VO* xxxvil Rickel's^SP V. Have you Seen the Pretty Styles in Fine Foot wear at s' c kel's. Our Fall Stocl< is all in and is Extrou want the correct || ihing at the correct price, call and I I \ I','fj I examine our large stack '■>{ l'AI.l t < \ W'mnm Wl If AND WINTER WKIGIITS- Vv I ' 1 LATEST STYLES, SHADES I \t 111 I AND COI - ORH - Fit and Workmanship Guaranteed. * G. F. KECK, Merchant Tailor, 142 North Main Street, Butler, Pa U JLAVATORY APPLIANCES I jj nowadays have to be of the best 9I ' |K|iX/ Oiliy to 't'ceive any sort of consider | j 1 P"gj? r ation. Closed plumbing is a relic siW Ptv 'i l ' ,e —°P cn wor k only re * y/y- %/ r : ceives attention. Reason? It's I VMtW 111 1 *j£ sanitary, cleanly, looks better, re -111 wl »TB -gjfe- "j quires less attention and is better ' "Mi evtr y respect, We make a specialty of up-to-date styles and Geo. VAI. VA/Hite-Hlll, 318 fcfcmih St , People's Phone. 28. PLUMBKR, Butler, Pa. % ——— ■ » * —— =i PAPES, JEWELERS, jl —i t m o t DIAMONDS, # 00 t WATCHES, J o of CLOCKS, 4 J JEWELRY, J £ « J SILVERWARE, * r " 5 f SILVER NOVELTIES, ETC. J 3: □c 4 We repair all kinds of 5? S3 t Broken Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, etc. J S3 £ Give our repair department a trial. 21 We take old gold and silver the same as cash. # PAPE'S, g J 122 S. Main St., Butler, Pa. J p Subscribe for the CITIZEN THE BUTLER CITIZEN. Hood's Piiis Are prepared from Na ture's mild laxatives, and while gentle are reliable and efficient. They Rouse the Lswbs* Cure Sick Headache, Bil iousness, S >ur_ Stomach, and Constipation. Sold everywhere, 25c. per box. Ffcpftrr-ii by C.X.floou Co.,Lo^cll,M Tro'uman. W. I>. Krandou, W. A. Bteto. J > CaoiDhell. The Itutler savings Bank Is the Oldest Banking Institution', n Butler County. General banking business transacted. We solicit accounts of oil producers, mer chants, farmers and others. All business entrusted to us will receive prompt attention. Interest catd on time deuoslts. TM E Butler Couaty National Bank, Butler Penn, Capital paid in - - $200,0rx).0 Surplus and Profits - $60,0c0.0 Jos. Hartman, President; J. V. Ritts, Vice President; John G. McMarlin, Cashier, A. G. Krug, Ass't Cashier. A g**fH* rl ve him a shove with my shoulder "All right then: I'll light." And without more words we stripped and set to For an hour and a half l»y the church clock the tight went on. each of us dog gedly determined to come up to the mark so long as his trembling knees would support 1)Iin. At last the end came, and It was ire land who eventually struck the knock out blow. How many rounds we fought I do not know, but at last I felt that unless I could finish him -off quickly j 1 should not be able to toe the mark the next time the umpire '-ailed time. 1 So, summoning up ail of my failing energies for one last slashing blow that would make me the victor and him Insensible, 1 rushed at him like a j mad cart horse. He did not flinch, but stood his ground waiting for me. j Dodging my blow, be seized my left huiid with bis right, ducked bis bead under my arui, whipped his other band between my legs and before any one rT|'„d What had happened knocked out of me like corn out of a burst bag. It was all done In less than a couple of seconds and. ns 1 had fallen on my head. I lay quiet enough. "Alec Ireland," 1 said when 1 had re covered. "I own you have given me a thorough drubbing. Will you shake hands?" "No, no," he said. "You bad the best of It but for the last fall, and If it hadn't been for that south country trick by which I lifted you over my shouldi'i' 1 should have had to knuckle under to you." Huch was the beginning of my friend ship with Alexander Ireland On that very night we took together the sol emn sailors' oath, by which we became sworn shipmates for life, and to this day we have neither of us broken It. My new friend and I quickly found that we had a great deal In common. The perils and pleasures of the sea had always had an enthralling fascina tion for me, aud when I discovered that Alec shared my passion for salt water my previously vague longings became suddenly crystallized Into a definite purpose I would be a sailor. Conse quently It soou became the greatest enjoyment of my leisure time to sit in the dark little parlor of the Augel and listen to the tales of the old seamen who frequented It—tales of the great captains they bad known and sailed under, who, caring as little for the violence of the tropical hurricane as for the Ice grip of the cold north, had braved the storms of unknown oceans in their stout little ships and bad brought back from every clime Its choicest treasures to lay them at the feet of our sovereign lady, good Queen Bess. There was, however, one thing, and that no small one, over which Alec aud I very nearly quarreled. Aud what j should that be If not a woman? For It ' Is woman's bright smile aud coyly drooping eye which shatter half the friendships of man with man, even when the longed for down has hardly yet appeared on the upper lip and the razor Is still a Joy to be gloated over ln»| secret. Inez was her name, and she was the daughter of Hon Miguel, a Spanish gentleman who had for a reason which I did not then know taken up his resi dence In Whitby. I had known her ■luce she was a child of 10 and had never thought of her more than of any other girl lu Wtoltby until one day I chanced to see her In the street with a new gown on. It was a wonderful gown—tlio skirt of It was slashed and puffed out to the size of a 40 gallou cask and as 1 looked and marveled It suddenly struck me that the laughing face above It was the most bewitch ing I had ever seen. Perhaps It was the Hue dress that did It, and perhaps It was the pretty mouth that smiled and wished me a "good day." lam uot quite sure which It was, but the next time I met her In the lane near her father's house 1 asked her to be my sweetheart. A Tier a few blushes and a few kisses she said she would, and I was the proudest lad lu Whitby. Alec, however, was uot pleased at my success, and very soon he told me so. "Jack," he said, "I didn't think my sworn shipmate would prove a traitor." "A traitor!" I exclaimed. "It's a hard word, and 1 don't know what 1 have done to deserve It liow am 1 a traitor?" "She Is a Spaniard, Jack. The Span iards are the qucvtt'U enemies, and you and 1 have said we meant to light for the qjeen." "Inez Is no one's enemy." "Hut her father, Don Miguel, Is a Spaniard." "Yes; 1 suppose he Is. Is that all you have to accuse him of?" I asked, somewhat nettled at his persistence. "Isn't li enough? 1 tell ywu that ev ery Spattlai'l lu .«»i enemy to Kuglaud and Queen Bess, and since my father. Captain Harry Ireland, was murdered by the Spaniards every Spaniard is an enemy to me." "And shall be to me, too," I said as 1 gripped his hand. "But I don't see that the rule applies to the daughters." "Spanish daughters become Spanish mothers. Jack." "Not when they marry Englishmen." "Do you mean to marry Inez, then?" be said, looking at me earnestly. "Yes; when 1 am old enough. If she will have me." "No fear of her refusing a stout Eng lishman! Well, if that is so I will say uo more, although I admit I don't like It" But. although Alec agreed to let me have my way. I could see that he was displeased at what i was doing, and his displeasure at first angered and then grieved me. "Alec." I said to him one day, "I'm going to see Inez tonight. Will you come with me?" "Do you really want me to go?" "Yes. Alec. 1 do." "Will her father be there?" "No We never see him in the even ing." "Then, if you are sure of that, I will go But have you never guessed. Jack, why it is that you never see Don Miguel in the evening?" "Because he Is busy in his work shop" "At what sort of work?" "How should I know? 1 never asked blm." "I will tell you He is an alchem ist." "What?" I cried. "Are you sure of that. Alec: Alchemy! Why. it's the devil's own trade." "Sn they say. Bat to me It seems that if the devil had any favor for the work, alchemists would be richer than they are It's an ill trade, though, at best and not the one I should choose for my comrade's fatber-ln-law." This news of Alec'* troubled me. for, though lie declared that the devil could have uo share In such profitless toll, jfii^ l was the proudest lad tn IV hi thy. yet I had always been told that every alchemist had sold himself to satan, aud 1 more than half believed it. Still, I argued that luez was not to be blam ed for her father's sins, and in the end Alec agreed with me. After that night I never had any more disagreement with him on the subject of my lovemaking. Inez fairly laughed and sang herself Into his good graces. She had the sweetest voice 1 ever heard, and as she sat In a corner by the fire and sang us quaint little sea songs that her nurse, Ann Garrat, had taught her 1 wondered whether the mertnaldens that the old sailors of the Angel spoke of were one-half so sweet and pretty as my owu little Spanish sweetheart. "Why. Jack," said Alec as we walked home from her house, "she Is hardly a Spaniard at all, except for her black hair aud eyes. No Whitby girl could have sung those English sea songs with a prettier accent than she did." "No Whitby girl could have sung them half so well," I answered warm ly, "and, as for her being English, her nurse has seen to that. Dame Garrat hates Spain almost as much as you do, and she won't allow Inez to speak a word of Spanish in her hearing." "Well, she's a sweet girl, Jack, and I'm glad of It for your sake. It's a pity, though, that her father Is a Span lard." I said nothing In reply to this, for, to tell the truth, I was not much more In love with the surly Don Miguel than was Alec. By and by, as we walked, Alec began to hum n tune, and after a short time he sang the words too. It was the last song Inez had sung to us, and I remember the chorus went llko this: Then, ah, for the cruel creeping waves. With their clay cold lips of feprsy; But. hi, (or the merry darning waves That with the iun beams play I "Take cure, Alec!" I said, with a laugh. "You'll be falling lu love with Inez yourself." » "No, no, Jack; I like her, It Is true, but I'll never be a rival to my sworn shipmate." Nevertheless when I said "Good night" to him and turned In at my fa ther's gate I heard him go singing down the road, and the words that came floating up the breeze io me sounded suspiciously familiar. It seem ed to me that what he sang was: Hi, for the merry dancing waves! And the tune, at any rate, wus the same. CHAITER 11. Before Alec's arrival on the scene 1 grieve to say that besides being one Of the greatest dunces In the school I was also, so the master said, the most troublesome young scapegrace he ever had the misfortune to cane. He told my father that he could not conscien tiously take any blame to himself for my deplorable Ignorance and deprav ity, as he would warrant that there was scarcely a square inch of iuy un gainly carcass that his ferule or birch broom had not scored. I was Innately wicked, he declared, and my poor fa ther groaned and said he feared tlio schoolmaster was right. There was really some Justification for this belief of my father's, for all my ten brothers (1 was the youngest of 11) were either doing well or giving promise of It, and 1 was the only one who had ever given my worthy par ents the least trouble. The others were mostly parsons, or on the way to become parsons; so, as my father, too, was in the church, there was plenty of piety In the family, but I am very much afraid that the collective good ness of all my relatives was more than balanced by my Individual depravity. 1 have heard uiy mother say-and It has never occurred to in* to doubt IV- thai the lirst use I made of my after I Warned the art of locomotion was ti> walk straight Into a scrape. It is a hal»il I have not dropped with In crease of years. Now. however. I had for the first time a companion who. like myself, ap peared to be happiest when in trouble, and for the next two years Alec and I continued to live in a state of intermit tent rebellion with those in authority. We both haukered after excitement, and the pursuit of it continually led us into hot water. Now it would be a scuffle with his lordship's men for snar ing his lordship's grouse, now a brawl in a tavern and now, again, a threat of severe pun'shment for scaring half the town with a turnip lantern on a dark winter's niglit. Once we went off for a whole week and lived like conies among the hills, and on another occa sion we hid ourselves in a ship's hold and sailed down to Scarboro in her and then tramped the whole way back over the moors on foot. Adventures like these cemented our friendship and taught us to be quick aud ready In emergencies, but they did not teud to increase our popularity with those in authority, and to such an extent did our ill repute spread that when anything went wrong or any evil was committed of which the perpetra tors were not at once discovered every finger pointed to Alexander Ireland and John Topp as the culprits. And, truth to tell, these judicial digits did not often point askew. Alec, Indeed, pursued his studies with some amount of diligence; but as for me the perpetual war which 1 wageil with the schoolmaster was far too bitter to admit of my profiting by his efforts to instruct me. I increased, therefore, in very little except stature, but in that I bid fair to be pre-eminent in Whitby. My eventual sudden departure from the town was caused by the unexpect ed boiling over of a pan of water, and this is how ft came about: I had gone to see my sweetheart Inez, and Alec had, as usual, accom panied me. He still took great pleas ure In the sea songs she used to sing to us, and, besides, bis presence was a help to our lovemaking, as he was al ways willing to converse with Dame (iarrat and so divert her attention from Inez to me when we happened to wish to speak of anything of an espe cially private nature. Jl'e bad a pre arranged system of signals by which I could always let him know when I wanted him to talk louder tljan usual, and, to tell the truth, our knowledge of the code was In no dauger of growing rusty from want of use. On this particular night, however, the conversation had been of other times and places than our own. We had been discussing the marvelous wealth of the new world, and Alec and I had fought a wordy battle about the relative merits of glory and gold. He was all for glory, and I was for gold first and glory only as an afterthought when the gold was safe below batches. "Jack," said Inez to me when Alec and I had. In our despair of converting one another, come to a controversial deadlock, "there are other ways of making gold than by fighting for It." "Yes, sweetheart, I know there are," I answered, "but you would not have me to become a smug faced merchant?" ,!Ur ' a ' ar * oUicr «*»» "The devil's work!" I cried. "My father's work. Jack," replied Inez gravely. "Yes, sweetheart, and I wish It were not," 1 began when Alec Interrupted me. "Jack, my boy, you're a fool. How can the devil have anything to do with It? The trade's respectable enough, though It doesn't seem to be very prof itable to Its professors—a sure sign, by the way, that It's an honest one." "Jack," said Inez, "will you see for yourself?" "Visit Don Miguel at Ills work?" "Yes." "Not I!" I said, with a shudder. "I should expect to be enchanted. Alec, however, chaffed me for my superstitious fears and said that noth ing would please him better than to see how the work was done. Now, to be called a coward In the hearing of my sweetheart was naturally more than I could stand, so 1 told Alec I would go with him. Inez said there was a window In the pantry from which we could see Don Miguel's laboratory without his know ing that any one was watching him, so we stationed ourselves there. Alec was all curiosity to see what was going o»j; but, though I tried to conceul my fears, I was horribly afraid that some unholy sight would meet my eyes. From my cradle I have been taught that it Is al ways safest to shun the devil and Ills works, anil 1 believe It to be a thor oughly good rule. Don Miguel's laboratory was a fear some place. There were rows upon rows of retorts and flasks of various quaint shapes, shelves with big, dusty, learned looking books on them, cases of bottles containing tinctures of vari ous colors, both dull and bright; char coal furnaces, and steaming vats of bubbllug liquids. The floor was mark ed out Into arcs, circles, triangles and every sort of uncanny geometrical fig ure, and one corner of the room was entirely filled by a large blast furnace, over which Don Miguel was leanlug, Intently watching some substance that was hissing and gurgling in an earth enware crucible. There was uo light In the room ex cept that which the glow of the fur nace gave, and as at each blast It burn ed up brightly and shone for a moment on the pale, eager face of the alchemist and then died away In a gloom again which by contrast was almost dark ness 1 thought I had never gazed upon such an unholy scene. As we watched we saw that a crit ical point in the process bad evidently been reached. The Spaniard was trem bling aud muttering as be peered Into the crucible whenever the dragon's breath of the furnace gave him light, and, though we could not hear what ho said. It was perfectly clear that bo was wildly excited- unless, perhaps, It was the working of madness that we saw. By and by he seemed to see the sign for which lie was looking. With a low cry of delight, more like the yapping of a dog than anything else, he stopped the furnace blast and lit a rushlight candle. Then he took the crucible from the flames and poured the con tents Into unother vessel. For four or five minutes be held It up to the light, and during all that time, as be watched the silent work ings of Ills hell broth In the vessel, I never once saw his eyelids blink. Then he gave a wild, unearthly yell of de light, which made my very marrow run cohl, as though a tub of water had been thrown over me, and as his ex cited utterance became louder we could now hear what he said: "It turn«! It turiin! The color—the lovely blood TCMI color! See* how It rises), r«-d HIIOWIHJJ through the grecnl Succextt IUIH come to me at laul, and to morrow I tdmll linvi' irold! Hu. ha, hit, tia. lin! Gold. «<>ld. gold!" At HIIH moment iiue of the lluskN Ihut hull lieeu iCUI'ItUUK UUll In another corner suddenly boiled over, and the liquid fell, hissing, on to the charcoal embers. A cloud of steam rose into the air, and at the sight my overstrained nerves could bear the ten sion uo longer, and I uttered a sharp cry The Spaniard heard it. and It made him start involuntarily. Some of the decoction in the vessel be was hold ing splashed over and burned his hand. With a yell of pain he let the vessel fall, and the precious essence was spill ed on the floor, over which it ran in an oily stream, burning with a blue, sul phurous flame. He looked up at the window, saw our white scared faces peering at him, and with another yell (of rage this time) he snatched up a sword that was lying on a table and made a rush for the door. "Fly. Jack, fly! He'll murder you!" cried Inez as she pushed me away from the window. 1 snatched a hurried kiss from her j and lied, and Alec with me. Down the lane we ran with all the ■ speed that fear gave us and Don Mi guel hard on our heels. We gained on him slightly and, taking advantage of the darkness, doubled and crouched down under the side of a haystack. He did not see our maneuver, and we breathed more freely as the sound of his footsteps grew fainter In the dis tance. "A near shave, that!" 1 said as we made over some fields to avoid meeting the Spaniard as be returned. "Yes," replied Alec, "but why did you run?" "For the same reason as you did, 1 suppose" ( answered, somewhat sur lily. "Afraid?" "Yes, afraid. What of It?" "It isn't like John Topp." "John Topp fears no man," I said sharply, "but the devil 1 won't tackle." "Jack, your superstition is childish," said Alec sravely. "An angry Spaniard was the only devil I could see." "Then, for the matter of that, why did you run?" "Partly because you did." "Thanks! And the other reason? The angry Spaniard, eh?" I said, with ■ sneer. "Yes, Jack, the angry Spaniard." "Then which of us is the coward, I'd like to know—you or I? I run from the devil, and I'm not ashamed to own it; you run from a man because he's angry and has a sword in bis hand, j aud apparently you are not ashamed to own that." "That was not my reason," said Alec. "No? Then what was it? Surely a very cunning one, for I quite fail to Bee it." It was my turn now, I thought. "He's your sweetheart's father," re plied Alec simply. 1 stopped dead. "Alec," I said, "I give you leave to bit me as hard as you like, straight from the shoulder, here on my blundering, stupid mouth a straight left bander, mind! And I promise you I won't return the blow." "No, thanks," replied Alec, with a laugh. "I wish you would," I answered pen itently. "I deserve It for venturing to speak of cowardice and Alec Ireland In the same breath. Can you forgive me?" "Of course I do," sz-id .-, with an other laugh, and he wovltfii't let me tlves of pure chivalry, It Is hard that bis own sworn shipmate should accuse blm of cowardice. I was thoroughly ashamed of myself, and even now the only excuse I can make for my disloyal suspicions Is that the fearsome scene we bad witnessed In the alchemist's laboratory had so scared me that I did not rightly know what I was saying. It's a thin excuse, though, at the beet CHAPTER 111. "One eye, one hand and an otter skin cap"—that Is my earliest recollection of Willie Trehallon. Our lirst meeting took place when I was quite a youngster. He had come up to the vicarage on some errand or other, and when I told him my father was out he said he would wait and of fered to pass the time In telling me a story for a pot of ale. I remember well, even now, how be grumbled at the poorness of the liquor I gave him, and, to tell the truth, our small beer was exceedingly small. But, admitting that I could not fairly be blauied for the weakness of the I hung upon Ms words. brew, ho sat down on the bench out side the kitchen door and to pay for his drink spun me such wonderful yarns of floating Islands on which there lived magicians who sold winds, of mermaids and sea serpents anil oth er marvels of the deep, all of which he had himself seen In his travels, that 1 hung upon bis words and thought him the greatest hero I had ever seen. And afterward, whenever I met his squat, square figure rolling down the street, he always had a nod or a cheery "How goes It, my young master?" for me, a piece of condescension which gave me more pleasure than did the most ex travagant praise from the schoolmas ter or any other of my lawful teachers. That my estimate of Willie's quali ties was not altogether accurate was proved by the manner of bis leaving Whitby. One night. In a frolicsome mood, en gendered, no doubt, by liquors more potent than the vicarage beer, he at tempted to break the constable's head, and as next day he had to sit In the stocks as a penalty for his Joke he con sidered that he had been Insulted by the Inhabitants of Whitby. He disap peared. therefore, from the town, and, though I did not see blm again for nearly eight years. 1 remembered Ills stories, but the man himself became a mere hazy phantom In my mind until on the day after our adveuture with the alchemist I met hint again. About midday Don Miguel hail called at the vicarage and asked to see my father. They were closeted together for a long time, and. as I began to fear that this conjunction of the church with one of the devil's own favorites boiled ill for my comfort jiresently, I told Alec. "Well," said he. "what can we do? We shull Just have to tako our punish ment." "Yes, 1 suppose so," said I, "but If I've to be punished I don't see why I shouldn't have some fun first, and In any case it would be u shnni* to waste a fine afternoon like this at school." "It does seem a pity." he replied, "and It will be very hot and weari some. with nothing to do but pester old Prosody in his after dinner sleep. Come on; let's do something else." "Bight What shall we do?" "Fish." "The very thing: Then I can take a salmon as a present to Dame Garrat In the evening. She's apt to get sharp tongued if I go too often empty hand ed to see Inez." So we borrowed a boat and a net and set up the river at the second hour of the flood. We had just grounded our boat on the bank near the high blr.ff, where the stream turns off to the north, and were busy making fast one end of our uet on the shore when we no ticed that a stranger had taken up his quarters on the opposite bank. lie was a short, dark, sturdy man In the dress of a sailor. He wore loose knee breeches, with a short canvas smock over them; coarse blue worsted stockings, and shoes latched with brass buckles. Rouud his waist was a broad leather belt, into which was stuck a bone handled sheath knife; on his up per spars was a huge brown, wide sleeved, wide skirted coat, with the tails looped up to be out of the way, and on his head was a cap of brown skin. He was standing in a 20 foot boat, which he had fitted with a house of canvas and wood, and was finishing his work by giving it all a generous coat of tar. The figure seemed somehow familiar to me, and when I saw that the tar pot hung from a hook which had been sub stituted for a right hand the feeling that I ought to know the man grew stronger. Suddenly he broke out into a song, accompanying himself by beat ing a tanoo with the tar brush on the top of the cabin. The song was one I frequently had heard Willie Trehalion bawl through the Whitby streets years ago: Sail a WIT, Hack away, Plunder! [Rap with tar brush.] Scatter all the money like a man. tkime back. Nothing lack, Thunder! [Ksp.j Gather ill the valuable! you can. This one verse was solo and chorus both, and to begin singing the song was very much like starting to roll a big stone down hill—it was easy to start, but almost Impossible to stop till the voice, like the slope, was exhaust ed. "Willie Trehalion, ahoy!" I cried, and the singer turned round to see who was calling. He had no/ altered one Jot since I saw him last. His face was browned by the sun, wrinkled by the winds and purpled by strong liquors, and, as this richness of coloring was in strong con trast to the rest of his bead, which, un derneath the protecting otter skin cap, was as round and smooth as an Ivory ball, the effect of the whole was dis tinctly striking. Add to this back ground of purple and white a globular blue nose, a jag for a mouth, an Irreg ular depression where the right eye should have been, and (always remem bering the iron hook for a right hand) you have a fairly faithful picture of Willie Trehalion, bos'nn. We pulled across to him, shooting the salmon net as we went master, but the some face as Willi© Trehalion left eight years ago last gull egg season. It'll be scraped with a ra- Eor afore long, trust me. And who be this?" "My sworn shipmate, Willie." "Sarvice to you, master. And his name, if I may be so bold?" "Alexander Ireland," I said. "Came to Whitby since you left" Willie started when I told him. the name, and I saw his solitary eye scan ning Alec all over, as If he expected to see something familiar In him. "Any manner o' kin to Captain Har ry Ireland, what wan lost on the Span ish main?" "Son," said Alec. "Put It there!" cried the sailer, mois tening his leathern fist and holding it out for Alec to grasp. "Put It there, If a young gentleman like you ain't too proud! I sailed under your father, lad." "Sailed with my father!" exclaimed Alec excitedly. "Then you can tell me about him." t "That 1 can. I sailed with him to the Barbary coast an back Just afore he left London river for the Spanish main. It was a r'yal voyage we made I an good for him If he'd been content with what was brought home then. But he was always a venturesome man, was Cap'n Ireland, an his search for Manoa proved to be his last voyage, poor body!" "Tell me about It," said Alec eagerly. And 1 could see that his face was flush ed with excitement at the prospect of hearing news of his father. "We went out to the Barbary coast with about ten peddler's packs o' beads an gewgaws, along with some rlsted nails an a few scoro o' barrel hoops, an we came back with a cargo as a Jew would sell his beard for a look at. Such a cargo—gould dust an gould peas an gould pebbles an ornaments o* gould an a great gould kettle big enough to stew a goat In, that Cap'n Ireland gave to the queen's own majesty! I tell 'ee there was gould enough to fill this boat o' mine three times over. Why, there was u many o' us as soiled the ragged old clothes off our backs, let alone what was stowed away In tho chests, an some even would have traded the weapous o' the ship & Captain Ireland hadn't stopped them. Elephants' teeth there was. somo black with age an some still bloody from their moorings, an river horses' teeth an other things as 1 dlsremember the outlandish names of. An when we left the king o' the blacks fell a-blubberlng because we had nothing more to sell him. "A right swift pass wo made o' It home, too—6B days out o' the Barbary river—never an hour more—when our anchor was dropped again In honest Thames mud. An when the merchants came aboard with their clerks au the news was spread on shore the bells was set a-rluglng out o' sympathy with our good fortune. It was a r'yal voy age for sure!" "And afterward?" asked Alec when the boatswain stopped. "Afterward? Why, afterward wo went an spent our money like men. No more work for a spell, so oft wo set ashore. We lived like emperors, sparing nothing we wanted, some for a week, some o' tho thrifty ones even longer. You should ha' seen us setting casks o' good ale abroach for every one to drink your father's health, young sir, an decking the girls with ribbons till they looked like a lot o' laughing rain bows! Kb, but those were merry days!'' "But my father," said Alec Impa tiently—"what of him?" Willie's single eye dwelt for a second on tho questioner's face and then turn ed away. "Best draw your net, masters, afore you hear any mare o' the yarn," he pro nounced. "Title's ebbing fast, an you'll have a tough Job to get across as It Is." Absorbed by the Interest of Willie's story, we hud quite forgotten übout No. 44 our fishing, aud now the rap]dj v p ,. !ng tide gave us cousiderible in hauling in our uet. how ever. was a good oue —sct^F very fate Usli and one 20 I re solved, should go as a offering to Dame Garrat, the Spaniard's house keeper. There was a small grate in the cabin of Willie's boat, and we soon had the rich, red salmon steaks toasting before It. The scent of the cooking brought an addition to the party. A gaunt, long legged, black cat put his nose round the door and leered at Alec and me with such an evil expression that we involuntarily shrank back, and I, at least, had uncomfortable recollections of the stories I had heard of witches and of the evil eye. A cat may be a mere cat and nothing more, but the other sort—never name them—are much the same to look at, and I had no par | ticular fancy for being hurried away ! on a broomstick to attend a witches' Sabbath. Willie noticed my consternation and broke out into a roar of laughter. "Ha, ha. Master Topp! Afraid o' Nep, 1 see. Come, Nep; there's a com pliment for you! You've scared the young gentleman with your pretty smile. No need to fear him, my lads. If there ever was any witchery in him. the salt water has washed it all out by now. Nep's been half over the world with me, an you might rub him in the dark for a week without getting a spark out o' him." That was all very well, but when Nep set up the brine stiffened bristles on his tail and, arching his back, spat and swore at me through his jagged teeth, all because I moved my 20 pounder out of his reach, I thought it advisable to rap out a piece of Latin just by way of precaution. As a child 1 was taught to do so, and I have fol lowed the rule with success throughout life. Nep, however, was nothing more than he seemed, and In later days we became shipmates and firm friends, though It took some time before I be came sufficiently accustomed to his ec centricities to be able to pass him with out a shudder. When the steaks were cooked, the boatswain produced from one of his lockers a little canvas bag of spices and from another some rough wooden plates, and while we set to with our knives Nep did the eame with his teeth, growling vigorously to show his satis faction, though I had previously taken the precaution to sign a surreptitious cross over the share that Willie gave him. We made a hearty meal, and Willie, after he had with sailorlike ti diness stowed everything back Into Its place, tucked himself comfortable Into a corner of his cabin, took the cat on his knee and advised us to follow his example and enjoy 40 winks to help our digestion. "But you haven't yet told me about my father," objected Alec. "Your father, young sir," said Willie solemnly, "sailed once more for the Spanish main in search o' the goulden city o' Manoa, an o' him on o' the company o' brave lads as went with him never a word has been heard to this day." Alec was silent for a few moments, "Mayhap not," answered Willie, "but If he hain't, why, then he's in the In quisition's claws, an that's nigh upon the same thing, for you'll never set eyes on him again, though It's sorry I be to have to say such a word to you." "Jack," said Alec solemnly, taking my band, "I shall search for my father, and I know that some day I shall meet him again, but how—l wonder how?" "I'm with you In the search, Alec," 1 whispered. Willie had been watching ns narrow ly, with ji smile of half doubting ap proval seaming his face. Now he spoke: "Well, well, lads, If ever you do start to throw away your lives on slch a fool's quest Just let Willie Trehallon know, an mebbe he'll ship with you as boatswain. Captain Harry Ireland was the best captain that ever stepped, an I'm thinking that this old tar can't do better than take sarvlce under his son. But you'll never find your father, lad. Manoa has led many besides him to their graves, an mebbe'll be the death of a few more before It's found." [TO BE OONTIfIUKD.J EAreet of Fen on Wouit. The fear of poison In a lacerate# wound under certain circumstances Is In Itself quite sufficient to give 4 wounded man tetanus, or lockjaw, than which no more horrible complica tion exists. Thus lor a long time It was thought that the natives of the Solomon aud other neighboring Is lands lately added to the empire used poisoned arrows and many white men shot by them died In tetanic convul sions, Including one very horrible casj of a commander In the navy who had made a special study of tetanus. At length the French governor of New Caledonia, noticing that the symp toms exhibited wero not consistent with the use of any known poison, ap pointed a medical commission to In quire Into the affair, when it was dis covered that the arrows of the natives were not poisoned at all, although con structed In such a way that a small piece of the bone point almost always remained In the wound. The Irritation produced by this prevented the wound from healing quickly, and the mental disturbance produced by fear aud per haps change of climate did tlvj rest. It was discovered at the same time that the natives of other Islands who firmly believed in the poison theory seldom suffered much Inconvenience from the arrow wounds, because they, believed that the spells given them by. their own sorcerers prevented the poi son from taking effect.— Psll Mall Qs sette. IrAsclbl* Von B®low# During Hans von Bulow'a leader ship or tlio orchestra at Hanover a tenor of fame was engaged to play a star rolo In "Lohengrin," accordlug to l>us Neuo Matt, and while the singer was rehearslug his part Bulow was forced to go over the Bauoo bars a num ber of times without the new actor beginning to sing. Tired of bis wasted efforts, the leader stopped the orchestra and angrily turned to the singer. "I know that a tenor Is proverbially stupid," ho said, "but you seem to roako an extenslvo use of this unwrlt teu law." At another time, while one of hi® grand Intermezzos was being played with groat feellug by his musicians, a peculiar noise, hardly perceptible by untrained ears, annoyed tho leader for some little time. At flrat be thought It resembled the flutter of wings, but soon he discovered an elegant lady, fanning herself In one of the boxes close by. Bulow kept on with his ges tures, Axing his eyes oa the offender In a manner which meant reproof. The lady, not heeding this, was suddenly surprised by the leader dropping hit stick and turning toward her. "Madam!" lie cried, "If fan you must, please at least keep time with your In fernal nuisance."