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THE SOTtANTON TRTBUNE-.a,nURSDAY MORNING, JUNE !M, 1897.
K
t.
i Ok Rome Reading Circle
4t4fiH -
THE WHITE THREAD, 1
By ALLEN UPWARD. I
Author of "Secrets of
4 Copyright, 1800, by
SNYorsia.
Tho story Is toM to a friend by a Frenih
diplomat, erstwhllo chargo d'urtalrea lit
ona of the petty principalities of tno U.xU
Uan, wlilch, whllo scarcely free from
Turkish VHsnalPKe. In torn asunder by
Austrian and Husslnn Jealousy. In Ihla
Instance ltelBnlnfr l'rlnco George Inclines
to Allah la, while l'rlnci-ss Catherine Is
by birth and sympathy attached to lltis
sla. rho French charge d'affaires Is en
trusted by his Russian colleague with the
interests of Russia durlntr tho latter's
temporary absence. Shortly after this, at
n banquet at. tho palace whero the tri
umph of the Austrian party I announced
and celebrnted, II. Stnrovltch, tho prlino
minister whoso sympathies arc Russian,
stealthily passes to the representative of
France a scaled packet, of value to the
Russian pnr,ty.' I'rfncesB Catherine", who
iiippeajTB to know of the transaction
warns him- to leave with his precious
document at once. While preparing to
obey a servant notices a lonjr white thread
nttachqd to his overcoat. It Is removed.
On tho vr.y homo the charge d'affaires
meets a crippled berjKar who seeki to de
tain htm, iyt shalclng tho mna oft he pro
ceeds .(of his house and. locks the mystc
llous pacltc,t up. In n. few minutes thero
Is a flrelifjcommotlbn-ln the street and It
Is learned that M. Starovltch hns been
nssasilnated. Proceeding at once to the
minister's houso tho Fienchman gains
admittance and notices that on tho vic
tim's coat Is a white thread exactly like
tho one that had been removed fiom his
own. Tho dying man iecognlzes tho am
bassador, beckons him to his side. Is Just
able to whisper: "The cripple tho pa
pers," and cxpltep. Thoronhly alarmed,
the charge d'affaires orders a shirt of
mall to bo worn for protection.
PAIIT III.
"The fun words uttered by Staro
vltch before lie expired,' continued
the ambassador, "had been sufficient
to reveal; to me the frightful plot to
which I hnil narrowly escaped fallms
a victim. There could no longer be a
qmstlon that the white thread which
I had twice come across on this night
llrst on my own clothes, itnd then on
those of the unfortunate minister, was
a signal of tho most terrible kind. It
was not for nothing that I had found
mwy path so obstinately blocked by
that cripple, till his confederate had
time to' catch me up from behind. Ilut
for the aclcdtnt of the equerry's having
drawn my attention to It, the assasblu
I could not doubt, would have found
on my back the token whK'h ho
sought, and I should have shared the
fate of the man whom I had Just seen
breathe his last.
"To the motives of the r.ssaslns,
Starovltch had also given me a clew.
It was evident htat he had connected
has mmdercr with the mysterious pac
ket which he had confided to me dur
ing the banquet. It was possible to
resist the IdeA that this packet con
tained something which rendered It fa
tal to Its possesor and In my excite
ment I even went so far as to accuse
Baron Dourenskl In my own mind of
having forseent his danger and pur
posely escaped It by a diplomatic re
treat "In the meantime 1 saw myself con
fronted by nn unseen peril, at whose
nature 1 could only vaguely guess. You
will have recognized, of course, my
motives for saying nothing to tho po
lice olllclals. "Where political consid
erations are Involved, the police are not
to be depended upon. If the crime
which had been Just committed were
the work of private Individuals, on the
other hand, I had no doubt that the
police would prove equal to the task
of bringing them to justice."
"You did' not llnd it necessary to
open the prime minister's envelope'."
I ventured to interpose, as his excel
lency allowed a few minutes to pass
without speaking"
"By no means, my friend. Recollect,
If you please that this envelope wus
sealed, and that its safety had excited
the Interest of the Princess Cathar
ine. All this time I had not forgotten
h tlreremarknble warning which she had
l given me, and this element In tho affair
W alone would have restrained me from
1 Placing my imprudent confidence In
the ofilelalu.
"AH I did waa to dispatch a telegram
I to Dourenskl, In the cipher which he
had requested mo to employ, Informing
Vilm o what had occurred, and urging
hlin to return Immediately.
I "Tho news of the tragedy must In
Iny case have reached him within a
few hours. The most profound Impres
kjon waa created all over Europe by
tils assassination of a statesman whose
nnis was ns familiar to the public as
t:tal of Plincfi George himself. The
vews taken of th event by tho news
pijiers wer conUictlng, some hinting
that the Austrian faction had had a
hund In II, upmo attributing it to the
secret influence of Russia, and others
again affeotlntr to consider It a matter
of some private revenge. For my own
part, I remained in doubt, and anxious,
ly waited fpr Doureuskl's return for an
explanation.
"It Is needless for me to describe the
sensation produced In the principality
Itself. So great was. the agitation and
alarm In the capital that the govern
ment eatfe orders that the funeral of
the murdered premier should take place
at night, and should bo .attended by no
one except a few public functionaries
and the Immediate relatives and friends
of the deceased.
HUMORS
Jnatant relief for skin-tortured halites and
rest for tired mothers In a warm bath with
Cuticl'ha Hear, and A single application of
Cpticuba (ointment), the great skin euro.
Tlio only epeotly and economical treatment
for itching, burning, bleeding, scaly, and
pimply humor of tho sklu, scalp, and blood.
(u tic lira
iKMthruttiootthworlJ. PorrDt(H)AXDCaiii
tril. CoaroeATiua, B' 1'roprlctor. Uocton.
OH-" Uow In Cur. ! Jiibr Uuroor,"m!ldlru,
BABY BLEMISHES &&'
BABY
H - H - H4f4 - - Ht
the Courts of Europe."
Allen Upward.!
44-H-4 -M--K4 :
"The funeral was fixed for the second
night after tho murder, and It was tho
boat, I saw Harry Mason swimming
and cried out to him. He paddled up
to the boat, leisurely, It seemed to me.
llu was on the leeward side, and for a
minute or more he kept clear of tins
boat, swimming backward as she drift
ed on, and sheltered by her from the
breaking sea.
"Will she float us all, Frank?" he
asked, calmly enough.
"Yes," was the answer; "the air
tanks will carry us. Get hold here."
When the next wave ewept us toward
him, Harry flung his arm across the
boat's keel near the bow, and clung
there. I was next to him. Miss Wood
ward was between Shirley nnd me.
At first we hoped that Steve might
come to our relief, and we wasted our
scanty tyreath 'n shouting; but the
wind by this time was blowing so hard
that the sound of a human voice wus
assimilated Into It instantly, and be
came tho gale's voice, wild and Inar
ticulate. 'c soon gave up all Idea
of rescue at our friend's hands, and
faced the chances that remained.
There was one chance that we should
be able to cling to the boat till she
should drift across the bay; and there
were ten thousand against It. The hay
Is about ten miles wide from Ogdon's
Island to the head of the cape. SOme
small Islands and a multitude of ledges
lay between; but even should we en
counter any of them, the odds were
that It would prove our destruction.
I believe that, had Alice Woodward
not been there, I should have given up
the struggle, and have Blld oft the slip
pery hull of that boat Into Davy Jones'
locker. Helping; to hold her on kept
me In good heart about holding myself
on. I should have felt myself to be the
weakest, but for her, and should not
have waited for anyone else to give
out first. Harry Mason was a stronger
boy than I, but he became exhausted
eailler, taking care of himself alone,
than I did, being by my position on
tho boat constrained to help another.
The girl had splendid courage, but
her strength nnd physical endurance
were unequal to the strain. It was an
cideal that any human creature might
shrink from. Though the night was
the warmest that ever I saw In that
part of th-s world, we were all chilled
to the marrow of our bones. The water
of the Maine coast is by nature so cold
that you cannot warm it In a kettle
over a flr. Before I had been on the
lottom of that boat ton minutes I was
so numb below the waist that I should
not have known It If a dogfish had bit
ten me In two. 'So much of my body as
was out of water part of the time was
freezing; the remainder had ceased to
suffer; It was dead.
At first our minds directed us; we
tried to do this and that. Then our
strength failed; then our minds failed;
and at last there was nothing left but
dogged, Instinctive resistance. I knew
nothing except that I would not let go
of the keel of that boat, nor suffer my
stiffening fingers to relinquish their
grip on Alice Woodward's arm.
Shirley must have been In a little
better condition. He at least could see
and hear, after those faculties seemed
to have suspended operations for me.
It was Shirley who discovered that we
wero drifting Into breakers; it was he
who waked me with a last appeal when
we were dashed against something
black that towered above us, and
frightened more than It cheered me.
After that I remember fighting my
way up an Interminable slope of rock
covered with seaweed, while the waves
pursued us und tried to drag the bur
den that wos between us back Into the
sea. One last effort, and I saw that we
were all together on solid lang again,
and It flashed across my mind that we
wero safe. Then all the nerves and
muscles In my body gave way at once,
and I fell; hut I have no recollection of
any shock when I struck the hard surface-
of the ledge.
For an Intel vol I was as destitute of
consciousness as, In the absence of evi
dence to the contrary, I would have
held tho rock on which I lay to be. And
to the rock, I suppose, the period since
it was created does not differ from a
second. I awoks to llnd my threi com
panions busy with me. My first senta
Hon was of cold; then I felt the others
around me; and Immediately a dash of
water struck mo In the face. I sup
posed that some one had thrown It on
me to revive me.
"Never mind that," said I, as cheer
fully aa might be; "I'm wet enough as
It is."
I sat up and again the -water struck
me. This time I saw that It was the
spray of tho wave that had broken on
the rocks In front of me.
"Why don't we go up higher?" I
asked.
"We can't," replied Shirley, gloom
ily. "Wo'er on top of the ledge now."
I stiuggled to my feet. All around
mo was a darkness so intense that I
could see nothing but tho foam cf
breaking waves. To windward was a
great patch of white whero the water
was churning over a rough floor of
rock, Just awash. By this tho waves
were broken before they reached the
edge of the upper ledge where we had
found a rspite front the storm, and only
the largest of them flung their spray
up to us. Yet our elevation above the
water was not more than three feet.
"In tho name of heaven, Frank," I
said, "how Is the tide?"
"Rising," said Shirley. "Bert, It's
all over with us. We're on Gull rock
or one of the other ledges In that
bunch, and they're all covered at high
water." -
"Frank, uro you sure?"
"We capsized a mile and a half duo
east of Spruce Head, with the wind
southwest and the tide Just beglnrlns
to lun In," said he. "You can figure It
out for yourself, You remember the
course wo laid out yesterday from
Spruce Head across tho Bay between
the Gull Rock ledges and the Round
Islands? East northeast, a half east."
"Frank, we're lost I"
"Stpadyl" he cried, clutching my arm
and wheeling me around till I faced
the spot whero the others crouched
upon the ledge. "She knows, and she
Is not afraid. I won't let ydu go to
I-lercs. I can't savo your life, and
that's a short thing, anyway. You've
got to die Bometlme, and If you die.
you wiU Hvo again. But it you're a
coward hero, eternity won't be long
enough for you to get over It."
PART III.
In my native town, some years be
fore 1 Haw the light, there was a man
who had a salmon wclr almost direct
ly Jn front of his house. A weir, as
everyone knows, Is a fence, mado of
long poles bearing a net, that extends
fnr out Into tho water and terminates
In an Inclosuro where fish am en
snared. Tho man of whom I am speaking
went out one morning to mend hla
weir; and he was ut work at tho far
end of It when a peculiarly frightful
thing happened. He had tied his boat
to a pole, and was climbing along tho
side of the salmon trap when ho lost
his hold and fell. His feet were bare,
and ono of them struck upon a broken
polo under tho water. The wood was
sharp as a speer, and It was shaped
like a barbed hook. It pierced his
foot, and the barb held him fast.
The tide must have been about breast
high upon him as ho clung to tho wclr,
Impaled as I have described. What
cries he sent toward his own home,
standing before his eyes upon the sun
ny slope, Imagine If you can. No mor
tal heard them. And tho tide rose
steadily, no faster and no slower than
on other days, and drowned him.
That story was the horror of my
boyhood. It came to me with the
vividness of a picture, on that ledge at
night, with the same death before mo
as he had faced. Yet I was not so de
solate as he had been for there were
those who could hear my voice though
they could not help me.
"Wo lay along the rock and discussed
one slender chance of. rescue Alice1
might be misted, and a searching party
might be sent out. On the other hand,
she told us that her absence would
probably not be noticed till mornlnir,
as she had gone to her room with tho
declared Intention of remalng there
A single consideration was enough to
destroy our hope of assistance on her
account. Her absence would have been
discovered much earlier In tho even
ing. If at all, and the searching party
would be already embarked upon the
bay carrying so many and so bright
lights that we could not fall to see
them. Yet nut a single bleam could
wc perceive. Darkness was al around
us like a wall. AVe could not even make
out the lighthouse on the lower end of
Ogdeh's Island, though on an ordinary
night it should have been plainly vis
ible. The same argument proved to us that
Steve had not succeeded In reaching
the Island. The squall must have blown
him off shore. If he had crossed the
bay nnd landed on the head of the
cape, It would be morning before he
could get a searching party under way.
Tho situation was utterly hopeless,
and we did not pretend to regard It In
any other light.
"If we only knew Just what time it
was." said Shirley, "It would be some
consolation. But my watch has
stopped, and so has Miss AVoodward'il."
"I have a watch," said I. "It'o a lit
tle gold ono belonging to my mother.
She let me take It. You know mine ls
being repaired. The watch is going,
but I can't &ee the face of It. Can we
tell the time by feeling of the hands?"
"I've got matches," said Harry.
"They're In a metal case; they're dry.
Let's all gat together and shut off the
wind while I light one. Hold your
watch, Bert."
The first match was Instantly extin
guished; the second broke In Harry's
nervous Angers, the third flared up,
and by Its light I saw the hands upon
the dial. They were almost together
at eleven. Harry saw the watch as
well as I did, and he groaned as If he
had been stabbed.
"Five minutes of eleven," he cried,
"and tho tide turned at eight. It's only
half flood. I give up. Before this I
couldn't quite believe that wo were
lost. It seemed to me that there must
be some mistake. But there Is not get
ting out of It row.
"One chance only remains, so far as
I can sec." said Frank, "and If that's
to be tried, I'm glad It's earlier than
we thought."
We asked him what he meant, nnd he
told us his plan, which was to swim to
Compass Island, the nearest land where
anybody lived, and return for us In a
boat.
"Compass Island Is over a mile from
here," said Harry. "You can no more
swim there In this sea than you can
fly."
"I shall have the wind and the sea
with me," replied Frank. "It Is worth
trying."
But it was not. The feat was entire
ly Impossible. Frank was bigger and
stronger and of greater endurance
than most men, but he was only a fair
swimmer. Under the most favorable
conditions I don't believe he could
have swam a mile. Chilled as he was
by long exposure, and exhausted by
previous efforts, he would do well If
he should swim a hundred yards. He
would piobably drown within the range
of our voices.
Yet ha could not be prevented from
making the attempt. Harry arid I said
what we could, and Alice besought him
In such words as I felt I could have
given my life for, If I had at that
time a llfo that was not as good as lost
already. She could not stay him.
"I'm responsible for this," said he.
"Listen, Alice; when I missed your boat
the first time I did it on purpose. I
wanted to fix It with Steve so that I
could row you ashore In your boat. AVe
gambled for the privilege and he won.
Then, when you Insisted on staying In
my boat, I mado him pull away In
yours, though there was no need for
It- If I had run alongside of you tho
first time, there would have been no
collision. If I hadn't sent Steve away
because I was Jealous of hlm.we should
have had the rowboat with us, and even
If the squall had upset us we could
have got ashore. So It's all my fault,
and I don't deserve to come, out of It
alive, f'erhaps after I am out of the
way, something will happen to save
you, who aro not to blame."
She told him In effect that ho was
despeiately expiating a wholly pardon
able offense; and then she clung to
him, but ho disengaged himself from
her hands. In a moment he had flung
oft coat and shoes, and was ready to
start.
"Good-by," he said. "I'll bring you
help If I can. At any rate, don't give
up till the last possible moment. Res
cue ,muy come."
I nearly lost my' wits' with horror as
he went down Into tho black water
beyond tho ledge. He seemed to take
Our courage with him, arid for a tlmo
wo lay huddled together like fright
ened children In tho dark.
Tho tide was rislrrg over tho level
rock In front of us, and the waves were
beginning to dash against the upper
bulwark of the ledge, sending the pray
hipping over us. AVe crouched close to
tho rocks and clutched them hard, pre
paring for tho time when wo must
make our last resistance.
"Heavens! How fast It riscsl"
grasped Harry In my ear. "What time
Is It now, I wonder?"
Again wo looked at my watch In tho
sudden flaro of a match. It was only a
few minutes after twelve. Two more
houru of flood tide, and already tho
water wan breaking clear over us. It
was lmposslbjo that wo should survlvo
another hour, for wo wero too weak
to stand. '
"Not even God himself can eavo us
now," said Harry In my ear.
Ho did not mean to bo profane. It
was merely tho Involuntary reaction
from a dream of supernatural rescue.
"Ood can eave us now," said Alice,
"as easily as at any other time. Do you
believe that the tide which Ho mado
has ceased to obey Him?"
"I believe that for a. million years
the tldo has covered Gull Rock twice
every twenty-four hours," said I, an
swering for him; "and It will not stop
for us."
I spoke earnestly. It seemed to me
weak to trust In miracles. It was like
giving up.
"It will stop If God tells It to," said
tho ctrl.
Men and women too have engaged
In theological controversy whllo the
flamesofmartyrdom were rising around
them, and have forgotten tho pangs of
mortal agony. So I suppose It was not
altogether unnatural that Alice Bhould
defend the doctrine of God's omnip
otence at such a time. Perhaps It Is
stranger that wo two boys should have
had the hardihood to deny supernat
ural Interference at a time when our
own lives depended on Its reality.
Be that as It may, the fact Is that we
debated the question with an earnest
ness that-rso far as I was concerned
drove out all fear. AVlth a natural ex
aggeration of our own Importance we
tncltly accepted the present as a test
case. If there had been anyone to lis
ten to use ho would have supposed that
the validity of sacred history depended
upon the question whether the tldo
would wait upon the moon as usual In
Penobscot Bay that night.
AA'o lay In tho shelter of a little ridge
of rock that wc had found, and our
physical discomfort was less than
might have been supposed. The wind
that swept over us was positively warm
and the chill of tho spray had ceased to
strike through our clothing.
A wave, taller than Its fellows, burst
In front of us and sent green water
clear across the ledge. It was the first
that had done so the beginning of the
end. AVe started up to our knees, and.
bending forward, with our heads upon
the edge of rock, started out across the
water. AVave after wave rolled In and
broke, and flung Its spray over our
heads; but no other reached the level
of that which had alarmed us.
It mav have been ten minutes that
we waited thus. Then Alice leaped to
her feet.
"You may deny God's power. If you
will," she said, "but It has saved us all.
I tell you that the tide has stopped ris
ing!" It was true, though by the closest cal
culation I could make, it lacked an hour
and fifty minutes of the tlmo of high
waer.
PART IV.
Before Frank Shirley had swam a
stone's throw from the Hedge he felt
his strength failing. He knew that ho
would never cover half the distance
between Gull Rock and Compass Is
land. If only his own life had been at
stake he would have ceased to struggle.
But for the sake of the girl whom his
folly had led Into deadly peril, ho re-
.solved that he wouldpngvef yield while I
nis power to move on nanu or loot re
mained with him.
The time had come when he, too,
looked beyond the visible laws of tide
and wave to Him who had made them.
Had he fought for his own' life only he
might not have dared expect mercy
from the sea, which Is the most cruel
of God's creatures. But In an effort
which he know was good, he felt that
there should be a power on his side,
liven within the ordinary course of
things It would be possible that he
bhould find some bit of driftwood that
would sustain him while he struggled
on. But his hands encountered noth
ing but the water, and from the top
of each succeeding wave his eager
ees saw nothing but white crests and
Jet black billows.
Ho lost account of time and distance.
He knew only that the time seemed
long to memory and short to hope.
AVhether he had won a hundred yards
of a half mill was a mere guess. His
course he directed vaguely by the wind
and sea, but what did it matter? Still
he knew that It was besst to work a
little to the right of the direct line of
the waves, for Compass Island was not
quite truly leeweard of Gull Rock.
It Is wonderful how many strokes a
swimmer can take after that one which
seems the very fast of which he is
capable. Shirley swam on and on,
though his arms had come to such a
degree of weariness and cold that ho
had no feeling of where they were. The
effort of each stroke was made In hla
brain, and he had no sensation of com
pliance with the impulses of his own
will.
Then suddenly he was conscious of
something vast and black towering be
side him. A warning in his ears took
a definite form. He recognized tho
noise of waves dashing upon rocks. His
hand touched a smooth wall, and ho
was hurled along It by the send of the
sea. Again and ngaln! He could get
no hold. Then a blgr streamer of sea
weed entangled Itself In his hand.
He closed upon It with the drowning
man's frantic clutch. It was wrenched
from the rock. The reaction threw him
upon his side. A wave rolled him over
and over, and he Bank, believing In his
soul that he would rise no more. In
terminable moments passed. Then ho
felt liU foot shoot up In tho air. The
waves, no longer broke around him.
Swlmlng was easy there. He took a
great stroke, nnd another. He saw In
front of him a faint white crescent, and
he knew what It was. A moment later
he was sprawllnij on a smooth sand
beach, out of the waves and sheltered
from the wind.
Shirley needed only a moment of rest.
The Joy of triumph revived him. He
had accomplished the Impossible. He
whispered to tho beach on wtych ho
lay hurriedly, over and over again
"I have dono It! I have dono It!" In
his excited fancy the long struggle with
the waves was condensed into a single
effort. Ho did not doubt that thero
was ample time to return and save his
friends.
Springing to his feet, ho looked eag
erly around. Tho llttlo sand beach lay
In a niche between steep rocks fifty
feet or more In height. At the. head of
the beach there was a crumbling wall
of rock which Shirley presently scaled.
Straggling spruce trees fringed the low
cliff, and beyond them tho lund seemed
to slope gently downward. '
Though Shirley did not rc'cognlzo.tho
spot, ho Judged that It must be about
midway of the north shore of Com
pass Island, The two houses on tho
irland stood close together at tho head
of a cove In the eastern shore. Two
brothers named Rodman, with their
families, lived there, farming tho rocky
soil of the Island, and fishing In tho al
most deserted WQters round about.
Shirley supposed that a run of a
quirter of a mile would bring him to
the houses; eo, with a good will he
plunged among the trees, reckless of
tho rough ground and the darkness.
It seemed to htm that at a slnglo
bound ho passed through the fringe of
cpruces, nnd came upon a houso so
suddenly that ho almost ran ngalnst It.
In nil respects It resembled Sam Rod
man's dwelling, but how he hnd en
countered It so soon, unless It had como
to meet him, was more than Shirley
could understand. Kven though the
houso had walked across the Island
for his convenience, It would not have
added greatly, In his estimation, to tho
wonder of his being there, when he
should have been forty fathoms deep
In tho bay. Ho gave but tho briefest
recognition to this new evidence of
Heaven's favor. Running around the
corner of tho house, he found Its prin
cipal door and began to beat upon It.
A window almost over his head came
up ns if he had touched tho spring
that controlled It. A man appeared,
ana called out heartily: "Who's
thero?"
"I've Bwum hero from Gull Hock,"
Shirley answered. "There arc some
people on tho ledge and they will drown
If we don't reach them. A'e wore In
a boat and she upset. AVo drifted
across tho bay."
"You swum hero from Gull Rock!"
exclaimed the man. "Why It's inore'n
three miles!"
"No it isn't," cried Shirley; "hut
never mind that. Come alonp. AVo
must get back there before high tide.
You'vo got a boat, of course?"
Tho man did not answer. He had
vanished from the window. Thero was
a heart-breaking delay, and then Shir
ley heard the rattle of bars and locks.
Tho door swung open, and the master
of tho house appeared bearing a lamp.
"Come In," he said; and Shirley fol
lowed him along a short hall and Into
what Beemed to be the dining-room of
the house.
The man set the lamp on tho mantel
piece beside tho clock. The white dial
Beemed to start suddenly forward and
confront Shirley. Tho young man
pointed at It. He could not speak.
"That's right," Bald his host. "It's
five minutes of two."
"High tide!" groaned Shirley.
They're lost."
"Look here, young feller," said the
man, slowly. "There must bo some
thing wrong about this. "You haven't
swum from Gull Rock down here. The
man doesn't live that could do It.
You've lost your bearings somehow."
"I hope to heaven I have," rejoined
Shirley. "Indeed, I knowi it's true.
This Isn't Compass Island."
"Not by a Jug full. It's Little Green,
and I'm BUI Green."
"How did I get here?"
"God knows," was the answer. "Tell
me your story again. AVe'll go along
while you talk. "We'll take these lan
terns along, for I guess you've got
some friends marooned somewhere,
though they ain't on Gull Rock."
He picked up a small boat lantern,
and another that was a powerful affair
with a big reflector behind Its lamp.
Shirley told his story as they walked
down to the cove, where tho Islander
kept his boat. His companion did not
Interrupt him once. AVhen Shirley had
finished, he said:
"Your friends are all right. They're
off here on Black Ledge, not a quar
ter of a mile from this island."
"It can't be," said Shirley. "AVo
couldn't havo drifted way down here.
The wind was southwest
"Till the squall struck," interrupted
the islander; "then It came off to tho
west'ard. You was too busy gettln'
upset to notice It: but the fact Is that
the wind shifted four points In a blast
ed second. I never see It act Jest that
way afore. That's .where you made
your mistake. You drifted way to the
south'nrd o the Gull Rock ledges."
"And Black Lege is out at high
tide? You're sure of it?"
"Certain. On, a high run o' tides It's
,iust wash, but It'll stick up like a sore
thumb tonight. Don't you worry, my
boy. In an hour from now your friends
will be warm and dry and comfortable
In my house."
His words proved true. Alice, and
Harry and I had scarcely convinced
ourselves that the seeming miracle of
the tide had actually happened, when
a sudden, bright light flashed upon us.
The boat In which Shirley nnd Bill
Green were coming to our rescue, had
rounded the rocky northern end of the
Island. A moment later come the
friendly hall. The boat drew near rap
Idly. AVo could see only the bright
light In the bay, but presently those In
the boat could see us plainly and they
had no need to ask after our safety.
And when we heard Shirley's voice
and knew for a certainty that It waa
he, we danced and shouted for Joy
danced on the slippery rocks with the
little strength that remained to us, nnd
bhouted with throats that were rouch
with salt spray that had beaten in our
faced all the fearful night.
Tho mystery of the tide and of Shir
ley's coming to land were explained to
us In a word. It was all In the shift of
Never
Too
vv.v
Late
been an onlooker while the Tribune
"Wants" were bringing results, and
preferred to see what others would
do, the time has come to get in
line with the army of "Want"
advertisers and use the Tribune
.ciuwo. xxuoauuo icau mem
every day! A good opportunity will
never be overlooked. "Want" adver
tising costs less in
the Tribune than in
any other first-class
medium. It is never
too late to - - - -
the wind. And when I compnred
my watch with tho trusty old clock Jn
Bill Green's house, nnd found a dis
crepancy of nearly two nouns, I bow
through a few more things that had
puzzled me.
"That Is alwaya tho way With mira
cles," said I, almost disappointed by tho
simplicity of tho matter.
"You don't understand it, that's nil,"
rejoined Harry. "It was milly much
simpler to take us off Gull Rock und
put us on to Black Ledge, than to stop
tho tldo and Interfere with tho calcu
lations of everybody in the bay."
Htevo turned up the next day on tne
head of tho cape. He had, been blown
off shore ns we had supposed, but hav
ing n stnunch boat under him, ho had
weathered tho blow. Ho had no Idea
what had happened to us, but believed
that wc had managed to get up under
tho loa of the Island, despite tho squall.
Yes, he had drifted to leeward, and
ho never worked., back to the point
whero he stood when ho and Frank up
pealed to chanco on the question of
Alice Woodward and her boat, Frank
had the weather-gauge after the ad
venture of Black Ledge, and Steve soon
sheered off nnd sailed for another
prize.
(The End.)
The Finest Line of
BELT
BUCKLES
Ever seen in Scranton. Silver
Gilt and Silver set with Ame
thysts, Carbuncles. Garnets
and Turquoise, mounted on
Silk, Leather and the latest
Thing, Leather covered Avith
Silk.
May be found at
MERCEREMJ & CONNELL'S,
(GENTS FOR REGINA MUSIC BOXES,
130 Wyoming Ave,
L
OF SCRANTON,
Special Mention Given lo Busl
ncss and 1 rjnal Accounts.
Liberal Accommodations Ex
tended According to Valances and
Responsibility.
3 Per Cent. Interest Allowed on
Interest Deposits.
Capital, -Surplus,
-Undivided
ProGts,
$200,000
320,000
88,000
WM. CONNELL, President.
HENRY KELIN, Jr., Vice Prcs.
WILLIAM II. PECK, Cashier.
SPECIAL THROUGH OARS
Dally (except Sunday) via '
Central Railroaj of New Jersey
Beginning June 'J8, 1807, leaving Scran
ton at 8.20 il m. for
long: branch.
OCliAN OROVL'.
DBLMAR (Ocean Beach, ASBV RK.
SPRINd LAKE,
SEA aiRT, ETC.
This will bo kept up for the cntlro season
especially for tho accommodation of families,
an It will enable passengers to secure and re
turn comioriHoie seats tne entirejourney.
J. II. OUIAU.SEN.
II. T. IIAIiDWIX,
Gen'l Tuss. Agt.
OenernlSupt.
BANK
To learn the worth
of THE SCRAN
TON TRIBUNE'S
"Want" Columns.
If you have merely
Try
Tribune
Wants
HOTELS.
wwwwvwvwwwvhvwivvvivwwmiMmA
nn
UN HALL,
H 1
111
CRYSTAL LAKE, PA.
The opening of this famous resort un
dcr naw management will tako place
early In June.
Situated in the southern corner of i
Susquehanna county on the shores o't
beautiful Crystal Lake, Fern Hall Is
ono of the most attractive places In the
State of Pennsylvania to spend a few
weeks during tho heated term.
Every facility Is affordtd for the en
tertainment of Us guests.
BEST OF
Purs Mountain Air,
Beautiful Scenery, - -Culsihs
Unsurpassed.
the tablo being supplied from Fern Hall '
farm. ' '
Postal Telegraph and Long Distance
Telephone service in the hotel.- 'r ,l,w
Tally-Ho coaches make two strips ,
dally from Carbondale. , ,,,., , r ,
' i"tfV:
Write for Terms, Etc.,' to
C. E.
it
Crystal Lake, Dundaff, Pa.
THE MURRAY HILL
MURRAY HILL PARK, -THOUSAND
ISLANDS,
The best located and best
furnished hotel on the St.
LaAV.reuce river. Accommo
dations for 300 guests.
Opens June 25th, 18o7.
F. R. WHITE, Prop.
Glen Mountain House.
WATKINS, HCIIUYI.KR COUNTY, N. Y.
On .Sen oca Lake. On lino of Now York Con
trul, Pennsylvania, nnrt Lehigh Valley Hall.
ronds. 1,100 feet above sea. No malaria.
New water works, supplying mountain
spring wuter. Sanitary plumbing. Entirely
now management. Splendid fishing. (100
acres. Including tho famous Watklns Glen.
Popular price. Special rates for excursion
parties. J. It. KKENAN, formerly Hotel
Chamberlain, Mgr. Address W. li UOIIIN
SON, Prop.
HOTEL ALBERT,
Cor. 11th Street nnd University Place.
NKW YORK. Ono block west of
Jlroadwny. Nottd for tno things,
COMFORTand CUISINE
First-classrooms at 81. 00 u doy and up
ward, on tho European plan.
L. &. E. FRENKLE.
W v"
An cstabltihed Lotel under new manaeunent
and thoroughly abreast of tho times,
Visitors to
sit
New York wll
rill
Una the Everett In the very heart
TV
9t the shopping dtrtrlct, convenient to places of
r dlrtr
amusement anil readlijr accessible from all parts
IT
-( tne cltT.
EUUOl'EAN PLAN,
WESTMINSTER HOTEL,
Cor. Sixteenth St. and Irving Place,
NEW YORK.
AMERICAN PLAN,
Day and Upwards.
EUROPEAN PLAN,
Day and Upwards.
$3.50 Pc
$1.50 Vet
!E0, MURRAY, Proprietor,
The St. Denis
Broadway and Eleventh St., New York.
Opp. draco Church. European Plan.
Rooms $1.00 a Day and Upwards.
In a modest and unobtrusive way thero ar
few butter conductud hotels in tho metropolis.
man tne m. uoms.
The great popularity It bos acquired oau
tadlly bo tracsd to Its unlnuo location, ita
Tho
readily bo tracsd to Its unlnuo location. IU
homelike, ntmosnhere. the peculiar toxcellonoa'
UK
of Its cuisine and sorvlco, and Its very moder"
ute prices.
WILLIAM TAYLOR AND SON.
Peaches,
Cherries,
Pineapples,
Plums.
Also fancy lionie. grown
Strawberries.
V. E PIERCE, PE1 1. Ill
MADE ME A MAM
AJAX TABLETS POSITIVELY COIHJ
Jir-JiVmiui nueatt Fairing Hem
orr,Impotencr.HlettpleianoBa.ete.. oae4
by Abtiaa nr nthni. Kxrji.Ma anif India.
XjL cretjoQi. fhti quickly ami turtiu
rutore Lett Vital llr la old or joonir. anl
111 b man lor aiuar, on'meis or man-iaga.
PreTnt lnunltr anl (YimuEODtlon if
taknn la tima. Their ute ahowa in. mediate fraproTO.
meat and enVU a CUUE where .all other fall In.
lit upon liming the genuine AJai Tablets. Ther
bsTe cured thorn audi and will euro rou. We sir a po
ltliewrltteniruaranteetooirectacure Kfi PTQ 'a
each cou or refund the tnoner Price W Ulvi pec
packani or (U pkaes (lull treatment) Sot tlGO, pr
mall, in plain wrapper, upon receipt or rrioe. Circular
"" AJAX REMEDY CO., "tfisfrfig-
For tale in Bcrantou, Fa., by Matthew
Droa. nnd Morgan b Co.
rrSrgVn' i. O
ftqwnw . tV .
-? -rf&awjr i v
V . MW5 " V
IVM. VI. BATES. wJsJ,:W " U M BATU
hit
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