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
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