Golden
Bantam
By
Eva Morse Henrlcks
(Copyright, 1916, by W. O. Chapman.)
"And then you pulled his pigtail!"
"YeB, dear, and then all three scam
pered," "And the cute, little yellow man?"
"Wang Fo? He dropped to his knees
and kissed my hand, and said 1 was
his preserver, and gave me the golden
bantam."
Little Flora Ward sat In the lap ot
her great friend, AIvId Prescott, Im
mensely Interested In quite a tragic
recital. He was telling her of an en
counter In a dark side street the eve
ning before with three sinister China
men. They had backed another yel-low-hued
countryman against a brlc'i
wall. One of tho assailants held his
throat In a talon-like clutch. A sec
ond had Imprisoned bis arms. A third
wa3 advancing to dispatch hlra with a
glittering Bteel knife, when Prescott
Intervened.
"And what was the 'golden ban
tam,' Mr, Prescott?" lisped the Inter
ested little one.
Prescott fumbled In his pocket
Eager eyes scanned the odd-looking
pin he drew forth. It represented a
bantam rampant, with curious script
characters on Its outspread wings.
"1 think the three wicked men were
highbinders, my dear," explained Pres
cott "that Is, men belonging' to a
cruel society who make a business of
killing people they don't like. Poor
"I Have Found Her."
Wang Fo, as ho called himself, must
belong to ?miu other secret society.
1 supposu tho golden bantam Is Its
omblem, for ho kept saying that the
bantam piu 'would make me friends
with all k'.a people.' "
"What a sweet, cute little pin It Is!"
said Flora effuHlvoly.
"Well, you shall have the trinket,"
replied Prescott, and pinned It on a
band of ribbon at her neck.
"Oh, how good you are!" cried
Flora ecstatically, and Jumped to the
floor and ran over to where a charm
ing young lady was busy at some
fancy work. "See, Aunt Lydia the
beautiful pin Mr. Prescott has given
me!"
"You are spoiling the child, Mr.
Prescott," Bpoke Miss Ward, but with
an Indulgent sm'le.
He did not reply, but his eyes met
her own with a rapt, longing expres
sion. She read Its meaning lovo
not only tor the little one, but for her
self as well. He seemed about to
speak. The memory of what had fol
lowed an offer of "marriage caused
Prescott to control his deep emotion.
Soon he left the house.
It was hard to be about dally In the
company of the woman he so devoted
ly loved and refrain from urging her
to reconsider her decision. It bad been
announced In a kindly way, so consid
erately, In fact, that Prescott half be
lieved that but for circumstances
Lydla might have favored his plea.
An orphan herself, her life was
wrapped up In little Flora, who, hav
ing lost both father and mother, was
cherished by Lydla as a responsibility
to whom she had devoted her life. This
much she had told Prescott In answer
to his offer of marriage.
There was another suitor Leslie
Shaw. Prescott had never liked him.
Ho was persistent In his attention
to Lydla. He was a man about town,
with unknown antecedents. Prescott
bad experienced relief and satisfaction
when a servant ot the house, with
whom he was a favorite, told him ot
the summary dismissal of his rival.
It seemed that Shaw had impor
tuned Lydla to accept him as her hus
band. She had given him the same
answer that Prescott had received:
Her life was bound up In little Flora.
The enraged Shaw had fiercely wished
the little one was dead, had let loose
his wicked temper In a way that
shocked and disgusted Lydla. Then
Bhaw had sworn that he would yet
win her as his wife, If it took him
ten years to accomplish his purpose,
and bad gone away In a tempest ot
wrath.
Lydla never gave any token ot that
stormy Interview, but Prescott was
v eil satisfied that she had a contempt
(or Shaw. She feared him, too, Pres
cott believed, and, while ho was glad
that a persistent rival was out ot the
way, he kept himself on the alert to
guard against any attempt to annoy
Lydla on the part ot Shaw.
One evening the telephone bell In
his room rang sharply. His name wn
spoken breathlessly, and he thrilled
and tingled as he recognised the tones
ot the woman he loved.
"Il It Mr. Prescott?" the asked In
a tone that trembled.
-Tea, Miss Ward."
"Will you t,aaae eon to lb house
at once oh, at once, please!" and
Prescott dashed frou the room, trac
Ing anxiety and urgency In ths wel
come summons that might mean some
thing helpful for LyJlh
Ha found her distractedly pacing
tha floor when he arrived at her home.
She was white to the lips and her
eyes bore tho traces of a poorly sup
pressed anguish.
"Flora!" she gaspel. "She is gone!"
"Gone? You mean" began Pres
cott In alarm.
"Stolen, kidnaped, spirited away!
She was alone in tho garden for an
hour playing with her dolls," narrated
Lydla. "When I wtnt to call her In
she had disappeared.
"Dut kidnaped? Impossible!" cried
Prescott. "She mu3t have wanderudJ
away."
"I found this note on a garden
seat," proceeded Lydla. "Read It."
The crumpled scrawl was signed
with one name Shaw and It ran;
"You will hoar from me shortly. Un
less you agree to marry me you will
never see little Flora again."
"The scoundrel!" cried Prescott.
"I will set the police on his track at
once."
"No! no!" Implored Lydla. "You
do not know this man Shaw. If any
such an attempt Is made, he will dis
appear, and Flora with 4ilm. Oh, try
and find her! Try and bring me back
my lost darling!"
Alvln Prescott had a difficult talk
before him. Shaw was not to be found
at any of his occasioned haunts. No
trace was discovered of the missing
child. The grief of Lydla was pitiable.
Prescott devoted all his time to the
mission In hand, but it was ot no
avail.
It was the fifth morning after the
disappearance of Flora, that, walking
along the street, he observed a squat
oriental figure speed across the thor
oughfare to his side. It was Wang Fo.
"I find you!" he cried in extrava
gant Joy. "The pin of the golden
bantam. You lose?"
"No, I gave It to a child"
"I have found her. You come come,
quick!"
With faint heart of hope Prescott
accompanied the half coherent, but In
tensely excited Wang Fo. He led him
to the Chinese quarter of the city,
and through sinuous and mysterious
passages Into what seemed to be a
secret lodge room.
There, on n dais, surrounded by
Chinese women, was Flora. She was
supremely contented, for they had
given her all kinds of quaint toys and
Beemed only bent on entertaining her.
Wang Fo told his story. The child
had been brought to some avaricious
friends of his to hide or ship to some
other city as the order might come.
He, Wang Fo, had discovered the gol
den bantam pin. Ho had removed
the child Into the charge of more
trusty friends. He had guessed much.
It led to seeking out Prescott.
They never heard of Shaw again
"they," for what could come of It, but
that the rescuer of the dear little one
should prevail upon sweet, loving
Lydia to give her a protector for
life?
HEALTH BENEFIT 'OF YAWNING
Expert Advises Regular Exercises as
a Measure for Doing Away With
Throat and Ear Troubles.
Yawning Is said to have an exceed
ingly healthful function besides having
a salutary effect In complaints of the
pharynx and the eustachian tubes.
According to Investigations yawn
ing is the most natural form of res
piratory exercise, bringing Into ac
tion all the respiratory musclos of
the neck and chest. It Is recom
mended that every person should
have a good yawn with the stretching
of the limbs morning and evening for
the purpose of ventilating the lungs
and tonlfylng the respiratory muscles.
An eminent authority assorts that
this form ot gymnastics has a remark
able effect in relieving throat and ear
troubles, and says that patients suffer
ing from disorders of the throat have
derived great benefit from, It. He says
he makes his patients yawn, by sug
gestion or Imitation, or by a series of
deep breaths with the Hps partly
closed.
The yawning Is .repeated six or
Beven times, and should be followed
by swallowing. By this process the
air and mucus In the eustachian tubes
are aspirated.
New Plants for America.
The bureau of plant Industry re
ports that Its agricultural explorer,
F. N. Meyer, who already had many
remarkable "finds" to his credit, has
recently sent In an unusually Interest
ing collection of new fruits from the
Tibetan border of China. These In
clude the Tangutlan almond, the Po
tanln peach, and a notable series ot
wild forms ot the ordinary cultivated
peach. Mr, Meyer's latest expedition
succeeded In reaching Lanchowfu,
when further progress was prevented
by the desertion of the Interpreter.
Recent collections have largely aug
mented the agricultural department's
stock ot Jujubes and persimmons from
western China.
Opportunities In China.
There are great opportunities at the
present time in China for the Ameri
can, for It Is reported that never, In
the history of China have the Chi
nese been better disposed to America
and things American. It Is said that
there are numerous chances for Amer
icans to establish Industrial plants,
"China offering the best field In the
world for cotton manufacturing."
There are tens ot thousands ot miles
of railroads to be built; there are
tramways, telephone lines, eloctrlo
plants, glass making establishments,
oil mills and flour mills to be erected,
while there are rich mineral deposits
to be mined and native products to be
exported.
True D'ference.
"Why does lillggins insist on tell
ing us he was an expert baseball play
er when he was a boy? He wasn't any
thing ot the kind."
"Well," replied Miss Cayenne, "I
don't think we should criticise him.
It's rather nice ot him to "be so de
sirous of our good opinion to be will
ing to tell whoppers In order to as
cure It" '
IRoiBtiftiis,
f II c J
View
V
ARNA, Bulgaria's Black sea
port, which was bombarded
by the Russians Just after Bul
garia entered the war, Is situ
ated In the North, near the
present boundary of Roumanla, on tho
Bay of Varna, a capacious, sheltered
Inlet ot the Black sea, says the Na
tional Geographical society bulletin.
It is connected by rail with all of tha
Important regions ot the country
which It has long served as princi
pal outlet. It possesses an Incom
parably finer harbor than Dedeagatch,
the Aegean port of Bulgaria, from
whose development so much future ad
vantage Is expected. It lies within
easy steaming distance ot Russia a
naval port, Sebastopol, being about 300
miles distant.
The port Is the third city of the
kingdom, ranking after Sofia and Phil
Ippopolls, and It has been strongly
fortified, It has played an Important
part In Bulgaria's military history, as
the chief point in the so-called "Varna
quadrilateral," which formed the basis
it Bulgaria's defense toward the
north and east before the loss ot
DobrudJa to Roumanla after the
treaty of Bucharest. The quadrilat
eral was composed of Varna, Shumla,
Rustchuk and Sllistrla. Sllistrla Is
now well within the Roumanian fron
tier, close upon the Danube. Rustchuk,
Shumla and Varna now form a tri
angle ot fortresses, stretched along the
northeastern Bulgarian frontier.
Varna is 325 miles by rail east-
northeast of Sofia, the capital. It Is
connected with Rustchuk, In the north
west, and with Sofia, in the west, by
trunkline railways, while branches
connect It with central and southern
parts ot the kingdom. The railway
from Rustchuk was opened In 1807,
and with Its coming began tho city's
prosperity. Bugas, south of Varna,
has given it strenuous competition
during recent years.
Built on a Hilly Shore.
The city is built on the hilly north
ern shore of the bay, which, besides
offering peculiar facilities for defense,
makes it very picturesque. At its
foot the River Devna cuts through the
mountains to the sea, and all around
the hills shut in the valley and the
port. Despite considerable modern ef
fort at Improvement, the city plainly
shows its age, and its Irregular, Ill
paved streots, lined with outworn
buildings, breathe the peace of a for
gotten valley. Several Industries,
however, have penetrated to the city,
and modern restlessness and modern
smartness stand Just before, as the
prosperity of the kingdom and of Its
first port grows. Varna has a popu
lation of about 38,000.
Dairy products, grains, cattle,
dressed meats, lamb and goat skins,
and a rough cloth are the principal
exports of the place, and Its imports
are chiefly petroleum, coal, Iron and
iron ware, machinery, textiles and
chemicals. It does an annual business
ef nearly $4,000,000, and is visited dur
ing the year by about 1,000 ships of
an aggregate of 1,000,000 tonB. The
largest number of these vessels ar9
Bulgarian, while Austria-Hungary has
been represented by the largest ton
nage. There are tannorlos,"cloth fac
tories and distilleries In the city.
Near by, among the hills, is the sum
mer palace ot the king.
Dedeagatch on the Aegean.
Dedeagatch, which the British and
French ships shelled, is the port upon
the Aegean sea to which the Bul
garians pin some ot their brightest
hopes tor a rich commercial future.
A free outlet to the Aegean and the
Mediterranean was something long
coveted by Bulgarian statesmen, who
tolt that their foreign trade would first
begin with their acquirement of a port
upon the open sea. In Dedeagatch
the patriotic natives see a future New
York, a Balkan London, and the pos
session of this harbor appears to them
one of the greatest benefits of their
war with Turkey. Bulgarian products,
from attar of roses to grain and hides,
are soon to leave for the world's cen
tral markets in Bulgarian boats from
a Bulgarian port.
Holding their port so important, it
Is small wonder that the Bulgarians
felt the Iobs of the railway through
Adrtanople which connects Dedea
gatch with the Interior ot their coun
try to be a disaster that must be made
good at the earliest possible moment
and at all hazard. The cession of ter
ritory by the Ottoman empire restored
to Bulgaria the land through which
this railway runs, and so restored to
WOULD USE BLOOD AS FOOD
German Professor Makes the Asser
tion That With a Mixture It Is
Highly Nutritious.
Professor Kober of Munich has pub
lished a little treatise on the utiliza
tion of blood as food, from which Die
Umschau quotes the following state
ments concerning the use ot blood in
breadmaklng: For centuries blood
bread has been the staff of life ot the
Esthonlans of the Baltic provinces and
their colonies In all parts ot Russia.
It la made ot rye flour, with an admix
ture ot at least 10 per cent ot whipped
hogs' blood. In the vicinity ot Pe
trograd ox blood is also used. Blood
bread Is very nutritious and Is highly
praised by Esthontan physicians be
cause of the richness n organic
compounds of phosphorus and nerve
restoring salts. Bread made with
ox blood dries very quickly, but
this defect can be remedied by
the addition ot potato flour, which
la now a common practice in
Germany. Blood bread ta the moat
natural substitute (or meat, and, with
or Varna
the sturdy peasant nation Its ardent
hopes for the age to come. With their
small strip of seashore along the
Aegean and with an export city at
Dedeagatch, with its cdmmunlcatlons
safe upon home soil, the Bulgarian
feels that his country has become
more than a Balkan power; It has be
come a Mediterranean power, a mem
ber of the family of Europe, a state
with a future as wide as the oceans,
Dedeagatch is situated upon the
Gulf of Enos, about ten miles north
of the Maritza estuary. The little
town began Its career as a seaport
under Abdul Hamid II, when it began
to capture much of the trade that had
formerly been done through the port
of Enos, which lies upon the south
eastern point of the Gulf of Enos, on
the southern bank of the Maritza
river. Forty years ago Dedeagatch
was merely a cluster of fishermen's
huts, straggling back from an open
roadstead. Since then a new town has
grown up, small, with only 4,000 popu
lation, but alert, progressive, confi
dent. Several factors have entered
Into this promise of Dedeagatch. First
among Its advantages Is that ot its
railway connections, which link It
with Constantinople, Sofia, Bourgas
and Salonlkl. Further, its rival to the
south, Enos, succumbed to its un
healthy climate and to the shifting ot
coastal sandbars.
The Inhabitants of this harbor city,
as all along the coasts of the Aegean,
were mostly Greeks up to the occupa
tion and administration by the Bul
garians. Greek commission houses
and shippers had most ot its trade in
their hands. The opening of the Con-stantlnopIe-Salonlkl
railway In 189G
brought rapid prosperity to the place,
some ot which was lost again when
railway connections were made be
tween the interior and the Black sea
port of Bourgas. The city Is the
natural outlet of the Maritza valley,
however; and despite its unfavorable
harbor, an unsheltered, open road
stead, It will probably become a rich
city as Bulgaria's first Mediterranean
port.
ALL GO BACK TO THE GREEK
Every Modern European Alphabet is
Derived From or Founded on
That of Greece.
The word alphabet is derived from
the first two letters of the Greek al
phabet, alpha and beta, corresponding
to our a and b. The Greek alphabet
Is one of the oldest In the world and
all modern European alphabets are
derived from or founded on It. The
EngliBh alphabet is practically the
same as the Roman, which was de
rived from the Greek. All writing was
In its origin pictorial, and while that
lasted there was no need of an alpha
bet or of written words. The earliest
Greek alphabet contained only 19 let
ters, having no f and ending with the
letter t. The letter f and the six let
ters following t, viz: u, v, w. x y, z,
came by a process of evolution at long
Intervals. There was no u In the
Greek alphabet until the ninth cen
tury B. C, and for more than one thou
sand years longer u and v were dif
ferent forms of the same letter, one
being used at the beginning and the
other in the middle ot a word. It
was not until the tenth century A. D.,
that the two letters were dlfferentlat-
ed into u as a vowel and v as a con
sonant. There was no separate let
ter w until the eleventh century A. D.
Prior to that the sound was expressed
by vu or uv, but finally the two u's
were linked together, making double
u. Some- other letters have got into
the alphabet by a curious process of
evolution. The letter z, for example,
comes from the Latin through the
Greek. This letter was Introduced
into the English alphabet in the fif
teenth century and from having been
the sixth letter In the Greek alphabet
It was made the last In the English
alphabet. It used to be pronounced
sed or Izard, and still is sometimes so
written and printed in England. There
are persons living who can remember
when the alphabet was printed in
schoolbooks with zed at the end, in
stead of s, and when the character &,
abbreviation ot the Latin et, also was
printed as a letter.
High Prices for Cashmere Shawla
Weavers ot cashmere Bhawls take
two or three years to finish a pair
of the very finest. These shawls
fetch upward of $500 each In London.
government control of the slaughter
houses. It need cost little or no more
than ordinary bread. According to
the Frankfurter Zeitung, rye bread
containing hogs' blood has long beeq
used in Oldenburg.
Composer's Rebuke.
Once, while Hans RIchter was re
hearsing Tschalkowsky's "Romeo and
juuei music- tne violoncellos had a
very passionate melody to play. RIch
ter was by no means satisfied that the
necessary warmth ot expression had
been obtained. "Gentlemen, gentle
men," said he, "you all play like man
ried men, not like lovers."
The Place for Lovers.
Ian MacLaren wrote that Gaelic la
the best of all lassuases for terms of
endearment, that It has fifty ways ot
saying "darling." The old tongue of
the Isle ot Man, a picturesque Island
almost equally near to Ireland, Scot
land and England, is said to be even
better furnished with terms for tha
use ot lovers, that It has or had
nlnety-Mven way of saying "my
dear."
HIS OTHER SISTER
By CLARI83A MACKIE.
(Copyright. 1918, by the McClure Newspa
per Syndicate.)
Jack Fenby came into the dining
room waving a telegram at bis as
sembled family, "Guess who is com
lng tonight," he challenged.
"Isabella Drew," hazarded Betty,
with sisterly devotion,
"Oh, pshaw!" blushed Jack. "I
didn't mean Isabella."
"Well, she is coming," went on Bet
ty, smoothly. "Father and mother
are going to town on the 8:42 to stay
over night and I've telephoned Isa
bella to spend the night with me
there. I'm such a dear, you ought to
tell me about your message, Jack!"
"It's from Lance Freeman," he re
plied. "Lance Freeman from Panama?"
"Yes. He's up here on business. He
has promised to stay with me," he
added proudly. "I tell you, folks, Lance
Is a pretty big gun down there on the
Isthmus, and Betty" addressing his
sister in an offensively patronizing
tone "It's a good thing you're not, the
paint-and-powder sort of girl Lance
detests the whole tribe."
"In d-e-e-d?" drawled Betty, over
her toast and tea.
"Yes, indeed! He's terribly fussy
about women, you know."
"He must be a detestable paragon
hlmBelf," murmured Betty.
"Don't quarrel, children," chlded
Mrs. Fenby. "You must do the honors
Betty, and, Jack, try to persuade
Lance to make our home his head
quarters while he is North. I was
very fond of his mother."
'Mr. Fenby and his wife departed
for their train and Jack accompanied
them, to spend the day at his office In
town.
Left to herself, Betty held confer
ence with the cook and then went up
to her own room, where she sat down
before her dressing table and stared
thoughtfully at her charming reflec
tion In the oval mirror.
What she saw there must have
pleased her capricious fancy, for she
smiled and nodded and sparkled at
herself. At last, she changed to a
street gown, and walked down to the
drug store.
At six o'clock that evening Jack
Fenby brought Lance Freeman home.
Eliza, the trim parlor maid, wore a
stunned look on her round face.
Miss Betty Is in the drawing
room,", she announced with a toss of
her head.
Jack ushered his big, bronzed friend
from the tropics into the soft lighted
room where Betty and Isabella Drew
were sitting before the fire.
Betty rose and came forward with
outstretched hand. She saw a tall,
broad-shouldered young man with
keen gray eyes that seemed to probe
the depths of her heart and soul and
come away disappointed, finding evi
dent relief in Isabella Drew's girlish
simplicity. The newcomer's evident
dismay and disapproval of her ' own
charms a dismay that his straight
forward nature could not then con
cealstruck a pang to Betty's heart
Lance Freeman, eagerly anticipating
this meeting with the adored sister of
his classmate, saw a slender, golden
haired girl In a tight-fitting black satin
frock, her feet Incased in absurdly
high-heeled slippers, her golden hair
twisted into the latest mode atop her
small head, her blue eyes wide and
shallow looking In their baby stare,
her face carefully powdered and
rouged, eyebrows penciled, lips skill
fully tinted, pearls in her ears and en
circling her white throat.
A very much painted and powdered,
bepearled, showy and altogether
shoddy looking young woman such
was Lance Freeman's hasty estimate
of his friend's sister.
Isabella Drew made a perfect foil
for Betty. Jack wondered dazedly if
the simplicity of Isabella's attire was
studied and if she was in collusion
with his mischievous sister to shock
Lance Freeman.
"Betty!" he gasped Indignantly.
"Jack!" she warned, giving Lance a
limp hand. "I am so glad to see you
at last, Mr. Freeman. Jack has talked
a lot about you.
"Mother left word that you are to
make the Oaks your headquarters
while you are North."
"You are all most kind," murmured
Lance, startng at the powdered little
beauty, who smiled Insipidly.
As the two young men dressed for
dinner they talked of Lance's life in
the Canal zone, of his brilliant pros
pects for the future, of Jack's first
law case, which had been a triumph
for the Junior member of his father's
firm, and when. Lance observed that
there was a strong family likeness
between Jack and his sister, Jack has
tily changed the subject.
Lance was ready first and he came
into Jack's room and examined the
photographs on the mantelpiece. One
framed portrait he regarded with nar
rowed eyes.
It was Betty's latest photograph, the
picture of a charming, merry-eyed girl
In a soft, white gown, her simply
dressed hair waving away from her
broad, low forehead. It was a sweet,
thoughtful face, very unlike the paint
ed, shallow countenance ot the Betty
he bad met half an hour ago.
"Is this your other sister?" he asked
curiously.
"You've met my only sister," mut
tered Jack glumly.
"Hum!" said Lance perplexedly. '
Jack glowed resentfully. "And she
takes a diabolical delight In turning
tho tables on a fellow."
A queer gleam came into Lance's
eyes, but he made no response.
During the dinner that followed,
Jack devoted himself to Isabella and
loft Lance to Betty's tender mercies.
The man from Panama had to admit
that Jack's sister was clever, even
brilliant, In spite ot her shallow ap
pearance, and while they conversed,
chiefly about life at the Isthmus, to
which he was soon to return. Lance
was studying Betty closely, trying to
trace some Ilk ness to the unaffected
girl of tha portrait upstairs In Jack's
room.
And Hetty? Beneath her masquer
ade ot paint and powder and her
Bother's pearl neck!ro, aha wis rag
ing at herself. Never had she been so
attracted to any man as to Lance
Freeman, and she read only amused
contempt In his stoady glance. She
had always been used to the unquali
fied admiration of her brother's
friends, and Lance was bis most par
ticular chum. She was ready to cry
with vexation when the meal was
over.
Why, she asked herBelf, had she
taken It into her silly head to flout
a plain man who hated powder and
paint on his woman folks? Why
blame him because be wanted them
to be as fresh and clean skinned as
himself as frank and unassuming as
he was?
And naturally Betty was all these
things herBelf. Therein lay the trag
edy. In the drawing room Isabella played
and sang for them, and presently
Lance asked Betty to show him Mr.
Fenby's famous collection of orchids.
Among the orchids in the conserva
tory, he told her about the beautiful
black orchid which he had seen In
one of the Jungle swamps of the
Isthmus and how he could go to the
very tree to which the parasitic blos
som clung.
"Perhaps your father would like one
I will try to get some and send them
up by a trusty messenger," he of
fered. Betty agreed that her father would
be delighted, and then followed a de
lightful half hour during which she
animatedly told him how her father
had acquired many of his specimens,
and she displayed such a knowledge
of the subject and so entirely forgot
the part she was playing that Lance
found his heart slipping from bis
keeping.
They were standing near the foun
tain and- Betty was dipping her
fingers in the water, where goldfish
darted to and fro.
Lance regarded her thoughtfully.
"I'm wondering why you took the trou
ble to disguise yourself under the
paint and powder of a circus woman,"
he remarked curiously.
"Sir!" thrilled Betty, trying to with
er him with a glance, but crumpling
miserably beneath his scorn. She
tried to hate him for his brutal frank
ness, his lack of polish. "Please take
me back to my brother."
"In a moment," he agreed gruffly.
"I I was hoping you'd wash your
face first!" he blurted out.
"Wash my face?" stammered Betty.
He nodded and gave her a snowy
handkerchief. "Please, do," he urged,
but it sounded like a command, and
Betty, having met her master, meekly
obeyed.
She held a corner of the handker
chief under the fountain spray and
scrubbed the paint and powder from
face and Hps and brows. When she
had emerged, her perfect skin, pink
and blooming from the friction, she
looked demurely at him.
s"Well?" she smiled.
"And please fluff out your hair the
way it Is in that Jovely picture in
Jack's room. There! You don't look
so confoundedly sophisticated. Thank
you, Miss Betty, you are a brick!" he
ended enthusiastically, as she re
moved the earrings.
"A brick," dimpled Betty, as he
tucked the damp and smeared hand
kerchief in his pocket.
When they returned to the draw
ing room Isabella was telling Jack
a story that brought reluctant mirth
in its train.
"Here comes the little imp now,"
he murmured, as she entered with
Lance. "Well, Betty, I'm glad you've
emerged from your war paint," he
ended in a burst of brotherly frank
ness. "Where did you raise that black
satin horror?"
"Cousin Daisy left It here last year;
Isn't it awful?" she confided.
Hours later, in her own room, Bet
ty dropped her newly-purchased rouge
pots into the waste-paper basket. Then
Bhe relapsed Into dreamy Inactivity.
"Oh, most adorable ot men," she
sighed at last. "I'm so glad you
don't like paint and powder com
bined with pearls I detest- 'em my
self and even If I did like them I
would but, no I shall not tell
even you" nodding at her adorably
blushing reflection In the glass
"what I am thinking about now!"
Sumatra Teas In Demand.
The Island of Sumatra, now In
course of development as a tea pro
ducer, and reported to be capable of
producing heavy yields from mature
plants, has followed up last year's in
troductory period by larger supplies,
and the Industry has received much
encouragement from the abnormally
high values of the last year. The teas
have already secured a "good will"
In the market The area under tea
now approaches 8,000 acreB, nearly all
of which have been opened on the
east coast from Assam seed.
Prudent Course.
"A man can't be too careful ot what
he says," remarked the observant per
son. "Quite true," replied the practical
politician. "That not only applies to
extended conversation, but to the
monosyllables 'Yes' and 'No' as well.
For Instance, I never commit myailf
one way or the other. My affirma
tives are circumlocutory and my nega
tives as ambiguous and evasive as the
nature ot the English language pen
mits."
No Self-Starter.
"Oh, dear!" exclaimed Mrs. Gad
ders. Mr. Gadders broke his arm
while cranking up our automobile this
morning."
"Don't worry," said her friend In a
soothing tone. "A broken arm is not
serious, and Mr. Uad' ers will soon
get well."
"It isn't that," wailed Mrs. Gadders.
"The news will get into the papers
and then everybody will know that
our car is not a late model."
Philosophically Conoldered,
"1 wouldn't marry you If you were
the last man on earth!" said the
girt.
"Well," replied the young man who
takes everything seriously, "If I nere
the last man on earth I'd be mourn
ing so many friends and relatlvea
that I don't suppose I'd feel much
like taking part in a wedding anyhow."
NOTHING COMING TO JOHNNY
Small Boy 'Would Get No Change
From Groceryman If He Gave Him
Dollar Old Bill in Way.
The topic having turned to mathe
matical problems, Congressman Jacob
A. Canter of New York told of an
incident that happened in a publlo
school.
The teacher was Instructing a
Junior class In arithmetic, when she
started to give the youngsters Borne
mental exercises, says Philadelphia
Telegraph.
"Johnny," said she, turning to a
youngster of ton, "If you went to the
grocery store and bought 10 cents'
worth of jiugar, 5 cents' worth of
soap, 25 cents' worth of coffee and 10
cents' worth of crackers and gave the
proprietor a dollar bill In payment
for these articles, how much change
would you get?"
"I wouldn't get any change, Miss
Mary," was the rather surprising re
sponse of the boy,
"You wouldn't get any change!" ex
claimed the teacher. "How do you
figure that out?"
"Storekeeper wouldn't give up," an
swered Johnny. "He would freeze
on to it tor the old bill."
Then the Clerk Collapsed.
"I don't suppose this .business could
run very long without me," said the
Important young man.
"Perhaps not," answered the visitor.
"Is the boss In?"
"Oh, yes. But I can tell you any
thing you want to know."
"No, you can't, either. I'm the si
lent partner and financial backer of
this firm, and I want to know how
long a nincompoop like you is going
to be kept on the pay roll."
CONSOLING.
Everbroke If I can't raise enough
to pay that alimony I'm afraid I'll be
arreBted.
Off enbroke That's nothing. I'm of
ten pinched for money.
Sheer Loss.
"You can't afford to miss this offer,"
said the agent, persuasively. "All you
have to pay Is a dollar down and a
dollar a month, and you can be read
ing the books while you are paying
for them."
"That's Just the trouble," replied
Jobson. "I'd finish reading them long
before I finished paying for them and
then It would be Just like throwing
money away."
In Politics.
"Is It true that all successful poli
ticians keep one ear to the ground so
that they may learn what their con
stituents are thinking?"
"Oh, no. The men who subscribe tho
largest amounts to campaign funds
keep the politicians Informed of what
they are thinking and It doesn't mat
ter particularly what other people
think."
Forceful Character,
"You seem to have had a great
1 1n.1 ,, -. - ! 1 . . 1
luaujr jjiatcB ittltuy, SB1U me OOUSO-
wife tothe prospective cook. "Yet I
notice that all your omployers give
you good references."
"Yis, mum," replied the candidate,
as she rolled up her sleeves and
showed a brawny arm, "I nearly
always leaves wld a good riference."
A Modern Version.
"Here's a pretty romance. A mil
lionaire fell in love with a country
maid while making an automobile
tour, and now they are to be married."
"I suppose she gave the thirsty mo
torist a drink of water, standing by
his car in rustic grace?"
"No. She sold him a little gasoline
for his auto."
Significance.
"I don't believe some of our friends
have a very high opinion of you," re
marked the bride's mother.
"Why, look at all the beautiful
presents."
"Yes. But there are eighteen silver
card trays. They must think you
aren't going to do a thing but sit
around and talk to company."
On the Rialto.
"I know you were married twenty
yean ago, yet you have the nerve to
tell me that this Is your seventh wed
ding anniversary."
"I said my seventh wedding, Yorlck,
not anniversary."
Explaining the Delay.
She (reading newspaper) Divorced
10:30 a. m weds again 5 p. m. What
do you think of that?
He It woul dtake that long to get
Framing a Tight One.
"I wish you'd tell Jinx that I hav
sworn oft drinking."
"But you haven't?"
"I know it, but it he thinks I have
he'll ask me to have a drink,"
The Only Drawback.
"The Do Vorces would be Ideally
married If it were not for one thing."
"What's that?"
"The fact that thay are married to
each other." Judge.
The Way of It.
Does your suburban nelghbo.
raise his own vegetables?"
"No; he comes In the night and UIU
mine."