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 PERFECTION Oil Heater (Equipped with Smokeless Device) It will heat a room in no time and will keep it warm and cozy. Oper. ated as easily as a lamp and perfectly safe. Wick cannot be turned too high or too low. Gives no smoke or smell because fitted with unique smokeless device. Can be tuned about, which cannot be done with an ordinary stove. The Perfection Oil Heater it superior to all other oil heaters and is an ornament to any home. Made in two finishes nickel and japan. Brass oil fount beau tifully embossed. Holds four quarts of oil and burns nine hours. Every heater warranted. If not at your dealer's write nearest agency for descriptive circular. THE t T nmn J&MU lXUlip all-round household ' ' lamp. Made of brass throughout and nickel -plated. Equipped with latest improved burner. Every lamp warranted. 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Solid gold Crown, 14; Bridge work, 13.60 per tooth; Gold and Enamel Filling, II and up ; Best Rubber Plates, S8 per set ; good 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 or more, compounded twice every year. It is just as easy to open a Savings Account with us by Mail as if you lived next door. Send for our free book let, "Banking by Mail," and learn full particulars. Address Oregon Trust & Savings Bank Portland, Oregon Sixth and Washington Sts. tt 4m