Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Lexington wheatfield. (Lexington, Or.) 1905-19?? | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 1906)
41 1 1 t t 1 1 i, ,m (HfH I 1 , 1 1 ).-t.4.4--f ---f--4--?-4-4--f 4---t---!--H--f-H--H CHAPTER XVIII. (Continued.) Jack's feelings at that moment were not enviable. He had always looked upon Lord Summers' commission as a di rect proof of his own ability. It was decided damper to his good opinion of himself to discover that It was due to his patron's Interest In Ethel Mallett. "As you do not seem to have been very glad to hear of the engagement, perhaps you will be better pleased to hear that It la at an end." "Indeed!" "Yes; and I think you should know that Miss Mallett took the Initiative In breaking it off." "I am Burprlsedl I thought she was very fond of you. But there la no ac counting for women's actions." And then Lord Summers turned to his other neighbor and threw himself Into a discussion upon the drainage of land, thus tacitly dismissing the other subject; but Jack was conscious that he was not held blameless in the matter nor In ueed did he feel so. One point in the conversation had ' roused his curiosity Lord Summers' re mark as to the name of "Mallett" be ing assumed. He would have liked to pursue the subject, but as things were, ha had no right to feel curious. Later In the evening Mis Mailing and her guardians were chatting confiden tially, and the subject of the mysterious advertisement was Introduced. "Have you any notion what they could mean?" he asked. "Not the smallest," she answered. "It Is curious Sir Geoffrey never saw them." "But he may have, without our know ing it" "True. But don't you think that the motive, whatever It was, must have af fected the whole family, and that. If he had been found, we should have been mixed up In it?" "Possibly, but not necessarily. If I had known where Geoffrey waa I should certainly have insisted upon his sifting the matter. Indeed, at one time I ' thought of Investigating it myself; but your uncle was always so touchy about any one's interfering in his affairs that I thought it better to let It alone." For a moment there was a fixed, look of fear on Pauline's face; but Lord Sum mers was too much taken up with his subject to notice it. "Good-looking fellow, Dornton," he re marked, carelessly, with a glance to where Jack was carrying on the usual war of words with Bertha Collins. "Very," Pauline answered, shortly. "Made quite a long stay with you, Been here since the beginning of July, has he not?" "I forget exactly when he came." In spite of this apparent indifference, Lord Summers felt satisfied that things were in an unsatisfactory state, and he wished fervently that, in hia anxiety to benefit the future husband of his old friend's daughter, he had been prompted to do anything rather than send him down to this particular neighborhood Sunday evening was rather a quiet time at Malllngford, and the house was wrapped in darkness earlier than usual. But the lamps in; Miss Mailing's boudoir burned on steadily, for Jack and his fiancee were having their last confide tial chat before their marriage. The next morning Jack waa to leave for London to obtain the special license and see after sundry small matters, and he would not return until late on Tuesday after noon. "I suppose we must say good-by to- - night, as I shall most likely start before you are down," Jack said. "Tea but not Just yetl Don't be in a hurry to leave me, Jack," Pauline an swered, with a touch of pleading in her voice. She knelt on the thick white rug at his feet, and added, "I would get up to give you a parting salute II I were not afraid that Lord Summers would hear of It." "My dear, there la no need," Jack said, calmly. "At the same time, I don't understand your dread of Summers. Surely you may do as you choose In so small a matter?" "t don't think I understand It myself, Jack; yet I feel it My life Is full of dread Just now." CHAPTER XIX. It waa rather annoying to Felling that Just now, when he was anxious to make the most of his chance with Ethel, her father's absence prevented his carrying out his design. He fretted and fumed Impatiently over Mr. Mallett's letter telling of his enforced absence for a week when he first received it; and then, seeing the uselessness of repining, be set about making plans for relieving Ethers loneliness. He wrote her a letter, telling her he regretted now more than ever that he had neither mother nor sisters, not even a stray aunt, as, if he had, he would press them into play propriety, and carry her off a prisoner to spend the week at the Wigwam. Then he made appoint ments at the publisher's, always taking cara to arrive before her, and gener ally, after putting her into a cab, re ' turning for a last ten minutes' chat with Mr. Bramwell before starting himself. Then there was usually either a letter on business, of course or a novel by the morning post; and later on In the day would arrive a box oi loveiy loose dios soma or a basket of late grapes and peaches. So Ethel wa always being pleasantly reminded that he happiness The fiFe's Secret, OR A BITTER RECKONING By CHARLOTTE M. BRABMB was me cuiei oujeci in uue ycrauu mo, it ii.l - . ana tne Knowledge conirortea ner exceeu- Ingly, Meanwhile Mr. Mallett was having rather a hard time of it He arrived lu Paris on Sunday morning, and the wed ding was to take place on the following Wednesday. This gave him but three clear days to get to the obscure Spanish town of which he did not even know the whereabouts hunt up the evidence of his niece's death, and telegraph the news in time to stop the ceremony. After a weary two days struggle with railway officials and time tables, he reached Madrid on Tuesday in the cool blush of the early morning, very fagged, but determined to go on. He had made a friend of the guard, glad to find some on who spoke French for his Spanish was doubtful from long disuse and on the arrival of the train they went off together to the Inquiry office to find out means to reach the obscure town of Villa Silentio. The station master, half asleep, and wholly angry at being routed out of bed at such an early hour in the morning, at first denied all knowledge of a place of that name; but, when the guard re minded him that such things as reference books of the railway routes were issued for his especial enlightenment, his man ner changed, and he proceeded to do his best on Mr. Mallett's behalf. "It Is here, you see," he said in Span ish, putting his fat finger on a spot In the map. "Senor cannot leave Madrid until half past nine; he will then have two hours' railway ride, and then an hour and a half by coach over not the very best of roads." Mr. Mallett looked at his watch. It was a quarter to six; he would have time for three hours' rest. Thanking the friendly guard for his good services, he tossed his small bag and rug on the near est hack-carriage and drove off to a hotel. At one o'clock Mr. Mallett, feeling as If his sense had been shaken out of him .by the last hour over that never-to-be-forgotten road; found himself standing In the market ptaco of Villa Silentio, with the hot midday Bun' beating down on him, feeling more completely alone and helpless than he ever remembered to have felt before. I am afraid' I made a mistake in com ing myself," he said to the market clock, as he stood In front of it "You see a man of fifty-aeven is not so quick and apt in adapting himself to circumstances aa a younger man would be." For two or three minutes Mallett stood listening , to the diStant rumbling of the coach wheels, and, great as had been his suffering during the drive, he 1 almost wished himself back again on the awful machine, Instead of here In this deatu like place. He shook off the dreamy feeling of un reality that possessed him, and crossed to a deserted looking house on the shady side of the aquare, where a sign board from which all vestige of paint had long since passed away hung over the door, seeming to denote a house of entertain ment He pushed open the door and it swung to behind him without noise. . He was In a large stone-flagged room which oc cupied the. whole depth of the house, the opposite end opening on to a crazy veran da crumbling under the weight Of luxuri ant creepers, through which there were glimpses of a weed-grown lnclosure be yond. He stamped up and down the stone floor, and shouted until the stones echoed his voice. At tne end or. ten minutes a sallow face, surrounded by turbulent masses of frizzy black hair, leaned over the hand rail of the stairs that led up to the next floor. In about five minutes the sallow face and frizzy hair reappeared, and the woman began to apologize profusely. Mr. Mallett stood politely silent, hat in hand, until she seemed to have ended her speech, when he presented the envelope given him by Babette, with the name and address of the photographer of the gravestone, The talkative lady took it over to the light and spelled it out laboriously, and then turned again to Mr. Mallett, and rattled off another little incomprehensi- raiuea oil auouier nine lucuuiyroueuBi- ble speech, Interspersed with numberless . ....-.. -aii i o .i ejaculations 01 asTOUisnmeni. oeeiug a.i last that ha did not understand a word of what she was saying, she pointed to the address In her hand, and said slowly in Spanish: ; . "My father." Mr. Mallett understood that, for point ing In his turn to the envelope, he asked: "Where?" She smiled pleasantly, motioned to him to reseat himself, and went upstairs look ing once or twice over her shoulder to nod and smile at him reassuringly. Could It be that the man he was In search of was here in this house? He could hear an animated conversation going on some where in the rooms above, and he recog nized the voice of the woman and the tones of a man. Presently there came to him an elderly Spaniard, with something of the dandy still clinging to him In the shape of waxed mustaches and perfumed hair. Still, the signs of decay that abounded throughout the place showed themselves even here In the ancient fop's frayed jacket and well-worn shoes. To Mr. Mallett's surprise and relief he at once opened the conversation in passable French. "Monsieur wishes to see me? He has tvldentlv cnm Inns wv fnr that nnr. poie, I am charmed, flattered and abash- d all at one time charmed and flat- V v w receive Oil UHtJ ITUU vuuiva II distance to pay homage t art." TTk Ll. 1 1 . . LI. 1 k J 1. ii with fTJ - .iI iii. kTi ' that Mr. Mallett had come' to' visit and compliment art In his person was so evi- dently genuine that the sensitive gentle man felt almost unhappy to have to un deceive him; but time wns pressing. He had none for the observance of unneces sary politeness. He took the little photo- graph from his pocketbook and held It I believe you took that picture. Now, I want you to tell me where the grave i ic. ... . - mis is im.-i.um m o how you came to take the photograph, whom you took It for, and any other cir cumstances you can remember in connec tion with It." The Spaniard leaned forward with his hands on his knees to look at the pho tograph,, but he did not attempt to touch it. He stared at It earnestly while Mr. Mallett was speaking, and, when he had finished, he looked up with a scared face as he answered: ' I said something was wrong about that affair at the time, and now my words are coming to pass. I did not like the Job, I can assure you; I have an antipathy to graves and coffins and all that reminds one of death, and I would not have taken that picture Jor untold gold, but that I was enslaved by the beauty of the lady who asked me to do it. Monsieur has not seen such another tall, shapely, with eyes, hair and skin perfect, and her voice soft and sweet like a silver bell. ,ae coaxed me to do It against my will, and I crept Into the vil lage graveyard one morning at 3 o'clock with my camera, before even -the busy sisters were out of their cells, and took the picture for her. You may see how Imperfect the picture is, how many blemishes it has, and you must not judge "6f my usual work by It, for my hand shook with fear " The soul of the artist was ousting the shade of the aris tocrat. "Never mind the blemishes, Senor Cas tellan," interrupted Mr. Mallett. "The photograph ia good enough for my pur pose. I want you now to tell me the name of the lady who gave you the or der, the name of the convent where the grave Is, with directions for getting there." 1 Castellan's hands went up In dismay. "You cannot eet there! It would be sacrilege. ; No man Is permitted to en ter the gates but on two days In the week, for a couple of hours at visiting time, you 1 understand, when the holy sisters are all shut in their cells at pray ers." . ' 'Still I must get to see that grave before sunset to-night,, and I will give two hundred francs to any one who will help me.". Two huidred francs! It Is a large sum here in Villa Sileniio. There Is servant woman who does tne erranas for the convent ladles, with whom I am acquainted, who might be Induced He paused thoughtfully. "That Is settled then. And now how fat Is it; "and "how "are we to get there?' Mr. Mallett asked, rising briskly from his chair. Castellan motioned him back to his seat. ... ... , ., ., Vf- "You must leave this to me entirely, monsieur. One ill-considered step might balk your plan, and rob the servant and me of our reward. , It must be done during vespers. If at all; and In the mean time I must see this woman and mane my plans. It Is now two, and, if I might advise refreshment and rest before we start on our expedition, monsieur would be mora fitted for. It" .. "One moment," said Mr. Mallett, as Castellan , rose to call his daughter to their guest. "Tell me the name of the pftnvpnt hpfnra vou iro." "It- Is called the Convent or tne tioiy Assumption, and it Is but five minutes' walk from here." 1 "And the name of the lady who or dered that photograph?". . "Ah. that I never knewl ' My accom plice managed all the business part of the affair, as she will do now, and the lady's name was never mentioned-" - Senor Castellan went througn tne rroni door into the market place, pausing on the threshold, with his fingers on his lips, to say: y "Until six and a quarter then, an re- volr." (To be continued.) Strong; Force' "I see," said the pretty girl, "that some literary critic claims that a great many poems appearing these days are forced. What would .force a poet to write verse?''. "His appetite or his landlady, re i - - ..M rhirmM P"d the young man who sold rhymes if ana no rafaa - ' ' 1 - ' at' space rates. , Cornea Natural. "Mrs. Graftleigh's little boy Is aw fully polite, isn't he? I called on his mother this afternoon and when I took my departure he told me to call again." ... , "Yes. He has heard his father say, it to the bill collectors so many times." Detroit Tribune. . Genuine. "I have seen several 'wild ' men,'," remarked the lady who ' had been through the Midway, "but J. don't be lieve there are any real ones." , - "You are mistaken," replied her friend. , "You should see my husband when he finds, breakfast 1 ten minutes late." ,l -; v.. Adulterated Ground. Customer Are you positive that was pure ground coffee you sold me last week? Grocer Of course I am. What makes you doubt it? Customer Ohi nothing only there was tome gravel In the ground. S I SAVED BYrBAmnXj 1 1805 the dimcultles between the C11,lu,e8e fl,nd the lot of missionaries in China extremely dan Herons. They recognized the serious consequences of a general uprising of the Chinese. In "The Tragedy of Pa. tlngfu" there Is a letter from nn Amer ican woman telling how a party of Chinese soldiers were checked when they enme rushing toward her house: A week ago a great crowd of Chi- uese soldiers came to the compound, about fifteen rods from here. They caused great disturbance among the Chinese servants and others. The racket about the place was something terrible. Mr. Roberts did what he could to keep them quiet Dr. Noble soon came, and they two worked all the after noon, trying to entertain these men by answering their questions and show ing them round. They broke Into, the cellars, but did not break into the houses, although they pushed on the doors and wanted to get In badly; but the gentlemen told them there was only a woman Inside, and' It was not proper for them to go in. To this they finally agreed, for the Chinees are very particular about such things. I soon saw them coming toward the house like a lot of hounds on the track of some irey. They came to the windows and began looking In, but did not try the doors. I saw some faces at one window which did not look very bad, so I sat down at the window with Baby Paul. He immediately reached out his little arms to them and laughed, delighted to see so many faces. They began to smile and ask questions. I asked them where they were from, and they answered me. They thought Paul would be cold, dresud In white. So showed them that he Lad flannel on under, etc., and they seemed satis fled. They finally left. You can Imano my relief. THE REAL GAUTEMALA. It la a Country of Great Undeveloped Poaalbllitlea. ( Guatemala is a country of great undeveloped possibilities. Twenty years ago the first railroad was open ed connecting the capital, with the Ta cine port of San Jose, a distance of seventy-five miles, says Nevln O. Win ter in the Pilgrim. From Esculntla a favorite watering place, a branch extended to Mazatenango, and there connects with another line to the port of Champerlco. On the gulf side, road, the Guatemala Northern, is built frjom Puerto , Barjlos to Ranucho San Augustin, a distance of 129 miles. With the completion of the seventy miles intervening between this point and Guatemala Clty, there will be continuous line between the gulf and the Pacific. The latter road was well constructed and opened to traffic ten years ago, However,1 it is a dlfflcut matter to keep a road in repair in these tropical countries because of excessive rain and the action of the elements and in sects upon the ties. , In the 129 miles of track there are 230 bridges,, and many of them are over streams, whlcn In the rainy season, are raging tor rents..; In that season many of '.he streams change their course or wldon their beds and, wash out the track One wlio has never visited tropical countries cannot appreciate the diffi culties of railroad' construction - there. For the last few years the road h.u been practically abandoned for freight purposes because of washouts and tin destruction of a bridge across, the Montague river. Now It has i been financed again and construction crews are at work all along the line, a ne bridge is being built and creosoted ties laid down. At the present time only one train a week Is being run to carry the mall and any passengers who may want to go. This train ra quires two days to tun the 129 miles The passengers do not urge greater speed, for In some( places there are scarcely two ties to each rail that-' will hold a spike. This road and all the Others are narrow gauge. Considerable work has been and Is being done on the extension to the' capital, and it Is hoped to' have It all completed within two years. " .' The greatest problem with the rail road, as well as with- other enter prises, Is labor. The Indians will only work1 spasmodically. Sometimes the political governors will compel them to. work, .but this cannot exceed four teen days. . Then they draw their pay and leave. The, plantation owners overcome this by advancing the In dians a certain amount of money nnd the law compels them to work until the debt is paid. Each plantation has an alcalde, or mayor, who has the power to enforce the laws, and he can put the recreant laborer In the stocks or in Jail if he refuses to work, or can summon the soldiers to hunt up and bring him back If. he attempts Jo escape. Another mozo Is often taken as security for the one employed. A man'i Idea of an angel la a wom an who doesn't talk about bar neigh-bora. THE OLD-MONK-CURE St. Jacobs Oil has traveled round the world, and everywhere human I Aches and Pains have welcomed It and blest It for a cure. Prtca, 25c and 50c. KMtMMCtMl JL Professional Jealousy. Mr. Dustln Stax Bays be Isn't going to endow any more libraries." But I thought he was devoted to literature. He has written books him self." That's the trouble. The people let the dust lie on his books and stand tn line to get 'Mazic's Wooing' and When True Love Was In Bloom and works of that character." Washing ton Star. Controlling Nature. Everybody knows that of late years natural forceB have been wonderfully subjected to man's need. We are dazzled by the spectacular achieve ments in steam and electricity, but are likely to forget tbe less noisy but no less marvelous conquest of animal and plant life. Horses are swifter, cattle heavier, cows give more milk and sheep have finer fleeces than in days gone by. In plants the transformation is even more marked. People now living can remember when the number of edible fruits and vegetables waa far less than at present and even those that conld be grown were vastly inferior to what we now have. For example, our parents knew nothing of the tomato, except as curious ornament in the garden. Sweet corn waa bardly .better than the commonest field sorts. All oranges had ds. Celery was ' little known and poor in quality. In theflower bed the magnificent pansy, has replaced the in significant heart's ease from which it was developed, and the sweet pea in all its dainty splendor traces its origin to tbe common garden vegetable. This progress has been made in spite of the great tendency manifested' in all plants and animals to go back to the original type. . It is indeed a battle to keep strains pure and up to the stand ard they have' already attained, let alone any improvement. The practical results are accomplished by men operat ing largely for love of the work, like Luther Burbank, . in California, and Eckford in England, as well as by the great seed merchants, D. M. Ferry k Co., of Detroit, Mtch., who are not only eternally vigilant to hold what ground has been gained, but have a corps of trained specialists,;, backed by ample means, to conduct new experi ments.. The results of their experi ences can be found in their '1906 Seed Annual, which they will send tree t all applicants. 1 , Self-Supporting; Pari. Following the ' 'example "of " saariy European cities, Los Angeles, Cal, will turn Griffith Park, with an area of 8,000 acres of brush land, Into a commercial forest. Four experts, with a' view to converting this practically waste piece of land into a productive forest, made a comprehensive planting place for the trees, which will not only pay for Its cultivation and care through the sale of mature timber, but will prove a constant source of pleas ure and recreation for the citizens of Los Angeles. ' Los Angeles ,is the first American city to adopt jtbis plan, but. It is predicted that other municipali ties in this country wlH soori follow in its footsteps.; , Value of Elephant!, x An African elephant Is of value enlv for its ivory,, of twhich' a full-grown ani mal yields from $250 to $300 worth. . On the other hand, a working Indian ele phant f cannot be , bought for less thaa $2,500 to $3.500. ' : ' N Jnat the Man He ! Wanted. . ' "I sent for you, 'sir," said Mr. Phara ley, "to fix a key in my daughter's piano." -V "But," protested the artisan, "I'm not a piano tuner, I n a locksmith." . "Exactly;'!, wanf you to fix the bloom ing thing so "I can lock it up when I feel like it" Philadelphia Press. J " .,, :l -i ,, , If a man could have half his wishes he would double his trouble. Poor Rich ard. , ' , . One-half the worldd oesn't care how, the other half dies. 2 JJhi iH'hhUiiLI CURES WHERE All IUE FAILS, I vouib ojrup, TMM Uood. l r in lima. Bom By dram.t. KM 1 IHlJM'li'iliiiiHJ