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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1915-8-26, Page 7The Green Seal By CHARLES EDMONDS WALK Author of "The Silver Blade," "The 'Paternoster Ruby," "The Time Lock," etc.. CHAPTER I. . To begin with, •, my curiosity in the ring was aroused, a4' first only mildly; by the gingerly way in which the pub., lie administrator handled it. It was an unsightly object, to be sure; but this did not account for the extreme caution with which he laid it up the desk between us. Indeed to tell no more than the simple truth, if human expressionsmean anything at all, I new know that he looked at it with mingled suspicion and fear. I smiled and asked lightly: ""Afraid it will bite you?" He did not respond to my humor, "Something of •the kind, yes," was the sober reply. Quito as a matter of course, then, I however. ho expressed a polite interest, sufficient "The, brings me to the strangest to inquire what the thing might be.g "A ring," the public administrator part of the whole affair," said he. told me, eying me with a sort of fur- On the ball of one of Charley Yen's five intentness—"a. finger ring. r thumbs—the one he licked—was a "Doesn't look like it" I commented print of the character carved on the disparagingly: "Looks to me. more set; green, too, it ryas; like the jade. like a broken off section of some Looked more like a bruise than a thug's brass-knucks—only it doesn't stain though," seem to be brass." I shuddered. The very mysterious- "No," Mr. Unruh agreed "it is not Hess of the sudden fatality made it brass. Doc Hagan scratched off a all the more shocking and awful. bit of that black crust; underneath Yeton the for some x r was unaccountable teas - it's silver. But, Brice—my dear boy' , gbeginning to have an —his glance grew peculiarly keen— uncanny sort of fascination for me. "it is a thing, of the devil!" Where had the governor ever oome • My interest mounted a degree, by such an object? And had he been though my mind remained more or aware of its secret, but none the less less occupied with the melancholy ob- deadly, potency? ject of my errand. Dr. Hagan was With considerable pains not-te let the coronet, and even though brought my fingers touch the set, as you may into the talk only ,casually, suggest- very well believe, I dropped the ring ed tragedy. into the little carved box and snap - "What "What do you mean by that?" I .ped down the lid. It was stowed away asked. with most of my other belongings, and Without replying directly, he went in a day or two I was on my way on: back to New York to resume my in •"I don't know what associations it terrupted studies. may have had for your father, but it The conversation just recorded oc- Must have held some very special carred shortly after my father's value for him; some unusual septi- death; and in order that you may fol- meat that none of his papers that 'I have been able to find explains. I thought perhaps you might throw some light—give me some clue—" any.- Perhaps poor Charley licked it all off. Anyway—afterwards—before anybody thought of poison—a dozen people must have handled the ring, and not a blessed one of thein sustain- ed any ill effect," 'Elie next words again drew my attention to it, "If you'll observe the way the thing's made—how the metal eomes up all round the edges of the set— yell may see how anybody could fool with the ring—even carry it in his closed hand—without the • jade set touching the flesh, Then again it might. And there you 'are." Taking chances with such a dreadful lethal instrument seemed very much like playing with a cobra. Mr. Unruh was not yet through, low the story I have undertaken to tell—I am sure before I am through you will call it an extraordinary one —it is necessary that I set down some I'm sure I don't know," I broke facts about him and about myself. into his groping utterance. "What You already know how I came to makes ydu thing so?" have the ring. Although personally "Because he not only kept it in that I may be wholly unknown to you, as little carved ivory box, but also lock- ed in one of his safe-deposit boxes— the one containing the most import- ant and private of his papers." Mr. Unruh had my undivided at- tention now. .Investing aa they, did the insignificant looking trinket with an importance far beyond anything It seemed to warrant, his concluding words certainly were strange. I sat staring at it, puzzled and wondering, nd by-and-by glanced at the odd vory box, which I had not noticed be - ore. Then I reached forward to pick sp the ring. Quick as a flash, Mr. Unruh's hand shot across the desk and caught my wrist before I could touch the thing. "Don't!" he cried in a tone so start- ling that I submitted out of sheer as- tonishment. "For God's sake, don't touch it! Wait till you have heard the rest!" Satisfied, after a moment's alarmed scrutiny, that I was fully awakened to the ring's latent possibilities of danger, he released my hand, saying with a sigh of relief: "What a start you gave me! You haven't heard the worst -not by. a jugful! "This very morning, while I was sorting these papers of your father's, quite unexpectedly I came across the small box. Just as I opened it to see what might be inside, in came Charley no doubt I am, my father's name in- stantly will be identified with a rhyming advertising catch -line which has stared America in the face, from all sorts of .unexpected places, for more than a generation-- "Ferris eneration—"Ferris Teas Always Please." He was none other, in short, than the late Peter B. Ferris, whose chain of tea stores at one time dotted the country over. Long before my father was mar- ried, he was "buyer" for a prominent New York tea and spice_ importing concern, and consequently spent most. of his time in China, Japan, Ceylon and other tea -growing countries. His was a profession that calls for a high- ly trained knowledge, and his salary was correspondingly large. But he was too aggressive and possessed business acumen of too high an order to remain content in another's em- ploy, no matter how large the salary; so by degrees he built up and control- led the vast business referred to. The lady who afterwards became his wife and my mother be met at Hong-kong, the daughter of an Eng- lish officer at the time stationed in the Anglo -Chinese city. That I happened to be born • in California instead of the Orient was little more than an accident. My mo - Yen, one of our regular Chinese court ther, on a sudden impulse, accom- interpreters. Poor devil!" panted my father during one of his The speaker's serious air was hay- rare visits home, and the journey was ing its proper effect on me: I was fast broken at San Francisco by my mop - growing impatient. portune arrival and my mother's "Go on, for Heaven's sake!" I urg- death. Thisperiod fell something ed. `.`You make me feel like: an ac- like twenty-eight years ago, from the complice in something criminal; es date of this writing. if sometlibig terrible were about to The collapse of my father's busi- happen." ness and his sudden death, the second He solemnly nodded his head at event following the first in a sequence MO. of immediate cause and effect, is a "Terrible is right," he said. Ile subject I need not enter into at pointed at the ring. "Notice the set? length. Like many another man of No, No, don't touch it. It's jade— excellent business judgment before Chinese green jade. It looks clean him, in his later days he was led away and bright enough now; it was half by the glamor and lure of unwise hidden by a layer of dirt. speculations -gold mines, copper "I handed it to Charley, asking him mines, Wall Street, and what -not. It what lie could make of W. Twice he is a form of obsession difficult if not wet the ball of his thumb with his impossible to account for. tongue and rubbed the set so he might It is sufficient to record that when examine it' better. The second move- the company's affairs were readjust- ment was the last he will ever make ' ed my patrimony consisted of means in this world, He saw the set all just ample enough to enable me to+ right and what's carved on it. I'll complete my postgraduate course at never forgot the look on his face if I Columbia, to provide me with an ade- live to be a hundred! j quote law library and a suite of of-.lI "All at once the ring clattered on feces in a desirable building, and to • the desk. • Charley crumpled up on tide me comfortably over the empty the floor—right where you're sitting period of waiting—providing that now. He didn't make a sound." !period should not prove too long -- I I confeas that I shot my chair beck that is more or less every young law - in a jiffy. I ycr's lot. "Dead?" I•cied in horror. There was also a quantity of bizarre "Dead," replied Mr, Unruh, simply,) brie -a -brat, which represented my fa- "Why--what—how did the • thing ther's tastes as a collector of 'Eastern happen?" I stammered. •curiosities—and the. queer ring. So while Ferris teas still continue to please—the name has too great a "You can search ma Poison? Ra- commercial value to be abandoned — gen couldn't find the least trace of they please and interest me only re- motely, since I haven't the slightest • monetary concern in the huge enter- • prise that stands as a monument to the memory of Peter D. Ferris. I chose Los Angeles as the most promising field in which. to carve out my career. To save my life I couldn't now tell why, unless it was that fa- ther had regarded it as his home town—though Heaven knows he saw little enough of it. Anyway, for some such hazy reason I had special- ized in the exceedingly intricate and complex Californian Irrigation Laws. Also at one time and another, Peter 7).3, Ferris had owned consider- able property in and about Los An- geles. Vey little of this property, it may be added descended to toe; When you Consider itis exact business meth- ods, as they had been in the season Mr. Unruh's ge,sture - was as elo- quent as his spoken reply SMART CLOTHES FOR THE -, YOUNG GIRL. • The plaited skirt for the young girl is proving a great success, if we may take the great number seen at the summer resorts as a criterion. When the whole dress, shirtwaist and skirt, is made in plaited effect, the re- sult is very pleasing indeed. This dress, Ladies' Home Journal Pattern No. 8988, has a raised waistline, and consists of a waist opening in front with yoke finished with a turn- down collar, full-length sleeves with open cuffs, and a fitted lining, a seven gore skirt, perforated for deep hem facing. ' The pattern cuts in size 14, 16, 18 and 20 years, requiring in size 16, 11% yards 36 -inch material. Ladies' Home Journal Pattern No. 8980 is a Ladies' and Misses' Peplum Waist, opening in front with roll col- lar or Quaker collar and full-length or shorter sleeves, and a circular peplum. The pattern cuts in size 32 to 44 inch- es bust measure. Size 36 requires 3% yards 36 -inch material. Pattern No. 8981 is a Misses' One - Piece Skirt, gathered to a three-piece yoke, with slightly raised waistline. Suitable for flouncing. The pattern cuts in sizes 14, 16, 18 and 20 years. Size 16 requires 3% yards 36 -inch material. Patterns, 15 cents each, can be pur- chased at your local Ladies' Home Journal Pattern dealer, or from The Home Pattern Company, 183-A George Street,- Toronto. of his prosperity, it is strange that he should have diedintestate; but such was the case, and I was the only child. Under certain provisions of the Californian law, his affairs were tak- en charge of by the public adminis- trator, who at some time years before, it appeared, had been a very good friend of my father's. When the estate was finally wound up, and he had been discharged by the Probate Court from further obligation to me, it was this gentleman, Mr. Unruh, who gave me the ring, as I have al.' ready described. Mr. Unruh was sorry for me and tried to cheer me up. I was alone, without a living relative, that I knew of, and instead of being rich and in- dependent, as I had securely expected to be, I was brought face to face with the stern realization that I' would have to grub for my bread and but- ter. But I was not altogether dis- mayed. I even found heart after a moment to grin at him; thus forestal- ling, I suspect, a homily of advice and encouragement, which no doubt he felt it his duty to offer me. My talk with Mr. Unruh—Charley Yen's death—my acquirement of the fatal ring—this all happened six years ago. And much can happen within the space of six years! For one thing, I had built up a desirable and lucrative practice in my special branch of the law. But all the cir- cumstances that fell so soon after father's death had slipped far into the background of memory, there to remain until the morning of which I am now about to write. This was the way of A. It was a day in April; to rte precise, the four- teenth—calendar day- in Court. In the morning I had occasion to go to my own safe-deposit box, and there -quite unexpectedly I happened upon the carved box, where it had lain ac- cumulating dust. The ring's mysteri- ous potency, the tragic morning six years before, came back with a rush. "Well!" I voiced my surprise. "What the dickens are you doing here?" I carried it with me back to my of- fices. During the idle hour after luncheon, with infinite precautions I took the ring from the box. Excepting the. green set with its enigmatic symbol,' here Charley Yen had licked it clean, 1 it was tarnished—badly tarnished— incrusted, all over with a sort of black scale, as if it had been through fire, or had lain a long, long time at the bottom of the sea. For the first time I examined the set at leisure, The single character,' Which I took to bo a Chinese or Jap-' anese ideograph, naturally enough was quite meaningless to me. A de- tail to be remembered ist that is was carved into the jade, not in relief. But as I was destined to encounter its fac- simile before many days had elapsed,' under circumstances peculiarly tragic and mysterious it may be well to have a look at It. By and by I proceeded to rub the metal part with a chamois pen -wiper; but the exercise produced no appre- ciable effect. Emery -paper, manifest-' ly, was indicated for this job. I rub-'' bed harder. Then I was interrupted by the outer door opening. The .postman entered, Ile tossed • some pieces of maul upon the table in the reception. room, He uttered a pleasant salutation, indicative of a sprightly mood, as became a good, genie, and then ho Went his way. All, this was n familiar four -times -a -day. occurrence to me, But through the+ doorway between the two rooms my attention was attracted and held by a parcel among the letters and pa- pers. In size and shape it was sug- gestive of the ring -box. Stub, my office -boy, had not yet returned from his noontide outing, and moved by an odd, incomprehen- sible curiosity, I went myself and fetched the parcel back to my deck. I quickly had the wrapping off. Im- agine my amazement when the coun- terpart of the ivory box stood reveal- ed before me! For several minutes I painstaking- ly compared the two, slowly scrutiniz- ing with the aid of a reading -glass every minute line of the finely engrav- ed pattern. My untrained eye could not detect a shade of difference to dis- tinguish the one from the other. Then it occurred to me to look in- side the second box. Did it also con- tain a strange, outlandish instrument of death, a duplicate of the first? I lifted the lid and caught my breath sharply. In a blaze of multi -colored corusca- tions, there rolled out upon my blot- ting -pad a diamond as big as a hick- ory -nut! (To be continued,) THE GERMAN LIAR AGAIN. Untruths- Told About Britain to De- ceive German People. The most amazing untruths con- cerning Great Britain are daily circu- lated in Berlin for the purpose of de- ceiving the German public into the belief that Great Britain is in a state of panic. Hero are a few of these gems which make up in humor what they lackin veracity: • "Sir John Jellicoe is to be tried for incapacity." "The organ of the Labor Party de- mands that the whole Cabinet shall. be impeached for participation in the war." . - "The Indian troops in France were told before leaving India that they were beingtaken to Europe for exhi- bition purposes." "Half of London is burnt down, and Zeppelins are always hovering over it. Plymouth has also been destroyed by fire, caused by bombs from the air." "Mr. Asquith has fled from Eng- land, and is hiding in Ireland." "The citizens of London now hurry hither and thither like scared mice, because their battalions of football- kicking louts are melting away before the fire of the German artillery," "Instead of blowing' their victims from the mouths of their guns as they did in the Indian Mutiny, the British now employ the truly humane and gentle acting Juin-dum bullets, with the approval of Lord Kitchener." "The French Government pays for the support of British troops, so that each man draws on a day on which there is no fighting four francs, while on each fighting day he is entitled to eight francs. The British are also completely clothed and fed by the French." "The deeds of the German fleet are already causing the Lords of the Ad- miralty sleepless nights while on board the British ships fearful appre- hension lurks in every fornen" " `Come into the army,' says the British recruiting sergeant to the youths. "You shall have a villa in Rome, a bungalo on the Mediterran- ean, and in two months you shall be King of the Belgians.'" • • SEALED PACKETS ONLY. BLACK, MIXED OR GREENY. Style Notes of the Moment. Silks are departing from their dei date undecorated lengths, appear- ing with new designs and color notes to distinguish,theirappearances. Plum shadesand violet tinted silks are the most exclusive selec- 6 20 tions and are indicative of a new color note which shall 'govern the autumn modes, Cow Testing Associations. The cow testing associations is a plan of co-operation among dairymen for the purpose of regularly and economically testing their cows for production of milk and butter fat. A usual estimate places the average production of cows at 175 pounds of butter per cow per year. In these days people who are familiar with dairying think in terms of butter fat, and if the above average be translat- ed to fat it makes about 150 pounds. At 30 cents a pound, which has been, the average price for the last three years, the annual income per cow is $45. If the above figures are taken as a foundation, it is very apparent that there are many cows which are not paying the cost 0f their keeping. The use of the scales and the Babcock test has discovered in almost every herd tested some cows that do not pay the cost of keeping. If dairying is to be made as profitable a business as it ought to be and as it has a right to be under proper management, these robber cows must be apprehended. There is no means of knowing what a cow is producing without weighing and testing her milk at regular inter- vals. A dairyman selling milk by col- ume may not be concerned in the but- ter fat content farther than is neces- sary to keep up to legal standard, but one who is selling butter fat is vitally concerned in the amount each cow pro- duces. Each 'dairyman may test his own cows, but facing the condition squarely it is known that very few do. A• At it recent dairymen's meeting this point was raised—that a testing asso- ciation was not necessary, because each man could test his own cows, The question was then asked: "How many present have Babcock's testers?" Twelve out of a gathering of 50 an- swered in the affirmative. In reply to the question, "How many of you who have testers use them?" only one answered in the affirmative. The object of cow testing associa- tions is to make the use of scales and Babcock machine a community affair —to unite dairymen into a partner- ship for the purpose of employing a trained man to visit each herd at reg- ular monthly intervals and weigh and test the milk of each cow. At the end of the year, this man gives each dairy- man a record of the individuals in his herd with little work or trouble to him and at the cost of about $1 per cow. The tester weighs and samples the milk of each cow at the evening and morning milking and tests the com- bined sample for butter fat. Before leaving, he makes calculations so that he may leave with the dairyman the record of each cow down to date. In European countries and some of the states in this country, one of the duties of a tester is to weigh and keep a record of food consumed by the cows. The cost to the dairyman for complete testing varies from 80 cents to $1.80 a year for each cow. This variation is due to the number of cows in the associations and to the size of individual herds. DEATH OFFENCES IN ARMY. Soldiers May Be Shot for Many Rea- sons on Active Service. There are more than a dozen dif- ferent offences for which a British soldier may be sentenced to death while on active service. The first on the list of death of- fences applies to a commanding offi- cer and reads, "Shamefully delivering up a garrison when in command of troops, without due necessity—pun- ishment, death." A soldier can be shot for throwing away his rifle in the presence of the enemy, for cowardice, or for leaving his commanding officer in order to plunder. If he forces his way past a sentry., on active service he may be sentenced to death, or for assaulting any one bringing up provisions for the troops. Soldiers are expressly forbidden while on active service to commit any offence against a resident of the coun- try in which he is fighting under pain of death, nor may he break into any house in search of plunder, or dis- Grapes in plump, well.filled round- ness, silk -made and larger than life, are the latest offerings for trimming the summer hat for milaidi of the most modish clan. Her sports hat, tobe above the tilt of the ordinary, ,must be made of baby width silk ribbons in vivid colors stitched flatly to silk hemp and done so cleverly the hat may be roll- ed and stuffed into the coat pocket as easily as a man's felt may be. The right style tang is added with two dangling ribbon ends of white, placed anywhere you please on the crown. Of course this sort of hat is small and round, but its shape, style and color are so adaptable and subtle it is as becoming to the woman in her glorious forties as to the piquant- faced debutante of 18. But then this last is a characteris- tic of all the successful modes for this season. If you are inclined to ques- tion the statement just study shoe styles awhile. For that matters new mode for the summer girl is the all -white boot in Cossack style, -which pulls on and is without adornment of any sort save long, silky white tassels which dangle from the top at the front. As the boot top is glimpsed only when the wearer is dancing, the tassels are a tantaliz- ing bit of modishness. These sorts of footwear are worn only with dressy sports clothes, and by this is meant the exquisite skirt of white taffetas or crepe de chine or gabardine tailored to a fashionable nicety, and worn for a beach stroll, a dansant or a country club festival, topped with a taffetas -made frivolity in the way of a coat, short, colorful Iand Frenchy in style. IThe boots, by the way, are of white kid suede or doeskin..a • ,'i - Scarfs everywhere. Eve -y one is wearing them. They may six yards in length, made of brilliantly colored tulles or chiffons and edged with rega( looking embroideries of silver, gold or crystal, a Ia Lucille, or be two yards of satin edged with taffetas ruffinge or become fascinating allurements of lace of the "real" or imitation var- ieties in Brussels or Spanish inspired designs. Il Velvet -topped hats are peeping into the millinery scheme of thingi entire for summer hats, but their pre, stige is to be severely tried by tht growing vogue for hats with crown9 of hatter's plush and brims of straw, Even if plush of this sort does not seem to be so heavy and winterish in• appearance as velvet, it is every whit as abstruse; but then, when, if ever, did reason and fashion travel together except by' common consent and sur- rounded by concessions made to the government by the whimsical. EASY TO MARECHLORINEGAS. charge his, rifle intentionally to create a false alarm on the march, A soldier while acting as sentry who is found sleeping at his post may be shot. Any man causing or joining ! a mutiny is liable to be shot. Deser- tion or attempt at desertion while on active service is naturally a death sentence. ' 'p Letting Well Enough Alone. "Madam," said a doctor one day to the mother of a sweet, healthy babe, "the ladies have deputed me to inquire what you do to have such a happy, uniform good child?" The mother mused for a moment over the strangeness of the ques- tion, and then replied, simply and beautifully: "Why, God has given me a healthy child, and I let it alone." Whatever It Is. "I don't see how they can afford to do it on his salary." "Do you know what his salary is?" "No, but I don't see how they can afford things just the same" „`�i��!o` a *K *it;f•X i444:.i�i�.ji�i i'rixe 0:-.:3 i•i; a: iii v.- i�iji:"�i +0 For sixty years thee#9.1.5424 Refinery has led Canada in modem equipment, up-to-date methods, and the pursuit of one ideal—absolutely pure sugar. In the Packages introduced by --the 2 and 5 'ib. Cartons and the 10, 20t 50 and 100 lb. Cloth Bags— you get Canada's favorite sugar, in perfect condition. CANADA SUGAR REPINING CO., LINYITED,MONTREAL, `1i�i�e°��stis�eat.•r�. vas`• o g a i:.. Xl . x :..s :..... 'ee' . _ • � lq�s,°.w�e!c�sQe w ge�i�Y:4 s •°®!see°.ani a s�s�s�e ei0°e°.'�4'ie.°Q.• se eras°e°, a� Enough Can Be Made in a Day to Rill an Army. Whether we are justified in copying the German example in regard to the use of asphyxiating gases is a matter on which the British army will soon give an answer to the Huns in the field. It is interesting to note that there is nq difficulty about producing chlorine gas—which is that mainly employed by the Germans—and dis- charging it at the enemy's trenches-. when the wind is favorable. Any British manufacturing chemist could produce enough chlorine in a day or two to suffocate the whole German army from the Yser to the Vistula, for chlorine is familiar to English chemical manufacturers, who, until e few years ago, were the only makers - of this chemical. Chlorine is a greenish -yellow gas with a peculiarly unpleasant and suf- focating smell, and with those terri- ble effects on the lungs, throat and membranes of its victims which have been described by Dr. Haldane and Sir John French. The cost of suffocating our troops by the Germans is not heavy, Liquid chlorine costs about $125 a ton, con- taining 170 gallons, and this will pro- duce a large volume of deadly gas. It is interesting to note that the idea of "gassing" an enemy was sug- gested nearly half a century ago 'by four Frenchmen, but at that time it yy thenght that the invention was loo hggrible to be allowed in fnold $iiej tions, glI iouih it was agreed that rt might ie u ed Iiy shall storm- ing parties at eldse quarters, when the gases might' be,, compressed in shell and flung by catapult, Aacerd- ing ):o "'i'uth," however, the inven- tion came to nothing 41 .,� His ay.' 1 i, Mr. Biennypeck (peevishly) ---When you tell me to do a thing, like a .fool I go and do it, Mrs. Ilonnypecic—No; you go and do it like a foot,