LL ft 1 -I TT it 1 - * 11 1. * -* i»’ -g. -ff- Il i~r * * □ ft * .9. * IT ir «THE SHADOW« Ö Of tht Ö »CORDILLERA:« Or, The flaanoíia fíower. $ tí BY VIBOINIA LEILA WENTZ, it CorvHiOHT, UK», Br E hvin W abdmab . FT " TT TT T l T l TT * F JT TT T F TT T*F CHAPTER VI. A man anil a woman were talking to­ gether In the woman’s home on the Rue de Varennes. The man was say­ ing: “So you refuse to marry me. That’s foolish of you, but whether you do or not, you haven’t the heart to a’^jy me to rot in poverty while you luxuruut- In adluence. Considering our old time re­ lations, the thing's impossible on the face of It.” “Ab!” returned the woman, “then you have come here to beg?” She spoke with a careless scorn. “No. One begs when one has no pow­ er to enforce." he corrected with a se­ raphic smile. “Eve come all the way from America to offer you my hand and make an honest woman of you. If you refuse to recognize my claims upon you I’m in a position to take reprisals." The woman did npt answer. “If you’ve any trace of your old self left. Marie’’—the man's voice was low and soft, conciliatory, caressing almost —“surely you love me still. Think how you loved me once.” The mesmeric, musical voice came near undoing Marie de Guerin. "Was it you I loved,” she said dreamily, “or the man my untutored heart took you to be? Ah, the weary, weary months when I wanted you, when I sobbed for you day and night! Where were you then, Edouard Pey­ rac?” She seemed to be living in the hungry past, but only for a moment. The hot scorn of the present surged over her and dried up the tears at their source. "Now,” she said, ”1 do not need you.” She rose with an air of dismissal. “Look here. Marie,” pursued the man. keeping ids seat, “if you will lend me a helping band from time to time I’ll promise never to take a step to harm you. Moreover, 1 shall be mod­ erate. You might—simply buy a pic­ ture occasionally. That would be the nicest way. Yes, you might buy my pictures.” “It might be well to know whether I am dealing with a blackmailer or a bagman,” remarked the woman wea­ rily. Edouard Peyrac flushed red, but he conquered bls savagery and went on: “I’ve not sold a picture for over a twelvemonth, and I’m head over heels In debt. I’ve been banging around friends’ bouses for a year, and here you are, rich beyond the dreams of av­ arice. You can't expect me to sit down In silence.” “Now, If you are quite ready to go?” suggested the woman quietly, putting her hand upon the bell button. This time the man's anger got the better of him. He scowled and looked at her blackly. “I’m not. I think it's absurd of you to smash your social po­ sition In the face like this. What will become of it, do you suppose, when I have a good, long talk with the fau­ bourg?” “To a man of intelligence the solu­ tion surely can offer no difficulty,” she said languidly. But she added with a vague little smile, “If you could dream how remotely my social standing inter­ ests me you wouldn't bother about It." "I'm going to give you a tew days In which to think this over. Perhaps In the meantime you will care to send me a note.” He laid bls card on the table slguificantly. “In return for a check 1 will send you a picture. Now good day.” The womau rang, and he was shown out. As be got into a tiacre be thought: “By Jove! What If she means to turn devotee again? What if she doesn't care a rap about her social standing? She always did talk nltout saints and miracles and feast days better tlinu anything else!" Then he remembered her dainty, fastidious taste; be recalled the sybaritic room lie had Just left. “Oh, no!” he concluded. • ••••»• “Pierre,” said Marie de Guerin to the servant In the hall when the door had closed upon Peyrac, “I expect M. le Cure in a half hour. I will receive him In my boudoir.” So a little later she rose from the desk at which she was writing and greeted the priest. Pere Darville was a man whose eyes were kind and whose mouth was flrm. He looked the man to do without swerving what ids con­ science told lilm. were It even to cost the happiness of nil lie loved. In fact, that Is why Mlle, de Guerin bad sent for him—she had seen bls face and it bad appealed to her. He sat down In her little blue anu gold boudoir with the ease of a man of the world who was ns much at home among the cushions of a woman's sanc­ tum as on the hard seat of a confes­ sional. “I wrote for you, father, because 1 need help. I—I have not many friends.” The woman's voice was listless, tired. "I will help you If I enn, my daugh­ ter. My whole time belongs to each soul that comes to me. Are you a child of the church?” “Once I was. I was an orphan, pre­ paring to enter a convent, when love— or what I mistook for love—came into my life. I balanced the flashing jewel and the paste diamond, and I threw the first away.” The woman’s hands weighed in her lap like spiritualized marble, and her hair, so much of It, seemed too heavy for her head. "The man for whom I gave up everything would not give me even bls name.” There was a pause. No Interruption came from the priest. “Since then I have tried—God, bow 1 have tried!—to forget. It la an awful thing to bate living, but to be afraid of dying because of the other side”— She settled her hands a little more tightly toget her. “But, my daughter, there always re­ mains to us. even to the eleventh hour, the wny of penitence and of renuncia­ tion." The priest's voice was level, just a little als>ve the whisper of tile confessional. “Ah, 1 know." the woman broke In, "and It Is Just Is-eause of that I have sent for you I have only begun to tel) you. father." Pere Darville gave a quick, upward glance. . "A year ago nn uncle who had allow­ ed me to suffer penury and a servile dependence all my life died. He died suddenly and without a will. The law gave bis fortune to me because I chanced to be Ills sister's child. Two months ago. In a secret drawer, I found a document- a confession writ­ ten by my uncle and evidently intend­ ed to lie made public iu order that res­ titution might be effected. "My uncle,” Marie de Guerin went on. “was a creole, and for years lie was the trusted agent for an aristo­ cratic New Orleans family In America. He turned their fortune round and doubled It. It appears, and managed their affairs In such a way that he came to be Indispensable. The family finally dwindled down to one repre­ sentative, a young man who seems to have trusted my uncle blindly. "When the war between the states broke out. the young man—Caton tils name was—enlisted promptly In the cause of the sonrh. My uncle was sent over here with money to Invest. Paris received him with open arms. The Confederate colony was then In high BIG PRICES FOR ANIMALS. s Small Slxeil Fortune Needed Bar it tUmSte. to Because of the difficulty of getting It to America aud of keeping It ullve aft­ er it arrives a good giraffe is quoted at »7,000. Next to the giraffe in the aristocracy of cost come the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus, worth from »4,000 to $5,000 each. If a dealer could breed these animals, he could get rich, but the big mammals rarely breed In cap­ tivity. Altout the only place in America where hippopotami have been known to raise their young Is In the menag­ erie In Central park. New York. A chimpanzee of size is worth $.’>,000, and when oue reaches the intelligence of the late Mr. Crowley, Chico or Jo- lmtina lie Is beyond a fixed price. The monkey kind are most uncertain prop­ erty. The animal man says they are certain to die. But the ordinary ones can be bought very cheaply. One can buy a nice young baby ele­ phant for $1.000 at times, but a really good animal is worth from $1,800 to $3,000. An elephant does not command tin* maximum price because of the beauty of Ids countenance, the ele­ gance of Ills figure, bis Intellectual en­ dowments or his size, but because of a sweet, sunny disposition. A mean elephant Is about the most evil of liv­ ing things. Sootier or later lie has to be killed, usually after lie has slain two or three keepers and done more damage than he is worth. Of two ani­ mals of equally good disposition the larger and finer commands the higher price, of course, but the most magnifi­ cent beast with an Inclination for mur­ der Isn’t worth ns much as a very com­ mon one that Is trustworthy—that Is, ordinarily so. for the sweetest tem­ pered have days when they seem In­ spired of sntnn.—Junior Munsey. A I.ucky Imitation. She croeted to her writing de»k and an looked a tecrct drawer. favor with the court. lie was sought out by the business men also as the possessor of a large sum of money J Invest. lie suffered some disasters. News from the Confederacy became more and more gloomy. But his busi­ ness ventures here were fabulously successful.” "There's no royal road to fortune,” breathed Pere Darville half to himself. “It’s the same old dirt rut. Impossible to travel over with perfectly clean feet. But go on. If you please." Marie de Guerin moistened her lips. “Together with the news of tile fall of New Orleans catne also word of the death of this young Catou. He had been taken prisoner In the first engage­ ment and died in prison, asking that word be sent to my uncle to take care of his wife. It appears my uucie kne who his wife was—In fnct, In the docu­ ment here he explains how he happen­ ed to know.” She crossed to her writing desk, un­ locked a secret drawer ana, navmg spent a few seconds iu turning over various packets of paper, returned to her chair, banding the priest the docu­ ment In question. “You will see,” she continued, “that tlds wife was far away, not easily ac­ cessible. Besides, she was a half sav­ age. an Indian a Mexican or some­ thing. and—well, my uncle drugged bls conscience and turned thief and scoun­ drel. Toward the end of his life, how­ ever, he seems to have been in terror of dying without making restitution. In the document there”—she pointed to the priest's lap—“he swears that ev­ ery cent of his money belongs to this— this woman, that it was all made with her husband’s fortune. In order that things may be righted he gives names, dates, localities and all facts necessary for Identification.” Pere Darville looked grave. "The confession bears the date of the morning my uncle was stricken down. He hail a kind of fit and never fully re­ covered consciousness. They said he was constantly asking for something, Imt that his speech was so Incoherent they could make nothing out of It. Doubtless had lie lived he would have induced some one to go on a mission for him to Mexico.” "Doubtless." echoed the priest sol- •mnly. "Well, the months that have passed «Ince I discovered this document have been months of torture to me. I knew, of course, there was only one rightful thing to do—and 1 was not strong enough to do It. Now I have decided. And if you will find a place for me, father, I «ball enter a convent. I could tench, you know. Besides. It was my first choice. HIS STAKT IX LIKE. Marshal Gourko, the famous Russian general, was a terrible autocrat. On one occasion an Impersonator of cele­ brated men was performing at a thea ter in Odessa. One evening he received a mysterious message, which read: “Study General Gourko.” In Russia it Is better not to inquire Into matters that one does uot understand, and so the artist spent nn hour In privately Impersonating the autocratic Russiau. Just as the evening performance was about to commence an order of arrest signed by Gourko was presented to the impersonator, and without explanation lie was led through the streets to the marshal's palace ami Into an apartment where the terrible man was seated. "They tell me that you Impersonate cel ebrated men.” he roared “Imperson­ ate me!" Giving a hasty look at Gourko. the performer turned to the mirror to "make up." It was an anxious time, for if the marshal should take excep­ tion to the representation he had tin limited power to Inflict punishment. The Impersonator dragged himself to­ gether and turned to the marshal a copy if Ids own face nnd overbearing man tier. Gourko burst Into a roar of laugh ter, and the dangerous moment was over. ••DOC” HARTMAN AND HIS WONDER­ FUL GREASE ERADICATOR. With Sony tnndlt*. und Bottles ot Haiti water He Fooled the Public nnd l.altl the Foundation« ot a Substantial Fortune. “Talk about your self made men,” said an old timer among a party of horsemen gathered in one of the speed way Inns, "I don't think any of ’em can equal the early experiences of Tim Hartman, who died iu St. Louis many years ago, leaving nearly a million dol­ lars to be fought over by his heirs. He made bls first good sized pile on pat­ ent medicines, then he picked up a great deal more on real estate, and at last he rounded out with speculation in Montana copper, but be was known as 'Doc' Hartman to the time of his death by his few intimate friends. "But the story that I’m going to tell, and the one which be often told him­ self. concerns his very earliest experi­ ences In the accumulation of money. Tim Hartman started life with $1. lie kicked around as a barefooted boy— and a pretty mean one, too—in a little town In Connecticut until be was 18 years old. and at that time be bad be­ come so fresh and so full of wind and general cussednes« that Ids father one day told him he was uo good, never had been nnd never would amount to a picayune. The old gentleman. Just to carry out the bluff, told Tim that be had a good mind to cut him off with a dollar and make him earn his own liv­ ing. Tim straightened up nnd called the bluff. He told the old man that be would take the dollar and get out then and there and hustle for himself. The old man handed him a crisp $1 bill and told him that he’d be glad to see him make a fortune with it. "The first thing that cuss did was to go about In a few back yards that he knew of and gather together a lot of empty bottles which were of uo use to anybody. Then, for 10 cents, lie bought a large cake of a kind of white soap that was then, and still is, on the mar­ ket. He melted this smip nnd, nfter borrowing an ancient pair of candle molds from an old granny in the neigh­ borhood, made two beautiful looking candles of soap. lie next filled bls bot­ tles full of choice rainwater. Then he made for himself one ot those little three legged tables like the cbuck-a- luck and shell game den use outside the circus, and struck out on foot for a county fair that was being held about 40 miles away. "When he got there, be put up bls lit­ tle table outside the grounds, where the crowd was pretty thick, lighted one of Ids soup candles and began to extol tlie virtues of 'Dr. Hartman’s Famous Grease Eradicator.’ contained in the bottles set before him. " 'Now, ladies and gentlemen,’ he would shout In a stentorian but plausi­ ble voice, 8111* marvelous liquid, so harmless that It can be drunk with Im­ punity by the smallest infant and yet so penetrating that It will seek out nnd destroy stains aud discolorations from the most refractory substance, was dis­ covered by accident by the famous sci­ entist, Dr. Hartman, the eminent schol­ ar, while he was wanderlug o’er the wilds of Patagonia. It Is colorless, you see. ns the wnters from heaven, aud yet observe the effects of its startling properties!’ “At this point Tint would reach for his sonp candle and. Inverting it, would smear a lot of the grease over the sleeve of his coat “ ’Now, every one of you knows, la­ dles and gentlemen,’ he would continue, reaching over and uncorking a bottle of Ids rainwater, ‘that there is nothing so penetrating nnd Ineffaceable as the grease from a candle, and yet it is a stain that we are all likely to suffer al­ most every evening of our lives while toylug with that common article of the household, the candle. You will ob­ serve that my sleeve is smeared with the nnnoylng substance. Behold’— “Here that country bred fakir would spill a couple of drops of his rainwater ou the soap and with a rub or two would product a beautiful lather. An­ other swipe and the soap would have entirely disappeared from the sleeve, leaving not a trace. “ ‘Now, we make this famous eradi­ cator In such enormous quantities,’ Tim would continue, ‘that In order to Intro duce It Into every home In this broad land we will dispense with It at the absurdly low price of 5 cents, a nickel a bottle. Step right np! Step right up!* “Then, when the public was surging forward to purchase the rainwater, Tim would pause occasionally to drink a bottle of It, Just to show that It was absolutely harmless. “Well, the stuff went like hot cakes. When Tim's bottles were al) exhausted, he bought more, and when the fair was ever be went to another and another uutil he had traveled all over the coun try. Then, in some way or other, 1 don't know bow, he got hold of some old patent medicine, and, being n gen­ ius, of course he made a big go of it. So that's the wny Tim Hartman almost became a millionaire.” — New York Times. THE ISLAND OF TAHITI. Ii May Be lllnhtly Termed ilir Para­ dise ot the I'ai-lrtc. Picture nu Island set iu a reef of coral of myriad hue the lagoon of u light green, outside the white foaming break ers the vast m enu of Intense blue. On Shore are great bunches of coeonuut palms lifting their plumes in stately magnificence, then there arc laues of trees blossoming iu red and yellow flow ers. aud uestllug In their inld-t are the low thatched bouses of the natives. The delightful ami healthy climate of the Island brings to maturity all the products of the tropics, which are no where found In greater fullness and perfection than here. The wayfarer Is soothed by the fragrance of sweet smelling Howers ami deliglited with the nbnmhince of oranges, bananas, bread fruit any the try to the country. clear, starry soul was Ids! What an in- A Bird With Four Feet. ship for which he was an applicant. Ing conditions of her artificial court strumiKit for good he could be! What This little creature, still to be found Mr. Evarts congratulated him on the II iih Mud. Not Holes. stubborn fnltli he was capable of! A In South America. Is a relic of bygone fame which be had acquired, but has life. Instinctively returned to the habits "There used to lie a famous charac­ of her youth. In a moment of nbstrac shadow fell upon the table. ages. It Is known as the crested lioatzin, tened to add, “Although you have lau­ "l’adre." Inocencio said, standing aud the adult bird Is about as big as*a rels on your brows, I suppose you can't tlon. finding the fat coll of stuff across ter In our part of the world nnmed her arm. she instinctively began to Frank O'Connor." said a Cincinnati there straight nnd tnll aud brown, “be­ peacock. browse on your laurels.” wring It out. The response of the audl man. "and the stories of Ills doings and fore I decide upon my future 1 must The young birds, when batched, have sayings still form a Inrge part of the ence wns electrical. Every woman go far away. I must see the little four legs, the front pair being reptilian A More Vital Matter. nnd man who had ever seen a wash staple anecdotes of the country which ¡aim. I. Her last letter does not show In character, nnd have strong claws. As “Did you ever think what you would tub recognized the sincerity of the ac he used to permeate. her to be happy.” they grow older these daws fall off, “One of his stock expressions has The player pushed the cards from the legs become fattened, feathers do If you had the Dnke of Westmin­ lion Tlds moment of creative Instinct wns recorded In the actress mind and passed from local to national use. If him. pile liy pile, leaned back in his grow on them, and they develop Into ster’s Income?" Village Pastor—No, but I have some­ lias been repeated ever since - Cosmo .-iity one did a particularly clever thing sent nnd ran his fingers slowly through wings or said anything that especially struck times wondered what the duke would polltan. his thin, gray hair. Then he looked up These nestlings are the nearest np him. O'Connor would sav. 'That shows do If be had mine.—London Baptist and smiled. proacb to a reptile that can be found almost Iranian intelligence.' nnd now Grn*.esvls>t., san Francisco. General Commission and Produce. Specialty, Hutter, Eggs and t’heese. Your consignments solicited. Most Healthful Coffee In the World. All the world knows that coffee in excessive use is injurious. And yet the coffee lover cannot stand taste­ less ceioals. There has to this time been no happy medium between. Café Bland fills the void with the beat elements of both. It is richer than straight cotlee, and many will not be easily convinced that it is not all coflee. But we guarantee that Café Bland contains less than fifty per cent coffee, which is scien­ tifically blended with nutritious fruits and grains, thus not only displacing over fifty per cent of the caffein, but neutralizing that which remains and still retaining the rich cofl’ee flavor. To those who sutler with the heart, to dyspeptics and to nervous people ( ate Bland is especially recommended asahealth- f il and delicious leverage, so satls- lylng that only the member of the family making the change in the cofl’ee knows there lias been one. More healthful, richer and less ex­ pensive than strniglit coffee. Better In every respect. 25 cents per lb. Your grocer will get it for you Ask for Aualirrlntt III» AtTrcfion. The young lovers sat beside the wa terfall. Tlie rapids and the nearby whirlpool had n strange attraction for tlie romantic young girl. She had heard the story of the uuhnppy Indian maid­ en and tlie young brave who bad gone to tlieir doom, clasped In each other’s arms, to tlie slow music of the “Swan Song.” That seemed very beautiful to her. “Jack," she said, "if you saw me struggling in tlie water near the edge of tlie falls, would you jump In after me?” “What would be the use, my dear, when I can't swim?" lie answered. "But at least we could perish togeth­ er,” she replied bravely. “Yes, there would be no doubt of that,” lie returned, shuddering at the sound of the cruel wnters. “But haven’t you often said you would die for me?” she asked, piqued at Ids coldness. “No, my dear,” replied her practical lover. “If you'll remember, I’ve al­ ways told you that I had an undying love for you!”—Smart Set. nickeiis nnd Ills Titles. Charles Dickens bad great difficulty In choosing titles for bls various pub­ lications, says The Golden Fenny. The following Is ii list of no fewer than 14 suggestions given by the author to Ills adviser, Foster, for the title of one book, out of which, need hardly be add­ ed. No. (’> wns chosen: 1. According to Crocker. a 2. Prove It. 3. Stubborn Things. 4. Mr. Grnndgrind's Facts. 5. The Grindstone. C. Hard Times. 7. Two and Two Are Four. 8. Something Tangible. 9. Our Hard Headed Friend. 10. Rust and Dust. 11. Simple Arithmetic. 12. A Matter of Calculation. 13. A Mere Matter of Figures. 14. The Grandgrind Philosophy. When a man Is going up hill, people dig ditches In front of him; when be starts down, they get out of bis way and give him the whole road.—Denver Times. We refuse to le| any one question the good sense ot a woman still spanks her children when they we 15. —Atcblson Globe.