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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1901-03-29, Page 3' ' ' '' ' N' rI"-" !?+^• .... moo^. a LOT FIR EIRE. cr ✓~:/, o§ A TiIRILLING STORY OF CONTINENTAL CONSPiFIACY AGAINST BRITAIN. "You will owe Germany nothing. for 'she will be paid and overpaid for all 'rho does. Russia ,has made terms with !the Republic of France. Politically, !she ,has nothing to gain, by a rup- ture; but with Germany it Is differ- ent. Eine and France are ready at this moment to fly at one another's throats. The military popularity of emelt a war would 'be.,lmmense. The -cry to arms would ring from the Mediterranean to the Rhine." "Oh, I hope that it may not be war." she said. "I had hoped always that diplomacy. backed by' a waiting army, would be sufficient- France .at heart is true, I know, But. after all, it sounds like a fairry tale. You are a wonderful man, but how can you hope to move nations ? What can you offer Germany to exact so tre- mendous a -price?" "I can offer," Mr. Sabin said calm- ly, " what Germany desires •more than anything else in the world— the keit/ to England. It has taken •me six years to perfect my schemes: As you know, I was in •1America part of the•, time I was .supposed to bo in China. It was .there, in the laboratory of AIlison, 'that I commenced the work. Step by step I 'moved on—link by link I have forged the chain. I` may say, 'without falsehood or '•exaggeration, that my work would bo . tlio work of angther man's lifetime. With me it has been a labor of love. Your ,part, my dear Helene, .. will be ,a glorious one ; think of it, and shake off your depression. This hole and corner life is not for long—the time for which we have worked is at 'hand." She did not look up. there was no answering fire of enthusiasm in her dark eyes. The color came into her cheeps and, faded away. Mr. Sabin was vaguely disturbed. "In what way," she saki, with- out directly looking at him, " is Lord Wolfenden'"likely to be useful to you ?" • Mr. Sabin did not reply for some time, to fact, he did not reply at all: This new phase in the situa- tion was suddenly revealed to him. When he spoke his tone was grave enough—grave with an undertone of colitezpt. • "Is tit possible, Helene," he said, " that you have allowed yourself to think seriously of-,,. the love -making of this 'young man ? I must confess that such a thing in connection with you would never have •Dccarred to me In my wildest dreams!" "1 am the mistress of my own a f- feeti•ons," she said coldly. "I am not pledged to you in. any way. If •I were to say that I intended to listen seriously to Lord Wolfenden ---even if I were to say that I in- tended to marry him—well, there ,is no one who would darn to inter- fere! But, on the other 'hand, Ihavo refused Iaim. That should be enough for you. I am not going to discuss the matter at all ; you would not understand it." "I must admit," Mr. Sabin ' said, " th'et I probably should not. Of love, as you young people conceive it, I know nothing. But of that greater affection '— the• passionate love of 'a man for his race and his kind and his country -well, that has =8.1'ways seemed to me a thing worth ;living and working and dying for 1 I had fancied, Helene, that some - spark of that same fire had warm- ed your blood, or you would not .be hero to -day." "I think," she answered more gently. " that it has. I, too, be- lieve me, love my country and my ?people. and my order. It I do not find these all -engrossing, you must remember that I am a woman, and am young; I do not pretend to be capable only of impersongi and patriotic love." " Ay, you are a woman, and the blood of some of your ancestors will make itself felt," he added, looking at her thoughtfully. "I ought to have considered . the influence of sex tied heredity. 13y the bye. have you heard from Henri lately?" She shook her' hear, "" Not since he has been in France. We thought that whilst he wzt there It would be better for him not to write." Mr, Sabin Podded. "Most discreet," he reniarkerl so- tirically. "I wonder what Henri woulcl say if he knew ?" The girl's lip curled a little. " If even," she said, " there was really something serious for him to know, ..Henri would survive it, 1Iis is :not the temperature of sorrow. For twenty minutes he would be in a paroxysm. IT would probably send . out for • poison, which 'Pe would be careful not to take ; and play with a' pistol if ho were sure that it was 'not loaded. By dinner time he world be calm, the opera. world •soothe him still more, and by the • time it was over he would be quite • ready to ' take Mademoiselle Sortie - body out to supper. With the first glass of champti.gno his sorrow would be• drove -nee for ever. If any Wound remained at all, it would be rife"wound •of his vanity." You have considered, then, the ,possibility of upsetting my schemes . and withdrawing • your part 7" Mr. Sabin said quietly-. "Yon understand ,that your marriage with Henri • would • be an absolute necessity that without it all would be chaos. "I do not say that I have core sidered any such possibility, she answered. "If I make up my mind 'to withdraw, I shall give you no- tice: But I will admit. that I like 'teed Wolfenden and I detest Henri. lAh 1 I know of what you would re• mind the ; you need not fear, shall not forget! It will not be to- day, nor to -morrow, that I shall de- cide." A servant entered the room and iinnounced Lord Wolfenden. Mr. Sa- bin looked up. • " Where have you shown him r"" he reSked, Into the library, sir," a the girl - answered. Bad.abin swore softly ' between S is teeth, and eereng ,to ills feet. " Pecuso m{�,.. Selene, ho.. exclaim= t, "' I • Helix ''bring Lord Weltenden Into the drawing -room. Tliat girl is an idiot! She has shown hnn into the one room is the .house which I would not have had him enter for anything in tete world 1" CHAPTER :i XIV. The Way of the Womiin. Wolfenden bad been shown, as he supposed, into an empty room by the servant of whom he had inquired for Mr. Sabin. But the door was scarcely closed before a familiar sound from a distant corner warned him that he was not alone. He stopped short and looked fixedly at the slight, feminine figure whose white fingers were flesh- ing over the keyboard of a typewriter.. There was something very familiar;, about' the curve of her neck and the, waving of her brown hair ; her back was to him, and she did not tutu round. "Do leave ine some cigarettes," she said, without lifting her head. '•'Phis is, frightfully znonotonous work. • How much more of it, is .there for me to do?" "I really don't know," Wolfenden answered, hesitatingly.: 'Why; Blanche 1" 'Lord Wolfenden !". slie exclaimed; "why, what are you doing here'" "I might ask you," he said graver, "the same question." She stood up. "You have not come to see me 2" He shook leis head. • '"I had not the least idea that you were here," he assured her. IIer face hardened. "0f course not. I was an idiot to imagine that you would care enough to come, even if yon had known." "I;do not know," be remarked, "wiry youshoulu say that, On thc•contrary She interrupted him. "Ole I I know what you• are going to say. I ran away frons Mrs. Selby's nice rooms, and never thanked you for your kindness. I didn't even leave a message for you, did I? Well, never mind ; you know, whyl I dare say.'.' • Wolfenden thought that he did, but he evaded a direct answer., "What I cannot understand," he said, "is why you are here." "It is my new situation," site an- swered. "I was bound to look for one, you know. There is nothing strange about it. I advertised for a situation, and I got this one." He was silent. There were things in connection with this which lie scarce- ly understood. Slio watched him with a mocking smile parting her' lips. "It is a good deal harder to under- stand," she said, "why you are here. This is the very last house in the .world in which I should have thought of seeing you." • "Why ?" he asked quickly. She shrugged her shoulders ; her speech had been scarcely a discreet one. "I should not have imagined," she said, "that Mr. Sabin would have come within the circle of your friends." '"I do not know •wily he should not," Wolfenden said. "1 cousider him a very interesting man," She smiled upon leinr. • • "Yes, lie Is interesting,"• she said "only I should not have thought that your tastes were at all identical" • "You seem to know a good deal about him," Wolfenden remarked, qui- etly, For a moment an ocld light. glen cued in her egos; she was very pale.'Wolt- encien moved towards her. "Bla.nche," he said, "has anything gone wrong with you ? You don't look well." face, She withdrew her hands from her "There is nothing wrong with me," she ssald. "Hush 1 he, is coming." . Slie.swung round •in her seat, and the quick clicking of the:instrument was resumed as her fingers flow over it. The door opened, and Mr. Sabin entered. He leaned on his stick, Rtand- ing on the threshold, and glanced keenly at both of them, i "My clear Lord Wolfenden," he said. apologetically, "this is the worst of having country servant:er ai;ney shoyv- ing you in here. Como and joint us in the other room ; we are just going to have our coffee." Wolfenden followed him with iliac city ; they crossed the little hall and entered the dining -room. Helene was still sitting' there sipping her coffee in an easy chair. Slee welcomed him with outstretehed hand and a bril-. !tautly- soft smile. lir. Sabin, who was watching'lter closely, appreciated, per- haps for the first time, her rare wom- anly beauty, apart from its distinctly patrician qualities There was a change, and 11e was not the man to be blind to it or to under -rine its signifi- cance. He felt that on the eve of vioe tory he had anetll,er and an unex- pceted battle to fight ; yet he held, himself like a brave man and one used' to reverses, for he showed no signs of dismay. "1 want you to try a glass of this claret, Lord Wolfenden,"•ho said, "be- fore you begin your coffee. • I know that you aro a judge, and I,a:tn rather proud of It. You arc,not going away, Helene ?" •• . "I had no Wee ' of.' going;" • ;she laughed. 'This is really the only- hab- itable room in the house, and I am not going to let Lord Wolfenden send, mo to shiver in what we call tlie,dnan ing-room." •+ ?. "I should be yery sorry s le- .you thought of Ruch a, thing," Wol•fenden answered. ' "If you will' excuse me fpra ino .. ment," Mr. Sabin .said, ""I will unpapk some cigarettes. Helene, will' you seg that Lord Wolfenclon. has which liqueur he' prefers 2" He limped away, and Helene' watched him leave the room' ...with some surprise. These were tactics which she did not understand: Was be already .making up his mihd •that the game could be played •ivithont. her ? She Was pu zled:ea little uneasy. She turned to find 'WolfezfcIen'r 'ad;• miring eyes fixed upon'lier; she looked at him with a smile, ,half sad, half humorous. •, ""Let mo remember "she said, "X `nisi to see that' you have—what was *It? 011, liqueur.,. We 'haven't much ehoibe; you will find IKunintel and Chartreuse'. on the sideboard, and Benedictine; which my uncle 'hates, by , ,the bye,. at your elbow: ' ""No liqueurs, thnnke, *, he said. ;y'I wonder, did yon expect me tonight ? I don't think that I ought to have Come, ought I ?" "Wells, you certainly shyoty ' sli'e ttti= revered; with a smile, k^n. remarkable disregard for all precedents and con- ventions. You. ought to be already on your way 'to foreign parts with your guns and servants. It is Englishmen, bs'it not;who go always to the Rocky. Mountains to shoot bears when thele love affairs go wrong ?'! 'Ile was watching her closely, and he saw that she was less at her ease than she would have had him believe. He eaw, too, or fancied that he saw, a softening in Tier •fgee,,a kindliness gleaming out of - her lus'tr'ous eyes whtioh suggested new things to liim, "The Reeky Mounteina," he said, slowly, "inean despair. A men does not go so far whilst he has hope." She did not answer hien ; he gath- ered courage from her silence. "Perhaps," he said, "I' might now have been on my way there but for a' somewhat sanguine disposition -- a very strong determination, and," . he added .more softly, "'a very intense 'love ""It." takes," she remarked; " a very great deal to discourage an Eng- lisliman," "Speaking fpr ' myself," he' answer• ed, c' I defy. discouragement ; -1 .am Proof against it. 1 .love you -se. dear- ly„ Helene, th'a't h' simply decline to .give you up; I warn you. that 1 am 'not a lover to be shaken off." His seise was . , very.' tender ;; his words . sounded to her simple. but strong. He whs so sure of, Himself and his love.- Truly, • she thought, for lin Englishman tiffs. was no indifferent .wooer ;, his confidence thrilled her ; ' she felt her Heart beat.quiclfly under its sheath of drooping black." lace acid roses, • "I- am 'givin'g you," She sad; quiet- ly, "no hope. Remember that ;• but I do not want you tog° away '.' The hope which her tongue,so. stead- fastly refused to speak, he gather- ed from ,her. eyes, her face,'from that indefinable softeriing which seems to pervade at the moment of ,yielding ,a woman's •very personality..He was wonderfully happy, although he had the wit ,to keep it to Himself. "You need not fear," he whispered, "I shall not go away." • Outside •they'heardthe sound of Mr. Sabin's stick, She leaned over towards him. , • "I want:yen," slie said, ."to—kiss me. " His heart• gave a great leap;. but. he controlled himself. Intuitively,. he knew hole much was permitted to' him ; he seemed to •lieve • even some faint perception of the 'cause for her strange request. •He bent over • and took her. f aoe for a. moment between his: hands; her lips touched his—she Had kissed him 1 • • ' He stolid' away from her, ;breathless• with the excitement; of the moment. ,The perfume of her hair, the soft touch of. her lips, ,the gentle movement with which she had thrust, him away,these things were like the drinking of strong wine to him: Her own cheeks were' scarlet ; .outside the sound' of Mr. Sabin's stick greys- more and more distinct ; she smoothed her hair, and laughed softly .up at him: " At, least, ' shrr:murmured, " there ie, that to remember always." •• , ' CHAPTER XX t. .•,. A Handful of Ashes. ' The Countess of Deringham was sit- ting alone in her srinaller drawing" room, gazing steadfastly 'et a certain spot in the blazing fire before her. A little' pile of gray ashes • was all that remained of the sealed packet which she hail placed within the bars only a. few seconds ago. She ;watched it slowly .grow , shapeless -piece- tlf- ter • piece"event fluttering up the broad chimney.: A gentle, yet melan- choly • smile was, ,parting • her lips. A chapter of, her life was floating away there with 'the little. trembling strips lighter than the 'mit, already hope- lessly destroyed. Their disintegra- tion . brought with it a sense of free- dom wliieh she had 'lacked .for many years. ` Yet it w:as'•only the folly of a girl, the story' of a little foolish love -snaking, which those grdy, ash- en fragments, clinging sb tenstciously to the iron bars, .could have unfold- ed. Lady Deringltam was not it wo- man who had ever for a single mo- ment had cause..to reproaeh herself with any real' lack of duty' to the brave young Englishman weloin the had married so many years ago. • It was of those days she was, thinking, as 'she at there waiting for the caller, whose generosity had set her free. . At precisely four o'clock there was the sound of wheels in the drive, the slow movement- of feet hi the hell, and a servant announced a visitor., •"Mr. Sabin." Lady Deringltam smiled and greet- ed, him graciously. Me. Sabin leaned upon his wonderful stick for a, mo- ment, .,and Hien bent loci* over Lady Det'ingham'e" hand: Sae' pointed to an easy' ohair close 'io her own, anti he sank fur's• it with'"kos4ao n.ppearnnce of weariness. Ho was looking a liter"• old and tired, wancl he carried Himself withou:t•any. of his.usual buoyancy."Only'a few minutes ago," site said, "I burnt my letters. i. was thinking of those days' in Paris when tlm man announeegl yea! How • old it makes one. feel 1" . He looked at her ertticcilly. "I tm beginning' to arrive at the conclusion,"e he said, "that the poets and the novelists are wrong. It is the man who suffers l Look at my grey heirs!" - "'It fs •only the art of .my maid," site, said,. smiling,. "which co'noesls ' mitlo. '1)o not let me. talk of the past at All; 'to ,think'thatcwe lined ,so• long ago 'is, poshtiveiy o•pllalling,r". He shook Pis head 'gently.• • "Not so appalling," hetansweted "he- •tile thought ofetow long tee still have. ;.to Ares 1.One.reierets ono's youth as a matter=sof course, but ,the prospect bf, 'old 'ewe is inure terrible still`! •Lucky :those men ,and those' ieoumee who live. and Hien die. It is tlia-t interregnum--. 'the level,' monotonous ple•in of advance ing• old ago, when one takes the wat- ers at Carlsbad *Inti! locks askancew 4t; the: entre —tbre 1. ' as to. t;is wliai.t one h dread. To� watch our' em"an' degenera Cori, the chroppiitg;:sew y,of our ener- gles, the declineof .oris tngte—vvlsy,the tortures at Ilse lugnisltlon leers trifles to'it1" , She s'budder,ed;. •u little. "Yet paint old age. le, dreairy col- ' olr' firs," she sitid. • "I?pafnt,it a.•s•'ft Hoist seem to MeV w•ho. have ,i,ept • the kernel of';life be-. tween their teeth," he answered care- lessiy.."To the • itllei'rs : avoll,, one cares little,, about there:, -Meet. mep aril Iike cowss they a,se'•dotltented iso loil,g as they are. fed. 1'o' that -class X. dare sunh olriagetna,v see�pu,tn,'nniitorirXethlnp of rt rest, I:•lut neither yI • are; skirl " t them," . •' ""'oft `talk .asyou' alwit•ys telked,". she sis.lti: "Mr. Sabina its velo', Iike----4." IIs stopped her. ""Mr,•. Sabin; fly ,yoti leaser";.he o.e elalsned.tel anm particlilrlc anxlol s to ' preserve 'My' incognito ;Itisti now,' Evbr'" • sinee we' met yesterday I have; been regretting that I did not ovation it to you—I do riot wish it to be known that I am In England." "Mr.. Sabin it strait be, then," she answered ; . "only if I were you I wou name.ld "have chosen a more musical - "1 wonder—have you, by chance spoken of me to your son ?" lie asked. "It, is only by'chance that I have not," she admitted, ""1 have scarcely teen hire alone to -day, and lie was out last evening:Oleo you wish to remain Mr. Sabin to liim, also?" • "To erect.him particularly," Mr. Sfibin de - Lady'"young men ase seldom • cies- " Lady Deringham smiled. "ttolfenderi is not a• gossip," she re- marked ; "in fact, I believe he is gener- ally considered too reserved." "For ,the present, nevertheless," he Bald, "lt mo remain Mr. Sabin to liim alsat•I do not ask you this without a purpose." •• Lady Deringhnm bowed her head. Tills man had a right to ask her more, than such slight favors. "You sire still," she said,' "a man of mystery and incognitos. You are still, I suppose, a plotter' of.great schemes. Ip ;the old days you used to terrify me almost ; are you ,still .as daring ?" "Alas' no,",,•hes, answered.' ""Time is rapidly drawing me towards the great borderland, .and when my foot is once planted there' I shall carry out '-my' theories 'and snake Amy. bow , to the world with.the pest grace a man may whose .life has been one long chorus of disappointments •No 1''I have retired from the great stage; inine ,is nese only a passive occupation. One returns always, you$now, an'd in a mild way I have returned to the literary ambi- tions of my youth. It is in connection, by the bye, with tilts that I arrive at thefavor- which you so kindly promised to grant me." • "If you knew, 1'ietor,"•she said, "how grateful I feel owards you, you would not 'hesitate to ask me anything with- in my power, to grant." Mr. •Sabin toyed with his stick and gazed steadfastly into the fire. He was pensive for several minutes; then, with the air of a man who suddenly detaches himself from' a not •unpleas- ant trate of thought, he .looked up with 'a smile. ' "I atn••not going to tax you very severely," he said. "I am writing a` critical paper on the armaments of the world for• a European review. I had letters, of introduction to Mr. C., and he gave me a great deal.of valuable information: There wero one or two points, 'however, on which he was scarcely ,clear, and in the' course of conversation he mentioned• your hus- band's name as being tho greatest liv- ing authority upon those pointe. He offered to give me a letter to liim, but I thought it would perhaps' scarcely be wise" I fancied, too, you might be inclined, for reasons which we need not enlarge upon, to help Inc." Fora simple request .Lady Diering- ham's manner of receiviig it was cer- tainly strange; she was suddenly white almost to the li0s. A. look of Ztosittee fgas b ;as iii '.nil eyes. ' The fry{ tortliality, the absolute kindll-' Hess with which she had welcomed her visitor was gone. She' looked at him with now eyes'; •the old mistrust was born again. Once more he was the man to be feared and dreaded above a.11 other men ; ' yet she would .not give way altogether. He was watching her narrowly, and she made a brave ef- fort to regain her composure. ""But, • do you not know," she said, hesitatingly, "that'• my husband is a great invalid ?It Ise, very'painful sub- jeet for ali•'of usa;1ut eve fear that his mind le not what it used to be. 1I0 has never been the same man since that awful night in; the. Solent. His work is more of a hobby with him ; it would' not be at ail' reliable' for reference." "Not all of. It, certainly;" he assent-. ed. "Mr. 0. explained that to me. What I want is an opportunity to discrim- inate. ,some would be' very useful to me—the majority, of course, worse thaie useless. The particular informa- tion which I want cencerns the st tural 'd'efdate in some of the new 1 tleships" It would save an inure amount of time to get this sueeinc She looked away from. him, still tated. " There aro inured ; "serious, •has an' extraor value of his ow h always haunted should break i p He would not glance at them ; and t closely guarded for here without his k ever away himself, keepers is stationed O '"7;he wit of Sabin said, softly, "] '"Providing a Ing- ham said, "that ing. I do not understandans. ]Jo you know this There have by strangers to b husband's room. Only a f strang- er came here letter of'•introduction cess to the AdiniraInot. 'Orme to'•steal. my husband's work for the very pure e ow. difficulties," she . us, ones: My bus dinars idea as to n researches, and by a fear lest sem n and steal his pa suffer me to he room is too mo to take you t knowledge. He is n and one of the outside." a woman," Mr. s all-conquering." Lady 1.)er the woman is will what it all me this ? Perhaps you been ,efforts made teak into my els^ daysagoa with a forged and obtained ac 's library. He did He came to study ; he came, in fact, as which you ow to Brad and Throw a L A qo o 00 0 . p e e e o„ 0 rl•, al V 1 !!. 0 a 3 O " 0 C L, BRAIDING AND TBR OWING A LASSO. • A good rawhide lariat costs from ,eight to • twenty-five dollars and is therefore rather too expensive for the .average boy, but oven if it were within his reach it would be of little use to him, for the regulation lasso ,is from forty to fifty feet long, and 'far too heavy for a beginner to handle. There is perhaps no posses- sion of the cowboys' More subject to variation than his lasso ; what is ex- . actly suited to one seems altogether Unfitted for•another, and without his own partienilar style of rope a man loses half his efficiemey. I shall, there- fore, in this article, suggest several styles of rope, and each boy must select the one which seems best adapt- ed to him. Ordinary clothesline does not make a good lasso. It is rough and raw and frays too easily. If, however, clothes- line is experimented with, use the slip noose shown in figure 1, or better, splice the rope back as shown•in fig- ure .3. Linen tape may be braided into' a splendid rope, and even cot- ton tape is an improvement on clothenlir-e. Good, smooth cord will make a very fair lasso. Figure 5 shows a, five -strand braid, which is very strong and pliable. Take alter- nately each outside strand and cross it over the two following strands. The four -'strand cording shown in Figure 0, to my mind, gives a. better 'shap- ed rope than the one just described. The diagram itself is the best de- scription I can give of four -strand cording. Arrange them as shown, each strand under '.the one next to it, and then pull them tight, twenty-five feet is the best len a beginner. To make the loo braided rope fasten the end b means of the endless tie sltowh ure 1. When the winding is oo ed putthe end (BI through th (0) and pull the end (A) un loop and end• have entirely thea ed beneath the• coil. Then cut end (A) and the endless tie its plete. In order to Braver the ro smoothly- cover the loop' with c or some other strong clot drown in figure 4. Peal rawhide ropes are burl derground for some two, week afterwards greased with ' tanow to make them pliable. weeks underground will not im a, linen or hemp rore, but the, ing I would strongly advise; o careful where you hang up your when not using it, for grease very penetrating quality. The art of throwing a lariat not be reduced to rule. No ter do it alike. If you ask a cow teach you he will say that ever must learn to do it for himsel practice. He will be . quite wild. Show you how he throws the but his style. will be 'quite diff from the very next cowboy you and is certain to be entirely diff from the method . you finally' a The illustration shows the' char istic position assumed at the mo of delivery ; but it can oinly sug practice 1s the only master wh teach lasso throwing. band scarcely ever leaves the room. ! He works there with a revolver by his side. If he were to find a stran- ger near his work, I believe that he would shoot llI'm without hesita• - tion." " At night time "-- At night time he usually sleeps there in an anteroom, and outside there is a man always watching ;12r. *?bin looked thoughtfuL "It- is e'nly necessary," he said, " for me tU .-fie in the room for about ten . minutes, • and I zto- not 'need to carry anything away ; my memory, will. serve me for all that I require. By some means or other I must kayo that ten minutes. " You must risk your life," Lady Deringham said, "-for I cannot sug- gest any plan; I would help you if I could, btrt I am powerless." " I must have that ten minutes," Mr. Sabin said slowly. "Must 1" Lady Deringham raised her - eyebrows. There was a subtle change hi the tone of the man, a linnet ars' I the ,HIG the ice,'' full can rife o our- tell" a1" oe mus ,e made to leave ",By force?" ;T "If necessary," Mr. Sabin answer- ed coolly. Lady Deringhatn raised her hand to her i'Qreheaad and eat thinking. Tho man's growing earnestness be. wildered her. What was to be done —what could she say ?. After all he was not changed ; the old fear of him was creeping through her veins, yet she made iter effort. " You want those papers for some- thing more than a magazine arti- cle," she declared. " There is some- thing behind all this 1' Victor, I can- not help you ; I am powerless. I will take no Burthi anything which I cannot understand." Ho stood up, leaning a little upon his stick, the dull green stone of which flashed brightly in the fire- light. " Yon will help me," he said slow- Iy. " You will let me into that room at night, and you will see that your husband is not there, or that he does not interfere. And as to that magazine article, you aro right I What if it were a lie! I do not fly at small game. Now, do you under- stand ?" (To be Continued.) • at/ Only yesterday my, son began to take the same interest in the same thing. The whole of, this morning he spent with his father, under the pretence of helping. him ; really he was studying and eamining for himself. Ile has not ,tq'Id me .what it is, but -he has a reason for this; he, too, has some ' suspicion.: Now you come, and your mission is;,t ,e same. ,What does, it all mean,? I will write to Mr. C. myself; he will cosi•° gown and advise me." t "I would not do that if I were you," ,Mr. `Sabin,: said, quietly, "Mr. C. ' would not thank you to be dragged drown here on such an idle errand." "Ath, het would it be an idle er- rand? she said, slowly. Victor; be frankwith me. I should hate to re- fuse anything you asked me. Tell me what, it means. Is my husband's work of • any real value, and, if so, to whom and 'for what purpose ?" fir. ,Sabin was gently distressed. "My dear Lady Deringham," he said, "1 have told eau the exact truth. I, want to get some statistics for. my paper. Mr. C. himself recommended me to ,try' and .get • trhem. from your has - band.; that is absolutely:, all. As for this attempted' robbery of which -y*ou •w'eretelling me, believe me when I •a'ssuxe . y'ott 'that.. I kuolw nothing whatever. about it, Y'eeir son's inter- est • is, after all, only natural. The ;study ,of 'the 'papers on which your husband;hs been engaged is' the only reasenaible' test qi his sanity. p'ank- ly, I cannot ;: believe that anyone in Deed Dexiit haria s mental state could produce any work likely te be of the 'slightest permanent vette" y The Countess sighed. "I suppose that I' meet believe you, Victor, she -s its ,,' yet, riotwithstand- ing •ail that you say, I do not know "how, • to thelp ..you -•- my, has. Funny Folks. • Johnnie Paw, what is a sine- cure ? Parent—.A sinecure, my son, is a job where a fellow gets a big sal- ary for working overtime at noth- ing. . Promoter—Now you furnish the capital and I will furnish, the esperi- anec, understand ? Wary Magnate— Perfectly. I bought some experience several years ago on that same ''basis. She• -Oh; I have no doubt you love ine ; but your love lacks the supreme touch—unselfishness, "What makes you say that ?". "You admit. it. You want me for yourself alone, you say," • Gladys—Ferdy says 'he talks •e,11 night in his sleep. Edith -Oh, well, he sleeps all day in his talk, so what's the difference ? !The two Ii'onsebreakers had nearly eorne to blows. "You promised to divide with' me, and you're keeping everything," oom- ptained one. . "NO, I'm not keeping everything," replied th'e other."rni not keeping my promise,'" ri g 1 1 , SS' G ADE CEY!JS \ TEA • is :Abso ite1y PL1te. Get the 25 cent package. BLACK. . GREEN. MIXE PROFIT IN OSTRICH FARMS. New Zealand is Entering ;Upon t1 Industry on a, Large' Seale. • Very remunerative in ostrich fern lug, which, fora considerable tins followed in ' California" has now bee introduced into New Zealand. Fit hundred of the birds are now, on Oil farm, of the Messrs. Nathan, e Whitford Park, a abort distend from Auckland. All the steps it til industry, from the hosting of 't1i birds to ;the. dressing, - dyeing an mounting of the plumes, are Barrie on at, this establishment. The mana,get••states that an a.dul bird requires about the same amours of attention as a sheep, and the the ostrich consumes about twice fa quantity -of grass needed by a. 'sheei The birds' become dividend poy"'ii invostnigntS when they are abovtt I months old, after which age they of ;clipped every eight months. The fel triers arse teorth from $3.75 to $64 per pound, the after dressing inerett ing the value enormously.. The male and female birds maned the ,tucubatot of the eggs betwer tbem,,taking four-hour watches ea 'I;io his share of this duty the ns, ostrich adds the labor of turning in eggs. The chicks aro Band fed, 1 with ,those of the ordinary fart) yardfowl, and aro reared withol seribus loss. A well kmorwn edi ah;tor coiekle, the, ability to decipher obscures hen wrlthcg promptly and accurately 1 an excellent test of general itttell gonae- l%01li'nstone NOnnoss--Did, She' gl yona , good meal ? Hungry IZurryup—yes but g , , s11e Telnet o' huffy whe% I got throrlgh iI ‘tt,sked 'tor a finger bowl" ° .. • .1 1.