I The Firm of m * * . ■■ ........ — " ■■■ — 1 Girdlestone A. C O N A N OOYLE C H A P T E R 111— (Continued.) “ You’re raving, Haum.ser,” said Major Clutterbuck, excitedly. “ Why, rran, the;r name« are above suspicion. 'They are looked upon as the soundest roncern in the city.” “ Dat may be; dat may be,’' the Ger­ man answered stolidly. “ What I know I know, and what I say I say.” “ And how d’ye know it? U’ye tell me that you know more about it than the men on ’Change and the firms that do business with them?” “ I know what 1 know, and l say what I say,” the other repeated. “ And you won’t tell me where yon hoard this of the Girdlestonos?” “ It would be no good to you. It U enough that what I say is certain. Lot it suffice that they are people what are bound to tell other people all that they know about anything whatever.’’ “ You don’t make it very clear now,’’ the old soldier grumbled. “ You mean that these secret societies and socialists let each other know all that comes in their way, and have their own means of getting information.’” “ Dat may be, and dat may not be,” the German answered in the same oracular voice. “ I /thought in any case, my good friend CliRterbuck, that I would give you what you call it in English the straight tap. It is always well to have the straight tap.” “ Thank ye, me boy,” the major slid heartily. “ I f the firm’s in a bad way either the youngster doesn’t know of it, or else he’s the moat natural actor , that ever lived. There’s the tay-oell; let’s got down before the bread and Luttber is all finished.” Mrs. Robins was in the habit of fur­ nishing her lodgers with an jvening mesl at a small sum per head. There was only a certain amount of bread and butter sup­ plied^ for this, however, and those who catne late were likely to find an empty platter. The two Bohemians telt that the subject wa« too grave a one to trtle with, so they suspended their judgment upon the Girdlestones while they clat­ tered down to the dining room. C H A P T E R IV. Although not a whisper had been heard of it in ordinary commercial circles, there was some foundation for the forecast which Von Bamnser had made as to the fate of the great house of Girdlestone. For some time back matters had been go­ ing badly with the African traders If the shrewd eyes of Major Tobias Clutter- buck were unable to detect any indica­ tions of this state of affairs in rhe man­ ner or conversation of the junior partner, the reason simply w’as that that gentle­ man wag entirely Ignorant of the immi­ nent danger which hung over nis head. As far as he knew’ , the concern was as prosperous and as flourishing os it had been at the time of the death of John Harston. The momentous secret w ij locked in the breast of his grim old father, who bore it about with tiim as the Spartan lad did the fox — without a quiver or groan to indicate the care which was gnawing at his heart. Placed face to face with ruin, Girdlestone fought against it desperately, and, witnal, cool­ ly and warily, throwing away jo chance and leaving no stone unturned. Above all, he exerted himself— and exerted him­ self successfully— to prevent any rumor of the critical position of tbs firm from leaking out in the city. Many things had contributed towards this state of affairs. The firm had been involved in a succession of misfortune *, some known to the w’orld, and others known to no one save the elder liird ’ e- •tone. Lines of fine vessels from Live;- pool and from Hamburg were tunning *o the West coast of Africa, and competi­ tion had cut down freightage to the low­ est possible point. Where tne Girdle- stones had once held almost a monopoly there were now many in the field. Again the negroes of the coast were becoming educated, and had a keen eye to busi­ ness, so that the old profits were no longer obtainable. The days had gone by when flint-lock guns and .Manchester prints could be weighed in the balance against ivory and gold dust. While these general causes were at work a special misfortune had befallen the house of Girdlestone. Finding that their fleet of old sailing vessels were t«*o slow and clumsy to compete with more modern ships, they had bought in two first-rate steamers. One was the Provi­ dence, a fine screw vessel of twelve hun­ dred tons, and the other was the Even­ ing Star, somewhat smaller In site, but both classed A 1 at Lloyd’s. The former cost twenty-two thousand jounda, a id the latter seventeen thousand. Now. Mr. Girdlestone had always had a weakness for petty savings, and in thla instance he determined not to insure his new vessels. I f the craxy old tubs, for which he had paid fancy premiums for so many years with an eye to an ultimate profit, m»*t with no disaster, surely those new pow* r- ful clippers were safe. It chanced, how­ ever, by strange luck that ns the Even­ ing Star was steaming up Channel in a dense fog on her return from her second voyage, she ran right into th» Providence, which had started that very morning from Liverpool upon her third outward trip. The Providence was almost cut in two. and sank within five minutes, taking down the captain and six of the crew, while tut Evening Star was so much damaged about the bows that she put into Falmouth in a sinking condition. That day’s work cost the African firm more than flve-anrt- thirty thousand pounds. Other mishap« had occurred to weaken the firm, apart from their trade with the coast. 'Hie senior partner had engaged la mmrulatioo without the knowledge of I Me son, and the result had been disas­ trous. One of the Cornish tin mines in I which he had sunk a large amount of j money, and ‘ which had hitherto yielded ! him a handsome return, became suddenly exhausted, and the shares went down to { zero. No firm could stand against such j a run of bad luck, and the African tma- > ing company reeled before it. John Gir- j dleetone had not said a word yet of all this to his son. As claims arose he » t i­ tled them,in the best manner he could, j and postponed the Inevitable day when he should have to give a true account | of their financial position. He hoped ! against hope that the chapter of acci­ dents or the arrival of some brilliant car­ goes from the coast might set the concern j on its legs again. From day to day he had been expecFng news of one of his vessels. At last one morning he found a telegram awaiting him at the office. He tore it eagerly opeu for it bore the Madeira mark. It was from his agent, Jose Alverciraa, and an­ nounced that the voyage from which ho had hoped so much had been i total fail­ ure. The cargo was hardly sufficient to defray the working expenses. As the mer­ chant read it, his head drooped over the table and he groaned aloud. Another of the props which upheld him from ruin had snapped beneath him. There were three letters lying beside the telegram. He glanced through them, but there was no consolation m any o? \them. One was from a hank manager Informing him that his account was some­ what overdrawn. Another from Lloyd’s Insurance Agency, pointing out that the policies on two of his vessels would lapse unless paid within a certain date. The clouds were gathering very darkly over the African firm, yet the old man bore up against misfortune with dauntless courage. He sat alone in his little room, with his head sunk upon his breast, and his thatched eyebrows drawn down over his keen grey eyes. It was clear to h ra that the time had come when he must enlighten his son as to the true state of their affairs. With his co-operation ho might carry out a plan whleu had been maturing for some months in bU brain. A moment or two later the green baize door flew open, and the young man came in, throwing his hat and coat down on one of the chairs. It was evident that something had ruffled his temper. “ Good morning,” he said brusquely, nodding his head to his father. “ What’s the matter with 70 0 ? Yon don’t look yourself, and haven't for soms time back.” “ Business worries, my boy, business worries,” John Girdlestone answered wearily. “ I have not got a gwd balance at the banker’s” “ Pretty fair, pretty fair,” hi* son said, knowingly, picking up the long thin vol­ ume In which the finanoe of the firm was recorded, and tapping fc rgainst the ta­ ble. “ But the figures there are not correct, Ezra.’’ his father said, still more huskily. “ We have not got nearly so much as that.” “ W h at!” roared the Junior partner. “ Huah! Don’t let the clerks hear you. We have very little. In fact, E m , we have next to nothing in the hank It is all gone.” For a moment the young man stood mo­ tionless. glaring at his father. The ex­ pression of incredulity which had appear­ ed on his features faded away before the earnestness of the other, and was -o- placed by a look of such malignant pas­ sion that it contorted his whole face. “ You fool 1” he shrieked, springing for ward with the book upraised as though he would have struck the old merchant. “ I see It now. You have bee 1 speculat­ ing on your own hook ! What have you done with it?” He seized his father Dy the collar and shook hiip furiously in his wrath. “ Keep your hands off me !” th*» senior partner cried, wrenching nimself free from his son’s grasp. “ I did my best with the money. How dare jou address me so?” “ Did your best!” hissed Ex*a, hurling the ledger down on the table with a crash. “ What did you mean by speculating with­ out my knowledge, and telling me at the same time that I knew all that was done? Hadn’ t I warned you a thousand times of the danger of it? You are not to be trusted with money.” “ Remember, Ezra,” his father said with dignity, reseating himself in the dhair from which he had risen, In order to free himself from his son’s clutches, “ if I lost the money, I also made it. This was a flourishing concern before /ou were horn. I f the worst comes to the worst jou are only where I stnrted. But we aro far from being absolutely ruined as yet.” “ T o think of i t !” Ezra cried, flinging himself upon the office sofa and burying his face in his hands. “ T o think of all I have said of our money and our re­ sources ! What will Clutterbuck and the fellows at the club »ay? How can I alter the ways of life that I have learn­ ed?” Then suddenly clenching his hands, and turning upon his father, he broke out, “ We must have it back, father; we must, by fair moans or foul. You must do It, for it was you who lost it. What cau we do? How long have we to do it in? Is this known In the city? Oh, I shall be ashamed to show my face on ’Change.” So he rambled on half-maddened by the pictures of the future which rose up in his mind. “ Be calm, Ezra, be calm !” his father said imploringly. “ We have many chances yet if we only make the best of them. There is no use lamenting the past. I freely confess that I was wrong in using this money without your knowledge, but I did It from the best of motives. We must put our heads together now to re­ trieve our losses, and there are many ways In which that may be done. I want your clear common sense to help me in the matter.” “ Pity you didn’t apply to that before,” Ezra said sulkily. “ I have suffered for not doing so,** the old man answered meekly. “ In consider­ ing how to rally under this grievous af­ fliction which has came upon us, we must remember that onr credit is a great re­ source, and one on which we have never drawn. That gives us a broad margin to help 11 a while we are carrying out our plane for the future.” “ What will our credit bs worth when this matter leaks out?” “ But It can’t leak out No one snspects It for a moment. They might Imagine that wa are suffering from some tempo­ rary depression of trade, but no one could poaslbly know tha sad truth. I hara more than one plan In my head by which our affaire may be ra-srtabllahad 00 their | old footing. 5? wa can once get aura-* cient money t* satisfy our present credit­ ors, and so tide over this run of bad luck, the current will set In the other way, and all will go wall. And first of all, there Is one queation, my boy, which I should like to ask you. What do you think of John Harstou's daughter?” “ She’s right enough,” the young man answered brusquely. “ She’s a good girl, Ezra— a thorough good girl, and a rich girl, too, though her money is a small thing in my eyes co n- pared to her virtue.” Young Girdlestone sneered. “ Ot course,” he said, impatiently. “ Well, go on— what about her?” “ Just this, Ezra, that there ia no girl in the world whom I should like better to receive as my daughter-in-law. A h ! you rogue, you could come round her; you know you could.” The old man poked his long bony finger In the direction of his son’s ribs with grim playfulness. “ Oh, that’s the idea, is it?” remarked the junior partner, with a very unpleas­ ant smile. “ Yes, that Is one way out of our diffi­ culties. She has forty thousand pounds, which would be more than enough to save the firm. At the same time you would gain a charming wife.” “ I f we are reduced to such an expedi­ ent I think I can answer for the result. 'Hie girl’s not a bad looking one. But you said you had several plana Let us hear some of the other ones. I f the worst comes to the wirst I might consent to that— on condition, of course, that 1 should have the whole management of the money.” “ Quite so— quite so.” his father said hurriedly. “ That’s a dear, good lad. As you say, when all other things fail we can always fall back upon thal. A t pres­ ent I intend to raise as much money as I can upon our credit, and invest It in such a manner as to bring in a large and immediate profit.” “ And how dp you intend to do this?*’ his son asked doubtfully. “ I intend,” said John Girdlestone, sol­ emnly rising up and leaning his elbow against the mantelpiece, ” 1 Intend to make a corner in diamonds.” C H A P T E R V. John Girdlestone propounded his Inten­ tion with such dignity and emphasis that ho evidently expected the announcement to eoane as a surprise upon his son. If so, he was not disappointed, for the young man stAred open-eyed. “ A corner in diamond^!” he repeated. “ How will you do that?” “ You know what a corner is,” has fath­ er explained. “ I f you buy up all the cotton, say, or sugar in the market, so as to have the whole of It in your own hands, and to he able to put your own price on it in selling it again— that is called making a corner in wheat or cot­ ton. I intend to make a corner in dia­ monds.” “ O f course, I know what a corner is,” Ezra said impatiently. “ But how on earth are you going to buy all the dia­ monds in? You would want the capital of a Rothschild.” “ Not so much as you think, my boy, for there are not any great amount of diamonds in the market at any one time. The yield of the South African fields reg­ ulates the price. I have had this Idea in my head for some time, and have studied the details. O f course, I should not at­ tempt to buy in all the diamonds that are in *the market. A small portion o f them would yield profit enough to float the firm off again.” “ But if you have only a part of the supply In your hands, how are you to reg­ ulate the market value? You must come down to the prices at which other holders are selling.” “ Ha ! ha ! Very good ! very good !” the old merchant said, shaking his head good- humoredly. “ But you don’t quite see my plan yet. You have not altogether grasp­ ed it. Allow me to explain to you. I did some business in diamonds myself when I was a younger man, and so I had an opportunity of observing their fluctua­ tions In the market. Now, there ia one thing which invariably depreciates the price of diamonds. That ia the rumor of fresh discoveries of mines in other parts of the world. The Instant such a thing gets wind the value of the stones goes down wonderfully. The discovery of dia­ monds in Central India not long ago had that effect very markedly, and they have never recovered their value since. Do you follow me?” An expression o f interest had come over Ezra’s face, and he nodded to show that he was listening. (T o be continued.) An R iifflliih i A m en ity. A striking difference between out manners and those o f our English cous­ ins was shown one day at a garder party. The hostess, an American, was speaking to one of her guests, an En­ glishwomen o f rank. “ I>ear Lady B.,” she said, “ here ars some sandwiches which I made with my own hands, particularly fo r you. You know I ’ve often told you about our American sandwiches and how good they are. Here are different sorts, lettuce and cucumbers, if you care for ’grass,’ or If you like a savory better try ths cream cheese ones with plmentoes. I ’ve some sweet ones, too* raisins and nuts chopped together— which w ill you try first?” She held a plate In each hand, a plate filled with dainty looking sand­ wiches. and they were extended in vit­ ingly toward her guest, who looked at them critically, then said In the clear, high pitched voice o f the well bred En­ glishwoman : “ Oh. thank yon, so kind o f you, but do you know l never touch the nawsty things?”— Cleveland Plain Dealer . .»»o d A J falfa fur H u s». A t the Kansas Experiment Station hogs were fed on a ration o f a lfa lfa hay and Kaffir com tueal. The gains were 73 per cent more on this ration than upon a ration o f K affir corn meal alone. F o r every bushel o f K affir corn meal and 7.83 pounds o f a lfa lfa hay, the gain was 10.88 pounds, while upon K affir corn meal alone the gain was 7.48 pounds per bushel. It Is shown that the hay gave better results when cut early and that the chief nutriment was in the leaves, whieh should be carefu lly saved during the process of harvesting. An earlier experiment at the same station was tried to deter­ mine the value o f a lfa lfa pasture for hogs. The hogs were allow ed to run upon the a lfa lfa during the summer and were fed a light ration o f grain. A fte r deducting the probable gain for the com It was found that during the summer each acre o f a lfa lfa pasture Produced 770 pounds o f pork. Scoop G ate for W nRon Box. The end gate for a wagon box here illustrated, answers the purpose best o f anything known fo r hauling corn or anything which Is to be scooped from the wagon box. The le ft figure shows It closed; being fastened by a hook on each side. When ready to unload, loosen hooks, swing gate down and, as it is supported by a chain oil each side, you can stand on it and com- W AQON-BOX SCOOP OATE. mence scooping. It Is fastened to bot­ tom o f the box with strap hinges which should be sunk into box and gate so that It leaves an ewen surface to scoop over. The gate should be about thirty Inches high and wide enough so that side boards o f same w ill fit over out­ side o f box us shown In right hand figure. M eat fo r L a yer*. One o f the best foods for making hens lay is lean meat. W hen the sup­ ply o f eggs falls, stop all other feeds and feed lean meat o r liver, and cheap meats w ill answer, and It w ill he found superior to anything else that can be used. Green bone, containing a large proportion o f lean meat, is even better, provided the fat portions are removed from the bone. I t w ill be found cheaper than grain, because It w ill make eggs. One reason why the hens fail to lay when they have plenty o f grain Is that they re­ quire a change, and meat supplies the needful. I f the hens are fat, give one ounce o f lean meat each day, allow ing no other food fo r a week or two, and watch the results.— Column's Rural W orld. I’a y * to K a ln e W h i t e Beans. Common white beaus are a good prop for the farm er to grow, If they are grown under the best methods. Good-sized seed should be planted rather than small seed, and the plant­ ing should be after the danger o f frost is past, as the leaves o f beans w ill not stand frost. The farm er should at least raise enough fo r his fam ily, which cau easily be done on a very small strip o f land that has been only m oderately manured. This small de­ mand for manure Is due to the fact that bean plant roots have on them nodules containing bacteria which gather nitrogen from the air. W hite beans need food cultivation, so that the soil around the roots can be well treated, which favors the development o f the nodules. C lean in g D rin k in g V e **e l*. Unclean drinking vessels are doubt­ less the immediate means o f spreading some o f our contagious diseases, such ns roup. Roup is a disease in which slime accumulates in the mouths o f the fow ls and strings out o f their mouths when they open them to drink. Noth­ ing Is easier than for such a fo w l to leave slime iu the drinking water, w’ hlch Is then partaken o f be the other fowls. This leads to the fow ls all be­ coming quickly affected. As roup comes on in the fa ll very often when we get the changes in temperature at night, it 1» ne«*es8ary that the drinking ves­ sels he kept clean and every fow l thnt shows signs o f a cold should be taken at once from the house so that It w ill not be possible for her to spread the disease. 1 1 .t e r n .d o f M em o ry , to lloe off O lt*. noon beceuee It w ill hurry for nobody." bn all the rage of the S ad d le. I'N in s C o m m e rc ia l F e rtiliser«. The pure nitrate o f soda, muriate oi potash, super-phosphate or ground bone, can be used iu the garden, but unless a person has had experience or handles these very carefully, results are apt to be disappointing or disas­ trous. Plants o f which the leaf or stalk are the edible portions must have plenty o f nitrogen, which is available in the guano and animal mauure. W hen the roots or fruits are to bo euten, phosphoric acid should be added In the shape o f wood ashes or super phosphate. Ground bone is too slow I d becoming available. E a rly Layer«. Frequently a pullet starts laying be­ fore the others and continues to !ay w ell all the y e a r; such a one should l>e carefu lly watched and her eggs saved, providing sufficient size was attained before she began laying. Other pul lets w ill lay a few eggs in the nutunt and then cease until spring; these should, o f course, be discarded. Those that begin laying prematurely are not desirable, as they should attain the size characteristic o f their breed be­ fore commencing, and then lay con­ tinuously during the rest o f the fall and winter. An A Missouri farm er has returned to the use o f oxen on his farm. Me say» Mother— Tommy, what did I »a y I ’d be flnds them cbeai>er end better thau do to you I f you touched that jam borsee and mules. In addition to h ar­ again? | ing oxen for general farm work, he Tommy— W hy, I f » funny, ma, that haa trained a bull to run a treadm ill you »hould fo r g e t too. I'm blamed If th(it pumps water, churna butter and I can rem em ber!— Philadelphia T ele ­ does all o f that kind o f work. This graph. animal beats a windm ill or gasoline engine "a ll to piece».’’ and tbe work T a k e * Its O w n G alt. “ T im e w « IU for nobody," sighed the keeps his temper sweet and prerents him from doing damage with bla horns. senior partner. •True." rejoined the Junior partner, Other farm er» are watching the experi­ "but the office boy worrtee eech after­ ment. and "horseleaa farm s” may noon T w o l.«p * M Care A manufacturer o f Buddies is credited with the statement that one o f the best o f polishes for riding saddles and bri­ dles is new milk. This should not be rubbed In the leuther, however, until the latter has beeu cleaned with slight­ ly warm water and soap. Hard-work­ ing stock saddles can be kept in good condition by thoroughly rubbing with three parts o f paim oil and one o f ueatsfoot after first washing with soap and water. F or the leather lining o f saddles that comes next to the horse there is nothing so good ns ueatsfoot Oil. The salt which exudes from the animal's body is very hard on the leather. Vigorous and protracted rub­ bing o f the leath er is essential, what­ ever dressing Is used. Acre of I.an d . T o measure ou acre tie a ring n each end o f a rope, the distance belnt just 60 feet between th em ; tie a piece o f colored cloth exactly In the middle o f this. One acre o f ground w ill be fou r times the length and tw o and one-half times the width, or the equa, o f 10 rods one way and 10 rods the other, making the full acre 100 square rods. Keep the rope dry, so it w ill uol stretch. A rod Is 16^ lineal feet. An acre Is 4,840 square yards or 43,5