Between Two Tires
By ANTHONY HOPE
"A wite man will make more opportunities
. than he finds." , Francis Bacon.
CHAPTER XV. (Continued.)
Thus far the Signoriua. I must beg to
call special attention to the closing lines
of her narrative. But before I relate
the very startling occurrence to which
she refers, we must return to the bar
racks, where, it will be remembered, mat
ters were in a rather critical condition.
When the officers saw their mess room
suddenly filled with armed men, and
heard the alarming order issued by the
Colonel, their attention was effectually
diverted from me. They crowded togeth-
er on one side of the table, facing the
Colonel and his men on the other. As
sisted by the two men sent to my aid, I
seized the opportunity to push my way
through them and range myself by 'the
side of my leader. After a moment's
pause the Colonel began :
"The last thing we should desire, gen
tlemen," he said, "is to resort to force.
But the time for explanation is short.
The people of Aureataland have at last
iisen against the tyranny they have so
long endured. General Whittingham has
proved a traitor to the cause of freedom ;
he won his position in the name of lib
erty; he has used it to destroy liberty
The voice of the people has declared him
to have forfeited his high office. The
people have placed in my hand the sword
of vengeance. Armed with this mighty
sanction, I have appealed to the army
The army has proved true to its tradi
tions true to its character of the pro
tector, not the oppressor, of the people.
Gentlemen, will , you who lead the army
take your proper place?"
There was no reply to this moving ap
peal. He advanced closer to them, and
went on :
"There Is no middle way. Tou are pat
riots or traitors friends of liberty or
friends of tyranny. I stand here to offer
' you either a traitor's death, or, if you
will, life, honor and the satisfaction of all
your just claims. Do you mistrust the
people? I, as their representative, here
offer you every just due the people owe
you debts which had long been paid but
for the greed of that great traitor."
As he said this he took from his men
some bags of money, and threw them an
the table with a loud chink.
Major DeChair glanced at the bags, and
glanced at his comrades, and said :
"In the cause of liberty, heaven forbid
we should be behind ! Down with the
tyrant !"
'And all the pack yelped in chorus !
"Then, gentlemen, to the head of your
men," said the Colonel, and going to the
window he cried to the throng :
"Men, your noble officers are with us."
A cheer answered him. I wiped my
forehead, and said to myself, "That's well
over."
CHAPTER XVI.
I will not weary the reader with our
further proceedings. Suffice t6 say we
marshaled our host and inarched down to
the Piazza. The news had spread by
now, and in the dimly breaking morning
light we saw the Square, full of people
men, women and children. As we march
ed in there was a cheer, not very hearty
a cheer propitiatory, for they did not
know what we meant to do. The Colonel
made them a brief speech, promising
peace, security, liberty, plenty and all
the goods of heaven. In a - few stern
words he cautioned them against "treach
ery," and announced that any rebellion
ngalnst the Provisional government would
meet with swift punishment. Then he
posted his army in companies, to keep
watch till all was quiet. And at last he
'said : '
"Xow, Martin, come back to the Golden
House, and let's put that fellow in a safe
place." i
, "Yes," said I, 'and have a look for the
money." For really In the excitement it
seemed as if there was a danger of the
most Important thing of all being for
gotten. The dawn was now far advanced, and
as we left the Piazza, we could see the
Golden House at the other end of the
avenue. All looked quiet, and the sen
tries were pacing to and fro. Drawing
nearer, we saw two or three of the Presi
dent's servants busied about their ordi
nary tasks. One woman was already re
moving Johnny Carr's life-blood with a
mop and a pail of water ; and a carpenter
was at work repairing the front door.
' Standing by it was a doctor's brougham.
"Come to see Carr, I stipiwse," said I.
Leaving our horses to the care of the
men who were with us, we entered the
house. JuBt inside we mot the doctor him
self, lie was a shrewd little fellow, nam
ed Anderson, generally popular, and, al
though a personal friend of the Presi
dent's, not openly identified with either
political party.
"I have a request to make to you, sir"
lie said to McGregor, 'about Mr. Carr."
"Well, Is he dead?" said the Colonel.
"If he Is, he's got himself to thank for
'it."
The doctor wisely declined to discuss
this question, and confined himself to
stating that he was not dead. On the
contrary he was going on nicely.
"But" he went on, "quiet is essential,
end I want to take him to my house, out
of the racket. No doubt it is pretty
quiet here now, but "
The Colonel Interrupted:
"Will he give his parole not to es
cape?" "My dear sir," said the doctor, "the
man couldn't more to save his life end
he's asleep bow."
"You must wake him up to move him, I
suppose," said the Colonel. "But you
may take him. Let me know when he's
well enough to see me. Meanwhile, I hold
you responsible for his good behavior."
'Certainly," said the doctor. "I am
content to be responsible for Mr. Carr."
"All right ; take him and get out. Now
lor Whittingham!"
"Hadn't we better get the money first?"
nt i
sum i.
"I must have a bit of food. I've tasted
nothing for twelve hours."
One of the servants, hearing him, said :
"Breakfast can be served In a moment,
sir." And he ushered us into the large
dining room, where we soon had an ex
cellent meal. When we had got through
most of it, I broke the silence by asking :
"What are you going to do with him?"
"I should like to shoot him," said the
Colonel.
"On what charge?"
"Treachery," he replied.
"That would hardly do, would it?" .
"Well, then, embezzlement of public
tunds.
We had a little talk about the Presi
dent's destiny, and I tried to persuade
the Colonel to milder measures. In fact.
I was determined to prevent such a mur
der if I could without ruin to myself.
"Well, we'll consider it when we've seen
him," said the Colonel, rising. "We've
wasted an hour breakfasting it's seven
oclock. '
I followed him along the path, and we
entered the little room where we had left
the President. The sentries were still
there, each seated in an armchair. They
were not asleep, but looked a little
drowsy.
"All right?" said the Colonel.
"Yes, excellency," said one of them.
"He is there in bed."
He went into the inner room and began
to undo the shutters, letting in the early
sun. We passed through the half-opened
door and saw a peaceful figure lying in
the bed, whence proceeded a gentle snore.
"Good nerve, hasn't he?" said the Colo
nel. 1
"Yes: but what a queer nightcap," I
said, for the President's head was swath
ed in white linen.
The Colonel strode quickly up to the
bed.
"Done !" he cried. "It's Johnny Carr !"
It was true; there lay Johnny. His
excellency was nowhere to be seen. The
Colonel shook Johnny roughly by the
arm. The latter opened his eyes and said,
sleepily:
"Steady there ! Kindly remember I'm
a trifle fragile."
"What's this plot? Where's Whitting
ham?" "Ah, it's McGregor," said Johnny with
a bland smile, "and Martin. How are you,
old fellow? Some beast's hit me on the
head."
"Where's Whittingham?" reiterated the
Colonel savagely shaking Johnny's arm.
"Gently !" said I ; "after all, he's a sick
man."
The Colonel dropped the arm, and
Johnny said sweetly:
"Quits, isn't it, Colonel?"
The Colonel turned from him, and said
to his men sternly :
"Have you had any hand In this?"
They protested vehemeijtly that they
were as astonished as we were; and so
they were, unless they acted consummate
ly. They denied that anyone had entered
the outer room or that any sound had
proceeded from the inner. They had kept
vigilant watch, and must have seen any
intruder. Both the men inside were the
Colonel's personal servants, and he believ
ed in their honesty, but what of their
vigilance? Carr heard him sternly ques
tioning them, and said :
"Those chaps aren't to blame, Colonel.
I didn't come in that way. If you'll take
a look behind the bed you'll see another
door. They brought me in there. I was
rather queer and only half knew what
was up."
We looked and saw a door where he
said. Pushing the bed aside, we opened
it, and found ourselves on the back stair
case of the premises. Clearly the Presi
dent had noiselessly opened this door and
got out. But how had Carr got in with
out noise? The sentry came up, saying:
"Every five minutes, sir, I looked and
saw him on the bed. He lay for the first
hour in his clothes. The next look, he
was undressed. It struck me he'd been
pretty quick and quiet about it, but I
thought no niore."
"Depend on it, the dressed man was the
President, the undressed man Carr I
When, was that?"
"About halfrpast two, sir; just after
the doctor came."
"The doctor!" we cried.
"Yes, sir; Dr. Anderson."
"You never told me he had been here."
"He never went into the President's
into General Whittingham's room, sir;
but he came in here for five minutes, to
get some water, and stood talking with us
for a time. Half an hour after he came
in for some moreA
We began to see how It was done. That
wretched little doctor was In the plot.
Somehow or other he had communicated
with the President ; probably he knew of
the door. Then, I fancied, they must
have worked something In this way. The
doctor comes in to distract the sentries,
while his excellency moves the bed. Find
ing that they took a look every five min
utes, he told the President. Then he
went and got Johnny Carr ready. Re-
turnmf, he takes the President's place
ob die bed, and in that character under
goes an Inspection. The moment this Is
over he leaps up and goes out. Between
them they bring In Carr,( put him Into
bed, and slip out through the narrow
space of open door behind the bedstead.
When all was done, the doctor had come
back to see If any suspicion had been
aroused.
"I have It now !" cried the Colonel.
"That doctor's done us both. He couldn't
get Whittingham out of the house with
out leave, so he's taken him as Carr I
Swindled me into giving my leave. Ah,
look out If we meet, Mr. Doctor!"
We rushed out of the house and found
this conjecture was true. The man who
purported to be Cnrr had been carried
out, enveloped in blankets, just as we sat
down to breakfast; the doctor had put
him Into the carriage, followed himself,
and driven rapidly away.
"Which way did they go?"
"Toward the harbor, sir," the sentry re
plied. The harbor could be reached In twenty
minutes' fast driving. Without a word
the Colonel sprang on his horse; I Imi
tated him, and we galloped as hard as
we could, everyone making way before our
furious charge. Alas ! we were too late.
As we drew rein on the quay we saw,
half a mile out to sea, and sailing before
a stiff breeze, Johnny Carr's little yacht,
with the Aureataland flag floating defi
antly at her mast-head.
We gazed at it blankly, with never a
word to say, and turned our horses' heads,
Our attention was attracted by a small
group of men standing round the storm-
signal post. As we rode up, they hastily
scattered, and we saw pinned to the 'post
a sheet of note paper. Thereon was writ
ten in a well-known hand :
"I, Marcus W. Whittingham, Presi
dent of the Republic of Aureataland,
hereby offer a reward of five thousand dol
lars and a free pardon to any person or
persons assisting in the capture, dead or
alive, of George McGregor (late Colonel
in the Aureataland army) and John Mar
tin, bank manager, and I do further pro
claim the said George McGregor and John
Martin to be traitors and rebels against
the Republic, and do pronounce their lives
forfeited. Which sentence let every loyal
citizen observe at his peril.
"MARCUS W. WHITTINGHAM,
"President."
Truly his was pleasant t
CHAPTER XVII. '
The habit of reading having penetrat
ed, as we are told, to all classes of the
community, I am not without hope that
some who peruse this chronicle will be
able, from personal experience, to under
stand the feelings of a man when he first
finds a reward offered for his aoiirehen-
sion. It is true that our police are not
in the habit of Imitating the President's
naked brutalitv bv exnresslv nririinw
"alive or dead," but I am Informed that
tne law, in case of need, leaves the alter
native open to the servants of justice. I
am not ashamed to confess that my spirits
were rather dashed by his excellency's
Parthian shot, and I could see that the
Colonel , himself was no less perturbed.
The escape of Fleance seemed to Mac
beth to render his whole position unsafe,
and no one who knew General Whitting
ham will doubt that he was a more dan
gerous opponent than Fleance. We both
felt, in fact, as soon as we saw the white
sail of The Songstress bearing our enemy
out of our reach, that the revolution
could not yet be regarded as safely accom
plished. But the uncertainty of our ten
ure of power did not paralyze our ener
gies; on the contrary, we determined to
make hay while the sun shone, and, If
Aureataland was doomed to succumb once
more to the tyranny, I, for one, was very
clear that her temporary emancipation
might be turned to good account.
Accordingly, on arriving again at the
Golden House, we lost no time in Insti
tuting a thorough Inquiry into the state
of the public finances. We ransacked the
house from top to bottom and found noth
ing ! Was it possible that the President
had carried off with him all the treas
ure that had Inspired our patriotic ef
forts? The thought was too horrible. The
drawers of his escritoire and the safe that
stood in his library revealed nothing to
our eager eyes. A foraging party, dis
patched to the ministry of finance (where,
by the way, they did not find Don Anto
nio or his fair daughter), returned with
the discouraging news that nothing was
visible but ledgers and bills. In deep
dejection I threw myself Into his excel
lency's chair with the doleful reflection
that this pleasure seemed all I was likely
to get out of the business. The Colonel
stood moodily with his back to the fire
place, looking at me as if I were respon
sible for the state of things.
At this point in came the Signorina.
We greeted her gloomily, and she was as
startled as ourselves at the news of the
President's escape; at the same time I
thought I detected an undercurrent of re
lief. When, however, we went on to
break to her the nakedness of the land,
she stopped us at once.
"Oh, you stupid men, you haven't look
ed in the right place. 1 suppose you ex-
Dected to find ft In id nnr for von on tho
dining room tnble. Come with me."
we touoweci her Into the room where
Carr lay. He was awake, and the Sig
norina went and asked him how he was.
Then she continued :
"We shall have to disturb you for a
few minutes, Mr. Carr.".
(To be continued.)
Now They Don't Speak.
Clnra Don't be surprised, if Willie
Snplelgh proposes to you to-night.
Maude Gracious I Do you think he
will?
Clara Sure I do. When I refused
him Inst night he said he didn't core
what became of him. Chicago News.
Two of Kind.
"George!"
"Yes, darling."
"Don't you think that the lst traits
of romance are the wedding date and
the bridal pair?" Baltimore American.
Corn Hoot Lone.
Time spent in killing Insect pests
must usually be set down as so much
time lost from, the constructive work
of Improving the tilth of the will, and
attending to the other needs of the
crops. Occasionally, however, im Im
proved system of cultivation gets lid
of our Insect enemies 'at tho same time.
This Is conspicuously the case In the
method recently proposed by Trof.
Forbes, of Illinois, for destroying the
corn root louse. '
The pest works havoc to both sweet
and field corn. The small brown nnt
attends tho louse and ! Is responsible
for carrying It about the field. Pro
fessor Forbes found that by using a
disk harrow one to three times enrly
in the spring, before the corn Is plant
ed, from 80 to 05 per cent of the ants
and corn root lice are destroyed, and
no further treatment is required dur
ing the season. The peculiar virtues
of this remedy are that it Is simple,
effective and good for the corn, since
the soil Is thereby put In n better state
of cultivation.
Safe Chicken Coop.
It has been proven by statistics that
the raising of chickens is the greatest
Industry In the United States. Of
course this Includes
those who are In
this business on a
large Bcale for prof
It, and also those
who probably keep
a half dozen fowl
In the back yard.
for business or
pleasure, chicken
raising Is an luter
estlncr nnstlme that
. . chicken coop. ,
appeals to every- v
body. It Is claimed that chickens
should have as much care as a human
being to Insure the best results, and
modern methods certainly tend In that
direction. The chicken coop shown here
is a good exnmpla It is simple, effi
cient and durable. As shown here It Is
rectangulnr In form, being made of
sheet metal. The top and sides are
bent to shape, with flanges at the bot
tom which connect with the flooring.
At each, side are supports which hold
the coop slightly above the ground,
tending to keep the coop moisture
proof and preventing rain or other
water from entering. At each end are
perforated doors, which are very easi
ly ield in position. At the bottom of
each door is' an extension, through
which passes a rod, the latter extend
ing through the top of the coop and
also into the ground, preventing the
coop from being displaced. In this way
the fowl are rendered safe against the
attacks of animals.
At Weaning Time.
At weaning time, there is not so
much danger of losing the pigs as of
checking their growth. The pig Is not
yet a hog, and he can hardly subsist
as the hog does. A good deal of nour
ishment In liquid form Is needed, and
also some tender grass. It does
not take much grain, but they like a
bit of oats, wheat or corn. Their teeth
cannot handle much that Is hard :
hence softening It by soaking will be
beuellclal. Sweet milk and middlings
warmed with hot water will appeal to
their appetites at weaning time, and
It need not be made; as strong as when
fed later. It Is generally known that
sour milk should not be given. Field
and Farm.
Routing .Crab Graaa with Clover.
Crab grass Is like the dog in the
manger, it kills out every other stem
of green grass and then turns brown
Itself. It makes a coarse and ugly
cover In the lawn and the Individual
who attempts to eradicate it. by dig
ging and cultivation may be entirely
without a lawn for two or three years.
If anything can get the best of crab
grass in a fair contest, It Is white
clover. In a number of lawns in Wash
ington and elsewhere white clover has
furnished the mentis for a final vic
tory over crab grass. The white clov
er gradually invades the area of crab
grass, replacing the latter with a close,
dark-green carpet
Home-Made Keronene Emulsion.
The amateur can make this very eas
ily : Take of .hard soap half a pound
and dissolve In one gallon of boiling
water; then add two gallons of kero
sene and churn thoroughly for ten min
utes. The efficiency of the preparation
depends npon thorough mixing. This
stock mixture is diluted four times
for seal or np to twenty times for lice.
The stronger dilution VlH have one
gallon of kerosene to six and a half of
water. Where the water Is very hard,
use one gallon of sour milk to two gal
lons of kerosene.
Dry Farming-.
The Campbell system of dry farm
ing, which was first tried In the soml
arld portions of North Dakota and
about which much has appeared In
newspapers and magazines within the
past year or two, is doing great things
for many portions of the .Western
States, where with a rainfall' of but
ten or twelve Inches per annum bumper
crops of corn, wheut, beets and other'
crops can ho grown. This system of
crop culture Is based on the conserve-
tlon of practically all of the moisture ,
In tho soli through a dust or surfuco
mulch, and under It as high as forty
bushels of corn to the acre have been
grown in North Dakota, fifty bushels ;
of wheat per acre In western Nebraska,
while better than twenty tons of beets
have been produced In Colorado. While
this method of crop culturo 1ms little
value In those portions of tho country
where there Is an abundant rainfall, It
does have a tremendous Import In all
territory where thero Is fertility In
the soil, hut on annual rainfall of less
than twenty Inches.
Sheep the Market Demand.
Say a Western writer on sheep:
The market calls for iheep with a dtti:
face and legs, and n close fleece Is ai
advantage. There never has been a
time when a fair profit could not bo
obtained from tho keeping of sheep.
Tncre are In the world to-day 00,000,000
fewer sneep than twelve years ngo, and
tho consumption of mutton and wool Is
rapidly Increasing, hence it Is safe to
conclude that sheep to the farmer Is a
safe proposition. Do not start on a
large scale; begin low and work up.
The Western fanner does not like to do
this, and you are no exception. You
have never planted the apple because -you
did not expect to stay to eat the
fruit' You must rush on and do big
things. Do you not know that In the
animal as well as the vegetable world
rapid growth means rapid decay? Plant
thl? live stock business and then give
It time to strike Its roots deep down,'
and after It Is fairly rooted allow the
top to grow.
Care of Orchard Pays.
Fruit growers about Saugatuck,
Mich., have been busy trimming their
upple trees, suys Country Gentleman.
Ten years iigo they were thinking of
cutting them down and setting out
peach trees. To-day every half-deiid
tree is trimmed, and If there Is not
enough manure, fertilizer Is bought for
these half-dead treesT Six years ago
one of Saugatuck's young farmers mar
ried a Chicago girl who used to spend
her vacation there. She loved country
life, and was a subscriber to agricul
tural magazines. Her husband's or
chard was Just like the rest, untrlmmed
and had never been sprayed. She made
him buy manure, trim the trees, plow
and spray. Two years ago he began
to hire his neighbor's orchards. Last
year he was the only one who had ap
ples to sell, and cleared $2,000.
Crow Feed on the Farm.
The Massachusetts State eron rennrt
contains an article by Prof. F. S. Cooley
on borne Causes Affecting the Profits
of Dairying." On tho subject of feed
ing dairy cattle the nrofessor unrest
that feeds be produced on the farm as
far as possible. Usually the best prac
tice Is to purchase only feeds rich in
protein and raise the coarse fodders
on the farm. Cows fed on starvation
rations yield no profit, and those over
fed with expensive feeds are also kent
at a loss. The point of highest profit
In feed must be determined bv pxnerl.
inent and calculation, and vnrls with
the locality and circumstances of the
reeuer.
E7 Way to Get Hid of Stumpa.
A method of getting rid of stumps
which has been highly recommended
and which, to be effective, should be
done now, Is as follows: Bore a hole
one or two inches In diameter and .
about eighteen Inches deep into the
center of the stump. Then put Into
this hole one or two ounces of salt
peter. Fill the hole with water and
plug It up. In the spring take out
the plug, pour In about one-half gal
lon of kerosene oil and light It The
stump will smolder away to the very
extremities of the roots, leaving noth
ing but the ashes. Farming.
. Improving; the Herd.
Select as far as possible females
which conform to the standard of ex-
cellence of the breed. If this is accom
plished it will insure a uniformity in
type that Is highly desirable. If in ad
dltion to this it Is possible to select
cows and heifers that are similarly
orea tuey win De more likely to pro
duce uniformity in their offspring.
Care of Machinery.
Thousands of dollars' worth of farm
machinery Is now being shipped into v
the country that will never again be
protected from the weather.
This exposure means an appalling
financial loss to the farmers, since It re
duces fully one-half the period of use
fulness of an Intricate machine.
When buying your new implements,
promise yourself that you will provide
them shelter and the best of care. Make
your arrangements for housing before
you purchase. Summer rains are as de
tractive as winter snows.
"V ,