I Thn Hirm nf ?
J I lib l il ill ui
3
I Girdlestone
B Y
A. CONAN DOYLE
i
CHAPTER XX. (Continued.)
"Of course. What could bo more de
lightfully simple? Friend Hurt here does
hi! work r we curry her through the gar
den gate, aud lay her on the darkest
part of the rails. Then we miss her at
the house. There is an alarm and a
search. The pate is found open. We nat
urally go through with lanterns, and find
her on the line. I don't think we need
fear the co1 -or, or any one else, then'.'"
"lie's a .arp 'un, is the guv'nor,
cried Hurt, shipping his thigh enthusias
tically. "It's the downiest lay 1 have
heard this many a day."
"Mr. Hurt can do his part of the busi
ness out of doors. We can entice her
out uiHin some excuse. There is no rea
son why any one should, have a suspicion
of the truth."
"l!ut they know that she is not mad."
"They will think that she did it on
purpose. The secret will be locked up in
our three breasts. After one night s
work our friend here goes to the colo
nies as a prosperous man, and the tirtu
of Girdlestone holds un its head once
more, stainless and irreproachable."
"Speak low !" said Ezra, in a whisper.
"I hear her coming downstairs." They
listened to her light springy footstep us
it passed the door. "Come here, lurt,
he said, after a pause. "She is at work
on the lawn. Come and have a look at
her."
They all went over to the window and
looked out. It was then that Kate, glanc
ing up, saw the three cruel faces survey
ing her.
"She's a rare, well-built 'un," said
Hurt, as he stepped back from the win
dow. "It is the ugliest job as ever I
was on."
"Hut we can rely upon you?" Girdle
stone asked, looking at him with puck
ei ed eyes.
"You bet as long as you pay me," the
navvy answered phlegmatically.
CHAPTER XXI.
The grey w inter evening was beginning
to steal in before the details had all been
ai ranged by the conspirators. It had
grown so chill that Kate had abandoned
her attempt at gardening, and , had gone
back to her room. Ezra left his father
and Burt by the fire and came out to the
open hall door. The grim old trees looked
gount and eerie as they waved their naked
arms about in the cutting wind. A slight
fog had come up from the sea and lay
in light wreaths over the upper branches
like a thin veil of gauze. Ezra was shiv
ering as he surveyed the dreary scene,
felt a hand on his arm, and looking round
sow tbatthe maid Rebecco was standing
beside him.
"Haven't you got one word for me?"
she said sadly, looking up into his face.
"It's but once a week, and then never a
word of greeting."
"I didn't see you, my lass," Ezra an
swered. "How does the I'riory suit you?"
"One place is the same as another to
Die," she said drearily. "You asked me
to come here and I have come. You said
once that you would let me know how I
could serve you down here. When am I
to know?"
"Why, there's no secret about that.
You do serve me when you look after my
fnther as you have done these weeks
I tack. That old woman isn't fit to man
age the whole place by herself."
"That wasn't what you meant,
though," said the girl, looking at him with
questioning eyes. "I remember your face
now as you spoke the words. You had
nc mething on your mind, and have now,
only you keep it to yourself. Why won't
you trust me with it?"
"I have a great deal to worry me in
business matters. Much good it would
do telling you about them !"
"It's more than that," said Rebecca,
doggedly. "Who i? that man who has
come down?"
"A business man from London. He has
come to consult my father about money
matters. Any more questions you would
like to ask?"
"I should like to know how long we
are to be kept down here, and what the
Meaning of it all may be."
"We are going hack before the end of
the winter, and the meaning of it is that
Miss llarston was not well and needed a
change of ir. Now. are you satisfied?"
lie was determined to allay as far as pos
sible any suspicions that the girl might
liave previously formed.
"And what brings you down here?" she
asked with the same searching look. "You
l.u't come down into this hole without
some good reason. I did think at first
that you might come down in order to see
rue, but you soon showed me that it
wasn't that. There was a time when you
v as fond of me."
"So I am now, lass."
"Aye. very fond ! Not a word nor a
look from you last time you came. You
must have some reason, though, that
brings you here."
"There's nothing wonderful in a man
coming to see his own father."
"Much you cared for him in London,"
she cried with a shrill laugh. "If he was
under the sod you would not be the sad
der. It's my belief as you come down
after that doll-faced missy upstairs."
As the light faded and the grey of
evening deepened into darkness Kate sat
patiently in her bare little room. A coal
fire sputtered and sparkled in the rusty
prate, and there was a tin bucket full of
-oals beside the fender from which to re
plenish it. She was very cold, so she
drew her single chair up to the blaze and
livid her hands over it. It was a lonesome
and melancholy vigil, while the wind
whistled through the branches of the
tis and moaned drearily in the cracks
and crannies of the old house. When
were her friends coming? Perhaps some
i thing had occurred to detain them to-day,
' This morning such a thing would have ap
peared to her to be an impossibility, but
now that the time had come when she had
: expected thorn, it appeared probable
j enough that something might have delay
' ed them. To-morrow at latest they could
not fail to come. She wondered what
! they would do if they did arrive. Would
! they come boldly up the avenue and claim
i her from the (iirdlostones, or would they
j endeavor to communicate with her first?
Whatever they decided upou would be
sure to be for the best.
She went to the window once and look
ed out. It promised to be a wild r.ight.
j Far away in the southwest lay a great
j cumulus of rugged clouds from which
dark streamers radiated over the sky, like
the advance guard of an army. Here and
there a pale star twinkled dimly out
through the rifts, but the greater part
of the heavens was black and threatening.
It was so dark that she could no longer
see the sea, but the crashing, . booming
sound of the great waves filled the air
and the salt spray came driving in
through the open window. She shut it
and resumed her seat by the fire, shivering
partly from cold and partly from some
vague presentiment of evil.
An hour or more had passed when she
heard a step upon the stairs and a knock
came to her door. It was Rebecca, with
a cup of tea upon a tray and some bread
nnd butter. Kate was grateful at this at
tention, for it saved her from having to
go down to the dining room and face Ezra
and his unpleasant looking companion.
Rebecca laid down the tray, and then to
her mistress' surprise turned hack and
shut the door. The girl's face was very
pale, and her manner was mild and ex
cited. "Here's a note for you," she said. "It
was given Mrs. Jorrocks to give you, but
I am better at climbing stairs than she
is. so I brought it up." She handed Kate
a little slip of paper as she spoke.
A note for her! Could it-be that her
ftiends had arrived and had managed to
send a message to her? It must be so.
She took it from the maid. As she did
so she noticed that her hands were shak
ing as though she had the ague.
"You are not well, Rebecca," said Kate,
kindly.
"Oh. yes, I am. You read your note
and don't mind me." the girl answered in
her usual surly fashion. Instead of leav
ing the room she was bustling about the
bed as though putting things in order.
Kate's impatience was too great to allow
her to wait, so she untwisted the paper.
w hich had no seal or fastening. She had
hoped in her heart to see the name of her
lover at the end of it. Instead of that her
eye fell upon the signature of Ezra (Jir
dlestone. What could he have to say to
her? She moved the solitary candle on
to the mantelpiece, and read the following
note roughly scribbled upon a coarse piece
of paper :
"My Dear Miss llarston I am afraid
your confinement here has been very irk
some to you. I have repeatedly requested
my father to alleviate or modify it, but he
has invariably refused. As he still per
sists in his refusal, I wish to offer you
my aid, and to show you that I am your
sincere friend in spite of all that has
passed, if you could slip out to-night at
nine o'clock and meet me by the withered
oak at the head of the avenue, I shall see
you safe to Hedsworth, and you can, if
you wish, go on to Portsmouth by the
nest train. I shall manage so that you
mny find the door open by that time. I
shall not. of course, go to Portsmouth
w ith you, but shall return here after drop
ping you at the station. I do this small
thing to show you that, hopeless as it may
be, the affection which I bear you is still
as deep as ever. Yours. 'E. Girdlestone.
Our heroine was so surprised at this
epistle that she sat for some time dang
ling the slip of paper between her fingers
and lost in thought. When she glanced
round. Rebecca had left the room. She
relied the paper up and threw it into the
fire. Ezra, then, was not so hard-hearted
as she had thought him. He had used
his influence to soften his father. Should
she accept this chance of escape, or should
she await some word from her friends?
Perhaps they were already in Hedsworth,
but did not know how to communicate
with her. If so, this offer of Ezra's was
just what was needed. In any case, she
could go on to Portsmouth and telegraph
fioin there to the Dimsdales. It was too
good an offer to be refused. She made
up her mind that she would accept it. It
was past eight now and nine was the
hour. She stood up with the intention of
putting on her cloak and bonnet.
CHAPTER XXII.
Ezra and his father had composed the
letter together, and the former handed it
to Mrs. Jorrocks, with a request that she
should deliver it. It chanced, however,
that Relecca, keenly alive to any attempt
at communication between the young mer
chant and mistress, saw the crone hob
bling down the passage with the note in
her hand.
"What's that, mothef?" she asked.
"It's a letter for her," wheezed the old
woman, nodding he'r tremulous head in
the direction of Kate's room.
"I'll take it up," said Rebecca eagerly.
"I am just going up there with her tea."
"Thank ye. Them stairs tries my rheu
matiz something cruel."
The maid took the note and carried it
upstairs. Instead of taking it straight to
her mistress she slipped into her own
room and read every word of it. It ap
peared to confirm her worst suspicions.
Here was Ezra asking an interview with
the woman whom he had assured her that
he hated. It was true that the request
was made in measured words and on a
plausible pretext. Xo doubt that was
nwrely to deceive any other eye which
might rest uiKin it. There was an under
standing between them, and this was an
assignation. The girl walked swiftly up
and down the room like a caged tigress,
striking her head with her clenched hands
in her anger, and biting her lip until
blood came. It was some time before she
could overcome her agitation sufficiently
to deliver the note, and when she did so
her mistress, as we have seen, noticed that
her manner was nervous and wild. She
little dreamed of the struggle which was
going on in the dark-eyed girl's mind
against the impulse which urged her to
doize her imagined rival by the white
throat and choke the life out of her.
"It's eight o'clock now," Ezra was say
ing downstairs. T wonder whether she
will come?"
his father said
brieu.
"Suppose nlie didn't?"
"In that case we should find othet
means to bring her out. We have not
gone so far to break down over a triile
at the last moment."
"I feel as cold as ice and as nervous
as a cat. I can't understand how you
look so unconcerned. If you were going
to sign an invoice or audit an account or
anything else in the way of business you
could not take it more calmly. I wish
the time would come. This waiting is
terrible."
Ezja, leaning back in his chair with
the firelight flickering over his haggard
but still handsome face, looked across at
his father with a puzzled expression. He
had never yet been able to determine
whether the .old man was a consummate
hjpoerite or a religious monomaniac. Hurt
lay with his feet in the light of the fire
and his head sunk back across the arm of
the chair, fast asleep and snoring loudly.
"Isn't it time to wake him up?" Ezra
asked, interrupting the reading.
"Yes, I think it is," his father answer
ed. Ezra took up the candle and held it
over the sleeping man. "What a brute
he looks!" he said. "Did ever you see
such an animal in your life?"
The navvy was certainly not a pretty
sight. His muscular arms and legs were
all a-sprawl, and his head hung hack at a
strange angle to his body, so that his fiery
red beard pointed upwards, exposing all
the thick sinewy throat beneath it. His
eyes were half open and looked bleared
and unhealthy, while his thick lips puffed
out with a whistling sound at every ex
piration. His, dirty brown coat was
thrown open, and out of one of the pock
ets protruded a short thick cudgel with
a leaden head. John Girdlestone picked
it out aud tried it in the air.
"I think 1 could kill uu ox with this,"
he said.
"Don't wave it about my head," cried
stand iu the firelight
brandishing that stick in your long arms
you are less attractive than usual."
t John Girdlestone smiled and replaced
the cudgel in the sleeper's pocket. 'Wake
up, Hurt," he cried, shaking him by tne
aim. "It's half-past eight."
The navvy started to his feet aud then
fell back into his chair, staring round
him vacantly, ac a loss as to where he
might be.
"I've been asleep, guv'nor," he said
hoarsely. "Dird you say it was time for
the job?"
"We have made arrangements by
which she will be out by the w ithered oak
at nine o'clock.
"Come on, then !" said the navvy. "Who
is a-comin' with me?'
"We shall both come," answered John
Girdlestone, firmly. "You will need help
to carry her to the railway line."
"Surely Burt can do that himself
Ezra remarked. "She's not so very
htavy."
Girdlestone drew his son aside. "Don't
bu so foolish, Ezra," he said. "It must
be done with the greatest carefulness and
precision, aud no traces left. Our old
business watchward was to overlook ev
erything ourselves, and we shall certainly
do so now."
"It's a horrible affair!" Ezra said, with
a shudder. "I wish I was out of it."
"You won't think that to-morrow morn
ing when you realize that the firm is
saved and no one the wiser. He has gone
on. Don't lose sight of him."
They both hurried out, and found Burt
standing in front of the door. It was
blowing half a gale now, and the wind
was bitterly cold. There came a melan
..." n. 7rm thP .Paf.
I'UUIJ lasting auu . L - I
less wood, and every now and again a
sharp crackling sound would announce
that some rotten branch had come crash-
ing down. The clouds drove across the
face of the moon, so that at times the
cold, clear light silvered the dark wood
and the old monastery, wnne at oiners
all was plunged in darkness. From the
open door a broad golden bar was shot
across the lawn from the lamp in the
. .S
ural in the yellow glare.
"What if she fails to come?"
From the spot where they stood ttiey
had a view of the whole of the Priory. I
Kate could not come out without being
seen. Above tne uoor was a ioug umiuw
window which opened upon tne staircase.
On this Girdlestone and his son fixed their
eyes, for they knew that on her way
down she would be visible at it. As they
locked, the dim light which shone through
it was obscured and then reappeared.
"She has passed!"
"Hush !"
(To be continued.)
A Watch ot the Blind.
The novel watch for the blind invent-
rul ttr ' ,srn fovar n (!nrm!iii wntch
"She Is sure to come,'
.it i J i- - hki 1 there is no better indicator of this radi
niaker, is designed to supply a reliable ""c u
u cal change between the woman our
timeniece at a much more moderate cal " 6
cost than any yet used by the sightlesa
The dial has an ordinary minute hand,
while the hours are indicated by twelve
buttons in relief, each button sinking
into the dial in turn with the passage
of the hours. TV) find the time, the fin
gers are passed over the dial, when the
depressed button makes known the
hour, and the hand gives the minute by
its isition. The dial covers a circu
lar plate which takes the place of the
ordinary hour hand, ns its circumfer
ence lias a notch into which each but
ton drops in turn as the movement of
the works causes the plate to revolve.
Hlnh Altitude fur a Kite.
The highest altitude ever reached by
a kite in this country, according to
Prof. Henry, of the weather bureau, Is sephiue 9 aevoiion, everywnere rrom
that recorded recently at the Mount garret tq throne. It has nodded its low
Weather station in Virginia, when an ly head, with a success undreamed of
altitude of slightly over 2.1,000 feet by haughty garden beauties. Modesty,
wns "attained. At that height a tern- sweetness, Innate gentility these
perature of 5 degrees Indow zero was glowed in the deep blue of each fra
recorded. Prof. Henry says that ex- grant messenger. But, gracious alive,
periments in' kite flying have leen car- who wants to be that nowadays?
ried on in other countries where an "Violets? Dear me! Don't get those,"
altitude of 23.fiO feet was recorded, said the florist with a prescient glance
That means a height of about four and
ne-thlrd milts.
-
Why the Weaker se
"Pa, why do they call women th
WCJlkOr RX?
"That s something I ve never been
able to figure out myself," responded .
tht fond parent Detroit Fre Press. I .
ft Ji
1 A TRICK OF MEMORY. T
Memory Is one of the most useful
nnd least trustworthy of our faculties.
"I mind It weel, but I hue ma doots o
ma mind!" said a canny Scotchman In
the witness box. A wholesome charity
for the mistakes of others was learned
by a certain woman from her own ex
perience. She was about to cross the
continent for a three months' visit.
On the day of her departure she went
to the safety deposit vault where she
kept her valuables, nnd said to the
manager that she wanted to take her
box, with Its contents, to her lawyer's
office for an hour. Could he arrange
that for her? The manager assented,
nnd wrapped the box in a newspaper,
that It might make an inconspicuous
bundle.
The dny passed and the woman did
not return. The next morning, inquiry
revealed the fact that she had gone ou
her Journey. The manager was curious
enough to ask her lawyer if he knew
anything about the box.
"She left here intending to ,tnke it
directly to you," said the lawyer.
That wns enough to Justify a tele
gram, as soon as the woman had reach
ed her destination, six days Inter. Tel
egram : "Where did you put your safe
ty deposit box?" Answer: "In the
vault where it belonged." Telegrnm :
"It is not there. Return at once."
Another week passed In wretched
suspense for everyone concerned. When
the woman nrrived, she was In n state
of nervous rage, nnd ready to neeus
the olliclals of every crime In the cal
endar. She declared she had driven
straight from her lawyer to the vault,
The manager had himself let her In,
nnd talked with her. Her story was
complete In all its details. But the
FKENCH MAKE MONEY REARING ANGORA RABBITS.
COMBING THE HAIR. TICKING IT, AND PACKING FOR MARKET.
Thrifty French men and women make tidy sums of money renring An
gora rabbits, and selling their "hair or fleece, which is woven Into a superior
quality of cloth much like silk, and is worn next the skin by those afflicted
with rheumatism, who say they derive beneficial results. The better the
animal is nourished and cared for, the longer, finer aud thicker is the hair.
The rabbits are also consumed for food. It is said that with proper care
eaehWbbit may be made to yield a net profit of three dollars a year, and
the occupation is very pleasant.
records of the deposit company did not
substantiate It. That cast doubt enough
on it so that it seemed worth while
to look up the cabman who had driven
the woman on that fateful dny.
He wns found. He remembered tha
Mrcumstnnce well.
Had he any recollection of stopping
Lany where else? Scratching his gnzz.ea
head, he slowly retraced the course.
and then said, "W ny, yes i vei.r".
j at the bakeshop on the corner of M
street, nnd you went in!"
j jjere was the clew. A hasty visit to
thf bakery revealed the newspaper bun-
de tucked away on a high sueir, wirn
its precious contents undisturbed.
gtood for a fortnght,
- & &nd & llalf.(lozen mcn
, were staying awake by night and fret-
ting by day, accusing each other or
lying and stealing, nil because one
woman's intention gut uue.iu w
performance and imprinted a He on
the tablets of her memory. Youth's
Companion
NO LONGER LOVED.
Vloleta Forchaed Only hy Old-Faah-loned
31 en Who Say "Thank You."
If a straw may show which way the
wind blows, says a well-known news
paper writer, then a violet may also
serve as a vane to Indicate the passing
eephyrs of society.
In the present vanishing of the violet,
! fathers used to call "mother" as she
6tltched and sewed -and smiled upon
her little brood, supremely happy with
the bouquet of violets that sometimes
graced her gown, and the smart, up-to-date
Mrs. B.
Formerly when flowers were distinct
ly emblematic, deep with esoteric
meaning, there was no greater compli
ment than to be presented with a bunch
of violets. Toets the world over, since
Adam delved and Eve went violetlng.
have rhapsodled over the womanly sig
nificance of its quiet fragrance. From
first reader ditties about the "mossy
dell where the humble violets grew,"
to Napolen's eloquent tribute as he
plucked it as the springtime emblem of
his return from Elba, and also of Jo-
like an up-to-date Sybil with a fat bank
account. "They re way out of style.
jfo one ever buys violets any more!
They're too little, too modest," she
.. to . few meaKer bouauets that
1.1 am. ms-islnc fVwYnAtl i4i-wroln rr
.... wlUed
not hftlf .howT enouifh not
quite correct," she beamed, with fiefl
nlte finality, "and one might Just as
well be out of the world as out of the
style, you know. Of course they're
sweet nnd pretty nnd fragrant, nnd nil
thnt," she said, giving them n vlgorpus
shake, as though they needed a course
In gymnastics. "But who wants any.
thing like that, indeed? t
"Oh, yes, sometimes some men, the
old-fashioned kind, that wenr silk hats
and sny 'thiink" you,' occasionally buy
them, and then, too, when a girl is in
mourning and can't wear anything
else, there is a slight demand, but to
send violets to a girl" she held up her
hands In horror.
"Why, I am sure she'd give them to
the cook." j
"Well, what do they like?" I asked, i
For answer I was treated to a glance
thnt would have been a credit to an
emigrant inspector.
"Like?" echoed sharp-eyed Sybil
"Why, anything that stands out, shows
off; lets everybody know that you're
wearing them, speaks for themselves;
that's what they want."
She swept by a bower of roses, dusky
with velvet beauty, and pointed to a
great patch of gaudy orchids.
"There! there!" she exclaimed.
"That's the kind that makes the hit; 1 JT75Tbe Quebec Act became law pro
. . , . ... v , viding for the government of tan-
Just look at them. There won t be one GoverDorBnd Council.
left after the ball to-night. Of course,
I'll have to fall back on the roses to
help out, but It'll be those bright ones
there," she pointed to a crimson blot
staining some snow-white hyacinths in
the case beyond. "You know," she con
fided, "I do believe some girls would
wear sunflowers if they were only fash
ionable. Those chrysanthemums nnd
bright flowers do mnke an awful hit,
and ns for orchids" I followed her
forefinger trying to find some mythical
meaning other than n loud plea for
dollars and cents. "Those, of course.
are most expensive, and therefore best
of all."
"Violets." she shook her head, "beau
tiful nnd fragrant and tenderly sincere,
If you like, but old-fashioned, dread
fully old-fashioned, and not even to be
considered, you know."
CATHEDRAL MADE OF MATCHES.
A, coal miner named Wllhelm Lem
pertz nrrived here a few days ngowith
a cathedral a cnthedrnl made of
matches. He came from Port Arthur,
Texas, where he had been employed
until recently. The cathedral repre
sents two years of Lemper tz's lnbor,
such painstaking labor ns few men are
capable of performing.
For 20 years Lemper tz has been a
coal miner. He worked In the mins
of Germany nnd Amerlcn, but a few
yenrs ago he had to give up mining on
BUILT OF 2,000,000 SPLINTERS.
account of 111 health. x While he was Hi
he did various things to while away
the time. One day he started to build
a to cathedral patterned after a pic
ture he saw In a magazine. Ills build
ing materials were matches and glue,
his tools a pocket knife and a glue
brush. The plan was laid out for a
building 14 feet high, 14 feet long and
7 feet wide. He worked with remark-,'
able patience, oftentimes putting in all
his waking hours at his task. After
two years of almost continuous appli
cation the Job was finished.
The walls of the cathedral, the tow
ers and turrets, the galleries and stee
ples, the ornaments all are of match
es. It took more than 2,000,000 match
es to build the church and more than
100 pounds of glue used In fastening
the 2,000,000 matches securely. New
York Tress.
After an affecting scene at a play
the men all blow their noses vigorous
ly, and the women pat their eyes. A
man's way of crying Is to blow his
nose.
If there is one thing a garrulous
man detests more than another It If ,
a talkative woman.
'
THE WEEKLY
1404 Jamaica discovered by Columbus
and named St. Jago by him.
1002 Queen Mary II. of England born.
1070 The Hudson's Bay Company
formed in England. ' '
1707 Legislative union of England and
Scotland put into effect.
by
1770 Adoption of the Pine Tree flag by
great and general court of Massachu
setts. 1788 Maryland ratified the Constitution
of the United States.
1S08 Spanish organized a revolt against
Napoleon. .. .Charles IV. of Spain
Abdicated in favor of Bonaparte....
Union Temperance Society formed
In Saratoga county, New York, this
being the beginning of the Prohibi
tion movement in the United States.
1827 French National Guard disbanded.
1S54 First railroad opened in Brazil.
1850 Montmorency bridge fell.
1859 Colorado river expedition ended.
''.80,' Sir Samuel Cunard, founder of th
Cunard steamship line, died.
1877 Occupation of Bayazid by the Rus
sians. 1878 First elevated trains run on Third
avenue in New York City.
'881 First sod turned in the construc
tion of the Canadian Pacific railway.
1882 Charles S. Parnell, the Irish lead
er, released from Kilmainhnm jail.
1885 Col. Otter attacked the Canadian
rebels at Cut Knife Creek.
1888 Henry M. SUiley found Emia
Pasha on the shore? of Albert Ny
ansa.
1894 Many lives lost by earthquakes in
Venezuela. . . .International bimetal
lic conference met in London.
1898 Spanish fleet destroyed in battU
of Manila bay.
1903 Landslide at Frank, B. C, with
the loss of seventy-five lives.
1005 A score of lives lost in a tornado
at Laredo, Texas.... Steamer Fa lk
wrecked off Lands End, with loss of
nearly 100 lives.
1907 Attempted assassination of Presi
dent Cabrera of Guatemala.
Construction work on the line of th
Erie apd Jersey road and the Geuesse
Kiver road is being pushed rapidly.
I The South Hnkota railroad and ware
house commission has decided to order
I freight rates reduced west of the Missouri
r"iver. A new tariff is now being worked
out. )
i The balancing of the books of the Penn
sylvania railroad for 1!07 shows that,
while the system earned $.'10,000,000 more
than in 1900. it paid $19,.V0,000 more
, for labor, or 05 per cent on the increased
earnings.
Those opposed to closing the Red rivet
tn nnviirntion had a mnioritv nt Hip hour.
j Ing before Major Schunk of the United
States engineer corps at Fargo, and they
are confident that the plan to close the
river below Belmont will be rejected by
the federal government.
Roads running east from Chicago seem
to be all at sea regarding the policy to
be adopted on the testing of the consti
tutionality of the 2-cent maximum rate
laws passed by many of the States. The
matter was taken out of the hands of
the passenger officials by their executive
officers some time ago.
The usual Ait-and-dried proceedings at
meetings of the Grand Trunk Railway of
Canada were varied at the semi-annual
gathering of the directors of the road in
London, by heated charges of mismanage
ment, and thereport of the board was
only adopted after earnest appeals for
unity of interest for the company's credit
"Wd been made.
An order for 200 refrigerator cars wn
placed recently by the Northern Pacific
as an addition to its equipment in order
to be fully prepared to handle the annual
fruit crop of the Northwest. It Is ex
pected that the demands on the roads this
year will be heavier than ever, and for
that reason those reaching the fruit dis
trict are all providing extra equipment.
One road which began in 1899 by hand
ling 11$ cars, expects to haul 3,500 thi
year.
Some of the eastern roads are said to
be working ot a system whereby the
National Educational Association not
only will be given a rate of cents a
mile for the round trip for its annual
convention, which is to be held this year
at Cleveland, but will continue to receiv
the $2 membership fee which the roads in
past years collected for it, without getting
Into conflict with the ruling of the Inter
state Commerce Commission that It is
Illegal for the roads to collect this fee
In connection with the sale of tickets and
then turn over the amount thus collected
In a groM sum to the association.