and she set about
correcting all this by. setting the little
thing to read some instructive and'moral
books which no conceivable creature could
Vid Interest or pleasure in.' ,
After she bad been there three days
Dr. Awdrey had to be sent for. Laure
was feverish and couldn't "hold herself
tip properly." Dr.' Awdrey ordered her
to be put to bed at once, gave directions
respecting treatment, and sent physic to
administered every two hours.
Mrs. Yeanies had studied medicine from
shilling handbook that she carried with
her as if it were an amulet: she diluted
the, physjc and administered doses when
she thought fit. Little Laure was very
much worse when the doctor called the
next day ; and it was not long before he
discovered the reason. He came down
into the library where I was sitting with
r lexmore. -
'Your child Is In a very dangerous con
dition," he said firmly.
Heaven have mercy upon me!" ex
claimed my old friend, -clasping his hands.
hat's to be done?"
"She must have a proper nurse, to be
gin with,' said Dr. Awdrey. J'I can get
you one whom I can rely on" implicitly,
and who can do more than all my physic
for the poor child. She is in the hospital
for little children at London, and, I be
lieve she would come at once If I asked
her."
'Then for mercy's sake, telegraph for
her at once.
ben the doctor was gone Flexmore
in some embarrassment turned to me.
"It will never work, Tony," said he de-
spondently. - "The nurse will never be
able to put up with Mrs. Yeames." -
"Yea; she's turned the whole place
tpfiia turry In pvtmw tMni In order,
and left not a bit of comfort anywhere."
"Yes, yes; alt the things that my darl
ing loved she has packed away the lit
tle trifles , with which she made these
rooms so bright and pleasant I can't
bear to see the place altered ; and those
trifles, Tony, I miss "them -I miss them."
"We 11 have 'em all back again In twen
ty-four hours."
"I asked her to corns and live here,
How can I get rid of her?"'
"Don't bother about that, George. You
leave her to me. Give me full authority
to act in your behalf, and stick to my
directions."
He gave me his word most impressively
that be would. I went Into the sitting
room and sent at once for Mrs. Yeames.
Then we had it out She was a. tough
one to deal with, but not nearly so tough
as I am. I tried to be polite, but I fear
I insulted her. She certainly said
did. and went into the library to know if
her brother-in-law would tolerate such
want of respect on the part of a mere at
torney ; and the question being put direct
ly to Flexmore whether she or I were to
leave that house at once and forever, be
replied that he felt convinced, taking all
tilings into- consideration, that he could
better afford to lose her than me.
After that there was nothing for' the
indignant widow to -ip but to pack up
and pack off which she did, happily, be
fore her fury gave place to more pruden
tial considerations.
CHAPTER II.
I expected to see a. comely, motherly,
middle-aged woman, and was taken alto
gether by surprise when Nurse Gertru.de
presented herself in the person of a slight
young woman of twenty-two or there
abouts. .
Of course I am no judge of female
beauty, but I don't think Nurse Gertrude
at that time could be considered hand
some, or even very pretty. If I have any
predilection, It Is for large women with
round, full figures; and I think I rather
like a saucy eye and a nice little turned-
up nose. . "
iow :urse uertruue, tnougn by no
means short, was, as 1. have said, slight
and thin. She had a very delicate, fair
complexion and pretty, dark hair, to be
sure; but her nose was long, and her
eyes were by no means saucy, but calm
and deep and thoughtful. Her expres
sion was cneertui, ana sne bad a pretty
trick of blushing, but in repose her face
was full of intelligence and solicitude.
One could not look at her without being
Impressed with the belief that she was
essentially a pure and honest girl, with
a very earnest purpose, an amiable dis
position, and a clear-seeing, right-feeling
mind. - tier eyes were so true and frank
and loyal, that one was attracted to
wards her as to a friend whose fidelity
and love couiu never be doubted.
. une ining bu-uck me, ana this was
that in some peculiarity I know not
what s,he bore a resemblance to Mrs,
lexmore as i bad known her In her
younger days. And this seemed also to
have struck Flexmore, for more than once
I saw him, forgetful of the table, looking
at her with the tenderest Interest on his
poor old woe-begone face.
"Oh, I see how this will end," said I
to myself. . "He'll marry that girl if
she'll have blm."
Mrs. Yeames, like an old -buzzard that
bas missed Its prey, hovered about the
neighborhood, watching the quarry with
the jealous Intention of preventing any
other creature of her own species clawing
up what she had failed to secure. She
took a cottage at the other end of the
town and joined a clique of ladies famous
for their ability In picking to pieces the
reputation of a follow-Christlan.
Meanwhile Nurse Gertrude- fulfilled
her duties with the calm self-possession
of one conscientiously doing what she
feels to be right. What she had come
tliers to do, she did and as if by magic.
With Dr. Awdrey's help 'she got the fever
under in a week, and after that she
brought a smile back to the poor child's
waste'! face, which- was of still greater
importance ; for when one can smile, one
ean eat and anjoy food. She gave little
Laure something to love, and nourished
her heart with kindness.. That was what
she needed ; that was what sh got. She
had been craving for love since her moth
er was' taken away, and must have died
without it, as surely as a plant must die
without sunlight.
But how was she to be weaned of this
love-food in' order that Nurse Gertrude
might in time return to her hospital?
Every day ber appetite grew by what it I
fed on. AH the clinging affection she
had borne to her mother she now exhibit- I
eU towards ?urse uertruue. Tne cnim
bad recognized the likeness that had
struck me; mother and nurse alike, in
some respects, were still of the same type
of woman and an excellent type, too.
After a time it became obvious that
Laure was not to be weaned and that
to take away Nurse Gertrude would in
flict the same terrible suffering the child
had endured in losing her mother. There
upon there were consultations between
Flexmore, Dr. Awdrey and me.
"It is obvious that Nurse Gertrude is
very strongly attached to your child,"
said Dr. Awdrey.
"She is not unhappy here; she looks L
better than when she came," said ilex-
more.
Oh, undoubtedly she Is better," Dr.
Awdrey agreed." "The confinement of the
hospital - and the air of London were
telling upon her in fact, I must admit
that in recommending her I was influ
enced by the consideration that the
change would be to her advantage as well
as your daughter's."
If she would only consent to stay ber
as a companion to dear Laure In any
capacity, on any terms !" said Flexmore
"Do you think she would?
"Go and ask her," said I.
. She was asked; but Dr. Awdrey was
the negotiator, for Flexmore had not the
courage of a mouse. And Nurse Gertrude
acquiesced setting aside all other con
siderations for the sake of the child whose
love bad won her beart. So Dr. Auit
put It; for my own part I could not see
what sacrifice she had made in exchang
ing a close hospital ward for a pleasant
and airy house, and an ill-paid slavery
for a ' very remunerative position where
she was free to do just as she liked. No ;
I looked npon it that the young lady, to
gether with other very good qualities, had
a very clear perception of her duty to
herself, and that she foresaw as plainly
as I did that sooner or later she would
become Mrs. Flexmore.
However, to stick to the facts of the
case ; that day Nurse Gertrude came down
to dinner without the becoming little cap
which had previously distinguished her
as an official nurse; and If we bad come
to think her pretty In her cap, we were
bound to admit that she looked still nicer
without it her pretty hair drawn neatly
up and coiled plainly on her head.
We have a flower show In our town
once a year. . The first day is the best,
of course, and, the prices excluding" the
poorer kind of people, only the upper sort
are there. There was a rumor that titled
visitors were staying with the Casely's,
and that probably they would visit the
show in the afternoon ; wherefore you
may be sure that Mrs. Yeames and ber
"superiab" set were all there In full
feather. .
About three o'clock I saw Miss Dal
rymple come in with Laure; she never
missed any occasion of giving pleasure to
the child, or of taking it herself for that
matter. She was plainly dressed; but,
to my mind, there was no more elegant
young lady there. Mrs. Yeames with
three of her finest friends stopped them,
and with the most distant patronizing in
clination of their beads to Miss Dalrym
pie, bent down to kiss Laure, and ask
after her poor, dear papa. Then Mrs.
Yeames, taking the child's hand, led her
to a bank of cut flowers, asking her
whether she could spell the labels at
tached. In the midst of this Instructive displnj
of her own acquirements, there was a flut
ter amongst the visitors, and word was
whispered that Mrs. Casely, bad arrived
and bad brought Lord Dunover with her.
And there, sure enough, was Mrs. Casely
with a tall, white-haired, aristocratic' old
gentleman, coming right down upon the
little party. There was not time to get
away from little Laure and that horrid
nurse Gertrude, when Mrs. Casely met
them and introduced his lordship. Dun
over bowed stiffly, but suddenly catching
sight of Miss Dalrymple, his face became
Illumined with a smile of heart-felt pleas
ure, and exclaiming, "What; Gertie, my
dear, you here !" he took her by both
hands and kissed her pretty lips. Then
turning to Mrs. Casely, he said :
"Mrs. Caself, let me Introduce you to
my niece a little democrat who almost
shakes my class prejudice, for she prefers
independence as a hospital nurse to shar
ing the fallen fortunes of her family."
Then it was known that Miss Dalrym
ple was actually the niece . of an earl.
And she and Laure . spent a week at
Casely Manor, where Mrs. Yeames and
her "superlah" set had never been allow
ed to stay longer than half an hour.
(To be continued.)
First Aid. v .
A Washington doctor was recently
called to his telephone by a colored
woman formerly In the service of hit
wife. In great agitation the darky ad
vised the physician that her youngest
child was In a bad way.
"What seems to be the trouble?" ask
ed the doctor.
"Doc, she done swallereil a whole
bottle of Ink." - .
"I'll be over there In a short while
to see her," said the medico. "In the
meantime, have you done anything for
her?"
"I done give her three pieces o' blot
tin paper, doc," snld the negress doubt
fullyc Harper's Weekly.
; No Arctic explorers, have ever hau
colds until they returned to civiliza
tion. Then, one and all, they are
prostrated by severe Influents,
STATES NOW
T
-
TrVn.nrv Flim
,re"ury rltu
Show that tb
Per Capita Is in Excess
of $1,310.
?AST GROWTH OF FINANCES hibltlon statutes, as the Georgia cities,
I but many of them have voted dry .un
der the provisions of a local option
Money in Circulation on Jan.
Last "Was Nearly $3,000,
000,000. 30
jur A1.ri . vuaiue, vaun cier. flnd Savannah. minols Chnmpalgn,
of the Lnlted States treasury, who hai Jacksonville, Urbana. Indian Territory
charge of Uncle Sam's money, called ,Durantf Muskogee, Tulso, Wagoner,
my attentiou the other day to the al-. Massachusetts-Haverhlll, Lynn, Wor
most Incredible growth of the buslnesi 'ter Nortn Carolina Ashevllle,
of the Treasury Department since hjRaie,gQ. Ohio-East Liverpool. OWa
came Into the service, forty-two yenn ; homa Guthrie, Oklahoma City, Shaw
ago, and ho furnished me with some nee EnI(1 Tennessee Clarksvllle.
very Interesting and rather startling Jackson, Knoxvllle. Vermont Burling-
r 1 . n -v i 1
compnnsons, writes William ju. uurriston
the. Washington correspondent For
example, the wealth of the country,
which, of course, has kept pace with
iae transactions or . tne treasury, is This watch was kept by the Atlanta
three and one-half times greater to-day j Constitution, which did not favor pro
than It was lu 1870. The total then hibltlon, and that pnper's testimony Is
was $30,008,018,000. The estimated total believed to be unbiased
to-day, based upon the census report!
and Information received by the Agri
cultural Department, the Secretary of
the Treasury, and the Comptroller of
the Currency, is $107,104,211,917. i
The wealth per capita of citizens of
the United States, based upon similar ey by the operation of the "dry" stat
estlmates, has Increased from $779.83 jUte. In Atlanta, on January 4, 1907
In 1870 to $1,810.11 . In 1907, which when the high license law was In ef
nmkes the United States, with its enor-ifect, there were sixty-three police cases,
mous population, the richest country in
the world.
The money In circulation bas Increas
ed four-fold since Major Qualffe "came
Into the treasury. The total in 1370
was $073,212,704, while on Jan. SO,
1907, It was $2,014,342,258. The circu
lation per capita bas almost doubled,
notwithstanding the present money
famine, and has Increased from $17.00
to $33.86 during the
last
forty-two
years.
When Major Qualffe came Into the
cash room we bad only $20,000,000 In
gold; to-day we have $750,000,809 In
gold coin In the treasury alone, not
counting that In circulation and hoard
ed away.
Uncle Sam's working capital on Dec.
14, 1907, amounted to $1,750,491,401.31 before the Navy League at Washington,
nil of which Is burd cash. Of ihls f He said: "If I had the opportunity I
amount $1,233,705,800, In coin Is held would vote for an appropriation of $50,
on dejiosit to secure the payment of 000,000 a year for a period of ten years
$750,005,809 gold certificates, $471,625,- ,or,Bi "Jm "IT . ' D ,Ulh 8
" ' " ' x ' a frlendshln hetwepn nations as between
000 silver certificates, and $5,515,000
treasury notes outstanding. The trc-us-
ury reserve, which Is kept by law,
amounts to $150,000,000. The cash bal-
once available to pay the current ex -
penses of the government on Dec 14
wns $259,702,809.63.
Uncle Sam does not keep all of his
. ..,. .. ,,.,,,.
money In Washington, although there
Is a good deoof It here. Ibe remain -
der is scattered among the different
subtreasurles, mints and natlonnl bank
depositories as follows:
Treasury, Washington . . .$175,071,84d.79
Subtreasury, New York.. 27O,023,!7.87
Bubtreasury, Baltimore .. 10,027,023.41
Subtreasury, Philadelphia. 18,008,820.00
Subtreasury, Boston 19,928,271.90
Subtreasury, Cincinnati.. " 13.417.8S2.59
Subtreasury, Chicago 55,083,802.72
Subtreasury, St. Louis... 18,000,802.40
Subtreasury, New Orleans 23,059,020.89
Bubtreasur, ; San 1 ranclsco W.4.WHaTO In the 8gr,cultura, di8tHcta of I(aly
Mint, Philadelphia. ...... 354,1 ,8 511.72 ! w.ttgeg are only 30 a d for ,
Hint. Denver oo'IiS and lc88 tor women and boys.
Mint, New Orleans...... 33,302,871.34; ,
Mint, San Francisco 322,483,71410' etthTrIeate.nt I ! f n,orinel.enf
Assay office, New York . . . 79,858,325.27 . ?eer8 noju' " I "verted by the
National bank 240,284,455.09 ; ncfeptance of a ProPon to arbitrate
Treasury Philippine Islands 3,795,399.09 , gr,evances-
Tn transit between offices. 490,788 45 The International . Brotherhood ot
In -addition to the working balance Sftea'u .Sbovel ttnd Iedgemen has In
and the reserve, there Is a total of "d I!!e"tBt.lv.eu t0 viH't! t" lstl"
$811,730,128 In bonds In the vaults at
xx' x I uiu tiioo in n-m t. t.
Washington o which $033,035,970 1. to
secure circulation of national banks and
$178,200,158 to secure deposits In na -
tlonal banks. An additional sum of
$103,701,389 Is deposited for similar
purposes in the subtreasurles of New
York and Son Francisco, making a to
tal of $915,487,018 of other people's
money In Uncle Sam's charge.
Flezner TrauaCers Vital Organa,
A paper read before the American As -
nl.tUn'fn , . la.iiMmant f Hl.nn.
oclation for the Advancement of Science
In the University of Chicago reveals the
fact that Dr. Simon Flexner of New York
City bas succeeded in transplanting ar
teries from one animal to another suc
cessfully. The experiments have thus
far been confined exclusively to the lower
animals, but the favorable results In this
field are believed to point the way to a
successful application of the practlcs to
human belncs.
Ships to I'mt Grroaoopea.
It Is reported that the Hamburg-American
line, having bought the German'
rights of the Schllch gyroscope, Intends the Midland Railway Company's order
to equip all Its North Sea and channel , relating to Sunday duty. In a certain
boats with the apparatus, which It is ex- limited sense a six-day week Is estab
pected will keep the ship steady In the llshsd 1 the grades required to work sevea
roughest weather. The gyroscope will be days s week are to receive extra pa fog
located at the stern of the vessel. Sunday duty.
LiaUOB TTNJJEE BUT.
- In Eighty Cities of the United State
' Prohibition Now Bales.
Under the strong tide of prohibition,
j which has so Impressively demonstrat-
ed Its power in Southern States, the
"dry" area In America has been dou
bled In the last twelve months. Eighty
cities in seventeen States are now en
forcing prohibition laws on their 2,
200,000 Inhabitants, and of these eighty
municipalities, thirty-three "went dry"
In 1 CWY7 Qaitia a i in sins MnAcal n.
law.
Additions to the list of dry cities
during 1907 include : Alabama Annis
ton, Birmingham, Huntsvllle, Mobile,
Montgomery and Selma. California
Berkley. Georgia Athens, Atlanta,
Aumistn. TirnnanMnlr rViliimritn Mnnnn
, '
Particular watch has been kept on
Atlanta to discover Just how the much
discussed Georgia law operates there.
In a special story the Constitution
admits that the elimination of whisky
has "worked a revolution in the city's
worst quarter, and as Is almost Invari
ably the case, the police records show
.that the public Is actually saving mon-
thirty-two of which were connected
with drunkenness. On, January 4, 1908,
Just eight days after the dry law went
Into effect, there were just seventeen
police cases In Atlanta, not one being
for drunkenness.
These facts will be used In argu
ments being brought to bear on Con
gress for legislation to make the Dls-
trlct of Columbia dry and to forbid
such Interstate commerce which will
dump "original package" liquor int
prohibition territory. -
Harlan Prophecies Baca War.
That there will eventually be a conflict
between the yellow and the white races
that will shake the earth is the opinion of
Justice Harlan of the United States Su
preme Court, as expressed In an address
as friendship between nations as between
men. Nations moke no sacrifice to pre-
gerve friendships, apd do not forbear to'
Jo certain things because they t not
meet with the approval of other nations.
' We refer to the people of Asia as the yel-
low race, There are 400,000,Ooq Chiueso
M trong mentally and physically as w
fre; hav? no h"ltll't;ir t?"rd them.
but there will be a conflict between thf
rac9 and whJt- w1,
' hake th, earth When ,t comeg j want
(t0 gfi8 tMa contry with a navy on both
weans that will be strong enough." t
. (
v-amuium niuio luuur convention
bM pagse, resolutions ,trongly coudenin.
ing pre(,dcnt it00f.eVeIt i.d Secretary of
1 Commerce and Lubor Mctcalf for their
'Pi. r.iifA: t-. .. . i.. i
attitude In relation to Jnpiinese.
At the Scottish miners' conference ai
Glasgow It was stated that wages had in
creased by Is Od a day, In sonio instance
by 2s. The average wage now is 37s Od
a week, and it was determined that that
Bhould be the minimum.
Arthur W. Clark of Itoxbury, vMass.,
! former president and organizer of the!
I 1 . , i , i
grocery aim provision cierss, uns oeen
named as the New England organizer of
the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and
Butcher Workmen's Union.
On Jan. 1, 1007, there were 25,714 co
operative societies In existence in Ger
many, with a total membership of 8,800,
143, the corresponding totals for a year
being 24,052 and 3,058,537. The large,
majority of those were credit associations,
with an aggregate membership of over
2,000,000.
One df the first fruits of the rallwat
settlement In England Is the action of
il i AIiIUmA