6 — —" glßto * s *^k 7 SERIAL V \j7 story c\J ITHE MAKER] IOF MOONS; ■— ■■III II ; I B, I J ROBERT W. CHAMBERS <•> MM— <S> <ft> <•• •♦> H Illustrations by J. J. Sheridan w -&&• - • (Copyright, G. P. Putnam's Sonsj SYNOPSIS. The story opens in Now York. Roy Car denhue, the story-teller, inspecting a queer reptile owned by George Godfrey of Tiffany's. Hoy and Harris and Pierpont, lwo friends, depart on a hunting trip lo ('ordinal Woods, a rather obscure local ity. Harris revealed the fact that he had joined tiie secret service for the purpose of running down a gang of gold uiukers. iTOf. LaG range, on discovering tiie gang's formula, had been mysteriously killed. Barris received a telegram of in structions. He and Pierpont set out to locate the gold making gang. A valet re ported seeing a queer Chinaman in the supposedly untenanted woods. Hoy went hunting. lie fell asleep In a doll On awakening he beheld a beautiful girl at a small lake. A birthmark, resembling a dragon's claw, on Roy's forehead had a mysterious effect upon the girl, who said her name was Vsonde. Suddenly she dis appeared. Fleeing In terror 'ley beheld tt horrible Chinese visage peering at him from the woods. Harris and Pierpont re turned. Harris exhibited i reptile, like that owned by Godfrey. A ball of sup posed gold, he held, suddenly became alive. He told of the Kuen-Vuin. a Chi nese nation of sorcerers, numbering 100,- 000,000, and explained that the Moon Ma ker. their ruler, whose crescent symbol was a dragon claw, was supposed to have recently returned to earth. Harris Pier pont and Hoy failed to tlnd Ysonde's dell. Hater. Roy, hunting, came to the beauti ful spot, where he found Ysonde. She told him how her stepfather, evidently a Chinaman, made gold and of his mysteri ous actions. Suddenly all turned black and Roy awoke to find himself stunned and bleeding on his own doorstep, Roy recovered quickly. Harris, under a mys terious spell, told of his stay among the Chinese sorcerers, his love there and its false ending. CHAPTER Vll.—Continued. "Yian—l have lived there —and loved there. Wheu the breath of my body shall cease, when the dragon's claw shall fade from iuy arm—" he tore up his sleeve, and we saw a white ■crescent shining above his elbow — "when the light of my eyes has faded forever, then, even then I shall not forget the city of Yian. Why, it is my home—mine! The river and the thou sand bridges, the white peak beyond, the sweet-scented gardens, tiie lilies, the pleasant noise of the summer wind laden with bee music and the music of bells—all these are mine. Do you think because the Kuen-Yuin feared the dragon's claw on my arm that my work with I hem is ended? Do you think because Yue-Laou could give, that I acknowledge his right to take away? Is ho Xangi, in whose shadow the white water-lotus dares not raise its head? No! Xo!" he cried, vio lently, "it was not from Yue-Laou, the scorcerer, the Maker of Moons, that my happiness came! It was real, it was not a shadow to vanish like a tinted bubble! Can a sorcerer create and give a man the woman he loves? Is Yue-Laou as great as Xangi then? Xangi is God. In His own time, in His infinite goodness and mercy, He will bring me again to the woman I love. And 1 know she waits for me at God's feet." In the strained silence that followed I could hear my heart's double beat and I saw Pierpont's face blanched and ptiful. Barris shook himself and raised his head. The. change in his ruddy face frightened me. "Ifeed!" he said, with a terrible glance at me; "the print of the dragon's claw is on your forehead and Yue-Laou knows it. 11' you must love, then love like a man, for you will suf fer like a soul in hell, Jn the end. What is her name again?" "Ysontle," I answered, simply. CHAPTER VIII. At nine o'clock that night wo caught one of the goldmakers. I do not know how Harris had laid his trap; all I saw of the affair can be told in a minute or two. We were posted on the Cardinal road about a mile below the house, Pierpont and I with drawn revolvers on one side, under a butternut tree, Harris on the other, a Winchester across his knees. I had just asked Pierpont the hour, and he was feeling for his watch when far up the road we hoard the sound of a galloping horse, nearer, nearer, clattering, thundering past. Then Barris' rifle spat flame and the dark mats, horse and rider, crashed into the dust. Pierpont had the half stunned horseman by the collar in a second —the horse was stone dead— and, as we lighted a pine knot to ex amine the fellow, Harris' two riders galloped up and drew bridle beside us. "Htn!" said Barris, with a scowl, "it's tho 'Shiner,' or I'm a moon shiner." We crowded curiously around to see the "Shiner." He was red-headed, fat and filthy, anil his little red eyes burned in his head like the eyes of an angry pig. Barris went through his pockets methodically while Pierpont held him and I held the torch. The "Shiner" was a gold mine; pockets, shirt, boot legs, hat, even his dirty fists, clutched tight and bleeding, were bursting with lumps of soft yellow gold. Barris dropped this "moonshine gold," as we had come to call it, into the pockets of his shooting-coat, and withdrew to question the prisoner. He came back again in a few minutes and motioned his mounted men to take the "Shiner" in charge. We watched them, rifle on thigh, walking their horses slowly away into the darkness, the "Shiner," tightly bound, shuffling sullenly be tween them. "Who is the 'Shiner?'" asked Pier pont, slipping the revolver into his pocket again. "A moonshiner, counterfeiter, forger, and highwayman," said Barris, "and probably a murderer. Drummond will be glad to see him, and I think it like ly he will be persuaded to confess to him what he refuses to confess to me." "Wouldn't he talk?" I asked. "Not a syllable. Pierpont, there is nothing more for you to do." "For me to do? Are you not coming back with us, Barris?" "No," said Barris. We walked along the dark road in silence for a while, I wondering what Barris intended to do, but he said nothing more until we reached our own veranda. Here lie held out his hand, first to Pierpont, then to me, saying good-by, as though he were go ing on a long journey. "How soon will you be back?" I called out to him as he turned away toward the gate. He came across the lawn again and again took our hands with a quiet affection that I had never imagined him capable of. "I am going,"he said, "to put an end to his gold-making to-night. I know that you fellows never suspected what I was about on my little solitary evening strolls after dinner. I will tell you. Already I have unobtrusive ly killed four of these goldmakers— my men put them under ground just below the new wash-out at the four mile stone. There are three left alive —the 'Shiner' whom we have, another criminal named 'Yellow,' or 'Yeller,' in the vernacular, and the third —" "The third," repeated Pierpont, ex citedly. "The third I have never yet seen. But I know who and what he is—l know; and if he is of human flesh and blood, his blood will flow to-night." As he spoke a slight noise across the turf attracted my attention. A mounted man was advancing silently in the starlight over the spongy meadowland. la A ? I.V > i \ '-h * I \ yJ fc] | : . Vl I "Then Barris' Rifle Spat Fire." When he came nearer Barris struck a match, and we saw that he bore a corpse across his saddle bow. " 'Yaller,' Col. Barris," said the man, touching his slouched hat in salute. This grim introduction to tho corpse made me shudder, and, after a mo ment's examination of the stiff, wide eyed dead man, I drew back. "Identified," said Harris, "take him to the four-mile post, and carry his effects to Washington—under seal, mind, Johnstone." Away cantered the rider with his ghastly burden, and Barris took our hands once more for the last time, j Then he went away, gayly, with a jest, on his lips, and Pierpont and 1 turned back into the house. For an hour we sat moodily smoking | in the hail before the fire, saying little until Pierpont burst out with: "I | wish Barris had taken one of us with him to-night!" The same thought had been run ning in my mind, but I said: "Barris i knows what he's about." This observation neither comforted i us nor opened the lane to further con versation, and after a few minutes Pierpont said good-night and called fori Hewlett and hot water. When he had been warmly tucked away by Howlett, I turned out all but one lamp, sent the dogs away with David and dismissed Howlett for the night. I was not inclined to retire, for I knew I could not sleep. There was a book lying open on the table beside the fire and 1 opened it and read a page or two, but my mind was fixed on other things. The window shades were raised and I looked out at the star-set. firmament. There was no moon that night, but the sky was dusted all over with spar kling stars and a pale radiance, bright er even than moonlight, fell over meadow and wood. Far away in the forest I heard the voice of the wind, a soft warm wind that whispered a name, Ysonde. "Listen," sighed the voice of the wind, and "listen" echoed the swaying trees with every little leaf a-quiver. I listened. Where the long grasses trembled with the cricket's cadence i heard iter name, Ysonde; I heard it in the rus tling woodbine where gray moths hovered; I heard it in the drip, drip of th«, dew from the porch. The silent meadow brook whispered her name, the rippling woodland streams re peated it, Ysonde, Ysonde, until all earth and sky were filled with the soft thrill. Ysonde, Ysonde, Ysonde. A night-thrush sang in a thicket by the porch and I stole to the veranda to listen. After a while it began again, a little further on. I ventured CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MARCH 11, I pes out into the road. Again I heard It far away in the forest and I followed it, for I knew it was singing of Ysondei When I came to the path that leaveu the main road and enters the Sw«et Fern Covert below the spinney, I hes itated; but the beauty of the night lured me on and the night-thrushes called me from every thicket. In the starry radiance, shrubs, grasses, field flowers, stood out distinctly, for thero was no moon to cast shadows. Meadow and brook, grove and stream, were il luminated by the pale glow. Like great lamps lighted the planets hung from the high-domed sky and through their mysterious rays (he fixed stars, calm, serene, stared from the heavens like eyes. I waded on waist deep through fields of dewy golden-rod, through late clover and wild oats wastes, through crimson fruited sweethrier, blueberry and wild plum, until the low whisper of the Wier Brook warned me that the path had ended. But I would not stop, for the night air was heavy with the perfume of water-lilies and far away, across the low wooded cliffs and the wot meadow land beyond, there was a distant gleam of silver, and I heard the murmur of sleepy waterfowl. I would goto the lake. The way was clear except for the dense young growth and the snares of the moose-bush. The night-thrushes had ceased, but I did not want for the company of living creatures. Slender, quick-dart ing' forms crossed my path at inter vals, sleek mink, that fled like shad ows at my step, wiry weasels and fat musk-rats, hurrying onward to some tryst or killing. I never had seen so many little woodland creatures on the move at night. I began to wonder where they all were going so fast, why they all hurried on in the same direction. Now I passed a hare hopping through the brushwood, now a rabbit scurrying by, flag hoisted. As I entered the beech second-growth two foxes glided by me; a little further on a doe crashed out of the underbrush, and close behind her stole a lynx, eyes shining like coals. He neither paid attention to the doe or to me, but loped away toward the north. The lynx was in flight. "From what?" I asked myself, won dering. There was no forest fire, no cyclone, no flood. If Barris had passed that way could he have stirred up this sudden exo dus? Impossible; even a regiment in the forest could scarcely have put to rout these frightened creatures. "What on earth," thought I, turning to watch the headlong flight of a fisher-cat, "what on earth has startled the beasts out at this time of night?" I looked up into the sky. The placid glow of the fixed stars comforted me and I stepped on through the narrow spruce belt that leads down to the bor ders of the Lake of the Stars. Wild cranberry and moose-bush en twined my feet, dewy branches spat tered me with moisture, and the thick spruce needles scraped my face as I threaded my way over mossy logs and deep spongy tussocks down to the level gravel of the lake shore. Although there was no wind the lit tle waves were hurrying in from the lake and I heard them splashing among the pebbles. In the pale star glow thousands of water-lilies lifted their half-closed chalices toward the sky. I threw myself full length upon the shore, and eliin on hand, looked out across the lake. Splash, splash, came the waves along the shore, higher, nearer, until a film of water, thin and glittering as a knife blade, crept up to my elbows. I could not understand it; the lake was rising, but there had been no rain. All along the shore the water was running up; I heard the waves among the sedge grass; the weeds at my side were awash in the ripples. The lilies rocked on the tiny waves, every wet pod rising on the swells, sinking, rising again until the whole lake was glim mering with undulating blossoms. How sweet and deep was the fragrance from the lilies. And now the water was ebbing, slowly, and the waves re ceded, shrinking from the shore rim until the white pebbles appeared again, shining like froth on a brim ming glass. (TO BE CONTINUED.) HIS TERRIFIC WASTE OF TIME. Awful Shock to Man Who for Years Had Written Extra Letter. "Perhaps as severe a small shock as I ever got," said a man who is careful of his time, "struck ine the other day when I discovered that for many years I had been mis spelling a certain word by the in troduction of an additional letter. It wasn't the misspelling of the word that disturbed me, it was the fact that misspelling it as I had done I had wasted so much time in writing it. But now I have begun to get back the time lost. "I have selected a word that I find I frequently use, a word from which one letter can be eliminated without Impairing its significance or its appeal to the eye, and from that word in writ ing I am now omitting that one let ter. "As ,I figure it, in about 17 years, by leaving out a letter from this word, I shall gain about as much time as I have lost by adding a letter to that other word. I shall square the ac count, and then I shall feel easier. "Time is the most valuable thing we have, and 1 hate to waste it." Bacteria in Street Mud. In a gram of street mud, equal to a cube of earth with sides of about a quarter of an inch, there are enough bacteria, if placed in line, side by side, to cover 259.74 feet. Keystone State Jots Saltsburg. The Vinton Colliery Co. has announced a reduction of 12 per cent in wages and of 20 per cent in nouse rents. The cut is made because of a decrease in business, and the com pany promises to return to the old wage scale as soon as business war rants. Easton. —Dr. James W. Moore, pro fessor of mathematics and experi mental philosophy at Lafayette col lege, died suddenly just as he was about to be operated upon. He had been troubled with an ulcerated tooth and the tissues of the neck began, swelling, blood poisoning having set in. Butler. —The section of road known as the llartstown cutoff, built at a cost of $250,000 by the Bessemer & Lake Erie railroad through a swamp which long seemed a bottomless pit, has been used for passenger service for the first time. The Bessemer ha« been at work on this half mile section of traek three years and hundreds of carloads of slag were used in filling the swamp. Harrisburg.—'The state department of agriculture gives a warning to farmers and others who buy fertilizers in its annual report on the analyses of the fertilizers sold in this state. The report says: "Many manufacturers after complying with the law requir ing the printing of the guaranty in sert additional items in their guar anties often with the result of mis leading or confusing the buyer. The latter would do well to give heed to those items only that are to be given as the law requires. During the year just closed 629 samples of fertilizer were analyzed and several prosecu tions brought for misbranding." Harrisburg.—State protection may be withdrawn from the turkey buz zard. Under the new game laws, drafted by State Game Commissioner Kalbfus and approved by the legisla tive committee of the State Sports men's association, the protection given for years to the eagle, the os prey or fish hawk and the great blue heron has been taken away, it being considered that such birds are not beneficial and entitled to the protec tion of the law. The removal of the bar to killing of the slow-sailing scavengers of the fields and woods is urged and the committee on game will be asked to put it on the pre scribed list. Franklin.—An unusual suit has been brought in the equity courts here by the Odd Fellows' lodge at Emlenton against Mrs. A. O. Giering. In 1872 Col. O. C. Redick began the erection of a two-story building in Emlenton, and the Odd Fellows induced him to add a third story to provide a lodge room, which they purchased from him for $2,320. Thus there were two es tates in the property. Col. Kedick's portion of the building passed to Mrs. Giering, and the Odd Fellows are now suing to compel her to repair the roof and the walls of the first and second stories. They contend that in pur chasing the third floor they bought protection from the elements above and support from beneath. Harrisburg.—The receipts of the state treasury for the month of Feb ruary have run considerably ahead of those of any month for the last half year or ,more, amounting to $2,627,- 800.86, and making the aggregate of the receipts for the quarter commenc ing December 1 and ending recently $5,974,809.41. This sum is $1,110,170 ahead of the payments at this time last year. The bulk of the receipts have come from state taxes on banks, trust companies and fire insurance companies through settlements with the auditor general. The general fund stands at the end of February at $8,073,999.25 against $6,515,309.44 at the close of January. The sinking fund is $2,645,047.11, or S3OO less than in January. Uniontown. —Through an order handed down by the court following an investigation of conditions at the Fayette county jail, William Cunning ham is dismissed as turnkey and is held under $2,400 bail to await the action of the grand jury upon present ments to be made; John Bungard, warden, is suspended pending deter mination of his case and is held un der S2OO bail to await the action of the grand jury on a charge of fur nishing liquor to prisoners; John Doyle, turnkey, is suspended and held under similar bail to await action on a charge of furnishing liquor to pris oners; Joseph 11. King, deputy sheriff, is exonerated. Sheriff P. A. Johns is exonerated from blame, but is direct ed to make radical changes in the jail management and to meet the costs of the investigation. Lewistown. —At a meeting of the Mifflin county board of commission ers the petition of the Juniata Valley Good Roads association for a SSOO con tribution towards rebuilding the 12 miles of state road through tne Lewis town Narrows was refused. The com missioners took the ground that the road had never been accepted by the county as a public highway. The as sociation expected a donation cf SSOO each from Mifflin and Juniata coun ties, and with the money the road could be putin good condition, with the aid of automobile clubs. WESTERN CANADA'S SPLENDID CROP YIELD FOR 1908. AMERICANS PROFITED LARGELY AND SEND BACK SATISFAC TORY REPORTS. The census branch of the Depart ment of Agriculture, Ottawa, Canada, has completed Its returns of the show- In# of Western Canada's grain yield for 1908, and the reports make very Interesting reading. In the three prov inces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, which comprise what may be known as Central Canada, there was a total wheat yield of about 107,000,000 bushels, worth to the farmer about 185,000,000; in addition to this the oat, barley and flax crops were worth an other $35,000,000. Letters have been received from many of the settlers from the United States. From these, that of Rev. Oscar L.. King has been selected. He lives In the vicinity of Edmonton, Alberta, and what he says will be of interest to those who con template moving to Central Canada. Every lino of the letter is Interesting. Those who wish for thi particulars as to how to secure homesteads and pre emptions should write any Canadian Government agent. Mr. King says: "Mr. M. V. Mclnnnes, Detroit, Mich igan: I am well satisfied with Al berta. This country offers excellent opportunities for anyone to make a good home for himself and family if he is willing to put up with a few hard knocks for the first two or three years. But it is worth a few hard knocks to get a 160-acre farm of rich, productive land with no mortgage on It. This province is well fitted for grains, stock raising and dairying. We have found the climate generally healthful, more healthful than Mich igan, and although the thermometer Bometimes drops to 40 degrees below rero in winter, yet we do not seem to feel that temperature any more than wo did 5 or 10 degrees below zero in Michigan. We like the winters. "The Government takes great inter est in the education of the people and quickly aids the settlers in establish ing schools where they are called for. The schools, though graded differently than those in the States, are efficient and advancing. Our great drawback has been the limited and inadequate railway facilities, but new roads are being rapidly built and many more are projected through various parts of the province. The new policy of the Alberta government to construct a great many branch lines throughout the province will greatly help all parts of the country. If those new settlers who have togo back a considerable distance from existing railroads and towns to find free homesteads will but locate along the line of a project ed railroad they will in two or three years be near both town and railroad. When I first came to this country three and a half years ago the home stead I took was 75 miles from a rail road town; now there is a railroad 25 miles north, another 25 miles south, and a third is being built through my neighborhood. "I think the prairie country or coun try that is partly prairie offers much better opportunities than the hilly portions." BURBANKED. " Cecilia City—What are you doing? Cyrus Cornswoggle—l'm pruning this apple tree. Cecilia City—What will science do next? Going to grow prunes on an apple tree! , In a Safe Place. "We have a man in this prison who never tried to escape," declared the head keeper. "What's he in for?" inquired the visitor. "Bigamy," replied the head keeper. —Bohemian. Important to Mothers. Examine carefully every bottle of CASTORIA a safe and suro remedy for infants and children, and see that it Si— 9 In Use For Over JJO Years. The Kind You Have Always Bought. Deserves Censure. A Boston woman is charged with throwing a pie in her husband's face. That's a fine way to waste pie! nod, Weak, Wenry, Wntery Eyes Relieved by Murine Eye Ueinedy. Com pounded by Experienced Physicians. Mu rine Doesn't Smart: Soothes liye Pain. Write Murine Eye Remedy Co . Chleago. for illustrated Eye Book. At Druggists. A woman wouldn't mind being poor BO much if all her acquaintances were Just a little poorer. Try the Natural laxative, Garfield Tea! It overcomes constipation and regulates liver and kidneys. Samples pent upon request. Garfield Tea Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. Even in fishing for husbands it is generally the big ones that get away. ONLY ONE "ItROMO QUININE." That is liAXATIVK BItUMO yUININK. Loott for tb.i siKnature of K \V. UKOVK. L'sod tliu World over to Cure a Cold in Oro Day. 25c. Life does not make us, we mate .lie. —Kavanagh. ON FAITH. Fat Man—Did you polish 'em up nice? Boy—Yep, look for yerself. Fat Man—l'll take your word for it. HAD AWFUL WEEPING ECZEMA. Face and Neck Were Raw—Terrible Itching, Inflammation and Soreness •—All Treatments Failed. Cutlcura Proved a Great Success. "Eczema began over the top of my ear. It cracked and then began to spread. I had three different doctors and tried several things, but they did me no good. At last one side of my face and my neck were raw. The water ran out of It so that I had to wear medicated cotton, and It waa so Inflamed and sore that I had to put a piece of cloth over my pillow to keep the water from it, and it would stain the cloth a sort of yellow. The ec zema itched so that it seemed as though I could tear my face all to pieces. Then I began to use the Cuticura Soap and Ointment, and it waa not more than three months before it waa all healed up. Miss Ann Pearsons, North field, Vt„ Dec. 19, 1907." Potter Drug & Cliem, Corp., Solo Props., Boston. CLASS THAT HUBBY WAS IN. Possibly Wife Did Not Mean It Just That Way, But There It Was. A husband and wife ran a freak show in a certain provincial town, but unfortunately they quarreled, and the exhibits were equally divided between them. The wife decided to continue business as an exhibitor at the old ad dress, but the husband went on tour. After some years' wandering th« prodigal returned, and a reconciliation took place, as the result of which they became business partners once more. A few mornings afterward the people of the neighborhood were sent into fits of laughter on reading the follow ing notice in the papers: "By the return of my husband, my stock of freaks has been permanently Increased." Kisses and Matrimony. The first stage of matrimony is when a woman kisses her husband to find out if he has been drinking. In the second stage if she does any kiss ing it is preliminary to asking him for money.—New York Telegram. OWES HER LIFE TO Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound Vienna, \V. Va. "I feel that lowa the last ten years of my life to Lydia > <■->&. E - Finkham's Vege * table Compound. Eleven years ago I wB/m (0 ? was a walking I fill ' 1 shadow. I had been ' 381? aswl under the din-tor's iW carebutgotnorelief. •• V;" »• My husband JHT Lydia E. Finkham's Vegetable Coin pound, made from native roots and herbs, contains no narcotics or harm ful drugs, and to-day holds the record for the largest number of actual cures of female diseases of any similar medi cine in the country, and thousands of voluntary testimonials are on iile in the Pinkham laboratory at Lynn, Mass., from women who have been cured from almost every form of female complaints, inflammation, ul ceration, displacements,fibroid tumors, irregularities, periodic pains, backache, indigestion and nervous prostration. Every such suffering woman owes it to herself to give Lydia E. Pinkham'a Vegetable Compound a trial. If you would like special advice about your case write a confiden tial letter to Mrs. Pinkliam, at Lynn, Mass. Her advice is tree, aud always helpfuL If you iraffsr ironi Fits, Falling Sicknosa, Spasms or bave children, or friends that do so, my New Dis covery wM relieve them, anil all you ara asked to do is tOK«a*l for uFree -tf of ~ Dr- May's Kpileptictde Care. t i ■ . cured tticiasnn.ls where everything else railed, free with directions. Express Prepaid. Guaranteed by May Medical Laboratory, under tha National fond and Drugs Act, June SOth, Jt>o6. Guar anty No. 18971. Fleane give AGE and full addrssa nit. w. n. MAY, CIS Pearl Street, New York City.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers