KING DON;
A STORY OF MILITARY tiff. If! INDIA.
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CHAPTER III. (Continued.)
"Pardon mc," snld Don and now ho
was bo thoroughly In earnest It never
occurred to him the accusation might
Justly have been brought against him
not so vciy long ago "I lovo Lllllo
too much to have dreamed of taking
her from luxuries to which sho Is ac
customed. She loves me, and I repeat
my right to claim her."
Ho toEsed nway the stump of his
cigar nnd turned to look nt hla com
panion with haughty defiance tlmt
proud air of majesty which had put
fear and trembling Into the heart or
many a raw recruit.
Dut Captain Derwent was no raw re
cruit, but a very veteran In affairs of
love and war, nnd ho could afford to
meet Don's calm nonchalance with nn
equally cnlm smile.
"My dear chap, I'm extremely sorry:
but tho child Is under ago Just yet, and
as I happen to have mapped out n moro
brilliant career for her, I'm afraid I
must emphatically veto that claim or
yours."
"A moro brilliant career?"' ropoa'tcd
Don, with young indignation. "Even
If you nro callous to my feelings, Cap
tain Dcrwcnt, have you no caro for
Lllllo'8 happiness? For I toll you sho
loves me," attested tho lover proudly.
"And, as frequently occurs, It's a
lady's privilege to change her mind,"
rejoined Lllllo's father, smiling. "As,
for example, my little Lllllo's short
lived affair with your Cousin Roddy,
not bo many years since."
"It is sufficiently long sinco to havo
completely changed tho Lllllo of thoso
days to tho Lllllo of to-day," said Don,
who, however skeptical hlmsolf of that
faith whoso belief had bo transformed
the thoughtless Lllllo of tho past, was
Hlnccro cnouch to acknowledge Its
charm In her.
"Sho loves mc as sho never loved
Roddy," affirmed Don, In his lmporlous
way; "and," ho added, meeting Cap
tain Dcrwcnt's oyca with a look that
was llko tho Hashing of crossed swords,
"I mean to win her."-
"Don't bo too sure, my friend," said
the Captain, laughing. "I g'lvo you tho
hint, you'll hnvo Prlnco Clement Sing
to reckon with ns well as myself."
Don stopped nnd wheeled round upon
his companion, llerco words bursting
through his sot teeth, an oath all tho
moro vehement because Don's Hps wero
not given to tho utteranco of them.
"What do you mean, sir? ho de
manded.
"That you are by no mcaus tho only
follow who has set his heart on posses
sing tho whito Lily," said Captain Dor
wont, uttering tho pet namo with airy
Jocularity.
Dut Don was In no humor for Joking.
"I think," ho said, In n proud scorn,
"It Is somewhat unfair to bracket mo
with Prlnco Clement Sing. I am In
deadly earnest nbout my deslro to mar
ry your daughter."
"And bo Is he, my good follow so
much In earnest, In fact, that ho has
my permission to pay his addresses to
iter may bo doing so this very mln
uto, Indeed," broko off Captain Dor-
went lightly.
For nn Instant Don glared at tho
speaker In speechless nmnzomcnt.
"You cannot mean It!" was tho
hoarso exclamation which nt last camo
from his whlto Hps.
I "And wheroforo?" queried tho other,
with aggravating coolness. "Though an
Indian, ho is by no means n pariah
Truth Is, ho has Irish bluo blood in
him, nnd could hold his own with tho
best of us as far as classics go. Moro-
over ho is as rich ns Croesus, has im
menso lnflucnco at Court; ho worships
tho very ground sho treads on, nnd
would make hor n princess."
Again Don stopped short In his walk,
and now his face showed pale as
death. "I would kill him nnd you too
beforo thnt should over hnppcnl" ho
cried.
acquisition to society, both In personal
appearance nnd high Intellectual stand
ing; nnd Lllllo would gladly have wel
comed tho diversion of his company
but that she was consumed by tho fear
that his visit portended to mattcru con
cerning herself.
And sho was not long' In discover
ing such to bo tho case.
"You did not honor tho course, to
day, Miss Dorwont. I looked for you
in vain," he said.
"No. I was in a mood for a solitary
ride," oho answered".
'I trust that does not mean my pros-
enco Is Inopportune, dear lady?"
Sho smiled, blushing slightly.
"By no means, Prlnco, for now my
rldo Is over," was her polite reply.
"Then I mny vcnluro to Invito my
self Indoors, I hope," ho queried.
'I am not quite auro If you will find
Mrs. Franklin nt home," sho began.
Hut Prlnco Clement Sing looked
straight at her, with a glanco from his
black eyes that brought tho color Hood
ing to her face.
"Your presenco Is nil-sufficient," ho
said, bowing low, as ho swerved his
horso nsldo to allow her to pass
through tho gato beforo him.
Arrived at tho bungnlow, ho waved
the attendant back and himself assisted
her to alight, a condescension which
embarrassed her nil tho moro, ns tho
prlnco took occasion to command that
Mrs. Krnnk!ln should not bo summoned
for the next quarter of an hour, as It
was With Lllllo herself ho desired n
prlvato Intervlow.
Lllllo passed Into tho drawing room,
alarmed nt whnt she Instinctively know
was to bo tho subject of that inter
view; but fearful to glvo offense by re
fusing It.
And when tho prlnco Joined her It
wna nnparent ho meant to wasto no
tlmo In going straight to her mission
Ho had left his sword and belt in
tho vestibule nnd removed his gloves,
nnd now he took his hoatcBs' hand and
led her to n sent, with n deferential
ceremony.
"Ah, there is tho cver'.ng gun!" sho
exclaimed, for tho deporato sako of
saying something to break tho strain.
"In ten minutes moro it will bo dark
"Ah, yes; we havo no enthralling
twilight as you havo In England, Miss
Dcrwcnt," ho nnswercd softly, and with
n tone of regret moant to bo covertly
flattering to her nationality. "Well,
no matter, ten minutes will suffice mo
I CHAPTER IV.
Stranco to sav. It was almost at
that 'solf-Eamo moment Lllllo Derwont
nt Rawnl Plndl, waB listening to Prlnco
Clement Slng'a suit. Tho afternoon
siesta, so gouoral and necessary an In
dulgence throughout India, was over,
and Homo hour and a half later Lllllo
was returning from n ride, nttended
by her natlvo groom, when sho was
Joined nt tho gato of tho compound by
tho Prlnco, who was also on horso
back, and escorted by two natlvo
troopers.
Tho fierce heats nnd moist seasons ot
India had not as yet robbed Lllllo's
checks of their English rosea, and sho
was looking particularly fair In hor
plain brown hollaud hnblt, beautifully
cut nnd braided with white, pleasantly
BUggcstivo of comfort nnd coolness.
Her hat was a largo whlto straw,
with a long, whlto ostrich feather,
which suited to perfection hor clear
cut profllo nnd tho thick colls of hor
fair hair. Her light riding gauntlets
worn of whlto deerskin, and tho
Prince's admiration of tho hand bo
covered was only too ovldent by tho
pressure to bestowed upon It.
Ha himself woro whlto undress uni
form and n sun lint, so llko n numb
room that It would havo boon trying
In the oxtremo to an ordinary wearer,
but seemed to set off his dark, good
looking features with an Air ot dis
tinction. Indeed, Print Cleawat Sing was an
to Bay what ah, what I would havo
said to you long beforo today, but that
I feared to bo precipitate."
"Then I am sure, prince, It is best
left unsaid still," sho nnswercd, with
great earnestness.
"Surely you do not forbid mo to
Bpcnk?" Ho regarded hor haughtily.
"I should riot presume- to do that,"
sho hastily rejoined. "I merely on
treat"
"What?" ho asked, with cold dis
pleasure for she had stopped short,
flushing.
"I feel sure your highness means to
bo kind nnd friendly and llattorlng; but
but" Again sho hesitated.
Prince Clement Sing looked down,
frowning, and n dark flush swept his
copper-tinted face.
"Dut you do not esteom it an honor,
I presume, that I should lovo you?"
Thoro was asperity In his voice.
"Too great an honor," sho averred
His frown nnd flush passed. Ho bent
towards hor and took hor hand.
"Tho honor la divided," ho said gal
lantly. If l give you tho crown of a
princess, you glvo mo tho fairest flow
er of English maidenhood n flower
that all the jewels In India could not
buy."
Sho tried to withdraw her hand.
"Your highness flutters mo too mucii;
but what you ask is impossible," sbe
raid, very low.
Ho roso with an air of Impatience.
"Impossible, you say, nnd to mo?"
She roso nlso.
"I venturo to hopo to retnln your
friendship, prlnco, as I triiBt you will
not reject mine?"
"Friendship?" ho repented.
Ilo dropped her hand almost roughly
and stroflo to tho window.
At Inst ho turned. "This Is lnsuf
f cranio!" ho said, and now thoro was
passion In his volco. 'I have your fath
er's permission to address you, and I
demand a hearing!"
"Hut you havo already addressed mo,
nnd I havo listened," sho Bald, trem
bling, but outwardly cnJm. "I nm
ovorcomo by your highness' condescen
sion, but I could never bp vour wife.
I do not lovo you. And besides" sho
looked down, blushing, nt the gold
band encircling tho third linger of hor
left hand "nnd besides, slnco my fath
er loft Plndl, I havo become engaged
to Cnpt. Gordon of tho DorbyB."
Tho Instant hor lovor's name had
left her lips sho regrotted It.
How might not a baffled suitor llko
tho prlnco wield his high authority to
wreak Yngcanco ou "Jiothcr aspirant
to her hand?
But Prlnco Cloment Sin was regard
ing her with n look moro nlfin to pity
than anger in his piercing eyes.
"And you would relinquish the splen
dor I lay at your feet for Capt. Gor
don?" he said, in tones of Incredulity.
"Because I love him," shn nnswercd
bravely, looking up Into his faco, whllo
n wave of crimson color niado her own
fair features for the mo.mont even moro
bewltchlngly fair to look upon.
Prlnco Clement Sing was having
hard work with himself to keep his nd
mlrntlon within bounds, nnd tho sight
of thnt blush nil but overcame his
self-control. But his English educa
tion had done much to subduo his
naturally fiery spirit, and ho know suc
cess lay, not in passion, but persever
ance.
"But, Miss Dcrwcnt, much na I ad
mire your constancy and, of couree.
so long ns you consider yourself en
gaged to Capt. Cordon my Hps nro
practically closed still, I am driven
to remind you love Is not everything.
Position nnd rank nro something. A
lady Is privileged to change her mind."
Ho stopped, and sho seized tho oppor
tunity of speaking.
"I shall never change, Prlnco Clem
ent. After my God, thoro Is nothing
ranks higher with mo than love."
Ho took her hand, smiling n little to
hldo his chagrin.
"Then my only hopo must, no tnnt
love will yet tnkc pity nnd yield your
henrt to my prayers."
Again I repent It Is impossible; but
I thnnk you for tho great compliment
you hnvo paid me," sho said. "I trust,
Prince Clement, you will forgive nnd
forget me."
"No, I cannot promise to forget
you," was all ills reply, no stoou ior
nn Instant then, looking half away,
half mortified, almost as If uncertain if
ho should part with her In this seem
ing friendliness or In open rupture.
Tho former courso evidently pre
vailed, for ho bent over the hand ho
held, nnd hla thick, black moustacho
brushed Its snowy whltoncss.
"If I enn over bo of sorvlco to you,
you may rely on me," ho said. And
bowing low ngaln In response to Lll
llo's farewell, ho passed from tho room
with steady stops and head erect. But
hidden deep down In his brenst was
tho gathering fury of a maelstrom.
Within tho drawing room, Lllllo
went to tho window overlooking tho
tcrrnco, and, screened by tho bamboo
nnd silk curtains', watched him mount
and rldo awny.
Her heart was beating wildly, not
with exultation nt tho honor tho
prlnco had done her, nnd which, not
so mnny yenrs ago, would havo flllcd
her coquettish vanity with delight
no; but with atrango feelings of un
rest, with regret, and with presenti
ment of evil.
She fell on her knees In tho gather
ing darkness, and a great yearning
camo over her for tho fair English
homo of her youth, and hor father and
Don by her side In Its beloved sanctlly.
And, all unconsciously, whilst sho
prayed for their speedy return, hot
tears welled up Into her eyes nnd fell
on her clasped hands. Alas! for sho
knew not how great was yet to bo her
need of thoso prayers and tears!
(To bo continued.)
RUSSIA'S INVASION Of SOUTHERN ASIA.
Tibet and Afghanistan might well
be called one of the world's sore spots.
It has long been known that tho Rus
sian bear has had designs on this Him
alayan territory nnd would llko to
poko an aggressive paw down Into
these disrupted llttlo kingdoms It onco
tho opportunity presented Itself.
Russia seemed to think tho chance
had come whnn sho saw Great Britain
engaged' ln an unexpectedly serious
struggle with the South African Boor.
England had spent much blood nnd
money to extend the northeastern bor
der of her Indian empire up ncross tho
Himalayas. For two dofades she has
been carrying on small tribal wars
ONLY A YELLOW DOO.
lnltliful Cnnliio Frlcmt Whoao DejUli
CiiiiidiI Sorrow.
"I lost n faithful friend nnd helper
n few dnys ngo," said n letter carrier,
whoso route lies below Canal street,
to n Now Orleans Timcs-Domocrat
man. "Ho was n yellow dog, and
must confess his appearance was not
exactly er prepossessing. Ills hldo
wns tho color of cheap soap, and ho
had tho disreputable, skulking, tramp
lsh bearing peculiar to yellow dogs
generally, but for nil that ho was
gcntloman nt henrt. Wo met In the
way ot business. His owner was what
letter carriers call a 'throw-out;' In
other words, ho lived two extra long
squares from his nearest neighbor and
to deliver tho mall ho received every
day Involved n four Bquaro walk for
each batch. Four squares means u good
deal to a tired carrier, and as a rulo
throw-outs' aro anything but popular
with tho craft; but soon after I took
tho routo tho yollow dog got to know
my whistle, and would come rushing
to tho corner to get tho mall. Ho kopt
that up steadily, rain or shine, for over
n year, nnd novor missed n trip. What'
more, ho showed n prido and Interest
In tho task that wero really half hu
man. Sometimes, tor lnstanco, he
would bo a llttlo Into nnd find mo on
!ho way to tho house when ho got out
of tho yard. Then It wns comical to
sco htm como tearing up tho street,
every hnlr bristling, and Baying as
plainly ns ho could, 'Stop, hold on!
I'm hero! Don't budgo nnothor Inch!'
On such occasions ho would always In
sist on going back to tho comer, which
was tho only plnco ho recognized of
Hclally for tho delivery of mnll matter.
You can Judgo whether I became at
tached to him. Often ho would bo
waiting for nioi cocking hlij head to
0110 aldo and feeling his Importnuco
from his yollow stump of a tnll to his
yellow stump of a noso. If I had
nothing for him ho Bhowcd his dejec
tion nnd disappointment ns plainly ns n
man, but as soon as ho saw mo sort a
few letters ho would glvo n sharp, Joy
ous bark that sounded enough llko a
laltgh to be tho real thing. Whon his
owner nlet mo tho othor day nnd told
mo ho wns dead I couldn't say n word
to snvo my life. I turned around nnd
walked off, and boforo I know It I wns
blubbering llko n fool,"
officer for tho snke of his health
tho white bear waited. Now that
England has her hands full In South
Africa, this same Insatlnble bear re
alizes that If over thoro was t tlmo for
her to move It Is the present. So this
is why wo hear of Russlnn ndvances In
tho cast and vague reports that Tibet
nnd Afghanistan arc being threatened
by the Slav.
Just how It will come out It Is Im
possible to tell. If Englnnd retains
her full Influence nnd all tho territory
sho now claims and holds as her In
dian empire, It will bo through no fault
of the Russian. Russia realizes that
tho tlmo to make hay has arrived and
But has no scruple whatever about punish
ing, to tho full extent of her powor,
nny Individual of tho opposlto sex thnt
hnppens to be Inferior to her In slzo
or strength. So strong Is this unwil
lingness to strike n fcmnlo that few
male hounds will attack n sho wolf
or oven follow her trail. Something
of tho same deference to the gentler
sex mny be seen nmong horses. Al
though n horso jvlll promptly nttnclc
nny other horse thnt may lntcrfero
with him, either In tho field or In har
ness, ho will very seldom attack a
marc. Farm horses, which cannot bo
worked nlongsldo of any other horso
on account of their savage tempers,
" """" PEMDIBINCO PAS3
llonte of I.oit Tronure.
It la computed that there- Is (1,000,
000,000 worth of gold and Jewels at the
bottom of the sea on tho route botweou
England and India.
A double-faced man ean see In only
one direction.
and sending out punltlvo expeditions
among tho tribesmen of tho northeast
ern hills. Sho had pushed her strate
gic railways In tho north of India
nearer and nearer tho land of her de
sire.
Russia, in her own territory, has
been working Just as hard. Tho czar
has for a long tlmo been anxious to
consolidate his claims In tho east, and
with this end In view, has been quietly
massing troops on his southern fron
tiers in Asia. It was only In tho year
1872 that tho zones of lnflucnco of Rus
sia, Afghanistan nnd east India wero
settled between tho cabinets ot St. Pe
tersburg and London, yet today they
nro moro menacingly Indefinite than
ever before.
Afghanistan and Tibet nre tho llttlo
buffer Btatcs between tho two contend
ing nations, or, rather, empires. All
borderlands aro turbulent districts.
Ono of theso llttlo buffer states may,
perhaps, bo ground out of exlstenco be
foro tho Asian border Is really settled
Upon. But tho two giant Imperial
millstones will find both Tibet nnd Af
ghanistan a very hard flint pebble to
grind.
Chltrnl and Swnt and Wazlrlland
and Kafliiatan nre properly a border
land between British India and Af
ghanistan, and, though at ono tlmo
supposed to belong to tho latter, aro
now coming to bo calmly looked upon
as out nnd out British territory. Tho
unicer ot Arghanlstan, however, Is al
so under tho thumb of tho czar of Rus
sia. Tho ameer Is equally afraid of
England. Yet, slowly but surely, Rus
sia has been working her vpy down,
to "tho roof of tho world," as this ter
ritory Is called, nnd from tho desolato
heights ot tho Pamirs sho has been
casting longing cye3 upon tho fertile
Indus valley.
Chltral Is at present the apex of tho
British wedge. It is tho ono border
Btato that touches tho Russian frontier
nnd the Chinese at th'o same time, it
Is tho British Indian wedgo driven nnd
forced up Into tho heart of tho Asian
continent to meet nnd chock tho
npexes of the other great Imperial
wodges drlvon down In tho opposlto
direction. When tho ameer of Afghan
istan propared to seize both Chltral
and Jandol, soma tlmo ago, nnd Russia
was considered as ready In turn to
solzo them nil, Downing street put Its
thinking cap on and woke up to the
gravity of tho Indian situation. A
British forco was dispatched to Chl
tral to censtltuto a permanent garri
son there and to keep tho throne of
the reigning sovereign secure. A mili
tary road was opened up from Pesha
war and a subsidy was settled on tho
mohtar, thus making him n vassal ot
tho coy and cunning British Indian
omplro. Russia watched all theso
moves uneasily, Sho realized thnt an
open frontier clash would bo unwise,
nnd bo rosortod to her usual wily Slav
diplomacy. Sho assumed an nttltudo
ot Injured Innoconco and proclaimed
that presence ot any strange officers
who might bo found, In disputed ter
ritory' should bo looked upon us merely
in exouftlon on the part of any such
only some unforeseen contingency will
keep tho czar's scytho long suspended.
KlielW Four Miles In the Air.
The power of tho modern gun Is a
thing that cannot bo grasped. The 100-
ton projectile strikes with a force equal
to 4G5.000 eleven stono men Jumping
from a height of ono foot. When tho
81-ton gun Hres a Bhot twelve miles it
is fired at such an angle that the shell
goes up to a height 5,482 feet higher
than Mt. Blanc. Big guns havo been
longer In uso than most people think.
In tho year 1478 they had guns called
"bombards" which threw n projectile
weighing a qunrter of a ton. They
were wider nt tho muzzle than nt tho
bore, and were used for battering
buildings. The English used big guns
at the battle of Crecy, and amazed the
French, who had never Been such
weaponB before. Answers.
Chivalry of I.ovrer Anliuili.
Tho chivalry of man. toward woman
finds a duplicate in the lower animals
and, except In rnro enscs, tho male
always treats tho female kindly. It is
rarely that a dog will bite a female, ex
cept In tho cxtromcst need of self
dofensc, though tho female, as n rule,
may be safely yoked In double harness
with a mare. Marcs, on the other hand,
will attack their own or tho opposlto
sex without the slightest hesitation.
I'uro Tunnel Air.
Tho entire railway world will prob
ably profit by recent experiments niado
In connection with tho smoko in tun
nels. Tho Eceno of the experiments
was a long tunnel not far from Genoa,
through which some 200 trains pass u
day, leaving an Immonso amount of
smoke. Two methods wero tried. First
compressed nlr was used. Large cyl
inders of steel were filled with air and
compressed to 750 pounds to the square
Inch. These wero placed in the tender
of the locomotive. In passing through
tho tunnel the air was allowed to es
cape. Tho pure air blow back tho
smoko and purified tho ntmosphore.
Tho second method was with com
pressed oxygen. This was allowed to
escape through tho cylinders Into tho
fires of the engines, causing comploto
combustion, and preventing the forma
tion ot dangerous gases as well as
making tho nlr purer by tho nddltlon
of tho oxygen. Tho compressed air
method Is to be ndoptcd, as it is cheap
er and almost as good a3 the oxygen.
A WAR MM IN SOUTH AFRICA.
One of the many colebrated English
physicians who have volunteered for
sorvlco In a non-combatant capacity
during tho South African war Is Sir
William MacCormac.who has beon ren
dering valuable service to the British
wounded at Pletermarltzburg. Tho Il
lustration shows tho famous surgeon
In his Jinrickisha, being pulled about
by a native runner in fact, going out
on a dally round of Inspection. Sir
William MacCormac was present at
tho battle of Colenso and afterwards
operated on many of tho wounded,
while ho was consulted In most of tho
moro difficult cases. He highly praised
tho all but perfect arrangement of tho
British for tho prompt nnd effectlvo
succoring of tho wounded nt tho front
nnd nil along the Hnetf of communica
tion and atatod that tho field hospital
resulte reflected special credit on' the
volunteer ambulance corps.
