The Columbia register., April 28, 1905, Image 2

goand by a Spell
CI1 A ITER 2r,XYII.-4Cont5a4.i
Sh listened to him without moving t
muscle until he had finished peking;
then ht answered. "Poor, weak fool, I
pit j you! You my one day know that
vengeance la helj by a higher power than
that of puny maa.
So solemnly did ah apeak th word,
that for a moment aha awed her oppo
nent, ami ha moved aside without a
word, to allow her to pasa out of the
room.
"What occasion waa there to tell that
woman of my past lifeT angrily de
manded Judith, when Madame Berne had
depart ed.
"I told her to auit my own purpose,"
be retorted. In the same tone.
"And what Injury hate 1 ever done to
you. Mr. Montgomery. I asked, "that
you ahouid seek to be revenged upon
tnT"
"You hare done m no injury, ha
aid, averting his eyes; "but ah haar
"Is it jiiit to punish m for the faulta
of others?" I asked.
"llaa that old tigress gone?" cried
Mr. Porter, putting his head in at tha
door, and looking round. Ocularly sat
isfied of her disappearance, ha buktled
eagerly up to Judith.
He turned the conversation upon other
subjects. By and by, ha said to Mr.
Montgomery, in a careless tone, "I hava
something to show you. I want to ask
your opinion of th worth of a bit of
jewelry I have here. 1 know that yon
re a judge of those thing."
Ha produced a locket, which I instant
ly recognized as the one he had ouce
shown to me, and which 1 believed to
contain a portrait of my mother.
I can now understand his cunning de
sign. It waa to try if Mr. Montgomery
would recognise the portrait without be
ing previously put upon the scent. The
locket would not open.
"Give it to me," aaid Montgomery;
-I'll do if .
But before he had tine to examine it
man, looking like a aervaut, hastily
entered the room, without knocking.
Looking about him for a moment, he
went up to Montgomery and whispered
something in Lis ear.
"Where is her cried the latter, lock
ing very scared.
The man whispered again.
"Come along, then; do not let oa lose
n instant, exclaimed Montgomery, ex
citedly. And before the other occupanta
of the room could, recover from their
astonishment, the two men had rushed
ont
"What's the meaning of thUr cried
Mr. Porter, somewhat alarmed. "There's
mischief brewing!"
- "Something is wrong." aaid Judith.
"But, at all events, we have nothing to
fear; we have had nothing to do with
the abduction. The worst they can do to
us is to turn na out of the house as tres
passers.' "Where's the locket 7 suddenly cried
Mr. Porter. "Why, that scoundrel Mont
gomery has walked off with it!"
And away he went in pursuit.
"So, Silas," said Judith, when we were
lone, "you are a gentleman with an In
dependent income."
I could only wearily ahake my head.
"Eveu money baa no charm while your
happiness is clogged by me," she aaid,
bitterly. "Well, I will make a bargain
with yon. Settle half of the money upon
me for life and I will free you of my
presence forever."
"Take it all if you will," I answered.
"You have blighted my whole life. All
the money in. the world can never buy
me back one happy moment"
Mr. Porter's entrance interrupted our
farther conversation.
"He'a off!" he aaid, looking very flur
ried. "They both jumped into a trap
that the man came in, and galloped off at
pace fast enough to break their necks.
And he hae taken my locket with him!"
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Little leas than an hour'a furious driv
ing brought Montgomery and bis com
panion into a suburban district. Tbey
pulled up before a handsome villa resi
dence. A gentleman, who had evident
ly been watching for their coming, ap
peared at the door.
"How long you have been H he aaid,
irritably.
"Come as faBt as horseflesh could go,
sir," answered the man, respectfully.
"Just look at the mare, sir; she's for
all the world aa if you had chucked
buckets o' water over her!"
"This way, Montgomery," aaid Mr.
John Rodwell for it waa he.
He led the way into a back parlor.
"Read that," he aaid, banding Mont
gomery a telegram.
"From Jonathan Rod well, Morley's
Hotel, to John Rod well:
"Can I have the use of your house in
Essex for a abort time 7 Police have
pot a trace of Clara in that direction.
Telegraph reply.''
Montgomery gave a low whistle as he
read these worda. '"That's awkward!"
be ejaculated.
"What fool's remark!" exclaimed
Itodwell. Irritably; "it's ruin, destruc
tion! What can be done? Can you de
vise any scheme? I have telegraphed
to say that I will be with him this even
ing." "
"And then what do yon mean to do?"
"That is precisely what I want to talk
over with you. You see by that tele
gram that the police have discovered a
clue, and we know that the clue is in
the right direction. The hope of gaiuing
the reward will wonderfully sharpen
their scent. Ferhaps, while we are ait
ting here, they have spotted the very
house.
He paused, expecting an answer; but
Montgomery, with an unmoved face, re
mained silent
"I mnst tell you," he went on, "that
before this girl was brought home I was
regarded as my ancle's heir. But he
became infatuated with this silly doll,
and left everything to her, except a pal
try annuity. Well, the girl's intellect
waa always weak, and as she grew older,
this weakness merged almost into idiocy,
One night she disappeared, no one knew
whither. My ancle was almost frantic.
Rewards were offered; the rural police
put upon the search; ponds, rivers,
0 i
stresms drarred far and near; but. aa
yon will anticipate, without any suc
cess. As time passed ou 1 did all I
possibly could to instill into his mind
that she must be dead, to which belief
1 really inclined; but he obstinately
clung to the idea that ah still lived, and
that he ahouid find her som day. la
th meantime, 1 kept oa th best of
term with him. If sh never turned
up, I felt pretty confident that the bulk,
at least of th old man's fortune would
fall to my share. Years weut on, and I
began to feel quit certain, that Clara
would never again be heard of; when,
fancy my consternation upon on day
receiving a letter from the old man,
which informed m that be waa in th
city, consequent on having obtained aonie
trace of hia lost granddaughter. II
lent some tramp mouey upon a auit of
clothes, and out of on of th pockets
had dropped a miniature of Clara. This
tramp fellow had told him that h waa
going to th city, and thither myk uucle
had set off at once to endeavor to gain
som tidings of him. He had not beeu
in town many daya before he chanced to
see a ldctur of hia own cottage iu a
print seller' window. He bought it and
found the name of Clara in th corner.
That I might check any further search
upon hia part I uudertook to send round
to every picture dealer to make inquiries.
I called at a number of shops myt-elf.
and I sent yon to others; you know
with what result."
"But I did discover her. after all." In
terrupted Montgomery, "although in
quit another way; and had I not stay
ed at Bury so 1st into the Monday, you
would hav known of It. However, noth
ing could be neater than th way w
managed it Luckily you had, such a
anug place to take her to."
"Yes; I hav found th house useful
mor than once. An old maiden arnt.
who used to reside there, left it to m
aa a legacy. Fortunately, it had only
been recently vacated. As soou aa I
had secured my fair cousin, I began to
consider what waa th best thing to do
with her. After a mature consideration,
I came to the conclusion that marriage
waa th best solution of th difficulty.
By making her my wife I should seal her
lips regarding the past and aecur my
uncle'a fortune in the future. To my
surprise, she received sll my advaucea
with the utmost repugnance. The cause
of that, I have discovered, is a connec
tion she has formed with some low fel
low, who actually tarns out to be Judith
Stokes' husband. By the bye. how came
you to think of Introducing those peo
ple at my houae? You must have been
made to have entrusted my secret in
the handa of a woman who has a spit
against me?"
"A apite against you?" echoed Mont
gomery. "This is the first I have beard
of It Now, I waa deeply interested
in getting him back Into Judith's handa.
I bethought me of the house that I bad
taken the young lady to the night before.
There must be plenty of spare rooms
there, I thought; and aa Judith and Mr.
Rodwell are old snd confidential friends,
I don't see that he cau possibly object
to oblige her so far."
"And do you not think surb an act
was a piece of impudence upon your
part?"
"Not at all," answered Montgomery,
coolly. "I bad my own private interests
to aerve in the matter vital interests.
I thought of myself first, as you did
of yourself when, years ago, you enticed
away from me the girl who waa mal.,ng
m living. Tit for tat!"
Red well glared at him fiercely. "If
that ia your mode of dealing with me,"
he aaid, "how do I know that you may
not one fine morning call upon Mr. Jona
than Rodwell and blow the whole thing
to him?"
"No, I shall not do that," answered
the other, quietly; "honor among thieves.
If the plot succeeds, I know tliot I
shall get more out of you than I possibly
could out of him. Besides, there is a
stronger bond even than interest that
binds me to you rerenge!"
"Upon whom?"
"Upon Silas Carston."
"In that case, I think we can work to
gether better than I suspected; but as
yon have greatly complicated my diffi
culties by introducing Judith into the
sume house, it is but fair that you should
be the more ready to help me in any way
cut of them."
"What do you mean?"
"In the first place, my marriage with
Clara would have to be brought alwut
immediately; and as she is not likely to
consent, and as the days of enforced
marriages are all gone by, it is more than
probable that the whole plot wiH have
to be abandoned. I am convinced that
Judith fully intends to betray me. Her
evil disposition would never let such an
opportunity of revenge escape. Such a
revelation would overwhelm me with de
struction. My father, at his death, left
me property to the value of two thou
sand per year. Bit by bit, it has been
sold and mortgaged. I lost a thousand
ou the last Derby; that was the last
straw. My debts amount to some eight
or ten thousand; my doors are besieged
by duns; my credit all but stopped, and I
am all but penniless. If I could once
show proofs that I was my uncle's heir,
my creditors would cease to press, and
I could raise more money. On the other
hand, If things remain as they are, I
should have to fly the country, a beggar."
"But how do you propose to induce
your uucle to alter his will while he be
lieves that his granddaughter is alive?"
"Suppose it could be proved to him
that she was dead? '
The two men's eyes met in a long.
searching look; each one was trying to
read the others secret thoughts.
"Supposing," Rodwell went on, "I
could bit upon a plan to silence to re
move both Judith and Clara at the aame
time? Nothing could then stand in my
way."
"What do joia mean?" asked Mont
gomery, with a scared look.
"You seem excessively dull to-day,"
exclaimed Itodwell, irritably: "especial
ly when your own interests and safety
are as much concerned aa my own. Could
not the girl prove that it was you who
abducted her? and as you could not
fare's your Judge with nnexcepttonable
reference a to your moral character,
that would be enough to give you two
years oa th treadmill, besides ih lo
of all th money 1 have promised you.
Let ua carry my plan to a siteceasful
conclusion, and I will sign a deed to pay
you Ave hundred a year for life. I should
not think it would tak you long to d
cM between th two pictures.
"Speak out and let me know what yoa
want," said Montgomery, uneasily.
"You to help me to get rid of both
Judith and Clara." cried Rodwell. bold
ly. "Suppose that the hous should catch
on fire house do catch on fir, you
know, sometimes, without any on di
eoverirg th cause, and people fre.picutly
re loat In such fires."
"Thia ia abomiuahle! cried Montgom
ery. "So I thought, at first. Th house .
heavily Insured, too; we could ahar th
Insurance money between us."
"Hut what purpose could such a fear
ful crime serve? You would not dar
confess to your uncle that the girl waa in
your bouse; and, unless you could prov
li him that sh waa dead, her death
would be useless to you.
"I have thought of sll that If this
thing could be arranged. I should drlv
on to Morley'a at once, tell him that I
had traced my cousin, taken her under
my protection, lodged her safely In th
Manor House, offer to drive him over
there at once. When we arriv titer it
would be a heap of cinders."
Montgomery shuddered as be listened
to th diabolical ingcuuity of this horrl- i
ble plot.
"But how would you account for th
girl'a disappearance for your meeting
witn her?" he asked.
"In a hundred ways!" waa the reply.
"Rfore h ran away from home, ah
b ;rayed symptoms of' Incipient Inan
ity. Th actions and adventures of such
people cannot be measured by the stand
ard of every-day life."
"What part do yon want me to play
in the tragedy?" asked Montgomery.
I should have to go over to my unci.
You would do th rt!"
"Well, giv m a little tlra to think
over It."
"I mill give you half an hour." anld
Itodwell, looking at hia watch. He was
perfectly calm and self -possessed. Hi
face was stern aud resolved. He left
the mom. and Montgomery beard th
key turn In th lock.
(To be continued.)
SHIPS BUILT BY SAVAGES.
South Sea Islanders Are lis pert in Ma-
rin Architecture.
In the Marshall groin of Islands In
the south sous Is a little atoll of coral
known as Llkleb atoll. It Is hundreds
of miles away from any other island,
and the natives go half naked like the
other dwellers of the south seas. But
they have learned one great clvlllxed
art. just the same, and that Is the art
of building ahlps.
About forty years ago a Portuguese
sailor was landed there from a whal
ing ship. When bla vessel sailed away
be remained behind, for the lazy
charm of the Pacific Island life hnd
tempted blui and he had decided to
leave the restless sea and live the rest
of his days oa the warm, sleepy
benches, w here no one worked.
Soon he married the daughter of a
chief and became a trader. After
many years an American cnptnln vis
ited the inlands during a trading voy
age In the south seas and when his
vessel shortly afterwurd became un
sea worthy lie set to work ou the bench
to build a new one.
The Portuguese whaler's two sons
helped him and learned a great deal
about the operation. The Island had
fine, hard wood on It. Just the kind of
timber that shipbuilder value because
It will not rot or waterlog readily. The
captain at last succeeded in finishing a
good 40-ton sclioouer and Hulled away
in her.
Before long the two boys had begun
to teach the natives something of what
they had picked up and soon, instead
of the primitive canoes and dugouts
that the Marshall Islanders hare been
using for centuries, the folk of the
I.ikleb atoll began to build canoes
made of carefully fashioned lumber
and pinned together with rivet.
Now there Is a real shipyard on this
littie speck lost In the wide Pacific.
A high roof under the palms on, the
beach greets the mariner and when he
lands he hops vessels, modern tools)
lying around and everything looking
Just as It does In a shipyard anywhere
on the American const, only Instead of
workmen In overalls he sees dark na
tives with hardly any clothing.
The wood from which the knees and
timbers are cut comes from an Island
on the western side of the lagoon. It
Is called kauoe and is extremely hand
some, looking much like black walnut
It lias the valuable property of grow
ing harder as It grows older and makeg
fine vessels.
Tools all of them of the best kind
wood for spars, etc., are shipped to
Likleb atoll now from New Zealand
and the boats that are turned out In
the savage Island hare been compared
with American and English built res
sets that have touched at the place and
found to be excellent In every respect
The savage shipbuilders hare a
queer scale of prices. If a chief wants
a schooner of, say, 12 tons, built for
him, they charge him f 1,(X0 for it, but
If rf poorer person wants the same
kind of a vessel they will charge many
hundred dollars less. They do this
quite openly and explain it by saying
that the chief being rich can afford to
pay more than a poor person for the
same thing. Washington Post.
Advantage in Kansas.
"Sally's father said her beau should
never step foot in the house again,"
said the Kansas girl.
"Then I suppose she bad to giro
him up?" Interrogated her chum.
"No, indeed. She entertains him In
the cyclone cellar."
Few persons have courage enough to
appear aa good aa tbey really are.
Hare.
, -J
(WICSCLY'S WOODS)
s 9 It W. TAYIM
CHAPTER Xll. Contlnued.1
The wind increasing almost momenta
rily, seemed to tie Mowing th rain away,
for it waa not now descending In the
whit strips aud rihtxm of water that
had swept th wood clean all day. Still
V'er were intervals lit which little spurts
of rain dashed lu their faces, now com
ing with th harder wlud from th cool
uort hwewt.
The levyl meadow that lay between
the Rcddcu resideiic and the edge of the
village looked whit aud liquid aa if
It wer a llttl lake, or an arm of back
water from th Wabash.
Across It, and far downlnto It seem
ing depth glimmered th bright yellow
reflection of a few steady light biasing
out of open dor and uncurtained win
dows, and showing where other watchers
held lonely and anxious vigils on account
of those dear to them, aud who were lu
pain and peril.
Follow lug aa w ell a sh could In the
xset steps of her guide, Lizzy managed
t keep out f the deeper water and
mud, and skirting th grassy aide of the
lane got out iimii the watery, canal-like
opening of Overcoat road.
The wind was roaring and tossing the
great limbs of the oaks shout In a way
that recalled to Lizzy' recollection the
first onslaught of thut dreadful cyclone
whose path through the tall forest she
could distinctly see by the little starlight
that licgan to be re licet ed faintly through
the thinning margins of the smaller
clouds, into which the wind waa break-
ug up tho great solid, vapor-loaded cloud
of the day. At the very, uttermost end
ot this hurricane path there gleamed a
faint red glow against th sky.
"l.ook lack hit tiiout be some house
a burn mi. But I don't know whutfur
hiuse hit could be. They halnt nobody
a li vim up thar 'at I knows uv," Mr.
Redden aaid. in a low voice, almost
swept away by the wind.
They were at the exact spot where
the Overcoat road merged and lost Its
lentity in the "main street" around the
square."
Hello! I that you. Miss Redden?"
some voice called out from au unseen
locality near them.
"Yes; who is ul?"
"A huntun Cluuihurse. air yuh?" con
tinued the voice, without discovering the
bead and chest that emitted it.
'No; I came up to find Coonrod. 1
gut awneasy 'bout 'lm astayun so long."
'Well, now, you re ashautun. said
the voice, beginning to materlaliae In the
shadowy dark figure that Mr. Redden
recognlxed at once aa the young Ih.
"He'a gone a trip 'at 1 wouldn't go fur
pnrty! He's gone up awnto the Big
IUttlesnake. clur up to the Backbone
Ridge, at the fur eend uh your Ian',
Lizzy. They's a lot a' railroad fellers
ei niped up thur, un they've ben diiuii a
little shoot un' uv one another. I'd Coon
rod he went along w ith the shurf to 'rest
s lot uv urn Mason, uu s'uiore uv urn,
fur Intent to kill."
CH.VITER XIII.
"How fur is ut. I ?" asked Sirs.
Redden ill a voice that show ii she wa
thinking strongly.
"ion halnt a go-im to try to go thar
to-night, air you? I wouldn't ef I whs
you! They inny be a good big furs
fore they git through with it. Tham
railroad fellers has gut thur wen puns
with urn. t'n they've ben a usen uv(iiiu
purty lively lack. Ic sit id they was
five ur six uv urn shot some purty bad.
If ut I've gut to hurry on. Little Jim
l)ikeses youngest boy is sick; un "
But without stopping to hear about the
perils of little Jim Oikescs youngest lxy.
Mrs. Redden had turned ntxiut and be
gan walking slowly and uncertainly back
along the Overcoat road, with Lizzy fol
lowing her, and also deep in thought.
If these men hnd been shooting each
other, perhaps Mr. Mason, and even
Prof. Huntley, might lie among the
wounded; the dangerously wounded. And
if so, she would only be doing a I loonier
girl's duty, to go and nurse and care for
the man who had certainly saved her life.
"I'm a great mind to walk that away.
Lizzy! We needn't go any furdcr'u we
wawut to, ymi know. We kin come back
whenuver we've a mine to. I'n we tiiout
meet Coonrod, sotiie'rs nwn the road,
mebby. Think you could walk ut?" Mrs.
Redden said, a little hesitatingly, but
leathering assurance at the sound of her
voice and the plausibility of her state'
meat, as she went on.
"Oh, yes. I think I would like to go
all the way If we could. If there are
men hurt, they will need women there to
help prepare for the surgeons. Men
can't bent water and t,ear bandages and
get soap, and towels and all those things
that are needed where people ore hurt
You remember how it. was lust full when
the threshing engine blew up," Lizzy
said, unite'cheerfully and animatedly.
Mrs. Redden remembered so much
about that incident that it started her
upon a stream of general reminiscences
that, branching out as it did into wind
Ing bayous of neighborhood accidents,
promised to last forever.
Happily Lizzy was so constituted that
she was not compelled to follow the
thread of Mrs. Redden' episodes. On
the contrary, she lost them presently In
a sort of exhilarating enjoyment of the
night, and the high wind, and the roaring
breakers of foliage tossing and swaying
about with a sort of wavelike crash that
reminded her of the distant but distinct
ly audible sound of the sea, where she
had heard it once a long time ago.
Is this human love of the night for a
time of roving about and looking at all
manner of sights and hearkening to all
manner of sounds, to be taken to mean
that man is a night prowler out of that
animal instinct that survives the long
past progression beyond the four feet
armed with claws, and the elongated pu
pil and erectile ears?
Not at all. ' It only means that night,
being the time of rest, Is best suited to
amusement and relaxation. And there
fore people avail themselves of their only
opportunity.
The two women having satisfied their
consciences upon the question of th
right of going upon such an expedition,
drew themselves more closely into the
shelter of their ample shawls and so, like
ovwled devotees of these Druid templet
of the primeval woods, went hurrying on
in th crowing wind aud th declining
rain.
So long a they could follow the broad
snd generally uu fenced course of the
Overcoat road there was little or tin dlill-
ulty In picking their way In reasonable
security from little stumps of black-Jack
that had been cut down In som enter
gcicy of tra n f erring th Madlied a few
rods to this side or to that, to avoid a
newly formed mud hole, or a fallen tree,
or some other of th numerous obstacle
that besot new Mads lu a new country,
Nor did th long, archln black r so
lver ry vine and blackberry stems, with
sharp and tenacious thorns, lay hold up
on th woolen Micr of th shawls, and
insist upon a tariff levied upon th spot,
sud ouly to be measured by the point of
contact
But when, after awhile, Mrs, Redden.
coming upon a plaiu wagon road that
cam into the highway of Overcoat road
out of an uniirouilsititf shadow of the
great forest, turned unhesitatingly Into It
and to th uorthward, all th circum
stances sectnod to b anddenly changed
for the worse.
It waa no longer possible to se on
yard of the suddenly narrowed road, and
ttiey wet compelled to concentrate alt
their senses of slertlles In their feet,
tint now cautiously, but nulcklv and un
hesitatingly, felt th war.
I.Uxy here Implicitly followed her tell
and fearless leader, dodging with her
hiad this way and that, throwing her
left arm up here and her right arm up
there, lu anticipation of some Imaginary
slender and drooping branch.
turning one of th many short and
almost seml-clreulnr curves In this on
tiainmeled woods-road, ther cam aud-
lenly within the broad glare of a tight
which they hail seen for brief moments.
aud at Irregular Interval during the lat
ter imrtlon of their long aud rapid walk.
I he light appearing to omit out of
small round rent in the very curtain
of th night itself, moved and oscillated
across their path, while a low hum of
voice could Ih distinctly heard only a
llttl way from them.
Th two women continued to advance
slowly and woinlerlugly. hearing th hum
f voices Interrupted by a short laugh.
and then totally suppressed by a per
emptory ejaculation in a vole that one
ol the adventurous Iloosler women waa
familiar with.
"Coonrod! Ia that you? Coonrod
Redden!" said Mrs. Redden, raising her
voice so aa to be distinctly heard above
the wind, and all Its woodland reso
nances. One man stepped out of the black
shadow and came forward. Liziy had
ample time to observe him narrowly, and
to see him perfectly. For th strong con
of yellow light, wavering a llttl from
side to side, centered upun them, and In
cluded hi in within It glow.
From the first step that he took for
ward out of the darkuesa, Lizzy Wlckly,
with a suibiiMi leap of her beart, recog
nized him. It was Mr. Mason, certs In
ly. But what a change In him! And '.
what waa due the change?
Ills ordinary dark, plain and unpreten
tious dress had become totally supplant
ed. He wore a high, black, rimless cap
such as men of that day sometimes wore
iu tho later autumn. A short, black,
gum-enameled chmk was fastened about
his shoulders and thrown slightly back
from the close-fitting and broad belled
Idolise,
Iong leather boot covered hi legs
above the knees, giving him a Jaunty,
dashing, cavalier air ao totally new and
strange and foreign to him, as she had
heretofore known hi in, that she was Im
movable from sheer astonishment aud
growing wonder.
Th metallic gleam of weapons In the
I. toad leather belt, and the glistening bur
rel of one of those wonderful, new, ninny
shotted carbines protruding from under
the cloak and lying easily across his right
forearm, brought her back to look more
(lonely at his face as he came .rapidly
forward.
Then she saw that his long and some
what failed brown hair hnd disappeared,
and a rattier close cropped coat of black
hair came down to his temples under the
cap; and she remembered like a flush
what Coonrod Keddeii had snid about It.
Yes, he had worn a wig! Beyond a
doubt he had worn a wig! He had
played a part! lie had been a cunning
and a skilled dissimulator.
His hold, Jaunty manner, his changed
dress, his easy and assured smile, and
above all, the youthfulness of his always
fresh, ruddy face, now framed in th
close black hair and the brigandish cap.
were in their totality as well na in their
particularity, irrefragible proof of the
fact that he was a skilled dissimulator!
Along with this sudden conclusion, ar
rived at within three ample seconds of
time, covering perhaps, ten thousand evo
Intlons of thought, memory and com
parlson, there was a sharply defined re
currence of that sense of loss that she
had felt when she hnd looked at this
man and perceived some alteration in him
v.hlle he hud driven past her on yester
day in the street of Snndtown.
He Is about to apeak. And slip feels
that she must not lose hi smallest, word;
his least gesture; his most fleeting glance
For upon these depend something. Some'
thing of greatly supreme moment to her.
She feels and knows.
CHAPTER XIV.
"Mr. Redden, I am aorry to any, is not
now here, Mrs. Redden," he said, taking
off his cap and bowing in a very formal
and elaborate manner. "He came np
this afternoon upon Important business
but has gone on further much further
than our camp. I can assure yon, though
that he Is safe and well. Mlas Lizzy,
has your hurricane experience made you
admire storms to such a degree that you
take the numerous risk of accident from
falling limbs and trees without heaita
tlon, on a cloudy day and Inclement
night?"
While a slight sarcastic smile linger
ed about his lips, there was a puckering
of the brows and a glitter In bis dark
eyes, made darker by the black border of
hair and cap, and alio a certain harsh'
ness in tha tone of hia roica that com-
blned to vnke her feel that U was put
upon th defvtislv, snd under censure
aud reproof.
'I .to In.. that I ttiowM cf t
danger," Liny answered, blushing a lit
tl. "I vuppos that after o recent an
erleiice "
"You ought to have thought of It a
suggested. "No doubt! No doubt. Kveu
by ei pei ienct w mortals leant but slow
ly, and after many 'lessons. Mrs. Red
ten. you will not think of going en tar-
ther In search of your husband? Can't
)oit tak my word that 'be i well aud
afr
II stood cloa to Urxr even touch
ing her with th fold of Ms gum-enam
eled raiu cloak, whit he faced Mr. Red
den. '1 mout a tuck your word fur ut, Mr.
Mason, ef ut ud shell three four week
ago," said th deteriiiitie.1 ami pisiu
spoken old Iloosler woman, defiantly.
'But you haiut aa much thought ur, nur
your word halnt a gd a hit wair then.
I com up hy ur after my man, uu I
want 'lm before I Nek."'
Ther wa a iiiotueut s pause, In which
Mr. Masitn seemed to be upon th bonier
Un between auger and surprised amuse
ment. i am rry to hare lost the giMxl
opinion of yourself and so many of the
kind hearted people of Sandtown, li
said earnestly, and with a return toward
something Ilk what might be termed
Ms Sandtown manner. "I must lieg you
both to bellev that I bav not willfully
Injured anybody In what I have. done. I
have had your Interest In view, a wlt
a "
'Ye, hit look lack nt. don't Ut." broke
In th determined and Independent oil
woman. "Hit look lark lilt waa to our
Intrust to git the Farmers' Bank Into
sich a tight plaist ut It had to bust up,
un bust up every farmer en Redden
township un all 'long the Wabash, Aud
you com down li-yur uu bid In all ar
moggljl fur llttl ur nuthiin."
The amount of scorn thrown into her
vigorous sentence by her staccato of
emphasis was surprising to contemplate.
Under this luvectlv Mr. Ma sou kept bis
gase steadily and scarfhliisJy upon Lizzy
Wickly'a face, while hi face remained'
turned toward the angry visage of the
blunt and fearless old Iloosler woman.
"I certainly have had no hand In th
misfortune of the Farmer' Bank," he
aaid quickly, and keeping hia eye fixe. I
upon Lizzy's lu that aearchlng, question
ing look that plainly asked her what ah
thought of these charge. "And o far
a th inortgag sale are concerned, I
had only thought of doing a favor to one
of th mortgagor by cmnx-lllng the
mortgagee to pay something like the full
value of th property. But if there are
many sufferer I shall make au effort"
"Many! They 'a about uwerylsxly at
I know. I'n most uv urn lose thur farms.
too, i n thur faultily w in antler, l re. a-1
on. Hilly mier toi t:oonroi
"Congressman Bller la th attorney for
th railroad that Is closing up the Fann
er' Bank, Mrs. Rcddn. ' You know that
fact, so you ran put a proper estimate
upon every bit of Information that come
through him," Mr, Mason ald, looking
hard at Lizzy for symptoms of som ef
fect of hi words, aud seeing tho symp
tom very evidently.
"Billy Bih-r! Billy Bller ud no more
do sich a theng thun he'd put bla bead
en th fire!" pin Id Mrs. Redden Indignant
ly. "We've knowed him too long fur
that But 1 reckon, llsiy, w mout
aa well go back. I've kin nh gut over
my awneasy siell 'bout t'oonrod. II'
sll way tuck k-yur uv Msseff. But I
felt mighty awneasy mighty awneasy."
Ltzry, signifying that she wa qnlto
ready to set out on the return walk, Mr.
Mason, resuming in a great measure the
jaunty air w ith w hich he had met I hem.
volunteered to escort them, and offered
hi arms to both ludles.
"No, thanky," said Mrs. Redden, much
mollified. "I kin walk alone ylt. Yon
mout help Lizzy thar. She's purty well
tard out, I reckon. I'n young g-yurl
needs a sight more a r mini uu keppun
along, un ole weeuuiu doe. I'll lead out,
uu you two kin follow, mebby."
Acting Instantly upon her own augges-
Hon. Mr. Redden "led out" with the
b ng swinging stride peculiar to the old-
time Iloosler dames, who walked every
where when the "hosses were at work.
and before "ridun-iiags" became plenti
ful.
(To be continued.
EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH.
No Better Beloved, Nor More Uufortsi-
nute, Kovcrelgn In History.
The Emperor Fronds Joseph Is prob
ably us thoroughly beloved by tils sub
jects as any sovereign In history has
ever been. His great misfortunes
fearful defeats In tho wars with France
and Germany, the sulddo of his only
son, the assassination of his wife, and
family troubles In more recent times,
have thrown about him an atmosphere
of romantic sympathy; whllo liking for
his kindly qualities is mingled with re
spect for his plain common sense.
I Hiring lila stay In Berlin I met him
a second time. At my first presenta
tion at Drcudon, two years before.
there wat little opportunity for extend
ed conversation; but ho now spoke at
length, and In a manner which showed
lil in to be observant of the world's af
fairs even In remote regions. He dis
cussed the recent Increase of onr army,
the progress of our war in the Philip
pines, and the extension of American
enterprise In various parts of the
world, in a wny which -waa not at all
perfunctory, but evidently the result
of large Information and careful ob
servation. His empire, which la a
seething caldron of hntes, rnelnl, re
ligious, political and local, la held to
gether by love and respect for him;
but when he dies this personnl tie
which unites nil these 'different races,
pnrtles and localities will disappear,
and In place, of It will come tho man
who by force of untoward clrcirm
stances la to be his successor, and thin
is anything but a pleasing prospect to
an Aufrtro-IIungarlan, or Indeed to any
thoughtful observer of iiuaian affair,
Century.
Proof Roongb,
"Oh, mamma, I know there'a a flea
on me!" cried llttlo Ethel.
"How do you know it it a flea,
dear?" asked tnnmma.
"Why, becauoe I can't catch itt"-
Yonkera Statesman.