'J-
Second Cousin arah
BY TUB AUTHOR Or
AIUIB JUDGE. SPINSTER," "LITTLE KATE MIRBT."
. ETC.. ETC. ' ,
CHAPTER XXII.
It is time that we follow the fortunes
of Second-cousin Sarah, whom we left
with her shabby sister-in-law in the
grounds of Sedge HilL Taken off her
guard by Mrs. Thomas Eastbell's sudden
appearance, disturbed by the events of
the night, and ever conscious of the dan
ger which the presence of the two in
truders in her aunt's house foreshadowed,
she followed the woman . in good faith
some distance along the garden paths
and in the direction of the high road.
"We will go no farther," she said; "tell
me what I have to fear from your hus
band and Peterson, and I will reward you
handsomely."
"Listen then as well .as you can. I
ain't a-going to speak loud for anybody."
"I am listening."
Sarah Eastbell inclined her head more
closely to the woman, who began whis
pering about her husband in a rambling
fashion that was difficult to follow, un
til she went suddenly back three steps, to
Sarah's surprise, and stood gazing at
her, or at something near her. -
"What is it?" exclaimed Sarah; "what
There was no opportunity to say more,
to scream, or to struggle. Two strong
arms closed round her, and a cloth, wet
and sickly with drugs, was pressed to
her mouth and nostrils by a merciless
hand, that seemed to snatch her at once
from active life to oblivion.
When she came back to consciousness
it was to a life apart from Sedge Hill,
and those who loved her there. She was
lying on a bed, with Sophy Eastbell doz
ing by the side of a scantily furnished
fire. There was a narrow window in the
side of the room, with some boards nail
ed across it to keep the light of one splut
tering candle from betraying itself to the
night.
Suddenly Sophy woke up, and gave a
nervous jump in her chair at finding her
sister-in-law' crouched upon the bed, with
her great dark eyes glaring at her.
"Where have you brought me? Why
am I in this dreadful place?" Sarah ask
ed in an eager voice.
"You've come round, have you?" said
Sophy. "Well, I am glad of that. Blest
if I didn't think they'd overdone it with
their klory-what's-its-name, and sent you
bang off afore they meant it."
Sarah Eastbell was sitting at the edge
of the bed now, regarding her jailer
with eager attention. She was scarcely
back from dreamland yet.
"Why have I been brought here?" she
asked less' patiently.
"You'll know in good time, gal. There's
no 'casion for a hurry, or a flurry. Take
it cool. You're safe enuf."
Sarah Eastbell was standing at the
door of the room when she had recovered
herself. It was locked, as she had sus
pected. "It's no use your thinking of getting
out, Sally," said Tom's wife; "don't build
on that, or harm will happen to you.
That's certain."
"Do you think I am the weak girl
whom you remember last?" said Sarah,
walking from the door to the woman's
side, and clutching her tightly by the
waist, "or that I am to be frightened by
this trick of yours, and of the wretches
who have assisted you? Do you know in
what peril you have put yourself?"
t "Oh, yes, we all know; it's all been
thought, on," said thewoman ironically.
"We're of the don't care sort, and have
chanced it. You can't say it wasn't well
done, Sally."
"Give me the key of the door, or you
will find me the stronger woman of the
two!" cried Sarah.
"Don't ketch hold of my wrist like
that," cried her sister-in-law, "or you'll
be sorry if I go away, or if any one
downstairs comes up instead of me, be
cause you are too wiolent for my com
pany. You can't behave like a lady, for
all your fine flash silk. I have only to
Bhreek out, and there are three men be
low who don't stand nonsense sich as
yourn."
"Sarah Eastbell released her hold. Yes.
she was iu danger, and must be cau
tious. They who brought her to this
den had risked a great deal in entrapping
her, and' would risk more rather than
allow her to escape. She must be pru
dent and on her guard, not defiant and
aggressive.
"I ain't got no key, if you must know,"
aid Sophy, as she returned to her chair
and sat down; "this is my room, and
we're both locked in together. I'm to
take charge of you, that's all, my gal,
and think yourself lucky it's me."
"What place is it?" Sarah asked again.
"A place of bis'ness," was the enigmat
ic answer.
"Coiners the old gang from Potter's
Court the Petersons," cried Sarah.
Mrs. Eastbell did not answer. She
warmed her thin hands at the fire, and a
convenient cough prevented all possibil
ity of reply. She was a prudent woman,
and not likely to commit herself and her
friends by responding to leading Ques
tions of this character.
The spiriting away of a young lady
from home without her consent, and with
out leaving a clue wherewith to trace her,
is no light feat in the nineteenth cen
tury, and Mrs. Thomas Eastbell had
shown a natural pride in the neatness of
the achievement. True, the house was
five or six miles from a quiet city, and
was desolate enough at all times, the
hour was late, the circumstances were
opportune, and how to profit by the riches
of old Mrs. Eastbell and her granddaugh
ter had been the study of six months, but
still Mrs. Thomas Eastbell had some
thing to take credit for. It was a bold
stroke carried out by desperate men, and
tt had succeeded where a more timid
line of policy would have assuredly fail
ed. It was the boldest bit of business that
the Peterson gang had ever been engag
ed in, and the Petersons had been en
gaged, under various aliases, in innumer
able shady transactions. They had come
to "fresh fields and pastures new" by
adopting the fair county of. Worcester as
a sphere for their operations; they had
rented a tumble-down old edifice in a
wild part of the country, and put on the
door the name of Jackson, button maker;
they had even made a few acquaintances
In distant villages, and bore a respecta
ble name among honest, unsuspicious folk
who believed in them and their buttons.
No one visited them certainly it was an
out-of-the-way place, to which nobody
Si'
m
was invited, and where only button mak
ing was the order of the day. . ,
No one confounded the name of Jack
son with Peterson and it was possibly
good policy in the Captain adopting his
own name when he went with Thomas
Eastbell to Sedge HilL It kept matters
clear and distinct, though he had not bar
gained for Sarah Eastbell's good mem
ory, or imagined that he was .known to
her by sight.
It was he who unlocked the door of
Sarah's extempore cell at seven in the
morning, and stood before her, the avow
ed agent of her captivity. '
"I have come to apologize for my
friends' rough treatment of last night,"
he said, reclining languidly against the
wall, and crossing his gloved hands, one
with a very glossy hat in it, "and to ex
press a hope that you have suffered no
inconvenience from your temporary with
drawal from a home which you are ac
customed to adorn. I, for one," he add
ed with a low bow, "should regret very
much to hear one word of complaint."
"This is your work then," said Sarah
bitterly; "it is as I suspected. Tell me
what my brother wants?"
"I would say a fair redress for the
injury which you have done him. Your
grandmother is rich, and will leave yon
all her money. And your only brother,
a man of many admirable qualities
will be left to drag on his life in indi
gence, and to die in utter abjectness of
spirit, without you assist him as fairly
and liberally as a fond sister should do.
Thomas, who is in difficulties, wants fif
teen thousand, pounds!"
Sarah drew a sudden and deep breath,
but did not reply. The thin face of the
woman stooping over the fire peered
round at her, horrible in its eagerness
and greed.
"Fifteen thousand pounds only from
that immense fortune which must come
to you when old Mrs. Eastbell dies, the
simple conditions being that tho sum
must be paid at once, as your brother is
very poor, and there is a balance of six
teen thousand three hundred and twenty
eight pounds lodged at your banker's, in
your name, for the convenience of a cur
rent account." . - .
"How do you know what money is
lodged in my name at the bank?"
"Thomas tells me that is all. He
sent me here with your check book he
found that in your desk, too, he tells rne.
You have only to draw a draft for the
amount, and you are free, Miss Eastbell.
I promised a friend of yours that you
should be at Sedge Hill this - evening.
Miss Holland will tell you everything to
night," he said as he drew the check
book from his pocket and pitched it care
lessly upon the deal table that was there.
"I have left everything for that young
lady to explain. It is a story apart from
yours, .and suits not my style of narra-tive."-
"This money is held in trust for an
other," she said; "it belongs neither to
me nor to my grandmother."
"If to Mr. Culwick, we I should say.
your brother Thomas objects to the title."
"Liet him!" cried Sarah with a sudden
outburst of anger.
"Am I to understand then "
"That I will not sign one of those
checks. Yes, understand that for your
friend. You may kill me," she cried,
"but you shall not touch a penny of Reu
ben Culwick's money."
CHAPTER XXIII.
Captain Peterson, merchant service, re
ceived the ultimatum of Miss Sarah East
bell with his customary sang froid. He
was a man whom it took a great deal to
disturb, or who concealed his annoyance
by an enviable semblance of imperturba
bility. "After that, I need not trespass further
on your time," he said. "I will communi
cate with Thomas at once."
He unlocked the door and went to the
landing place beyond, closing and locking
the door behind him. Finally he went
down the rickety stairs, which were
crumbling to pieces with the house, halt
ed at the bottom of the next flight, and
listened at the right-hand door, as though
there were another prisoner close at
hand. The door was not locked, and he
opened it softly, and put his head into
the room beyond, withdrawing it in si
lence, as if contented with what had met
his gaze; and proceeding down another
flight of stairs, to a room on the ground
floor, where three tall men, in shirt
sleeves, were cowering before a fire. If
these men were Petersons, Captain Ed
ward had taken the good looks of the
family to himself.
"You've done your parts well, boys," he
said in a quick, sharp voice, "but there
may be more to do."
"How's that?" inquired scoundrel num
ber one; "we've done enough now to get
ourselves lagged for ten years."
"It's not easy," said Peterson, "but
it must be gone on with at any risk.
Failure means Worcester jail, success
means ten thousand pounds between us
all."
He had mentioned fifteen thousand
pounds upstairs, but he and Thomas
Eastbell were keeping an extra five thou
sand to themselves. Edward Peterson
did not tell his brothers everything when
money was in question.
"What more is to be done?" asked the
first scoundrel, who was the worst-tempered
and most disputatious member of
the gang.
"You will know when it'a necessary,"
was the short answer; "at present the
young lady is refractory."
"Will the girl sign the check before the
day is out? that's the question," asked
number one, "for we can't go on like
this."
"I have said that it's her money or her
life, and I mean it! She will be back to
night at Sedge Hill, or she will never re
turn again. Mark that. Do yon think
any woman would prefer to be found in
the Severn, to paying away money that
she can afford to part with?"
"We don't want to hear anything about
the Severn," said the first scoundrel; "yon
know what's safe better than we do, but
we'll have no hand in it. Dennis and I
and- Mike have talked it over, and won't
go further than we've done already
there!"
"You fools, have I asked you?" shout
ed Peterson, springing to his eet;
"you've done the work I've set you to
do, and I will pay yon for it and be rid
of you. The money's safe, and I'll keep
my word as I always do, and always
wilL I don't wont your helpyou are in
the way, and must go." .
"Go!" echoed the men. ' " "
"This house will be unsafe after to
night, and we must vanish before it's
spotted. I will be in London to-morrow
evening, at the old place, with- your
money."
One by one these, men drifted away
from home, without a thought of Sarah
Eastbell's safety, and with an immense
amount of consideration for . their own.'
It was not murder - that troubled their
mind so acutely as complicity with it, de
tection, and sentence. If Ned would
take all the risk, he might mnrder half
Worcester for what they cared; but it
was out of their line, and they would pre
fer to return to London as quickly as
possible, and wait for the money that had
been promised them, or the bad news
they half expected instead. It was two
o'clock in the afternoon before the last
of the three men passed out of the house,
and went away down the narrow lane
which led from the high road.
Captain Peterson stood at the front
door. He was in excellent spirits, and
he waved his hand to the disputations
Barney, who was the last to leave, by
way of friendly salutation at parting.
"They're gone," he muttered, "and
they're better gone, whichever way this
affair is likely to turn out."
He lingered at the door meditating on
the great scheme of his life. . The sky was
overcast, and he looked up at it and
prophesied to himself that it would rain
before the morning. He walked round to
the opposite side of the house and gazed
moodily at the water flowing twenty
paces from him, and at a boat lying on
the long grass above the river bank. One
glance at the darkened window in the top
most story where his fortune lay, he
thought, and ; then he returned to the
house meditating on the difficulties in
his way, and of his genius to surmount
them. He went into the house, and up
stairs to the first floor room, wherein we
have seen him gaze with interest at an
early hour of the morning.
"Bess," he said in a sharp voice, and
at the summons a small thin-faced child,
in a hat and cloak, appeared at the door.
"You have come back then, father."
"Yes." .
Edward Peterson went downstairs, fol
lowed by the little girl. At the front
door he said:
."You were wise to keep to your room
to-day, little woman, for they have been
very cross, and Mrs. Eastbell has been
worse than ever. You must find your
way to Worcester to-night, all by your
self. Two miles from here is a railway
station you know it, , where the red and
green lights shine out like big eyes after
dark. You have run about here a good
deal, and know your way well, and yon
can find the station. . Now, take care of
that money.".
He placed some money in her hands,
and she wrapped it up in a corner of a
dirty white handkerchief, and tucked it
down the bosom of her dress, wrapping
her cloak round her afterward with all
the carefulness and confidence of a
woman.
"At the railway station ask for a third
class ticket for Worcester. When the
train comes up to the platform, get in.
When they call out 'Worcester,' get out.
At Worcester a lady, very pretty, and
with hands full of toys, will be waiting
for you at the postofflce. Ask the way
to the postofflce like a woman as you are,
and when you see the lady under the
clock, Say, 'Pa keeps his word I'm Bes
sie.'" "All right," said the child again, with a
rare amount of confidence in her own
comprehension of the details, which,
however, he asked her to repeat, listen
ing attentively to the recital.
She needed no second bidding to be off
it had not been so happy a home that
she should grieve for it or him, and there
had been a promise of a glorious change
for her, and a bright child-world. ?he
ran off quickly toward the narrow lane,
already full of shadow that murky after
noon. (To be continued.)
LAWYERS AT CHEAP RATES.
Thirty-nine Cents la the Coat of Male
ins; One In the Old Dominion.
A local business man who was once
the representative of one of the big
mercantile agencies tells a story of
how he became a member of the bar
in the State of Virginia a number of
years ago. He had occasion to go to
one of the inland counties of the State
to make an examination of the county
records in order to ascertain the stand
ing in the county of a number of coun
try merchants. Upon reaching the
railroad station he found it necessary,
to drive a distance of ten miles or more
over a road which was a mere apolog
for a highway. Reaching the county,
seat, he went to the clerk's office in the
courthouse and proceeded to look ove
the records as he had done in many
other places without any objection be
ing offered. While he was still on his
first book he was asked by one of the
clerks if he was a member of the bar.
"Not In Virginia," he answered in a
tone indicating that he was a member
of the bar elsewhere.
."I'm- sorry," said the' young man,
"but in this county it is against the
rules for anybody other than a lawyer
to handle the books."
It was explained to the clerk that the
legal talent in the firm's employ could
not be found, and as the lawyer lived
more than two miles away he would
not have time to get him unless he
missed the next train.
"There will be no trouble in arrang
ing the matter," the clerk Informed the
Washingtonian.
Entering a private room, the oath
subscribed to by attorneys was ad
ministered and a certificate 6howing
the stranger was a full-fledged lawyer
was handed over to him.
"What shall I do now?" the clerk
was asked.
"Pay the fee," he answered.
"What is the amount?"
"Thirty-nine cents," was the clerk's
prompt response.
The money was paid and the man
from Washington returned home and
told how he became a lawyer for the
small sum of 39 cents. Washington
Star.
Kaiser Wllhelm takes great interest
In the work of the Y. M. a A. In
ZSurops
TYPES OF JAPANESE WARSHIPS.
I - -'.v-
FUJI.
ASHAL
GREAT SEA WALL OF GALYESTON.
Ever since the city of Galveston,
Texas, was nearly destroyed by a
tidal wave, the officials there have
been perfecting their safeguards
against such calamities In the future.
The principal one of these is a gigan
tic sea wall, thicker and firmer than
any structure of the sort ever con
structed. Not only is the wall considered Im
pregnable, even in the face of the
sea's onslaughts, but It Is also orna
mental. As far as her waterfront Is
concerned, the city is to look like a
vast fortress. The wall Is to be 3
miles long 16 feet high, with a base
16 feet thick and a top 5 feet across,
NEW SEA WALL AT GALVESTOK.
the riprap of the front measuring 27
feet. Four thousand feet of the work
are already completed. Before July,
it is estimated, the whole job will be
finished. The wall is built of crushed
granite, sand and cement, resting on
a foundation of piles driven to a depth
of forty feet. The cost, for which pro
vision was made by a bond issue, will
be $1,500,000.
To complete the work of protection
It was also necessary to raise the
grade of the city, and a contract has
been let with a Holland firm to per
form the task for $2,000,000. The time
allowed Is three years, but the contrac
tors think they can finish it in two.
It Involves the cutting of a canal
through the city 150 feet wide and 20
feet deep.
Galveston expects not only to out
live the effects of her disaster, but to
become even a greater city than ever.
Her present importance as a shipping
point is exemplified by the fact that
her cotton receipts for the season ag
gregate abotit 2,100,000 bales, or 450,
000 more than were handled In New
Orleans for the same time. Since Sep
tember the grain receipts make a total
of 14,000,000 bushels. There is also
a heavy export trade with South Af
rica. FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
It Contains a Powerful Fire-Fighting
Powder.
It is not at all difficult to extinguish
a fire if it. can be detected in its in
cipiency, but if it has had an oppor
tunity to burn for
a short time it is
a task requiring a
company of fire
men and a deluge
of water. Were
it possible to find
a blaze at its be
ginning there
would be no need
to maintain paid
fire departments
powdeb globe. in all the large
cities, and Insurance companies would
go out of business for lack of patron
age. But many fires begin when no
one is near and are not discovered
until the headway is too great for one
man to fight. Consequently, It Is cus
tomary to equip buildings liable to
fires with automatic sprinklers.rovid
ing an arrangement which, will empty
the contents of a large tank of water
through a series of pipes to drench
the vicinity of the blaze. The water
Is turned on by the fusing of a' soft
metal plug under the action of the
beat from the blaze, or by means of
a thermostat, which works automatic
ally when the temperature rises to a
predetermined degree, regardless of
proximity to the blaze itself.
The invention shown In the drawing
is operated by the proximity, of heat
YASHIMA.
MIKASA.
to the automatic release, but it has a
different method of extinguishing a
fire than that used by the water sprin
kler. The extinguishing agent is con
tained In a fragile globe, which is sus
pended near the place where a fire is
liable to occur. As soon as the beat
causes its release and the globe falls
to the floor a sliding hammer in the
interior explodes the sphere and scat
ters the fire-extinguishing powder
broadcast, at the same time making
noise enough to alarm anyone within
the building. The extinguisher can be
suspended at any point, without con
nection with any other apparatus. :
ON THE PARIS 'CHANGE,
A Place Among the Seventy Costs
About Three Million. Franca.
It may be said that a seat among
the Seventy (they call it a charge)
costs about three million francs ($600,
000) or sometimes two million and a
half, and a charge earns from 5 to 15
per cent (net) a year, so that the an
nual profits are from $30,000 to $90,000,
or more in exceptional years. But
these are usually divided among sev
eral associates, - for it rarely happens
that an agent Is the sole owner of his
seat. More often he has paid for only
half of it, or a third of it, and has
three or four silent partners who own
the rest and who may again have sub
partners, so that you will hear of a
person owning an eighth or a sixteenth
of a seat,' or even a- irty-second,
these being simple Investments that
carry no rights or privileges on the
Bourse.
As to procuring a charge, the thing
has none of the Stock Exchange sim
plicity, where the main requirement
for getting a seat is to be able to pay
for it Here a candidate must be a
Frenchman and at least 25 years old.
He must have served four years in cer
tain forms of business. He must be
personally acceptable to the . agent
from whom he would purchase the
seat, and often to his family, includ
ing the ladies. He must be passed
upon by the Seventy with formal vot
ing, as if he were joining some select
club, which he is. There must be no
stain on his business record, and no
slur on his personal character. A can
didate was rejected recently for bad
habits, and another for no fault of his
own, but because his brother had been
concerned in questionable transactions.
With all this favorably settled, there
Is still needed the approval of the
Minister of Finances and the sanction
of the President This makes it clear
enough why many of the ablest deal
ers on the Bourse have not been mem
bers of the parquet but of the cou
lisse. They could not get into the par
quet Century.
Obliging Tradesmen.
"Maurice Barrymore sometimes used
to perpetrate harmless practical jokes
of the Theodore Hook type," said Wil
ton Lackaye. "One afternoon "Barry,'
while walking down Sixth avenue with
a friend, halted abruptly, and disap
peared into a ready-made clothing
store. The friend followed and found
him addressing the storekeeper:
" 'Will you please take that suit of
clothes out of the window?' he asked.
"The clothier, thinking he was to
have a sale, quickly complied.
" 'Thank you,' -said Barrymore, turn
ing on his heel.
" 'But don't you want to look at it "
blurted the merchant
"'No, no, replied 'Barry.' 'No, no.
I merely read your polite sign, "Any
suit taken out of this window by re
quest" Much obliged.' "New. York
Times. - "
. Out of a Job.
An old Scotch lady was much dis
tressed, says M. A. P., on reading that
gas was being introduced to take the
place of whale-oil.
"O dear! O dear!" she exclaimed.
"Whatever's to become of the pulr
whales now?"
If a woman loves a horse she is apt
to love her husband or anything sOm
she can drive.
Wers
Impure blood always shows
somewhere. If the skin, then
boils, pimples, rashes. If the
nerves, then neuralgia, nerv
ousness, depression. If the
Sarsaparilla
stomach, then dyspepsia,
biliousness, loss of appetite.
Your doctor knows the
remedy, used for 60 years.
" Returnlnr from th Cuban r, I u a
perfect wreck. My blood was bail, and my
health was gone. But a few bottles of Ayer'a
Saraapafilla completely cured me."
11. c. Dobbucb. Scran ton. Fa.
1 00 a bottle.
All rimggisU.
J. O. ITER CO.,
TAwell. Mas.
for
Impure Blood
Aid the Sarsaparilla by keeping the
bowels regular with Ayer's Pills.
An Obituary Mixed.
Edward L. Adams, representing the
United States as Consul General at
Stockholm, Sweden, was for several
years editor of the Rochester Democrat
and Chronicle. . While occupying that
position he wrote an obituary notice of
a neighbor's child, whose trousers had
caught fire during a Fourth of July cel
ebration, burning the little fellow so
badly that he ,died in consequence. Mr.
Adams ended his article with the states
ment that the sympathies of friends
would go out to the bereaved parents.
His shock next day may possibly be
imagined when the types made him say
that "the sympathies of a large circle
of friends will go out to the burned
pants."
Por His Encouragement.
Notwithstanding the disparity in
numbers, Charles XIII., of Sweden
marched bravely with his 8,000 men
against Peter the Great and his 80,000
Russians.
"What is your object, your majes
ty," remonstrated one of his trusted
generals, "in taking such a frightful
risk?"
"I want to show the Mikado of
Japan," replied the king, "that a Czar
isn't the whole cheese.".
Shortly afterward the demonstration
was complete. Chicago Tribune..
It takes two to make a quarrel until
you have one of your own, and then it
is always the other one who makes it.
Success.
Some people think success means
simply to get rich. " Others think it
means merely to keep out of jail. One
of these definitions is about' as near
correct as the other, says a philoso
nhor. Eyes That Act Independently.
Many animals possess more than
two eyes which do not act together. A
leech, for example, has ten eyes on
the top of its head, which do not work
in concert, and a kind of marine worm
has two eyes on the head and a row
down each side of the body. Some liz
erds have an extra eye on the top of
the head which does not act with the
other two. A bee or wasp has two
large compound eyes which possibly
help each other and are used for near
vision, and also three little simple eyes
on the top of the head which are em
ployed for seeing things a long way
off.
Sometimes we may learn more from
a man's errors than from his virtues.
Longfellow.
Indians and negroes, as a rule, aro
possessed of keener hearing than whits
people:
The 'population of Japan is twelve
times as densa as that of the United
States.
ABSOLUTE
SECURITY.
Genuine
Carter's
Little Liver Pills.
Must Bear Signature of
See Fac-Slmlle Wrapper Below.
Texy Maall and mm T
to take ma ragaz.
UAKI LliO FOR DIZZINESS.
ITllTTLE FDR BILIOUSNESS.
I I I V FR H T0nD LIYER
I I dm i ft F0R constipation;
J I rt FOR SALLOW SKIN.
I 1 I FOR THE COMPLEXION
. . - . (HOnznoi nuaramwaiawATuat.
tfcSa Purely Vegetle.sVixz&C
CURE SICK HEADACHE.
Beat Conch Syrup. Taatea Good. Uaa
in tune, nom or aragguw.