> Getting the < < Best oF It. \ > By FREDERICK SHADER. < s \ C .Copyrighted 1!*». by Associated ' _i i^-^r^ r y Press. ( Until the coming of Chiswlck th< camp liad taken it for granted tha some day Letty Chester would inarrj Henry Bruce. The two had grown uj together in the east, and Bruce h-ic come west with Letty's father ii search of health and fortune. Gordon Chester had fyund SOHH small wealth, while Bruce had founc the health he sought. Then Cliestei had died, leaving his little fortune ii the hands of liniee as executor. The camp looked to see a marriagi follow quickly after Letty's year o: mourning, hut no such announcemen was made. Then the arrival of Chis wick on the scene put a new complex ion on affairs. Down at the Spread Eagle danc< hall the women called him "cute." Alen applied other and less complimen tary adject i> os. hut Letty looked o: hint with favor. He was the sort of man who attracts impressionable women only about five feet six in height, but he was natty and trim of person and carried himself with a little swagger that al ways impresses the unthinking. lie was neatly groomed and in every way the antithesis of six foot Henry Itruce, whose clothes (lapped about ii lank form and who walked with u slight stoop, as most tall men do. Chlswick had come to camp as the agent for a supply firm. The cam] had grown in the last few years, and though no bonanza strike had adver tlsed the place to the rest of tin world, there was gold in plenty in the mountains and every prospect that tIK place would continue to grow. Chlswick had a shack built for hi "ROC STAKE THAT CLAIM." samples, and once the place was opes he left a clerk in charge and devotes himself to Letty. Chiswick had thi odd faculty of making others work though he himself lacked habits of in dustry. and he preferred riding in: the hills with Letty to attending t business at the store. For six months the courtship contli ned; then one day Chlswick foui.t Bruce waiting for him at the stor ms lean length was sprawled ove Chlswick's own chair at the rear <■: the shack, and Chiswlck eyed his caller angrily as the latter slowly rose. "It was a long wait, and that was the only comfortable chair," explained Bruce, guessing the cause of the oth er's anger. "It must be important, since you wait In spite of discomforts," retorted Chis wick. "T left word that I would be back at 5." "I had the time," said Bruce, and 1 wanted to see you—about Miss Ches ter." "That was to be expected," sneered Chiswick. "I've been expecting it foi some time. Because you haven't the nerve to win her for yourself I sup pose that you want to use your club as guardian and tell me that I am to keep off your preserves. Bather handy, isn't it. Hank?" "It would be if-1 wanted to do such a thing," was the quiet retort, "but what I came to see you about was to ask if you are going to propose. "You've made a lot of talk in tie camp, but you have said uothiug defi nite to Letty. or at least she has tol I me nothing about it If you have, ai I think I have a right to know." "V >u are a man of the world, or yon were before you 1 uried yourself in this place. You must know that just b" cause a man is nl'-e to a pretty girl i does not argue that he wants toman her." "We look at things differently here in the mountains." retorted Bruce, -y, i know very well that the entire cauip expects you to marry Letty, and tin ' are wondering why you don't say some thing about It. As her guardian I have come to ask you to come out in the open. That's our way." There was a glitter in Bruce s eyes that warned Chiswlck to be careful, and the snarl faded from his face and his oily voice returned as he sought to argue that his income was too small and too uncertain to permit him to marry. Bruce listened patiently until the end; then he looked up slowly. "Then it's only because you can't af ford to marry that you don't ask Let ty?" demanded Bruce. Chiswlck nodded. It seemed the oue Insurmountable objection that he could advance. lie had no intention of mar rying I.etty. She was a pretty child, and she had helped to pass the time, but also there was always the hope that Ills work !n this wilderness would result in a call to the city, and there Letty would be a sad hindrance. "You needn't worry about that." cried Bruce. "You look here! I sup pose you know the branch they call Cat creek?" Chiswiek nodded, and Bruce contin ued: "There is a gulch leading off that creek with a tall pine at the mouth. At the top of the gulch Is u spruce. Walk along a line with those two trees until you come to a place where there is a cleft in the rocks uu derfoot. You stake that claim, and I guess that you can afford to be mar ried." Chlswick thanked him profusely, an I by the next night the camp knew that Chlswick had fallen upon a bonanza. "The darned little fool wasn't even looking for it," explained one of the miners. "lie just naturally fell up against it, but unless I'm mistaken it's going to be the making of this camp. It's a pity that a man didn't locate it." The sentiment was generally echoed, but there is no questioning the favors of fate. In six weeks development work had shown clearly that the mine was a winner, and on the heels of the assurance came the announcement that Chlswick had sold a third interest for SBOO,OOO. Then the town looked for the an nouncement of his engagement to Let ty, but the announcement was nut forthcoming. Not until Bruce remind ed him of their understanding and threatened to publish him as a liar did Chlswick speak. It was a grudging, ungracious pro posal that he made, but Betty was too happy to question the degree of his enthusiasm. Yet before she uttered a trembling "Yes" she hesitated. "I wonder what my guardian will say?" she said with a little shiver "He doesn't like you, Jack. Perhaps we can't get married until after I come of age." "Bruce?" asked Chlswick with a laugh. "Why, lie put me wise to this mine, because I explained that 1 did not have enough money to marry ct. I don't suppose that he knew how good it was, but he knew it was some thing good, and that shews that he Is not only willing, but anxious." "He gave you the mine—to marry me?" she gasped. "Sure," assented Chlswick. "I>on't you worry about Bruce." "I am not worrying about Mr Bruce," said Betty, with n sudden revulsion of feeling. "1 don't care whether he is willing or not. I shall not marry you." With a woman's in tuition she read the truth. "But I say"— began Chiswiek. Betty checked his speech. "I thought ynj wanted to marry me," she said. "I did not know that dear old Harry hail to bribe you to proposa. Please go away." And Chiswiek went, only too glad to escape the scene his blunder promised to cause. Bruce coming in that evening t make certain that all was right foiv.nl the girl ho loved still sobbing on t j ■ couch. "And you were so anxious to get t i l of me that you bribed Jack Chisu ik with a mine," she cried when t!i cause of her tears had been explained. I "I thought you loved him," explnln <1 Bruce simply, "and without monoy ynu could not have been happy—will him." "I can be happy without monej - with you," she reminded, and Ilni c took her in liis arms, well content t-> lose the mine and find a heart of gold Picturesque Japanese Peasants, The most characteristic scenery In Japan is not the mountain, on which few Japanese dwell, but the rice field, which is to be found wherever there Is a patch of level ground for the field and sufficient water for irrigation. Gen tle slopes are made useful by terracing, and the cooly, preparing the ground or cutting his crop, Is the true Japanese peasant. IJe Is a picturesque peasant In his blue cotton suit, his broad, con ical straw hat and straw overcoat. lie is a good natured peasant, absurdly contented with bis earnings, though the agricultural laborer earns as little as Bor 10 cents gold a day. I lis house is a light wooden frame surmounted by a heavy thatch, and lie loves to plant a illy garden along his rooftree. But ha always has one thing which separates him from the Chinese and the East In dian lie lives on a platform raised ■hove the ground. No hardened soil for him, no chilly pavement or brick or stone. A wooden floor, a piece of clean matting, a broom and a bathtub the poorest Japnnese will always have. 1 okyo Letter to Boston Transcript. A Deceptive Air, The Bushby storekeeper surveyed Mr. Leonard with a contemplative eye and then turned his gaze toward Jim my Sloane, who was putting packages Into the delivery wagon. Jimmy had the leisurely air of one with plenty of time at his disposal. "You want to know how he'd be for j your business down below?" said Mr. Gregg slowly. "Yes," said the visitor. "I noticed . him yesterday, when that crowd of young fellows were getting the piano j into the hall: he seemed to work hard- j er than any of the others, it occurred to me he might like a bigger chance than lie lias here." "M-m," said tiie storekeeper. "Well, now, I can t say as to that, of course, but as to his working harder than any i of the other boys, I'll tell you what I they say, and you can believe it or not, j Jest as you choose. "Ti \ all like Jimmy, for lie's first rate company, but the truth is that when it comes to lifting, or such work, i Jimmy s all take holt and mighty lit tle h'lst"—Youth's Companion. Dark Walls Best For illumination. Some scientists who have been mak- I ing investigations into the part played 1 in the mutter of Illumination by light i and darls walls have come to the con- j elusion that the dark walls are better ] fitted for good illumination than the i light. In a room where the walls are i dark and where the source of light Is j entirely behind the reader's field of vi- i sion a person who reads is impressed with the idea that the room is excel lently well illuminated, but if now an-, other light is brought into the room and placed within the field of his vision, though not shining on the paper he is j reading, the pupils of his eyes will con tract, less light will enter them from the paper hi' reads, and the reader will lie impressed with the idea that the il- j lamination lias been reduced and the paper is becoming darker. These sci- j entists say that the experiments show j that if the walls are light colored the I efficiency of the illumination may actu- I ally be diminished.— Pathfinder. AIRSHIP MAKERS'GAIIi Lewis Nixon's Opinion on Zeppe lin Dirigible Accident. MOST INSTRUCTIVE EVENT. Builder of Huge Airship Tells How German Count's Mishap Supplied Very Conditions Needed In Calculat ing Effects of Erratic Air Currents. Airship constructors and experlment nil over the world have been await ing just such an accident as occurred recently to the huge dirigible of Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, when his machine became unmanageable and ran away with the navigator and twenty other men it carried. Every man engaged in the study of aeronautics was at a loss to knOw the effects of erratic air cur rents on airships in comparison with similar waves or currents upon ocean going vessels. In view of these facts Mr. Lewis Nixon, the shipbuilder, was called upon for his resultant opinion following the wild career of Count Zeppelin's mon ster balloon. Mr. Nixon is at present devoting his energies to the construc tion of what will be the largest airship thus far built find was intensely inter ested in the reports of the accident in Germany. After reading the final bul letin announcing the descent of the Zeppelin airship he snld: "To those who are following airship development there has occurred no event so Interesting or instructive as the results of Count Zeppelin's voy age. The general results of a voyage of hundreds of miles could be fore casted with some accuracy, but it is In connection with calculations for structural strength that the keenest Interest will be inspired. I have for the last two months been calculating strains and stresses on a 700 foot structure and making assumptions with such judgment as 1 could bring to bear to cover behavior and strength In storm eddies. "It is. of course, known to those con versant with mechanical matters that we make calculations of strength for vessels, basing such calculations upon assumed positions of the vessel among the waves—that is. when the trough of the waves occurs at the middle length and the crests are at the ends and when the crest is amidships and the hollows are at the ends, in one case supporting the vessel at the ends and causing the midship part to tend to sag, in the other causing the ends to drop. We have In connection with such calculations a vast number of ships In which certain margins of strength have been found amply suffi cient to insure safety at sea when wave tossed. Ilonce we can, as the result of our calculations, vary our scantlings or dimensions of material to such degree as to be sure cur struc ture is amply strong. "But in the case of an airship we float immersed in the buoyant medium and not partly immersed, as with an ordinary ship. So the problem must be attacked in a very different way, and up to this time we have had no data to use for proving out certain empirical assumptions. "But Providence and Count Zeppelin place before us 011 a grand scale the very conditions needed in our calcula tions, and this great structure subject ed to the eddyings of air in a very se vere storm has shown again the tri umph of man's mind over the elements. It marks a distinct advance In airship building, replacing coujeeture and esti mate by confidence. "Of course with steel vessels great Improvements have been made in struc ture. and that such will be the case with airships we feel sure, but the re cent great event fixes the trussed struc ture of Zeppelin as a dependable one, and from now on the term 'airship' is to be no longer a figure of speech, but an actuality. That such structures can with safety defy the elements being now proved, we shall find the problem of propellers, their position, size and shape engaging much attention. "Destroyers In England have had as many as thirty sets of propellers tried before developing the necessary speed, and most exhaustive experiments in experimental tanks and on full size vessels have been made and many vol umes have been written on the subject ! The airship propellers so far used are j of the crudest, so that vast Improve- j ment may be expected. "When one realizes that already air ships larger than ocean going ships of forty years ago are built and that their speeds are far In excess of speeds now attained on the water the rapidity of development may be appreciated. "To obtain great lifting power very large ships must be used. The Zeppe lin that was burned was -HG feet Ion? by 42'j feet beam and had a net lift lug power "112 32.000 pounds To carry 100 men and fuel and provisions for crossing the ocean at a high speed a vessel 700 feet by T 4 * feet I-- required "I confidently lool: t<> vessels over lialf a mile in length In the near fu ture, the performance of the latest Zeppelin ship confirming me In such belief A very great gain in strength will be obtained by covering the struc ture with tliln metal plates and by •combining the present dirigible and helicopter and utilizing also the aero plane. "In the event of war between Eng land and C-ermany dirigibles will be built in great numbers."—New York Herald. Sky Sickness. When airships sail the fleecy skies, Come, tell me, you wise man, When we are rocked upon the clouds Will we have aeronausea then? —Detroit Free Press. The Professor Remembers. Professor <ns the company Is break ing up. missirtg one of his rubbers)— Has any of you gentlemen put ou three rubbers by mistake? — Blatter. The Slippery Top. Sllllcus—We are told there Is plenty of room at the top. I wonder why It ! is. Cynlcus—T suppose most of the ; people who get there fall ofT.-rhlla delphla Record. The best o' working is It gives you : a grip hold »' things outside your own lot-Eliot. BIGTREHTFI LEPERS Moving Pictures Give Many at Molokai First View of World. INTENSE INTEREST SHOWN. Several of the Unfortunate but Eager Spectators Had Never Seen a City. Result of the Contribution of a Spe | cial Fund to Buy a Machine. | One of the most marvelous esperl- I enees In the history of the Molokai | leper settlement came to the people of that sliut-ln Isolation a short time ago ' when a moving picture machine was j Installed in Beretania hall, their pub i lie place of assemblage, for their enter j tainuient. ; It was not merely that they saw j moving pictures for the first time, but for the first time, to a very great num : ber of them, it was their first glimpse i into the world beyond the narrow con fines of the settlement. Very many of them had never seen a city until they saw those projected on the moving pic ture screen. Elephants, camels, bears, lions and the other animals of the cir cus or the zoo were presented to them for the first time. Fire engines, police i patrols, moving troops, the thousand ! and one commonplaces of the picture ■ machine, came to them not only with | the force of novelty, but with the ef | feet of something unheard of and un j dreamed of before. j Some months ago at the suggestion of Superintendent McVeigh of the sct | tlement a movement was started to procure a moving picture machine to ! be sent to the settlement for the enter ! tainment of the people there. A fund i was contributed, the machine and a | supply of films were bought, and it. K. ! Bonine, who has traveled the world over securing strange scenes for mov ing picture exhibitions, volunteered to gu over and install the machine. This I he did, and the greatest interest In the matter was felt at the settlement Every operation of the process of in ! stalling the apparatus was watched by ! nearly the whole population, and when ] finally the first exhibition was given ' wonder and excitement knew no | bounds. In addition to the films that have ! been provided by the donors for the settlement. Mr. Bonine took a large j number of his own films to exhibit ! there for the entertainment of the peo i pie. So intensely interested were they that no amount of repetition of the pic tures seemed to tire them. At their earnest invitation Mr. Bonine decided to remain another week at the settle ment to exhibit Ills own pictures often enough so that every one In the settle ment shall have opportunity to see them and more thoroughly to instruct some of the lepers how to manipulate the machine, so that there need be 110 interruption in the regularity or fre quency of the exhibitions after he leaves. It Is expected that funds for new films will be donated from time to time by the pub*»o hi Honolulu, so that the people at the settlement will have new moving pictures to look at at in tervals. Mr. Bonine says that In all his experience he has never seen such absorbing interest In moving pictures anywhere. Honolulu Special Corre spondence New York Post. MEREDITH'S LOVE OF AMERICA 'They Always Liked Me Bitter There." Said Eminent English No George Meredith, the eminent Eng lish novelist, who died the other day iu England, passed the later years of his life It) his very quiet home, Flint cottage. Boxhlll, Surrey. A visitor i who found him there a few days pre vious to his eightieth birthday, in Feb ruary, IOCS, described him as a big, ■ full bearded giant of a man with a splendid head and a heavy crop of marvelous white thick hair. The nov elist, his visitor being au American, re gretted that he had never visited America. "They have always liked me better in America," said he. "They don't care about me in England. People seem to feel it right to congratulate men who live to be eighty, though they really should not. What It means when a man lives to be so old Is either that he is greedily tenacious of life or else that he is so insignificant that the fates have passed him by. It is a misfor tune to live to be eighty. A man's life ought to finish when he la five and sixty, ne must stop working then or else do work that is inferior. People will praise It then and write articles about it, but posterity will know bet ter and see its weakness. You can't fool posterity. When a man stops working nature is finished with him, and when nature is finished with him he ought to go." The novelist said that he feared it was new too late to visit America."l have had many invitations," he said, "and I do not suppose there has ever been a nation so hospitable as Amer ica. They say that one Rood introduc tion will carry you right across the continent. So I suppose 1 should have been asked to a great many dinners, ami the moss <t refection would have served to carry out the idea 1 advocate and remove me before 1 was sixty -1 live." In the last year of his life Meredith used to rise daily at 7:30. At 11 he went for a drive in a cart to which was attached n led donkey and about which gamboled ills favorite pet, an Irish I terrier. The rest of the day he passed in reading and seeing his friends. He was for many years an enormous read er of newspapers and books.. lie was able to dispense with glasses, although he occasionally used them. Of American writers he particularly | liked Edith Wharton and Gertrude Atherton. Of lienry James he said: "I like to read one of his novels a year. James writes about America revisited, but what it really comes to is a tour jof lienry James' Inside. lie tells you how he felt when he beheld this or that and how such things Impressed him, and at rare interv's he may take you to a little wind and show you a bit of landscape ,at might be Amer ica nnd migh<' * anything—a tour of his own ir that's what it really comes t r MARVEL OF A CLOCK, Unique Timepiece Made by a Cripple In Ohio. IT PLAYS DELIGHTFUL MUSIC. Gives Weather Predictions and Con tinuous Show of Moving Pictures. Shows Niagara In Operation, a Naval Display and Uncle Sam Taking a Walk. As au Easter surprise for its patrons the management of the Hotel St. Ite gis. In New York, recently purchased a unique and remarkable clock for the main drawing room of the hotel. The clock was made In a little Ohio town by a crippled workman, who spent four years in its construction and whose only tools were a scroll saw, a jaekknlfe and a file. Manager Csus It. Schmidt of the St. Itegis, who heard of the clock in the west, where he inspected It, said: "The clock is a wonder. It Is twelve feet four inches high, four feet four inches wide and twenty-nine inches deep. One large dial gives the stand ard time, while directly beneath it is a dial which shows the changes of the moon and gives the government weather Indications for twenty-four hours in advance. "By watching the clock one sees handsome pictures of the ships in the United States navy pass behind a glass. The history of Christ Is shown from the nativity to the ascension by pictures painted by the maker. "An interesting feature of the clock is a miniature Niagara falls, with real water, the color of which appears to change. Just below are an electric foun tain and an arch, which produce A beautiful effect. Flags appear on staffs in front of the dial and indicate the kind of weather expected twenty four hours iu advance. The weather reports are produced by a thermome ter, a barometer, a hydrometer, a spir it level and a compass arranged on the front of the clock. | "The front of the clock is lighted by fifty small electric lights, thirty-five of which arc arranged around the Niag ara falls and electric arch. The his tory of the United States from the landing of Columbus to the present time Is shown by ninety-six paintings attached to a ribbon 108 feet long, which is moved by electricity. When the clock strikes the hour the figures of Uncle S:> in and the Goddess of Lib erty pass out of an electric elevator on one side, down a stairway, around the i base of the miniature cataract and electric fountain to the other side, where they ascend another stairway and enter another elevator. A minute after the hour strikes fifty lights ap pear around tlie dial, and a musical attachment is brought into play, send ing forth delightful airs. At the half hour the cathedral gong strikes once, and the musical attachment is started again. "An illuminated picture on one side of the dial shows Washington crossing the Delaware with his army. Three boats are portrayed, with Washington standing In the first one. This scene is repeated every hour and forty min utes. Other illuminated pictures, which appear periodically, show the old bat tleship Maine both before and after the explosion in Havana harbor. "On the back of the clock is display ed the Lord's Prayer, Inlaid with 312 pieces of wood. Pictures of Ameri can poets, musicians and the presi dents also appear on the back. AH of these portraits are in motion and trav el at the rate of twenty-five feet a minute. Pictures of Presidents Lin coln, Garfield and Mc Kin ley are shown, and at the hour of death a light appears on the face of the . clock, while a phonograph announces the occasion. "The face of the clock contains a piece of wood from every state and territory in the Union, including the island possessions, and it took throe years for the maker of the clock to collect them. "All the mechanism for running the clock is in the base and includes 040 feet of electric wire and 412 electrical connections. The current Is obtained from an ordinary electric light connec tion." Man With the Conundrum. The man with the fretful eyebrows and the sorrowful ears comes to the desk of the man with the dispirited mustache and asks: "Why is a loan who goes on an ex pedition to discover the south pole and after taany months of toil and pri vation during he eats all his canned goods and half of his dogs and then returns to civilization with a fixed appetite for boot heels and hat brims—why is he like a woman who has been waiting impatiently since midnight for the sound of the latch key as her husband endeavors to un lock the front door without awakening the entire neighborhood?" The man with the discouraged mus tache shakes his head impatiently, and the other repeats the question, where upon the man with the discouraged mustache asks: "What is the difference between a lady reading a hair restorer ad. and a man who asks fool questions when you are busy? Answer—Because they arc both about ready to die." "Oh, very well!" sniffs the man with the fretful eyebrows and the sorrow ful ears. The answer to mine is that i both are getting ready to deliver a lecture, but 1 wouldn't tell you if you pleaded with tears In your eyes.'' And with a haughty tread he de parts.—Chicago Post. Odd Names In China- Chinese children are endowed with strange Christian names. Their girls, for instance, are not called Mabel, Jenny op Matilda, but Cloudy Moon, Celestial Happiness, Spring Peach or Casket of Perfumes. Their boys get less attractive names, being made for work and wisdom rather than pleas tire and dancing. Thus we find a little two-year-old Practical Industry; three year-old. Ancestral Knowledge: four year-old. Complete Virtue: five-year old, Discreet Valor. To their slaves they give still another set of names. Not For Me, Joy to Serve, Your Ilap piness and Humble Devotion may tie taken as typical examples. I The War oft l the Roses, i • By A\artha Cobb S&nfor<i. t i Copyrighted, 1909. by Associated 112 T Literary l'ress. 'J ►%.*- « Hugh Stoddard read over his Invita tion to the Van Sickle dance with varied emotions. One minute be was determined togo, exactly as If noth ing had happened; the next he was equally resolute In his decision to cut out everything of that sort for good and all. Gradually he fell to comparing his own present lot in life with that of the duke and of Itogers and of two or three other lucky fellows. Hang it all, there was no chance for him any longer. The duke could offer her a title aud all its dazzling accessories Itogers had money, or at least his father had, while he. Hugh Stoddard, had nothing. And all owing to that spectacular bank crash of a month ago. He had not seen Marian since. Nevertheless, whether he should eventually decide togo to the dance or not, he must of course send flowers. (Julte as a matter of liabit ho took down the receiver nnd gave the flor ist's number. Suddenly, as he waited, the sicken ing realization came to him that his "AS LOJJO AS liEIl ROSES BLOOM," SHE ANSWERED SOFTLY. financial credit was now a negative quality. "Line busy," called central. "Glad of it," returned Hugh, re lieved. "I mean never mind. I'll call again." Then be took out his elaborately monogramined bill fold and spread all his worldly wealth before him- a soli tary ten dollar bill. But was he not to hang out his sign as a lawyer next week? Why, his office was ail engaged. He could still afford to indulge in one sentimental luxury. As he stood outside the florist's win dow. studiously contemplating the lav ish display within, the duke alighted jauntily from his motor, or, rather, from the Van Sickle motor, and passed Into the shop. Hugh followed cautious ly and from a palm screened corner watched with keen Interest the duke's fastidious choice. "Five dozen Bride roses. Very clever of him," murmured Hugh. "One dozen American Beauties," or dered Hugh as soon as the duke had disappeared. "The best you have." Then, handing over his card, on which he had written a few words, he left the shop light heartedly. His mind was made up. He was going to the dance. Festivities were in full swing when he entered the drawing room. He had purposely planned a late arrival. For a few minutes lie wandered aimlessly about, glancing at his watch now and then, and finally stopped short before n huge mass of magnificent Bride roses placed suggestively near a full length portrait of Marion Van Sickle. As he stood lost In admiration before it his friend Itogers clapped him sud denly on the shoulder. "Ho, ho, Stoddard." was the familiar greeting. "Looks as though we were out of the running, doesn't it ? Those are the roses Miss Van Sickle Is wear lng tonight—Bride roses, you notice. Can't guess who sent 'em, I s'pose?" Stoddard, affecting a good natured Indifference, glanced at his watch again and pleaded an engagement. With feverish haste lie thou made his way toward the music room, nt the extreme end of the house Would Marian he there? It was just 11:1." the hour he had written on his card. As he neared the heavy portieres which separated the room from the hall he was sure he hoard a woman's stilled cry. Cautiously and silently !• peered through the curtains. The sight that met his eyes made his heart stand still. Leaning against the piano was Mari nn, more beautiful far than her pur trait, hut pale as death. In front of her a masked man held a revolver close to her forehead; behind her a second masked man was unclasping (he diu tuond necklace from her white throat. Hardly knowing what he did, Stod dard knocked over a chair by way of warning and then rushed into the mu sic room. In a flash the burglars had darted out of the open window at the end of the room Hugh turned to Marian. Sobbing and shuddering, she had sunk down into a big armchair—a pathetic, frightened little heap. "Marian, dear," Hugh murmured tenderly, putting his strong, protecting arm about her, "it's all right now Just you cry awhile, though. It will do you good. You were terribly plucky. And yon haven't even lost your necklace. They dropped it. See? There," lie said, patting her wet lashes with his own big handkerchief. "Shall I go get you some brandy or some thing to steady your nerves?" Hut Marian shook her head and clung to him all the closer. She could not yet trust herself to speak. At length, growing calmer, she looked up at him and smiled faintly. "You see," she said slowly, "I came and I wore one of your roses, but you were late, Ilugli. I came nt exactly half cast 11." she added, with some sttow of feminine i "'<■ inn r punc tuality "tin' lime y< n wrote on your card." "Put I didn't vvrl! half past 11. I wrote 11:15." exclaimed Hugh, mysti fied. Shyly Marian drew his card from Its hiding place in her bodice and banded It to him. Hugh looked at it in aston ishment. The figures had been very cleverly changed from 11:4." to 11:10. "Some trick has boon played. I>id you open the box yourself, Marian?" "Wait a minute. 1 remember now that the messimgor apologized for the condition It was in. lie said he slip ped on the Ice and dropped it, and tUo wrappings came off, and lie had to do It tiji again." Hugh listened eagerly. "That's a very important clew," he murmured; "very Important-splendid bit of circumstantial evidence." "What are yon talking about, Hugh?" "You see before you a young and struggling lawyer. Marian, whom chance had favored by"— "Yes, yes, I've heard you argue," Marian interrupted. "Without winning the case," Hugh reminded her dismally. "No decision was reached that I re member," she answered arelily. "It was just received—lsn't that wli it you call it':" 1 tut Hugh took no advantage of her lead. Instead he paced tip and down the long room nervously. Finally he stopped directly in front of her : nd looker down on her bowed bead and the red r se In her hair "Dearest." bo faltered. "y< ur loyalty Is the sweetest thing on earth to me. but 1 have iii right to make any claim upon It Why. not for years," he laughed grimly, "could 1 begin to pay 'the butcher, the baker and the candle stick maker,' and as for tlie dress maker"— "Neither eould the deke." slyly in terrupted Marian At this Stoddard laugl d heartily. Then lie grew serious again. "But you were considering liim, Mar ian?" "Mother was," she answered mis. | chlevously. | "Marian," demanded Hugh, throw ing back his shoulders suddenly with ' the determination of Indomitable pnr ' pose, "how long will you wait for ! me?" ' "As long as red roses bloom," she ! answered softly, nnd Hugh gathered I her to him, crushing the red roses i ruthlessly. i The portieres suddenly parted. I "In here?" asked the duke's excited voice. "Beally! Oh, a thousand par ! dons. I'm sure. You see, there's been j a robbery"— j "Well, I should say there had," com j inented Ilogers, peering over the duke's ; shoulder and smiling drolly—"a mighty j bold one." Not Worth It. i A young man.after his banns had I been twice announced, called upon the : busy vicar early one morning. ITe | wanted to have a private word with i him about the banns. I "Well," said the vicar, "what Is I wrong?" i "Oh, it's the girl's name." i "ITasn't it been given correctly?" "Oh, yes. it's correct enough, but I . want you to put am her girl's name ! for the third calling. I've changed my ! mind and would rather marry Mary. 'Arris instead of Sarah Jenkins." The vicar lectured the youth upon his fickleness and told him if he want ed any alteration it would be necessary j to make a fresh start and have the ' banns published afresh, j "What, and pay another shilling?" gasped the lover. | "Certainly." replied the vicar. "Well, in that case you had better let it be as it is. and I'll marry my first ! love."—Pearson's Weekly. Enlivened His Sermon. ' A minister of Crosmichael. in Fife, ; frequently talked from the pulpit to j his hearers with amusing and indeed | irreverent familiarity. Expounding a passage from Exodus one day.he pro ceeded thus: " 'And the.Lord said unto Moses'—sneek that door! I'm thinking if ye lyul to sit beside the door yersel* ye wadna bo sae ready leaving It open. It was just beside that door that Ye dam Tamson, the bellman, got his death o' cauld, and I'm sure, honest man, he didna let it stay muckle open. 'And the Lord said unto Moses'—l se« a man aseath the la ft wi' his hat on- I'm sure. man. ye're clear o* the soogU o' that door there. Keep aft your ban net. Thamas, and if your bare pow b« cauld ye maun just get a gray worsted wig. like mysel'. They're no sao dear —plenty o' them at I'>ob Gillespie's for 10 pence apiece." The reverend gen tleman then proceeded with Ills dis course. "The Pied Pipjr." A New York norma! !..> )! examina tion had among i!s question!. "Wlmt is the education:'! value of *T 1 >-• Pied Pi per of llamelin?'" A wou'i! ' <• teacher answered. " The l'ied Dpi : teaches children to be kind to ;n 'N. espe cially rats."—New York Time-;. New Use For Compass. Berlin is placing the points of the compass in its pavements fir the bone fit of bewildered pedestrians. ■ll Ml! A Flellablo TIJ\ SHOP Tor all kind of Tin Hoofing, Spoutlne nnd Central Jolt Work. Stoves, Heaters, Ranges, Furnaces, sto. PRICES THE LOWEST! PUT! TEE BEST.' :Ot JOHN HIXSOiV HO. 11l E. FEONT *l.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers