6 GOING ALONE. With curls In the sunny air tossing. With light In the merry bright eyes. With laughter so clearly out ringing— A laugh of delight and surprise; All friendly assistance disdaining. And trusting no strength but lis own, The past fears and trials forgotten. The baby is "going alone." Crow often the help he has needed Has carelessly strayed from his side; The hand of the loved one to sustain him, 112 lis tottering footsteps to guide, fiee. he has fallen while reaching for sun beams Which Just as he grasped them have flown; ilrtd tears of vexation have followed-- Hut now he Is "going alone." All through life he will learn This lesson again and again. He will cart'.essly lean upon shadows. He will fall and weep over the pain. He. will learn what a stern world we live in. Arid he may grow cold like the rest; But keep a warm sunny welcome For those who are truest and best; Yet not trusting his all In their keeping. But stronger and manlier grown. Chastened and taught by past sorrow. 1 did not like the idea of the dank, imusty odors ascending into my sleep ing apartment, but I could easily re move to one of the spacious chambers upstairs, and thus escape them. On arriving at the house, I took the toots into my room. I looked over the floor, and, after quite a time debating where the hole should be made, deter mined to begin over in one corner. Be fore I had time to commence opera tions, a loud knock sounded on the front door. Hastily shoving the tools under the "bed, I went out through the hall and opened the door. My visitor was Mr. Sonntag. CHAPTER X. T ushered the old lawyer into the room. After a few commonplace re marks he said: "That walling-up of those cellar doorways has made quite an impression on me. Suppose we »have a look at them." I was very willing. Together we de scended the stairs to the storeroom. Mr. Sonntag examined the place where the door had been, minutely, aa though he expected to find in the stones of the wall some intimation of what was on the inside. He even went «o far as to scratch off patches of the whitewash. "It is rather dark here," he finally said, glancing around. "Perhaps the door can be opened," I suggested. "I have the key with me, but maybe It would be best not to use it. Give me a. few matches." 1 handed him all I had with me, and he, by the light afforded, examined closely the places where he had scratched off the whitewash. While watching him, the thought again occurred to me that I had seen or met him previous to sny arrival at Nel son vi lie. "Do you know it seems as though I had seen you before?" I said. **Yes, so you remarked during your visit to my office yesterday," Sonntag replied, as he stepped back to where I was standing. "There is no doubt of that being a solid wall," he went on; "so if the room behind it is being used for some purpose, entrance is not gained from here. See what pains have been taken to hide the work. The whole wall has been newly whitewashed. If that had not been done, the new mason-work would be glaringly perceptible. Let us go into the house cellar and have a look at the dividing wall there." It needed but a glance to see that this wall had not been tampered with. The whitewash was old, and there was no spot where it had been renewed. •*£ have already examined the out side place," the old lawyer remarked, as we ascended the stairway. "That was not whitewashed, and, if E lemember rightly, the stones used Looked old and worn like the rest of the foundation," I said. "Yes; the stones used In both the doorways were old ones. But they are of a different kind of stone," he re marked, with a shrewd smile. "Different kind? What significance would that have?" "All the stone quarried about here is limestone. You will find the founda tions and walls under your house are built with this kind. If any other kind was used it would have to be brought from a distance. Sandstone was used for the two doorways." "And was therefore brought from a distance?" 1 asked. "Perhaps not in this case." "But you said there is nothing but limestone quarried about here," 1 sug gested. "And that is true. The Etones used in the doorways had been used before, for they are old and weatlverbeaten. Do you remember a small stone build ing up at the mountain, which years ago was used as a schoolhouse?" my lawyer asked. "Oh, yes! It was known as the Mountain school," I replied. "Well, it is fast going to ruin," Sonn tag continued; "has not been used for years, I am told. The point is here: That old schoolhouse was built of sandstone. Where the builders got the stone I, of course, cannot say, but evi dently not around here. It is my be lief the stones in the two doorways were taken from the old tumble-down schoolhouse." "And supposing your surmise is a correct one, does it furnish you with a clew to the person or persons who did the job?" I asked. "Perhaps," he replied, shortly. As he raised his head to answer, rec ollection flashed upon me. "Ah!" I exclaimed. "I have been cudgeling my brain in the endeavor to remember where I had seen you before." lie quickly turned toward me with a half-smile on his face, but offered no reply. "I have seen you in Philadelphia," I continued. "Possibly. I used to live there before coming to Twlneburgh," he remarked, indifferently. "You have been in Twineburgh but six months," I went on. "Yes." "And I saw you for the first time about a year ago. I almost knocked you over as I was coming out of the president's office in the Safety security bank. You were just going in, and I ran into you." "Ah, possibly. I have had business dealings with that concern," the old lawyer replied. "And you knew Mr. Perry, the presi dent?" "Yes, slightly." "Then why did you ask me at the time if I was the president?" I asked. Sonntag gave a twitch of the shoul der, and his shrewd sharp eyes twinkled. "Did I ask you that?"he queried. "Do you not remember?" "Can't say that I do," he replied. "It seems strange you should leave the city to engage in the practice of law in a small town like Twineburgh," I said, musingly. "Why strange?" was his curt ques tion. "Oh, well, you are quite advanced in years, and, with your long experience, ought to have commanded a larger and more lucrative practice in a large place like Philadelphia than in a small coun try town." lie did not reply for a few moments, but stood with a whimsical look on his face with his eyes turned toward the floor. "I became tired of city life," he finally said. "1 have no family depending upon me, and so am at liberty to follow out any whim which happens to take pos- Mr. Sonntag examined the place minutely. session of me. There is enough business here to enable a single man to live well, besides allowing him more leisure. I was looking for such a business, and— and found it in Twineburgh." "Well, you certainly are an odd fel low, if you will excuse me for saying so," I remarked, with a laugh. "Yes, I am rather odd." When we reentered my bedroom, Sonntag's quick eye caught sight of the tools under my bed. "Going to cut through the floor?" he asked. "That is what I intended to do. I'm going to know what is down there," I replied, decidedly. Then I told him about the noises I hud heard which had seemed to come from beneath, the slamming of the door, and the pistol shot. I also told of the voices I had heard both in the attic and in my room, and all I had ob served regarding them. The old lawyer listened intently, and when I had finished walked to the win dow. "Do you suppose that the sound of the voices could in some way have come from the telephone wireV : I finally asked. "Not being an electrical expert, I can not say," Sonntag answered, turning from the window. "It seems impossible the voices could be heard without the aid of a receiver," I remarked. "Perhaps there is a receiver both in yotir room and upstairs—not like the CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1898. ones we are accustomed to, of course, but one formed by nature. Certainly there are possibilities in electrit force which we have not yet discovered. Yju say the sounds occurred only when a wind was blowing which caused the wire to swing against the lightning rod ?" "That was surmise, for I have had no opportunity to watch when tlie wind blew. But it seemed the most natural explanation of the Tappings." "And you had no way of ascertaining whether the sounds in your room here and in the attic were produced by the same voice and at the same time, or whether there were two voices inde pendent of each other?" "Why, you know it was impossible for me to be in the attic and in my room too." I answered. "Perhaps we may be given an oppor tunity to find out something about the voices," Sonntag said, with a gesture to ward the window. "How do you mean?" I asked. "There is a thunderstorm coming up. It will undoubtedly be preceded by a wind," the old lawyer said. "Ve3, yes! How fortunate it is that you are here!" I exclaimed, excitedly, for I comprehended his meaning l . "Mow you remain here, and I will go up to the attic," I went on. "Each of us must note the exact time the sound is heard. We had better compare watches, so that there shall be no difference in each one's estimate of the time." I pulled out my watch and approached Sonntag. His hand went up to his vest pocket and he was about to follow my example, when upon our hearing came that small, soft, high-pitched voice. We stood gazing into each other's eyes for a moment, then I made a rush for the door. The lawyer detained me, and in great impatience I waited. "Take paper and pencil with you," he said. "Jot down the words and indicate the raps in the exact order that they come. I will do the same with the words and pauses. Now go." I went up the two stairways on the jump. The wind was coining tip strong, and the heavy thunder rolled in the dis tance. Near the small window, where I had heard the voice, I took my stand. The raps from above were louder now, and besides, in the daytime, lost a great deal of the uncanniness which the gloom and solitude of night had given them. The voice was Bounding, though not as distinctly as before, which was prob ably on account of the loud moaning and whistling of the high wind. My paper and pencil were ready, and I listened with strained attention to catch the words. This is what my paper showed: "Never will (rap, rap, rap) consent under existing (rap, rap —a grating noise, probably caused by the wire be ing held against the lig'-'ning rod by the force of the wind) the property re moved (raps) place to bring you (raps) hid where (raps) never find (raps) talk wisdom I shall (raps) night and take (raps) dollar will you ever—" Right here the garret wan flooded by a blinding glare, and immediately fol lowed crash on crash close above me. Stunned by the noise and too dazed for the moment to realize that the threatening storm had burst, I feebly tottered toward the stairs and sank down upon the top step. The rain was coming down in tor rents and the roar on the roof seemed but an echo of the thunder. I was soon able to arouse myself from my dazed condition, and, remembering the ob ject of my errand, went back to the spot where I had stood to recover the paper and pencil, which had fallen from my hands. There was no desire to continue investigations while the storm lasted; so, picking up the psiper, I hastened downstairs to my room. I noticed a strange odor as I went through the doorway, and saw Sonntag standing in the middle of the room in a strange attitude. The pencil he had used was still in his hand, but the paper had fluttered to the floor. The old lawyer not seeming to notice my approach, 1 tapped him on the arm. He gazed around at me with wide, star ing eyes, then drew a long breath. "What was it that happened?" he finally asked. "Oh, did you catch it, too? Nothing but a little demonstration of electrical force," I replied. "It was quite close to us. The house must have been struck by the bolt; or perhaps the lightning rod saved it." "It was awful!" the old fellow ex claimed- "There was a stream of fire reached half way across the room. It came from the Wfill there, right near the chimney. Well, it's over, and neith er of us hurt." The old fellow shook himself together. "After this, no more experimenting in electricity for me, es pecially during a thunderstorm. I'll stick to—to the law," he said, with a flash of his bright eyes which told me he had recovered from the effects of the shock. "Then you did not take any note of the voice?" I remarked. "Yes, yes. Here it is; and you?—ah, that's good. Now let us compare." The two slips of paper were laid on the table. "The first words taken note of on my paper," Sonntag began, "are, you have my—then a pause, and yours are: Never will. Ah!" he exclaimed, in deep satisfaction, "they seem to run along well together. Now you begin and read, and where the raps are indicated pause, and I will putin my words. Let's see if we can get any sense out of it." This is what we read: "Never will—" "you have my —** •'consent under existing— * "circumstances you have Broken faith with me in every—" "way why was—" "the property removed— ** "from the original—" "place to bring you—" "to time what did you do with it safely—" "hid where— ** "you can—" "never find-—" "it unless you—" "talk wisdom I shall—f* "go for it this very—" "night anil take—" "it away and not one— ** "dollar will you ever —" "Bight here is where the shock came," I said, after reading the last phrase. "Of course I took no more notes after that. Have you any more?" "No. The flame came, and 1 got no further," Sonntag answered. "This certainly is curious. There seems to be a complete circuit formed somehow, or, more properly, two circuits; when one is closed the other is opened by that closing, and vice versa." While making the foregoing remark the old fellow was leaning over the table, intently scanning the two papers. "You say a flame shot out into the room?" I asked. "Yes." "From where?" "Between the window nnd chimney, it seemed to be," he replied, without lift ing his head. I stepped over to the place indicated. There was a large nail sticking in the Wtaara t had heard the voice I took my stand. jvall, which had been covered with whitewash. A flannel coat which I had hung on the nail the night before was now lying on the floor, a charred ruin. The nail itself was blackened, and was quite hot, as contact with my fingers told me. "Great heavens!" I exclaimed, start ing back, "this is the strangest phenom enon. What a wonder the house is not ablaze!" [TO BE CONTINUED.] EXTRACTING INFORMATION. tloiv Mr. Spurgeon Prepared Ills Ser mon*. The man who sits in a city railway station at the "Bureau of General In formation" must, like "the little busy bee," gather honey "from every open ing flower." When off duty, he should be refilling his memory with all sorts of knowledge, for at the bureau he must be "on tap" to every man, woman or child thirsting for information. A similar burden rests on lawyers in large practice, and on clergymen whose popularity makes the public theii parishioners. That eminent preacher, the late Charles H. Spurgeon, was once asked by an American visitor, who had no ticed that an orphanage, a theological school, a church, and many correspond ents kept him busy from morning to night: "Pray, Mr. Spurgeon, when and where do you compose your sermons?" "I am always at that," replied the preacher. "I get something from every one I meet. I shall suck a sermon from you before I am through with you." A distinguished British seaman, the late Admiral Sir George Tryon, used to act on the preacher's rule. When secretary to the British admiralty he was obliged to pay the penalty attached to the post, of dining at city banquets, guild and private dinners. Being in vited to more dinner parties than he could goto, he used to pick and choose among them. His wife, for a long time, was ignorant of the rule which guided her husband in refusing certain invitations and accepting others. At last she discovered that he ac cepted only those invitations which would lead him to places where he might meet some one who could give information of value to him in his pro fession. lie cared nothing for the gos sip which makes up the talk at a fash ionable dinner party, but he was on the lookout for useful information, and was ready to extract it from any source. Like Spurgeon, he learned something from everybody.—Voikth's Companion. A Mean Pnmon. When Wilberforoe became rector of Brightstone, in the Isle of Wight, he was waited on by an old farmer, whose one desire in life was to rent the glebe land. "Why?" asked Wilberforce. "Well," said the old fellow, with a look of business shrewdness, "when t'other parson was here, he used to farm it his sclf, and, ther« being so little of it, he always got in his hay before anybody else. Then he clapped on the prayer for raiu."—San Francisco Argonaut. An Old StoiT, Frank —Some genius in Birmingham has invented a buttonless shirt. Billy—Why, that's old. I'v«» worn them ever since my wife learned to ride a bike. —Tit-Bits. TLe In fun t I'laiM. "Bobby Longears, give the plural for •child.' " "Twins." —L'lllustre de Poche. COLUMBIA BEVEL-GEAR CHAIN LESS FACTS. Stevens' Institute of Technology. Department ol Texts. Hoboken, N. J., March Xlth, ISOB. Pope Manufacturing Co., Hartford, Conn. My Dear Sir: 1 send you herewith the re sults in detail of my investigation of the efficiency of your chainless wheel No 6u3. which was referred to in the article on the Overman dynamometer published in"The American Wheelman," December 23, IVj7, as affording an efficiency of only 83.9 per cent, at ol pounds pedal pressure and about live miles per hour. The substance of the detailed report is as follows: The wheel was tested by me in connec tion with youi engineers before it was sent to Chicopee, and found to be fuiiy equal in efficiency to your best chain wheels. After its return from Chicopee I examined the wheel and found it badiy out of adjust ment. Upon readjustment it showed sub stantially the same efficiency as those at the first test, and, under conditions as nearly as posible those I believe to have existed In connection with the Overman test, its efficiency wa5 92.7 percent. My tests wire all made with the Webb dynamometer, and with the assistance of your engineers. This apparatus, which is extremely accurate and delicate, is ex plained in detail in my report to you which was published in the "Iron Age" of October 21, 1«97. Regarding the Overman dynamometer I knowi but little, as your request that I might be allowed to witness Mr Overman's tests was not acceded to by him. Very respectfully, (Signed) J. E. DENTON. Prof. Mechanical Engineering. Letter from I'rof. It. C. Carpenter, of fhe Department of Expert mentnl HnKlnecriiiK. Cornell Lnlveralty, to L. A. W. Bulletin■ Ithaca, N. Y., March 14, 1898. Dear Sir: My attention has been recently called to an extract from a report of mine in relation to the efficiency of bicycles, which, from the heading of or from accom panying references is calculated to convey the impression that the chain-driven bicy cle is much mere efficient than the chain less. The report in question, taken as a whole will not, I believe, give the impres sion that there is any material or sensible difference. The report does show that the chain-driven bicycle was on the whole slightly more efficient than the bevel-gear driven machine, but this difference was many times less than that due to tires of different construction and in many cases less than that due to individual tires of the same kind and make. It follows from the fact that riders have been unable to detect the great difference which existed In the friction .caused by different tires that they will be entirely insensible of the small amount of difference which may be due to the substitution of the bevel-gear as a driving mechanism for the chain. I am, Very Respectfully yours, (Signed) R. C. CARPENTER The letters presented herewith from two such eminent authorities as Prof, .lames E. Denton and Prof. R. C. Car penter, stamp as unfair and unwarrant ed the recent attacks upon the bevel gear chainless construction, made by a manufacturer of chain-driven bi cycles, through advertisements and dis tribution of other literature. The bit of inside history conveyed by these two letters show how easily an expert report if not given in full, may be twisted to favor either side of a sub ject. As soon as these unwarranted deductions appeared in print. Prof. Car penter publicly pronounced them un fair to him and to the bevel-gear chain less construction. Prof. Carpenter claims to find by dynamometer tests a slight but insensible mechanical su periority for the chain. Prof. Denton, in his article in the "Iron Age," shows that no superiority can be demonstrated by dynamometer tests for either chain or bevel-gears. Both agree that under ideal conditions, by the dynamometer the two mechanisms are practically equivalent. Our experience, however, demonstrates that this equality ceases the moment the bicycles are putin ac tual service on the road. In a dyna mometer test the chain-driven bicycle meets the most favorable conditions, which do not exist for it on the road. No bicycle rider need be told that the moment a chain and sprocket is exposed to the weather the lubricant begins to dry, the blocks and teeth to clog with the dust and mud of the road and deterioration commences. Even if protected from the foregoing influences, stretching will occur with the best chains and sprockets, causing back-lash and consequent inability of the rider to maintain a straight track in hill climbing, thus necessitating more exertion. With the bevel-gear chainless wheel, the high efficiency shown by the dynamometer continues indefinitely under actual service. Ow ing to the fact that its driving mechan ism is not affected by the weather or road conditions, and the further fact that, there is no back-dash, and conse quently a uniform pressure can be maintained upon the pedals, this uni formity of pressure giving the rider perfect control of the wheel and en abling him to maintain a straight track, thus obtaining the benefit of every ounce of applied power, the Columbia bevel-gear chainless, by this great sav ing of muscular energy, enables the rider to ride at least ten per cent, far ther with the same effort than he could on the chain-driven bicycle. Expert cycle engineers state positively that the best bicycle chain and sprocket ever made cannot retain their highest effi ciency after 700 miles of riding, and that the rider who desires to concerve power should not use the same etiain and sprocket for over 2,000 miles of riding. After 35,000 miles of road rid ing a bevel-gear chainless bicycle has retained its highest efficiency. How many more thousand miles of riding the bevel-gears would undergo without deterioration can only be conjectured. No radical change in bicycle con struction has ever caused us so little trouble as Columbia bevel-gears. We have had fewer complaints and fewer difficultioJt than we have ever had with any new construction during our 21 years exyerisnee in bicycle building. The change from the ordinary toth« safety wheel, from solid to cushion tires, from cushion to pneumatic tires, and other improvements were not made without encountering' obstacles and op position, but Columbia bevel-gears have proven successful from the t;ma of their first introduction to the pub lic. Up to date we have shipped our cus tomers over 4,000 Columbia bevel-gear chainless bicycles. All who have ridden these wheels admit that they are bet ter hill-climbers than any chain wheels yet made. The purchasers of these bi cycles are unanimous in the opinion i that in ease and noiselessness of run ning. in strength and lasting qualities, in the time saved in cleaning and ad justing the driving mechanism, they are vastly superior to any other form of cycle construction. To ride a Colum bia chainless bicycle, is to be convinced of its superiority and to enjoy to tho fullest the pleasures of cycling. POPF, MATTFACTURING COMPANY. March 25, 1808. " * A TnnuKhtful I'lirent. Petted Daughter—Papa, what has come over you? 1 never had a wish you were not anxious to gratify, and you even anticipated my v.ants, and handed me money for all sorts of things I hadn't even thought of. P.ut now 1 have to ask you for every cent 1 need, and you growl and grumble, and ask iff think you are made of money, and you rail at women's extravagance, and invari-, ably ask me what on earth I did with the last check, or dollar or dime you' gave me. Don't you love me any more? Papa—My darling, I love you as much' as ever, but you are soon to be married, and I am trying to gradually prepare' you for the change.—N. Y. Weekly. Italaiice. lie was making a hollow pretense of being hungry at breakfast. "Had to stay at the office to balaneei the books last night, my dear," he re marked. She was gazing gloomily out of the window, and upon the lawn there were divers tracks. "I hope the books were better bal anced than yourself when you got through," she answered, not without bitterness. —Detroit Journal. (In the Vnknn. Panner —I don't we how you stand the cold so well, you must have been born in a very cold climate. Miner—No. But I got hardened to the cold in the states. Panner—llow did you do that? Miner—l married a woman with cold foet.—Up to Date. II Im AHHnrnnee. 01d~~Biilyuns—What assurance have you to olter that you really love my daughter? Anxious William—Why, I have prom ised to come and live with your family as a member of it for her sake. I wouldn't do that for mere money, 'pon. my word.—Chicago Daily News. She Mount llunlne**. Ardent Lover—For ye, my bonnie las sie, 1 wad lay me doun and dee. Practical Maid—o, you make me weary with your imitation Scotch dia lect, What 1 want is a man who will get up and hustle for me.—Boston Trav eller. DiIMMIMMiIIK « D»lt. Mrs. P. —I told that girl just what to do aud ihe hasn't done it at all. Mr. P. —I presume your orders went in one ear and right out the other. Mrs. I'.—Oh, no, indeed! She never gets anything through her head as easily as that,—Philadelphia Bulletin. Only One Omlnnlon. Landlady—ls the oyster soup to your liking? Boarder — I never find fault, madam. The salt, pepper, water and butter seem fully up to the standard, but 1 think you will find that the cook neglected to use the oysters. —Detroit Free Press. Not it Popular Klnil. "They say that ghosts appear in the windows of that old haunted house every nig'ht," "Boo! I must say I don't fancy that kind of window shades."—Philadelphia Bulletin. Too I'revlou*. Grace's eyes are full of tears, She's caught cold, I fear; She donned her new biking garb Too early In the year. <—Up to Date. AIISOLITELY NOTHINU. She —But, George, suppose papa set tles my dowry on me in my own right? He —Well, my dear girl, it's—er— nothing to me if he does!— London Punch. Serve* as an Alarm. Ha&sack—A baby is a good thing to have in the house. Walker—Yes, if you want to prevent oversleeping yourself.—Boston Tran script. Ilrlef Peace of Mind. "Clara, 1 love to be wi'.h you." > "Why, Kdi'th?" . \ "When I'm with you I know you are not, gossnping about me."—Chicago Uecoo'd.