H a i* BOW you mention It." teÉBg*t
The Great
Tontine
((tending off the Brentford road, and
in the Immediate vicinity o f Kew Gar
dena, U to be area a email cottage half
smothered in creepers.
H ittin g about
amongst the lowers with a pe'r of scis
sors, and dipping a blossom here and
there, la a young lady o f soma three or
four and twenty, whose acquaintance we
made many years ago. This is Mary
Chi cheater, whom we las£ saw aa a A lid
C H A P T E R V.
Lard Lakington ia at present experi
encing a rather feverish time o f i t This
being one o f the last three shareholders
left ha the "Great Tontine” la the largest
speculation ha has ever embarked in. In
hia racing days he tad never atood to
win ao tremendous a stake aa this. It
meant either fortune or rain.
A few
months might aee him is possession of
«i|ht thousand a year, or deprived o f the
very comfortable income hia dividend from
the big lottery afforded him.
He went to the Vivacity Theater, and
waa duly shown Into the manager’s sanc
tum. “ Good morning. Hommingby,” ho
exclaimed as he entered; “ I have couse
down to have a chat with you, because
Wftai know
k n n a something
is n m * th in w n about
Kraal* a everybody.”
n a r r l w w f u *•
you
“ Well, I can't expect you to condole
with me for being at last out o f it. It
is too much your interest for that; and I
really thought. Viscount, I should have
outstayed you. But you have of course
had your letter from the directors, inform
ing you that my nominee bps gone at
last. Weil, I can’t complain; and I have
had my hundred beck a good many times
eut o f it.”
" I want you te tell me something about
my two antagonists."
“ I can tell you very little about Miaa
Oaterham. She ia a maiden lady living
at Kew. and I know nothing further
about her beyond the fact that her nomi
nee has been unaccountably missing foV
the last two years. As for Pegram, he is
a lawyer down in North Wales. It was
I Induced him to take a share in it.”
" I t ’s a tremendous big stake to be play
ing for,” observed Lord Lakington; “ a
hundred and sixty thousand pounds. It
would be a nuisance to loss this income
now. I wonder whether It would be pos
sible to compromise. You know this law
yer fellow; you might soand him on the
replied the manager. “ I often see him.
I invested a little money in Llanbarlym,
and occasionally go down to look after
some house property I have got there.
Hia son. too. Bob Pegram, always gives
me a look In when he comes to town. I
tell you what. Viscount. I never thought
o f it before, but the directors are about
right to keep the nominees' names a se
cret. It's a big pile, and the temptation
becomes rather powerful when you find
there ia nothing hat the life o f an old
man o f eighty between you and a hundred
and sixty thousand pounds.”
“ W ta t do yon mean?”
"W hy, that there are plenty o f men
Wouldn’t hesitate to cboke the life out of
the poor old chap if they got a fair
chance, and could by so doing make cer
tain of landing the lot.”
! “ Yea," rejoined the Viscount. “ I quite
agree with you. The temptation to bring
the whole thing to a conclusion in their
fern favor would be irresistible.
-The
nominees must, at all events, feel easier
In their minds that their names are a
profound secret.”
Lord Lakington walked away from the
Vivacity Theater considerably relieved in
hia mind by this new idea which had se
cu red to him. It waa ao dearly the beat
thing to do for both of them, and the
'more he reflected upon it the more con
vinced he became that the Welsh lawyer
most be quite aa keen to come to an a r
rangement as himself. It was too horri
ble to think of going back to those days
af abject poverty which he experienced
before the ‘Tontine” commenced paying
such great interest. H e would have been
delighted could he have known that Mr.
Pegram is very ready to hear of a com
promise ; but whether his lordship will be
quite as well pleased with the terms of
that compromise is somewhat open to
question. Old Pegram has made it his
business for the last two or three years
to pick up all he can about the share
holders still left in the lottery. No de
tails about their past and. present lives
er ordinary habits are beneath Ida notice,
and be would willingly have ascertained
the names of all «he nominees had that
been possible. Lord lakington, for in
stance, would have been astonished had
he been made aware how much old Pe
gram knew concerning him.
The old
Weigh solicitor, too, has sscertained a
great deal concerning Miss Oaterham.
He had learnt, probably from Hemming-
by, that her nominee was missing; and
no sooner did he find by the directors’
letter that Hemmingby was no longer a
shareholder, fharf he told his sod, with
a grin, that it waa time to take steps to
secure their share of the inheritance.
“ Yon see. Bob,” aaid the old man,
“ there was nothing to be done dll there
ware only two or three of ns left In. I
am main glad that this Hemmingby is out
af it. H e is a terrible sharp fellow, and
I had joat as soon that he wasn’t play
ing against me. Now, the first thing
te be done is to find out all shoot this
missing nominee. It is qnito dear we
can’t move a step without that. Now,
the bast chance, in my opinion, of get
ting at k la for you to call upon Miaa
Oaterham, boldly to introdaca the subject
e f the T o a tia e’ and the miaaing man, of
aourse not discovering your own ignor
ance concerning him. Recollect this: A a
ia a retired maiden lady and elderly. As
a rale they era talkative. Be excessively
polite and q i i d in manner.
I think
the odds are. Bob, that eke blurts out
the name we want before ten minutes are
“ Do nothing o f the sort. The proba
bilities are that a quiet, elderly lady like
Miaa O a'eAnm has never troubled her
self to inquire the names o f tha other
competitors.”
“ W ell, it shall be as yen Ilka,” replied
Bob Pegram';
"bat I think you are
Mr. F u i » * ; “ but I * u not in tba% »st
"Y ee; we ttarted from Hnnn||wd,
where he told ns he waa livins thmUnt
time we anw him. Ifh tad been a sort of
odd man about one of ran inns there, but
he had disappeared mootith^before.’*
"A n Irishman, by his n an **’ obsitv«!
Mr. Pegram quietly. “ H e will probably
return to his own country. I presume
you know where he was bornt”
t>
“ Oh. yes; he comes from M a lM r I»
the County of Cork, and of course «that
was one o ( the first places in which we
sought foe him but we could find no
trace whatever of him ia those part*.
You a r« aware, Mr. Pegram, bow large
the interest ia I have in his discovery."
“ Alive," rejoined Mr. Pegram States
tloualy.
“ Well, certainly,” replied Mlsa Cater
ham with a smile, “ both for hia own' sake
and mine. Mr. Carbockle baa no doubt
put you in possession of all requisite
particulars connected with tbs case."
"Excuse me, Mias Oaterham,” Inter
rupted Mr. Pegram. "but I should like
to gather all the details o f this affair
from your own llpa- Now, will you kind
ly answer the questions I am about to
put to you?” and Mr. Robert Pegram
proceeded to cr oee qmotion his boatess
in a manner that did much credit to hia
professional skill.
"W ho waa your visitor, Auntie?" ex
claimed Miaa Chichester as aha entered
the drawing room.
"That was Mr. Car buckle’s young
man,” replied Miaa Oaterham. “ Ha’s not
of distinguished appearance, but I fancy
ha ia clever.
The questions ha asked
about poor Terence struck me as shrewd
and to the point. He knows now all we
can tail him."
Mias Caterimm had never told her niece
anything about her connection with the
“ Great Tontine,” and Marry Chichester
had never heard of the big lottery in her
life.
(T o be continued.)
aa there are
to-day, but
somehow
their energies are not alw ays applied
in the right direction, and ao they
fa il. I t ia Just the old story o f eyes
and no eyes; you cannot aee what la
wanted.
• There ia a plumber laboriously
bloody field o f Gettysburg. His faithful
henAman bad begged so hard to accom
pany him that, conscious though he waa
o f the utter incongruity o f such a sol
dier o f fortune as himself being accom
panied by bis servant, Chichester tad not
the heart to refuse him. The North were
not very particular about what they en
listed as food for powder in those days,
and as the wiry old man did not look
within some seven or eight years o f his
real age, made no difficulty whatever
about enrolling him in the same troop aa
his master. H e was by Chichester's side
when he fell, and passed scatheless
through that field o f carnage himself,
only to A e d bitter, blinding tears as he
laid “ the master” in the grave.
And now the girl’s flower-snipping is
interrupted by a voice exclaiming, “ Break
fast, M a ry; come in, child, and pour oat
the tea.” and Miaa Oaterham appears
at the French window.
“ Coming, Auntie,” replied the girl aa
A e moved quickly towards the window;
“only aee what a lovely posy I have
managed to gather for you this morning,
and the beds, I assure you, bear no trace
of having been despoiled.”
“ Thank you, child,” replied Mias Cater
tians as she took her seat at the breakfast-
table. ‘T h e rosea are as sweet as tboae
o f your cheeks, my dear. By the way.
Mgry, I have tad a letter from Mr. Car-
buckle this morning. I will read It to
“ Dear Mias Oaterham— No news as yet
o f Terence Finnlgan. We can hardly ex
pect to find him, aa he has been missing
ao long, without considerable rronbie. I
hare deputed to a young friend of mine
who has Juri Joined the noble profession
the care of the case. He has cross-ex
amined me as to details in a very prom
ising manner, but is anxious to put you
and Miss Mary also in the box; ao 1
bare given him wonr address and you
may expect him to honor you with a
visit shortly. With love to Miss Chiches
ter, believe me. yonrs most sincerely,
“ H E N R Y C A R B IIO K L E .”
“ It is very singular,” Mid Miss Cater-
ham, as she laid aside her spectacles, “ but
Mr. Carbuctle has quits forgotten to
mention his young friend’s name. Well,
whoever he is. it is extremely kind of
bim to nndertake this business for as.”
Some two or three hours have elapsed,
and the parlor maid enters the room, and,
presenting a card to her mtstraas. says,
“The gentleman wishes to knaw If you
will aes bim.”
A few momenta and Elisa oshered late
tbs room a man somewhat below medium
height. Ha advanced quietly, and with
a tow bow, aaid, "Miss Oaterham, I pre-
Boers It « l a d to M a rt T o w a rd S ta g *
G lo w aa “ Carlos, the F id d le r.”
»w ir . of U before."
quickly and thoroughly? I f you can
there la a fortune w aiting fo r you.
And here is a nice easy little Inven
tion guaranteed to
bring in thou
sands; Just a simple and effective
mean» o f fastening pane# In window
frames. Surely It la a slur on the in
ventive genius o f the age that wa
should still have to resort to putty in
this enlightened 20th century.
H ave you ever seen a tram driver
leaning o rer with a long crowbar to
shift the points at a junction, or a
man at the corner with a lever fo r
the same purpose? V ery clumsy and
primitive, don’t you think? Devise a
plan whereby the driver, by simply
pressing a footplate on the car plat
form. might move the point which
ever w ay he desired, and every tram
w ay company in the country w ill take
up your invention.
Tram w ays . suggest
roads.
The
still wanted.
There *r e several on
the market, it la true, but the right
one is yet to come. And how about
a boot and glove fastening?
Think
how much time you spend in lacing
your boots, and how annoying I f Is
when the lace breaks, and you know
that you have lost your morning train
Returning hia salute, Miaa Cateriiam
In consequence o f the delay caused.
first acknowledged her Identity and then,
glancing at the card in her band, ob A neat, quick and simple little device
served, “ Mr. Robert Pegram. You come, ia wanted— something that would coat
o f coarse, from Mr. Carbockle. It is little to produce and could be eerily
really very kind of you to have under replaced when worn out.
Invent i t
taken so troublesome a business for me.” and you are wealthy fo r life.
“The discovery at missing people la
usually a little troublesome, but, aa a
•h i
rule R’s a mere matter o f time and
" I saw Jinx with his typewriter in
“ I am prepared to spend some money," hia arms yesterday.'’
“ That blonde thing 7’
rejoined Mias Oaterham; “ bnt yon moat
“ I said hia typewriter, not his ste
hear dearly in mind that I am not a rich
woman, and can only spend money In nographer; he waa taking it to be re
moderation.”
paired."— Houston Poet.
“ You may thoroughly rely upon mv
discretion in that respect. Miaa Oaterham.
M U e So.
I will be very careful not to ran you into
" I dare aay it ia fitting fo r the
any exorbitant expense.” apd a dose ob sheath gowns to bo regarded aa they
server might have discerned a twinkle is
are."
' »
.. J ®
Mr. Pagrnm’a aye.
"H ow do yon mean7’
“ Yon are aware that wa have already
“ Th at most women look dagger« In
had oaa unsuccessful searA for Mr. Tar-
th a *.” — Baltim ore American.
Farm, Stock and Home, they should
not be housed in the
barn. They
must be sheltered from cold rains, and
muddy fields often make outside feed
ing Impossible or wasteful.
The building shown provides a aim-
pie and cheap shelter fo r nae by the
man
who
JFying to “ grow into
sheep,” and d im cannot afford costly
buildings, it sffifajg atone foundation,
and a floor o f e^rth. R oof ia covered
with prepared1 roofing. Sides may have
cheap drop aiding ; or cheap boards
perhaps from logs cut on the farm,
and tight weight roofing.
The wide
doors prevent injury to e ve s from
crowding. Doom w ill usually be left
open, either allowing the sheep to
paaa In and out at w ill, or using fire
covered gates in the doorways.
In case o f early lain be or in severe
storms the doors can be closed, and
effective ventilation supplied by the
open aaah covered with heavy muslin.
This material la being much used fo r
poultry houses, and la good fo r other
farm
buildings also.’ W hile enough
air w ill paaa through fo r ventilation,
the cloth w ill largely stop wind and
ia nearly as warm aa glass, especially
in still cold.
H e who has noticed
how much warmer a bedroom ia with
the windows screened with mosquito
netting than with w ire w ill appreciate
the effect o f the muslin In “ entan
gling” the air. Still, the correct w ay
is to nae tw o thicknesses o f clo th ; the
air apace formed being very effective,
w hile not preventing ventilation.
Lambing pens are on sooth side,
and can be thrown together when
not required for separata use. P a r
titions are o f w ire fencing, with gates
o f same on wood frames. Remainder
o f building can be divided with some
material aa seems beat changing
when necessary. Feeding racks are
movable.
No provision la made fo r storage
o f grain or roughage. Feeding la ao
largely “ in the open” that it ia often
beat to bring the feeds from the barn
as needed. The overhead track w ill
carry food or manure, i t would o f
ten be better to attach the building
to the main barn.
D a iry Cleanltnns.
Prof. C. B. Eckies says the cow her
self is the chief source o f the contam
ination to* which milk la subject Es
pecially is this true when the cow la
kept under the conditions found in
some barns The cow m ust first o f all,
be kept decently dean i f it la expected
to produce milk suitable for human
food. In many cases the difficulty la to
be attributed to the poor arrangement
o f the barn. Putting the cow in a
well-lighted stable, with good floor, a
platform the proper length to stand up
on, a suitable gutter and a manger,
and it la possible, at least, to keep the
conditions fa irly good. Then keep the
cow decently clean.
Curry her and
brush o ff the udder and adjoining parts
o f the body w ith a stiff brush before
milking.
The strainer can not be depended
upon to take out dirt— it must be kept
out in the first place.
Another source o f contamination is
Improperly
utensils
Prof.
Eckies says a single dirty can may con
tain more bacteria than there are In-
hlbltants in the world, and they are
ready fo r business aa soon aa milk is
placed in the can.
The ipoat proper thing to use in
cleaning utensils Is a good, strong
brush. Nothing else should be em
ployed In cleaning palla, cans or cream
separators.
«T h e eon o f a wealthy old friend o f
mine, being stage struck, Joined with
a 10-20-80 opera company. I .met him
loafing and strutting about a hotel in
Duluth, Minn.," said the veteran actor
to a representative o f the New York
Telegraph.
“ «Come over to the opera house and
me the show,' said he.
“ I wqnt, but I saw no eigne o f this
young man on the stage, nor era* h i»
name on the program. A fterw a rd I
met him in the lobby o f the hotel.
“ •I did not recognise any o f the
characters as you.’ I remarked. ‘W hat
part are you playing 7
"•W h y, I am playing the part o f
Carloa, the Fiddler,' aaid he.
" T h e r e wee no such part*
“ •Oh, yea there was.
Didn’t you
notice bow they talked about him? In
the first act, in order to get the chorus
off stage, didn’t the soubrette put
her hands over b *r W
look o ff L.
4 E. and say: “Oh. girls. C arlo» the
Fiddler la going to have a dance on
the green ) let us hasten or we w ilt
miss l t r
Then bu n t into eoog and
skip o ff! You bet they did.
" T h e n again, in the second act,
when the bell le tolled w ithou t don’t
"H a rk that
the prlma donna say
belli Th at bell can stand an aw ful
lot harking, for who Is pulling the
rope but Carlos the Fiddler?”
“ T h a t Is true, young man, but they
only talk about you. You do not ahow
yourself on the stage during tbs whole
performance.’
“ ‘I am aware o f that, bnt you must
remember I am aa yet a raw recruit,
still I feel I am on my w ay to (am #
and glory, though the path may ha
strewn with thorns.’
“ Oh, I f the hope and optimism o f
youth could be with us in our later
years,” sighed the veteran actor.
K K Ilm t m . -
Retailers are necessary according to
present methods o f doing business, and
until farm ers organise a selling force
o f their own middlemen w ill continue
to toll the farm ers’ grist as thoroughly
as the traffic will bear. Peaches may
rot on the ground in Missouri while
selling fo r 2 cents each in Chicago, but
the farm er in Missouri is helpless be
cause he has no representative in the
market center.
The time w ill come
when fa rm e n w ill have an agent at
each central point to handle farm prod
ucta and distribute them either to the
Fool— I woks up last night w ith a
consumer or retail grocer. When that
time comes farmers w ill come nearer s ta rt I dreamed that my watch was
getting what they work for. It is Just gone. Drool— W ell, waa It? Fool— No,
as necessary to sell right as to fan s bnt it waa going.
right.— Agricultural O ptim ist
An English lecturer on chemistry
said, “ One drop o f poison placed on
E m ssu I cs I Feed Carrier.
the tongue o f a cat ia sufficient to kill
In handling dry feed, such aa oat», the strongest man.”
buckwheat, shelled corn, bran and the
"A nd does your husband still think
like, fo r feeding farm
animals and
yon the an angel7” “ Ob, yea! At least
poultry, one wants
f***
ha seems to think I don't need any new
something lighter
X
\
dothaa."— Pick-Me-Up.
and leas cumber-
f
\
Knlcker— Wouldn’t yon like to wake
some than a baa-
/
l
op
and find yourself famous? Bocks*
ket,
and
more X
JT n
— I ’d rather be ao famous I wouldn’t
have to wake up.— New York Sun.
Tom— W hat waa that sentence the
fto ir repeated ao often during the lib
A y ? Laura— Aa near aa I could make
oat it was "W e are all miserable s in »
Ctate (e r W ir e Fence.
The cut illustrates a
method o f
making a w ire fence gate without the
P rollS e b a r k «.
The origin o f the Indian runnei
ducks la unknown. I t la claimed they
were introduced into England about
thirty year« ago. It Is said that they
w ill lay nearly 200 eggs In a year.
One breeder gives food comparison
with Pekin's average about as fo llo w s :
Food need fo r 100 Pekin ducks for
one month amounts to* about 2,250
pounds; food fo r 100 Indian runner
ducks, same period, 1,500 pounds
Tim e required to
reach marketable
size is given as ten weeks fo r each
breed named. Tim e to reacb maturi
t y ; Peklns, 6 to 9 months; Indians
4 to B months The Peklns are the
uae o f braces. No description is re
quired, save, perhaps, that the w ire
a t the top o f the posts is twisted tight
and Reid to the poets with staples.
unemployed
L o a fer the
Loafer the
work.— The
fund was fo r charity.
Second— So it la, Isn’ t ft 1
First— I t a in 't It means
Sketch.
“ I can not tall a lie,” declared tha
eminent magnate. "You don’t have to,"
urged hts eminent counsel. "Just any
that your mind la a blank on that ra h
Jact” — Louisville Courier-Journal.
“ W hat are the names o f that young
couple next door7’ “ W e won't be abla
to find out for several weeks. They’ve
Just been married, and ha calls bet
Birdie and abe calls him Pettis.”
Suburbanite (to vis ito r)— Oh, bow
are you? Come right In. Don’t mind
the dog. Visitor— But won't be bite?
Suburbanite— That'a Just what I want
to aee. I only bought that watch dog
this morning.
“ 8o you have named your little girl
'Investigation
7 ’’ “ Yea." “ Isn’t that a
A billion tons o f earth are swept
by our rivers Into the aea every year queer name7’ “ W ell, we read every
— an amount o f soil equal to a block day o f some rich man courting invest*-
one mile square nud more than a thou gatlon and we shall want our daugktai
to marry well.”
sand feet high, weighing as much as
Th e A rtist’s W ife (In a w hisper)—
the total yearly, tonnage carried by
all our railroads and river and lake There's someone knocking. Jack. Shall
vessel#, and valued at not leas than I open the door? The Artist— N o ; i f «
a billion dollars.
"Th is soil waste,” Jabber's knock. It’a a special knock 1
snya an authority, “ la sapping a re gave him, ao I wouldn't let him In by
source richer than all others combined mistake.— Life.
B llllo n T o n e o f E a r t h Y e a r ly .
H o w B n t W o rk .
The bee is noted for its Industrious
habits, but to show how much work
it really does, a naturalist says that
to collect a pound o f clover honey the
bees most deprive 82,000 clover blos
soms o f their sweetness. T o do this the save one, our Inland waters.”
i t ia
82.000 flowers must be visited by 3,- mainly due to lack o f forests on the
700.000 bees, or, in other words, to col aoiw s where the rivers rise.— Arbor
lect hia pound o f honey one bee must Culture.
make 8,730,000 trips to and from the
P o u ltry P l f k l a n .
hive. A s bees are known to fly for
M illet aead is said to ha an excel
miles in their quest o f suitable fields
o f operation, it is clear that a single lent egg-producing grain.
ounce o f honey represents millions ot
Green food ia Just as essential fo r
yonng chicks aa fo r hens.
villas ot travel.
D irty quarters mean ilea and mltaa,
and lice and mites mean no eggs.
“ A ll writers are not impractical, are
they 7' “ Oh, no. One man w ill w rit* t
Joke and aril it fo r fifty cents. Anoth
or w ill w rite a comic opera around |
and draw 120,000 in royalties.” — Louis
ville Courier-Journal.
O’ Brien—Oh, but me daughter's tha
shmart girl. She set two min flghtin’
fo r her bind. Landers— And she m a r
rled tha winner? O 'R rlon -B egorry,
no I She married the one she could
lick alsleet.— Boston Transcript
System, as In everything else, ia re
“ Gtvo woman tha credit ah# d r
quired to make the poultry business aanraa,” the suffragette cried, “ and
profitable.
where would man b a r “ I f she got all
Unless yon want your flock to have tha credit A a wanted, he’d be In tha
the colors o f Joseph’s coat don’t use poor bouse," sneered a coarse person In
males o f different breeds.
the rear o f tha hall.— Stray Storlea.
A good flock o f poultry with a cease
to the fields and orchard w ill not only
coma pretty near keeping themselves,
but tha farm er aad hia fa m ily alto.
T < a t la, i f tha farm er gats anything
o f tha praaent prices ot poultry aad
“ Pa, w ill you please tall me w hat •
financial genius la7* " a
g*.
nlua, my child. Is a man who can apend
money that ha has never had. and
which tha people who think they are
getting It w ill never aee."— Chi cave