The Quest of
Betty Lancey
Hy MA.CDA. r. WEST '
OopyrliSt, 1909, by TT. C. Chapnua. Ooprrtot la Gnat Biitala
CHAPTER XVI. (Continued.)
One bit of documantarv evidence
that materialized in the Hackleye home
at Cairo was bruited about in all the
papers.
On the fly leaf of a French Bible, in
a woman's hand an odd hand with
peculiarly forcible strokes were these
an tries:
"Married January 10, 1899, Cerisse
Corella Wayne, daughter of Deslree
end John Francis Wayne, and Ham
leye Hackleye, third son of Sir Walter
and Lady Evelyn Hackleye.
"Born, November 1st, 1900, to Ce
rlsse Corella Wayne Hackleye and
Hamleye Hackleye, a son, Walter
Hamleye Hackleve.
"Born, October 15, 1901, to Cerisse
Corella Wayne Hackleye and Hamleye
Hackleye, a daughter, Paula Cerisse
Hackleye."
Gradually there became fixed more
ecurely the public idea that Hackley
Had murdered his wife. And the grow
ing impression was that Hackleye and
Harcourt were one and the same, but
the most Inexplicable of all was the
dual resemblance between the two
women, but at that the Man-Aperil-
la puzzled.
Mark Flanders, tne old attorney from
whom Hackleye had rented the house
sit 94 Briarsweet place, was so upset
by the sensation in which the staid old
home was figuring that he nearly went
wild. As it was. he cut short his Eu
rcpean trip, and came home in a jiffy
to se that the beloved old homestead
-was not whittled to bits bv enterDria
lng sleuths who were seeking further
lor secret passages and subterranean
ways.
Mrs. Desterle died early in the fall
nd her heart-broken husband took
their accumulated savings and went
home to Paris. Harold Harcourt was
till stifling behind the bars of the
Jail. The British government did not
-come and lead him out of captivity.
Harcourt's wife was slowly getting
better in the hospital to which they
liad removed her. There had . been
shocking days of ravines so extraordi
nary that the nurses had stood abash
ed at the horrors revealed; there had
heen times when Mrs. Harcourt's
strength outranked that of even the
atrongest attendants, and in her vio
lence she had essayed to kill herself.
but oftenest she was weak as a sick
kitten, and lay Inert and helpless on
her narrow bed, moaning as if within
her slender frame fermented the an
guish of the world. PhiliD Hartlev
came dally to see her. His quiet pres-
nce always had a calming effect unon
the sick woman, and she seemed to
recognize him. Philip called first be
cause the paper sent htm, and yet, r.s
the months drifted by and the Wayne
murder mystery was relented a-rad
ually from a first to a second, and then
to a fourth and even to a fifth page
place in tha paper, he went because
he wanted to, not confessing to him-
seir why. He couldn't have told. He
couldn't resist the emotion that drew
Dim to the sick woman.
The most expert doctors were called
in attendance. Mrs. Harcourt's onndl
tlon was most baffling. One day there
orirted In an aunt of the interna
gray-haired doctor who had done mis
sionary work In India for thirty-five
years. The interne discussed the case
with his aunt, and took her around to
see the patient The old doctor Foth
ergill was her name examined the
young woman closely.
"I think, John," she said, aftei she
had looked at Mrs. Harcourt, accord
ing to the prescribed ritual for medici
nal inspection, "that the poor little
thing has been drugged to death. They
do these things beneath the tropic suns
very frequently. There are weird drugs
put to queer purposes over there.
Where tkey stop at murder, even by
slow poison, death in life Is no more
than a convenience to them if they so
desire. I think she's drug-sick. Give
her light food, stimulants, and plenty
of morphine. It's the best reagent I've
found for those Indiscriminate drugs
that grow over there. Also a powder
I'll bring you." .'
The interne quoted his aunt to the
attending physicians. And because of
the fame of Dr. Fothergill, which had
traveled even across the broad seas
and the line of sex, they listened to
what she said. They followed Dr.
Fotherglll's advice and slowly but sure!
ly Mrs. Harcourt began to Improve.
One day she roused from her stupor,
at up and looked at bar nurses.
"I do not remember,' she stammer-
d. "I cannot remember, and I'm
glad, for the hurt has all gone from
here."
As she Bpoke she pressed one han-1
to her heart, and the other to her head
There Philip Hartley found her when
he came an hour later. He had a glow
ing bunch of asters for her lavenders,
whites, soft pinks and ashes of roses!
"Sweet flowers with their colors
burned away," she murmured as she
reached out for them. There was the
am Innocent friendliness between j
these two pure-souled ones as there
mignt nave been between two sera
ph lms.
"Tour flowers of the north coun
tries seem so Dale and vet so nure
she continuew, as she burled her face
within the shaggy petals. "But they
have no perfumes "
"Ah, yes. they have." denied Hart
ley. "We have rose gardens here, too,
and violet beds in springtime, and car
nations In June, when the roses are
sweet; and mignonette, and flowering
almond, syrlnga, and sweet alyssum
we have our perfumes, too, my lady.
But they're not musk-laden like your
revensn India." i
"Feverish India," mused Mrs. Har
court "I wonder if it is so! I am 10
much better to-day. I can't remember
anything; It's all a dim, gray waste in
my head, but it doesn't hurt any more,
and I'm so glad. My husband where
is he?"
It was the first time aiie had atkej
about Harcourt Hartlev hesitated.
He did not know whether to break the
blessed peace that surrounded her. He
did not know what to tell her. Final
ly he decided to tell the truth a rash
thing always.
"Why, Miss Lancey disappeared, you
know; or do you remember the young
girl who went to your room that night.
And the police of course it's foolish of
them, but the police, you know, think
he may know something about her dis
appearance, and they're holding him
tm they find her."
"Is he in Jail?" asked Mrs. Har
court.
"Why, yes," admitted Philip, "but
they've made him very comfortable
You can be comfortable even in Jail,
you know. He doesn't seem to be
minding It much.' ,
"Sometimes I have thoucht of lata
I don't know, but there seems to oe
a shadow between my husband and
me. What Is it? I know and yet I
cannot tell. Answer me, are there two
Mes7 Else why have I seen myself
walking in the garden when I was
sick, so sick, and in my bed? Whv
have I seen myself beneath the trees
caressing my husband when I was in
the house with my baby on my knee?
wnat is it? And why? I cannot un
derstand at all!"
Philip tried to soothe her. He fear
ed she had overtaxed herself and
blamed himself. He rose to go, but she
detained mm.
No, don't!" sh4 pleaded. "You rest
me. Just like the cool water does a
weary throat My throat doesn't hum
any more like It used to. I wonder
why. They don't give me so miinh
medicine here any more. Harold used
to give It to me all the time. Mv head
feels so much lighter than It did as If
it would blow away."
Dr. Fothergill had come In the rnnm
while Mrs. Harcourt was speaking. At
the last words a triumnhnnt innu
flashed across the physician's face, and
ner lips formed the words, "I told you
BO."
"I don't believe I ever want tn o-n
oacK to India," continued Mm war.
court, absently following the patterns
in tne celling, "i feel so different hem
As if It were another life. And you,
aear menu, you have been so kind l
love your visits so. You must come
ortener."
Philip blushed under her unennven.
tionality. He was well aware that
even under the guise of newspaper de
mands that a penniless $30-a-week re
porter had no right to call too fre
quently upon the wife of an In
dian magnate, herself possessed of a
large fortune. Partlculahly when this
said wife was a young, . lovely and
seemingly unfortunate woman.
He made his adleux confusedlv. tip
Fothergill followed him out into the
hall. "You must as she savs. onm
oftener," the doctor insisted, with th
emphasis of all gray-haired women.
"She never speaks of herself except
when you are here. It Is the finlv lira r
to clear this thing up. Mind what I
say. And matters are muddled badly
enough now, goodness knows. What
with two young idiots Mr. Mor.
ris and Mr. Johnson both heading for
Africa on a wild goose chase, Mrs.
Desterle's death, and the dlsannear.
ance of Miss Lancey, there has been
far too much woe and ruin acciimnint.
ed at the feet o'f one murder, a na
set of police they have here, I must
say. Come to-morrow, young man.
come to-morrow."
And Philip needed but llttln nnrino.
His sentiments for the woman who was
so slowly convalescing were far ' too
tender to suit his reason, when t
stopped to use it But Philip was
young, and youth la ever Irrational, so
he counted each hour with Mrs. Har
court as rarer than the gems that fas
tened her hair, or her soft lounging
robes of wonderful texture and color
ing. He read to her, he played that
old Indian game, parchesl, with her.
and on day proposed a game of cards!
but the sight of the pasteboards turn
ed her faint, and shs suffered a slak-
tag spell that put her rsoovsry sack
lor weens.
CHAPTER XVIL
Meta and J3enonl made ready the re
past Betty and Larry and Johnny
traded experiences.
"Think, Betty, think hard." urred
Larry, "what was It that stole jrou
mat night, or who, and why?"
"Tell me the whole story again,"
muted the perplexed Betty. "My brain
has slipped a revolution."
So the boys recounted to her the
night In the Directory HoteL As thev
proceeded Betty's eyes widened, her
me paied, and In her eagerness she
paced the floor excitedly.
"Oh, yes, yes, I remember now," she
said. "I went into her room what do
you say her name is Mrs. Harcourt?
Yes! Well, I went in there and I pre
tended I was ill. And then she tele
phoned to the clerk and begged him to
send up and get me, and then I ran,
ran as fast as I could, and at the cor
nerand then well, I bumped into
something soft and furry, and and
don't laugh, but it smelt and felt the
same as that horrid, horrid beast the
Man-Aperllla, you know! And I don't
know any more except being sick, as
I told you, and waking up on board
that yacht, and getting here!"
"Now, who could that Le Malheu
reux have been?" asked Larry, "and
why did they want to steal you?"
"Maybe it was Benoni," suggested
Johnny. He took us to her, maybe he
brought her here."
"Oh, Benoni!" called Larry, "did you
steal this girl?"
Benoni clinched his hands at the
suggestion. "I steal her?" he raged.
"And I with a wife!"
"Nonsense," said Betty. "He does
not talk like Le Malheureux, and well
I don't feel the repulsion for him I
had for Le Malmeureux. I don't know
what it was, I can't explain It I shiv
er still!"
"Perhaps it was Man-Aperilla who
stole you, Betty," volunteered Johnny.
"You remember you went out to the
park for the Inquirer with a photo
grapher to get the brute's nleture.
Have you forgotten? Perhaps he fell
in love with your charms, and stole
you to make you his bride, like Larry
here is going to do."
"He might have stolen me," admit
ted Betty, "but Johnny, don't be non
sensical!"
"About what?" asked Johnny.
'About Larry marrylntr you? A man
doesn't risk his fool neck like Larry's
done for you if he isn't colne to marrv
the woman at the end of the risk."
'Well, but you did It," retorted Bet
ty.
'I know, but I had a wife to start
out with, and felt I ought to get Larry
tied up, too. Besides, I think it will
be a Joke to assist at the weddinir. Oh.
I know Larry hasn't asked you yet but
men he's afraid to. He's planning to
Just carry you off."
Im going to draw the line at be
ing abducted twice, till I eet a Drndl-
gal's return on the strength of the
first kidnaping," laughed Betty. "Do
you suppose that the Man-AnerllU
could have stolen me? And if so, why?
I a like to find Le Malheureux. nerhans
he'd tell me. The why of things as
they are Is troubling me."
We're going to find Le Malheureux
right now," said Meta. "If we don't
we'll never find ourselves again. We
must make haste out of here. Miss
Lancey."
"Oh, call me Bettista. like vou have
done," begged Betty, mimicking the
name Meta had given her in the dav
of their broken dialect "I like It bet
ter."
'Anything, only make haste." cau
tioned Benoni. "We cannot take you
women where we men have gone.
Time is life Just now."
Meta aided Bettv to don Some henvv
wraps of panther skin, brought her
stockings and the dancing slippers, o
economically used because they were
the only shoes the American girl pos
sessed and her feet were not inured to
the hard ground and cold stones like
Meta's. Benoni had stowed some nrn-
vlslona In a leather wallet and Meta
carried a similar bag heavy and hard.
What have you there, mv wife?"
questioned the black.
'A few of the Jewels." she answered.
"I thought we mleht need them. No.
there are not many left."
They were an odd cavalcade. Tie.
nonl was at the head of the nrnppa.
slon, then . Johnny, close behind him.
Betty, with City Editor Burton tun
ging at a leash, then Larry, and last
of all Meta. Each of the men carried
a pistol, and Meta had Dut a tinv ra.
volver into Betty's hand. They went
down the steps, retracing their wav
along the same corridors down which
xyoga nad brought Hetty so many
weeks before. In the lower passage
three pigeons flew out and rested on
Betty's shoulder, hovering there an in.
stant, then darting away, up towards
the rain-gray sky.
The boat that awaited them
smaller model of the yacht that had
borne Betty across seas, and of less
elaborate construction. Benoni disap
peared below deck to a location aimiia.
- - - -- - -.... mt
to the one where Le Malheureux had
been wont to station himself. Betty,
looking backward through the arch
way, saw to her surprise hundreds -f
stalwart negroes embarking from a
fleet of boats that had suddenly ap
peared upon the swollen bosom of the
river. She started to cry out, but
Meta's hands closed over her mouth.
The yacht ducked Its nose to the water
and went spinning along the tunnel.
"Benoni, Benoni," called Meta, when
they had gone a distance of several
rods. "They have come! They are
therel I must help him," she added to
the Americans, and followed her hus
band below stairs.
(To be continued
mw ii it hari -i i
Round Dalrr Barns.
The Illinois Agricultural Experiment
Station has sent to press a bulletin In
which the economy of the round daKy
barn Is discussed at considerable
length. Comparison of the cost of
round dairy barns is discussed at con
siderable length. Comparisons of the
cost of round barns with rectangular
ones, Including the amount and cost
of material, the cost of construction,
the amount of stock that can bo shel
tered, the convenience In storing, han
dling, and distributing the feed, etc.,
are brought out very clearly.
The bulletins include Clltfl and nlana
of several round barns in actual use,
an itemized statement of the cost of a
60-foot round barn, and ta ihnin.
how the round barn at the agricultural
college was bullf. etc. The conclusions
arrived at by the author of the bulletin
are that the round barn has a great
advantage over a rectangular barn In
convenience, strength and cheapness.
it is round that the round barn U
more convenient because of the com
pactness wtlh which It Is built and the
ease of getting the feed to the cows.
Investigations show that the round
tara costs from ii to SS cor cent less
than the reotangular barn containing
the same amount of space and built
r tne same grade of material.
Paatenrlsln- Mlllc at llama.
If milk is not drawn under the most
sanitary conditions It Is not advisable
to feed It to children without being
Callanalbl Chlekea Oooaw
The average chicken coop made of
a soap box or some other small box Is
not always convenient for carrying
around, and use In different places. An
A-shapod coop la little better than an
ordinary box. The accompanying
sketch, says a Georgia writer In Popu
lar Mechanics, shows a collapsible A
shaped coop that can be folded and
stored away or carried set up tor use
anywhere.
The main frame Is made In four
3
parts and Joined together with hinges
as shown In Figure 1. The frame can
be covered with wire netting or boards
on top part with netting on the ends.
The hinged frames provide a way to
open either end. A small hook and eye
sholud be provided at each end to hold
the parts In place.
Alfalfa Neada Food.
It Is Important to know that there is
little difference between successful al
falfa growing and the successful grow
ing of other crops. Poor farming never
brings big crops, nor will poor land
produce as big yields as the more fer
tile. Failure to restore to the soil the
necessary elements of which It has
been robbed means the same In New
York, Kansas, Virginia or anywhere
else. Every farm plant, to prosper,
must find in the soli, readily available
BEST TIME TO CUT HAY.
To get the best quality of hay the timothy plants require to be cut
when In full bloom. In an experiment made by Prof. Waters of Missouri
racks were filled with hay cut in different stages of ripeness. As shown in
the illustration, all the early-cut hay was eaten before the late-cut was
touched. The largest yield of dry matter was obtained by cutting at the
dough stage.
Pasteurized. It la verv ennv to ac
complish this wtlhout any special apparatus.
Put the milk In a milk bottle. Take
tin pie plate and punch the bottom
full of holes. Turn this upside down
In the bottom of the kettle and set tho
bottle on It. This will prevent bump
ing when the water Is heated.
Punch a hole through a piece of
cardboard and insert In the top of the
bottle. Through this hole suspend a
thermometer. A good thermometer
the elements needed for Its develop
ment. If a farmer finds the soil lack
ing In elements needed for certain
crops he should either supply the de
ficiency or not attempt their raising.
This Is true of corn or wheat, cotton
or tobacco, no less than alfalfa.
Fertilising; Fruit Trees.
After fruit trees come in hearing
the best fertilizer Is some form of
potash. Wood ashes can not h ax-
celled for fruit trees, as they also con
tain large proportions of lime. Orch
ards that are In grass should be
Dlowed fwvnfilnn ollv on J t,iHj -
jhoe crop grown therein, In order to
Keep the ground clean and loosen the
soil; but the land should be heavily
manured, or fertilizer liberally ap
plied, as the soil can not provide for
two crops fruit and grass or grain
without an abundance of plant food.
with the scale etched on the glass
should be used. Heat the water until
the thermometer registers .155 de
grees. The bottle should be then removed
and allowed to stand for twenty or
thirty minutes. Cover the bottles with
a towel to make them cool off slowly.
After twenty or thirty minutes cool the
milk as quickly as possible by setting
t In cold water.
To Control Gray Rot.
For the prevention of gray rot of
grapes one investigator recommends a
treatment which he claims Is very sim
ple and efficient This consists of thin
ning the leaves on the north side of
tho vines and spraying with Bordeaux
mixture, to which soap Is added to
make It more adherent. The treatment
should be made about July 25, or at the
stage when the grapes have Just ahout
reached their full size. If the fungi
cide is thoroughly applied at this tirao
no further trouble .may be anticipated
from this disease.
Trea Ventilation.
The people of the New England
States are proverbial for their venera
tion of trees, and in these days of
ruthless destruction of woods It Is re
freshing in the extreme to hear of a
case like the resident of Kennebunk
port, Me., who, rather than to disturb
an old tree which srrew on hln farm
upon a site desired for the location of
a barn, built the structure around the
tree. The barn wall completely cir
cumscribes the tree, but lies at suffi
cient distance to give the tree nlentv
of air. The age of this particular ree
Is not accurately known, hut it la nna
of a pair which Is said to have been
rull-grown trees at the time of the
American revolution
Serviceable Draft Hone.
A heavy draft horse should be lona
ribbed. If a horse Is short-ribbed he
Is light in his middle and nearly al
ways a poor feeder. His stomach la
too small to contain enoueh'feed tn
serve him from one meal to another.
When put into hard work he gener
ally has a fagged-out appearance. A.
light-centered horse seldom weighs
well, and weight In a draft horBe, If
it comes from bone, sinew and muscle,
goes a long way toward determining
his commercial value.
Forecasts for Farmers.
The Weather Bureau has arranged
to give dally weather forecasts by tele
phone to farmers in Texas. At nnn
each day rural subscribers are called
up, and the weather forecast Is an
nounced to all simultaneously. Sub
scribers In towns and cities can obtain
the weather forecast at any time of
the day after 11 a. m. by calllnr un
central.