6 THE GIFTS OF YESTERYEAR. The Ice has skimmed the water In the puddles by the way. And blooms are dead and scattered That were glowing yesterday; Hut though they're scattered under foot. Or floating through the air, They're just as bright in memory— No frost can reach them there. And so with joys of yesteryear, Its lilting songs and you, Its scudding clouds of fleecy white, Its violets and dew, Its woodland ways and pleasant vales, And ev'rything that's fled, Are pictured in fond memory— Though flown they are not dead. Another bird than that we heard May carol from the tree As sweet a song as that we loved. As glad and wild and free. And other two may walk the ways That we two held so dear; Hut mem'ry gives them back to us, Those ways of yesteryear. The new year may bring days as glad. The birds' glad carol shrill, The turquoise skies and you and I Together on the hill; The future may give joys to us As great as we have known— The past did give them: and no time May take from us our own! —J. M. Lewis, in Houston Post. H r GAMBLING _ 1 r WITH FATE By WILLIAM WALLACE COOK Author of"The Gold Gleaner* A Story of the Cyanide Tauk.s" "Withy'* Dau," M HU Friend th«- Knemy," - Rogers 1 Copyright, 1903, by William Wallace Cook) CHAPTER VII.—CONTINUED. Darrel groped his way forward and ran against a table. After a pause he took a match from his pocket and struck it against the tabletop. In the dim light he saw the old traveling-bag open before him. Clean linen met his startled gaze, a razor and shaving materials, a sole leather case containing toilet articles and a small round mirror. A bit of candle, planted in its own drippings, stood in the center of the table, while two other candles, un used, lay near it. Darrel applied the flickering match to the candle-wick and then, from sheer weariness, fell on an old stool at the table side. For a space he rested, his eyes tak ing in the objects spread out before them and growing keen for the slight est detail. One-half of the opened traveling-bag lay over some papers. Pushing the bag aside he saw a small heap of letters and a red morocco book, well worn and marked in tar nished gilt: "Junius McCloud." His gaze roved elsewhere and in an instant he was brought up standing, iimbs rigid and eyes staring. Near the papers, and lying so that it had been hidden by the opened traveling bag, was a revolver whose ebony stock was carved with a death's head. Murgatroyd's! Sudden strength swept through Darrel's body and he plucked the candle from the table-top and whirled around, holding the light above bis head. At the other end of the room was a bunk built against the wall. Beside the bunk, across another stool, were the corduroys, neatly folded. A form lay in the bunk—a still form whose wide, unmoving eyes seemed fixed upon the intruder. Darrel heaved a deep breath. The form was not that of Murgatroyd but of the easterner. How came Murgatroyd's revolver there? There were a dozen things Darrel wanted to do, all at once, but he set his hand to the thing nearest him. Picking up the revolver he examined It. That it was the same weapon he had beld in his hands a few hours before live cartridges, their lead tips marked with an "M," convinced him beyond all peradventure. The weapon was a .45 and the empty shell of the sixth cartridge lay under the hammer. Darrel's breath came hard and quick as he laid the revolver back on the table. He knew it. Murgatroyd had com mitted the murder for the purpose of involving him and fate, working cir cuitously, had developed Murgatroyd's guilt through the agency of Junius Mc- Cloud, otherwise the man in corduroys. Life is a game of chance, Darrel reasoned, and every man plays it through with Fate for an opponent. It is perforce an "honorable game," for Fate will tolerate none of your short card gentry. The backs of the cards may not be read and various tricks and makeshifts are tabooed. Fate loves a daring and honest player; one for example who will discard aces in the hope of "help ing" inferior cards. But the play of Fate is peculiar, as the establishing of Murgatroyd's guilt through the instrumentality of Mc- Cloud will witness. One thing alone remained to make Darrel's assurance doubly sure. The bullet that killed Sturgis was in the possession of the doctor at Sandy Bar. Would that bullet chow the mark which Darrel had put upon •every load in the weapon belonging to Murgatroyd? Darrel picked up the candle and stopped to the bunk. Other matters, till now, had kept him from thinking much of the strange silence of Junius McCloud. A deathly pallor lurked in McCloud's eyes. Darrel laid a hand on the heart but detected not the slightest pulsation. The fugitive looked pensively down on the silent form. Death had sealed the lips which could have explained presence of that revolver. In turning away, Parrel saw a paper bag on a shelf near the head of the bunk. The bag contained food. Fam ished as ho was he began eating at once, carrying the bag to the table and clearing a place in front of him. McCloud, Darrel reflected, had been a fastidious person. The fugitive re called his furtive wiping of the dishes at the Half Way house and wondered to note that, even then, as he lay in the brnk, his face was cleanly shaven and his hair neatly brushed. There were no marks of violence on McCloud's person and it must be that he had taken something to hurry him self out of the world, His burden of guilt had been greater than he could bear and he had made his preparations and left life like a gentleman. In the midst of his meal, Darrel heard the impatient whinnying of the horse. The animal was probably in need of water and Darrel went out at once, pulled up the picket-pin and led the horse to the creek. Then, after seeking out a fresh range, he drove the pin into the ground once more and returned to the house. A bold expedient had suggested itself to Darrel. Sweeping the uneaten food aside he picked up the diary and opened it. A third of tfle leaves were gone, hav ing been torn raggedly from the book and undoubtedly destroyed. On the remaining leaves there was not a scrap of writing. A sigh of disappointment escaped the man and he laid down the book and drew the little heap of letters in front of him. Suddenly he paused. What right had he to read that cor respondence? He boasted of being honest and honorable; was there any thing honest or honorable in reading another's letters, even though that other were dead? It was a fine point and it is to Dar rel's credit that it occurred to him. There is a time, however, when neces sity makes its own laws and Darrel, with a half-apologetic look in the di rection of the bunk, was soon deep in the matter before him. CHAPTER VIII. DARREL AND THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. First, Darrel arranged the letters in sequence according to their dates. Then he began his perusal with the earliest, following through each one down to the last. The most frequent writer was one Lawrence Ormsby whose name was as PICKING UP THE REVOLVER HE EXAMINED IT. often abbreviated to "Lorry" or "L. O." as signed in full. He appeared to be a devoted friend of McCloud's. The very first letter was from Orms by, bore date at New York and the envelope showed it had reached Mc- Cloud in St. Paul. Part of it was especially significant. * * * We still have faith in you, Junius, for God knows how much those unfortunate spells, over which you have no control, has helped in your undoing. It is not so hard to live down the past. Other men have done worse and have retrieved themselves. Simply renounce all Intercourse with this man who has been your ruin. That is the first and most important step. Then, if there is anything holy for you 011 earth or above it, swear by that never to stake another dollar at play. » » » You say this man has a strange in fluence over you—a weird and malign power which you cannot light against— and that it is impossible for you to keep away from him. Nonsense! Brace up, my boy, and be a man. It you cannot do this for yourself, do it for the sake of your family, for love of the girl who is to iftik her fate with yours, if all these influences are powerless to sway you, then certainly you must go your own course and forfeit the esteem of all who know you, including that of your friend, LORRY. "Unfortunate spells." The words rang in Darrel's brain. A clew to their meaning was found in a brief let ter bearing, in its upper, left-hand corner, the card of a New York physi cian. Ycu question me as to the cause and eventual result of those recurring condi tions you find it so difficult to under stand. The phenomena are sensory. Nerves are like harp-strings; played upon too freely by an excitement so intense as you develop, they grow suddenly mute, the melody of life dying out of th< m. Again and the music will come creeping back, then finally fail to return from those mysterious regions whence all life comes and whither, at the last, it tiles for ail time. This is your knowledge and your warn ing. and if I write in unprofessional terms, I am yet suie that you will under stand. Save yourself while there is time! The haunting phrases of this letter appealed to Darrel. He had a soul for poetry and had occijiuonally set his hand to verse. Although he read and re-read the written words for the mere pleasure they gave him, as a clew to the "unfor tunate spells" they remained only a clew and nothing more. Among the other missives were two from a sweetheart. The heart of a woman, laid bare in the opening CAMKRON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, MAY 19, *904. words of the first letter, gave Darrel pause. His own heart smote him for prying thus into the very core of McCloud's privacy. Yet had he not the right? That revolver proved a connection with Murgatroyd, and Murgatroyd, to Barrel's mind, stood ail but convicted of the murder of Sturgis. The fugi tive read on. The first letter was all that a lover might expect from his betrothed, but the second throbbed in every line with bitter anguish, broke the golden chain of love and released him from his vows. For all that the letters revealed beefing upon Darrel's affairs they might have been left unprofaned by stranger eyes. A sickening horror pulsed through the fugitive's veins and he hastened his reading. At the very last was this, from Ormsby: • * • I have taken the liberty to re fer to you, under a communication of even date herewith, a Miss Elsie Avery and her aunt, Mrs. Gorton. They will arrive soon in Anaconda on a peculiar mission. Any aid you may render Miss Avery and Mrs. Gorton will be grate fully received by them and deeply appre ciated by me. Whatever you do in their behalf will serve to till your mind and withdraw it from your own misfortunes. Barrel wrinkled his brow over this epistle. It suggested an unknown quantity which might play havoc with his projected equation. Every other scrap of information gleaned from the correspondence proved favorable to the fugitive's plan. This last letter of Ormsby's alone made him hesitate. Half an hour's reflection, however, decided the matter. It was a leap in the dark but he would take it. CHAPTER IX. DARREL'S LEAF IN THE DARK. With a pair of scissors taken from the sole-leather toilet-case Darrel cut off his full beard. Then he went down to the creek and brought back some water in a collapsible cup of the sort affected by travelers who have an aversion for public drinking utensils. In a small shaving mug, lettered "J. McC." in gilt monogram, he stirred up a lather with perfumed soap and silver mounted brush. The razor had an ivory handle and the hollow-ground blade of rare and tempered steel threw off the candle light brilliantly as he drew it back and forth over the strop— the gold- mounted strop of a sybarite. Presently Darrel's white face was as smooth and clean as a child's and he studied it in the mirror and com pared it line by line with the deli cate features of the man in the bunk. There was a striking resemblance. Who says that fate does not favor the bold? Or that a man's fortunes are ever at so low an ebb she does not blow a straw of hope across his path? Darrel was more than satisfied. A swim in the creek and a brisk rub with a rough towel sent the blood tingling through his bruised and weary limbs. Already he was a different man. But the transformation was not yet com plete. Neatly laundered linen and fresh silken undergarments were among the stores of the old traveling bag. He dressed himself slowly and deliberate ly, by and by standing forth in the dead man's shoes and corduroys, ap pareled completely from head to heel. In the pockets of the garments he found many things. A silver cigar clipper, a cigar case, a seal purse con taining SSOO in bills, a card case, a key ring, a pen-knife and a magnificent gold watch, fob and seal. • His mud-splashed, brier-torn gar ments he left on the chair in lieu of the corduroys, disturbing nothing (hat had been his own. Reckoned dollar for dollar he was leaving twice the amount in valuables that ho was tak ing. "In stepping from one life into an other," he said to himself, "there must be a fair exchange. But this is better than fair. I leave with him more personal property than I appropriate and a better reputation than he lias to give. 1 am an innocent man believed to be guilty, while he is guilty, but supposed to be innocent. His inno cence must shield me while I work out my own salvation." Standing beside the bunk, Darrel save the calm face and stony, staring eyes a long farewell look. McCloud was a young man to have "stepped aside" so early in the game of life. He had come west to live down mis deeds of the east. There was nothing strange in that, for many a man had done likewise. But he had relatives, near ones and dear friends, a sweetheart—wealth, no doubt. Barrel sighed and closed the lids over the staring eyes. He longed to cover the young face, with its evi dence of suffering, but he dared do no more. Circumstances had placed Darrel in his present unpleasant plight. From now on he must pay due regard to cir cumstances and at all times consider them well. Moodily he paced the confines of the hut, the figurative terms of the doc tor's letter running through his brain. Gradually his face grew rapt and ec static. He could add something to the tragic circumstances under which the body would be found. In a moment he had dropped down at the table. Tearing a yellow scrap from the pa per bag that had confined the lunch eon, he fumbled through the unaccus tomed pockets until he had found a pencil. Then he wrote: Flight of star, or shivering beam Falling athwart the storm-cloud's wrack, Follow and find is it truth or dream, Lamp Of the gods or a glow-worm's track. N. D. He was not a poet—he could not lay that flattering unction to his soul. A post is not a man who feels but a man who can write what all men feel. This quatrain was au near as Darrel rould come to analyzing, in words, the emotions of the moment. McCloud had gone into the unknown of death while this other fugitive was steering towards the unknown in life. Over the head of the bunk Darrel left his verse, impaling it on a sliver of wood. Then he packed McCloud's belongings in the traveling bag and started from the hut. At the door he paused and turned, his eyes on the still form in the bunk. "I leave you here, Nathan Darrel," he said, "an innocent, well- meaning man who fared ill at the hands 01' others and who tried to be honest but could not be honorable. Now let us see how well Junius McCloud retrieves himself." Half an hour later he was riding through the gray dawn, mounted on the calico cayuse and with tRe old traveling bag fast at the saddle-can tle. [To Be Continued.] A REFRESHING CHANGE. One Man WIIO Wan Not looking for u Tip for Dolnu a Small Service. A professor of geology in a Massa chusetts college has a story to tell of a Colorado mining camp which shows that stars shine in the darkest firma ments, says Youth's Companion. De siring to spend his vacation in a prac tical study of mines, he got letters of introduction to all the chief engineers and mine superintendents in Colorado, and visited one mine after another under the most favorable conditions. His letters were from two or three well-known men, and opened to him many shafts where strangers were strictly forbidden. The only difficulty was in approaching mines which were under guard. Labor troubles had made it necessary to put patrols about many of the shafts. Approaching a coal mine which 110 was especially anxious to visit, he was stopped by a huge Irishman, who told him to "be aff." "I have a letter to the superintend ent." "No matther. Ye're not allowed be yand this shanty." "I'll show you the letter." "How could I know 'twas true?" "But won't you take it into the su perintendent?" "An" lave me post?" "Here is a quarter. You take it and get this letter to the superintendent." "A quarter, is it? An' the letther? Wait till I hail Gimpsey an' get him to watch while I go in." He put his hands up to his mouth and called. A man appeared beyond a ridge. "See that no wan crosses here till I'll be back!" called the Irishman. "Now ye shtand here an' I'll take your letther." He went up the path and out of sight round the turn. The works were far from the outposts. Soon he came back. "Sure, he says he'll see ye an' ye can go in, but why he lets ye is more than I can see. You sendin' him a quarter and him earnin' twinty-flve thousand a year!" "You —you gave him that quarter?" "For sure. Who else would I give it to?" The professor went by the big sentry with an expression between a grin and a scowl. When he introduced himself to the superintendent he began to apologize for the quarter. "I'll give it back to McGrane," said the superintendent, laughing, "but our men out here are not hotel waiters." CAMEL THAT GREW TOO FAT. Little Fellow*** Paunch and Hump (iot 'loo II Ik for 111 M Legft to Support. The Prince was a white, crooked necked, gawky, long-legged, little camel, wondrously amiable and inquis itive, and with no hump to speak of, says McClure's Magazine. One of the difficulties in raising perfect specimens from captive-born camels is that tho youngsters grow fat too rapidly. This is what happened t»> Prince Henry. He cultivated an absurd paunch and started his hump growing ahead of schedule time, until his 250 pounds of avoirdupois threatened his manly shape. His forelegs showed signs of giving way at the ankles, so that, in stead of joining perpendicularly to the broad, soft cushion feet, they threat ened to spring back to an obtuse angle, causing what is technically known as Matfootedness. The remedy applied was the same used to reinforce weak ankles in hu man creatures. Boots the Prince must wear, tightly laced boots, reaching from knee to ankle, to aid the tender sinews and to support the delicate bones. For two months this strange baby stood, little black boots encircling his two snowy forelegs, while visitors flocked to se« the uovel sight, and the big, yel low mother, nosing her precious one softly, stood proudly by. By that time the bones had stiffened and hardened aud to-day Prince Henry is a perfect cumel, full grown, light yellow, and with a thick, knotty leg that would *alk away under a pack load of half a ton. ConPMRo of Childhood. The late George Francis Train loved children. The children of New York will miss him from Madison square, where, in fine weather, he would play with them all day long. "Citizen" Train used to tell of a lit tle girl to whom he once gave a rich cake. She ate it, and asked for an other. "I'd like to give you another," said the old man, "bu| it would make you bJck." "Give it to me, anyway," said the little girl. "At the dispensary I car. get medicine for notliin'." —N. Y. Trib une. GREAT CLOSED LAND. AS SUCH THIBET IS KNO VTS AMONG ASIATICS. British Are Now Trying to Conquer the Mysterious Country of the Fanatical Lamas and Ma gicians, London (Eng.) Special. The news dispatches of the last few weeks telling of the attempts of the Brit ish force uuder Col. Younghusband to enter Thibet have been somewhat over shadowed by the details of the larger conflict in Asia, which at the present moment is the cynosure of the eyes of the civilized world. China, Manchuria, Japan and Russia to the ordinary lay reader mean some thing concrete, something which even the most casual geographical 6tudent can understand. Thibet, "the great -.■losed island," on the other hand; Thibet, the unknown, the isolated, the mysteri ous, is something which the great world at large looks upon with whimsical dis interestedness. Nomads by inclination and by neces sity, practically every male in Thibet is a soldier, and as they gain a greater part of their livelihood from brigandage and hostile forays, one tribe against another, it may properly be said that their entire existence is given up to unremitting war fare. Should England succeed eventually in her purpose to add Thibetto her Atlantic domains, anyone who has ever been in Thibet can well ask: "What will she secure as compensation for this tre mendous outlay of men and money?" All explorers in Thibet agree that the natural resources of the country are in finitessimal and that nothing of con crete value ever can be secured to repay for the enormous expenditure necessary to prompt from nature something which she will not yield even if strenuously urged. British statesmen argue that. Thibet will serve as the great "buffer" to Rus sia's expansive ambition Indiaward, but the fact that most impresses any Thibet an traveler who has toiled for weary months at a halting pace through these W/ K * " > i-* NATURAL CASTLE IN THIBET. (Rugged Fortification Encountered by British Expedition.) barren and inhospitable wilds is that Thibet left to herself would dampen even Russian ardor for expansion. For scientists and geographers th« opening of Thibet will mean much, Ths secrets of the mysterious city of Lassa, which has defied all attempts of whit« explorers to reach it, will be laid bare Practically the last of the great unknown tracts of the habitable globe will disap pear, and with the subsequent spread oi civilizing and humanizing influences will in turn disappear the curious features of one of the strangest races of th« world. As is natural to suppose, the featurei of the landscape are reflected in the na tives themselves. As a race they are a dirty and filthy lot of the most degraded savages, building no substantial dwell ings, except among the agricultural tribes in the eastern districts bordering on the Chinese frontier, but with their herds of yak and horses wandering over the country, living in small tents made of yak skins or in cave dwellings. By nature the Thibetan is aglutton and will eat wherever and whenever opportunity presents itself. Both men and women are ugly, with huge features. They have great faith in the pernicious habit of disfiguring themselves with paint and strange tattoo marks and cicatrices. There is no settled form of government outside of the un stable hierarchy at Lassa, the constitu tion of society everywhere being sim ple. Almost every crime is condoned by payment, this leniency causing a bru tality and bloody license which provoke long protracted feuds and wars. Life is held in little if any esteem and is taken upon the least compunction. The real curse of Thibet, however, is the powerful lama hierarchy. These clergymen form nearly one-third of the entire population of the country and are rulers in substance if not in name. Mag ic, charms, fetich, rosaries and other "mystical" emblems constitute the main features of the cult of lama Buddhism. One of the most peculiar features of the Thibetan religious side of life is the prayer wheel. It forms a strange sight indeed to watch the Thibetans going about their daily avocations monoton ously, and by practice apparently un consciously, twisting these instruments. The worship of deceased ancestors is carried on among all tribes, the na tives at different periods digging up the bones of these illustrious forbeavers and religiously washing them. Ostriches in the Antipodes. Ostriches are being successfully reared in Australia. They produce magnificent white feathers, as much as 27 inches in length and 15 inches in width. The first bird# wer* imported from Africa. Mrs. Danforth, of St. Joseph, Mich., tells how she was cured of falling of the womb and its accompanying pains and misery byLydia E. Pinkhani's Vegetable Compound. " DEAR MRS. PINKHAM: — Life looks dark indeed when a woman feels that her strength is fading away and she has no hopes of ever being 1 restored. Such was my feeling a few months when I was ".dvised that my poor health was caused by prolapsus or faliin;* of the womb. The words sounded like a knell to me, I felt that m}' sun had set; but Lydia E. Pink ham's Vege table Compound came to me as an elixir of life ; it restored the lost forces and built me up until my good health returned to me. For four mouths I took the medicine daily, and each dosa added health and strength. I am so thankful for thehelp I obtained through its use." Mas. FLORENCE DANFORTH, 1007 Miles Ave., St. Joseph, Mich.— SSOOO forfeit If original of above letter proving genuineness cannot be produced. "FREE MEDICAL ADVICE TO WOMEN." Women would savo time and much sickness if they would write to Mrs. Pinkham for advice as soon as any distressing' symp toms appear. It is free, and has put thousands of women on the right road to recovery. Given Away! l|)y yy Wrlto go or ask an Si Alnbnfftlno dealer tot ■ ptrtlculnro ancS fro® sample card of &Utao&v!\& 1 ■A The Sanitary all on Do^oratln£.'' •»<* our Ariints' H ■9 ideas free. AUiAShflt CO.. t(U4 Ksjlii, HI&, H ■ ft 183 fftter st, S. I, IS JEALOUS OF OUR NAVY. . Emperor William's Recreations Are Taken Up in Preparing Statistics for Reichstag. One of Emperor William's recrea tions on board the Hohenzollern is work on statistical tables about the natives of Germany, England and the United States. When he returns to Berlin he will present these tables in suitable showcases to the reichstag. He is particularly anxious to show the people's representatives that, al though the growth of the German navy has been accelerated, it must be hastened still more if it is to keep pace with the American navy. The emperor is convinced that he has far better material toman his ships than exists in America. The men of the coast districts along the Baltic and the North seas are unsurpassed, in his estimation, as naval material. The number of men in the German fleet at present is 32,053, next year it will be 34,482 and at the close of 190G, 40,000 trained, reliable men. For a long time the Russian and the Japan ese navies chiefly concerned Emperor William as a basis for comparison; now it is the American navy. A Plain Warning. A young man in Emporia, Kan., had an open account with a local druggist for two years. The other day he called for his bill. The first item on it was a box of chocolates and the last was a nursing bottle. This ought to be a lesson to young men, remarks the Brooklyn Eagle, not to let accounts stand open so long. IN AN OLD TRUNK. Eaby Finds a Botfle of Carbolic Acid and Drinks It. While the mother was unpacking an old trunk a little 18 months old baby got hold of a bottle of carbolic acid while playing on the floor and his stom ach was so badly burned it was feared he would not live for he could not eat ordinary foods. The mother says ia telling of the case: "It was all two doctors could do to save him as it burnt his throat and stomach so bad that for two months after he took the poison nothing would lay on his stomach. Finally I took him into the country and tried new milk and that was no better for him. His Grandma finally suggested Grape-Nuts, and I am thankful I adopted the food for he commenced to get better right away and would not eat anything else. He commenced to get fleshy and his cheeks like red roses and now he is en tirely well. "I took him to Matamoras on a visit and everj' place v/o went to stay to eat he called for Grape-Nuts and I would have to explain how he came to call for it as it was his main food. "The names of the physicians who at tended the baby are Dr. Eddy of thia town and Dr. Geo. Gale of Newport, 0., and anyone can write to me or to them and learn what Grape-Nuts food will do for children and grown-ups too," Name given by Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich. Look in each pkg. for the famous lit tle book, 'The Road to Wellville."