6
THE LOVE OF GOD.
<3od's boundless Love and arching; sky
Above us when we *ake or sleep,
Above us when we .-rr.tle or weep,
Above us when we live or die.
Oods tireless Love! Be;lde the cot
Or her sick i 111: the mother sleeps.
The Heavenly Father ever keeps
"Unweary watch- iI• .lumbers nut.
patient Love! Misunderstood
By hearts that suffer in lhe night.
D >ubt .! —y i • w kiting till H( av« n'» Heht
61ia.1l show h j\v all things work for good.
Cod's mighty Love! On Calvary's height,
Suffering to save us from our sin,
T.i the Hi ivenly Kingdom in,
Ar:d fill our liv s with joy and light.
"God's char.gele-s I.nve! The wardering on*
Forsake*, forgets, dishonor*; yet.
Repenting, going home, is met
"W'.ih no reproach—"Welcome, My Son!"
Ood's endless Love! What will It be
When earthly shadows flee away,
For all Eternity's bright day.
The unfolding of that Love to see!
—-Maltbie L>. Babcock. in Chicago Advance.
My Strangest Case
BY GUY BOOTHBY.
Author of "Dr. Kiknla," "The Beautiful
White Devil," "Pharos, The
Egyptian," Etc.
(Copyrighted, X3CI, by Ward, Lock Jfc Co.]
CH A PTE R IX.—CONT i sued.
"At last I reached the British out
post of Nampoung, on the Burmah-
Chinese border, where the officers
■took me in and played the part ol
"the pood Samaritan. When I was
Well enough to t»-avel, I made my
way down to Rangoon, where, still
believing- my late companions to be
•dead, I shipped for England."
"As ifr. George Bertram," I said,
quietly. "Why under an assumed
name, when, according to your story,
you had nothing to fear?"
"Because 1 had good and sufficient
reason for so doing," he replied.
""You must remember that I had a
quarter of a million's worth of pre
cious stones in my possession, and,
well, to put it bluntly, up to that
time 1 had been living what you
■might call a make-shift sort of life.
For the future I told myself I was
going to be a rich man. That being
so, I wanted to start with a clean
«heet. You can scarcely blame me!"
I did not answer him on this point,
but continued my cross-examination.
"You reached London, and sold
some of the stones there, later on
you disposed of some more in Am
sterdam. Why did you refuse the
dealers your name and address?"
Once more he was quite equal to
tli e occasion.
"Because if I had told them, every
body would have to know it, tfnd,
to be perfectly frank with you, I
could not feel quite certain that Kit
water and Codd were really dead."
"By that I am to presume that you
intended, if possible, to swindle them
out of their share?" I asked, not a
little surprised by his admission.
"Once more, to be frank with you,
1 did. I have no desire to be rude,
but 1 rather fancy you would have
•done the same had you been sim
ilarly situated. I never was much
of a success in the moral business."
I could well believe this, but I did
JOot tell him so.
"When did you first become aware
■that they were in London?"
"On the day that tliey landed," he
•answered. "I watched every ship
that came in from Rangoon, anil at
last had the doubtful satisfaction of
sowing my two old friends pass out
of the dock-gates. Poor beggars,
they had indeed had a hard time
of it."
"Then you could pity them? Even
while you were robbing them?"
"Why not?" lie answered. "There
■vras no reason because I had the
stones that 1 should not feel sorry
for the pain they had suffered. I
had to remember how near I'd been
to it myself."
This speech sounded very jiretty.
"though somewhat illogical.
"And pray how did you know that
they had called in my assistance?"
"Because I kept my eyes on them.
I knew Mr. Kit water of old, you see.
I watched them go into your office
«.nd come out from a shop on the
other side of the street."
The whole mystery was now ex
plained. What an amount of trouble
1 should have been spared had I only
known this before.
"You did not approve, then, of my
being imported into the case?"
"I distinctly disapproved," he an
swered. "I knew your reputation, of
course, and 1 began to see that if
you took up their case for them I
should in all probability have to
-climb down."
"'lt is doubtless for that reason
you called upon me, representing
yourself to be Mr. Bayley, managing
director of that South American
Mining company? I can now quite
understand your motive. You want
ed to get me out of the way in or
der that I might not hunt you? Is
that not so?"
"You hit the nail upon the head
exactly. But you were virtuous, and
would not swallow the bait. It would
have simplified matters from my
point of view if you had. I should
not have been compelled to waste my
money upon those two roughs, nor
would you have spent an exceedingly
uncomfortable quarter of an hour in
that doorway in Holywell street."
This was news indeed. So he had
been aware of my presence there? I
put the question to him.
"Oh! Yes! 1 knew you were there,"
he said with a laugh. "And I can tell
you I did not like the situation one
bit. As a matter of fact, I found
that it required all my nerve to pre
tend that T did not know it. Every
Qurneut 1 Kipocted you to come out
and spealc to me. I can assure you
the. failure of my plot was no end of
a disappointment to me. i had ex
pected to see the men I had sent
after you, and instead 1 found you
yourself."
"Upon my word, Mr. llavle, if I
cannot appreciate your actions, I
must say 1 admire your candor. I
can also add that in a fairly long ex
perience of—of—"
"Why not say criminals at once,
Mr. Fairfax?" he asked, with a
smile. "1 assure you I shall not be
offended. We have both our own
views on this Question, and you, of
course, are entitled to air yourself
if it pleases you. You were about
to observe that—"
"That in all my experience I had
never met anyone who could so calm
ly own to an attempt to murder a
fellow-being. But supposing we now
come to business."
"With all my heart," he answered.
"I am as anxious as yourself to get
everything settled. You will admit
that it is rather hard lines on a man
who can lay his hands upon a quar
ter of a million of money to have a
gentleman like yourself upon his
trail, and, instead of being able to
enjoy himself, to be compelled to re
main continually in hiding. 1 am an
individual who likes to make the
most of his life. I also enjoy the so
ciety of my fellow-men."
"May we not substitute 'woman?'"
I asked. "I am afraid your quarter
of a million would not last very long
if you had much to do with Mile.
Beaumarais."
"So you have heard of her, have
you?" he answered. "But you need
have no fear. Dog does not eat dog,
and that charming lady will not de
spoil me of very much! Now to an
other matter! What amount do you
think your clients would feel inclined
to take in full settlement of their
claim upon me?"
"I cannot say," I answered. "How
many of the gems have you realized
upon?"
"There were 93 originally," he said,
when he had consulted his pocket
book, "and I have sold 60, which
leaves a balance of 33, all of which
are better than any I have yet dis
posed of. Will your clients be pre
pared to accept £ . r >o,ooo, of course,
given without prejudice?"
"Your generosity amazes me," I
answered. "My clients, your part
ners, are to take £25,000 apiece,
while you get off scot-free, after
your treatment of them, with £200,-
000."
"They may consider themselves
lucky to get anything," he retorted.
"Run your eye over the case, and see
how it stands. You must know as
well as I do that they haven't a leg
to stand tipon. If I wanted to be
nasty, I should say let them prove
* n t> 4
A CAB DROVE UP AND THE GENTLE
MAN HIMSELF ALIGHTED.
that they have a right to the stones.
They can't call in the assistance of
the law—"
"Why not?"
"Because to get even with me it
would be necessary for them to
make certain incriminating admis
sions, and to call certain evidence
that would entail caustic remarks
from a learned judge, and would not
improbably lead to a charge of mur
der being preferred against them.
No, Mr. Fairfax, I know my own
business, and, what is better, I know
theirs. If they like to take £50,000,
and will retire into obscurity upon it,
I will pay it to them, always through
you. But I won't see either of them,
and I won't pay a halfpenny more
than I have offered."
"You don't mean to tell me that
you are in earnest?"
"I am quite in earnest," he an
swered. "I rtever was more so. Will
you place my offer before them, or
will you not?"
"I will write and also wire them
to-day," I said. "But I think I know
exactly what they will say."
"Point out the applicability of the
moral concerning the bird in the
hand. If they don't take what they
can get now, the time may come
when there may be nothing at all. I
never was a very patient man, and I
can assure you most confidentially
that I am about tired of this game."
"But how am I to know that this
is not another trick on your part,
and that 3-011 won't be clearing out
of Paris within a few hours? I
should present a sorry picture if my
clients were to accept your generous
offer, and I had to inform them that
you were nyt on hand to back it up."
"Oh, you needn't be afraid about
that," he said, with a laugh. "I am
not going to bilk you. Provided you
play fair by me, 1 will guarantee to
do the same by you. With the ad
vantages I at present enjoy, I am
naturally most anxious to know that
I can move about Europe unmolest
ed. Besides, you can have me
watched, and so make sure of me.
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1902
There is that beautiful myrmidon of
yours, who is so assiduously making
love to Mile. Beaumarais' maid. Give
him the work."
I was more than surprised to find
that he knew about this business,
lie saw it.and uttered one of his pe
culiar laughs.
"He didn't think I knew it,"he
said. "But I did! liis cleverness is a
little too marked. He overacts his
parts, and even Shakespeare will tell
you how foolish a proceeding that is.
If you doubt my word concerning
my stay in Paris, let him continue
to watch me. You know where I am
living, and for that reason you can
come and see me whenever you like.
As a proof of my sincerity, may 1
suggest that you give me the pleas
ure of your company at dinner to
night. Oh, you needn't be afraid.
I'm not a Caesar Borgia. I shall not
poison your meat, and your wine
will not be drugged. It will be rath
er a unique experience, detective and
criminal dining together, will it not?
What do you say?"
The opportunity was so novel, that
I decided to embrace it. Why should
I not do so, since it was a very good
excuse for keeping my man in sight?
He could scarcely play me any tricks
at a fashionable restaurant, and 1
was certainly curious to study an
other side of this man's complex
character. I accordingly accepted
his invitation and promised to meet
him at the well-known restaurant he
named that evening.
"In the meantime you will tele
graph to your clients, I suppose,"
he said. "You may be able to give
me their reply this evening when we
>«»eet."
"I shall hope to be in a position
to do so," I answered, after which
he bade me good-by, and picking up
his hat and stick left the room.
I sat down and wrote a letter to
Miss Kitwater, telling her all that
had occurred; then went out to dis
patch it with a telegram to Kit
water himself, informing him of the
offer Hayle had made. I could guess
the paroxysm of rage into which it
would throw him, and I would will
ingly have spared his niece the pain
such an exhibition must cause her.
I could see 110 other way out of it,
however. The message having been
dispatched, I settled myself down to
wait for a reply, with all the pa
tience I could command. In my own
mind I knew very well what it would
be. It was not so much the money
that Kitwater wanted as revenge.
That Hayle's most miserable offer
would only increase his desire for
it, I felt certain. Shortly after three
o'clock the reply arrived. It was
short and to the point, and ran as
follows:
"Tell him I will have all or noth
ing."
Here was a nice position for a
man to find himself in. Instead of
solving the difficulty we had only in
creased it. I wondered what Hayle
would say when he heard the news,
and what his next step would be.
That he would endeavor to bolt
again, I felt quite certain. It was a
point in my favor, however, that he
would not know until the evening
what Kitwater's decision was, so I
felt I had still some time to arrange
my plan of action. Of one thing I
was quite determined, and that was
that he should be watched day and
night from that minute, but not by
Mr. Dickson. That worthy I bade
return to England, and his rage on
discovering that Mile. Beaumarais"
maid had tricked him would have
been amusing to witness, had the
principal event in which I was most
concerned not been so grave. The ex
pressions he used about her were
certainly far from being compli
mentary.
Feeling that I must have other as
sistance, 1 set off for my old friend
Leglosse's residence. I had the good
fortune to meet him by the con
cierge's lodge, and we ascended the
stairs to his rooms together.
"I have come to ask you to do me
a favor," I said, when ws were seat
ed in his sitting-room.
"A thousand favors, if you wish,
cher ami," the old fellow replied.
"Tell me how I can have the pleas
ure of serving you."
"I want you to lend me one of
your men for a few days," I said. "I
hav» to send my own man back to
England, and I am afraid the gentle
man we were discussing last night
may give me the slip in the mean
time if I'm not careful."
The better to enable him to ap
preciate the position, 1 furnished
him with a brief summary of the
case ur.on which I was engaged.
"And so you are to dine with your
prisoner to-night?" he remarked,
with one of his quiet chuckles.
"That is droll—very droll. It is very
good for you that it is at such a
place, or 1 should have my doubts as
to the rascal's intentions. But you
are well able to take care of your
self, my friend; that I know."
"And the man?"
"You shall have him. You shall
have half a dozen if you like. I am
only too pleased to be able to help
in such a good work. You shall have
Pierre Lepallard, my right-hand. I
cannot give you a better. Nothing
escapes Pierre, and he is discreet, oh,
yes, my friend, he is discreet. He
will not obtrude himself, but he will
know all that your friend does, to
whom he speaks, what he said to
him, and sometimes even what he in
tends doing before he does it."
"In that case he is just the man
for me," I replied. "I am exceed
ingly obliged to you for your con
siderate courtesy. Some day I may
be able to repay it."
Within half an hour the estimable
Lepallard had been made acquainted
with his duties, and within an hour a
I ragged tatterdemalion of a man was
[ selling matches on the opposite aide
of the road to that on which Hayle'a
apartments were situated.
I reached the restaurant at which
we were to dine that evening l punc
tual to the moment, only to find that
Hayle had not yet arrived. For a
minute I was tempted to wonder
whether he had given me the slip
again, but while the thought, was
passing through my mind <i cab
drove up, and the gentleman himself
alighted.
"1 must beg your pardon for keep
ing you waiting," he said, apologet
ically. "As your host I should have
been here first. That would have
been the case had I not been de
tained at the last moment by an
old friend. Pray forgive me!"
I consented to do so, and we en
tered the restaurant together.
I discovered that he had already
engaged a table, arranged the menu,
and bespoken the wines. We ac
cordingly sat down,and the strangest
meal of which I had ever partaken
commenced. Less than a week be
fore the man sitting in front of me
had endeavored to bring about my
destruction; now he was my host,
and to all outward appearances my
friend as well. I found him a most
agreeable companion, a witty con
versationalist, and a born raconteur.
He seemed to have visited every part
of the known globe; had been a
sailor, a revolutionist in South
America, a blackbirder in the Pacific,
had seen something of what he
called the "pig-tail trade" to Borneo,
some very queer life in India, that ia
to say, in the comparatively un
known native states, and had come
within an ace of having been shot by
the French during the war in Mada
gascar.
[To Be Continued ]
BUSINESS CONSCIENCE.
Queer Distinction Made by I.oixlon
Clock Mnkcrs In Some of
Their Work.
The Sunday morals of many a com
munity are an improvement upon
those of ordinary work days. Some
how conscience seems to sleep when
the hand is busy, particularly if the
hand be employed upon some profit
able work. A London artist tells of a
curious incident that came under his
notice some little while ago, &ays
Youth's Companion.
"I had an old English bracket clock
that I took myself to a wholesale firm
of clock-makers to be repaired. Whilst
in the shop I noticed a peculiar piece
of mechanisim, the purpose of which
puzzled me, so I sought for informa
tion.
" 'Oh!' replied one of the firm, 'that's
a special order for a temple in China;
it is to work an idol and make him
move.'
"Presumably that clock-maker was
an excellent Christian in his own esti
mation. I do not know whether there
was anything in my look that he con
sidered called for an explanation, but
he added:
"'Business is business, you know.
You'd be astonished to learn what fun
ny orders we have sometimes in our
trade. Only the other day a firm asked
us if we would make some imitation
"genuine" Elizabethan clocks; they
sent us one to copy, llut we replied
declining, merely saying that we had
so far conducted our business honestly,
and intended always to do so.'
"So, according to the ethics of our
informant, it is not dishonest to make
clockwork intended secretly to make
an idol move, but it is dishonest to
make imitation mediaeval clocks!"
Tlie Eye* of a I.lon.
One night when some troopers were
encamped in South Africa, it came the
turn of Bennie Stevenson togo for wa
ter to the spring, which was about a
thousand yards distant. He describes
the experiences in his booy, "Through
Rhodesia." A comrade volunteered to
accompany him. When »hey were near
ing the spring, this man whispered to
Stevenson:
"There's a lion skulking in the un
derbrush on the right bank."
Yes, there were its eyes, gleaming
through the dark.
"Shall I fire?" whispered the sol
dier.
"Yes, fire, but take good aim. If
you only wound it, we will be done
for."
The trooper knelt and took a long,
steady aim.
Bang! The sound of the shot re
verberated through the surrounding
trees and up the river. But there were
the eyes, still gleaming.
Stevenson asked for the rifle and
crawled nearer, trying to get a better
shot. Closer and closer went the two,
their hearts in their mouths. Sud
denly, when they thought they were al
most in the face of the "lion." they
found the "eyes" to be two glowworms.
The alarmingly bright little creatures
had not felt it necessary to get out of
the way.
The Maid and the Luncheon.
Once upon a time there was a young
man who cared very little for the so
ciety of women, and found no pleas
ure in their company, until he met
a young lady who was clothed in silk,
satin, velvet, lace and jewels, and
made an exceedingly fine appearance.
She received his attentions very gra
ciously, and after a short acquaint
ance accepted an invitation to the
theater. When the play was over they
went to a restaurant for a luncheon.
"Isn't this salad fine?" he asked.
"Yes," s'n,- answered, "the lovely
mayonnaise makes it just delicious."
Moral.—A great deal depends 011 the
dressing.—X. Y. Herald.
illoodtliirsty.
Maiden Aunt —Johnnie, what would
you like to have me buy you for a
pet?
Johnnie—An anteater, please.—X. Y
Times.
PUZZLE PICTURE.
TO WHOM IS 11IC SI'EAIVIVG?
A GHOSTLY MANIFESTATION.
The Itemnrknhlc Story Related l»y a
\\ 11 MII i n KI 011 Mnn About n
Mandolin.
"It is sometimes possible," said a
Washington gentleman who has
given considerable attention to the
investigation of spiritualism, "to
trace to natural causes the source of
supposed supernatural sounds and
manifestations. I am reminded of a
ghostly manifestation based upon a
tragedy. It is for psychological
students to determine the cause, as
I have no explanations or sugges
tions to offer beyond the mere recital
of the actual facts, which, by the
way, happened in this city," says the
Washington Star.
"The only daughter of an aunt of
mine had been presented with a man
dolin by a teacher of music of whom
she was very fond. He was an elder
ly man of family, who esteemed her
as his own child. Unhappily he be
came a victim of intemperate habits,
and lost his pupils and property in
consequence.
"One night after my aunt and niece
had retired the former was awakened
by what, as she positively declared,
was the unmistakable impress of a
human hand upon her own hand and
arm, which were thrown over the
coverlet of the bed. Very much
startled and frightened she sat erect.
In the faint light of the gas jet,
turned down low, she observed that
the hands of the clock on the man
tlepiece pointed to the hour of 11.
Almost simultaneously my niece
awoke with a loud cry of terror and,
clinging to her mother, she said that
gome one had shaken her by the arm.
Both mother anil daughter were
awakened out of a sound sleep at the
same moment by a similar manifesta
tion of some apparently physical
force, as it would have been impos
sible for one to have seized the other
in the manner described.
i EXCUSE FOR THE MAJOR
PRACTICAL FIRE PART OFTHE FIRES WHICH
rvrj r /-« aIIT I/A IV? C" CONSUME HOUSES AN D
rKtCAUIIONS BUSINESS PROPERTY. They
~~——— might easily be avoided by the ex-
BY WILLIAM H. MUSHAM, ereise of a little Ordinary Precau-
Oenera! Supl. Chicago Fire Department. . , ,
__J tion. It is too much to demand
. perfection from human beings, and
a certain amoifnt of carelessness regarding fire precautions must be
expected. But there is a limit which we may, in human reason, ex
pect to have observed. First in the list of precautions let me put
THE BANISHMENT OF GASOLENE—the terror of the Fire
Fighter and the underwriter. The use of this volatile fluid should be
prohibited by law. Keep it outside your buildings. The fumes which
evaporate from it will travel straight across a wide room to a lighted
gas jet and cause an explosion. It is a terrible waster of life and
property. Don't trifle with it within doors. Keep it outside and use
it outside—if at all. Scores of firemen have gone down before this
Destrover.
KEEP YOUR WASTE OF EVERY SORT IN AN IRON* RE
CEPTACLE ; have no corners or boxes into which you throw ''stuff."
This material will breed flames sooner or latyr. Dirty corners under
stairwavs are literallv fire traps.
SWINGING GAS JETS CAUSE HUNDREDS OF FIRES.
The jets should be so fixed that they CANNOT swing against com
bustible material.
GREAT CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN IN STARTING FIRE
PLACES WHICH HAVE BEEN OUT OF SERVICE FOR
MONTHS OR WEEKS. First see that the flues are cleaned and in
condition. Then have the initial fire a very moderate one.
MANY FIREPLACES ARE FUNDAMENTALLY UNSAFE,
having only a thin layer of bricks between .
the joists of the instead of being con
structed on an arch of brick.
Steam pipes coming in direct contact
with wood are another source of frequent
fires. The wood becomes charred and finally
takes fire. " V
Look out for these things, see that chil
dren are not allowed to handle matchos, and
that adults do not throw matches about mis- BBBMKj^OppoP^
cellaneously, and the number of fires will be *" ' '
greatly diminished. ;
"As the terrified girl was relating
her experience and sensations the
sound of music came from a closet
in the far corner of the room, th'j
door of which was open, and in which
was the mandolin given to her by the
professor, strapped in its box. The
music was the unmistakable twang
of the fingers or the like upon the
metal strings. It was not a melody,
but was as though the strings had
been strummed several times by the
tips of tin? fingers. The sound was
loud and distinct.
"Their shrieks of terror brought
the rest of the family, including my
self, to their room. An investigation
proved that the straps around the
mandolin case were tightly buckled
and were intact. Opon opening the
case the mandolin and its strings
were also found to be in perfect coi
dition.
"On the following day it was
learned that the professor had com
mitted suicide in a fit of despond
ency, and at an hour which tallied
with that when my aunt and niece
had been so rudely awakened and
the strings of the mandolin had been
struck within its securely fastened
case.
"This instance I do not attempt t>
explain, further than to reassert that,
the facts are as I have given them."
Another llnxti llrenk.
"I think the 17-year locust is an in
teresting study," observes tjie lady
of uncertain age.
"It must be," we answer thought
lessly. "especially to one who has
traced them down from generatiou
to generation."
But, of course, it was her own fault
that she took it personally.—Balti
more American.
It in Hetort.
She (in the midst of the quarrel)—
Oh! 1 wish I were a man!
He—So do J! You'd have me to fight,
right now!— Puck.