Between Two fircs
By ANTHONY HOPE
"A wise man will make more opportunities
than he finds." Francis Bacon.
CHAPTER XX1IL (Continued.)
I could not pretend to regret the dead
man. Indeed, I had been near doing the
same deed myself. But I shrank before
this calm ruthlessness. Another long
pause followed. Then the President said :
"I'm sorry for all this, Martin sorry
you and I came to blows."
"You played me false about the money,"
I said bitterly.
"Yes, yes," he answered gently; "I
don't blame you. You were bound to me
by no ties. Of course you saw my plan t
"I supposed your excellency meant to
keep the money and throw aie over.
"Not altogether," he said. "Of course
I was bound to have the money. But it
was the other thing, you know. As far
as the money went, I would have taken
care you came to no harm.
"What was it, then?"
"I thought you understood all along,"
he said with some surprise. I saw you
were my rival with Christina, and my
game was to drive you out of the country
by making the place too hot for you.
"She told me you didn't suspect about
me and her till quite the end.
"Did she?" he answered with a smile
"I must be getting clever to deceive two
such wide-awake young people. Of course
I saw it all along. But you had more
grit than I thought. I've never been so
nearly done by any man as by you. I'm
sorry, Martin ; I liked you, you know. But
likings mustn't interfere with duty," he
went on, smiling. "What claim have you
at my hands?" '
"Decent burial, I suppose," I answered.
He got up and paced the room for a
moment or two. I waited with some anx
iety, for life is worth something to a
young man, even when things look black
est, and I never was a hero.
"I make you this offer," he said at last.
"Your boat lies there ready. Get Into her
and go; otherwise "
"I see," said I. "And you will marry
her?"
"Yes," he said.
"Against her will?"
He looked at me with something like
pity.
"Who can tell what a woman's will will
be in a week? In less than that she will
marry me cheerfully. I hope you may
grieve as short a time as she will."
In my Inmost heart I knew it was true.
I had staked everything, not for a wom
an's love, but for the whim of a girl For
a moment it was too hard for me, and I
bowed my head on the table by me and
V hid my face. Then he came and put his
hand on mine, and said :
"Ys, Martin ; young and old, we are all
alike. They're not worth quarreling for.
But nature's too strong."
"May I see her before I go?" I asked.
"les," he said.
"Alone?"
"Yes," he said once more. "Go now
If she can see you."
I went up and cautiously opened the
door. The Signorina was lying on the
bed, with a shawl over her. She seemed
to be asleep. I bent over her and kissed
. her. She opened her eyeJ, and said in a
weary voice :
"Is it you, Jack?"
"Yes, my darling," said I. "I am going
. I must go or die; and whether I go or
die, I must be alone."
She was strangely quiet, even apathet
ic, As I knelt down by her she raised
herself, and took my face between her
hands and kissed me, not passionately,
but tenderly.
"My poor Jack i" she said ; "it was no
use, dear. It is no use to fight against
him."
"You love me?" I cried in my pain.
"Yes," she said, "but I am very tired ;
and he will be good to me."
Without another word I went from her,
with the bitter knowledge that my great
grief found but a pale reflection in her
heart.
"I am ready to go," I said to the Presi
dent. "Come then," he replied. "Here, take
these, you may want them," and he thrust
a bundle of notes into my hand (some of
my own from the bank I afterward dis
covered). Arrived at the boat, I got In mechan
ically, and made all preparations for the
start. Then the President took my hand.
"Good-by, Jack Martin, and good luck.
Some day we may meet again. Just now
there's no room for us both here. You
bear no malice?"
"No, sir," said I. "A fair fight, and
you've won."
As I was pushing off he added :
"When you arrive, send me word."
I turned the boat's head out to sea,
and went forth on my lonely way Into the
night
CHAPTER XXIV.
As far as I am concerned, this story
has now reached an end. With my depart
ure from Aureataland I re-entered the
world of humdrum life, and since that
memorable night nothing has befallen me
worthy of a polite reader's attention. I
have endured the drudgery Incident to
earning a living; I have enjoyed the re
laxations every wise man makes for him
elf. But I should be guilty of unpar
donable egotism if I supposed that I, my
self, was the only, or the most, interest
ing subject presented In the foregoing
pages, and I feel I shall merely be doing
my duty In briefly recording the facts in
my possession concerning the other per
on who have figured In this record and
the country where Its scene was laid.
I did not, of course, return to Eng
land, on leaving Aureataland. I had no
desire to explain in person to the direc
tors all the facts with which they will
now be In a position to acquaint them
selves. I was conscious that, at the last
at all events, I had rather subordinated
their Interests to my own necessities, and
I knew well that my conduct would not
meet with the Indulgent judgment that It
perhaps requires. After all, men who
have lost three hundred thousand dollars
can hardly be expected to be Impartial,
and I saw no reason for submitting my
self to a biased tribunal. I preferred
to seek my fortune In a fresh country, and
I am happy to say that my prosperity
in the land of my adoption has gone far
to justify the President's favorable esti
mate of my financial abilities.
My sudden disappearance excited some
remark, and people were even found to
insinuate that the dollars went the same
way as I did. I have never troubled my
self to contradict these scandalous ru
mors, being content to rely on the hand
some vindication from this charge which
the President published. In addressing
the House of Assembly shortly after his
resumption of power he referred at length
to the circumstances attendant on the
late revolution, and remarked that al
though he was unable to acquit Mr. Mar
tin of most unjustifiable Intrigues with
the rebels, yet he was in a position to as
sure them, as he had already assured those
to whom Mr. Martin was primarily re
sponsible, that that gentleman's hasty
flight was dictated solely by a conscious
ness of political guilt, and that, in money
matters, Mr. Martin's hand were as clean
as his own. The reproach that had fallen
jn the fair fame of Aureataland in this
matter was due not to that able but mis
guided young man, but to those unprinci
pled persons who, In the pursuit of their
designs, had not hesitated to- plunder and
despoil friendly traders, established in the
country under the sanction of public
faith.
The reproach to which his excellency
eloquo- jr referred consisted In the fact
tha' . t a cent of those three hundred
thousand dollars which lay in the bank
that night was ever seen again ! The
theory was that the Colonel had made
away with them, and the President took
great pains to prove that under the law
of nations the restored government could
not be held responsible for this occur
rence. I know as little about the law of
nations as the President himself, but I
felt quite sure that whatever that ex
alted code might say, none of that money
would ever find its way back to the di
rectors' pockets. In this matter I must
say his excellency behaved to me with
scrupulous consideration ; not a word
passed his lips about the second loan,
about that unlucky cable, or any other
dealings with the money. For all he
said, my account of the matter, posted
to the directors immediately after my de
parture, stood unimpeached.
The directors, however, took a view
opposed to his excellency's, and relations
became so strained that they were con
templating the withdrawal of their busi
ness from Whittingham altogether, when
events occurred which modified thoir ac
tion. Before I lay down my pen I must
give some account of these matters, and
I cannot do so better than by inserting a
letter which I had the honor to receive
from his excellency, some two years after
I last saw him. . I had obeyed his wish
in communicating my address to him, but
up to this time had received only a short
but friendly note, acquainting me with the
fact of his marriage to the Signorina, and
expressing good wishes for my welfare in
my new sphere of action. The matters
to which the President refers became to
some extent public property soon after
ward, but certain other terms of the ar
rangement are now given to the world for
the first time.
The letter ran as follows:
"My Dear Martin As an old inhabit
ant of Aureataland, you will be inter
ested in the news I have to tell you.
I also take pleasure in hoping that, in
spite of bygone differences, your friendly
feelings toward myself will make you
glad to hear news of my fortunes.
"You are no doubt acquainted generally
with the course of events here since you
left us. As regards private friends, I
have not indeed much to tell you. You
will not be surprised to learn that Johnny
Carr has done th most sensible thing he
ever did in his life In making Donna
Antonla his wife. She Is a thoroughly
good girl, although she teems to have a
very foolish prejudice against Christina.
I wh able to assist the young people's
plana by the gift of the late Colonel Mc
Gregor's estates, which under our law
passed to the Head of the State on that
gentleman's execution for high treason.
You will be amused to hear of another
marriage In our circle. The doctor and
Madame Devarges have made a match of
it, and society rejoices to think it has
now heard the last of the late monsieur
and his patriotic sufferings. Jones, I
suppose you know, left us about a year
ago. The poor old fellow never recovered
from his fright on that night, to say
nothing of the cold he caught In your
draughty coal-cellar, where he took ref
uge. The bank relieved him In response
to his urgent petitions, and they've sent
us a young Puritan, to whom it would be
quite in Tain to apply for a timely little
loan.
"I wish I could give you as satisfactory
an account of public affairs. You were
more or less behind the scenes over here,
' so you know that to keep the machine ge
I ing Is by no means an easy task. I have
kept it going, Bingle-handed, for fifteen
years, and though It's the custom to call
me a mere adventurer, upon my word I
think I've given them a pretty decent gov
' eminent. But I've had enough of it by
now. The fact Is, my dear Martin, Ini
not so young as I was. In years I'm not
much past middle ago, but I shouldn't be
surprised if old Marcus Whittiugharu's
lease was pretty nearly up. At any rate,
my only chance, so Anderson tells me, Is
to get a rest, and I'm going to give my'
self that chance. I had thought at first
of trying to nd a successor, and I
thought of you. But. while I was con
sidering this, I received a confidential pro
posal from the old government. They
were very anxious to get back their prov
luce ; at the same time, ,they were not at
all anxious to try conclusions with me
again. In short, they offered, if Aureata
land would come back, a guarantee of lo
cal autonomy and full freedom ; they
would take on themselves the burden of
the debt, and last, but not least, they
would offer the present President of the
Republic a compensation of $500,000.
"I have not yet finally accepted the
offer, but I am going to do so obtain
ing, as a matter of form, the sanction of
the Assembly. I have made them double
their offer to me, but In the public docu
ments the money Is to stand at the orig
inal figure. This recognition of my ser
vices, together with my little savings, will
make me pretty comfortable in my old
age, and leave a competence for my
widow. Aureataland has had a run
alone; If there had been any grit in the
people they would have made a nation of
themselves. There Isn't any, and I'm not
going to slave myself for them any longer.
No doubt they'll be very well treated, and
to tell the truth, I don't much care If
they aren't. After all, they're a mongrel
lot.
"I know you'll be pleased to hear of
this arrangement, as it gives your old
masters a better chance of getting their
money, for, between ourselves, they'd nev
er have got it out of me. At the risk
of shocking your feelings, I must confess
that your revolution only postponed the
day of repudiation.
"I hoped to have asked you some day
to rejoin us here. As matters stand, I
am more likely to come and find you ; for,
when released, Christina and I are going
to bend our steps to the States. And we
hope to come soon. There's a little diffi
culty outstanding about the terms on
which the Golden House and my other
property are to pass to the new govern
ment ; this I hope to compromise by abat
ing half my claim In private, and giving
it all up In public. Also I have had to
bargain for the recognition of Johnny
Carr's rights to the Colonel's goods. When
all this is settled there will be nothing to
keep me, and I shall leave here without
much reluctance. The first man I shall
come to see will be you. The truth Is,
my boy, I'm not the man I was. I've put
too much steam on all my life, and I must
pull up now, or the boiler will burst.
"Christina sends her love. She Is as
anxious to see you as I am. But you
mutt wait till I am dead to make love to
her. Ever your sincere friend,
"MARCUS W. WHITINGHAM."
As I write, I hear that the arrange
ment Is to be carried out. So ends Au
reataland's brief history as a nation ; so
ends the story of her national debt, more
happily than I ever thought It would. I
confess to a tender recollection of the
sunny, cheerful, lazy, dishonest little
place, where I spent four such eventful
years. Perhaps I love It because my ro
mance was played there, as I should love
any place where I had seen the Signorina.
(THE END.)
Giasamaklno; Methods.
A departure In glasamaklng methods
threatens almost a revolution in the
Industry, according to Consul Bock, of
Nuremberg, says the New York Her
ald. Should It really possess the advan
tages claimed It would cause serious
damage to the blowing glass plate In
dustry In this district, where "three
fourths" glass plates are chiefly manu
factured. So far two methods have
been employed In the manufacture of
crystal plate glass and mirror and win
dow glass, namely, that of casting and
blowing. The new third method Is the
Invention of Mr. Foureault, a Belgian,
who has sold his patent to a European
syndicate of plate glass manufacturers
for $952,000. This syndicate consists
of German, French and Belgian manu
facturers and one Bohemian factory.
Until now In the making of window
glass the molden substance has been
blown Into cylinders by glassmakers'
pipes and subrequently flattened, while
In the making of plate glass the viscid
mass was cast from the pot and rolled.
The new Invention draws the molten
substance from the pot and conducts It
between rollers lying side by (tide.
Seventeen pairs of these rollers are
built up towerlike above the pot
I) of nor a Good Tnrn.
"Bednd, Clancy, but that chauffeur
was an accommodating chap."
"In phwat way, Casey?" ,
"Phoy, he comes down here ut a
mlle-a-mlnute clip awn knocks me
ar-rum out of place."
"Awn do yez call that accommoda
tin'?' "Shure. Don't he come back th same
way an hour later awn knock ut back
agin?" '
Boston Exelnslveneaa.
Mrs. Newrlch of New York Did you
bathe during your recent visit to At
lantic City?
Mrs. Emerson Saltonstall of Boston
No, I had Intended to do so, but an
other lady was using the ocean I Llf a
Granted In Advance,
The young doctor who had lately set
tled In Shrubvlllo bad nmpla opportu
nities to U'lU'ii humility, If nothing else,
In his chosen field.
One day be was linlled by an elderly
man, who requested him to step In
and see his wife, who was ailing. At
the close of his visit the youfig doctor
asked for a private word with the man.
"Your wife's case Is somewhat com
plicated," he snld, "and with your per
mission I should like to call the Brook
field physician In consultation."
"Permission !" echoed the ninn, Indig
nantly. "I told her I knew she ought
to have a good doctor, but she was
afraid you'd be offended If she did."
The Original Porous Plaster.
It's Alloock's, first Introduced to the pio
pie sixty years ago, and today undoubted
ly has the lur(?est mle of any extermil r in
edy millions he ns sold iinuiit Uy through
out the whole civilized world. There have
been imi' at ions, tube sure, but never 1ms
there been one to even compare with All
cock's -the world's standard external rem
edy. For a weak buck, cold on he chest or
any l eal pain the result of taking cold or
overstrain, t-ho e'snot.ing we know of to
compare with this famous plaster.
Table Mnatard.
Common, ordinary, every-rtay table
mustard obtained Its name In a remark
ably curious way. It Is snld that Philip,
Duke of Burgundy, granted to Dljoa
some armorial bearings on which was
the motto, "Moult me tarde."
This was later carved In a stone arch
way of the city, but as the years went
by the central word became effaced. A
certain firm In the city was engaged
In" the manufacture of dnapl, which
was the former name for mustard, and,
wishing to label Its products with tho
city arms, copied the Incomplete motto.
Thus, Ignorant people seeing the
name "moult-tarde" on the Jars, fell
Into the custom of calling the contents
by that title. In time "moult-tarde"
was contracted to moutarde (mustard).
Mexico now has 00,000 American resi
dents and $323,000,000 American money.
i! yjr h most houses there is room without
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dealer's write nearest agency for descriptive circular.
THE t T nmn
J&MU lXUlip all-round household
' ' lamp. Made of brass throughout
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SHIP IIS YOUR FRUIT, VEGETABLES
Poultry, eggs, veal, dressed pork, etc. Es
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228 Lumber Exchange
PORTLAND, OREGON
WANTED
In this locality (or elsewhere) a hustler to sell
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OREGON NURSERY COMPANY
Salem, Oregon.
NO PLATES
IILY
La We i
DENTAL CO. "HB"
We remove your bad teeth and broken
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the Lowest. Solid gold Crown, 14; Bridge work,
13.60 per tooth; Gold and Enamel Filling, II
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set, S5. Painless Extraction, 60c.
Third and Couch Streets. Portland, Oregon.
Those Kindly I'lirione.
It happened In a railway station.
The baby cried and cried and cried.
"I'erhnps he desires his bottle," sug
gested a fatherly looking old party.
"Ho has not been raised on the bot
tle," cuttingly replied the handsome
young woman who held the Infant.
The baby's shrieks grew terrific. Ho
made unmistakable signs that be want
ed hla dinner, s
"Beg pardon, mn'nm," said the elder
ly party, "but may I suggest that you
er permit the child to er take nour
ishment?" "This baby belongs to my sister," re
plied the ycung lady, blushing furious
ly, "and she won't bo hero for half an
hour. I'm holding It for her." Louis
ville Courler-Journol.
Mothers will find Mrs. Wlnslow's floothlng
Syru p the best remedy to uae tor their children
during tho teething period.
Phllologlrally r.oivirnl.
Mrs. Gayboy That's wlioro you are
wrong. You don't seem to understand
the use of words. If a thing Is "round"
It can't bo any "rounder."
Mr. Gayboy Then there Is no such
thing as, a "rounder." Thanks, dear.
You won't call me one again, will you?
Beware of Ointments lor Catarrh that
Contain Mercury
as mercury will surely destroy the sonse of
Bmell end completely derange the whole sys
tem wuen entering it through the mucous
surfaces. Buch articles mould never be used
exi'.epton prescription from reputable phy
sician, us iha damagj they will do Is tun fold
to ti.e good you can possluly du rive (rota them.
Hall's Catarrh Cure, manufactured If F. J.
Cheney & Co., Toledo, O., con tains no mercury,
and is taken interna'.ly, acting directly upon
the blood and mucous surfaces ol the system.
In buying Hall's Catarrh Cum be sure you got
the genuine. It Is taken Internally, and made
In Toledo, Ohio, by F. J. Cheney it Co. Testi
monials free.
Hold by Druggists, price 75c. per bottle.
Hall's Family fills ate the best.
v Too Aa-KravatlnST.
Girl What made you tell on ma
when I was whispering In school?
Boy Because you wern't whispering
loud enough so I could hear what you
were talking about, Detroit Fre
Press.
thr is a Tfwim without
proper heating facilities to lay nothing
rt -hi11v tiallwiva Fvm thouah tha
heat of your stoves or furnace should be
inadequate to warm the whole house there
need not be one cold spot if you have a
is tha safest and best
Banking by Mail
WE PAY
INTEREST
On savings deposits of a dollar
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door. Send for our free book
let, "Banking by Mail," and
learn full particulars. Address
Oregon Trust &
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Portland, Oregon
Sixth and Washington Sts.
tt
4m