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About The Columbia register. (Houlton, Columbia County, Or.) 1904-1906 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1906)
ttti i r CHAPTER X Till. Continued Jack's feelings st that moment were not enviable. II had always look! upon Lord Summtn' commluloa at a di rect proof of hia own ability. It wm ft decided damper to tie food opinion of himself to discover that It was due to his patron's Interest la Ethel Mallett "As 70a do not seem to hare been cry glad to hear of the enticement, perhaps 70a will be better pleased to hear that it Is at an end." "Indeed!" Tea; and I think 70a should know that Miss Mallett took the Initiative In breaklnt It off." "I am surprised! I thought shs waa Ttr7 fond of you. But there Is no ac counting for women's actions." And then Lord Summers turned to his other neighbor and threw himself Into a discussion upon the drainage of land, thus tacitly dismissing the other subject; but Jack was conscious that he was not held blameless In the matter nor In deed did he feel so. One point in the conversation had roused his curiosity Lord Summer' re mark as to the name of "Mallett" be ing assumed. He would hare liked to pursue the subject, but as things were, he had no right to feel curious. Later In the evening Mis Mailing and her guardians were chatting confiden tially, and the subject of the mysterious advertisement wss Introduced. "Have yon any notion what they could mean?" he asked. "Not the smallest,- she answered. "It la curious Sir Geoffrey never saw them." "But he may hare, without our know ing it" "True. But don't yon think that the motive, whatever ltvas, must hsvs af fected the whole family, and that, if he had been found, we should hare been mixed up In It?" "Possibly, but not necessarily. If I had known where Geoffrey waa I ahould certainly hare Insisted upon his sifting the matter. Indeed, at one time I thought of InTestigating It myself; bnt your nncle was always so touchy about any one's Interfering In his affairs that I thought it better to let It alone." For a moment there was a fixed look of fear on Pauline's face; but Lord Sum mers wss too much tsken op with his subject to notice It "Good-looking fellow, Dornton," he re marked, carelessly, with a glance to where Jack was carrying on the usual war of words with Berths Collins. "Very," Pauline answered, shortly. "Made quit a long stsy with yon. Been here sines the beginning of July, Las he not?" "I forget exactly when he came." In spite of this sppsrent indifference. Lord Summers felt satisfied that things were In an unsatisfactory state, and he wished ferrently that. In his snxlety to benefit the future husband of his old friend's daughter, he hsd been prompted to do anything rather than send him down to this particular neighborhood. Sunday erening was rather a quiet lime at Mallingford, and the bouse was wrapped In darkness earlier thsn nsual. But the lamps In Miss Mailing's boudoir burned on steadily, for Jack and his fiancee were haring their last confiden tial chat before their marriage. The next morning Jack was to leare for London to obtain the special license and see after sundry small matters, and he would not return until late on Tuesday after noon. "I suppose we must say good-by to night, as I shall most likely start before yon are down," Jack said. "Tea but not Just yet! Don't bs In a hurry to leare me, Jack," Pauline an swered, with a touch of pleading in her voice. She knelt on the thick whits rug at his feet, and added, "I would get up to give you a parting salute If I were not afraid that Lord Summers would hear of It" "My dear, there Is no feed," Jack said, calmly. "At the same lime, I don't understand your dread of Summers. Surely you may do as you choose In so mall a matter?" "I don't think I understand It myself, Jack; yet I feel it My life Is full of dread Just now." CHAPTER XIX. It was rather annoying to Pelllng that just now, when be was anxious to make the most of his chance with Ethel, her father's absence prevented his carrying out bis design. He fretted and fumed Impatiently over Mr. Mallett's letter telling of his enforced absence for a week when he first received It; and then, seeing the uselessness of repining. he set about making plans for relieving Ethel s loneliness. He wrote her a letter, telling her he regretted now more than ever that he had neither mother nor sisters, not even a stray aunt, as, If he had, he would press them Into play propriety, and carry her off a prisoner to spend the week at the Wigwam. Then he made appoint ments at the publisher's, always taking car to arrive before her, and gener ally, after putting her Into a cab, re turning for a last ten minutes' chat with Mr. Bramwell before starting himself. Then there was usually either a letter on business, of course or a novel by the morning post; and later on In the day would arrive a box of lovely loose blos soms or a basket of late grapes and peaches. 80 Ethel wa always being pleasantly reminded that her happiness ThC "Wife's ScCrct:l OR A BITTER RECKONING J By CHARLOTTE M. BRAEMB rlM f ftr rt- r e r t was the chief object of one person's life. and the knowledge comforted her exceed ingly. Meanwhile Mr. Mallett was having rather a hard time of It He arrived In Paris on Sunday morning, and the wed ding waa to take place on the following Wednesday. This gave him but three clear days to get to the obscure 8panlsh town of which he did not even know the whereabouts hunt op the evidence of his niece's death, and telegraph the news In time to stop the ceremony. After a weary two days' struggle with railway officials and time tables, he reached Msdrld on Tueedsy In the cool blush of the early morning, very fagged, but determined to go on. He had made a friend of the guard, glad to find some one who spoke Frenchfor hie Spanish was doubtful from long disuse and on the arrival of the train they went off together to the Inquiry office to find out means to reach the obscure town of Villa Silentlo. The station master, half asleep, and wholly angry at being routed out of bed at such an early hour in the morning, at first denied all knowledge of a place of that name; but, when the guard re minded him that such things ss reference books of the rsllway routes were Issued for his especial enlightenment, hia man ner changed, and he proceeded to do his beit on Mr. Mallett's behalf. "It Is here, you see," he said In Span ish, putting his fat finger on a spot In the map. "Senor cannot leave Madrid until half past nine; he will then hsvs two hours railway rkle, and then an hour and a half by coach over not the very best of roads." Mr. Mallett looked at his wstch. It was a quarter to six; he would hsvs time for three hours' rest Thsnklng ths friendly gusrd for his good services, be tossed his small bag and rug on ths near est hack-carriage and drove off to a hotel. At one o'clock Mr. Mallett, feeling aa If his sense had been shaken out of him by the last hour over that never-to-be-forgotten road, found himself standing la the market place of Villa Silentlo, with the hot midday sun beating down on him, feeling more completely slone snd helpless than he erer remembered to bare felt before. "I am afraid I made a mistake in com ing myself," he said to the market clock, as hs stood In front of It "Yon see a man of fifty seven Is not so quick snd apt In adapting himself to circumstances ss a younger man would be." For two or three minutes Mallett stood listening to the distant rumbling of the coach wheels, and, greet ss had been hia suffering during the drive, he almost wlahed himself bsck sgaln on the awful machine. Instead of here In this deatu like place. He shook off the dreamy feeling of un reality that possessed him, and crossed to a deserted looking house on the shady aids of the square, where a sign board from which all vestige of paint had long since passed away bung over the door, seeming to denote a house of entertain ment He pushed open the door and It swung to behind him without noise. Hs was In a large stone-flagged room which oc cupied the whole depth of the bouse, the opposite end opening on to a crazy veran da crumbling under the weight of luxurl ant creepers, through which there were glimpses of a weed-grown Inclosure be yond. He stamped up and down the stone floor, and shouted until the stones echoed bis voice. At the end of ten minutes a sallow face, surrounded by turbulent masses of frizzy black hair, leaned over the hand rail of the stairs that led up to the next floor. In about five minutes the sallow face and frizzy hair reappeared, and the woman began to apologize profusely. Mr. Mallett stood politely silent, hat In hand, until she seemed to have ended ber speech, when he presented the envelope given him ,by Babette, with the name and address of ths pbotogrspher of the gravestone. The talkative lady took it over to the light and spelled It out laboriously, and then turned again to Mr. Mallett, and rattled off another little Incomprehensi ble speech, interspersed with numberless ejaculations of astonishment Seeing at last that he did not underatand a word of what she was saying, she pointed to the address In her band, and said slowly In Spanish: "My father." Mr. Mallett understood that, for point ing In his turn to the envelope, he asked "Where?" She smiled pleasantly, motioned to him to reseat himself, and went upstairs look lng once or twice over her shoulder fo nod and smile at him reassuringly. Could it bs that the man he was in search of was here in this house? He could hear an animated conversation going on some where In the rooms above, and he recog nized the voice of the woman and the tones of a man. Presently there came to him an elderly Spaniard, with something of the dandy still clinging to him in the shape of waxed mustaches and perfumed hair, Still the signs of decay that abounded throughout the place showed themselves even here in the ancient fop's frayed jacket and well-worn shoes. To Mr, Mallett's surprise and relief he at once opened the conversation in passable French. "Monsieur wishes to see me? He has evidently come a long way for that pur pose. I am charmed, flattered and abash ed all at one timecharmed and flat tared te receive any one who comes a distance te pay homage to art" lie put hia hand on his heart and bow ed with the air of a prince. Ills belief that Mr. Mallett had .come to visit and compliment art la his person was so evi dently genuine that the eeualttv geutle maa felt almost unhappy to hare' to un deceive him; but time was pressing. He hsd none for the observance of unneces sary politeness. He took the little photo graph from his pocketbook and held It toward Castellan. "I believe you took that picture. Now, want you to tell me where the grave of which this Is a picture la to b found, bow you came to take the photograph, whom you took It for, and any other cir cumstances you can remember la connec tion with If The Spaniard leaned forward with his hsnds on his knees to look st ths pho tograph, but he did not attempt to touch It Us stsred at It earnestly while Mr. Mallett was speaking, and, when he had finished, he looked up with a scared face aa he answered: 'I said something was wrong about that affair at the time, and now my words are coming to pass. I did not like the Job, I can assure you; I bar aa antipathy to grave and coffins snd all thst reminds one of death, and I would not hate taken that picture for untold gold, but that I was snslsved by the beauty of the lady who asked me to do It Monsieur has not seen such another tall, ahspvly, with eye, hair and skin perfect, and her voice soft snd sweet like silver bell, cosied me to do It sgalnst my will, snd I crept Into the vil lage graveyard one morning at a 0 clock 1th my camera, before even the busy sisters were out of their cells, snd took tbe picture for her. You may aee bow Imperfect the picture Is, how many blemishes It has, and you must nt JuJge of my usual work by It. for my hand shook with fear " The soul of the art st was ousting the shade of the aris tocrat 'Never mind the blemishes. Senor Ca tellan." Interrupted Mr. Mallett. "Tbe photograph Is good enough for my pur pose. I went you now to tell me ths nsme of the lsdy who gave you the or der, the name of the convent where the grave Is, with directions for getting there." Caatellan's hands went up In dismay. "You cannot get there! It would bo aacrilege. No man la permitted to en ter the gates but on two days In the week, for a couple of hours st visiting time, you understand, when the holy sisters are all shut In their cells st pray era." Htm I must get to see that grave before sunset to-night, snd I will give two hundred frsnrs to sny ons who will help me." "Two hundred francs! It Is a large sum here In VII Is Silentlo. There Is servsnt womsn who does the errs mis fbr the convent ladles, with whom I am acquainted, who might be Induced' lie paused thoughtfully. "Thst Is settled then. And now how fsr Is It, and how are we to get there T" Mr. Mallett asked, rising briskly from his chslr. Castellan motioned him back to his seat "You must lesvs this to ms entirely, monsieur. One Ill-considered step might Islk your plan, and rob ths servsnt snd me of our reward. It must bs done during vespers, If at all; and In the mean time I must see this womsn snd make my plans. It Is now two, snd, If I might advise refreshment and rest before we start on our expedition, monsieur would be more fitted for It" "One moment," said Mr. Mallett, as Castellan rose to csll his daughter to their guest "Tell me the nsme of the convent before you go." "It Is called ths Convsnt of the Holy Assumption, and It Is but five minutes' wslk from here." "And the nsms of the lady who or dered that photograph?' "Ah, that I never knew! My accom plice managed all the busluess part of tbe affair, as she will do now, anl the lady's name was never mentioned." Senor Castellan went through the front door Into tbe market place, pausing on the threshold, with bis fingers on his Hps, to say: "Until six and a quarter then, au re- voir." (To be continued.) Strong; Force, "I aee," said the pretty girl, "that some literary critic claims that a great many poems appearing these days are forced. What would force a poet to write verse?" "His appetite or his landlady," re plied the young man who sold rhymes at apace rates. Comes Natural. "Mrs. Graftlelgh's little boy Is aw fully polite. Isn't be? I called on his mother this afternoon and when I took my departure be told me to call again." "Yes. He has heard bis father say It to tbe bill collectors so many times." Detroit Tribune. Genuine. "I have aceu several 'wild men,' remarked tbe lady who bad been through the Midway, "but I don't be lieve there are any real ones." "You are mistaken," replied her friend. "You should see my husband when be finds breakfast Is ten minutes late." Adulterated Oronnd. Customer Are you positive . that was pure ground coffee you aold me last week? Grocer Of course I am. What makes you doubt It? Customer Oh, nothingonly there was some gravel In the ground. r. i x SAVED BY A BABY In ISM the difficulties between tho 'hlnese and Japanese made the lot of missionaries In China extremely dan gerous. They revoguiaed the serious consequences of a general uprising of the Chinese. In "The Tragedy of Pa tlngfu" there la a letter front an Amer ican woman telling how a party of 'hlnese soldiers were checked when they came rushing toward ber bouse: A week ago a great crowd of Chi nese soldiers came to the compound. bout fifteen rods from hero. They caused great disturbance among the Chinese servants and others. The racket about the place was something terrible. Mr. Roberts did what he could to keep thorn quiet Dr. Noble soon came, and they two worked all the after noon, trying to entertain these men by answering their questions and show ing them round. They broke Into the ellars, but did not break Into the houses, although they pushed on tbe door and wanted to get In badly; but tbe gentlemen told them there was only a woman Inside, and It was not proper for them to go in. To this they dually agreed, for the Chinees are very particular about such things. 1 soon saw them coming toward the house like a lot of hound on the track of some prey. They come to the windows and began looking In, but did not try the door. I saw some faces at one window which did not look very bad, so I sat down at the window with Haby Paul. lie Immediately reached out his little arum to them and laughed, delighted to see so many faces. They began to smile and ask questions. I asked them where they were from, and they answered me. They thought Paul would be cold, dresed In white. 80 I showed them that be Lad flannel on under, etc., and they seemed satis fied. They finally left. You can Imagine my relief. THE REAL GAUTEMALA. It 1 a foaalrr of (treat L'adavelop I'oaalhllllU.. Guatemala Is a country of great undeveloped possibilities. Twenty years ago the first rollroud was open ed connecting the capital with the Pa cific port of San Jose, a distance of seventy-five miles, say Nevln O. Win ter In the Pilgrim. From Ksculntla, favorite watering place, a brancii extended to Maxateuango, and there connects with another line to tbe port of Champerlco. On the gulf side, n read, the Guatemala Northern, Is bul'.t from I'uerto Harrlos to Kannclio 8au August In, a distance of 129 miles. With the completion of the seventy utiles Intervening between this point and Guatemala City, there will be a continuous Hue between the gulf and the Pacific. The latter road was well construct! nnd opened to traffic ten years ago. However, It Is a dlfTlcut matter to keep a road In repair In these troplnl countries because of excessive rain and the action of the elements and In sects upon the ties. In the 12!) miles of track there are 230 bridges, find many of them are over streams whim, In the rainy season, are raging tor rents. In that season many of tho streams change tbelr course or wldon their beds and wash out the track. One who has never visited troplcnl countries ennnot appreciate the dim cultles of railroad construction there. For the last few years the road h.ti been practically abnndoned for freight purposes because of washouts ami t!;e destruction of a bridge across the Montague river. Now , it has been financed again and construction crews are at work all along the line, a ne-v bridge Is being built and creosoted ties laid down. At the present time only one train a week Is being run to carry tne man and any passenger who may want to go. This train re quires two days to run the 120 miles. The passengers do not urge greater speed, for In some places there are scarcely two ties to each rail that will hold a spike. This road and all the others are narrow gauge. Considerable work has been and Is being done on the extension to the capital, and It Is hoped to have It all completed within two years. The greatest problem with tbe rail road, as well as with other enter prises, Is labor. The Indians will only work spasmodically. Sometimes the political governors will compel thorn to work, but thl cannot exceed four teen days. Then they draw their pay and leave. Tbe x plantation owners overcome this by advancing the In dians a certain amount of money nnd tbe lrfw compels them to work until the debt la paid. Each plantation .has an alcalde, or mayor, who baa the power to enforce tbe laws, and he can put the recreant laborer In the stocks or In jail If he refuses to work, or can summon the soldiers to hunt up and bring him back If he attempts to escape. Another moao is often taken as security for the one employed. A man's Idea of an angel Is a worn an who doesn't talk about her neigh' bora. BBBBBBBBBBB-B THE OLD-MONK-CURE St. Jacobs OU has traveled round ths world, and everywhere human Aches and Pains hive welcomed It snd blest II lor a cure. Priest, 95 as4 5 aasiaiaMaaaisii8taMi frafMalaaal jMlaHfi "Mr. Dustlu 8ti says he Isn't going to endow any more libraries." "Hut 1 thought he was devoted to literature, lie has written books hlto- aelf." "That's the trouble. The people let the dust lie on hi books and stand la Hue to get 'Mailo's Wooing and 'When True !ove Was In Hlooin and works of that character." Washing, ton Star. Controlling Nature. Everybody knows thst ol Iste years natural force have been wonderfully subjected to man's need. We are dstsled by the spectacular achieve ments in steam and electricity, bat are likely to forget the less noisy bnt ne Ires marvelous cnuqnest of animal and plant life. Horses are swifter, eattle heavier, cows give more milk and sheep have finer (Wees thsn in dsys gone by. In plants the transformation Is even more marked. People now living can remember when the number of edible fruits and vegetables was far less than at present and even those that could be grown were vastly inferior to what we now have. For example, our parents kneV nothing of the tomato, except aa a curious ornament I A the garden. Sweet corn was hardly better than the commonest field sorts. All oranges had seeds. Celery was little known and poor In quality. In thetlower bed the magnificent pansy has replaced the In significant heart's ease from which U was developed, and the sweet pea In all its dainty splendor traces its origin to the common garden vegetable. This progress has been made In spite of the great tendency manifested In all plants and animals to go hack to the original type. It Is Indeed a battle to keep strains pore and np to the stand ard they have already attained,, lei alone any improvement. The practical results are accomplished by men operat ing largely for love of the work, like Luther Ilurbank, In California, and Eckford in England, aa well aa by the great seed merchants, D. M. Ferry A Co., of Detroit, Mich., who are not only eternally vigilant to hold what ground has been gained, bnt have a corps of trained specialists, backed by ample means, to conduct new experi ments! The results of their experi ences can be found in their 1906 Seed Annual, which they will send Ires to all applicants. Sclr-Saaportlnsr rark. Following the example of ninny European cities, Ixs Angeles, Cat, will turn Griffith Park, with aa area of 8.000 acres of brush land, mto a commercial forest. Feur experts, with view to converting this practically waste piece of land Into a productive forest, made a comprehensive plantiug place for the trees, which will not only pay for Its cultivation and care through tbe sale of mature timber, but will prove a constant source of pleas ure and recreation for the citizens of Los Angeles. Ixs Angeles Is the first American city to adopt this plan, but It Is predicted that other municipal!. ties In this country will soon follow In Its footsteps. Vein of Elephant. An African elephant Is of value only for lta Ivory, of which a full-grown ani mal yields from $250 to $300 worth. On the other hand, a working Indian ele phant cannot be bought for Was thsa $2,000 to $3.500; Just (he Man lie Wanted. "I sent for you, sir," said Mr. Pbara ley, "to fix a key In my daughter's piano," . "But," protested the artisan, "I'm not a piano tunor, I'm a locksmith." "Exactly; I want you to fix the bloom ing thing so I can lock it up when I feel like It." Philadelphia Tress. If a man could have half hia wishes be would double his trouble. Poor Rich ard. One-half the worldd oesn't care how the other half dies. Count Brrup, TutM oulh'bs IB llm. Bi lold by druviUU. r
