NEBRASKA NEWG AND NOTES.
Items cf Greater or Lesser Impor
tanse Over the State.
Nebraska Cltv linn mailn tut mutual
tax lavy 8 pr cent lowar than l&at .
yoar.
Uttltd Drothren at Shelby liavo
lulil tho corner stone for tliolr new
church.
Tho farmers' elevator at York has
proved to bo a hlnhlj t&ceoHiful in
vestment. Ulg polithlcnl gttna, It Is said, linva
not drawn well at Nebraska Chfiutnu
quae this year.
Harncston, Gnu? county, Ik now
without a saloon, whereat old booaera
an.' In a millon atnt?.
Alnsworlh had a hall storm that
made Hinllhotuons ot twonty-soven
lights 111 tllQ BCllOOl hOUSf.
Out In Deuel county they are not
ting forty busholB of wheat to tho
aero and corn appears tho best over.
Klmor Duncan, a young man about
twenty-three years of age, wan arrest
ed at Hentrlee ohnrgea with bootleg
King. Many onstern pooplo are tills yoar
vlBltlng relatives and friends In Ne
braska and arc delighted with the
state.
A half-section of land two and a
hair miles west of Homingford waH
Hold for ?2! per acre. This samu Bold
for $3 per acre four years ago.
Ar.Fromont preparation Is bolnn
mado for the oponlng of the new $G0,
000 Young Men's Chrlatlon association
building during the week ending Sep
tember U.
As ovldonce that Dodgo county land
la not declining In value witness the
nle last week of a 400-acro tract In
Pleneunt Valley township at tho rate
of $110 per acre Is chronicled.
John Frcrlchs, of Gage county, a
prominent Gorman farmer, was kicked
In the stomach by a horse and se
llously Injured. While his condition Is
serious, It is thought ho will recover.
Klmcr, aged 18, and Charlos, aged
20, sons of David Jnmos, wero
drowned in the river six miles bolow
Nebraska City. The family roaldoa at
Mlnorsvillo. They had gone in swim
mlng. Miss Mnry Hooking was killed at
Lorton by a Missouri Pacific train as
she was making a crossing. Tho rond
had allowed tho weeds to grow so high
that approach cf tho trains could
not be seen.
Old friends and neighbors of tho
l'lonccm and Old Settlers' association
of Hint county have boon Invited to
attend the sixth annual rounlon and
picnic, which is. to bo hold In To
kaniah, August 22.
Division of Knox county is being
agitated again, tho plan being to dlvido
the county east nr.l west, and a peti
tion asking for a voto on it this fall
will soon bo presented to tho county
b'oaid for consideration.
.lay Webster, ago eighteen, a son
or Al Webster, a farmor living about
llftoen miles north of Tokamah along
the rlvor, was drowned la tho Mis
souri. Ho was a good swimmer, but
never rose after he Jumped Into tho
river.
August 25 and 20 tho Northwestern
Nebraska Dental Bocloty will moot In
Hustings for Its soml-annunl mooting.
This society la ono of tho strongest In
the state, comprising about twelve
counties and tho cities of Grand Island
and Kearney.
Many Hcatrlco pcoplo read with
regret regarding the removal of Union
Pacific headqunrtors from lloatrlco to
Marvsvllle. Kas. Tho compnny em
ploys about WO mon In Ddatrico and
tho Commercial club will do all In lis
nowor to' provent such n change.
Practically every section of land in
Sioux county Is now lllod and lias a
bona lido resident on it. Uororo tho
Klnkald law was passed thin laud was
nil the ranco of a fow cattlo com
iianlos. Tho entrymon are raising
splendid crops ot all kinds on tho
land, which has similar soil to east
ern Nebraska, and relinquishments
are hard to buy at any pi Ice.
Ingersoll Uros., who are slaking a
deep woll for Gilbert K. Hanks oa his
innn south of Nebraska City, are down
in it (lentil of 1.000 foot and have
struck several traces of oil and thoy
Iiiivh encountered a number of layers
of shale, which Is encountered above
oil Holds. Their well is dry and ex
, nsct to co tho depth of 2,000 foot. Mi-
Hanks is not bring for oil. but Is alter
a big How of artesian wator to supply
his homo and farm.
Tho Omaha Corn exposition has ar
rnnirod to hold an agricultural con
gress during the oxposltlon this win
ter. Plans nro made for a numner o
noted sponkors. Among them will be
William J. Hryan, Zoferlno Domln
quoz of Pueblo, Mex.; Judge 11. K.
Doemer of Red Oak, la., Judge of the
imm-nmn court of lOWU: Governor
rmnnilns of Iown. Editor Henry Wal
lace. Governors Hnehtol of Colorado,
lioch of Kansas and Sheldon ot No
bruska.
Snlll. a Doatiico pacing horso, pur
chased some time ago by C. II. Dixon,
has been doing some fine work slnco
being taken onst. The other day he
was third In tho 2:08 paco at Knlama
xoo, Mich., tho time of the heats being
2:02, 2:00, 2:Q3Vt. 2:0C.
The rocrd prlco for land valuos in
Cuming county was reached a few
days ago in the sale of a quarter aec:
tlou In lleomer township owned by T.
C. Kirk to Uonjamln Martin of Illinois
ttt a ptio of 522,000 for the quarter, or
$1-10.01 per acre. Thla la the highest
yrlo ever obtained in Cuming county
for ordinury agricultural land.
TV
,r ' nriNi; i?FyMiiJis,crcNCE$ or exciting
g PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ojMONSIEUR ANTOIND
MWTIN. filrVlCRAl. DIRECTOR, of the SURVEIEEANCB
DBPARTMnNT- XilRONICLBDljy fhoCHDVALICR WILLIAM LB Of BUX
(Qupyrlght, lfW, by W. Q Chapman.)
AS I GOT LEVEL WITH
i urz n i
THE
CASCADE OF GOLD
I was sitting one bright afternoon on
the terrace oulsldo the Cafe de Paris,
Monte Carlo, Idling over a cigarette and
a ninzugran. It Is my favorite resort at
about four o'clock, for while skimming
the Figaro 1 can, ir I choose, wntch
each person who ascends or descends
the Casino stops, while very orten tho
cosmopolitan chatter at tho tables in
my vicinity Is of unusual Intorest to
me.
On such occasions I present, out
wardly, tho appearance of a well-to-do
Parisian, and, although tho pro
fessional gamblers and the start are
well awaro who and what I am, tho
hundreds of thousands or strnngors
moving through tho principality have
no Idea or my true position.
As I Bat In a lazy attitude, my
thojghts far from my surroundings,
some words uttered In a mnn's voice
caught my oar, and brought mo back
to a consciousness of whore 1 was.
Tho words wero unoxpectod, and
spoken In a curious, squeaking voice,
tho owner or which 1 know, without
turning to look at him. Ho was an
old man named Pusquale, an lnvetor
ato player, who had bcou known In
tho rooms for many years. He lived
In Nlco, and rogularly. twice or tlnico
a week, tho whole year round, he
cRiuo over and played throughout tho
afternoon, always with groat caro and
precision. Ono of his eccentrlctltlos
was that, when In the rooms, ho car
ried In his hand a huge, bag-like purso,
worked In colored beads or the stylo
of a century ago; and legond had It
that ho bollovcd this bag brought him
good fortune, ho having used It on ono
colobrated occasion when, noarly 20
years beforo, ho had mado au unusu
ally large coup.
1 havo aeon him lose ten, and ovon
Uftnon thousand francs in an hour
with porfect sangfroid, and I have, on
the other hand, watched him win simi
lar amounts, and then walk back down
(Copyright In Clrrnt Itrltnln mul the
HER, I RAI8ED MY HAT AND
tho stops to the station without even
ufTordlng hlmsoir tho luxury or a
demltnsso or a back. He hated what
wo always term "the small change
crowd," namely, tho people who, arter
collecting a lew odd llvo-frnnc pieces,
come to Monte Carlo expecting to gain
a fortune, and he never failed to vent
his sarcasm upon them.
Tho words he had uttered were, how
ore, puzzling. 1 kojit my ears open In tho
hope of something rurther, but thu old
Tellow maintained a discreet silence.
His companion laughed, and when I
gave a Turtlvo glanco In their direc
tion I saw that tho man sitting oppo
site him was an ugly hunchback.
"Would a very largo capital bo re
quired?" tho hunchback iuquiied, in
a tono of affected carelessness.
"I don't think so. Fifty thousand
francs, tho Bum you mention, would
be qulto sufllclent," tho old man re
sponded. "Hut, of courso, thero's a
risk a terrlblo ilsk. A single blun
der would be disastrous."
Later that day, owing to Instruc
tions I gavo the doorkeeper, 1 ills
covered that tho hunchback's name
wns Paul Honienyl, of Viennu, and
that ho was staying at tho Grand ho
tel. My suspicions being aroused, 1
accidentally lounged Into tho hair
dresser's In the Hue do la Scala, next
morning, and whllo waiting discov
ered the hunchback thoro. lie spoke
enthusiastically of the beauties of tho
principality, the attractions of the
play, the excellence or tho music, and,
as far as 1 could Judge, was a highly
educated and refined man. No, ho had
not lost yesterday. Ho had won two
zeros nt roulette, staking u louls each
time.
On tho night of tho Hnttlo of Con
fetti at Nice, having another matter
In hand, I found It necessary to go to
tho redouto or balmasque, on tho
Jotoe prnmonado, that plcr-llko struc
ture which is tho most prominent feu
turo of tho esplanade. I chose a pier-
I'nltcri Mates, by Win. t.o Qupux.1
CLAIMED ACQUAINTANCE.
rot's dross of the carnival colors, mauve
and vert d'ea.u and enterod tho
thcatnr nliniit 11 o'clock, lust nn ilnnc
lug was in full Bwlng. Only thoso who
havo Hiionl a pnrnlvnl nt Nlnn find nt.
tended tho balls know the wlldness
of the dancing and the mad frolic
there.
Masked, like all tho others, I mado
my way with dlfllculty through tho
throng in search of tho mnn upon
whom I had for several dayB been
keeping observation, a young Russian
who was wanted by tho Moscow po
lice, but of whoso Identity 1 was not
sufllelently ccrtuin. Hut, though I
searched through room ufler room, 1
could not find him, mid concluded that
he had been prevented from coming,
For fully halt an hour I wan
dered about, dancing now and then
with unknown partners, until sudden
ly, In tho line Moorish room used or
dinurlly ns a reading room, 1 saw a
dwarfed llguro In a dress represent
ing the English Punch. Ho wns seat
ed In u coiner with a lady dressed
as a clown In black satin, Btuddnd with
sliver moons, whom, from tho lower
part of hor lace and thu plump whlto-
uess or her dimpled hands, 1 Judged
to bo young and attractive.
Ho spoke, and In an Instant I rec
ognlzed the voice or the hunchback
Romenyl. Just then a lady, passing
mo, laughed merrily in my race, and,
onger for any oxcuso to remain In that
room, I Invited hor to danco with mo.
"M'Bletir Is very kind," answered a
well-modulated voice In French, which,
however, was not quite porfect in its
nccent. "Hut for tho moment I profor
to romnln here. It Is too hot and
crowded In tho theater."
I noticed she was looking across at
tho lady In tho clown's dress.
"A protty dress that, Is It not?" 1
remarked.
"Yes," sho replied. "And, ir I mis
take not, Its wearor is oven prettier."
"You know hor?" I Inquired,
eagerly.
"Yes, ir she's tho lady I mean. Her
name Is Madame do Oourlcff, and sho
comes from 'Petersburg."
"And you, madame, are Russian al
I so eh?" I Inquired.
, "Whnt makes you think that?" she
asked, with a low laugh.
"Only a Russian rue pronounco tho
word 'I'otorBburg' as you havo Just
pronounced It," I answered.
Al that Instant t noticed that,
nt her throat, beneath her domino
of mauve sntln, she woro a brooch
with a tiny watch onntnoled in blue
and set with diamonds. It was a
beautiful , little ornament, and I
marked Kb appearance well.
Some duya later, however, 1 met the
hunchback In the roulette room. Ho
was accompanied by a young, dark
eyed, pulo-facod lady, whom I Judged
to be about the samo stature as his
compnnlon at the ball; but I could
J not tell with any degree of accuracy,
necause i nau only seen nor seniou.
She wns not more than 2G, and her
face was pretty, with a grave, Intense
expression, which added to Itn attrac
tiveness. Her dresB of dark grey stuff
i was not exactly of that elegance usu
ally seen at Monte Cairo, yet It fitted
well, and suited her admlrnbly.
As I stood watching, the pretty
young woman took off ono of her
gleves tho more easily to handle her
louls, thereby rovenllng to me a white
hand with dimpled knuckles, the same
I hnd noticed at the ball. Hy this one
fact alone I wns convinced that she
wira Madiuuo do Gnttlroff, and a few
moments later my interest In her
was Increased by a dumb motion
which who made to a tall, florid-raced,
rulr-halrcd mnn, who wiib sitting at
tho opposite side or tho table. It was
I lib ir she desired lit in to remain pa
! tlent. In return, ho smiled cynically,
1 as ir tired or waiting, and, resting both
his elbows upon the green cloth, con
suited tho register-card before him
Suddenly he ioro, and, iib ho passed
her closely without stopping to Bpenk,
she whlBpered to him:
"You're a fool. He patient. You
know whnt a single blundor would
mean!"
"I'm sick of tho whole thing," he
replied, hair turning towards her.
i All except Pnsquale left the Casino
; soon afterwards; lint, as tho old game
! ster know mo so well, I hesitated to
speak to hl;n yet, renting lest by so
doing It might prevent the truth be
coming known. That there wns some
mysterious system about to be worked
against tho bank 1 foil assured, but
or what nature I could only discover
by vigilant observation.
Several days wont by and I saw
them not. One morning 1 noticed
Remonyl lounging In one or tho wick
er chairs In tho entrance or the Grand
hotel, smoking and reading a paper,
but he did not enter tho rooms. Tho
rnlr-hnlred man apparently lived In
Nlco, and In order to find out what
I could, I went over there ono morning.
Suddenly, an object caught my eyo
as It passed, flashing for au Instant
In the sunlight. I turned and glanced
a second time nt It to make certain.
Yes, It was the little Jeweled watch
which the fair muskor hnd worn at the
ball on tho Jeteo. It now hung oponly
on tho smart, white sorgo coat or Kb
owner, a well-dressed, young, and
rather handsome woman, who was
walking alotio In the direction of tho
Qual Masseua. Him hud passed oro
I had time to glanco at her, therefore
I could only catch sight or her pro
mo. Hut in nn Instant I mado a
resolve, and turning, followed her.
That she knew more or thu mysterious
Nina du Gottrleff than sho had told
mo was evident, and 1 Intended to
make a strenuous endeavor to ills
cover all I could.
As I got level with her 1 raised my
hat and claimed acquaintance. At llrst
she was Inclined to repudiate having
met me, but when I explained by what
means I hud discovered her Identity
she laughed heartily, and wo began to
chat as wo walked along together.
With Inllulto euro 1 led up tho convor
ritl 10 1,10 W0,11,U1 ,l0 Oourlerf, but
"1 " msiaui nor luouiu ciohuu, mm
sho glanced at me with u quick look
of suspicion. In the cnursu or our
careless gossip she, however, lot
drop tho fact that she Intended going
over to Monte Carlo that afternoon;
therefore, resolving to meet hor ngalu
thoro, as If by accident, I wlshod hor
nu revolr, opposlto tho Hotol des An
gluts, and we parted.
About threo o'clock that same after
noon I wiib In tho bureau of tho ad
ministration when my fair acqiialn
tanco entered, and, to obtain hor card
or admission, presented her jiassport,
bound up In one ol those neat little
gill-edged books which tho better-class
Russians carry. Unobserved, I glnnccd
at It as It lay In her hand, and saw
upon tho gray paper, headed with the
Russian arms, a vlso, which caused
me a start or surprise. Her name, It
stated, was Vera Sevorlne, and when
a quarter or an hour later, I eucoun
tered her In thu rooms and addressed
her by the mime she looked at mo
quickly, with mingled annoyance ami
surprise.
"Mudamo has nq, necessity to dls
guise her Identity from me," I ox
claimed meaningly, In a low voice
am elder or tho survelllanco here. My
name Is Miirtln Antolno Martin."
Kho laughed rather nervously, and
admitted that sho had heard or me.
"I noticed the vIho on mndame's
passport," 1 exclaimed. "It bears I lie
special stamp ot tlio ministry, which
shows madiime to be au agent of so
crot police. In such circumstances
there Is assuredly no need for so
crets between us. If I can aid you
command mo. Ab you know, 1 ntn In
weekly communication with your con
tral bureau in si. roiorsimrg. i pro
sumo that tho pursuit who Interests
you Is this Madame du Goutieff eh?"
"You have guussed aright," sho ad
mltted, as wo strolled down the rooms
togother. "Sho Is a revolutionist
president or the Zurich council of
Twenty."
'Tho president!" I exclaimed. "Then
fiho'n n Nihilist. And your ordera?"
"To wntch hor closely. Aided by
my husband, 1 havo boon keeping ob
servation upon hor for theso last
three months. She hns no money, and
has come to Monte Carlo to replenish
hor funds."
"And this Austrian, Romenyl, what
of him?"
"She hns only lntely mado IiIb ac
quaintance. From whnt 1 hnvo ob
served, thoro Is some compact be
tween them. She Is to meet htm hero
this afternoon."
Scarcely had this handsome woman,
whoso passport gavo her Immunity
from arrest throughout tho czar'B em
pire, uttered theso wordB when wo
saw tho pnlr approaching, and moved
nwny to cscapo observation.
They walked on to tho right-hand
trente-et-qunrante tnblo, whero Pas
qualo wns already seated, and stood
for some time Intently watching tho
game. Mudamo Soverlno left mo to
wander about nlono, huvlng ngrced
that we would both keep tho pair un
dor observation. I snw her later on
seated nt tho old Italian's side, playing
qulto as eagerly as any other gnm
blor. Hut her manner waa perfect.
A Beat at last becoming vacant
next to Cruzel, tho tnlllcur, tho ugly
llttlo Austrian In nn ItiBtant "marked"
It by flinging down a louls. Thon,
leisurely seating himself, with his
companion standing behind his chair,
he commuuct'l playing with precision
and cure.
Suddenly, Just as two blustering
men ono or whom was the falr-halred
player, who had previously oxprossod
Impatience demanded gold In ox
change for notes, Madame de Gourloff
drow from her pocket a paper con
tinuing about a thousand francs lu
gold, mid, lu her haste to stake a
louls upon tho table, the paper broke,
and the gold tell to the floor In a per
fect ensende, tho louls rolling nwny
beneath the root or the playern, under
the chairs and under tho table. Thin
created hopeless concision, Tor nearly
everybody rose In order that tho at
tendants might collect tho fallen
money, while mndiune, red und con
fused, tittered n thousand pardons.
The hunchback uttered a word of
apology to Cruzel that his fair com
panion should havo caused tiny such
Interruption lu the gnmo; but soon
afterwards till Bottled again, and tlieio
Hounded tho well-known Invitation
"Messieurs, faltes vob Joux."
Nina de Gourloff, with a gambler's
fear lest hor gold, once fallen, should
bring hor Ill-luck, took somo notes
from hor pocket und placed 12, the
maximum, on tho noire, whllo, strange
ly enough, tho deformed man acted
In a similar manner.
"Rlon no vn plitBl" cried tho tnll
lcur,' and he denlt tho cards swiftly In
two ranges.
"Deux, six, rougo pord ot coulour
gagtiul" Cruzel exclaimed loudly a mo
ment tutor, raking In tho stakes upon
tho red.
lloth tho matt and tho womnn hnd
won tho maximum, nod woro paid with
tho swiftness and precision which
characterizes tho fulfillment of tho ob
ligations of tho bank.
Again camo tho Invitation to piny.
and both Btnked upon the black, whllo
Pasquale, noticing his friend's good
rortune, also threw 12,000 franca upon
tho coulour.
"Quntro, cinq, rougo pord ot coulour
gngnol" was Cruzel's announcement
a fow seconds later, the excitement at
tho tnblo becoming Intenso when It
wnB noticed thnt all throe had won tho
maximum.
Cruzel was plnylng swiftly, when
Mudamu Sovuiino approached mo
hnHtlly, saying
"Thoro In boiuo myBtory horo. Have
thoso cards counted I"
Again thu game was mado, and a
third time tho trio won; thon, nu tho
chef bent over to Cruzel, Mndnmo do
Gourloff rose quickly, gathered up her
winnings, and loft.
rho cards woro at onco counted, and
It .wns discovered thnt thoro woro 30
cards In addition to thoso supplied to
tho tublu that morning!
According to Mudamo Sovorlno'B
statement It appeared that tho con
spiracy had been very curofully
workod out, und that Nina do Gourloff
nnd her two confederates, having cre
ated a confusion, Remenyl hnd nt that
Instant slipped unnoticed Into Cruzol's
hand a pack of prepared cards. Thon,
When nil became again tranquil, tho
players hud placed down tho max
imum, conllduut or success.
Tho hunchback was arrested down in
the Condumino hair un hour later, and
both were, In duo course, triad beforo
the Tribunal at Monaco, sentences or
two years' Imprisonment being passed
upon them. Against Pasqualo nothing
conclusive could bo proved; whllo
Nina do Gourioir, Ingenious always,
succeeded lu getting clour away with
her winnings, together with tho two
loud-voiced men who had demanded
change for a thousand francs at thu
Instant she had allowed her gold to
tumble from her baud.
Six months ufterwtirds, howovor, I
received a letter from Madamo Sevor
lne, dated from St. Petersburg, stating
that tho woman who had so cleverly
planned the fraud had been arrested in
a suburb of Moscow, und hud been
banished to Nerchinsk, In Siberia, as
a dangerous Nihilist.
Prior to this Incident thu enrds used
at irento-ot-quiirnnto could bo pur
chased at tho stationer's In tho Qui
letio ChtuioB III., but over slnco tho
greatest euro has been exorcised in
order to render similar fraud lmpos
slble. Many have been tho'nttompts mado
from tlmo to times upon tho bank, but
I certainly none was more during than
that signalled by Nlua do ClourlcrfB
cascado of gold.
