"Th»!’» th« Law, Aln‘t it?"
cu»’*«»*/" or ¿ o urwtcvrr <u
I
CHAPTER I.
Th* westering «on was casting
lengthy shadow» among the gaunt
Vines an<J sturdy aspens along the
strep upward slope of a certain wild
canyon In the Nevada Hierras.
l ive hundn d feet |>. low the dry
fl' or of. • he g . i. h ■*: i. h I.- r ■ w d< • • I
to a narrow valley, was Oiled from
wall to wall with a motley huddle of
rough cabins. Jigsaw cottages, a
glaring red brick oppra house, hotel,
»nd bank all In one, and a pair of
clapboarded. whitewashed churches
I’pon the sultry and drowsy air of
a summer afternoon there arose the
confused hum and the hoarse murmur
of strenuous Industry, above which,
like the footstep« of the animated
e<>o<' statue In "Don Juan,” the In
«latent note of the busy "stamps,” at
work night and day. three "shifts" In
each II hours, dominated all other
sounds
Thia was the little mining town of
Meleen, named In honor of Its found
er. who was likewise the discoverer,
manipulator, and chief owner of the
rich Peacock lode, which gave employ
ment to 300 men and netted over a
million a year for Its stockholders.
Rough and ready. Ignorant and
shrewd, was old Andrew Meleen
Originally a Welsh miner in Cardiff
and later In th» Pennsylvania coal
fields, he by turns had been volunteer
soldier, pioneer, prospector, and Anal
ly many times a millionaire, after
weary years of fortunechasing up and
down the gold and silver country of
the great west.
For the crude affairs of this typical
raw western camp, with its bizarre sd
mixture of civilisation and savagery,
we have only a passing Interest in
that It la the starting point of the
story In hand Our present and most
vividly human concern Is with th»
creator of all this Industry and po
tential wealth—and be lay adying.
Far up the eastern hillside com
manding the town, whence one could
almost fancy he was looking over the
next divide to where the flaming sun
was setting amid cloudy billows In
the wide Pacific miles beyond, on a
sort of bench or plateau an acre In
• stent, stood a curious and rambling
woodvu structure, in triple part log
cabin, bunting ranch, and modern
country house.
This unique huddle of divers styles
of pioneer architecture really repre
sented as many different periods In
rhe fortunes of Its eccentric owner.
The rough, unbarked logs of the ortg
tnal
single roomed
cabin
which
formed a prominent wing or angle
marked tbe poor prospector stage;
then, with more prosperous times,
came an addition framed by a wander
ing Yankee carpenter and eheatbed
with boards of red wood, now beautb
f'.ilv w ■ th, red to a r!< ’■ : n?
,r v
hue; finally, as If to mark the ultimate
rise to affluence of the occupant, a
two story structure had been added,
shingled as to walls and roof, while
upon three sides a covered veranda
wide enough for a fashionable cotillon,
approached by generous steps and a
peaked porch, gave comfortable as
aurance of cool shade and a constant
breete shifting with the sun
Around and above porch and cabin
there clambered festoons of grape
vines and wild creepers, the dark
green leave« lending a deeper tinge to
the background of cedar and redwood
posts snd walla.
From thia eyrie the old man who
was Its chief occupant could easily
toss a lump of his own shining ore
on the roofs of the little town bo
rn ath, viewed by day. the smoke of
its furnaces went winding sway in
long spirals and ribbons of vapor; at
night, the spurts of . colored flame
from the chimneys of retort house
and smelter lit up the opposite sides
of the canyon In fitful flashes or
murky red. or paled to an orange glow
under the wan light of the moon.
Tbe solitary dweller on tbe hillside
never wearied of the changing pic
ture. It was his; he had called Into
being the town and its throbbing In
dustries; h<> loved It with the pas
sionate. yearning love of a wifeless
and childless old man. For him the
cities of the coast—Ix»s Angeles or
Ran Francisco. Portland or Heattie—
possessed few charms. They only
served to bank his constantly Increas
ing millions The rough little town,
with Its «mating monthly output of
gold and silver and copper, stood to
him in place of wife and child, the
queer old ranch overlooking It all
was his real home—his pride, his pas
slon. his delight
And now the time was come when
he must leave It all and go hence, for
Andy Meleen was dying, and chiefly
of that moat incurable of diseases, o'd
age. while his vast wealth must de
scend to an heir whom be bad never
seen.
Vpon a curious contrivance of d>
mettle devising, half bedstrad, half re
clining chair, set upon casters so that
It could readily bo wheeled indoors
and out, lay the old millionaire. Each
livelong day, from sunrise to sunset,
be Insisted on being placed In his
wide porch, whence be could still
overs»-« bls beloved town, and gate
at the noble prospect, with Its con
stantly shining panorama of lights
and shadows. Only nightfall drova
him within doors.
Rugged and gnarled as his own na
tive hills, originally of great girth and
nighty In stature, he was now shrunk
en to mere skin and bone. All the
life and virility of the man seemed to
have retreated to the masslvs bead.
a« beleaguered for«-«« tat« reft-g« :n
some strong keep for a last drapers'»
rally
From beneath a square for«-
head and a thatch of grlxxkd eye
brows a pair of piercing gray blu«
eyes flashed Imperiously, while from
the heaving chest there still Issued
tones surprisingly strong for one so
There was
evidently near hla end
no sign of srolllty when h« «hot
curt query at his only servant, an old
. pioneer like himself, who sat tn the
i doorway stolidly cleaning a rifle.
of sight but within call.
"Putty nigh tlm that lawyer fellow
i was here, eb?" said Andy over bls
|- «boulder, striving vainly Io raise bls
! head from the high b«ap*d cushions,
but only succeeding In moving It from
side to »Id*
Evan rose «nd went to th« railing
of the veranda, whence one could •«•
the winding read, scarcely more than
r well trodden trail which led from
the town to th« house on th« hill.
Shading his eyes from the blinding
glare of the nearly level sun rays, he
peered downward for some moments
before responding. Then, saying I«
conically •
"Jest cornin' up the rise." be re
turned to bls stat snd bls task.
Shortly there became audible the
soft thud of hoof beats and the creak
ing of straining leather, punctured by
the cracking of a «hip and the en
couraging “cluck cluck” of the driver
The road curved behind the house,
and as the sounds drew away Meleen
followed them with a hearkening,
rolling motion of the head Infinitely
pathetic In Its yearning helplessness
snd Impotence.
R<*on there wss the sound of foot
steps within the bouse, and there ap
peared upon the veranda tbe long ex
pected arrival. Phlnesa Carboy, a well-
kuown Han Francisco practitioner tn
the law. whose firm had transacti-d
most of Andrew Msleen’s affairs sine«
he had been wealthy enough to afford
the luxury of eminent legal advice
Never In bls life had he needed It
more than now.
Ills eyes flashed with feverish I tn
I >’ ■ nee as he responded to th« law-
yer v forms! irr* * tii,»:«
Hardly *"«
be Mated, note book In hand, than tbe
dying man rapped out curtly:
“Are y’ ready?"
"Quito so. Mr Meleen," was the
rea|H>nse; know Ing bls man. Mr. far-
boy wasted no words on lormal coo
dolen ac » or tamo civilities.
"Vnerstand what I want done?”
was the n> xt question
"Y<*ur telegram Intimated that you
desired to give me Instructions for
your Ins' will and testament"
"Inst ructions yes— ye’ll g< t enough
of them!” v-lth a grim sc He; "but I
w ant the thing fixed up this blissed
night My time's short, as y’ see. Can
y' do It—will ft stand?"
Mr Carboy nodded gravely, and
with pen ready poised looked « x
pectantly at hla client
But the 1st-
ter'» next words were not » xactly
those ho anttclpsivd
"How much sb'd you •ay I wui
wutb. Carboy, if everything w ua
cleaned up an* turned into cash?" in
qutred the old man. Tbe legal mind
hesitated, but only for an tnstanL
"Twenty-five or thirty million dol
lars at tbe very hast," was lbs quiet
reply
"I guess that's about It.” sighed
Andy Meleen
"Now. man. stick a pin
through this: I'm going to leave all
that I'm wuth to a feller I've ulv'ir
seen!"
He shot a keen glance at Mr Car
boy to Judge of the effect of this som»-
w hat startling announcement, but the
lawyer was too well trained to show
any mark of surprise beyond a alight
contracting and lifting of tbe eye
brows
"You' know hla name. I presume,
and where he can be found?"
"No, I don't!" was the reply snapped
back, "that’s for you t' find out. Thia
Is the way of It: 1 had an only sister
over there in th* old country named
Mattle. She kem t‘ Ainerlky ten year
after I did. an' I heard she wux mar
ried an' had a son But I've forgotten
her husband's name If 1 Iver knew IL
Ha'n’t seen her since she wus a slip
of a girl. Course, she may be dead,
an' the boy, too, though she wus
younger’n me by four or five year, but
you’ve got to try an' find ’em."
"You never saw your slater after
»he arrived In this country, and held
no communication whatever?" asked
the lawyer, making note«.
Meleen shook hla bead.
”1 wus
mighty poor myself In those days. Car
boy. an*—oh. well. I'd troubles of tuy
own. an’ then I drifted west an' out
here."
"Where was this sister living when
you last heard of berf*
”N’ York."
"How many yv-ars ago would that
her
"’Bout 10. 1 reckon.
"And her son. If living. Is to have
everything T’
"That’s It!" was the emphatic reply.
"Gosh!
I’ll bet he'll be astonished
wherever and whoever he Is!"
"Doubtless!” was Carboy’s dry com
ment. "Rut had you no other kin. Mr.
Meleen?”
. "Nary a kin," was the reply. "There
was on’y me an’ Mattle, an' we wus
left orphans »bill 1 wua no biggsr’n
a shovel
"No cousins, for ln»tas~s?" pw
Stated Mr Carboy
"Nary a cousin "
”W»-r«- you rv«r msrr'ed yvmrself?’
was tbe next query Simple and n»<
reaary as it was under the ein urn
stances, and put In a co orless. matter
of fset manner, Its effect on the re
cumbent figure of old Andy Meleen
was like that of a galvanic battery ap
plied to a corpse
III» nervous snd
shrunken frame twttrt r.«-d snd quiv
ered; the once mighty chest heaved
as thouch It would burst «•under
great beads of sweat broke out on
face and forehead. and bls strong
mouth and chin trembled with emo
lions entirely apart from cause« due
Mr Carboy
to age and weakness
was genuinely distressed at th« ef
fret be had so unwittingly produced
Something
In
tbe question had
touched Andy on the raw
In halting
and fragmentary phrases he said:
"God forgive me. Carboy. I wus mar
rled. an' to the sweet* st llttlv wo >man
that ever trod God A'rolghty’s foot
stool! I wua a man full grown then
—<5 yearn old -old ‘nuff to know bet
I ter! I wus workln' In the Rem nay I
i vanla coal mines A month after ■ tbs
! weddln we ha<l a ma(u bitter quarrel
I There keto a strike, an' I went out
along o’ the rest o the boys Minna
didn’t like my tn In' out o' work, an
told me so There wua hot words, an
In a blindin’ rag» I struck ber an' left
the bouse, swearin' I'd never go back!
Then, like a ful<>, I went an’ 'listed for
t'nrle 8atn.( At the fightln' In th*
Wilderness, my fust battle. 1 got bit
In three or four places, an* th' am
bylancea left me on th« field for dead
llut an old farmer picked me up. an
after putting In a year o' hospital I
kem out putty nigh as fit as ever
Th wur 3us over, an' then I heerd
that my wife, my Minna, had died In
her time o' trouble an' her girl baby
with her
As heaven's my witness.
I've nlver squared myself with myself
for leavin’ her alone at such a time I
tramped west- nlver showed my ugly
face cast ag'lu an you know tbe
rest."
"Forgive mo for arousing such pain
fui memories. Mr Mei« < n." said t ar
boy. "but the Inquiry was Im vltable.
we must know where we stand.’*
Old Andy signified that he board
and appreciated
The strain of this
long recital bad come mighty near to
parting bis mortal coil then and there,
snd he lay as one indeed very near to
death Mr Carboy walled a few mtn
ute«— he was not yet done with bls
At ivi.Kt I.
probings into the past.
Meleen opened bls eye, once more
«nd turned them mutely on bis in
qulsilor, who Interpreted that as a
sl»n for him to proceed.
"I presume these matters can be
verified—th« Huie and place of your
marriage and the date of demise of
your wife and child?"
For answer the old miner produced
a well worn ivatber wallet from un>ie*
the blanket which covered '
"You’D find th' dates
there,” h« said faintly
Anythin'
more y" want f know?"
"One other point must bo setthd:
Suppose this nephew of yours is dead,
or canwot be found- who is to Inherit
In that case?”
Another spasm contorted Andy
rugg< d features
' ll goe« to the state. I s'poae; that's
the law, ain't It?"
Carboy nodded
(TO III ' »NTINT’KD.r
THE KEYSTONE
TO HEALTH
IS
HOSTETTER’S
STOMACH
BITTERS
You will find lhe Bitters
worthy of your confidence
in cast s of Poor Appetite,
Indigestion, Dy s p e p s i a,
(olds. Grippe «.nd Malaria.
It has given satisfaction
for over 57 years. Try a
bottle and lie convinced.
Prosperous Out ook
"Since bein' tn the city." the mil-
vtlle man wrote to his home folks. "1
have been hit by three automobiles,
and ef my lawyer tells me true, I'tl
g<-t enough money In damages to fetch
the whole family for a good long stay,
an’ ef the balance of you kin continue
to git run over we’ll be able to buy a
big farm an* live happy ever aftor-
ward"—Atlnnta Conetltutt -n.
for Anv Dtveave or Injury to
the eye. use PETTIT’S EYE SALVE,
absolutely harmless, acts quickly. All
dru^ista or Howard Bros., Buffalo,
A Sensitive Ear.
TT.e pc»t Malherbe. th.» founder or
Zho purity of the French Iringuuge. was
very sensitive on the score of diction.
W!.».-n d'nt-.g Ms l-».-,t moments hie
cotifvs... r. by way of encouraging him,
: v 11 to enlarge on the j< / h <>t para-
<ib<
h ’’op." cried Malherbe
' Your
ui rranir atlcal sty!» is giving m» a
dlstAiite for them’"
Injunction Erred.
"What." «aid tbe little girl. Ths
father la something cf a fastldlan as
to speech, and he «aid to the five-
year-old: "You should never say
'What” my dear; always say: I beg
your pardon ’"
That the Injunction
erred on the side of •wvepInKnera was
conveyed to him later, when tha lit-
tie girl, pointing to a bioMsom. »aid:
" I 1.» g your pardon* la the name of
that Cower?"
Mothers wfh
od Mrs. Winslow*« «.*. thio,
kyriii '»• l*-st remedv
»■•« M tb«ir-«U-lres
tuna, the IcnlLiu« period.
To Cnurcn on a I faction engine,
Jim Nixon went to church last Hun-
flay on bls steam thresblng traction
engine
Jlrn said be Il an got K .1
and darned tired of taking to the
ditch with his horse and wagon ev-
ary time he met one of those dod-
blasted automobiles, anl thought he
would ride down tbe read In a rig
they couldn’t Jar
Hedge Corner«
Masai I!«—"
Care of Screens.
Window and door scr«>ens usually
get very dusty during the latter |«rt
of the summer, and It Is poor econ
omy to put them away In that condi
tion; neither la it a good Idea to
wash them Just before storing unless
they are moat carefully dried to pre
vent rusting
Kerosen- applied with
a paint brush cleans the wires better
than water
— - -«••nts rustlnx
The Ultimata Aim.
Life la given us primarily to develop
character, to unfold and evolve the
soul, and the physical organism, our
body. Is the testing ground and gym
nasium for Its development, says the
Philadelphia Record
The ultimate aim. then, of living
should be making tbe life b<autltul
BEAUTIFUL POST CARDS FREE
within, which always Insures loveli
«« ,, ( mt fi.» MBtncUeof «».» ,rr> !*•» I..U4
ness without The masterful conquest »
•.•»--•
t «««,
i -a I - ■ iS»-.J
i.
'.'»i--i- >• • 1 U,..«»
of the lower nature, the willlug re ost
l*uac < B«l *
• J w * kw s, . ¡«.( b A* S a >
nunciatlon of trifling and unnecessary
habits; love of the true and perfect
H«r On, Condition.
and avoidance of ths untrue and Im
He VV ild y->u be satis:>d to give
perfect; a realisation that whatever up your present beautiful home and
else others may do or be, that our con live In a little white cottage?
«clous universe will be made for and
chi I might. If there was a little,
by ourselves. The key of life and red automobile hitched tn front of the
the art of living are expressed In the door.—Montreal Star
words mastery and attainment. This
can be done by right thinking, by
If Abe Martin Has No Objection,
finding our soul center. We will claim
link Gllk-nwsur says no man ktn
our divine birthright, our royal privi be rellgb. s when he's break!«’ In a
lege of standing erect and free with pair o' new st.. .-« m ei t,M|f o-
brow bared to th« white light of truth, coc. .nuts ain't wot they’re cracked
veritable sons and daughters of God
up to be.
Indepenc jnes of a Turkish Princess
The young I’rlnceaa Chadye, daugh
ter of the ex Sultan Abdul Hamid, has
refused to accept All Namlh Hey. son
of the eg grand vlxlcr, to marry whom
she was recently brought from Ralou
lea to Constantinople.
She has written Io the papers pro
testing thst she was not consulted In
the matter, and the papers have pub
fished her letter. The princess Is only
16 years of age, but she has displayed
so much energy In this affair that In
order to avoid scandal an official com
munlque baa now been made to th«
press announcing that the engagement
has been broken off
Don’t overdo a thln< unleu
are also prepajpü to do It orar.
MUN YONKS
r PAW-PAW
LIVER PILLS
I want any «arana whu «ugna with In I a, nan—,
canatipattaw. tnd «aataan ar an« tirar ar blond ad.
mani, ta try my Paw-Paw Uver Pilla. | ruaran,
tee <h*T will purify tha Nmd and put tba lia»«
and >t<awarh Into a tMWlthfel t-mdiuoa and wig
««atti.aly rara btl^aanra» and r-matipation. ari
wtll refund year money— MVNYON.