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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1916-10-26, Page 2THE LAPSE OF E NOCH WENTWORTi By iSABEL GORDON CURTIS, Author of "The Woman from Wolvertons" CHAPTER XVIIL—(Confd). "Now," he demanded sharply, "be good enough to tell me what this means," "Aren't you going to ask me to sit down?" The woman spoke with an enticing smile, "No. I have no intention of asking you to stay so long." Zilla Paget laughed and sank Ian- guidly into a chair beside the fire- place. "I would suggest that you sit down," she said suavely. Enoch shook his head. "You may get tired before I am through talking. It will take some time to discuss this affair," "What affair?" Wentworth turned on her with quiet scorn, "Don't be foolish enough to try blackmail. Any- thing like," he paused for a moment as if trying to find a suitable word, "like sentiment, for instance—or call it what you wish—died a natural death one afternoon when I tried to explain things to you. The minute a woman lets herself go and shows the devil in her makeup at white heat sentiment can die—die a very sud- den death, Besides, I have nothing on my conscience. I treated you as generously as any man would have done under the circumstances." Miss Paget threw back her head and laughed. "Sit down," she advis- ed. "This is a different affair en- tirely. Do not flatter yourself; there is not a ghost of sentiment in this." Enoch walked to the mantel, Leaned his elbow upon it, and stared down at her, "I'll give you exactly ten min- utes to explain what you want. If it is about your child, I am quite as anxious to get him out of my house as you are." "My child ! I will relieve your mind on that point immediately. It is not my child I want. If your sister wants to play fostel'-mother, she is quite welcome to him. When I think of it," she began slowly to draw off her gloves, "Miss Wentworth has really done me a great favor." "Oblige me then," Enoch's voice was full of cold indifference, "by getting down to business as quickly as pos- sible. You must be gone before my sister comes in," "Indeed." The actress looked up into his face with an insolent smile. "Why should we hurry? I want to ask you a few questions, I understand you axe writing a new play." She turned to glance at the litter of manu- script on his deck. "Is there a part in it for me?" "I have not begun to place parts yet." "Ah!" She watched him with calm scrutiny. "How is it coming along? Will it be as big a go as "The House' has been?" "Is it any of your business?'' "Probably not; still, I am interest- ed. I have been wondering," she spoke slowly, as if thinking aloud, "if it can possibly come up to the expecta- tions of the public. A second play is often such a—rotber." "What in thunder are you driving at?" asked Enoch fiercely. She sprang tp her feet and faced him. There was a malevolent sneer in her face. "My opinion is that anything you could do would be a rotten" "Why?" Zilla Paget drew one hand from her muff and pulled out a few sheets of crumpled paper. She laid them on the table, smoothing them carefully with the blank side up. Suddenly she turned them over and placed both her hands firmly on the paper. Enoch took a few steps forward and peered down through his glasses. His gait grew unsteady and his fingers! gripped at the edge of the table. A purplish flush swept over his cheeks,; then he became ghastly pale, His very lips grew white. There were gray hollows about his eyes like the shad ows which creep into a face after deabh. His mouth moved, but he did not utter a word, because his tongue touched dry lips. "I knew you would understand," I murmured the woman. Wentworth's hands sprang at her' wrists like the grip of a wild beast. snatching at its prey, 1 "Don't," entreated the actress. "You hurb terribly. You do not know how , strong you are. Besides—you aro foolish, horribly foolish. If you should! tear this, it is nothing but Exhibit A.,' I There are hundreds of sheets where !° e} came from. And let me tell you— Wentworth unclasped her wrists, i they are where yon won't find them," { b 1 klut his eyes were blazing with mute derous fury. He turned with a quick gesbure to the wall behind him, Against a tug of Oriental matting hung a collection of savage weapons, The woman watched him with cool un concern. He seemed to be searching 1 rapidly with his eyes for something, He laid his hand upon a. long thin dag- ger. Here and there its blade had rusted to blankness, but its edge was deadly keen. He jabbed the point of it into his blotting pad. It curled over lithely, as a Ferrara does. Then! he glanced at the woman beside the table, His eyes were glittering with 1 sive smile. "My price is ridiculously small, much Iess than it is worth. I am merely coming here—to live." "You are coming here --to live? Here—in the house—with my sister?" "Here—in the house—with your sis- ter," she repeated mockingly. "Exact- ly. I have taken a fancy bo this part of the ety. It is rather attractive for New York. I think I shall enjoy the society of your sister, You will not find me a troublesome guest. I can fit in happily to your home circle. Part of my luggage is there in the hall, you know. The rest is down- stairs." A wave of scarlet swept over Enoch's face. "To think of Merry squaring up through—you. It's the most infernal scheme ever concocted." "That's a belly bad guess of yours. Merry does not come into this at all." "Where did you get these'?" Enoch spoke fiercely and pointed to the sheets of paper that lay under her hand. "Ib's rather an unusual story. Sit down and I'll tell it to you. If you are searching for a plot for that new play of yours, you might find this worth while." Wentworth threw himself into •the chair in front of his desk and wiped beads of perspiration from his fore- head. "Did you ever hear of George Volk?" asked Miss Paget. Enoch's forehead corrugated into a puzzled frown, "I met him in London seven years ago," she continued, "and I was such a belly fool I married him. In those days he was a heroic looking figure. If you saw him as he is to -day you might say I had showed poor taste." Wentworth sat staring at her with sullen curiosity, "I have found out that he is in New York and thab ten years ago he had been married here. Also that his wife and child are alive. Interesting sit- uation, isn't it? Bigamy -releoses a woman, though I had not felt terribly fettered. I have George Volk to thank for bringing that brat across. It was one of his masterly little schemes of revenge. Then, in a curious way, I learned that Volk's wife is the woman you call Alice Bourne. He Iaid a scheme to get money out of her yes- terday. I got a detective and planned to face him when he reached his wife." "What the devil has Volk and your matrimonial affairs to do with that?" Wentworth pointed bo the sheets of paper beside her on the table. "Don't be in such a blooming hurry, I tell you the situation is dramatic. I went to the house where Alice Volk lives in Harlem—oh, I was disguised, I tell you; you would never have known me, The detective got in first and opened the area door. I slipped in and waited. He was to give me a signal when Volk arrived. A servant came clumping down the cellar stairs after coal. I hid in a closet where they store trash and—waste paper." Enoch's eye narrowed and a yellow pallor crept over his face. "Curse t 1" He spoke in a hoarse whisper. "Yes, curse it!" repeated Zilla Paget with an amused laughed. "My wordl was a blooming queer accident! I i dosed the door, the latch caught and couldn't get out. There I was lock - d in the beastly hole. 9 struck a match. It was lucky I had a match - ox along. Then I found an electric ight. The first thing my eyes lit on among that waste was a sheet of pa- },er. I picked ib up. I bad seen the writing before," "Where was it?" .ternmer'ed Went- worth, "Whose was It? Don't put up that ,loft on me," cried the actress scorn- fuily. "It was Merry's, of course, You recognized it in a second. It was the last speech I made in the gee. Aid act. -as it used to be -.-before• you, the author, changed it." "Well," cried Enoch fiercely. 'rhe woman paused and turned to him with an amused smile, "1 had forgotten about George Volk, the bloodthirsty passions of the prime tive man. Zilla Paget lifted a lorgnette which hung at her wrist by a jeweled chain. She clicked ib open, raised it to her eyes—and laughed. "I wonder," she murmured, "if you realize how ridiculous you look. You are too white -livered to do such a thing as that. Besides," she glanced about the sunlit room, "where could you hide the body?" Enoch tossed the blade upon his desk and began to walk up and down the floor. He rolled his handkerchief into a hard ball and dabbed with it continually at his moist forehead. The woman sat perfectly still, she turned to fold the sheets of paper, then she laid one hand upon them and lay back gracefully in her chair. Wentworth turned on her with a sudden question. "I'Iow much do you want for—Exhibit A and the rest of the evidence?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no intention of selling it." "Then what's your price?" Enoch's question snapped Iike a pistol shot. She looked up at him with a deri- He never showed sip, He does not count anyway, I. found the whole play in that closet," "Then what did 'you do?" Enoch's face was full of hatred and deflanee His maeylesat flabaymer with the tumult of an , "There was only one thing to do." Zilla Paget lay back 921 the chair and smoothed the chinchilla of her =Huff earessingly. "Of course I brought it away with me, every scrap of it, You would not have let such a valuable asset into the hands of a dustman, would you? There are only two pages missing. Do you care to see it?" "Damn you, no! I have no wish to see it," snarled Wentworth. "Any fool can tell at a glance it a first draft. Merry must have wri ten like mad. There is hardly change in it, Except for my own rol every line stands almost as it waswri ten." Enoch suddenly leaned forward 1 his chair, "You think you've got th strangle hold on me?" Miss Pageb laughed triumphantl "The strangle hold! You America have such jolly strong words; That great—the strange hold." She rose and folded the pages o manuscript, put them in her bag, the she drew off her coat and hung it o the chair behind her. She lifted gold case from the pocket, picked o a cigarette, and scratching a mabch li it, blowing a delicate ring of smok across the room. It flibted into Went worth's face. "I always know," she bent over t drop a fleck of ashes on a tray be side her, "or rather I have guessed for a long time, that you did not writ "The House of Esberbrook, " "What gave you that impression?" "For one thing, everybody tells how you and Merry were friends once— Castor and Pollux sort of guys, don' you know. You hate each other now An owl could see that with its eyes shut," "If you ever left the stage you could make big money in the detective busi- ness," Enoch laughed harshly. "Perhaps," she acceded. "Then I have rehearsed boo many plays not to know the author when I bump into him. I knew months ago that Merry wrote 'The House', but I could not prove it. You haven't got it in you to do that sort of work." "Thank you." Enoch laughed un- steadily. (To be continued). Weeding -Time in the Dairy, Feed being higher in price, and the cows demanding more of it, as wellas more comfortable quarters, greater care and attention, the winter season should be the one in which the farm- er detects and weeds out the undesir- able members of the dairy herd. . The old cow that has rendered good is service but now consumes more feed t_ than she pays for, should be promptly a weeded out by turning her over to the e markets, To say nobhing of her being 6 unprofitable the old and infirm are liable to sudden death any clay—a total loss! e With an accurate milk -test so easily obtained, many farmers still are milk- y, ing cows that give one-third more my milk than that produced by others, s; when bhe cream test is so low on these i larger quantities that the animals f barely pay for their care and feed the n Year round, Let the Babcock test as - n list you in this weeding out. a I The cow that eats twice as much as ut the average cow, must, in order bo t prove a profit maker, produce twice o as much dairy products, yet many' _ farmers unknowingly retain just such animals in the herd from year to year,! O simply because they do not take the time to look the matter up. Besides,! such a gormand is almost sure to o bring on digestive derangements' which will render her useless as a I milker, long before her allotted time, and thus add still another loss to her credit. t The severity of wintr weather seems to have a more deteriorating effect on some cows than others. They appear unable to withstand the rigors of winter, and fall off in both flesh and milk production to such an extent as soon as the severe weather sets in, that they just about pay for their feed and keep. Don't allow the' thoughts of a profuse flow of milk for a, few weeks during the summer to in -1 finance you in retaining such unpro- fitable members in the dairy herd. Weed them out, at once) Then, there are other types of dairy, 1 cows that we cannot afford to keep around us, The cow that has short t teats, or the one that is so difficult to i milk, had just as well be in the mar- ket -place, when you can secure others equally as profitable, with good-sized,I easily milked teats. And these easy milkers are no more costly than the THE VICTORIA CROSS AWARD. The Coveted Honor Is Never Con- ferred Conspicuously. It is a pathetic circumstance that two of the three Victoria Crosses be- stowed in the award to men of the fleet, as an outcome of the Jutland battle, pass to the families of men who did not live to receive the decor- ation in person. What gives the Vic- toria Cross its peculiar distinction among military honors is that nothing short of an absolute disregard of the risk of life establishes a title to it. It is never conferred promiscuously, and it runs no risk of being exhibited for sale with cheap jewelry in a shop win- dow. The only price is sacrifice, and with most of the men who have won the coveted distinction it is scarcely possible that in the hour of glorious performance they gave a single thought to the reward. Nelson's hero- ism is hardly the less sublime if he exclaimed "Westminster Abbey or a victory!" on the eve of a battle. But there is a type of man with whom the thought of glory and the instant im- pulse to obey the voice of Duty are strangers to each other. The vast majority of the roster of heroes who have worn the emblem of Crimean cannan-metal, with its royal crest, crowned lion, and the words "For Valour!" have incontestably belonged to the order of "the noble living and the noble dead." To Help Restore Louvain. A. committee of leading Russian scholars and professors has been es- tablished to assist the French com- mission to restore the world-renown- ed library of Louvain, in Belgium, which was burned by the Germans in the early days of the war. The Grand Duke Nicolas Miohajlovich is chair- man of the committee. Heartless Dad. "You shall not marry the cub, and that settles it." "But he loves me father. Vows he would die for me." "I have no objection to that, Tell him to insure his life in your favor and go ahead." `onside. ring the prices and merits of the different materials there passed over our section of country a heavy thunderstorm, Some friends and our- selves had been away to a picnic and we wore just retprning when the storm came up. The lightning was very sharp and close by, We thought, however, that we could reach the ehel- ter of a ohureh shed before the storm !reached rte height, We did not reach this shelter before an usually close flash of lightning nearly blinded us and almost instantaneously with it a barn about 40 rods away seemed to burst out in flames. The barn was. f411 of hay and was soon burned to the ground. This occurrence set us thinking and we decided to protect our new barn as far as possible from lightning. At first we thought of putting on light- ning rods; then we thought of the danger from fire from other causes, as sparks from the threshing engine, or accidental firing of the straw stack. The outcome was that we priced the galvanized iron siding and shingles manufactured by bhe different firms and found them to be so little higher in price than the wood that we bought enough for the barn. We now have a building, the whole exterior of which is made of galvaniz- ed steel. Conducting wires run into the ground from the roof, making it lighbning proof and we have practi- cally nothing to fear from fire coming from an outside source. It cost us a little more, but we believe we get bet- ter value for the money spent in that it will last longer, our insurance is less and we have greater peace of mind.—Hiram Wheeler in Farm and Dairy. Nudges in the Right Direction. Have an understanding with the company that insures your buildings before you get a gasoline engine. It may save a lot of trouble. If you have not basins for your cows to drink out of in the barn, you can get a small heater for the watering trough h g outside, This will take the chill off so that the cattle will come back feeling comfortable and good in- side, Have seen cows stand for a long time at the watering trough in cold weather, as if dreading to,take in the ce-cold drink set before them. Have seen those cows, too, go away from he trough all humped up and shiver - ng with the cold. It takes a lot of animal vitality to warm up a cow after she has been chilled that way. Clean out your stables three or four times a day. Begin the first thing" in the morning. Do the work before ones you fool away so much time and strength with at milking -time. The Y kicker, and the breathy cow also 1 come under this came class, for, while a they may give a goodly quantity of milk, the various points of undesir- a ability are none the less present --loss d of time during the milking-hours;clan.,ger; damage to fences, clops, and the animals themselves. 1 n ne must himself be a good neighbor. Your wife measures your love efor er by the little things you do. She' an't help it. No use balking love tire herd, since they are at least a'a part of the foundation on which we: ° shall build. No sane man can ex -1 pect that bhe offspring of the above '1 mentioned cows will show sufficient improvements to warrant one in keep -1 p ing them as milkers. Indeed, thele' is a far greater possibility that there will be more of a retrograding in the a strain, and that, within a few years' time, the herd will not only fail to prove a source of profit, but actually' will return less dairy products Lo the' w farmer than the cost of their feed and ib the amount of bime and labor expend-' - ed in caring for them, while, with con- servative weeding out of the undesir- able members, and a judicious selecet - tion of the choicest offspring as breeding stock; the standard of the herd will be materially advanced -not only above the "average", but above those which rank as first class. miiking. Then again about the time ou let your cows out to drink. Fol - ow this up stiII later before milking t night. Care in this particular may mean health and safety to your herd nd to those who use your farm pro- uct. Worth while, isn't it? Moving away to some other part of the country never gave a man good eighbors. To have good neighbors,' But bhe gr"elest of all reasons for ° weeding out the undesirable members! of the dairy herd, is the influence these h would exert on the future of the en -.e nd then letting her dig the wood out f the snowbank, 1 Kindlings in the oven will burn all , ight, and often they burn the house up with them before morning, Don't ut them there. Hogs are not fools. They know hen they are warm, dry and comfort- ble. They will put on fat faster if ou see to it that they have all these i things on their side. If you have a farm so poor that it ill not raise white beans, make it so will. You can do it. The soil is 1 of to blame, neither are the beans.' t is your part to build the oldfarm up nd make it blossom like the rose. Two really good sheep will soon ock a whole farm. A thousand poor nes never will do it as it ought to be done. If you want good lambs in the spring, keep the ewes well in the win -1 ter. Why We Built a Steel Barn. Our barn had become so delapidat- ed that it was necessary to fix it or it would soon fall down and the prices of building material were so high we did not know what kind to buy. Wooden siding sheathing and shingles had been steadily going up in price year after year, until they had reach- ed the point that we almost feared we could not afford to buy them. The old barn had to be fixed, however, and we decided to make a complete job of it when we did do it, so got quotations ort new siding and shingles for the whole building. One evening about the time eve were eo?rill V; "Stint no. hill ('an't ger see the blighter don't tmderetand lingitsb? and it's, blinlcln' shame to waste alt that goad bad language er, env'. London itysten'er, Pears For clear, white delicately flavored preserved pears use Laramie The ideal sugar for all preserving. Pure cane. "FINE" granulation. 2 and 5 -lb cartons 10 and 20 -Ib bags "TheAll-PurposeSugar" PRESZOVIIIC LAMS FREE, 04 b,mrd bud Pl�rinted label. for a red lr e.de.mork. Soul to Atlantic Sugar Refineries, Ltd. YoWar Bldg., Montreal 70 emaaasassfeessaasseasemasemais The best sheep in the world may be spoiled by a poor fence. Holes in the fence around the sheep lot mean a tired man, for the sheep will find them as sure as you are born. Some roosters have a wicked way of tackling every rival that may lift up his head in the yard. Put a stop to ib by taking the fighter out and giving the rest peace, Spraying the houses is not all there is to keeping them clean, Scrape up the droppings before you do the spray- ing. That counts. The boy that tickles the colt needs tickling with a good swibch off the peach tree. He would get it too, if he were my boy. Any maples on your farm? Make a lick of syrup to go along with the pancakes. Licking good! Solomon` Decision. Two brothers inherited a farm and quarrelled violently as to its division. Now there lived in their village a cer- tain shrewd and wise old man, noted for the soundness of his advice. Him bhe brothers determined to appoint arbitrator. Whatever he said they would abide by. They Iaid the mat- ter before him. Fora long while he thought, then delivered judgment, "You," said he, pointing to the elder, "shall divide the farm as you think fair. And you," he continued, point- ing to bhe younger "shall have the first choice." A Wish. I wish I was a landlord gay, My life would be content, For no one knows an easier way To go, and raise the rent. Cleared Out. "Dubbleigh claims to have an open mind." "Ah, that explains his lack of ideas; they have all escaped." Celery is a good cure for rheumat- ism and neuralgia, The River Orinoco, in South Amer- ica, is over three miles broad for nearly half its course, while during floods the width, even at places far from the seais often a h , undred miles, 5 roc sTAetaaomtkeeatntt weatereoats THE man who puts clothing to the hard- est test usually selects Penmans when it comes to sweaters. He knows, of course, from experi- ence that they wear like so much' iron, that they fit right and look right. After all there is nothing like accepting what an overwhelming majority take as a standard. Say Penmans, Penman. Limited Pari■ ACROSS THE BORDER WHAT IS GOING ON OYER IN THE STATES. Latest 7•Iappenings in Big :Itapublio Condensed for Ilusy Readers, Infantile paralysis is laid to vaccine 'virus by the Anti -Vaccination League of America. A St.. Louie clergyman was mar- ried over the telephone to a woman many miles away. 1 Bids to provide food for the navy indicate an increase of between twen- ty and forty per cent. in the Gest of staple articles. In a statement made public, Henry Ford announced that, although "born a Republican," he would cast his vote for President Wilson. I Francisco Villa is in control of the 1 State of Chihuahua and has become is "dangerous factor" once more 1 American army officers report, r The American and Mexican Joint Commission reports, that substantial progress is being madetoward an agreement on the Mexican situation, Mayor William Hale Thompson, of Chicago, has been fined $600 by fed- eral authorities for violations of the motor boat laws. The fine has not yet been paid. The uncle of the author of "I Didn't Raise My Boy to be a Soldier" is the father of his thirteenth son, in Brooklyn, and says he would be willing for all to wear khaki. New school buildings and annexes costing $1,000,000, which will ac- commodate about 6,000 more pupils, have been completed in Philadelphia since the close of the last school term. The young woman mortally wound- ed when Mrs. Harry Balzer killed Joseph C. Graveur, in Philadelphia,. proves toMrs. be M s. Josep h C. Le Duc, of Chicago, wife of a well-known golf player. Investigations of a new blackmail. plot in which, it is alleged, a wealthy Iowa man was fleeced out of $10,000 by the "million dollar blackmail syn- dicate" was started by Chicago Fed- eral officials. The old Dent home in St. Louis, Mo., in which U. S. Grant, then a captain in the regular army, was married to Miss Julia Dent, was' sold at auction recently to John 11. Gun - lath for $4,325. Merger of the Pacific Coast Steam- ship Company, owned in New York, and the Pacific -Alaska Navigation Company into a new steamship com- pany, to be known as the Pacific Steamship Company, was announced at Seattle, Wash. - CLIMATE AND ARCHITECTURE, The Roof Is the Most Important Part in House -building. Architecture has been affected by many influences, such as race, cli- mate, accessibility of materials, re- ligion and social conditions, An in- teresting article on the subject ap- pears in a recent issue of the Builder, in which it is shown that climate is the principal influence in .determining the type of roof and of windows. The roof is the more important, for the history of architecture is very largely the history of roof -building. A cli- mate such as that of Egypt, which Is very hot and has only a alight rain- fall, demands a flat roof, which is the simplest way to protect a building from heat. As the exclusion of moist- ure is of secondary importance, a eloping roof is unnecessary. To ob- tain Light only small openings are used, since it is natural in a hot and very sunny climate to prefer a dim light as a relief from the glare out- side. The flat roof also affords an agreeable place to sleep during hot weather. Greece and Italy have bril- liant sunshine, but less heat and more rain than Egypt. The consequence is that a roof sloping enough to carry off'tlie rain water is a necessity. The slope adopted for the roof settled the proportion of the pediments. The na- tural method of excluding rain wa- ter from a building with a pitched roof is to let the roof plane project beyond the external face of the wall, and thereby to cover the joint be- tween roof and wall. As a result we have the cornice, which may be said to have sprung from an absolute con- structive necessity. In northern countries, where there is more rain alid occasional snow, steeper (roofs than those used in Greek and Raman buildings are required; windows are larger, and details, to be in keeping,. must be bolder. He Was Experienced. Mrs. Aytoun wanbed • some new shoes, so she went into a shop, when an obliging assistant brought out a selection for her to try on. "That's strange, madam," said he, after many vain attempts to fit her. 'One of your feet Is larger than bits other," Bristling with rage, the lady left that shop and sought another. here, again, the assistant failed to find a pair which would do, "How curious, madam!" he said. "One of your feat is smaller than the other." And, with a beaming smile, Mrs. Ayboun bought two pair, Storks will feed upon locusts anti) they are too full'te flul. Ana rule, ,Tapanese playa last from ;ai±c o'rleek in the morning until nine tt lii;iht, r 1 1111411,14111°.