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