11 CONSCIENCE FUND
How an Apparition Followed a
Victim Into the Desert and
"Delivered the Goods."
By LYLE L. COLE.
After walking 350 miles without find
ing a town which pleased him, Oakley
left the railroad track and turned into
the tawny desert.
He walked ten or a dozen miles far
ther, straight across the shimmering
sand, lashed by the thousand whips of
the sun, and then stopped to think the
matter over.
Looking backward over the path he
had -followed, he was pleased to see
that even the faint, blush, perpendicu
lar lines that had marked the location
of the telegraph poles were no longer
visible. There was nothing In sight to
remind him of human beings.
The eun was still high and the heat
which had made the morning almost
unendurable was yet oppressive.
. After satisfying himself that he was,
indeed, beyond the probable reach of
human eyes, Oakley stood for a few
minutes, meditating.
"I don't really believe that they have
any idea where I am, and I doubt if
they are still trying to find me," he
Bald. "But I can't stay In a town two
days without getting nervous. Every
policeman 1 see appears to have dif
ficulty in keeping his hands off from
me, and 1 just have to dig. I feel safer
out in the open, where there isn't any
thing but animals where everything
skulks, the same as me."
He sat down In a partially shaded
niche in one of the rain-gashed buttes,
and fanned himself with his frayed
bat.
"Somebody says a guilty conscience
doeth us up like a patent medicine,"
he mused. "Wonder why consciences
aren't more appropriately distributed.
Some men, like me, who have out
grown the need of one, have enough
to bother four men, and some who
need one badly are turned loose with
out any.
"One would suppose that when a fel
low gets to the point where he can
kill another man his conscience would
give him little trouble.
"What was that?"
He sprang up suddenly.
"Oh, I see. Go it, you long-eared
collection of lege," he Bald, with relief,
as a Jack-rabbit hastened toward a
line of bushes across the valley.
Oakley followed slowly along the
path taken by the rabbit. He knew
the bushes were greasewoods, and
thought there must be a stream near.
Upon approaching nearer he thought
he saw a man standing motionless
near a bush. Therefore he turned
.quickly and slunk buck along the
ragged edge of a dry run.
There was something suspicious, he
told himself, In the fact that-a man
was doing nothing, or anything, In
e'uch a wilderness, and he could not
afford to take any chances. He crept
to the top of the butte and cautiously
took a position where, he could watch
the row of greasewoods.
Lying flat on his stomach under the
hot sun was trying work. He thought
of something he had learned at school
something about earning bread by
the sweat of his brow.
"Seems to me I've pnld for about
five good loaves already," he remarked,
nfter hulf an hour had passed, "But
whore are they? I never did believe
half of those copy-book taU'S."
He shifted to one side, and continued
his reverie.
"Now, I can't see why that fellow
wants to stand there In the hot sun
like an imitation of Lot's wife. 'Tain t
natural, nor even sensible. Oh! You're
coming over here, are you? All right,
miBter. My latch-string's hanging out,
and there's only one of you, so receiv
ing callers Is not going to be at all
tedious,"
Oukley lnld an old revolver In a de
pression In the sand.
"You aren't much like the gun the
horse thief Btole from me," he said,
addressing It meditatively. "It ain't
at all likely you'd shoot If I was to
hitch wild horses to your trigger, but
3 llll UB IUUKB gO yOU TB B. Blglll more
ImpreBsive thun none."
Several times the man straggling
across the gleaming sand stopped and
Bhaded his eyes with his hand, scan
ning the horizon In all directions, but
always completing the search with a
glance at the butte where Oakley lay
sweltering.
Oakley watched him curiously,
There was something familiar about
him. Was It his manner of walking?
Oakley could not determine. Suddenly
the man vanished from sight.
Oakley rubbed lits eyes and stared
out across the vibrating heat waves.
No one was In sight. Absolutely no
living thing could be seen anywhere.
And yet Oakley could have sworn that
a moment before a man was coming
slowly toward him. He stood up and
peered eagerly Into the desert The
look of wonder on his face changed
'quickly to one of alarm. Ah! Now he
tad It. It had suddenly dawned upon
him that the one he imagined he had
seen was French. No one else walked
like French.
And If that was French there was
but one conclusion, Oakley said to him
self. He was going lnsano. French
he knew to be dead, for he had killed
him. Therefore, French could not be
walking over the desert. Oakley knew
now that he was beginning to see
visions, to conjure up vengeful shapes,
and to grope In mental darkness.
Insanity horrid, gibbering lunacy
had tracked htm, self-driven from the
companionship of men, far out Into the
wilderness, ft had left the railroad
track and the5 telegraph poles, even as
he had done, and followed him.
It would always follow him. Oakley
realized It all at once. There was no
escape. No desolate region far from
the haunts of men was secure from
this insidious. Insatiable Nemesis. No
spot, crowded to the utmost by other
men, was Inaccessible to tula clammy
monster of the brain. Yet Oakley
shuddered at the thought of separation
from his kind.
Picking up his revolver, he turned
to descend the butte.
There before him stood French, grin
ning amiably.
The revolver fell to the ground, fill
ing its muzzle with dirt. With a wild
shriek Oakley dashed away. French
put out a nimble foot and brought him
to the ground, where he lay, stunned.
When Oakley regained conscious
ness French was sitting near by, cross
legged, masticating tobacco.
Oakley sat up, and the apparition
handed him a piece of the weed. Oak
ley took it and examined It carefully.
It appeared to be genuine. Then he
arose, and, walking up to the appari
tion, felt cautiously about the head
and shoulders. The genuine "feel"
was there also.
Oakley looked for a moment out
over the sand toward the railroad
track, shook his head doubtfully, and
sat down.
"Lord, what a place!"
"Well, what's the matter with It?"
asked French.
"Everything Is bo sort of confusing,
I can't quite see clearly," replied Oak
ley. French took from his pocket a roll
of bills, and separating several from
the roll, handed them to Oakley. "See
any better now?" he queried.
Oakley thumbed them over doubtful
ly, his mind still In a haze. After a
pause he said slowly: "Well, yes, I
think the dawn Is gradually illuminat
ing my darkened vision, and yet I
can't What 1b this money for?"
"That's your pay for killing me," re
sponded French glibly, "and a recom
pense for the anguish of mind which
must have been yours when consider
ing your awful deed. You see, Oakley,
old man, when you became so angry at
me, back In our little home town, and
attempted to put me where I could no
longer arouse your Indignation, you
failed utterly didn't even touch me
with your bullet. When I fell, dazed
by the bombardment, you evidently
thought I was dead. Any way, you fled.
Living, as I did, a bachelor on the
outer edge of town, no one heard the
shot and no one came to Investigate. 1
happened to be out of money."
Oakley Interrupted: "As usual."
"I saw a chance for a Bcheme," con
tinued French. "My friend, the phy
sician, came at an opportune time to
see me, and with hie assistance as the
certifier of my death I passed from the
knowledge of men, was duly and
mournfully burled, and by unimagin
able toll, together with the kindly aid
of my beneficiary, succeeded In realiz
ing upon some fraternal Insurance that
happened to be fully paid up."
"Then you you aren't dead?" said
Oakley meekly,
"No, but pretty near It. What with
following you through the lufernalest
country that was ever left out doors
for the wolves to howl In, In order to
reimburse you for being the founder
of my success In life, or death, as you
might say, and also considering the
hard labor I endured tryln' to estab
lish my Identity as a dead man, I am
about dead.
"Oakley," he, concluded wearily,
"don't you ever try to accumulate
wealth by the life insurance plan. Saw
wood or tend sheep, but dun't try to
get It by dyln' falsely."
Oakley passed his hand over his
forehead. When he drew It away It
was covered with cold sweat, and
thinking still of the apparition out on
the hot sand, he declared solemnly
that he never would.
After a few minutes of silence, he
said, holding out his hand awkwardly,
"I don't feel so angry at you as I did,
partly because I've had a lesson that
ain't down In the copy-books, and part
ly because It Is an unusual experience
for a man to have his victim pay him
for tryln' to kill him. Let's shake."
"Perfectly agreeable," said French
amicably.
"It was a good thing for me, finan
cially, that you once took to murderln'.
Let's go back to town and spend some
of our money."
(Copyright.)
Story of Families Much Alike.
The romantlo lives of the Roths
chllds and the Guggenhelms, the
two richest families In the world,
are strangely similar. In each In
stance the first representative of the
family to start the fortune called to
gether his sons. Five there were ol
the Rothschilds, seven of the Guggen
helms. In each case the fable spun
by Aesop concerning the bundle ol
sticks which cannot be broken If held
together, but so easily destroyed each
by Itself, was told In the fashion ol
the man who told It.
Both urged loyalty to the faith ol
Moses and commanded their boys to
obey their mother In all things and
remain united In the family by Inter
marriage "and you will be rich
among the richest the world will be
long to you." There have been no de
fections from the house of Rothschild;
but one from the house of Guggen
heim. And large portions of the world
do belong to them.
Literal.
"It mUBt be a bitter experience to
have to eat the bread of a stranger."
"I should say so, with all the ex
posures they are making nowadays ol
us paaenes.
JUST at sunset It was that our
boat sailed Into Bremer-Haven.
The sky was tinted all the
shades of pink and violet with a
tiny bit of yellow at the horl
ion. The water was white and
imooth, only here and there reflect
ing the colors of the sky. Everywhere
overhead, In front and back of the
boat sea-gulls were flying. They cut
;reat, graceful circles In the sky with
'.heir wings tilted Bldewlse. Some
were resting on the water, moving
anguldly up and down with the slight
motion of the wavelets, and still
others were crying and fighting for
Lhe waste food that was being thrown
from the back of the ship. Their
mow-white wings reflected the pale
jun-set colors, writes a correspondent
3f the Pittsburgh Dispatch.
Slowly the boat was steered In be
tween long, narrow points of dark
green land. Silhouetted against the
jky were wind-mills and tall straight
trees. Nothing seemed real for we
glided so slowly that we seemed to
be on a plantom ship In a dream. The
bustling stewards and cabin-boys
broke our reverie with the exciting
lews that the customhouse officials
were waiting to inspect our baggage
that night and If anything can bring
i dreamer back to earth It is a prac-
:lcal German customhouse officer
with his formal uniform, his great
mustache and his gutteral withering
juery, "Clgarren oder llquer?"
Bremer-Haven Is the home of the
North German Lloyd steamer officers.
These men love the sea and they live
as near to It as possible, even after
they have retired from active service.
They spend their vacations In the
Hartz mountains taking walking trips.
Sea Captain's History.
Last June there was an ex-captain
on board and he had a curious history.
At first he Impressed one as being
very old, but when he took his cap
off we saw his hair was not the least
bit gray. He was dressed as much
like a real captain as was possible
for a man to be. He always wore dark
blue with a cap on his head. He was
silent and melancholy except when
the Titanic disaster was mentioned,
and then he defended Captain Smith
yaw w
11 , nA,
fliajtliit.aililliyj
Bremen to Bartield
with a vim that seemed almost unwar
ranted. One day the deck steward
told us his history.
Three years before he had been a
real captain, and no prouder man ever
rode the seas. He was taking a
freighter through the Mediterranean
when suddenly In broad daylight he
ran his ship upon a sandbar, and the
boat went down. No lives were lost
but the cargo was very valuable and
his stripes were taken from him, and
he was made steerage inspector. It
was easy to see why he had so cham
pioned Captain Smith and Bald that dis
asters can happen to the best of cap
tains. But It is one of tho traditions
of the sea that a man who has once
lost a ship must never be captain
again.
Bremen Is a very attractive city.
Running through the . center of the
town Is a long narrow lake, along
whose banks all the fine residences
of the city are situated. They are
very charming villas, ornamented with
many flowers and trailing vines. The
lake is full of ducks, little ducks, big
ducks, white ducks and black duckg.
Their homes are -little houses an
chored In the center of the lake. They
are high and dry and filled with
straw for the little ducklings, and far
away from the bad boys that grow
even In well-regulated, military Ger
many. One of the most Important things
n Bremen Is the Rolando, a colossal fig
ure In stone that stands In the Rathaus
square, and Is the symbol of civic lib
erty. Roland Is as primitive as
Cubist art and looks like he might
have been a production of that school
He stands very straight and stiff, hold
ing a sword In one hand and a shield
la the otver. Roland Is the mascot of
the city and If anything should happen
to him the people would be very much
alarmed about their safety.
Nearly all the Important buildings
In Bremen are gathered around the
Roland and the Rathaus "square. The
old Rathaus is one of the most Inter
esting in all Germany.
The upper floor of the Rathaus Is
occupied by the Great Hall, which Is
always left open to the public. The
celling of this old hall is very unique,
for it Is set with the portraits of all
the emperors from Charlemagne to
Riglsmund. In between the portraits
are hung models of famous old ships.
The lower floor or cellar of the
Rathaus is occupied by a famous
rathskeller, where only two kinds of
drinks are served Rhine and MoBelle
wine. No food can be had unless the
wine Is first ordered. The rathskeller
is a great favorite with the men of
Bremen and many have their favorite
table, and here they sit 'and smoke
iasHAWMfiU
Unloading Train at Bremer-Haven.
and talk and let the outBlde world
wag as It will.
Bismarck Most Popular Hero.
The end of the Rathaus square is oc
cupied by the cathedral, a tall, unin
teresting looking building, with two
big towers. Standing at the front door
is Bismarck on a horse. It is one of
the nicest statues of Bismarck yet
erected. In timo every city in Ger
many will have Its Bismarck statue,
for he is today the most popular Ger
man hero.
Next to the cathedral Is the ex
change. This exchange Is neither as
large nor as important as the one In
Hamburg, but nevertheless a vast
Elevated Railway
amount of business is done here with
out much apparent effort except noise.
The men congregate between one and
two o'clock, and seem merely to Btand
around In grou: i.
Back of the exchange Is a large
square where stands the statue of Gus
tavus Adolphus, the Swedish emperor.
He is dressed In the costume of the
days of Charles I, but in spite of his
courtly robes he has the Are of a
great fighter In his eye. The statue
was originally Intended for the city
of Gottenburg, in Sweden, but as It
was being transported from Germany
a great storm arose and the vessel
was wrecked. The statue was rescued
and brought back to Bremen. The
German seamen raised a fund, pur
chased the statue and stood it in their
city.
Not far from the Rathaus Is another
square, which Is occupied by a unique
fountain. It Is a boat containing a
beautiful fisher boy, which three mer
maids have captured, and they are
dragging him Into the water. It Is
very original In composition tnd de
sign and reminds one of the pictures,
of Arnold Bochlln.
The stores In Bremen are very at
tractive, especially If you are an ad
mirer of hand embroidery and beauti
ful hand sewing. The store windows
are full of dainty waists and exquisite
things for babies, but a snare, how
ever, for while they are beautifully
sewn, the fit la German to the ex
treme, with no style whatever.
Numerous Ties.
"I don't care much for Lonelyvllle."
"Why don't you move then?"
"Too many ties. Our neighbor hes
my card table, another my wheelitaj
row and a third my lawn mower."
HAVE NOT SAME VIEWPOINT
Logic and Argument Mean One Thing
to a Man and Another to a
Woman.
"Logic" is the rock on which the
views of man and woman Bpllt. He
"knows" that she is Inconsistent, she
that he argues only for the joy of hear
ing his own wisdom. Each knows
that convincing the other Is a gift
not granted by the high gods unto
mortals. But the knowing fails to
keep them from debating until debate
threatens to degenerate into wrangling
and feminine tears and masculine
vehemence of expression bid them
cease.
Each Is right and both are wrong.
Man refuses to be convinced, woman
Is Incapable of being convinced. The
source of the difficulty lies In the fact
that logic and argument, like truth,
mean one thing to him and another to
her. Man enjoys argument, the pit
ting of wits against wits and power
versus strength, even If he be worsted.
but woman dislikes It Instinctively,
even if she prove a winner. The rea
son la that he is born for battle and
self-assertion, she for peace, whoBe
essence is self-denial, if not self-efface
ment.
To man argument Is a good deal of
a mental game of chess, to woman it
is an earnest clash of two personali
ties. Man will wage wordy warfare with
man over the merits of a point of
honor or those of a security, and put
the best of him Into the intellectual
and verbal duel, and not seldom lose
his temper for the moment or the
hour; but when the war of words Is
over he thrusts the affair behind him,
has no personal feeling as regards his
opponent and many even acknowledge
that there was foundation for opinions
h withstood. But woman argues
about the deeper feelings or thought
In regard to such problems as poll-
tics, religion or virtue and takes the
matter with terrible seriousness as
an affair of life and death. Her re
gard for sincerity and truth, as she
understands these qualities, makes the
debate one to be expressed In terms
of personality.
When two such standards and meth
ods of argument as man's and wom
an's come together we have the spirit
ual .analogy to the physical phenome
non of an Irresistible force encounter
lng an immovable obstacle Too of
ten the outcome Is an everlasting
smash. But the issue is inevitable.
It was forecasted in the first recorded
conversation between man and wom
an that of Adam and Eve In Eden af
ter eating of the tree Of knowledge of
good and fvil. It will continue thus
to the end of days. Spokesman Re
view.
Seven Varieties of Flics.
Seven different varieties of flies
are found In our houses, 98 per cent
of which are represented by the com
mon housefly. Flies lay their eggs
only in fermenting or decaying Bub
stances by preference In manure.
Hence every stable Is a center of In
fection unless periodically disinfected.
The fly maggot Is also hatched out In
latrines and ashpit refuse, such as
bedding, straw, rags, paper, scraps of
meat, fruit, etc., on which substances
the larvae subsist after they hatch,
which occurs In about twelve days
after the egg has been laid. It 13
estimated that a single fly, laying 120
eggs at a time, will produce a progeny
amounting to sextllllons by the end
of the season.
The numbers of bacteria upon a
single fly have Ijeen proved to range
ail the way from 650 to' 6,600,000. The
average for 414 flies which were ex
amined at the agricultural experiment
station at Storrs, Conn., was 1,250,000
bacteria apiece. This represents about
the number of bacteria that enter tho
human system when someone swal
lows a glass of liquid into which some
fly has fallen, to be removed by a
slovenly waiter without the liquid be
ing thrown away.
Radium as Egg Producer.
Great and manifold as are the won
ders of radium. It mitrht h n-oii
receive the following Information with
some reserve.
It is reported that an American
farmer named Cyrus Whiffle, who has
been prospecting In Paradox valley,
Colorado came home recently bring
ing with him a Bmall sack of radium
bearing ore, and dumped some of the
pieces in the drinking fountain used
by the Whiffle hens.
As a result, according to Whiffle,
the water became strongly radioactive,
the hens drank It. and their oa r.-,J
ductlon almost doubled. Many of the
nens Degan laying two eggs daily.
Whiffle says that his entire fntniu.
since beginning to eat the radioactive
eggs nave gamed steadily In strength
and that all their ailments have ition.
peared.
Repairing Fractured Hearts.
Thirty-one patients in a Russian
hospital have recovered from i,.h
wounds of the heart!
Doctor Zlidler says the patients were
put under the Influence of ethoi. Q
soon after the Injury, part of the
chest wall was removed, the heart
lifted from its bed and tho hm,.
quickly introduced between pulsa
tions, ine oony chest wall over the
heart was not put back In place, that
organ being left covered onlv hv irin
and muscle. This was done to give
we neart room to expand and to pre
vent adhesions from embarrassing tho
heart's action. Several of the patients
nave resumed tneir usual employment
The probable reason for th
of the experiment was prompt and
rapm operation.
SURPRISED MR. BALL
DESERVED SCOLDING THAT WAS
INDEFINITELY POSTPONED.
Father Knew He Was Late, But He
Did Not Know of Happening That
Made Family So Glad to
Welcome Him.
T never had chicken pie for supptr
yet," sighed Mr3. Ball, "but your fa
ther took that time to be late."
Tom glanced at his watch. "And I
have an engagement dftwn town at
eight o'clock. If I wasn't going any
where he'd have been home half an
hour ago."
"And It makes supper dishes so
late!" murmured thirteen-year-old
Marion.
The telephone bell rang and Tom
took down the receiver. "Yes, this is
Tom. No, he hasn't come home yet.
Is that so? Well! Yes, I'll call you
as soon as he comes. Good-by."
He tried to speak unconcernedly as
he faced his mother and sister. "It
waB Angle, and she wanted to speak
with father "
"What was she telling you about?"
broke In Mr9. Ball.
The boy hesitated; then he met his
mother's anxious eyes Bteadlly. "She
heard that a Myrtle avenue car
bumped Into a Blossom street car.
Nothing very serious, I Imagine. Be
sides, you know father doesn't take
that car once a year."
"Yes, he Just hates the suburban
line," agreed Marion quickly.
Mrs. Ball did not speak. She walked
to the bay window and pushed aside
the lace draperies with trembling fin
gers. The children came to her Bide,
and all three peered anxiously Into
the twilight.
"Here he is!" cried Marion.
Tom shook his head. "Too tall for
father. It's Mr. Stevenson? But who
Is this coming now?"
"Judge Daniels," whispered Mrs.
Ball, faintly.
During the next 15 minutes several
other late comers in turn roused and
disappointed the hopes of the Balls.
Then, quite unexpectedly, a familiar
little figure came walking briskly up
the avenue. Mrs. Ball sighed with re
lief, and bustled oft to the kitchen
while the children threw open the
front door.
"I guees I'm pretty late," began Mr.
Ball, meekly. He stopped in surprise
as Tom politely helped him with his
coat and Marion solicitously hung up
his hat.
"Hurry up, Henry!" called Mrs.
Ball, good-naturedly. "I've your favor
ite chicken pie for supper. It may be
a little cold, but I thought it might
taste good after a hard day's work."
"I tried to get that Myrtle avenue
car," began Mr. Ball a second time,
"but I Just missed it."
Marlon's cool, red lips bmshed his.
"Now, father, don't stop to talk," she
urged; "come and eat."
And the Ball family sat down Jubi
lantly to partake of sogsy, lukewarm
chicken pie. Youth's Companion.
American Corn et a French Palace.
Apropos of the visions of the second
empire evoked by the visit of the for
mer Empress Eugenie to Fontaine
bleau, Madame de Hegermann-Llnden-crone,
author of "In tho Courts of
Memory," relates an interesting ac
count of her own gala visit to that
palace. As the empress hsd expressed
a wish to taste American corn.
Madame da Hegermann brought soma
wun ner and tried to explain to the
palace'chcf how to cook It "en roba
de chambre." But when it appeared
It was still in husk and silk. "I tried,"
she says, "to make it less oblection-
able by unwrapping the cobs and cut
ting off the corn. Then I added butter
and salt, and it was passed about;
first, of course, to the emperor, who
liked it very much; but tho emnress
pushed her plate aside with a grimace,
saying, 'I don't llko It; it Etnells like-
a baby's flannels.' The emDeror. see
ing the crushed look on my face.
raised his glass and said, with a kind
glance at me, "Here's to tho Ameri
can corn ! "
One of Wisest Russian Rulers.
One hundred years asm tho Rmnprni-
Alexander I of Russia returner! tn rk
Petersburg after an absence of many
months, during which time he had ta
ken an active part In the war against
iapoieon. Alexander was one of the
wisest and moBt magnanimous rulers
of his time. It was to a great extent
Mb firmness and wisdom thnt w tn
the overthrow of Napoleon, and, after
that event, his magnanimity preserved
the city of Paris from the fury of the
Russian soldiers, liberated 150,000
French prisoners of war confined In
nus!s ana sought to obtain for his
fallen foe the most liberal terms com
patible with what he deemed the safe
ty of Europe. Ono of the first acts of
the emperor after his return to Russia
was to grant an absnlntn tinrjnn tn
all his subjects who had taken part
against mm in the late war.
Showing Good Work.
Patience I see In Tasmania den
tists are forbidden by law from any
form of advertising.
Patrice But can the authorities
make their patients shut their
mouths?
Lingering Sweetness.
Pat!ace Some one has discovered
tr-at the Mexican, word for kiss is
tetennamtquiiirtii.
Patrice That's iua
called lingering sweetness long drawn
WUVl