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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1900)
f?K?KT?5S KOUK t 4 K'N KING DONs A STORY OF MILITARY LIFE IN INDIA. BY MAVOR K?t'K'i 'it'? Kn aJ. n J. !. 'I. CHAPTER VIII. "Ho Is hero to answer!" As tho Prlnco spoke thotso fateful words Lllllo turned and would have llown to Don's side; but at sight of his faco sho stopped short, paralyzed with amazement or fear or anguish. Whluh was It? Had she followed tho first Im pulse to fly to him and beg hlra to deny this vllo slander, what might Don's an swer not have been? But ho saw her hesitation and that spasm of conflict ing emotions which swopt her face, and ho strodo forward, llko a man who knows his doom pronounced and boss recklessly to meet It, realizing there Is no escape "I havo heard, and I will answer," camo his deep, rich tones. Ho spoko no other words of greeting to his untoward visitor. Ho looked neither nt him nor his wlfo, but straight before him, as If ho saw writ ten there tho self-denunciation ho was fated to speak. "It Is truo that I was with Captain Dcrwont at tho time of death; that in a moment of paBslon I had pointed my rovolvcr at his breast; but, as heavon Is abovo us, I know It was not my shot, but a robel bullet, which killed hlm. "An accomplice, perhaps?" suggested tho Prince, with a sneer. Lllllo had spoken no word. Sho stood ns motionless as ono turned to stono; and though he would not moot hor eyes, Don felt them to bo fixed upon him with in agony that was hardor to bear than tho fiercest words of accusation. "Sir" Don wheeled round now upon his adversary, and his voice grew harder and stronger "what I Old I toll you was dono In a moment of passlon-r-ii moment I shall rcgrot to my last hour. I do not know by what means yon havo got your Information; but to nccuso mo of taking his llfo In cold blood I will not suffer and I defy you to provo his death was by my hand I" "I havo no doslro to provo It fur ther," was tho contemptuous reply of tho Prlnco, whoso calm complalsanco now was ns lntonso as was Don's hot passion. "I havo not tho shadow of a doubt I could do so It I chose. My faithful sepoy, who followed you when you left Plndt tor tho camp, nhd shad owed every stop you took whilst you woro there, could testify to each word of your last convorso with Captain Dorwent. Ho could tell how you de clarcd you would kill both myself and Captain Dcrwont sooner than allow this lady to bocoino my wlfo." Ho bowed to tho motionless Lllllo. "Ho could swear that, when Captain Derwont repeated his refusal to your own suit, you deliberately fired your rovolver, and ho fell at your feet, cry ing; 'For Lilllo's sake, Cordon, havo M carol' All that I could provo. Can you deny It?" For ono Instant thero was tonso si Unco, then Don's voice camo, stratnod and hard: "If your sopoy could provo all this, why did ho not como into camp and denounco mo boforo tho whole army? And for what purpose was ho follow ing mo from Plndl, may I ask?" "You may." And tho Prince's smllo was not a pleasant one to see. "You must know, Captain Cordon, where ono of our royal liousa loves, it Is not ens tomary for nnothor man to lift his eyes. My Jealousy of you was roused, nnd my sopoy was sent to watch you and warn Captain Dorwent of my dis pleasure. As for your first question, your movomontB woro a sccrot with 1dm alono until ho had my sanction to dlvulgo them. Ho will novor receive that sanction, for now, with this un fortunato marriage, my Interest in tho subject has waned. You mny rest ns oured you are frco to pass as an lion orablo soldier for the rest of your nnt ural llfo." The supremo sarcasm of tho Prlnco's wordB was lost upon tho haggard man who faced him. "Since you aro so gonerons," said Don, with eoino calm scorn In his voice also, "I fall to sco tho objoct of such refined cruelty In bringing about this this painful and untimely scone." His tones broke a little In splto of lilmsolf, The Bight of LIHIo'b lmmov ablo features was killing him. "My object" and now Prlnco Cle ment Sing laughed shortly nnd. moved to tho doorway "my object was mcro ly to bring homo your guilt to you, and to humiliate yonder foolish cren turo, who might havo been a princess, nnd has mudo herself tho wlfo of a Col on. I have tho honor to bid you both adieu." "Stayl" Don's voice shook wlth'tho frenzy of his pasBlon, "I will allow no man, not ovon Prlnco Clement Sing, to call mo by that namo! Your sopoy shall be mado to own It as a por Jury I" "Find him and provo that, by all means, If you can," was tho sneering answer; "for who will bellevo that tho shot to which you havo confessed was not, as ho says, tho shot which causod Captain Derwent's doath? I repeat, your Ignoble secret Is safe with me." Tho Prince waited for no reply. For a long moment thero was sllonce a sllcnco full of tho bitterness of death. ' !' ' ' ALLAN J xjv l l i A i r A Lllllo Btlll stood thorc motionless, It seomed almost without breath or bo Ing. Sho was not looking at Don any longer now. Her blue eyes wero gaz ing Into vacancy, with an expression of horror in them, as if they gazed In reality upon that ghastly Bceno tho Prlnco had painted her husband's re volver pointed nt her father's breast. Tho allonco nnd the angulBh of it all grew mora than Don could bear. "Llille!" ho cried. Sho mado no movement. It was as If sho had become unconscious of- his presence or oven llfo itself. "Lllllo! For mercy's snkc, Lllllo, look at me! Lllllo! Lllllo!" Ho had gone to hor side now and touched hor cold hand, and nt tho touch sho swayed a llttlo and would havo fallen scnscleas, but ho caught hor In his arms and laid her on tho low divan. Ho threw himself on his knees beside hor, and looked nt her with his breath coming In hard, quick gasps. Despair and shame overwhelmed him to suffocation, and paramount through it all camo tho proud fear for that solf which had hitherto ovor been first with him all his llfo long tho bcU for which ho had often sacrificed tho happiness of others or wufl-nlgh for feited honor, for which at last In n moment of frenzy ho had even sold hU soul. Ho saw himself in thnt awful mo ment for what ho was, and oven with Captain Dorwcnt's dead body at his feet ho had failed to see himself. Scorned and shamed boforo men, It brought near to him another tribunal, higher nnd all-powerful, at whoso por tals ho must needs stand at tho last day, and ho bowed his head In tho lit st real prayer that had over rent bis bleeding heart. "My Cod, my Jod, bo merciful!" How would nhe for whom ho had sinned look at him when those closed eyes opened? Would sho not shrink from his touch as from some unclean thing? Would hor lovo not fall bo foro this blow ho had c'oalt It, or was It that lovo possessed of a dlvlno pity which would not tarn oven from tho hand that struck It? Ho took tho Ivory fan which had dropped from her nerve less fingers nnd watted It softly over her palld face. Her long, thick lashes quivered, tho whlto oycllds opened ut last, and her blue eyes wero looking Into his. Ho covered hli faco with his hands nnd bowed his bead on tho cushion be side her, for ho could not daro to look nt her now. Sho put out a trembling luind and touched his thick brown hair. "Don," sho whispered faintly, "tell mo It Is not truo!" "I cannot!" Tho honrso reply pierced her very soul. Her hand dropped. Sho burst Into sudden and passlonnto wocplng. With a strong effort Don recovered his self-control, and spoke with labored Intensity. "It wns not my ulrot thnt killed him as Cod is my Judge, I swear to you It was not: but, in a fit of nnger, I fired, nnd It might havo killed him. Ho Insisted you woro to marry that dark follow, and ho would not listen to me, nnd I lost my head. Lllllo, Lll llo! don't look llko that! Don't! I cannot bear It!" Sho had stayod her convulsive sobs, nnd her bluo eyes woro regarding him In a way that madu his proud lips quiver. "You did that, yet you came back to mo and told me nothing of It, and you mado mo marry you!" Tho words broko from hor In low, haltlug son tenecs, aa it they choked her to uttor them. "Lllllo, bo merciful! It wns my lovo for you thnt mado mo reckless. What good would It havo dono to toll you nf our quarrol? For I never dreamt you would como to know of It." "Oh, why did you mnko mo marry you?" sho walled. And now sho broke down onco moro nnd wept bitterly. "Lllllo!" ho crlod, bcsldo hlmsolt with remorse and aufforlug, "you don't believe me guilty of his death? Don't tell mo you doubt mo!" "I do not doubt you," aha spoko nt Inst; "but you havo deceived mo, nnd oh, Don, It han broken my henrt!" Ho looked nt hor wildly, and seemed to realize, with a now bcuso of deso lation, that It was Indeed true. Ho hnd Bhattorod ullko her faith In him and her lovo. "Oh!" he crlod out, "If you had lovod mo nB I lovo you, you would under stand and bo pitiful!" "I do lovo you," she answered bro- kouly "you es you should bo, ns God meant you to be, not what you aro." Don't!" lift cried ngaln. "Oh, If you only know what a purgatory romorso has mado my llfo ovor slnco that fatal night, you would pity mo and for givul" "I do forgive you," sho suld, after a silence that seemed nn otomlty to tho man who hung upon her words; "but llfo can novor bo tho snmo. again nover, novor!" Sho staggered to hor tcot nnd duns back tho long strands of her flaxen hair from her faco with a despairing goaturo, With a wild rush of memory It had dawned upon her tltul this was her wedding day, nnd that in an hour's tlmo sho wns expected to leave hor maiden homo n bappy bride. Her woddlni day! Was It indeed only a few hov.rs slnco sho laid her hand in Don's nnd vowed that him she would lovo and cherish and oboy till death thom did part? Sho turned now and looked n't him, with tho misery of that remembrance writ largo upon her faco, and Don winced beneath that look as it sho had struck him a blow. "Oh, that wo could undo this day!" sho said. Ho knew then the thing ho dreaded had como upon him. Ho had lost her love, and ho was yet to loso horself. And a fierce despair fell upon him. Ho strode towards her and took her in a passlonnto embrace. "No, I will not let you say It!" ho cried hoarsely, "for I could not live -without you, Lllllo!" CHAPTER IX. Bombay at last! "Oh, tho terrible strain of thoso nights and days slnco the gurrlson of Rawal Plndl had bidden tho newly married pair "Cod speed," and that Journey had begun which should have boon ono nll-too-swlftly-passlng stream of happiness, and held nothing but the long-drawn-out ngony of tortured hours hours spent together In closest companionship, yot in which they wero kept npnrt by tho widest gulfs. Don thought thero could well bo nothing bitterer than that stago of tho Journey which was over. Tho forced Inaction on board tho trains, tho fierce satisfaction of arranging ovory llttlo detail for his wife's comfort, always with tho knowledgo that that right to do bo would all too soon ceaso to be his; tho constnnt strain to keep up ap pearances before servants nnd officials, tho utter Inability to break down the barrier of pain when they wero alone. Sometimes ho told himself It had been better to speak that last goodby at Bombay and prolong tho ngony no longer; but as a drowning man clings to the ropo of succor, ho had not tho courago to bo tho ono to cut tho cord which bound them. Sho hnd consented ho should tako her home, nnd ho would go through with It to tho bitter end. Ills thoughts never wont boyond that end. After their fnrewoll had been Bpoken, what mattered It wither he went? And now thoy wore on board tho big steamer at lust, and tho May day was dying In a golden hnzo over land and sea. Tho pilot had long since gone nshoro In tho tug steamer, and the great Indian land of glory and death was sinking fast astern Into tho vrorld of wnters. Lllllo stood on tho poop nnd looked her last upon It with a bursting heart. Sho had como hither a gay and happy girl, sho was going henco a broken hearted woman, a wifq In namo alone. Don was below, conferring with tho steward nnor.S their luggago and cab ins. Sho was freo to let fall thoso oalt tears sho hid from him with proud, Spartnnltko fortitude. If sho suffered, sho suffered In silence, and perhnps Don nover guessed how deep that suf fering was.. Ho camo up by and by, and found her still standing by tho taffrnll alone. Sho hnd checked her tears and recovered her habitual calm; but though she had drawn hor veil down, through Its thin texture Don saw how.palo and worn her lovely faco looked. "You aro tired," ho said, compasslon- ntcly. "Shall you go below at onco?" "I would rathor stay hero n while. I am not In tho least slcopy." (To bo continued.) SURVIVAL OF THE UNFITTEST. Iiutancei In Nature Where Gooi aim War to Seeming Kvll. A matter that has attracted tho at tention of all outdoor students for ages, nnd which Btlll remains unset tled, Is the fact that, although tho farmer wages n constnnt warfaro on weeds In .order thnt his crops may grow, tho food-bearing plnnts often fnll to seed fiultlon, but tho weeds nover. Tho moro noxious tho plant tho moro ccrtnln It Is to flourish, Bays a New England writer. What Is truo of tho plant world Is truo of bird nnd mnmmal llfo. Tho English sparrows, which nearly every ono hates, Increnso nt tho rato of millions yearly, In splto of rigid winters and bounty laws, whllo tho birds which add tho beauty of color and song to outdoor llfo nro tending to ward extinction, Tho frost that lm prisons tho grouse, by forming n crust over tho snowbank whero ho has sought shelter, at tho samo tlmo pro tects tho field mouse pest from his natural enemies. Tho snmo crust bears up tho wolf, whllo It practically lm prisons tho deer. Insect parasites kill tho gamo birds, whllo tho owl acorns to enjoy their companionship and cares not how thickly thoy swarm within tho cover of his plumage. Tho crows fly ovor morning anil evening from roosting to feeding place and re turn In llockii as great as those of a century ago. The ducks nnd geeso ro turn from tho south spring after spring with constantly thinning ranks. As tho custom writer puts It, tho chancos nro that a hundred years nonce, in tho dearth of game, tho lending sportsmen will bo wrangling over tho morlts their skunk dogs nnd bragging their bags of crows and sparrows. of Him lined Hmokclem l'owrtor. Ho That's n peculiar ring you nr weaving. Has It a history? Sho Yes, it'B n war relic. Ho Indeed! Tell mo about It, pray, Sho Oh, thoro isn't much to toll. I won It In my first en gagement. Chicago News. THE COMEDY OF IT. The Hennesseys and the Whlmpctts wero at it ngain. It was tho revival of nn ancient unpleasantness, and It hnd Its beginnings In tho fact thnt when Mick Hennessey, for reasons not nec essary to mention, was lnld off at the stockyards, Dill Whlmpett went In nnd took his Job. Immediately upon this, Nora Hennessey, as bad luck would have it, fell ill with rheumatism, nnd, whllo sho was In bed, llttlo Pat, who was 10, got into bad company, nnd tak ing tho bit in his teeth, ns young colts will now nnd then, ho ran away. It was thrco months beforo he turned up again at home, and when ho did ho had acquired a good deal of knowledge which n boy of 10 can do nicely with out. All of which tho Hennesseys laid at the door of tho Whlmpctts. Indeed and Indeed, when Mary Whlmpett ventured over to tho HcnncsscyB with a baking of warm bread thnt was whllo Nora Hennessey wns in bed sho got her trouble for her pains, and tho bread flung back at her. In the course of time both families would have been well enough pleased to havo fluttered a flag of truce, but n perverso fato attended all efforts at reconciliation. If tho grown folks wero in a mood for amity, tho youngsters gave each other bloody noses, nnd tho respective mothers, fierce ns tigresses, espoused tho pnrt of their young. Moreover, Mick got a place on tho Hul sted street lino ns grip driver, nnd the first thing ho did wns to run over the Whlmpctt's terrier. Tho terrier hnd been moro petted by tho Whlmpetts thnn any child they ever owned, and tho death was celebrated with solem nity. Tho Whlmpetts had, moreover, somo cause for envylngs. They wero better off than they hnd ever been beforo In their lives. They enjoyed tho dlstlnc tlon of a front flat, a piano, a new set of parlor furnlturo and somo flow ercd dishes 126 pieces, Including sclmltar-shaped dishes for tho rinds of baked potatoes. With ouch conven iences it is possible to live In nn cle gant manner. Jack Whlmpett had, moreover, gono to Cuba at tho call of his country, nnd though ho was now engaged in rolling barrels of sugar and flour from tho trucks of n wholesale grocery house he mado bold to wear his blue Jacket and buff lcgglns and tho slouch hat that suggested San Juan and other heroic episodes. But with tho Hennesseys It was different. They bad seen much better days, and it was not easy for them to forget it. When methods wero simpler, Mick Hennes sey had been n contractor and had mado money. But figuring got too close, finally, and Mick made blunders, lest his property and his reputntlon, and had the pain of seeing his family move out of their Imposing threo-story brick into an apartment beside tho Whimpetto. However, they still lived In tho shadow of prosperity, for Mrs, Hennessey's sister, Kate Cragln of Boston, had tho goodness to keep Rose marie Hennessey at tne convent, a fact which the HcnnessoyB flouted now and then before tho Whlmpetts, who Ecnt their brood to tho public school and had expectations of nothing hot er. "Keep you clear of that Roscmarle Hennessey!" warned Mrs. Whlmpett, speaking to her son tho day before tho girl's expected return. "Hch!" sniffed Jack. "I've no need to go to tho Hennesseys, I hope, to find n girl to my liking." "Say, there's others, ain't there, Jack?'' piped Dick, who knew things tho rest of tho family did not. Ho had seen Jack taking girls into lco cream saloons, big as life. Jack was a hand some fellow. His broad shoulders and sturdy legs, his big round head with Its clustering black curls, his bravo eyes and slmplo manner, wero calcu latcd to do execution, though, to be Just, ho was not vain. Tho Whlmpetts heard great goings on tho night of Roscmarlo Hennessey's return. Thero wero lights in all the windows, and the sound of fiddling, nnd nn ice-cream freezor from tho caterer's standing out in tho hall. The young Hennesseys paid full tribute to tho glory of tho occasion by running out In tho corridor, In their Sunday best, and sticking out their tongues at tho young Whlmpetts. Jack Whlmpett sat in his own house and endeavored to read the book ho had brought home from tho public It brary. It was a good book, but ho could not really understand It because of tho fiddling next door, which got Into his blood nnd mado his heart dance, though he forced his feet to keep perfectly still. Ho had no mind to let tho feet of n Whlmpett make merry to tho music of a Hennessey, Besides, as mentioned beforo, tho Hon- nesseys and the Whlmpetts had been at It again. It was a close summer night, nnd ho determined nt length, tho younger children being In bed, his mother nod ding over her paper, und his father not yot home ho was on a night shift at tho yards to go out for a llttlo air, Ho had to pass the HcnncsscyB' door to reach the stairs, and ho meant not to acknowledge tho merry-making by even u turn of the head. But thoro was such a glnra of light, such a babel of voices, such a whlshlng of starched skirts, that, because ho was not yot ono and twenty, he looked out of tho corner of his oyc and was lost. For till Is whnt he flaw: A tall, slender, smiling girl with raven black hair bruldcd about her head In tho most engaging fashion, a pair of bluest eyes, full of modesty ami merriment, u rounded throat, n pink and whlto skin, n fluttering whlto gown and somo pink roses. It wns altogether the prettiest thing Jack had over seen off tho stago, and ho stopped as It an enchantment had bcon cast over him, and from tho Bnfo gloom of tho hall stared upon this Lpparltlon. Somo ono spoko to tho lrl, but sho did not turn her head. Sho still looked in Jicks direction. Tho truth was, that half In shadow and half in whlto light, sho saw n young soldier, handsomer than any man sho had over beheld, looking at her from his loneliness, with eyes of apprecia tion nnd reverence. This mado the hnll much more Interesting thnn tho parlor, and she, too, moved by nn In clination for fresh air, left tho room where her friends were nnd stepped into the hall. No ono noticed her depnrture, nnd sho slipped nwny from tho door, then, feigning to refresh herself in tho draft that camo up tho stairway, sho covert ly observed tho soldier. Ho drew back further in tho shadow, then, after a pause, ho camo nearer to her. Sho looked at him frankly then, challeng ing him to speak. Tho sound of tho music Is gay, said he, accepting tho challenge. But his volco was qulto Bad. Ho had, In truth, never been to such a grand party as tho ono with which tho Hennesseys celebrated the homecoming of their daughter. Tho girl whirled about lightly on her slippered feet. "I can't keep still when I hear music llko that!" Bho cried. "I could danco nil night." "I couldn't sit still nny longer in my room," Jack confessed. "And I thought It would bo silly to got up and danco all by myself, so I concluded to go out for a wnlk." Tho music took a new turn, a caress ing measure. Tho two young peoplo stood near each other in tho dusky hall and listened, ho In his soldier clothes, sho in her perfumed white frock. Tho scent of tho roses sho wore stolo to their nostrils. Tho long hall invited them. Jack flung his hat on tho floor. "Como!" said he. Tho girl blushed, hesitated, harked to tho rhythm of tho waltz, and then laid her whlto hand on Jack's arm. They went waltzing in and out amid the shadows of the corridor. At the far end the music stopped. Tho girl sprang from Jack's arms, looked at him abashed. Just then Mrs. Dennis, who lived upstairs, camo along. "Mrs. Dennis," whispered Jack, "who is that girl in the whlto dress that just went In tho Hennesseys' door?" That?" said Mrs. Dennis. "Did sho havo bluo eyes and black hair? Why, that's Rosemarlo Hennessey, to bo sure, Jack Whlmpett, and not for you." Jack tossed his head and became audacious. "O, I don't know," ho said. It would bo impossible to describe tho amazement of the Hennesseys and tho Whlmpctts tho next day when they saw Jack and Rosemarlo boldly standing together In the hall talking. "It's a warm Sunday," said Jack. "Wouldn't you llko a tusto of lco cream, Miss Hennessey?" 'I would that, thank you, sir. But my mother may object." "ABk her." said Jack, and ho felt braver than ho ever did in Cuba. Rose marlo came back and shook her head. "Mother says no," said she. "I'll call again tomorrow," he re sponded, and he did. But there was still a refusal, and at homo ho wns bullyragged unmercifully. In fact, the wrath which tho Whlmpetts and Hen nesseys had hitherto poured upon ono another they now turned upon their outrageous offspring. But that did not keep roses from being thrown over the transom at RoBcmario'B feet, nor little paper boxes of Ice cream from finding their wny to her hand, nnd ultimately to her mouth. And to cap it all, ono night when Mick Hennessey was home, in walked Jack, with a daisy In his buttonhole, and stood up fatrnlght as a dragoon beforo tho frowning old man. "Good evening, Mr. Hennessey," enld he. Mick Hennessey took his plpo out ot his mouth and gavo a surly "Good evenln'." "I'd llko to cnll on Miss Hennessey, If you please, sir." "Well, you can't, bad cost to yeh,' responded Henncssoy, nnd turned his bark. "I've got n new place, air, and n rnlso in salary, nnd a promise of-Bomethlng better." "It'B less than nolhln' to me. Avo seen moro money thnn yo'll havo tho countln' nv If yeh live to bo a hunerd." "Very likely, Blr. But why may 1 not call on Miss Hennessey?" Ho sm';ed pleasantly, nnd somehow got oli Hennessey's eye, and becauso his ejts wero merry and tho turn of his cnlt was good, something got hold of old Hennessey's better self and ho broko into a smile so comprehensive that It fairly swallowed hlB face. "Git along wld ye, ye apalpcon! Como sec tho girl, If her mother's will In'. Yeh como of a good llghtln' fnm lly, I'll say that for ye." And tho next morning a girl In n fresh gingham gown, with n rose In her black hnlr, called on Mrs. Whim pett. "Hero's a little drawn work 1 did at tho convent, ma'am," said she, mod est and as soft as could be. "And 1 thought raaybo you'd havo tho good ness to accont tho samo from me." Sho looked up under her long lashes dep recntlngly. MrB. Whlmpott drew hack and trembled a little. Then she caught tho girl In her nrms and kissed her. "Como Inl" Bho said. "Sit dowii. You're Just tho ono to help mo plan a picnic. 1 was thlnkln' of nskln' your pa nnd ma!" And so the feud of tho Hennesseya nnd Whlmpetts died. Thero nro othor chapters to tho story, but It Is not nec essary to writo them. They can bo taken for granted. Chicago Trlbuno. HONESTY IN ALASKA. A Different Code of lithlci I'reTalU There Than In the Btatei. "Quito a dlfforcnt cod of ethics ob tain at Capo Nome," bo-M a young at torney, who hung out hla shlnglo In thnt metropolis last, summer, "from that which governs this pnrt of the country. Wo enn't look up men's rec ords, wo enn't test n man's honesty bo foro trusting him. Much has to bo taken for granted, and we rely a great deal on what la written In tho face. I was sitting in tho leading grog shop in Nome ono afternoon, busily making out tho deeds for tho transfer of the property on which tho 3.iloon was situ ated, when I felt something hit tho wnll Just abovo my head, nnd a bng of gold dust fell Into my lap. "Tako kecr o' thet fer mo, youngster," called out a drunken miner, who reeled out of tho" crowd about tho bar, In a voice as un steady as hla legs. "Tako keer o' thet till I call fer it." Thoro was at least $2,500 in the bag, but tho man was too drunk to nrguo with, so I put the stuff In my pocket nnd went on with my work. Later I labeled It, put It In the safe In my office, and nover thought ot It again for several weeks. Ono day n poor, desolate creature came stumb ling Into my room. Ills faco was tho picture of despair, ho was ragged and dirty, and hla hat had a great hole In it which emphasized his mlserablo ap pearance. 'Ain't yer got something thet belongs ter mo?' ho queried. 'What do you mean?' said I, recognizing him at onco aa the poor, reeling creature who had slung tho gold nt mo in tho saloon. 'Wnl,' ho explained, 'some time ago I went up tho beach and pan ned out nigh nbout $3,000 wurth of dust. 'Twa3 moro money than I over hnd In my llfo beforo, an' I mado up my mind I'd go homo ter my folks In southern California, and have a plea sant winter. But when I camo ter tho city I got Inter bad company. Wo drunk and drunk. I remember gottln' rid of 500 worth of tho stuff, and then I don't remember no more, save a sort of a glimmer of your face, an thought yor might know something of my dust.' While ho was tolling his story I had taken the gold out of the sate, and suddenly tossed it into his lap. I think I never saw a mora delighted man, and no ono can persunde him that ho is not a reader ot character." Weight ot Precedent. There is a story reported as hiving been told by Col. Fred N. Dow of Port, land, Maine, which shows well how cuatomary usage "broadens down from precedent to precedent." And no les3 plainly does it show tho weight ot tho exceptional precedent. Colonel Dow onco visited friends at Quebec, nnd while seeing the sights of the city nnd Its surroundings, he took a public car riage to visit tho Falls of Montmor ency. At a half-way houso on the road tho driver pulled up his horses and remarked, "Tho carrlago always stops here." "For what purpose?" asked tho colonel. "For the passen gers to treat," was the reply. "But none of us drink and we do not intend to treat." Tho driver had dismounted, and wns waiting by tho roadside. Drawing himself up to his full height he said, Impressively, "I have driven this carrlago now moro than thirty years, and this has happened but onsa before. Some tlmo ago I had for a fare n crank from Portland, Maine, by the name of Ncal Dow, who said ae wouldn't drink; and what was moro to the point, ho said ho wouldn't pay for anybody else to drink." The son found himself occupying tho same ground ns thnt on which his father had stood. HI Sarcasm. "Bruddern nnd slstnhs," sternly said good old parson Woollmon, after tho collection had been taken up on n re cent Sabbath morning, "beforo the hat waa dono parsed I expounded tho re quest dnt the congregation contribute nccawdln' to delr menna, and I Bho ex pectorated dat yo' all would chip In mngnnnlmoualy. But now, upon cx nmlnln' do collection, I finds dat do concocted amount contributed by do whole entire posso ob yo' am only do significant nnd pusillanimous sum of sixty-free cents. And at dls Junc tion dnr ain't no 'cnslon for yo' nil to look nt Brudder Slewfoot, what done circumambulated do hat around, In no such nusplclous manner; for, In do fust place, Brudder Slowfoot ain't dat kind ob a man, and, in the second place, I done watched him llko n hawk nil do tlmo muhself. No; sixty-free cents was all dat wns flung in; nnd I dess wants to say dat, in my humble opinion, In stead ob contribntln' accawdlng to yo' means, yo' nil contributed nccawdln' to yo' meanness. Do choir will now favor us wld delr rcg'Jar melodlons- ness. Harper s Bnznr. llnlllng un Umbrella. Tho proper way to roll an umbrella la to tako hold of tho ends of tho ribs and tho stick with tho namo hand, and hold them tightly enough to prevent their being twisted whllo the covering la being twirled around with the other hand. Uuatut Little r.oplc. The natives ot tho Andaman Islands, tho smallest peoplo in tho world, av erage thrco feet elovon Inches In holght and lsss than ac vpnty pounds In lVlsht.