i THE PULTON COUNTY NEWS. McCONNELLSBURO, PA
M IS
1
GEORGE DM TOTCHEON
ILU5TRATI0N5
COPYMGffT,
a WOO, rtAD
AiO vutw"uir
8YN0PSI3.
t. ih New York homo of Jumps Brnort
nuH and KIkks. bin two old penslmiers
Rnd comrades, await tho coining of
nrood's "on Frederic to Irarn the contents
of a win-linn from llrood, but Frederic,
after N'HdlnK. throw It Into the tire and
Irnvr the room without a word. Frederic
tell l.ydla Demnond, his llnncee, that the
mrcmiK" annuunim hi father'a nvirrliiKB
anil orders the house prepared for an Im
medliile liomeeonilnK. Mm. Pemnonil. the
iioiiMt-kfifxT and Lydia's mother,, tries to
.....i rr. ili rlc'a temper Ht the Impending
ohiinx'" Hrood ami III" bride, arrive. Hhe.
wins I'Teoenes imiiiH kv mm iii'''iin.
Hrro'il shows dlallkc and veiled hostility to
his son. Lydiu and Mrs. Hrood meet in
tho tiicle-rnom, where Lydla works as
Broods Secretary. The room, dominated
by (treat K"ld Fluddha, lirood's father
confessor, l furnished In oriental mair
nllirenee. Mrs. Hrood, after a talk with
I.yillii, which leaves the latter puzrled. Is
illMtnrix'd by the appearance 'of Hanjub.
the Hindu servant of Hrood. Mis. Hrood
makes chanson In tho household and
rains her husband's consent to send Mrs
is-iininnd and I.ydia awny. She tries to
futliem the mystery of Hrood's separation
from his tlrt wife, and Ills dislike of Ills
ton. but falls.
CHAPTER VI. Continued.
It Is not unlike all stories of Its
kind, my dear," she sold with an In
difference that amazed him. "They
are all alike. Why should I ask? No,
l do not ask you for your story, James.
Sometime you may tell me, but not to
day. 1 shouldn't mind hearing It If It
were an original tale, but God knows
It Isn't. It's as old as the Nile. But
you may tell me more about your son.
Is he like you, or like his motner i
Iirnod's lips wore compressed. I
can't say that be la like either of us."
he Bald shortly. She raised her eye
trows slightly.
Ah," she said. "That makes quite
a difference. Perhaps, after all, I shall
be Interested In the story." Her man
ner was so casunl, so serenely matter-
of fart, that he could hardly restrain
the sharp exclamation of annoyance
that rose to his lips.
Ha bit his lip and allowed tho frank
Insinuation to go unanswered. He
consoled himself with the thought that
she must have spoken In Jest, with
out Intention. He bad the uncomfort
able feeling thut she would make light
of lils story, too, when the time enme
for revelations. A curious doubt took
root In his mind, would he ever be
able to understand the nature of this
woman whom he loved and who ap
peared to love him so unreservedly?
As time went on, the doubt became a
conviction. She was utterly beyond
comprehension
The charm and beauty of the new
mistress of James Brood's heart an
home were to become the talk of the
town. Already, In the first month of
her reign, she had drawn to the old
house the attention not only of the
parasites who feed on novelty, but of
families that had long since given up
Brood as a representative figure In the
circle Into which he had been born.
The restoration was slow at first, as
It naturally would be. The new Mrs.
Hrood came upon the scene as a
strange star appears suddenly In the
skies to excite and mystify the unsus
pecting world. She seemed to have
come from nowhere, and yet like the
new planet, she suddenly filled an ap
pointed spot in t no nrmameni.
It cannot be said that she conquered,
for that would be to Imply design on
her part. Possibly she considered the
game unworthy of the effort. She re
garded herself as superior to all these
people, a surviving estimate of them
selves that most Europeans enjoy;
therefore what was she to gain, saving
a certain amount of amusement, by
contact with her husband's friends?
In truth, Yvonne llrood despised
Americans. She made small pre
tense of llklnj them. The rather close
ly knit circle of Parisian aristocracy
wlik-h Bhe affected Is known to tol
erate but not to Invite the society of
even the best of Americans. She was
no larger than her environment. Her
views upon and her attitude toward
'he Americans were not created by
her but for her. The fact thut James
"rood had reached the lntfcr shrine of
French self-worship no doubt put blm
'ft a class apart from all other Ameri
cans, so far as she was concerned. At
'fast It may account for an apparent
Inconsistency, In that she married him
without much hesitation.
Her warmest friend and admirer
ie might almost say slave was Fred
eric Urood. She had transformed him.
Ho was no longer the silent, moody
youth of other days, but an eager,' Im
petuous playmate whose principal ob-
lct In life was to amuse her. If any
one hud tried to convince him that he
evor could have regarded Mrs. Des
mond's dethronement and depnrture
lth equanimity he would have pro
wled with all the force at his com
mand Hut that would have been a
month ago! He saw Lydla and her
mother leave without the slightest
4ubt In his mind that it was all tor
the best.
The Desmonds took a small apart
ment JuBt around the corner 'from
"rood's home, In a side street, and In
same block. As a matter of fact,
weir windows looked down Into the
""urtyard In the rear of Brood's home,
"ederlc assisted them in putting their
e home In order. It was great fun
Ior Lydla and him, this building of
QUAINT ERRORS OF SPEECH
Abut at easy to Be Found Today as
When Sheridan Wrote hit
Immortal Play.
misguided old lady who would
j'?'8' In misapplying words with
"icroug results Is as much among
today as she was when Sheridan
of hor In bis play, "The Rivals."
..dear old lady recently limuired
well-known professor whether
04
atcr should be written as two
WHITE
WALTERS
what they pleased to call "a nest.''
Lydla may have seen the cloud In their
sky, but he did not. To him, the world
was bright and gladsome, without a
shadow to mar Its new beauty. He
was enthusiastic, eager, excited, She
fell In with his spirit, but her pleas
ure was shorn of some of its keenness
by the odd notion that it was not to
endure.
He even dragged Yvonne around to
the little flat, to expatiate upon Its
cozlness with visual proof to support
his somewhat exaggerated claims. Her
luzy eyes took In the apartment at a
glance, and she was done with It.
"It Is very charming," she said, with
her Boft drawl. "Have you no ciga
rettes, Lydla?"
The girl flushed and looked at Fred
eric for relief. He promptly produced
his own cigarettes. Yvonne lighted
one and then stretched herself com
fortably In the Morris chair In which
no woman ever had appeared comfort
able before or since, perhaps.
"You should learn to smoke," she
went on.
"Mother wouldn't like me to smoke,"
said Lydla, rather bluntly. -
A faint frown appeared on Frederic's
brow, only to disappear with Yvonne's
low, infectious laugh.
"And Freddy doesn't like you to
smoke, either, al e?" she said.
"He may have changed his mind re
cently, Mrs. Brood," said the girl,
smiling so frankly that the edge was
taken oft of a rather direct implica
tion. "I don't mind women smoking," put
In Frederic hastily. "In fact, I rather
like It, the way Yvonne does It. It's a
very graceful accomplishment."
"But I am too clumsy to" began
Lydla.
"My dear," interrupted the Parisian,
carelessly flecking the ash into a Jar
diniere at her elbow, "It Is very
naughty to smoke, and clumsy women
never should be naughty. If you real
ly feel clumsy, don't, for my sake, ever
try to do anything wicked. There is
nothing so distressing as an awkward
woman trying to be devilish."
"Oh, Lydla couldn't be devilish it
she tried," cried Frederic, with a quick
glance at the girl's half-averted face.
"Don't say that, Frederic," she cried.
"That's as much as to say that I am
clumsy and awkward."
"And you are not," said Yvonne de
cisively. "You are very pretty and
graceful and adorable, and I am sure
you could be very wicked if you set
about to do it."
"Thank you," said Lydla dryly.
"By the way, this window looks al
most directly down Into our court
yard," said Yvonne abruptly. She was
leaning on ber elbow, looking out upon
the housetops below. "There Is my bal
cony, Freddy. And one can almost
look Into your father's lair from where
I sit."
She drew back from the window
suddenly, a passing look of fear in
"By the Way, This Window Looks Al
most Directly Down Into Our Court
yard." her eyes. It was gone In a second,
however, and would have patted unno
ticed but for the fact that Frederic
was, as usual, watching her face with
rapt Interest. He caught the curious
transition and Involuntarily glanced
below.
The heavy curtains In the window
of his father's retreat were drawn
apart and the dark face of Ranjab the
Hindu was plainly distinguishable. He
was looking up at the window in which
Mrs. Brood was sitting. Although
Frederic was far above, he could see
the gleaming while of the man's eyes.
The curtains fell quickly together and
the gaunt brown face was gone.
Questions raced through Frederic'!
puzzled brain. Out of them grew a
queer, almost uncanny feeling that the
separate words, or should there be a
siphon between.
A well-known bishop tells the story
of a maid servant who had been in
structed to address the prelate at
"Your Eminence," Imagine his hor
ror, however, when the girl dropped a
curtsy to him one morning with the
words, "Yes, Your Immense"
A New York policeman became fa
mous for his f.lips of the tongue He
used always to explain to recruits that
"That avenue ran paralyzed to Lexinj
ton," and on one occasion be proudly
Hindu had called to her in the still,
mysterious voice of the East, and al
though no sound hud been uttered,
she heard as plainly as if he actually
had shouted to ber across the inter
vening space,
His father bad said, more than
once, that the Hindu and the Egyp
tian possessed the power to be In two
distinct places - at the same time.
James Brood, a sensible man, was a
firm believer in magic, and this much
Frederio knew of Ranjab if James
Brood needed him, no matter what the
hour or the conditions, the man ap
peared before him as If out ot now here
and In response to no audible sum
mons. He was like the slave of the
lamp.
Was there, then, between these two
the beautiful Yvonne and the silent
Hindu a voiceless pact that defied the
will or understanding of either?
He had not failed to note a tend
ency on her part to avoid the Hindu
as much as possible. She even con
fessed to an uncanny dread of the man,
but could not explain the feeling.
Once she requested her husband to
dismiss the faithful fellow. When be
demanded tho reason, however, she
could only reply that she did not like
the man and would feel happier If be
were sent away. Brood refused, and
from that hour her fear of the Hindu
increased.
Now she was speaking In a nervous,
hurried manner to Lydla, her back
toward the window. In the middle
of a sentence she abruptly got up from
the chair and moved swiftly to the op
posite side of tho room, where she
sat down ugaln, as far as possible
from the window. Frederic found him
self watching her fuce with curious
Interest. All tho time she was speak
ing her eyes wore fixed on the win
dow. It was as If sho expected some
thing to appear there. There was no
mistaking the expression. After study
ing her face In silence for a few min
utes Frederic himself experienced an
Irresistible Impulse to turn toward the
window. He half expected to see the
Hindu's face there, looking In upon
them; a perfectly absurd notion when
he remembered that they were at least
one hundred feet above the ground.
Presently she arose to go. No, she
could not wait for Mrs. Desmond's
return.
"It ls charming here, Lydla," she
said, surveying the little sitting room
with eyes- that sought the window
again and again In furtive darts.
"Frederic must bring me here often.
We shall havo cozy times here, we
three. It Is so convenient, too, tor
you, my dear. You have only to walk
around the corner, and there you are!
at your place of business, as the
men would say."
(Lydla was to continue as Brood's
amanuensis. He would not listen to
any other arrangement.)
"Oh, I do hope you will come, Mrs.
Brood," cried the girl, earnestly. "My
piano will be here tomorrow, and you
shall hear Frederic play. He Is really
wonderful."
"You play?" asked Mrs. Brood, re
garding him rather fixedly.
Lydla answered for him. "He dlsap
pears for hours at a time, and comes
home bumming fragments from oh,
but I am not supposed to tell! For
give me, Frederic. Dear me! What
have I done?" She was plainly dis
tressed. "No harm In telling Yvonne," said
he, but uneasily. "You see, it's this
way father doesn't like the Idea ot
my going In for music. He is really
very much opposed to It. So I've been
sort of stealing a march on him. Go
ing up to a chum's apartment and
banging away to my heart's content.
It's rather fun, too, doing It on the
sly. Of course, If father heard of It
he'd he'd well, he'd be nasty about
It, that's all."
"He will not let you have a piano
In the house?"
"I should say not!"
She gaVe them a queer little smile.
"We shall see," she said, and thut
was all.
, "What do you play what do you
like best, Frederic?" Inquired Yvonne.
"Oh, those wonderful little Hunga
rian things most ot all, the plaintive
little"
He stopped as site began to hum
lightly the strains ot one of Ziuhrer's
Jaunty waltzes.
"By Jove, how did you guess? Why,
it's my favorite. I love It, Yvonne."
As they descended In the elevator,
Frederic, unable to contain himself,
burst out rapturously:
"By Jove, Yvonne, It will bo fun,
coming over here every day or so for
a little music, won't It? I can't tell
you how happy I shall be."
"It is time you were happy," said
she, looking straight ahead, and many
days passed before he had an Inkling
of all that lay behind her remark.
As they entered the house, Jones
met them In the hall.
"Mr. Brood telephoned that he will
be late, madam. He Is at the cus
toms office about the boxes."
"There will be five or six In for
tea, Jones. You may serve It In Mr
Brood's study."
A look of surprise flitted across the
butler's Impassive face. "Yes, mad
am." For a moment he had doubted
his hearing.
"And ask Ranjab to put away Mr.
Brood's writing material and reference
books." ,
"I shall attend to It myuelf, mndam.
Ranjab went out with Mr. Brood."
"Went out?" exclaimed Yvonne,
rigid.
Frederic turned upon the butler In
a flash. "You must be mistaken,
Jones," he said sharply.
"I think not, sir. They went away
together In the automobile. He has
not returned."
A long look of wonder and perplex-
stated that he never paid any attention
to "unanimous" letters. A zealous
temperance worker used to have a
habit ot confiding to her friends that
certain persons were "adapted" to
drink; whilst another gentleman, In a
mixed moment, once asked a friend
to open the window and "putrefy" the
air.
Ancient Irish History.
"The Prebeltlc Population of Ire
land" formed the subject of an ad
dress given J recently In Dublin by
Ity passed between young Brood and
his stepmother.
She laughed suddenly and unnatu
rally. Without a word she started up
the stairs. He followed more slowly,
his puzzled eyes fixed on the graceful
figure ahead. At the upper landing
she stopped. Her hand grasped the
railing with rigid Intensity.
Ranjab emerged from the shadows
at the end of the ball. Ho bowed
very deeply.
"The master's books and papers 'ave
been removed, sablbah. The study is
In ordor."
CHAPTER VII.
Ranjab the Hindu.
The two old men, long Blnce rele
gated to a somowhat self Imposed ob
livion, on a certain night discussed, as
usual, the affairs ot the household In
the privacy of their room on the third
floor remote, not, however, without
first convincing themselves that the
shadowy Ranjab was nowhere within
range of their croaking undertones.
From the proscribed regions down
stairs came the faint sounds of a piano
and the Intermittent chatter of many
voices. Someone was pluying "La
Paloma."
These now days were not like the
old ones. Once they had enjoyed,
even commanded, the full freedom of
the house. It had been their privi
lege, their prerogative, to enter into
every social undertaking that was
planned; in fact, they had come to
regard themselves as hosts, or, at tho
very least, guests of honor on such
occasions. They had a Joyous way of
lifting the responsibility of conversa
tion from everyone elso; and, be It
said to their credit, there was no sub
ject on which they couldn't talk with
decision and fluency, whether they
knew anything about It or not.
And nowadays It was different. They
were not permitted to appear when
guests were In the house. Tho sump
tuous dinners of which they heard
something from the servants were no
longer graced by their presence. Tbey
were amazed and not a little Irritated
to observe, by listening at the bead of
the stairs, that the unfortunate
guests, whoever they were, always
seemed to be enjoying themselves.
They couldn't, for the life of them, un
derstnnd bow such a condition was
possible.
Brood had been working rather
steadily at his journal during the past
two or three weeks. He had reached
a point In the history where his own
memory was somewhat vague, and
had been obliged to call upon bis old
comrades to supply tho facts. For
several nights they had sat with him.
going over the scenes connected with
their earliest acquaintance those
black days In Calcutta. Lydla had
brought over her father's notes and
certain transcripts of letters he had
written to her mother before their
marriage. The four of them were put
ting those notes and narratives into
chronological order. Brood, after
three months ot married life and fri
volity, suddenly had decided to devote
himself almost entirely to the comple
tion of tho Journal.
. He denied himself the theater, the
opera and kindred features of the
passing show, and as he preferred to
entertain rather than to be enter
tained, seldom found it necessary to
go Into the homes of other people.
Yvonne made no protest. She merely
pressed Frederic , into service as an
escort when she desired to go about,
and thought nothing of It. Whether
this arrangement pleased James Brood
time will show. He, too, appeared to
think nothing of It.
The lines had returned to the cor
ners of his mouth, however, and the
old, hnrd look to his eyes. And there
were times when he spoke harshly to
his son, times when he purposely
humbled him in the presence of others
without apparent reason.
On this particular night, Yvonne
had asked a few people In for dinner.
They were people whom Brood liked
especially well, but who did not appenl
to her at all. As a matter of fact, they
bored her. She appeared to be happy
In pleasing him, however. When she
told him that they were coming, he
favored her with a dry, rather im
personal smile, and asked, with whim
sical good humor, why Bhe chose to
punish herself for the Bins of his
youth. She laid her cheek against his
and purred! For a moment he held
his breath. Then the fire In his blood
leaped Into flame. He clasped the
slim, adorable, body in his strong arms
and crushed her against his breast.
She kissed him and ho was again the
fierce, eager, unsatcd lover. It was
one of their wonderful Imperishable
moments, moments that brought ob
livion. Then, as he frequently did of
late he held her off at arm's length and
searched her velvety eyes with a gaze
that seemed to drag the very secrets
out ot her soul. She went deathly
white and shivered. He took his hnnds
from her shoulders and smiled. She
came back Into bis arms like a dumb
thing seeking protection, and contin
ued to tremble as If frightened.
When company was being enter
tained downstairs Mr. Dawes and Mr.
Riggs, with a fidelity to convention
that was almost pitiful, Invariably
donned their evening clothes. They
considered themselves remotely con
nected with the festivities, and, thnt
being the case, the least they could do
was to "dress up." Moreover, they
dressed with great care and delibera
tion. There was always the chance
that they might be asked to come
down, or, what was even more Impor
tant, Mrs. Brood might happen to en
counter them in the upper ball, and
In that event it was imperative that
she should be made to realize bow
stupid she had been.
Vrofessor Mahaffy. In the course of
the address lie said that the .Celts
were not the first race to inhabit
Ireland, for there were the Flrbolgs,
traces of whose civilization were to
be found '.n the stone monuments
and raths In parts of the country.
Even the Flrbolgs do not appear to
have been the only people who In
habited Ireland before the Celts. Pro
fessor Mahaffy believes there were
many different peoples. But what of
their language? Why is there no
trace of the langnagw of these races?
Usually at nine o'clock tbey strolled
into the study and smoked one of
Brood's cigars with the gusto of real
guests. It was their bablt to saunter
about the room, inspecting the treas
ures with critical, appraising eyes,
very much as if they had never seen
them before. They even bandied some
ot the familiar objects with an air of
bewilderment that would have done
credit to a Cook's tourist It was also
a habit of theirs to try the doors of
a large teakwood cabinet In one cor
ner of the room. The doors always
were locked, and they sighed with
patient doggednosa. Some day, bow
ever, Ranjab would forget to lock
those doors, and then
"Joe," Mr. Dawes, after he had tried
the doors on this particular occasion,
"I made a terrible mistake In letting
poor Jim get married again. I'll never
forgive myself." lie had said this at
least a hundred times during the past
three months. Sometimes he cried
over it, but never until he had found
that the cabinet doors were locked.
"I wish Jack Desmond had lived,"
mused the other, puying no uttentloti
to the egotism. "Ho would have
put a stop to this fool marriage."
They sut down and pondered.
"Jim's getting mighty cranky of
lute," ruminated Dawes, puffing away
at his unllghted cigar. "It's a caution
the way ho snaps Freddy oft these
days, lie he hates that boy, Joe."
"Sh! Not so loud!"
"Confound you, don't you know a
whisper when you hear It?" demanded
Dawes, who, In truth, had whispered.
Another potential silence. "Freddy
goes about with her a good deal more
than he ought to," said Riggs at last.
"They're together two-thirds of tho
Crushed Her Against Hit Breast.
time. Why why, he heels her like a
trained dog. Playing the planner
morning, noon and night, and out drlv
Ing, and going to the theater, and"
"I've a notion to tell Jim he ought
to put a stop to it," said the other.
"It makes me sick."
"Jlm'U do It without being told one
o' these days, so you keep out of it
Say, have you noticed how peaked
Lydia's looking these days? She's not
the same girl, Dan, not the same girl
Something's wrong." He shook his
bead gloomily. '
"It's that doggoncd woman," an
nounced Dawes explosively, and then
looked over his shoulder with appre
hension lu his bleur eyes. A sigh of
relief escaped him.
"She's got no business coming In be
tween Lydla and Freddy," said Riggs.
"Looks as though she's Just set on
busting It up. What can she possibly
have against poor little Lydla? She's
good enough for Freddy. Too good, by
hokcy! Specially when you stop to
think."
Dawes glared at him. "Now don't
begin gossiping. You're as bad as
an old woman."
"Thinking ain't gossiping, confound
you. If I wanted to gossip I'd up and
say flatly that Jim Brood knows down
In bis soul that Freddy Is no son of
his. He"
"You've never heard him say so,
Joe."
"No, but I can put two and two to
gether. I'm no fool."
"I'd advise you to shut up."
"Oh, you would, would you'" with
vast scorn. "I'd like to know who It
was that talked to Mrs. Desmond
about It. Who put It into ber head
that Jim doubts"
"Well, didn't she say I was a lying
old busybody!" snapped Danbury tri
umphantly. "Didn't she call me down,
eh? I'd like to know what more you
could expect than that. Didn't she
make me tak back everything I said?"
"She did," said Riggs, with convic
tion. "And I believe she would have
thrashed you If she'd been a man, Just
as she Bald she would. And dldu't I
advise her to do It anyway, on the
ground that you're an old woman
and"
"That's got nothing to do with the
present case," Interrupted Dawes
hastily. "What we ought to bo think
ing about now Is how to get rid of
this woman that's come in here to
wreck our home. She's an Interloper.
She's a foreigner. She'
Mr. Dawes leaned a little closer. "I
wonder how Mrs. Desmond likes hav
ing ber over there playing the piano
every afternoot with Freddy while
Lydia's over heie copying things for
Jim, and working her poor little head
off. Ever stop to think about (that?"
"I think about it an tne time. Ana,
by thunder, I'm not the only one who
Professor Mahaffy maintains they had
a language and he blames Celtic
scholars for not having found-It out
He is probably right In Baying that
place names, names of rivers and
mountains, must have been borrowed
from the oldor Inhabitants, for when
the English came to Dublin they did
not alter the names of places, such as
Drumcondra. Terenure, etc.
So live that what your friends will
say ot you after you are dead ".ill be
at least ba,lf true.
does, either. Jim thinks a good deal
and so does Lydla. It's a darned"
Mr. Riggs happened to look up at
that Instant. Ranjab was standing In
front of blm, his arms folded across
his breast, In the habitual pose of the
Hindu who waits. The man was
dressed In the costume of a high-caste
Brahmin; the commonplace garments
of the Occident bad been laid aside,
and in their place were the vivid, daz
zling colors ot Ind, from the bejeweled
sandals to the turban which crowned
his swarthy brow and gleamed with
rubles and sapphires uncounted. Mr.
Riggs' mouth remained open as he
stared blankly at this ghost ot another
day. Not since the old days in India
had he seen Ranjab in native garb,
and even then be was far from being
the resplendent creature of tonight,
for Ranjab In his home land was a
poor man and without distinction.
"Am I awake?" exclaimed Mr. Riggs
In such an awful voice that Mr. Dawes
gave over staring at the cabinet and
favored him with an Impatient kick
on tho ankle.
"I guess that'll wake you up If"
and then he saw the Hindu. "Ran
Jub!" oozed from his Hps.
Ranjab was smiling, and when he
smiled his dark face was a Joy to bo
hold. His white teeth gleamed and
his sometime unfeeling eyes sparkled
with delight. He liked the two old
men. They had stood, with Brood be
tween him and grave peril far back
In the old days when even the faint
est gleam of hope apparently bad been
blotted out.
"Behold," he cried, magnificently
spreading his arms. "I am mado glo
rious! See before you the prince of
magic! See!" With a swift, deft
movement ho snatched the half
smoked cigar from the limp fingers of
Mr. Riggs and, first holding It before
their blinking eyes, tossed It Into the
air. It disappeared!
"Well, of all the" began Mr. Riggs.
sitting up very straight. His eyes
were following the rapid actions of the
Hindu. Unlocking a drawer in the
big table, the latter peered Into It
atul then beckoned the old men to his
side. There lay the cigar and beside
It a much-needed match!
"I don't want to smoke It," said Mr.
Riggs, vigorously declining his prop
erty. "The darned thing's bewitched."
Whereupon Ranjab took It out of the
drawer and again threw It Into the
air. Then he calmly reached above
his head and plucked a fresh cigar
out of space, obsequiously tendering it
to the amazed old man, who accepted
It with the sheepish grin of a be
addled schoolboy.
"You haven't lost any of your old
skill," 6aid Mr. Dawes, involuntarily
glancing at his own cigar to make
sure that he had It firmly gripped in
his stubby fingers. "You ought to be
In a sideshow, Ranjab."
Ranjab paused, before responding,
to extract a couple of billiard balls
and a small paper knife from the lapel
of Mr. Dawes' coat.
"I am to perform tonight, sahib, for
the mistress' guests. It Is to be what
you call him? A sideshow? RanJaV
Is to do his tricks for her, as the dog
performs for his master." The smile
had disappeared. His face was an im
penetrable mask once more. Had their
eyes been young and keen, however,
they might have caught the flash of
anger in his.
"Going to do all the old tricks?"
cried Mr. Riggs eagerly. "By George,
I'd like to see 'cm again, wouldn't you,
Dan? I'm glad we've got our good
clothes On. Now you see what comes
of always being prepared for "
"Sorry, sahib, but the master has
request me to entertain you before the
guests come up. Coffee is to be serve
here."
"That means we'll have to clear
out?" said Riggs, slowly.
"Hut see!" cried Ranjab, genuinely
sorry for them. He became enthusias
tic once more. "See! I shall do them
all and better, too, for you."
For ten minutes he nstonlshed the
old men with the mysterious feats of
the Indian fakir. They waxed enlhu-
Astonished the Old Men With the Mys
terious Feats of the Indian Fakir.
Blastlc. He grinned over the pleasure
he was glviug them. Suddenly be
whipped out a short, thin sword from
Its scabbard In bis sash. The amazing,
incomprehensible sword - swallowing
act followed.
"You see Ranjab haa not forgot," he
cried in triumph. "He have not lost
the touch ot the wizard, alh?"
"You'll lose your gizzard aomo day,
doing that," said Dawes, grimly. "It
gives me the shivers."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
In a Russian Church.
The interior of Russian church is
outspokenly oriental, for it consists
merely of a gorgeous hall and a sanc
tuary, without any seats, as that Is
the custom in other temples. There
Is neither an organ not a pulpit in the
Russian church and the temple cere
mony is one mostly of music, chant
ing nnd spectacular gesticulations,
which remind one of ancient Egyp
tians dancing in their temples. For
music there Is a choir of boys and
men in all tho Russian services. .
m ss
FRIGHTFUL SCENES
N BATTLE OF HILLY
Batteries Fire 20,000 Shell3 in
Ninety Minutes.
SOLr"'
JA WW
Every InVn Of Ground Turned Up By
Explosives and Strewn With
Corpses Mine Explosion s
Slaughter. " '
Paris. An ofllclal eye-witness de
scribing the operations by which the
French are menacing the German posi
tions in the wedge of St. Mlhlel says;
"All the Ailly woods, which con
stituted a strong and well-fortlfled sup
port for the Germans, Is now entirely
In French hands, conquered for the
most part by troops from the center ot
France after several days of sys
tematic preparations by a heavy fire
from three-Inch and big guns and by
aerial torpedoes.
"At certain points tho Germans had
constructed in front of moats 12 yards
wide spiked barriers extending about
six, feet above the level of the earth,
surrounded by barbed wire entangle
ments, which were so Intricate aB to
make them Impervious to any tools.
"A concentration of artillery fire
opened large breaches in this defense;
parapets were sent crashing to the
ground and dismembered bodies were
blown into the air above the clouds of
smoke. The earth was strewn with
overturned trees and branches.
Panic In the Trenches.
"After five hours of intense fire, five
mines, laid under a parapet adjacent
to the principal fort holding the posi
tion, exploded, annihilating the garrl
Bon and spreading panic In the
trenches.
"An attack with fixed bayonets then
began In three lines, preceded by a
detachment with hand grenades.
Engineers followed with little bridges,
which had been prepared m auvauce,
to facilitate the passage over the net
work of trenches.
"The order has been given not to
stop in any trench, but to pass over
and, take the enemy in the rear.
"Three lines of trenches were thus
cleared of the Germans. Those who
sought refuge in the underground
shelters perished from suffocation
through the collapse of the entire
earthworks.
"Toward 3 o'clock on April 5 the
enemy attempted to counter-attack,
supported by a heavy artillery fire,
which was neutralized by our batteries.
Our attack was renewed the following
day and developed In a furious hand-to-hand
struggle with grenades and
cold steel In the narrow lines of
trenches.
"The enemy offered such resistance
that the order was given to evacuate
part pf the ground that had been
gained. This was then bombarded
until the enemy was obliged to retire.
We then held the three main line
trenches of the Allly woods.
Dead Piled In Rows.
"The enemy's losses were heavy. We
counted 200 dead on the evening of the
fifth, and on the evening of the sixth
we found the dead piled in three rows.
"During the seventh and eighth we
repulsed eight counter-attacks. The
enemy succeeded In entering one
trench, but was unable to hold It. Of
the Ailly woods, there remained noth
ing but a few hacked trunks, and not
an Inch of ground In it that had not
been turned up by explosives.
"In the strange choas, stones,
corpses and a debris of limbs lay
mingled.
"At 5.30. o'clock on April 8 an in
tensive bombardment by the Germans
was begun. In 90 minutes upon this
corner of the woods, over a front of
from 350 to 400 yards deep, 20.000
shells were fired; they Included all
calibers, from four to eight inch. The
entire hill disappeared In a cloud ot
smoke.
"All communications were cut dur
ing this time, and when the fire ceased
many men were mentally deranged.
They had to be removed, and required
several days for recovery.
"Again on April 10 the position in
Ailly woods was subjected to a bom
bardment. Six German companies,
besides the garrison In the fort, were
annihilated In these engagements."
Twenty French Generals Killed
Pasls Tout Tarls, a social register
of the French capital, pust issued, con
tains the names of 1,500 Parisians kill
ed on the battlefield up to February
25,1915. s
Included In this number are they
names of 20 generals, 367 other offi
cers, 14 priests and 193 titled members
of the aristocracy.
TURK DESTROYERS BLOWN UP.
Out Cruising When Russians Laid
Mine Belt
Paris. Two Turkish torpedo-boat
destroyers were blown up, says a
Saloniki dispatch, while passing
through a mine belt which Russian
ships had succeeded In laying across
the entrance to the Bosporus while
the Turkish fleet was cruising In the
Black Sea. The explosions caused by
the destruction of the two Turkish
boats gave warning to tho -remainder
of the fleet.
FORAKER'S SON DIES.
Joseph Benson, Jr., Was Victim Of
Pernicious Anaemia.
New York. Former Senator and
Mrs. Foraker, called hurriedly from
Washington, were at the bedside of
their son, Joseph Benson Foraker, Jr.,
when he died at Manhattan Beach.
Young Foraker had been a victim ot
pernicious anaemia for some time. He
was brought to Manhattan Beach
from his home In Cincinnati In the
.lope that the sea air would benefit
blm.
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