ft I hn S- m.!-;,! iltJE; OIRL HALFWAY STO R Y O F Y K. HOUGH. AlTllUIl OP T U 1'. STORY OF THK COWBOY CofyriehttJ, lvos, by I) Attltlon & Cmtnr, Mew York wW2fianAta&wSMw'llp0wWjVa CHAPTER XIII. Continued. The hours grow older. At the head of tho hall the musicians manifested more signs of their Inexorable purpose. A sad protesting squeal camo from tho accotdlon. The violins moaned, but were held firm. Tho worst might bo precipitated at any moment. But again there was a transfer of the general attention toward tho upper' ;enu or the hall. The door once more jopened, and there appeared a llttlo group of three persons, on whom there was fixed a regard so steadfast and !so silent that It might well have been peon that they woro strangers to all present. Of the three, one was a tall and slender man, who carried him pelf with that ease which, Itself uncon scious, causes self-consciousness In Ahoso still some generations back of tit. Upon tho nrm of this gentleman Jwas a lady, also tall. thin. pale, with (wide, dark eyes, which now opened jwlth surprise that was more than half hock. Lastly, with head up and eyes talso wide, like those of a stag which isees some new thing, there came a "young woman, whose presence was .such as had never yet been seen In the Wei at ElHsvllle. Astonished, as they might have been by tho spectacle before them, greeted 'by no welcoming hand, ushered to no convenient seat, these three faced tho long, half-lit room In the full sense of fwhat might have been called an awk ward situation. Yet they did not tshufflc or cough, or talk one with an - other, or smile In anguish, as had others who thus faced the same ordeal. .Tho three walked slowly, calmly, de liberately down Into what must have bcen one of tho most singular scenes hitherto witnessed in their lives. As they reached tho head of tho social irank, whero sat Mra. McDermott, the wife of the section boss and arbiter elegantlarum for all ElHsvllle, the gen tleman bowed and spoke some few 'words, though obviously to a total ; led her forth, and who, after the oc stranger a very stiff and suspicious l casion was over, wished he had not 'Ned, me boy, stranger, who was too startled to reply. The ladles bowed to tho wife of the section boss and to tho others as they came In turn. Then the three passed on a few seats apart from anil beyond tho other occupants of that sldo of the house. There was now much tension, and .tho unhapplness and suspense could have endured but little longer. Again tho accordion protested and the fiddle wept. Tho cornet uttered a faint note of woe. Yet onco more there was a pause In this time of Joy. Again the door was pushed open, not timidly, but flung boldly back. There stood two figures at tho head of tho hall and In tho place of greatest light. Of these, one was tall and very thin, but upright as a shaft of pine. He was clad in dark garments; thus much mitrht bo said. His waistcoat sat high and close. At wrist and neck thero J showed a touch of white, and a bit of white appeared protruding at tho bosom of his coat. His tread was supple and easy as that of a boy of twenty. "Ned, mo boy,"' he whispered to his companion as they entered. "I'm fcelln' fine the night; and as for yer self, yo'ro fit for tho court o' St. James at a diplomats' ball." Franklin, Indeed, deserved somewhat of tho compliment. Dressed In the full uniform of a captain, ho looked tho picture of the young army ofllccr of tho United States. Simply, easily, much as had the little group that Im mediately preceded himself and friend, Franklin parsed on up Into tho hall, between the batteries which lined tho walls. Any emergency brings forward Its owa remedy. Tho times produce tho man, each war bringing forth Its own generals, Its heroes, Its solvers of great problems. None had chosen Batter sleigh to tho leadership. There had been no election for master of cere monies, nor had Batterslolgh yet had time to fully realize how desperate was this strait In which these folk had fallen. It appeared to him merely that, himself having arrived, thore was naught else to cause delay. At tho center of tho room ho stopped, near by the head of tho stern column of womanhood which held the position on the right as one entered tho hall. Here Batterslolgh paused, making a deep and sweeping bow, and uttered the first open cpeech which had boon heard that ovonlng. "Ladies and glntlemon," he said In tonc easily distinguishable at all parts iXtX S Z !2i AT THE HOUSE WWK THE PLAINS of tho room. "I'm pleased to meet ys all this ovonln'. Perhaps ye all know Batterslcigh, and I hopo yo'll all moot mo friend Captain Franklin, at mo side. Wo claim tho Inthroduction of this roof, me good friends, and we wel come everybody to the first dance at ElHsvllle. Ladles, yer very dutiful servant! It's woll ye'ro lookin', Mrs. McDermott; nnd Nora, gyurl. sure ye're charmln' tho night. Kittle, darl In', how do ye do? Do yo romember Captain Franklin, all of ye? Plpo up, yo naygurs that's right. Now, thin, all hands, chooso yer partners for the gr-rand march, sure, with Jerry's permission. Thank ye, Mrs. McDermott, nnd mo arm so." The BheoplBh figures of tho musi cians now leaned together for a mo ment. Tho violins walled In sad search for tho accord, the assistant In strument les3 tentative. All at once the slack shoulders straightened up firmly, confidently, nnd then, their feet beating in unison upon tho floor, their faces set, stern and relontless, tho three musicians fell to tho work and reeled off tho opening bars. A sigh went up from tho assembly. There was a general shuffling of shoes, a wide rustling of calico. Then, slow ly, as though going to his doom, Curly arose from out tho long lino of the un happy upon his side of the room. Ho crossed tho Intervening space, his limbs below tho knees curiously nt fected, jerking his feet Into half time with tho tune. Ho bowed so low be fore the littlest waiter girl that his neck scarf fell forward from his chest and hung before him like a shield. "May I hev the honor, Miss Kitty?" ho choked out; and as the littlest waiter girl rose and took his arm with a vast air of unconcern, Curly drew a long breath. In his seat Sam writhed, but could not rise. Nora looked straight in front. It was Hank Peterson, who Colonel done so, for his wife sat till the last upon the row. Seeing this awful thing happen, seeing tho hand of Nora laid upon another's arm, Sam sat up as ono deeply smitten with a hurt. Then, silently, uuobserved In the confusion, he stolo away from the fateful Bcene and betook himself to his stable, where he fell violently to currying ono of the horses. "Oh, kick!" ho exclaimed, getting speech In these surroundings. "Kick! I deserve it. Of all the low-down, d n cowards that ever was horned I sure am the worst! But tho gall of that foller Peterson! An' him a mar lied mun!" When Sam left tho ballroom there remained no person who was ablo to claim acquaintance with tho little group who now sat under tho shadow of tho swinging lamp nt tho lower end of tho hall, and farthest from tho door. Tho "grand mnreh" was over, and Batter sleigh was again walking along tho line in company with his friend FrankHn, before either could have been f&ld to have noticed fully these strangers, whom no ono seemed to know, and who sat quite apart and un engaged. Batterslelgh. master of cer emonies by natural right, and com fortable gentleman at heart, spied out Micso three, and needed but a glance to satl'fy himself of their identity. "Sir," said Batterslolgh, approach ing and bowing as ho addressed the stranger, "I shall make bold to intro duce mes-elf Batterslelgh of ElHsvllle, sir. at your service If I am not mis taken, you will bo from below, toward the next town. I bid ye a very good welcome, and we shall all hopo to seo yo often, sir. We're none too many here yet, and a glntleman and his family are always welcome among gin tlomen. Allow mo, sir, to presint me friend Captain Franklin, Captain Ned Franklin of the th, Illinois in tho lato unpllsantneas Ned, mo boy, Colo nel yo'll pardon me not knowln' tho name?" "My name Is Buford, sir," said the other as ho rose. "I am vory glad to seo you gentlemen, Colonel Batter slolgh, Captain Franklin. I was so un lucky as to be of the Kentucky troops, sir, in the same unpleasantness. I want to introduce my wifo, gentlemen, and my niece, Miss Baauchanip." Franklin roally lost a part of what tho speaker was saying. Ho was gat ing at this form half hidden In tho shadow, a llgure with hands drooping, with face upturned and just caught strongly about tho hoavy hnlr. Thero camo upon him nt that moment, as with a Jlood-tldo of memory, nil tho vague longing, the restlessness, tho Incertitude of life which had hnrrled him boforo ho hnd como to this far land, whoso swift nctlvlty hnd helped him to forgot. Yet even hero he had been unsettled, unhappy. Ho had missed, ho had lacked ho know not what. Tho young woman rose, nnd stood out n pace or two from the shadows. She turned her face toward Franklin. Ho felt her gnze take In the uniform of blue, felt the stroke of mental dis like for the uniform a dislike wlm he know existed, but which ho could not fnthom. ' With a strange, hnlf shivering gesture tho girl advanced half a step and laid her head almost upon tho shoulder of tho elder woman, standing thus for ono moment, the arms of the two unconsciously en twined, ns Is sometimes tho wny with women. FrankHn npprpnehed rude ness ns ho looked at this attitude of the two, still puzzling, still seeking to solve this troubling problem of tho past. Thero came a shift In tho music. Tho air swept from the merry tuno Into tho minor from which tho negro Is nover musically free. Then In a flash Frank lin saw It all. Ho saw the picture. His heart stopped! This music. It was tho wall of trumpets! These stops, ordered, measured, woro those of mnrchtng men. Those sounds, high, comming ling, thoy were tho voices of a day gone swiftly by. These two, this one this picture It wub not hero, but upon tho field of wheat nnd flowers that he saw It now again that picture of grief ho Infinitely sad. Franklin saw, nnd as ho gazed, eager, half advancing, Indecision and Irresolution dropped from him forever. Resolved from out the shadows, where in it hnd never In his most intimate self-searching taken any actual form, he saw the Imago of that unformulated drenm which had haunted his sub consciousness so long, and which was now to haunt him openly and forever. The morning after tho first official ball In ElHsvllle dawned upon another world. ElHsvllle, nftor the first ball, wns by all the rules of the PlalnB admittedly a town. A sun had sot, and a sun had arisen. It was another day. To Edward Franklin the tawdry ho tel parlor on tho morning after tho ball was no mere four-square habita tion, but a chamber of tho stars. Be fore him, radiant, wbh that which ho had vaguely sought. This othor half of himself, with feet running far to find tho missing friend, had sought him out through nil tho years, through all tho miles, through all tho spheres! This was fate, and at this thought his heart glowed, his eyes shone, his very stnture seemed to increase. Ho wist not of Nature and her ways of attrac tion. Ho only knew that hero was that Other whose hand, pathetically sought, ho had hitherto missed In tho darkness of tho foregone days. Now, thought ho. It was all happily con cluded, heic in this brilliant chamber of delight, this irradiant abode, this noble hall bedecked with gems and silks and stars nnd all the warp nnd woof of his many, many days ol dreams! Mr. and MrB. Buford hnd for tho time excused themselves by reason ol Mrs. Buford's weariness, and after tho easy ways of that time and place tho young poople found themselves alone. Thus It was that Mary Ellon, with a temporary feeling of helplessness, found herself face to face with tho very man whom she at that time cared least to see. (To be continued.) Tricks of the Types. A friend met Whitclaw Rcld, tho veteran editor of the Now York Trib une, the other day and said to him: "I seo you are on the advisory board of Mr. Pulitzer's new college of jour nalism at Columbia university. Do you expect to put an end to the typo graphical error?" "Tho most we can hope to do," re plied Mr. Held, "Is to mitigate Its hor hors. You can't abollBh the typo graphical error any more than you can original sin. I romombor when the prince of Wales visited this coun try of writing an editorial on the subject. I was young and ambitious, and thought I said some plover things. It began: 'The prince of Wales Is making captivating speeches.' The next morning I picked up tho paper to enjoy reading It In print. I turned to tho editorial page, and this met my gaze: 'The price of Nails Is making carpenters swear.' " Philadelphia Post. Couldn't Forget His Pet Theme. Down In Virginia, says Thomas Nel son Page, there was an old dar.ky preachor who had preached about In fant baptism morning and night until his congregation couldn't stand It any longer. They told him to preach something else or they'd havo to find somo onu who would. Ho promised, nnd the next Sunday announced his text, "Adam, whero art thou?" "DIs, bredern, can bo divided Into fouh bonds," began the dominie. "First, every man is somowhar. Sec ondly, most men am where they ain't got no bua'uess to bo. Thirdly, you'd bettor look out or you'll bo glttln' thorc you'gelf. Fo'thly. Infant bap tism. Now, bredern, I guess w'o might's woll pass by tho fust three hoadB and como ImmedVly to tho fo'th. Infant baptism." Commercial Museums. Tho Russian government will os tablish permanent ooasraerclal muse ums in Paris. 1 ill-. ii i ca 'from IhrUUtrtand U'lurti on accuracy and rorttiOugM,bvJiirlSr.l'raU.Oiiilirk,llUnoU The accuracy For n rest time review of the daily sources of belter methods. library is for co-operation in informa tion on the enemies of easy errors and the friends of forethought, to re duce mutually c.r pensive inis tan'cs of mechanical, commer cial and professional peoolc. Misunderstandings make many miserable, so be accurate now. If you want to know more blamo yourself. My best gains on myself hnve been due to respecting tho sug gestions of others nnd shouldering more than my share of the causes of trouble. Recently I handed n man n part of an order loo soon, then I did not re peat it when tho remainder of tho or der wns delivered. Wo got mixed up and tho product came out wrong and 1 now sit down and tell you about it. It Is split milk, what elso can I do? Yes, I can make resolutions and 1 havo done so, but somehow my writing to you about It seems to weld tho wash er down on tho resolutions. There is another paragraph thought to go with this one. A flno chnnco was given mo to catch the mistake nnd correct it, but when I mnde an appointment on the matter for the morning l got tho Impression or It was permitted to grow thnt the appointment was of minor lmportanco nnd for any time during the day. But the other party considered It so se riously that he held tho work a couple hours for me to como In. but I was four hours later than I should havo been and tho truth Is I camo near not calling at all. Well, that Is ono on me and I am supposed to bo at my best when It comes to keeping ap pointments. After snylng what I havo It Is better for mo to ndd that I nm not shouldering more than my share of the causo of this misunder standing. When we mndo tho appoint ment he may havo been thinking about another subject from tho ono I I was talking about and If so thnt would havo mixed us. My remarks would havo applied to either ono of two subjects wo had before us. How are people to tell whether or not thoy are thinking about tho samo subject or the same sldo of tho samo subject? National wars havo been started by misunderstandings. A Common Question. An ambitious child tried to carry three big clothes poles from their cor ner in the basement. In plnco of getting them out tho little ono got them mixed with a chair, tho stove, a stepladder and tho cell ing and got penned In tho corner. While others were laughing over tho Holf-trapped youngster tho latter yelled out, "What's tho matter?" Employers, employes and customors havo occasions wlun It Is In order to stop and ask, "What's tho matter?" Tho professional worker who lets his accounts got mixed up In a way to make them useless to him has a chnnco to stop and inquire, "What's tho matter?" An attorney tells rao that ho has more trouble collecting his own ac counts than ho does in winning his clients' cases. "What's the trouble?" A farmer says ho doe3 not get tlmo to havo a kitchen garden. "What's the trouble?" A noso anil, throat medical special ist has a bad breath of his own. What'B tho trouble?" "What's the trouble?" Is tho begin ning of better methods, but only tho beginning after which must como continuation and culmination. "What's tho trouble?" is the be ginning of systematic Investigation and that leads to scientific Intelli gence. In place of blaming others or condi tions, stop and ask questions; then follow them up and know more. Small Audiences. Lectures to audiences of ono aro my favorites. A small audience never worries me, as any ono person may bo able later on to Introduce mo to thou sands. My faith in the great possi bilities of the future is simply unlim ited. Yesterday a man Bald to me that I had hotter see tho treasurer cf their company somo morning and I was thero soon nftor 9 a. m. this morning. Two othor officials woro in tho room with tho treasurer and I gave It to thom right and left. My lecture to these three took a good part of an hour and It was on tho dally sources of great individual accuracy for omployor, employe and customer to reduco mutually expensive mistakos such as sickness, smashups and misunderstandings. While this company may never en courage mo a cent's worth I am a galnor by tho effort bocauso somo day un audience of two thousand may give mo two hundred dollars for tho vory samo talk and my oxorclse with tho three mou will aid me In being useful to yon In this column. At the time, it hurts to bo kicked out of hell, though you land in heaven. Mnny people havo been grontly dis appointed over defont until they found that It was tho greatest blessing that over enmo upon thorn. But though you know nt tho very tlmo It Is for your ultlmnto profit when tho defeat occurs, you do not en joy It. Doslrnblo defeatB nro most onjoynblo when looked bnck on from qulto a dlstnncc. Thoso who lnugh last laugh best, of course, but during tho first lnugh there Is gonorally n lack of faith In tho no-knowlng-whon-tobo last lnugh. ot some can laugh In dofeat during tho enemies' laugh. To do this, Bmllo In defeat, requires absoluto confidence In your futuro, or a faith In n dlvlno solution you nro unablo to soo to-day. A stockholder Is forcod to sell his Interest and against his will and ho nnturally feels ugly over It. But If In a fow yoars tho othor stockholders loso all their money and tho crowded out victim 1b tho only ono to mnko a cent by tho dlsnstorous enterprise, then tho man who hnd n natural right to feel ugly has a natural right to feel good-unturod. Lot mo toll you that any kind of faith which helps you to smile In do font in tho belief that It Is tho ad vanco agent of special success Is a mighty good thing to hnvo In your head, heart or backbone. My collection of confessions by me chanical, commercial and professional people, contains a good many exam ples of final victory nnd ono from your own llfo or from your observations would bo highly prized and It might prove- to bo your best monument lu tlmo to come. Examples of pluck when no one sees a ghost of n chnnco are sources of pluck which nover run awny from you and thoso who review tho pnst In a search for such events aro generally vigorously surprised over tho lucky findings. My bollof Is'that If you search for n useful example for tho benefit of othors you derive more benefit from It than If you mado tho hunt for sel fish reasons. Somo vory smart men wondor why somo very nlmplo men ecom to stumble Into lucky discoveries and tho real reason mny bo that thoy possess aggressive goodness rather than brlllnncy. Social Fire Extinguishers. Wo should bo ready at all times to fight flro and mnko peace. It requires as much skill to kill anger as It does to bring down a dan gerous animal. When you got between two of your friends who are angry with onoh othor and you aro mlserablo until thoy becomo congenial again, you wish you know moro about how to do things. Somo would-bo pcaco -makers make conditions worse and get injured themselves, whllo othors aro so skill ful that a few words win tho nngry over to each other and In a way to keep them friends. How do tho successful peace makers go at tho extinguishing ot anger? First, by a quiet and Intelli gent self-control. Water 1b a fighter of flro becauso It requires a very unusual heat to de compose It, so self-control Is a reducer ot auger, either In self or in others, becauso It requires a very unusual provocation to trip It up. People get angry only when thoy lose their head, and if they talk a mo ment with somo onq who has a head they aro given a chanco to find theirs again, and if that somo ono knows' how to say the right word at tho right time It certainly helps. Whero two people got to running to a third person with complaints against each other tho third person hns an uncomfortable tlmo of It un less possessing ability to settlo tho trouble. Such troubles aro frequent ly imaginary and an imaginary trou ble may bo more difficult to removo than a real one. Dealro and study are sources of ability. Balancing Helps. When wo got a thump which dims our horizon for tho day, or which would naturally dim it, we should havo somo previous compliment handy to re-read as an antidote, but more Im portant than this Is the habit of hav ing some previous thump ready to re view when something comes up which would nnturally mako us Joyful. It Is more dangerous to be too happy than to be too miserable. The accuracy of being temperate In all things includes disposition. And ono source of that accuracy Is to have handy tho balancing helps of memory. Memory Is a groat store house of wisdom from which we cau order fore thoughts for rooming, noon and night. When we appeal to tho memorioa of others we have the best balancing holps ready to put to use. Some authorities would havo us think that nations remember only a third of a contury then havo to loam everything ovoragnln by oxponslvo os porlouce, and that tho avorage indi vidual romombers about threo months. Hera is a chnnco for the intellectual to get a bettor rucord than tho natural. LIVE STOCK J iPft ''Sw -8 Fluid Ucetcss for Branding. From tlmo to tlmo attempts nro mado to supplant tho red hot branding Iron by n liquid. A liquid branding material patented In Now Zealand has boon Imported to this country and qulto widely advortlsod. A largo num ber ot western cattlo men tried It and reported ndvorBoly on It It was claimed thnt It would not lnjuro tho hide, but tho exporlonco ot stockmen scorns to bo that It Injures thom ns much ns tho branding Iron. Rolatlvo to this -mnttor, tho Arizona station publishes tho following: "Hon. Will C. Barnes of Dorsoy, Now Mexico, formerly an Arizona cat tleman, has used this namo branding fluid undor range conditions and ox presses himsolf concerning Us uso as follows: "For tho mnn who, llko my self, ha3 from two to thrco hundred cnlvcs to brand at a tlmo, I can soo no way of using It successfully. " 'In branding tlmo on ray ranch wo usually cut out from two to thrco hun dred calves, put them Into a lano In tho corral, cutting cnlvos into ono pen and cows into another. Ono man grabs tho calf by tho right hind log. another grabs tho tall, glvos a quick Jerk and tho calf Is on his sldo with ono man holding his hind legs, and an othor on his neck. No soonor does ho hit tho ground than n man Is at him with tho Iron, while at tho Bamo tlmo another man marks and enstratos, and this year a third man dohornod with a cllppor. With two pairs of men to throw, ono to run tho IrouB, ono to cut nnd mark, and ono to dehorn, making aovon men In all, wo havo frequently branded out ninety calves In an hour and kept it up at that clip for throo or four hours. Now I tried tho branding fluid un der such conditions: I first put it into a milkpan and used a cold iron. It took a long tlmo for tho fluid to penotrnto tho hair, and finally ono vigorous calf kicked ovor my pan and spilled tho fluid all ovor tho legs of tho man holding him. That sottlod tho pan system, and I got a brush and palntod it on. That worked all right, but took tlmo. But tho worst fcaturo ot all was that crowding three or four hundred calves Into a small pen that way, they smeared and rubbed tho Btuff all ovor each othor, tho sides of tho corral and tho men's clothes. " 'Branding tlmo on n big ranch la a hurry-up period; everything Is In a rush. To uso tho fluid means to tnko just about ten times as long as by tho hot Iron syBtem.' " Rcugh Feed For Horses. Tho Wyoming station has mado somo oxperlmonts that domonstrato tho valuo of alfalfa hay as a horsu feed, says a government report, lu discussing tho subject of alfalfa for horses, tho California station9 says in effect that in regions where It Is tho Btaplo crop "tl'io quantity of protein that can bo supplied in groen and cured alfalfa is so great that much less grain Is required than whon tho coarso fodder consists of cereal hays only. For tho Pacific coast, whero cereal hays replaco so lnrgoly thoso from meadow grassos, tho station rec ommends a ration of alfalfa hay with wheat hay or barley hay or grain. In a recent discussion of horse feeding under local conditions tho Louisiana station has pointed out tho value ot cowpoa vine hay. Tho outcome of the different expoi Imonts is In accordance with tho ob servation ot .careful feeders, viz., that tho various common coarso fodders may bo fed to horses ob circumstances demand. Although timothy hay is in many regions regarded ns tho prefer ablo coarso feed, yet oxperlonco has shown that corn fodder, hay from iwheat, barley and other cereal grains and from clover and alfalfa, may be substituted for it. That this Is what might bo expected Is shown by a study of tho composition ot these feed ing stuffs. They rosomblo ono another very closely lu tho character and amount of nutrients thoy contain. Al falfa, clover and tho other leguminous hays aro richer In protein than tho cured grassos and cereal forago. Straw Is not much fed to horses in the United States, but Is a aoinmon feed ing stuff In Europe. As shown by Us composition and digestibility, It com pares qulto favorably with other coarso fodders. In accordance with tho general principle, tho substitution of one coarse fodder for another lu a ration should always be made on a bnsis of composition and digestibility, rather than pound for pound. Our Poultry. According to tho census of three years ago, tho United States has 233 million chickens, 6 million turkeys, 5 million goeso and 4 million ducks. The odd thousands aro not given, as the millions aro near enough. It will bo seen thnt our common barnyard fowl Is a good ways in tho lead. In tho matter of chickens, the loading stato Is Iowa, which Is credited with 18 millions. Illinois comes next wltb 1C millions, and sho is closoly followed by Missouri with 14 millions. Ohio is also credited with 14 millions and T&xas has 13 millions. Indiana, Kan sas and Pennsylvania havo each over 10 millions. Tho smallest showing was mado by Alaska, which reported only 176 chickens. In tho total value of poultry and oggs produced durlns tho census year Illinois led, and was followed by Iowa and Mlssourl'in tho order named. For tho census year tho value of all tho eggs produced in tho United States was 144 mllllocs and of poultry products 13C millions.