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About The Maupin times. (Maupin, Or.) 1914-1930 | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1916)
I MIRAGE I j I.O.WYIIE y tUt KiTIVC iOM, 7S3 HVIBINOWATSKJ, , , 'i a curious half-tender, half-whimsical grimace. Then she was gone. An hour Inter Richard Farquhar en tered the Omneys' drawing room. lie found his host by the fireside, a some what lone figure with the white, thin face of a man never wholly at rest He greeted Farquhar eagerly and nervously. We I expected you be fore" "I have been kept at Aldershot," Farquhar answered. "I came my first free evening. I can't tell you how keen I have been to see you both again and to hear your news." The elder man seemed to shrink to gether. He glanced nervously over his shoulder, and bis face was gray and sunken. 'There is no news. Farquhar, We traced him to Marseilles, and then fol lowed a wrong scent over to Oran and farther south. It all came to nothing the wrong fellow all the time. It broke me up. I've lost hope all hope, Farquhar." "He, will come back," the other sug gested, No, no; he was reckless and obsti nate and a bit of a coward. He couldn't face the disgrace he left that to us and he couldn't face me. I dare say I was harsh but I swear I didn't deserve this. And now 1 have to lie and pretend and play this confounded comedy. People the few who believe will tell you that my son Is- sheep farming; In Australia. Farquhar, what in heaven's name possesses a man to want children? Mine have been curse ' You have your daughter," was the sharp interruption. The banker glanced at the man be side him. The thin, bronzed face was slightly flushed, and there was a Are in the passionate eyes which seemed to cause the observer a new emotion. He turned away, his thin features twisted into a wry smile. Yes I have Sylvia naturally she Is a great comfort. But she is young you must always remember that, and one must judge youth by other stand ards. We must not expect too much." One might expect everything of Sylvia," Farquhar responded gravely Again the swift, anxious glance swept over his face Ah, yes, you are young yourself. Well, I suppose you want to see her I won't detain you. You will find her Beginnings. In the library, looking out some old "And so you have really made up prints for a well-intentioned futurist, your mind, Richard?" We have become artistic, you know "With your consent, mother." If there was a covert sneer in the Mrs. Farnuhar sighed and tapped an last words Farquhar was not In a po- inmatient tattoo on the fender with her sitiqn to notice it, ror ne naa -aireaay small, well-shod foot. begun to cross the room. One or two "vir 0W0 in ti,o mnttpr hrn. nnt the people spoke to him, but he answered slightest Importance. You might have aosenuy, ana uiey urn uoi uemm mm onorort mo tho fnrcn" A Palr ot aeavt lupesiry cuiimua BBm- "It's not a farce; as It happens, I leu, lUB "" " l"c want your consent. It's true I'll ' - marry without it but it will make all A story of great love and great hate. Heart stirring inter est in every chapter. The red mirage blinds Far quhar's eyes when he sacrifices himself to protect his father's memory, and to protect the girl he loves. Nameless In the For eign Legion, ' going through worse than death at the hands of those who should have been his friends, the mirage still blinds him, and when the mi rage dissolves In the love and sympathy of a real woman, It seems too late. But you must read the story to know how completely a "perfectly good" woman may ruin the life of an Impulsive, chivalrous man, and how a sympathetic, loving one may help him to life and hope agairh CHAPTER I. the difference to my happiness." He put his head a little to one side and looked at her whimsically. "Really, mnthop mil nro tlio Iflflt nprsnn to blame me for falling in love. It was trance, for she did not move, and he you who taught me to adore the sex." aside and entered. Sylvia Omney stood at the long table beneath the subdued cluster of electric light, her head bowed, her back toward him. She did not seem to hear his en She made no answer. But she glanced up at the tall Venetian mirror and her mouth relaxed. She undoubt edly possessed a charm which made it seem scarcely credible that the man beside her was her son. She was small but beautifully made. She possessed the nameless quality which, excuses everything and has sent men In all ages from crime, to great place and from great place to the gallows. Rich ard FarquhRr bore her no resemblance, though it was conceivable that without the wig and the coating of powder she might have revealed a certain similar ity of coloring. His face and broad- shouldered, narrow-hipped figure re vealed race, also vigor and headstrong temperament, which a peculiar light In the eyes accentuated. At the moment his expression was gay, but it veiled excitement and something obstinately resolved. "You are a vain old woman!" he said lightly. "I believe you expected me to be dancing at your apron strings in blind adoration all my life, "I did nothing of the sort I wanted you to marry but not Sylvia Omney He looked at her in unconcealed sur prise. Possibly her tone was new, to him. It was sharp and Irritable; it re vealed her suddenly as an old woman. "I think I must be rather like my father." he said thoughtfully. "I don't did not seek to call her attention. She wns not looking at the great folio which lay spread out before her, but staring sightlessly Into the shadows, "Sylvia," He 8ald Brokenly. remember him. and I have never seen hef cheeks bathe(J ,n color ner p8 anything of his save an old letter to I . . . hponthlo. nttHnfltlon. A jou. Here it Is." From his breast moment ghe muA her ngnds to pocK.t ne iook out an om ieer cv- her f and he gaw BQe trembied He nodded, his eyes fixed on her half-averted face. "Perhaps you are right women are different In their love and in their religion they seek the outward, visible signs. I have brought the visible Bigns with me." He put bis hand to bis pocket and drew out a small case, which he opened and placed on the table before her. "That Is my first gift," he said simply. As though drawn against her will, she turned. Her eyes rested on the ring in Its cold, gray setting, and their pupils dilated with an amazed Involuntary displeasure. It was a single, flawless emerald, square cut and set in a narrow band of sapphire. Farquhar took it from Its case and held it out to her. "You don't understand. It can't be just now. It's as though we were re joicing in the midst of a terrible grief. Surely you have heard?" "I know that your brother has not been found," he answered earnestly. "I know that he was Is very dear to you. Why should that come between us now?" Because" She made a little, feeble gesture of despair, and then went on breathlessly. "It's not for myself, Richard. There Is my father to be considered. Robert's loss has broken his heart. Ho Is ill you must have seen that I can't tell him that I am going to leave him " I don't ask it of you. I shall be patient. I shall wait a year two years, but you can't keep me on the outside of your life while I wait. You belong to me you gave yourself to me. I don't claim more than you gave I wouldn't claim that much If I saw It was not for your happiness and now I hold(you above my life, my uonor "Oh, hushl hush!" She looked at him with terrified, beseeching eyes. "Please don't say that I don't want to hear It. Richard. It sounds so wild and mad, and your eyes frighten me. Be reasonable and gentle dear." The hard lines of violence smoothed themselves from his face as if by ,a miracle. With an almost feminine ten derness he took her Icy hand between his own and chafed It." "Forgive me I think I have a devil in me, Sylvia, a little black fiend that drives me well, to the very devil, In fact." He stopped, his eyes narrow ing as though at some vision which he could not fully face. "If I lost you Sylvia, what Is the matter?" He looked at her more intently, and then, with a sudden flash of perception. "Something has happened out there in Algiers. What?" She did not answer. She was not even looking at him. Following her glance, he turned slowly on his beel. A man who bad stood hesitating on the threshold now came toward them, his hand extended. . "Forgive me, Miss Omney. I inter rupted, but I understood that I should find you here, and I could not wait You see, I am punctual to the hour and to the day." He spoke In English, with a faint accent that was not displeasing. Rich ard Farquhar drew back. The vehe mence had vanished from his manner, leaving him curiously at ease. Sylvia Omney glanced at him, swiftly, with an almost childish appeal and fear. "Richard, this is Captain A maud. We met out in Algiers. Captain Ar naud this is Mr. Farquhar." Both men bowed. The Frenchman smiled with cordial recognition. I have beard your name often, Mr. Farquhar. You are what Is called an old playfellow, are you not a privi leged position?" For an Instant Farquhar waited, his eyes fixed on the girl's white face. She did not look at him or speak. "Indeed, most privileged." He picked up the emerald ring and slipped it carelessly back Into his pocket. I .Ei MS u mmmmm lllllili :n t UkJ-'v'', V kum mm ii ii a in mm n . TRUSTEE View or tRZERUrt w ercd with yellow, faded writing and unfolded it "It gives me a queer feeling, too, when I read it," he went on slowly. "I might have written it invself to the woman I loved. He must have loved you madly, mother, One feels in every line that you were a religion to him that he would have sold himself, body and soul" "Don't!" she Interrupted sharply, an grily. Then she gave a shrill, unsteady little laugh He knew then that she was conscious of his presence, and that that same awe and dread of their dawning bappl ness held her as it had held him In paralyzed waiting. "Sylvia, be said brokenly. She did not turn. She looked up, and In the glass their eyes met. The color had fled, leaving her whiter than the dead purity of her dress; her Jaw bad dropped. For an Instant It seemed to him that a veil had been torn from "My poor Richard! Yes, yon are like uer ac(ii leaving it plteously distorted, him very like him. But If It's the wrong woman what then?" "Of course, it must not be the wrong woman," he said slowly. "But my fa ther chose rightly, as I know I have chosen. I have chosen a woman after his own heart Sylvia is like you, mother." "Sylvia Is like me?" She lifted her laded, still beautiful eyes to his face. "Sylvia!" he repeated in a changed tone, She turned then with a little stifled gasp. Her nana witn tne mce nana kerchief had flown to her lips In an instinctive effort at concealment "Oh." she said under her breath "You! Oh, Richard!" He strode across the room to her side. He seized her bands and kissed "Yes, I suppose she is what men call them In a stormy outbreak of passion a womanly woman. God help men from what they call womanly women, Well" she turned away with a care less, almost contemptuous movement of the shoulders "I can't save you. Take my blessing, Richard. That's what you want, isn't it?" "Thank you. I may bring Sylvia to see you?" It It a pity that some persons lack the tact to break unhappy news Inoffensively. Perhaps it is thoughtlessness that Is re sponsible for a good deal of the sadness in the world especially In the cases of spoiled women who play with the affections of men whose love Is deep. How much sorrow might have been saved If between 8ylvla and Richard there had been really a mutual thoughtfulness and effort to spare heartbreak and soul-misery than which there Is no greater misery. HERE the Armenian plateau becomes a bleak complex of gorge and mountain is traced the present boundary line between the Russian Caucasus and Turkey in Asia, and the largest city and the all-important fortress on this strong natural frontier Is Erzerum, which guards the one convenient way through the ragged heights to the flat lands of Mesopotamia and the lower hills of eastern Asia Minor, and which recently was captured by the Russians. The beginning of history finds this city a military station and a point of considerable strategical value; it is the Armenian fortress of Garin Kalakb of antiquity, the Arabian raiding base of Kalikale, the Byzantine frontier post, Theodosiopolis, The Russians have twice decided wars against Turkey in their favor by capture of Erzerum, and each time Erzerum has been banded back in the peace arrangements, says a writer for the National Geographic society While the attacks of the Russians against the fortress In 1877 were un successful, their occupation of the town during the armistice of February, 1878', finally brought the Turks to ac cept the terms of peace. The assault and capture of the fortress by the Russian general, Paskevlch, In July, 1829, decided the campaign in Asia, Erzerum bars the roads from Kars and other points on the frontier. These ways follow the valley of the Aras rivet through the high moun tains and from Erzerum branch north, west and south. North of the fortress, leagues of Impassable mountains ex tend from deep in Turkish Armenia to beyond the Russia border. To the south, an equally mountainous coun try is broken through by rare, miser able trails. In the extreme Bouth, near the Persian-Turkish border, one of the best of these routes into Turkey leads through the country near Lake Van. Fine Setting but Dirty City. Situated at the eastern end of an open, treeless plain, 30 miles long and 12 miles wide, and surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, steep to their bases, Erzerum enjoys a splen did setting. within the town, en circled by an earthen enceinte, how ever, appearances are cramped, unfa vorable, and gloomy. The streets are many sizes too small according to the western measure, and they lack utter ly in stability of direction. Moreover they are badly drained and dirty, and the houses by their side do not add cheer with their old, unvaried facades of dark gray volcanlo stone. The town has always enjoyed fairly prosperous transit trade, for it is on the main overland route from Treblzond to northwest Persia and to the trade centers of the southern Cau casus. A good road leads from Erze rum down to the coast at Treblzond, and the journey can be made by car riage In five or six days. The place has also been noted from early times for the quality of its brass and copper work. Wheat, barley, millet, and veg etables are grown in the country around, and sheep are pastured. The population of the town is 43,000, of which one-quarter 1b Armenian. Hamadan, the Treasure City. Another Interesting city that has fallen into the hands of the Russians is Hamadan, the treasure city of the great Achaemenian kings, identified with the resplendent Ecbatana of the Greek writers. The ancient city lies 188 miles west-southwest of the Per sian capital, Teheran. All vestiges of the by-gone glory of the place have been destroyed, save alone a famous but battered stone lion, which lies in somber, mutilated deso lation flat upon the plain near the road leading to Ispahan. The old lion has lasted through all the ages of Hama dan, a guardian genius of the town; for it was set up as a talisman to pro tect the walls of the city. The lion's fate and the city's fate were connected in a prophecy that the city and Its peo ple would be safe so long as the lion was not thrown down.or broken. The talisman today enjoys a superstitious veneration; mothers bring their babies 'to kiss the hugh carven face and pilgrims place offerings of jtone before it. According to one tradition, tin lion was set up to frighten away the severe winters of Hamadan. The name of the city can be traced back to earliest times, and it mouns literally "a place of meeting of many ways." In the Cays of the city's splendor the most prominent hlKh ways of the civilized world crossed here. It Is still a meeting place of many highways from many parts of the Persian kingdom, and the chief station on the road from Persia to Bagdad and to the Persian gulf. It has thus been able to maintain a scrap of its old prestige as a place of wealth and as a city important In Persian commerce and Industry. Its Leather Goods Are Famous. The leather made In Hamadan is In demand throughout the EaBt, and great cuantltlos of it are exported, un- worked and In ihe forms of saddles. harnesses, trunks and other leather articles. Felt goods and copper uton- slls are made, and a flourishing transit trade brings Its tolls to the city' 40.000 neonle. There are extensive and well-stocked bazars, and more than 40 caravanseries. Among the few concessions that the hoary "treas ure city of the king of the kings of kings" has grudgingly made to the nervous, restless civilization of the West are a post and a telegraph office. Hamadan Is situated at the north eastern foot of Mount Alvand, whose granite walls rise to a height of 11,- 900 feet.' The city Itself has an ele vation of 5,930 feet, and a level plain, 15 miles In length and 10 miles In breadth, spreads before it like a gar den. Barley, wheat, fruits, vegetables and the scarlet poppy plant are grown In profusion here. Crooked alleys, dirty walks and street ways, squalid houses and dingy brown neglect effpctually suppress memories of the city's former great ness, when it was the home of kings, the seat of fabulous riches, a fore most display city of the world whose buildings were fretted with gold and silver, and the home of such riotous luxury as the world has never seen again and as modern civilization har forgotten how to provide. All luxti.y has depa.'Ud from Hamadan; but then the city is supposed to have passed its three thousandth anniver sary, an age at which the giddy pleas ures of youth are no longer tempting. Ramman-nlrarl, whose greplest claim to fame is that he was the bus band of Quet-n Semiramta, began the long centuries of royal patmnage that built up Hamadan, and his renowned queen, Semlramis, launched the place upon its brilliant career. Hamadan steadily grew In wealth and favor, added ever new spienuors to Its pub lic works, state bui'dings and private palaces, erected columnB and arcades overlaid with plates of gold and silver, constructed a cost'y royal home of cedar and cypress woods, a.id planted famous gardens. Most of this wealth was looted by Alexander the Great, wr-ose men carried ivay a treasure vast even for the present age of wealth. Following Alexander, Antl gonus, Sobi cus, Nlcator and An tlochi s the Great plundered hero, and, according to Polblus, the Jreek his torian, there remained in Hamadan a wonlth equ,! to 4,000 talents ($!, 730,000; for the laut plunderer. By CLARISSA MACKIE. (Copyright, 1915. by the McClure News paper Syndicate.) When Judge Llnwood died his large estate was left In trust to his only child, Vera, who, now doubly or phaned, went to live with her aunt, Mrs. Henry Hendrick. The Hendricks entertained lavishly and spent money recklessly, so that when Henry Hondrick's money van ished, togethor with most of Vora's fortune, that unfortunate gentleman promptly took hlmelf out of the world, leaving his widow to open a fashion able boarding house In the suburbs. As for Vera, she had decided to go West and claim possession of the old Golden Eagle mine, which her father had left In trust for her. The western trustee was his old friend, Anthony Burgess, and It was through Anthony Burgess that Vera received the semi annual dividends which now constitut ed her sole income. "But, my dear child," protested Mrs. Hendrick tearfully, "you can't go out there alone! Why, you've never oven seen this Burgess man!" "That he was father's friend speaks sufficiently in his favor, Aunt Emily, and, bosides, I shall only stop In Eagle City a short time. There Is an excellent hotel there." "I am afraid to have you travel alone," objectod Mrs. Hendrick. "Nonsense; I am twenty-one, and father trusted me thoroughly. You forget that I once spent Bix weeks at Eagle City." "But your father was with you." "Yes, Aunt Emily, but I shall get along nicely. I thought perhaps that there might ba Bome business con nected with the mine that I might learn that 1 might become a real business woman not a drone living on the lncomo father left mo. I want to be useful." Have your own way, child," sighed master at the round of every curve in the road. At last, far below, she glimpsed a black horse flying along the trail and a rider who seemed part of his ' eau tlful mount. "He doesn't ride like an old man," she thought with quickening pulses. "Perhaps he is one of the Rio gang." Far down the mountain side she met the rider, a tall, sun-browned man, whose saddlebags were well filled. He looked curiously at her as she ap proached. "Are you Mr. Burgess?" she asked breathlessly. "Yes," he smiled, sweeping oft his hat. "And you are paymaster of the Golden Eagle?" He looked sharply at her. "Why do you ask that?" he de manded bluntly. "Because you are in danger they are waiting for you up yonder " And hastily she told him of the evil face she ' had seen and of the warning utterod by the stage driver. "I was warned," he admitted, "hut I didn't take much stock in it they've been threatening to hold me up for the past year. I've got to get the money to the boys they'll be rioting If they don't get It," he ended rue fully. "Can't you transfer the money to my saddlebags and let me follow you up the trail? Then, if they want you to throw up your hands, you can, and before they discover that your bags are empty I can ride on to the mine. They won't hurt you?" she asked anx iously. "No all they want is the money," he assured her. "But I can't permit you to endanger your life." "It's for my own interests," she said calmly; "I am Vera Llnwood." "Vera Llnwood why, Miss Llnwood, I was going East next week to see you. The Golden Eagle has developed an other rich vein." "And the Double Eagle has lost one," she said significantly. 'You know, then?" "I heard yesterday and I am so the widow plaintively. "I can't Bay sorry I feel like a robber myself too much, Vera, because my poor Hen- the owner of a pirate mine!" ry s slipshod business methods lost "That's miner's luck. Come, let us your fortune as well as our own. I get along, if we must. Just put these told your father not to make Henry packages in your saddlebags so, and your trustee. As for the other trus- m stuff mine with grass. Ride on tee have you ever seen Mr. Burgess?" ahead and don't worry. It will come He was In Mexico when father and out all right!" He slapped her pony'B I were in Eagle City." I hope he is trustworthy? was Mrs. Hendrick's final remark. Eagle City basked In the warmth of an Indian summer day. Vera loved flank and mounted his black and fol lowed. . , When Vera passed the ambush she was talking to her pony as before. "Once more, Nlcodemus Alexander!" she threatened. "I will ride to the top the fresh, sweet mountain air and the of the hil1! then down aBaln for dln" low-lying haze reddened by the sun. ner!" she Pwed the ambush and Burgess?" reDeated the lantern- waitea oreamiesBiy arounu me oenu Jawed stace driver as Vera made in- ' the trail. Somewhere near oy sne qulrles. "Anthony Bursess? Oh. he heard the pounding or tne ore-crusn- lives over bevnnd the moiintntn " ers and she knew that she was near "How shall I reach his nlace?" th" mines. "Stopping in the city?" Below she heard the tread of Bur- "Yes; take me to the best hotel, U888' horse, followed by a sharp com- plcase." "That will be Mrs. Lizzie Smith's, mand, a momentary silence, and then the murmur of other voices. The hold- ma'am. To get to Burgess' you'll have UP had happened and they were going to get a boss. Can you ride?" through the mine owner's pocketB and "Oh yes." searching his saddlebags for the Gold- "Then going will be easy. A aood en Eagle's pay roll. hoBS will take you and most anybody Nlcodemus Alexander was smitten will p'int out the trail to the Golden wlth Indignant surprise when bis Eagle. I suppose you've hoard of the rIder suddenly jabbed her sharp heel lucky strike there?" Into his Hank. "No. Do you mean that they have He bounded up the trail, his hoofs discovered more gold?" scattering the stones underfoot. In "That's right. Struck the richest a flurry of dust- norse and rlder ap vein ever found hereabouts. Seems Pearel a the office of the Golden It's faded out In Burgess' own mine. Eagle. the Double EaElo. and the lead has A dozen men Burrounded Vera. boen uncovered In the Golden Eaele. "Mr- Burgess held up help him," There's been a regular stampede for "he gasped, and tumbled from her these parts In the past week." pony. "And the new discovery has made There was a shout of anger as the Mr. Burgess poor?" asked Vera. miners grabbed their weapons and "Almost. He wasn't expecting it, Uashed down the trail to meet the pay- you see, ma'am, and he's been laying master. out a lot of money on his own mine: Vera leaned dazedly against the of- he's trustee for some folks back East, nee door and stared at the blood who own the Golden Eagle. If be was trickling down the sleeve of her white anything except tho straightest man blouse. God over mado he could help himself "Someone must have flred at me," out of tho Golden Eagle and nobody she smiled faintly. would cvor be the wiser." "The plucky little angell" exclaimed Vera was thoughtful the rest of the one roughly dressed man as he led day. She spent a restful night at Mrs. her inside the building. which seemed terrify her. She shrank from him, vainly trying to free himself, "Oh, Richard don't you must be more careful we are not alone there are people " He laughed up at her. His eyes were alight. The subdued flicker of reck lessness, never wholly absent, blazed "Of course. Sylvia and I get on very up In defiance of her white timidity. well. Has anything been heard of the brother?" "I don't think so. But I shall hear tonight" "Oat his throat probably.' She glanced back at him with a curious lit tle smile on her colorless face. "All the sam. SylvU Is lucky. I am rather proud of yoo myself, Richard. You r the only man I know who dresses !a perfect taste without looking a vul jar noodle. Good night' Sb kkzMd him hurriedly is be held 4 dear open tor her, and for an ln-.-tsxt the looked p into bis face with "I know there are people hundreds of them somewhere down in that dull old world which we've left miles be neath. Yes, I dare Bay, I am a little mad. I feel it I'm glad of it. It's good to be mad like this" Suddenly her expression penetrated his Intoxica tion. He stopped short. "Sylvia you're not ill?" he said roughly. She shook her bead, half smiling, half tearful. "You may not care what people think, but I do all nice women do. We are not properly engaged. You forget that" (TO BE CONTINUED.) Able to Defy Burglars. The story of the strong room Is noth ing more than one long fight between the safemaker and the burglar. But at last the vault maker would appear to have won, and It is the boast of experts that many of the strong rooms found in the more up-to-date safe de posits, banks and other Institutions are not only burglar-proof, but proof agalnBt attack by armed mobs and also from earthquake shocks. Their great steel walls are absolutely un drlllable on account of the hardness of the metal employed, while by welding the plates together it Is virtually Im possible to burn through them. Then, by means of time and com bination locks, it is Impossible to open the doors without a key and a knowl edge of the combination, once they are closed. As a further precaution, many of these strong rooms are to designed that an electrical alarm is sounded should attack be made upon them, or the basement In which they are situated is flooded with water the moment their mechanlBm ti tampered with. Sm'th's homelike hotel, and the next day she hired a horse to ride over the mountain. "You".l not want to go alone, honey,1 admonished Mrs. Smith, Weeks afterward Mrs. Henry Hen-. drlck reread a letter from Vers, It was dated from Eagle City. "Dear Aunt Emily," wrote Vera, "I Considerate. "'Sorrows come not single spies, but in battalions,' " remarked the man who quotes Shakespeare on the slight est provocation. "How do you feel this morning?" asked his friend, somewhat lrrelevant- "That's how 1 feel. "Um. I was about to aBk you for the loan of $5, but rather than join a battalion, I'll tackle somebody else." Dally Thought. In this world a man must be either anvil or hammer. Longfellow. About Right. "Who can tell me what Is the capital of Mexico?" asked the teacher. "I can," said Johnny Jones, who had heard his father discussing the affairs In our sister republic only the night before, "Very well, Johnny. What Is the capital of Mexico?" "About thirty cents " Vera displayed the littlo six-shooter will be home in another week and I which her father had taught her to shall bring my husband with me. use. Don't faint, poor, dear auntie; he Is "I am not afraid," she laughed, and the most splendid man. You can never rodo away. guess, so I must tell you that I am Down tho street she met the stage marrying Anthony Burgess, the son of drhnr; he pulled. In his steaming father's old friend, my trustee. The horses and held up a warning hand. trusteeship has been transferred to "Not going over the mountain alone, young Anthony because his father is are you?" ho a3kcd. dead, and Anthony says it is perfectly "Yes. I am not afraid," she assured natural that we should have met and blm. - loved and married, for now he can "There's likely to be rough charac- continue the trusteeship forever. And, tern shout," he warned her. "It's pay best of all, you are to give up the day at the Golden Eagle and there's boarding house and return here with a rmnor that some of the Rio gang us, if you will, for the Golden Eagle are gclr.g to hold up the paymaster, has developed wonderful riches, and You bettor wait till tomorrow." Anthony's mine has a new vein of "But someone had better warn the gold and we are all going to be very paymaster," protested Vera, rich indeed. And Anthony wants me "Burgees has been warned, but he to add a postscript that we are rich ain't (lis kind to heed such a warning; In eaoh other and richer in happiness he dou't know what fear is, doggone than all the gold In the world could him!" And the stage rumbled on. supply!" era followed the trail winding up through the bills, bhe did not meet One on the Fat Man. anyone, and although her surefooted Fat Man in Tram Car Why don't pony sometimes stopped and sniffed one of you young gentlemen get up Inquiringly at the underbrush or and let one of these ladies sit downT Her Favorite Adjective. "This Is a perfectly splendid book." "Why bo, Asphodelia?" "The heroine wears the loveliest clothes, and Bhe's in love with the loveliest man and always has the love liest times." "Umph! And how about the au thor's literary style?" "Oh er that's lovely, too." Mystery of Woman. A distinguished physjclan says there Is no such thing as a normal woman. We presume that what the doctor means to say Is that women are nor mally abnormal. At the Modern Opera. Patience "You say you heard Mme. Hlghsee In vaudevlllo today?" Patrice "Yes; first time she's been heard In this country." Patience "Nonsonsel She sang in this country In opera for two years." Patrice "Yes, Bhe was In opera, but everybody talks at the opera, and nobody heard her." Sporting Offer. "I want to help you," said a be nevolent man who had been accosted by a tramp, "but if I give you a dime I'm afraid you won't put it to a good use." 'Well," replied the tramp, "that ain't enough ter do much harm with, or much good either, so take chance, gov'nor!" heaped-up rocks along the way, she could not guoss that the animal In stinctively knew that there were men lurking, ambushed, waiting for the paymaster of the Golden Eagle. At last shd glimpsed a dark, evil face as It disappeared behind a rock, and she wan glad that she could com mand her features so that the man could not gu-?sf she bad seen him, She tnusi go back along the way she had co:uo end warn the paymaster of the Impending danger. Yet the men In aiab'33h must not know that Bhe was Buapic'cus. She swung hor iony about and One of the Young Gentlemen Why don't you get up and let them all sit down? London Punch. Indecorous Dog. "Mary, did you take Trix out for a walk?" "YIs, mum. But it wasnt a bit of use, mum. "Why not?" "She ran lvery fut of the way." Not Inclined to Study. "Don't you think you ought to give more attention to political economy?" "No," said Senator Sorghum; "If a humtsed a gay little tune as she rode man hopes to succeed In politics out down tin trull; she talked to the pony in my town he doesn't want to econo In bunterins accents. mire." Oh, Nl?cdemui Alexander," she o'ghrd, "1 could remain on this moun- A Similar Result. lalntlia s'.l day and admire the view, "Hubby, If you bad never met ma but you oust gvt mo back to town tor would you have loved me?" dlnnw; I'm hungry." "I don't know about that But So he rode back alone the down- suppose I would have been just I ward trail, loping to meet the pay- teei'y in dobt" (