I
Tbe Special
CHAPTKK XVIII.
Th country In fertile and well cnlti
Tai,i, growing wheat, malie, rte, lnr
ley ami flax, lu its eastern districts. Kv- Menu while, different opinions wrr b
rywhere are great masses of trees, wil- ing exchanged on the gangways. Some
lows, mulberries, poplar. As far as th would rather travel with th millloua
y cm rench are fields unJer cultirntlon,
Irrigated by nnmeroua canals, also green
new, in which sr flocks of aheep,
conntry half Normandy, half Provence,
were it not Tor to mountains or Pamir
on the horiion. Hut this portion of Kaeh-
garia was terrioly ravage,! ty war when
It people wer struggling for ludepend
nc. Th land flow,! with blood, and
long by th railroad th ground Is dot-
td With tumuli beneath which ar
buried th victims of their patriotism,
But I did not com to Central Asia to
wavei as lr l wer In t rance, rsovelty:
oveltyl Th unforeseen! The appall
ing!
It was without th shadow of an ac
cident, and after a particularly fln run
that we entered Yarkand Station at four
o'clock lu the afternoon.
A few Chinee passengers alighted at
Iarksn.1, and gave place to others exact
ly like them among others a acor of
coolies and w atarted again at 8
o clock In the evening. During th night
ulnff. I)urin th nleht
ran the three hundred and flfty kilo-
meters which separata Yarkand from
Kothan,
A visit I paid to th front van showed
Konmnnian.
in tne morning I opor tolil me tnat tne
train, which was now traveling about as
fast as an omnibus, had passed Khar-
falik, the Junction for the Kilian and
aong tranches. 1 he nigtit naa Deen
coia. ror we are still at au altitude or
J.ZOU meters. Leaving Uuma station, the
line runs aue east ana west, following
na nsses at the ronls between tne peDtly
DanKs. ine ranroa-j crosses it aDout a
hundred kilometers from Khotan. where
we amve.1 at s o clocK in the morning.
fwsj.
j.o nours to stop, ana as tne town
may give me a foretaste of the cities of
wmua, 1 resoive to lane a run inrougn it.
A- V JL
as e were hdoui 10 noaru ine car
gam. 1 saw ropor runuinij toward me.
uuuuug.
"Monsieur Bombarnac!"
"What is the matter, Popof 7"
A telegraph messenger asked me if
there was any one belonging to the
Twentieth Century on the train."
"A teletp-aph mesaenger?
"Yes, and on my replying In the af
firmative, he gave me this telegram for
for you "
"Give It me! give It me!"
I seize the teWrnm hlnh h. hn
waitiuc for nie some iIats. I It n rnlv
to my wire sent from Merv, relative to
tbe mandarin Yen Lou?
I open it. I read It, and it falls from
my hand. This is what it said:
"Claudius Bombarnac. Correspondent
Twentieth Century, Khotan, Chinese
Turkestan:
"It is not the corpse of a mandarin
that the train is taking to Pekin. but
the imperial treasure, value fifteen mill-
Ions, seut from Persia to China, as an
nounced in the Paris newspapers eight
days ago; endeavor to be better informed
for the future."
CHAPTER XIX.
"Millions there are millions in that
pretended mortuary van!"
In spite of myself, this imprudent
phrase had escaped me in such a way
that the net-ret of the imperial treasure
vras instantly known to all, to the rail
way men as well as to the passengers,
And so, for the greater security, the
Persian government, in agreement with
the Chinese government, lias allowed it
to be believed that we were carrying
the corpse of a mandarin, when we were
really taking to Pekin a treasure worth
fifteen millions of francs.
Now the secret is divulged, and we
know that this treasure, composed of
gold and precious stones, formerly de
posited in the hands of the Shah of Per
sia, is being sent to its legitimate owner,
th Son of Heaven.
That is why my lord Faruskiar, who
was aware of it in consequence of his
position as general manager of tbe com
pany, had Joined the train at Douchak
so os to accompany the treasure to Its
destination. That is why he and Ghangir
and the three other Mongols had so
carefully watched this precious van, and
why they had shown themselves so anx
lous when it had been left behind by the
breakage of the coupling, and why they
were so eager for its recovery.
That Is also why a detachment of Chi
nese soldiers has taken over the van at
Kachgur, ln relief of the Persians. That
Is why Pan Chao never heard of Yen
Lou, nor of any exalted personage of that
name existing in the Celestial Empire!
We started to time, and, as may be
supposed, our traveling companions
could talk of nothing else but the mill-
Ions which were enough to enrich every
one in the train.
"This pretended mortiiHry van has al
ways been suspicious to me," said Major
Noltiti. "And that was why I ques
tioned Pan Chao regarding the dead
mandarin."
"I remember," I said; "and I could
not quite understand the motive of your
question. It is certain now that we have
got a treasure in tow."
"And I add," said the major, "that the
Chinese government has done wisely In
sending an escort of twenty well armed
men. From Kothan to Lan Tcheou the
trains will have two thousand kilometers
to traverse through the desert, and the
safety of the line is not as great as it
might be across the Gobi."
"All the more so, major, as the re
doubtable Ki-Tsang has beeu reported
ln the northern provinces."
"Quite so, and a haul of fifteen mill
ions is worth having by a bandit chief."
"But how could the chief be informed
of the treasure being sent?"
That sort of people always know
me that the box was still In the Mine !.., vmnilr lnra.l ihli T"")-Teii Live th Coat of One 1
place. A certain auorlns proved that I urn . 1., nr ai.ut ..,i, I I'osneMed by Iowa ladian. T lirtir inini ruin in r nns rtnu T I "(Ireat W
Kiuko was inside as usual, and sleeping Lf it .h. T ifu ! T,.,.!.- s.,..iir in I Anijr which took seventy-aoveu I , R I.R tK M A .HhKWfl MIIN t have a
reacefully. I did not care to wak him, which I am Insure,!, will. I expect, re- ,lvw ln uaklnK Is owneil by uu J 11 wi-ti-uiiimvu T -
and I left him to dream of hia adorable fuse to nar so thst the fJrsn.l Trans. lowa-Indlau llvlliir In Strom! II 'P TJ.J.J.J..tJ.J-J.J.J.J-AAAJ.J.J.-i ,n tut of
iue miny-sevenm paranei. uie same Anglo-American couple were right, the and are said to have been taken by tw bl cannon crackers and his pocket ""r "l "'- ' l' ......
wrhich traverses it in Europe, Seville, enormous loss would have had to be special command of the t;reat Silrir ' "mailer ones, and had Joined Bill ,,nn- A '"n w"" m,1', ''
Syracuse and Athens. borne by the Grand TrananslaUc. for the from the IliiMt M,-lmoi nf il, AinsWy, to set th church Ml wildly to the crackers. Ne,,r the crackers a
We sighted only one stream of Impor- company must have known they were " , ",-,min" of " rillBi11)f, oa th, strke ((f ,2. joyous ri" tM ,,( th f-i. and tliU I"
tance, the Knrakash. on which appeared cartylng a treasure and not a corpse, m aM clllldrt' beloiijfltig to tha ,llue.holloP9( ,alutntion u ,h gh.rloiia t,lrn tle'1 ," l,lt ,,f wlr" "" ",0
few drifting rafts, and files of horses and therebv thev were resnonsihle. white, red and negro races. Fourth h h.l ,,l,,.,l t I,.. b.cU In ""' the kite, which had been
.1 .L! . - - ,, I . 1 . I .
Correspondent
rM"M-M
I what It I their Interest to know."
- "es," thought I, "although thy do
- not read the Twentieth Century.
than enrry a corpse along with thoin.
even though It was that of a flint-class
mandarin. Others considered th carry
Ing of the treasur danger to the pas
sengers. And that was th opinion of
Baron Welssachnltserdorfer, in furious
attack on Fopof.
- "You ought to hav told n about It.
air you ought to hav told na about
it! Thos millions ar known to b In
the train, and thev will temnt neonle to
attack na. And an attack, even If repula-
ed. will mean delay, and delay I will not
submit to. No. air. I wi not "
. . .
Xo one will dream of doing it."
"And how do you know that how do
you know that?"
"H calm, pray."
"I will not be calm: and If there Is a
delay I will hold th company responsi
ble."
That Is understood; a hundred thou-
sand florins damanea to Monsieur le Bar-
T.. a t 1-
on Tour de Mond.
iet us pass to th other passenger,
Knhrlnell Wke.1 it the mstter of eourse.
from a verv nrsrrlenl roliit nf view.
"There can be no doubt that our risks
asiatic Company will have all the re
shnsibility.
"Of course." said Mias Bluett; "and
jf tney had not found the missing van
the company would have beeu lu a aeri-
ous difficulty with Chlua. Would It not.
Fulk?"
'"Exactly, Horatia."
Horatia and KulW nothing less! Th
Ag t0 th, Caternas. the milllofis roll-
jn hehin.l i1i,l not m to trouble thum
The onlr reflection thev Insi.lred was
"Ah! Cnroline. what a snlendid theater
we'micht build with all that monev!
But the best thing was said by the
Rev Nathaniel Morse, who had Joiued
I
the tra il at Knohir.ir.
"it is never comfortable to be drag
ell)e . noWjen maeazine after one.
Nothing could be truer, and this van.
with its Imperial treasure, was a pow
der magazine that might blow up our
train.
CIIAi'TEIt XX.
The first railway was opened In China
about 1S77, and ran from Shanghai to
I ou-Tcheou. The Grand Trausaslatlc
followe,! very closely the Russian road
proposed in 1S74 by Tashkend, Kouldja,
linmi- r-an Tcheou, Singan, and Shang-
,,nL This railway not run through
the P"P101" central provinces, which
f?n De fn'Pore,i to vast and nummmg
n,ves ot D,''s- "na extraor.Ilnanly pro-
llfic he? A nearly as possible it forms
" i -'ra ueiore
curving off to Lan Tcheou; it reaches
c,ne? Dy ,,ne "raes " S' out to the
south and southeast.
Since we left Kothan, we have covered
a hundred and bfty kilometers in four
hours. It is not a high rate of speed,
but we cannot expect on this part of the
Transasiatic the same rate of traveling
we experienced on the Transcasplan
Either the Chinese engineers are not so
fast, or. thanks to their natural indo
lence, the engine drivers imagine that
from thirty to forty miles an hour is the
nuiximum that can be obtained on the
railways of the Celestial Empire,
At o'clock in the afternoon we were
at another station, Xia, where General
Pevtsoff established a meteorological ob
servatory. Here we stopped only twenty
minutes. 1 had time to lay in a few
provisions at the bar. For whom they
were intended you can imagine.
The passengers we picked up were only
Chinese, men and women. There were
only a few for the first class and these
only went short Journeys.
We had not started a quarter of an
hour, when Ephrlnell, with the serious
manner of a merchant intent on some
business, came up to me on the gang
way. "Monsieur Bombarnac," he said, "I
have to ask a favor of you."
"Only too happy, I can assure you,"
said I. "What is it about?"
"I want you to be a witness. I am go
ing to marry Miss Bluett."
"Marry her?"
"Yes. A treasure of a woman, well ac
quainted with business matters, holding
a splendid commission "
"My compliments, Mr. Ephrlnell! You
can count on me."
And, probably, on Monsieur Ca ter
ns?"
He would like nothing better, and if
there is a wedding breakfast he will
sing at your dessert "
As much as he pleases," replied the
American.
"Then it is to be "
"Here."
"In the train?''
"In the train."
"But to be married you require "
"An American minister, and we have
the Itev. Nathaniel Morse.'.'
Bravo. Mr. Ephrlnell! A wedding in
a train will be delightful."
It needs not be said that the commer
cials were of full age, and free to dis
pose of themselves to enter into mar
riage before a clergyman and without
any of the fastidious preliminaries re
quired in France and other formallstlc
countries. Is this an advantage or other
wise? The American thinks it Is for the
best, and, as Cooper says, the best at
home is the best everywhere.
It Is too late for the ceremony to tak
place to-day. Ephrlnell understood that
certain conventionalities must be com
plied with. Th celebration could take
place ln the morning. The passengers
could all be Invited, and Faruskalr might
be prevailed on to honor the affair with
his presence.
During dinner we talked of nothing
After congratulating tha har -
couple, who replied with true Anglo-
M .... . . 1 1 l. l . . I .
1 promiseu 10 sign in
...r.,i.nv viMiirnci.
Ami we will do honor to your slgna
tures, said Kphrlnell, In th ton of s
.....n.mnii accepting a l.lll.
In night came, and w retired,
drani of th marriage festivities of
morrow. I took my usual atroll Into
car occupied by the Chinese soldiers, and
ounu in treasure or the Son of Heaven
faithfully guarded. Half th detach
uient wer awnke and half wer asleep.
AtHut 1 o clock In th morning I visit
d Klnko .! I, ....1...I kin. ..... ....
! Vl 11. 1
cnase at Ma. Me anticipated no further
oimmciea; n wouiil reacU port safely,
a tier an
"I am getting quit fat In this bos."
he told ni.
I told him about the Kiihrluoll-Illuett
marriage, and how the union was to b
celebrated next morning with great
pomp.
Alr said h.. with 11 sigh. "They
r not obliged to wait until toey reach
lkln."
"Quit so, Klnko; but It seems to me
that a marriaire nn.tee ..i-h m..lWl.t.,. I.I
not likely to b lasting. Hut, after all.
that Is th couple's lookout."
At 3 o'c ock In the loomln w. .nr..
.1 .
at the foot of th ramlflcatlona of th
Kuen I.iin. None of us had seen this
miserable, desolate country, treeleaa and
venl tireless, which the railway waa now
crossing on Ita road to the uortheast.
Iay came; our train ran the four hun
dred kilometers between Tchertchen ami
Icharkalyk while the sun caressed with
Its rara the Imnten nUh. .llti i
It. .,,11,,- m "
Us suliu efflorescence.
(To he continued.)
' :-
RUQ MADE OF HUMAN SCALPS.
says the Dallas News. It Is 150 years
old and consists of Bcventvaeven
Rcalps torn from the beads of as many
Human beings. The rut;, which Is
barely five feet aipiare, Is of many
hues, for the scalps ar red, gray.
black, white, brown and auburn,
Tliey beloiiKed to peaceful people, too,
BO" ns Ule 9('alP! wre eoure-.I
tuey were sewn together and the riiit
was from that time regard e.l as th)
remedy ror all trouble. hen an lu-
ulan was taken sick he was laid on
this rug and If he did not recover h's
spirit was assure,! of a pleasant Jour-
nev to the hannv huntlnn around
Thla rumnrl-nl.U ..otl.. I,.
" " " "f-- "
v..., mice a j, -nr.
.11 ujb Hiiuuni wiiu-onion reasr.
w Iilch comes on April lfc the Iowa In-
dams make the rug piny an import-
ant part The onion Is freely used,
the Indians sntumtlng themselves
from head to foot with the Juice. This
was their successful way of driving
away the evil spirits.
A prayer rug belonging to the shall
of Persia is another valuable mat.
Though barely two feet square. IN
design is most elaborate. It is work
ed throughout in precious stones and
the effect Is dazzling. The ground Is
formed of roso diamonds and In tho
center is a large bird, whose neck is
made" of amethysts and Its body of
rubles. The vines, which form a not
work, through which the bird may
be seen as throtiuh a cage, are nfado
of emeralds, while the bands which
connect the stones are of ho1 pearl.
The flornl emblem of Persia Is worked
out ln blue, yeJIow and pink stones,
this design being known as the Mln.i
Kluinl design.
It Is dllflcult to determine even tha
approximate value of this smnll rug,
but it has been estimated that if It
were sold the proceeds placed at !5 per
cent Interest would bring in an Income
of at least $2r0,0,0 per annum.
A STORY OF TWO PAINTERS.
Did Van Pyokr and Hals Really Paint
Each Other's Portrait?
There is a story related, by Hou
braken, which may or may not be true,
that Van Dyck, passing through Haar
lem, where Hals lived, sent a mes
senger to seek him out and tell him
that a stranger wished to see him,
and on Hals putting ln an appearance
asked him to paint his portrait, add
lng, however, thut he had only two
hours to spare for the sitting. Hals
finished the portrait ln that time,
whereupon his sitter, observing that
it seemed an easy matter to paint a
portrait, requested that he be allowed
to try to paint tho artist. Hals soon
recognized that his vlstor was well
skilled In the materials ho was using.
Great, however, was his surprint
when he beheld the performance. Ha
Immediately embraced the stranger, at
the same time crying: "You are Van
Dyck! No one but he could do what
you have Just now done!"
Assuming the story to be true, how
interesting It would be If the two
portraits existed, that one might se
what Frans Hals, accustomed to tho
heavier type of the Dutch burghers,
made of the delicately defined features
of Van Dyck, and how the latter, who
always gave an air of aristocratic ele
gance to his portraits, acquitted him
self with the Muff, Jovial Hans, who
was as much at homo In a tavern as
ln a studio. For no two men could
be more different, both ln their points
of view and ln their methods, though
they wore alike ln this one particular
that each was a most facile and
skillful palntor. St. Nicholas.
' About th Hix of It.
"Say, paw," queried little Johnny
Bumpernlckle, "what does a paper
mean when It says that further com
ment Is unnecessary?"
"It usually means," my son, that
the writer doesn't know what else to
ay," answered tho old gentleman.
CASABIANCA'S CELEBRATION.
t I
The hoy stood on the hurtling porca
1 nenc an iil mad a scootl
- l."mn " m ills hsmi
A fra.le,1 rdnwheel at his sl.1
to Was all that stsld to tell
the ,,'hJr- '"'mis Imlf his hid.
the f-
A hnsted hotnh tipnn the floor.
ine remnsnt r a hst,
Suspender huttoiis three or four
I lint mi where grandpa sst.
An Isle of safety on th lawn.
Where still the (truss wss green.
I Marked n here his sister dear hsd gon
To rub on vaseline.
Anon th smoke rose from h yard.
Ana men, through one small nrt.
W saw where mother, scorched
and
scarred,
A smelling hot tit sniffed.
And at th git stood furl mil
In rracinents of his nam.
Demanding In his acrrnta ihrtllt
Head us sn ambulance!
rt,. .. .. a.
A Jtomm candle held.
"' match and lit the fu
'Tbla Is th last I" h yelled.
The Roman rsnrtle fli.lrd and flar4
The halls flew far and wide.
'"'. " nan 7 acsrra.
I unrf m in puitni in nui.
Alstl Kr shelter they could And,
The illrrfnl deed was done:
!! whirled the cnndl all about
And pinked them every one.
Id pain thry llniprd tin to th porch
Thsy crept from hush ami shruh.
And each Implored In husky tones:
There rsme a hurst of thim.ter sound.
.. Th ''nT was he?
Hjr turns he was sent on a round
lust lel rroni knee to knee.
t'hleagn Itecord Herald.
ACK C.IMW.KY crawled through
hoi In the fence back of his
home and cautiously tiptoed toward
th house. Th sun was higher than
Jack hud Inteiiile,! It shonhl be when he
returned! when h h.,1 .ii.l nut ..f thu
back door, Just before midnight, with
his room and in bed before th sun rose
Hut the noisy hour had fled and now it
was broad day.
A rooster crowed on a neighboring
farm, and from the henhouse buck of
h'm the old Huff Cochin answered long
P"'1 cloar- 'Ul(t wn" M!h Ann's alarm
clock, and beids of anxiety stood out on
IT.. ,L I. L ...I . t 1... I.
" cn.llUMli.j o.ll nur
Whr ,,.., ,, , .. ,
locked when he stole out In the night
land now lie gave a reckless, desperat
tug. but th door yielded not on whit
Could ho have carelessly left the hook so
that It fell back ln place with th Jar
of closing? He must have. Jack glanc
ed uneasily towards Miss Ami's bed
room, then slipped off his shoes, climbed
to tha low shel at the hack, ran swiftly
and noiselessly across the roof, and
reaching up to the window sill of his
room pulled himself up, and with a slgli
of relief dropped Inside. Thank heaven,
he had left that window wide open.
He was none too soon, for even as ho
slipped his Jacket off preparatory to
jumping into bed, MIsa Ann's thin,
cracked voice rang up th narrow stair
way: "Jack, you can get up now!"
"Yes'm," was the meek reply. Waiting
such length of time as would naturally
elapse during the process of dressing,
Jack filled Ills pockets with the remain
der of his crackers and presented himself
In the kitchen. Jack Gridley was moth
erless, and his father, a commercial trav
eler, had found a home for the boy with
Miss Ann Hohart.
"Good morning," said Miss Ann, as
Jack entered the kitchen. "Good morn
ing," he replied as he hurried towurd
the woodshed for an armful of wood.
Breakfast was ready when he returned,
and there had been 110 opportunity to fire
a cracker.
"John," said Miss Ann, helping him
to a second dish of oatmeal, "if I were
you I would save those two largest
crackers for this evening, to close the
day with." "Yes'm," said Jack.
"Now, suppose," continued Miss Ann,
"that you give them to me for safe keep
ing; I am afraid the temptation to fir
them will b too great otherwise." Jack
grew red In the face, and hastily gulped
down a glass of milk. "Can't, they're
busted," he said.
"You mean they ar broken. But you
haven't told me how you broke them,"
continued Miss Ann, sweetly. "I I I
fired 'em!" Jack blurted the truth out
manfully. "John Gridley! what do you
mean?" All the sweetness was gone
from Miss Ann now. "You haven't fired
a cracker snico you rose tins morning.
Now, when did you fire those big oues?
Tell me the truth Instantly!"
Last night," said Jack, feebly. "At
what time last night?" "I don't know
lea' what time," was the weak reply.
"John Grldlty, you look me lu the face
and toll ine what tlm you left this
house." The Jig was up and Jack knew
It. "Well, if you must know, It was
a few minutes of 12," he said.
"Hand m those crackers, every one
you've got. Now, John Gridley, don't
you stir foot outside of the yard this
day. Now go out to the woodpile ami
saw until I toll you to stop."
Poor Jack! He wouldn't give Miss
Ann the satisfaction of knowing how
bad he felt, but when his stint of wood
was finished, he Hod to the barn and up
ln a dark corner of the hawmow he had
his cry out with only the sympathetic
whinny of old Null in the stall below,
for comfort. All the morning he had
heard, the pop, pop, pop of crackers, and
later the circus band, as the procession
paraded the streets; he had even caught
just a glimpse of the parade as it enter
ed tho tent, for the circus had pitched
iiot far from Miss Anns bouse. This
was the first circus in Easthampton for
years, and Jack had set his heart on
going. Miss Ann strongly disapproved
(f clrcusos, but Jack had written to his
father and obtained consent, providing
he was a good boy, and now Jack wept
afresh. Most of all lie wanted to see
the elephant (it was a small circus and
I had but one of the huge pachyderms).
I About 3 o'clock Miss Aim ruleutud to
pyl
HAN OP '76 RnAPInAR3
ashlngton!" He said: "If
ffrlghted and beaten the Ilrltlah!"
allowing him to have his
crackera, and In the 110U0 of these h
tried to drown out the noise of the circus
band that floated nut from th big dingy
canvas so near and yet so far. Sudden
ly It flashed into his head that h might
send up crackers on his kit. Why uotT
Ho ha. I read of a ramera being sent up
'o " photographs, and
If a enmeru
C1,u1'1 "ackers could. Jack set to
pulled In. Th free rod of the fus was
lighted, the kite set free, and Jack watch
ed tho tiny sputtering sparks sail up
into tho air. When th tire reached the
string it burned It 'off, setting free th
crackers which exploded a second Inter
in midair.
Finally Jack took th digest cracker
that he had, on he had been saving for
a grand climax, made an extra long fuse.
attached It In the usual way and then
gave th kit all th string he had. I'p,
up, up ah sailed until she floated fairly
over th circus teut. Then Jack saw
th tiny speck of a cracker drop, and,
watching it speed downward without ex
ploding, he muttered to himself In dis
appointment. 'Why didn't I keep it and
flr it on the ground where I could mnke
It go anyhow?" But Jack hnd simply
miscalculated and hnd allowed too much
fuse between the rrncker mil string for
nn explosion liU'h lu nlr. Just nfter the
tiny speck vanished behind one of the
smaller tents. Jack henrd it explode, fol
lowed Instantly by a scream that nm.l.t
Jack's hair rise. Out from behind the
tent shot a huge black beast, tearing
across tha fields with awkward, lumber
lug strides, but wonderfully fast. It
waa th elephant! With trunk thrown
up and hack of Its head, and trumpet ing
shrilly, It mado straight toward Jack
smashing down the rail fences lu Its pnth
as If they were straws, his keeper in full
pursuit, hopelessly distanced. From the
i.ig tent began to pour out a strango
motley rpowd of townspeople, painted
clowns am! scantily dressed bareback
riders to see what had happened. For a
moment Jack, too frightened to move,
watched the huge beast bearing down
upon hlm, then he (led for the hayloft
In tho barn, and through a crack watch
ed the mad race. Straight on came the
elephant, nor did lie stop for an Instant
at Miss Anus nice picket fence; it
crashed down ns had the mils before it
Then the runiiawy caught sight of the
big, wldo-open barn doors (Miss Ann had
told Jack to close them that afternoon)
am! probably seeing safety lu the dark
recesses of the barn, rushed In, where he
stood trumpeting and trembling with
fright. A few minutes later Jack heard
the keeper close the doors and say to
the crowd coming up, that he would shut
th elephant ln for awhll until h had
calmed down. Then the keeper told how
someone, he didn't know who, had
thrown cracker In front of the big
beast Just as the latter was drinking,
and the runaway had resulted.
Meantime Jack was In au unhappy
predicament and rotreated to a fur cor
ner of the mow, the cold chills chasing
each other down his buck as he heard
th heavy breathing of the elephant be
low. Gradually the elephant grew quiet
er and Jack's courage begau to come
back. II could hear old Nell whinnying
with fright and stamping uneasily In tier
stall. Curiosity got the butter of hlm
and he wanted to see what was going 011
below. Cautiously, Inch by inch, ha
crept to the edge of the mow. In the
dim light he could see the back of the
elephant not two feet below hlm'. The
animal was quiet now. Presently he
noticed the long trunk feeling along the
edge of the mow and examining the new
quarters, so he bent a rotreat once more.
The new hay was not yet In, and the
small amount of old hay left was at the
back of th mow. A rustling on the
edge of It caught his attention and he
made out the elephant's trunk stretch
ing for the liny, which It could not
reach. Cautiously ho held out a wisp.
It was tukeu ami the trunk disappeared.
A minute later It was back again. So
Jack continued to feed tho elephant,
and growing bolder, crawled to the edge
again, having a bundle of hay In Ills
hands. This time the elephnnt saw him,
and before he could retreat the big
trunk had caught hlm and deftly, but
gently, lifted him down. Tho hay he
still held, and timidly offering it, it was
promptly accepted.'
A few minutes later the keeper opened
the doors, to Hnd to tils astonishment his
big charge and a small boy on the best
of terms, and when the elephant was or
dered out, he refused to move without
Jack. "Pick Liui up, Miku," ordered the
ON INDirrnNMlNCH DAY
we had these toys In our lime how w could
keeper, so, gently, th elephant placed
Jack nn his back and th procession
started for th circus tents one mor.
Jack th enty of all th boy In th
village, snd Miss Ann realising htr help
lessness In th situation.
Th show management settled for th
broken fences, but Miss Ann still retain
her prejudice against clrcusse. As for
Jack, to this day no one know who
dropoed th cracker lu front of Mik.
Jack looks back to that Fourth, when
the circus cam to hlm, because h could
not go to It. as the greatest celebrntlou
he ever had. Orange Judd Farmer.
IHlt AST.
Uncle Ham's Fourth of July ascension.
Old Glory' IllrihtUy.
Hark! the hoys are coming!
A rat a tat tut a 1st tail
Th drummers are hriively drumming,
A rat a tat 1st a tat tail
While over their hes.ls, go where they may.
Will rer Old (Jlory go.
A rat a tat tat a tst-tatl
A rat a tnt tut a tat tall
And over their heads, go wber they may.
Will ever Old Ulory go.
T.lstenI th drum are hearing,
A rat a tat tat a tat tat!
And wilder the Ix.ya are cheering,
A rat a tut 1st a tat tall
Ho fill your pockets with crackers,
llrlng out a horn and a gull.
And join In the shouting chorus:
Add tq the noise and the fun!
A rut n tut tut 11 tnt tut!
A rat a tut tat h tut lt I
Come. Join lu the shouting chorus,
auu 10 ine noise anu run.
'TIs th aniiie, sweet, old, old story,
A mt a tut tut 11 int ii 1
Of th birthday of Old Ulory,
A-rat a tat tat a tat tnt I
And a hundred year In iniHMlug,
nines inn miners ronght anil died,
IIht made more iireclous the starry sign
u.l llfllllljr in o.-llll,
A rat a tnt tnt a tut tat!
A rat a tnt tnt n tnt tnl !
Have made mor iireclous the starrv alan
Thst tyrnmiy 1 dead.
Hobby's Nightmare.
ji
'.iiir'r.i.t (,;.
fPfji
fiik
t ,1 jMV.
1'IOUHCN All.
The Kourth once more In bringing Joy
To tho llruerucker maker;
It tickles l lie In-art of the lit t lu boy,
TU doctor uud undertaker.
New Yurk But.
T