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