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. . .BY. . .
ETHEL A. SOUTIIAM
CHAPTER XI.
"I ask him ! Do you dream for one
jroomcnt that I shall ask him for it ? "
Evelyn opened her eyes in amazement.
jShc began to think she had perhaps
'made a mistake in pretending she had
'been an interested listener to the re-
'cent conversation.
"Certainly ! Did you not understand
me ? You have merely to say you
wish for the check in order to com
pare it with your own signature , and
the rest becomes easy. Lady Howard ,
you quito agree with me ? "
"And do you suppose that Major
Brown's suspicions will not be aroused
at once ? " exclaimed Evelyn , caring
nothing either for her aunt's or for
Falkland's opinion upon the subject.
"No it is ridiculous ! It would be
worse than useless ! "
"But , Eve dear , surely Mr. Falk
land must know better than you. "
"He may , of course ; but , for all that ,
I should not like to be the one to
make the attempt If you think your
plan will answer , though , why not ask
Major Brown yourself ? " she added ,
turning a somewhat indignant look
upon Gilbert Falkland. "You have al
ways disliked him ; so you ought to
be satisiied now if there is a chance
of convicting him of forgery. "
"Yes , Miss Luttrcll , you are right
I had my suspicions of him from the
first , " returned Falkland , a rather pe
culiar expression coming into his face.
"I never dreamed , however , that they
would be so speedily realized. But , as
to your suggestion. I would willingly
follow it if I could , only it is ten to
one that where he would most prob
ably comply with one of your requests
mine would absolutely fail. But think
it over to yourself for half an hour.
Anyhow , we must do something to-
over , as she drew slowly nearer and
nearer , to hear the sound of voices
and to behold not only her aunt , but
two other figures sitting in the shade
of the veranda. One was Falkland
she would have recognized his pale ,
rather cadaverous-looking face a mile
away and the other Oh it was ab
surd ! She must be dreaming ! It was
beyond the bounds of possibility ! It
could not be Major Brown !
Whether it was beyond the bounds of
possibility or not , it was certainly the
Major who sprang up at her approach ,
and who moved his chair to one side
to allow her to pass with that same
spontaneous courtesy which had struck
her from the first.
"Dear me , child , where have you
been ? I thought you were lost ! " ex
claimed her ladyship by way of greet
ing. "Ring the bell , dear , and say we
are ready for coffee. They are later
than usual this evening. "
But Evelyn did not utter a word
as she passed silently through into
the sitting room. At the sight of the
Major her heart had given one tre
mendous bound , and now it was beat
ing almost to suffocation. What was
he doing there ? What could be the
reason ? Never before had she seen
cither her aunt or Falkland making
themselves so obviously agreeable to
him. Never before had he even been
made welcome to their room.
"Miss Luttrell" it was Falkland
who had followed her through the
window "this will be your opportu
nity. You cannot have a better
chance. Go out the instant your aunt
leaves the veranda , and in as casual
a way as possible try to gain posses
sion of that check. "
At the sound of the low , rather hur
ried words , Evelyn started slightly and
'IS THAT THE COFFEE AT LAST ? '
night. Every moment is of consequence
quence , and We must secure it
tif not by fair means well , in such a
* case as this I suppose any means are
allowable ! "
Evelyn's only answer was a deep
sigh as she rose slowly to her feet and
turned away with strange inexpli
cable longing to be left alone to her
own thoughts , conflicting ones though
they were , to be worried by no more
cross-questioning or cynical taunts
concerning the man whom , despite her
short acquaintance with him and her
aunt's strong prejudices , she was be
ginning to regard with something
which was not exactly mere interest.
No wonder , therefore , that this lat
est affair had been to her like a blow ,
that for the time being she was sim
ply stunned by the seriousness of the
discovery. She could hardly believe
that everything had been done with
one aim and object in view , that all
the Major's attention's , his numerous
little acts of kindness to both her aunt
and herself , had been part of a deeply
laid scheme. It was too terrible to
think how easily she had been duped ,
how she had been carried away by his
well assumed courtesies , in many cases
falling readily into the traps which
had been so ingeniously contrived for
her. Yet , as she reviewed the past
two weeks , it seemed incredible to her
that it should really be so that a
nian who could commit such a delib
erate felony could at the same time
possess such fascinating manners and
appear , as he always did , so thorough-
lv at his ease.
"it was growing dark when Evelyn
I to roused herself wearily from her some
what harassing reveries , and turned
her footsteps in the direction of the
brilliant lamplight which was stream
ing forth from Lady Howard's room.
Her aunt had disappeared some time
previously , alarmed no doubt by the
heavily falling dew , and it was only
as the hour was struck by some dis
tant clock that Evelyn remembered
she would be waiting for her to make
her coffee.
Great was her astonishment , how-
suddenly dropped the parasol which
she was swinging slowly to and fro
in her hand.
"The check ! " she gasped , gazing
wildly round.
There was no need to wonder any
longer what the unusual affability
meant. The Major had not been pro
claimed innocent of the forgery , as
she in a vague sense of despair had
almost imagined. It was clear why he
had been welcomed so warmly into
their private room ; and yet , as her
eyes rested for one brief moment upon
the accused as he stood talking to
her aunt , a handsome , wonderfully dis
tinguished-looking man in his fault
less evening dress , all her old feel
ings of incredulity came back to her
as forcibly as ever. She forgot any
doubts and suspicions that she had ,
never for an instant remembered the
episode of the birthday book and the
strange manoeuvres he had adopted
to secure a specimen of her writing
and her signature , and with a decided
shake of her head put an immediate
veto upon Falkland's carefully work
ed out plan.
"Then you refuse to do anything in
the matter ? Really , Miss Luttrell , you
astonish me ! " observed Falkland , a
cynical smile curling his lips. "But you
have a tender heart , I suppose , and
dislike the thought of your elegant
friend being provided with a suit of
broad arrows at the nation's ex
pense. "
"I refuse , " returned Evelyn , her
head erect , her eyes flashing , "simply
because I am certain that Major Brown
is as innocent of forging that check
as" pausing to add greater emphasis
to her words "as you are ! "
"Oh , very well there is nothing
more to be said , I suppose ! " was Falk
land's calm reply as he turned away
and , without even attempting to argue
the point further , walked across to the
other side of the room.
Evelyn looked after him with an air
of satisfaction , and then drew a sigh
of relief. She was agreeably surprised
b/ the way in which he had received
her refuel : knowing that he owed
the Major a gruuge irom tuu very linst.
she had felt that , If ho could annoy
him over anything ho would assur
edly avail himself of the earliest op
portunity. But what was the mean
ing of this alteration of his manner ,
considering how determined ho had
been a short time ago to secure that
check without an instant's delay ? He
was taking her decided refusal to help
him in his scheme with wonderful
placidity. Yes he was too calm far
too calm. He must have some other
plan in his head. Some other plan ?
Clearly he was not the kind of man
to be so plainly balked.
The entrance of one of the waiters
with a tray of coffee cups diverted her
thoughts for a moment. Moving slow
ly towards the window again , she stood
gasing out on the starlit night. Lady
Howard , engrossed in an interesting
conversation with Major Brown , turn
ed with a slight start at her approach.
"Is that the coffee at last , Evelyn ?
You might bring it to us out here
the air is so pleasant this evening. "
Miss Luttrell drew a faint sigh. Re
turning to the small table where the
tray had been placed , she found Falk
land hovering over the cups and sau
cers somewhat uneasily , a. sugar basin
in his hand.
"Let me see , Miss Luttrell will you
make your aunt's coffee ? I believe
you generally do. "
"Yes I will make it , " replied Eve
lyn , taking up the half-filled cup of
coffee which was nearest to her , fill
ing it with cream , and then carrying
it off to Lady Howard without offering
as much as a glance in Falkland's di
rection.
She wished he would not thrust his
company so persistently upon her. As
he knew how detestable his presence
was to her , she wondered he had not
the delicacy of feeling to remain on
the veranda or to absent himself en
tirely from her aunt's room for the
rest of the evening. But no it seem-
e'i as though he took a delight in tor
menting her this evening , for , look
ing around again , she saw him still
standing by the table contemplating
the coffee cups in the most meaning
less fashion.
Evelyn gave a little cesture of im
patience and marched boldly past him ;
even if Falkland was annoying her , it
would never do for Major Brown to
suffer in consequence. With this ob
ject in view , she took up the cream
jug , and was trying to reach another
cup of coffee , when Falkland stretched
out his arm before her and placed one
into her hand.
"For Major Brown , I suppose ? " he
interrogated , with unusual deference.
Evelyn murmured some word of
thanks and turned away. But what
was it that arrested her attention ?
What was it that made her start , bend
hastily towards the cup , and then ,
growing whiter than ashes , look round
at Falkland ?
"By fair means" or "any means. "
Those were the words he had uttered ;
and now back in her ears they were
ringing , back in her ears she could
hear them clanging , clashing , whilst
a horrible idea struck her an idea
which seemed almost to paralyze her.
( To be continued. )
Doing ; Penance "or Sins.
In former times persons guilty of
grievous and notorious offenses were
required to make open confession , and
further to make satisfaction for the
scandal given by their bad example by
doing penance publicly in a white
sheet in their parish church. The sheet
was used to show clearly to everyone
which was the offender. The last time
that public penance was done in an
English church was on Sunday even
ing , July 30 , 1882 , when a man named
Hartree , in the church of All Saints ,
East Clevedon , made an open confes
sion of immorality , and promised to
perform the penance thus imposed on
him by the vicar. No white sheet was
used on this occasion. The last case
in which one was used appears to have
been one in St. Bridget's church , Ches
ter , in 1851. But on that occasion the
penance was not public , the church ,
door being locked. In the previous
3'ear , however , public penance in a
white sheet "was done in r country
church in Essex , and a similar thing
occurred in Ditton church , near Cam
bridge , in 1S4S. Stray Stories.
Metropolitan IJeggars * Trust.
The New York police have recently
made the discovery that most of the
successful beggars in the city belong
to a trust. The beggars' trust is said
to own a large house in Brooklyn ,
which provides every description of
beggars' supplies , including bogus
wooden arms , legs , hump backs , pitiful
placards for alleged blind men and
cripples , etc. The beggars pay the
trust a certain percentage of their earn
ings , and the trust regulates the hours
of their labor , selects the districts , fur
nishes a list of charitably disposed people
ple , and looks after members when ill.
The police say that several wealthy
and cultured mendicants belonging to
the trust live in fashionable fiats. Sev
eral attended the grand opera last sea
son , and one rides in his own carriage.
Irish Repartee.
From the New York Gael : Many
good stories are told in legal circles in
Ireland of encounters between lawyers
and judges in court. John Philpot Cur-
ran , in the early days of his struggle
at the bar , appeared in a case before
Lord Chancellor Clare , and laid down
some points in law which did not find
favor in the mind of the judge. "If
that be law , I may as well burn my
books , " said Lord Clare. "Better
read them , my lord , " replied Curran.
There s no use in praying to God
for Missies , unless we are con orm-
ing c-vi' 733 to his word. Rev. A. C.
Peytoi- .
"AN ACT OP MADNESS. ' '
THE PROPOSED ABANDONMENT
OF PROTECTION.
If TVo Arc to Achieve Commercial
Supremacy XVo 31 titt Hold to the Policy
That Has Hindu ITa InJtitUrlulIy and
Financially Supreme- .
A timely article on the subject of
"Commercial Empire and Protection"
is contributed by Hon. Edward N.
Dingley to Gunton's Magazine for Oc
tober. It is just now quite the fash
ion among certain expounders of "ad
vanced" economic theory to assert that
protection has outlived whatsoever use
fulness it ever had In the matter of
developing and sustaining domestic in
dustries , and , in view of the new con
ditions which have arisen , must nor/
be greatly modified , or , better still , al
together abandoned. Such is the pur
port of an article in a recent number
of the Forum , and to this proposition
Mr. Dingley addresses himself with the
vigor and zeal born of an intense con
viction that the abandonment of our
fixed national policy just at a time
when its successful operation has
wrought such splendid results would
be an act of madness.
It was by establishing and maintain
ing a protective tariff , as Mr. Dingley
points out , that the founders of our
republic , after having thrown elf the
political yoke of England , took steps
to throw off the commercial and indus
trial yoke which the "mother coun
try" had so firmly fastened upon the
necks of the American people. How
successful was this determination and
what magnificent results have flowed
from the practical realization of the
hopes of the fathers of the republic
are matters of history. Today the re
public stands supreme anyr.g the na
tions of the earth supreme , industrial
ly , commercially , and financially ; the
home of the most prosperous and pow
erful nation the world has ever known.
After the lapse of a century from the
passage by congress of the first tariff
bill under the federal constitution ,
framed by Madison and approved by
Washington an act "for the support
of the government , for the discharge
of debts of the United States , and for
the protection of manufactures" the
same fundamental principles remain
alive in the Dingley tariff law of to
day : the raising of revenues and the
encouragement of domestic industries.
The effective manner in which these
principles are carried out under the
existing tariff law , together with the
demonstrated fact that because of the
increased employment and the in
creased purchasing power of the
people a protective tariff produces more
revenue than a free-trade tarift , are
matters which Mr. Diugley's article
emphasizes most convincingly. Simi
larly cogent is his demonstration that
the "home market can be preserved
only by maintaining to the highest pos
sible degree the purchasing and con
suming power of our own people. " This
is the pivotal point of the whole ques
tion.
Turning to the question of commer
cial supremacy , Mr. Dingley urges that
"a nation must be industrially and
financially supreme before it can be
commercially supreme ; it must be
strong at home before it can be strong
abroad. " It is for the full develop
ment and maintenance of this strength
at home that the writer appeals a
strength which has come by and
through protection , and which will re
main with this nation as the result of
steadfast persistence in the faith of
the fathers who planned protection as
the surest , the only , way to secure for
their country absolute freedom , abso
lute independence , absolute prospe.rity.
If for no other reason than to serve
notice upon all whom it may concern
that protectionists see nothing in ex
isting conditions which suggests the
wisdom of abandoning the American
policy , but are , on the contrary , firmer
than ever in their adherence to that
policy , Mr. Dingley has done well to
make public his views in the article
in Gunton's from which we have quot
ed. Protectionists know where they
stand , and it is well that the "ad
vanced" theory expounders should also
know.
NOT OVERPRODUCTION.
Underconsumption Caused Our Troubles
in. Free Trade Times.
Some of the free traders , like Mr.
Bryan and Mr. Belmont , are still talk
ing about the "burdens" of the people.
Other free traders , who have sense
enough to know that the people can't
be fooled with any claptrap about "bur
dens" when they are in the widst of
such prosperity as exists today , when
work is seeking the worker and when
the Saturday night wage is larger than
it has ever been before , are looking
about for some more available weapon
to use against the protective tariff. The
bugaboo they present is overproduction.
This is a more subtle argument than
that of the "burden" criers , but not
more sound. Facts are quite as strong
against it. Farmers , manufacturers
and merchants all find a strong and
steady demand for all their wares , and
the prices are good. The demand for
labor is unusually good , and is on the
increase. These are not the signs of
overproduction. People don't go on
buying after they have had enough ,
and employers don't continue to hire
more laborers when the- have products
enough on hand to satisfy existing de
mands.
The chances are that the free traders
are not at all sincere in their cry
against overproduction ; but , if they
are , it is only further evidence of their
utter inability to understand economic
principles. If the American people con
sumed no more in times of industrial
activity , such as the present , than in
times of industrial depression , such as
the years from 189:5 : to 189C , overpro
duction would be a reality. But indus
trial activity , with the Increased work
and wages which it means for every
body , brings also increased consump
tion on the part of everybody. As we
pioduce more and have , thcforc , more
of the wherewithal to buy. the more
numerous are our wants and the great
er our demands for the products of
other workers.
The economic system Is a system of
interdependence. The market for the
increased product in any one industry
is at hand in the increased demands of
the workers in every othar industry.
Furthermore , if , Instead of having
more of the luxuries of life , we pre
fer to lay up money , there are the
world's markets to take the surplus
products which we don't want for our
selves. Our increased and increasing
foreign trade shows that we are taking
advantage of them.
In any case , so long as human nature
is what it is ; so long as the more we
can have the more we want , there will
be no overproduction. In free-trade
days we have more than once suffered
from underconsumption , but we have
never yet had a case of overproduction ,
and we are not likely to have such a
case.
Prosperity ami Kducatlon.
From all over the country there are
reports that the enrollments at public
and private schools , from the primary
grades to the universities , are larger
this year than ever before. Some in
crease might have been expected as a
result of the steady growth of popula
tion , but the marked gain note'l this
season is much more largely due to the
general prosperity of the country. Thus
the good times that have resulted from
wise national policies , from large crops
and from good markets not only bring
employment to all who seek it , not only
afford good investments for all Avho
have money to invest , not only increase
the earning power of both labor and
capital and contribute to the comforts
and necessities of daily life , but they
open the way for more liberal educa
tion. Children who had been forced to
earn something for the family are re
leased from their employment and sent
to school. Young men and young
women who have had but limited op
portunities for higher "education now
find themselves able to attend the col
leges and universities. The benefits of
prosperity arc incalculable , but among
them one of the greatest is along edu
cational lines. Kansas City Journal.
Never Again.
Wage Earner : "No , I thank you ;
not any for me. I tried your game in
1802 , and know exactly how it works.
Protection is good enough for me. "
A Destructive Kcmedy.
Since the election of McKinley pro
duction has increased at such a rate
that the per capita consumption in
1899 will probably be more than double
that of the disastrous years under
Cleveland. We can only maintain this
rate of consumption by keeping our
mills employed , and that can only be
done by preventing the encroachments
of foreigners , who are constantly try
ing to break into and break down our
market. If we dispense with protec
tion we simply invite Germany and
other countries where capital has been
effectively organized to drive our in
dustries to the wall. No sane people
will take such a risk. If the trusts
become oppressive the American people
ple will take them in hand and regu
late them , but they will not commit
the blunder of destroying the manu
facturing industries of the country in a
senseless effort to avert an evil which
may be remedied by a resort to sensi
ble methods. San Francisco Chroni
cle.
Truth as to Trusts.
Mr. Oxnard's statement that trusts
are the result of competition which has
taken business beyond a paying point
is certainly the truth as applied to
most cases. Combinations are the law
of present day tendencies , and it is
only natural that when competition so
reduced profits that there was nothing
left for the producer , combination
should step in to prevent such a
slaughter. This does not justify such
combinations , but merely explains
them. It also indicates the foolish
ness of connecting these results with
the tariff. The greater trusts now in
the United States were formed under
the Gorman-Wilson tariff system. The
greatest trusts in all history have been
formed in other countries at other
times and under nothing in the shape
of a protective tariff system. Peorla
(111. ) Journal.
Too Uasy Xovr.
The laboring men who still cling to
Bryanism should take into considera
tion this fact : When Bryan made his
previous tour through the country
they could go and hear him without
losing any time whatever from the jobs
they didn't have. Now every indus
triously inclined mechanic and day la
borer will have to "lay off" from his
job or miss the speech. The lesson is
clear enough. Indianapolis Journal.
TALK WITHOUT THINKING.
People Who Arguw Tlmt the Removal of
thu Tariff Would AbolLih the Trusts.
That a free-trader is a person who
simply recites formulas without a
their application is
thought as to
again shown by the attitude of the
remnant of the old Cobdenlte contin
gent in the Chicago conference. One
after one the votaries a man named
Ptmly from New York and a man
named Holt from Boston and a man
named Seymour from Chicago like
savage priests beating the temple gong ,
intone solemnly the words , "Abolish
the tariff and you abolish the trusts , "
thump their breasts , bump their brows
and retire into the robing room.
Not one of these men had apparently
ever thought of the consequences of
the practice proposed any more than
he had examined the basis of the the
ory propounded. He had heard that
the tariff prevented competition , that a
lack of competition created trusts and
that trusts raised prices , and that ,
therefore , the lack of a tariff would
prevent trusts and lower prices. Not
one had ever tested the grounds of
the : r.ajor premise , nor noted the pat
ent facts that the greatest trusts are
the unprotected industries , and that
the greatest increase of prices has been
in the most keenly competed Indus
tries. As with cause so with effect.
Not one can possibly have considered
for an instant the immediate result of
the adoption by the government of the
course proposed.
The American Sugar company and
its solitary rival are in all men's
minds when the subject of a trust in a
protected industry is mentioned. Let
us suppose the tariff abolished on this
commodity. What would be the result
of the impact of the German , Austrian ,
French and Belgian goods upon the
producers of the American goods ?
Which would suffer the great com
bination with its ? 50,000,000 capital ,
its enormous reserve of undivided
profits , its huge plants and consequently
quently cheap output , or the single
corporation which is fighting it ? Is it
not plain that it would not be the
"trust" or combination of concerns
which would succumb to this foreign
competition , but the individual con
cern ? And what , then , would bo the
result ? We saw it here a little over a
year ago when the foreign steamship
companies formed a pool to wring
double rates from the United States
government for carrying the Spanish
prisoners to their homes. The result
would be the formation of that thing
so completely irresponsible and wholly
unconscionable in its absolution from
the governance of the public opinion of
its vicinage the international trust.
We would have a thing whose ex
cesses would be blamed In Germany
upon the American sugar trust. And
the healthful domestic competition ,
which inside the tariff , with the aid of
jealous public sentiment , had regu I1
lated the price of the commodity ,
would be extinct.
Every step of these processes must
be unavoidably plain to the most com
monplace mind at the moment that it
is concentrated on the subject. Yet
gentlemen travel a thousand miles ,
considering their "problem" all the
way , and never once putting their
formulated solution to the most ob
vious test of practice. There is no
barbarian religion more thoroughly
benumbing to the mind than the out
worn doctrines of free trade. New
York Press.
Prosperity for All.
The editorial writer of the Gratiot
Journal in last issue said that "the
prosperity of the country had not
reached the middle and lower classes
of society , " and then proceeded to get
off a canned article on trusts. The
Journal writer knows , if he has given
the matter any attention , that even
Ithaca factories are running on fuller
time than they were during the last
administration. There isn't a farmer
in the vicinity of Ithaca that isn't
getting more for his cattle , sheep and
other stock. There isn't a workingman -
man in the country that can't get
work if he wants it , and at good wages.
The iron mines , the iron mills are hus
tling their hardest , something they
weren't doing in ' 94-9G. Think of it !
Big factories refusing orders because
they are already filled up for three
years to come , with their mills run
ning on double time , and then have
some one here yell out that the mid
dle and lower classes are not feeling
the better times. St. Louis ( Mich. )
Republican-Leader.
Are There Any So Blind ?
Ten thousand dollars paid to work
ing men and women by four Xenia fac
tories last Saturday. "The butcher ,
the baker and the candlestick maker" ;
the dry goods dealer and the grocer ;
the clothier , the shoe dealer and the
printer ; and every line of trade , and
the landlord , each got part of this
money. Within a few hours it had
passed from hand to hand and had
bought the necessaries of life to make
home comfortable and happy. This is
what internal industries do for a na
tion. This is what the Republican
party has long and bravely fought for
protection to American industries. Is
there a man or woman in our com
munity so blind as to not see that
these should be fostered ? Xenia ( O. )
Gazette.
g Not Popular.
Mr. Bryan is against trusts , but he
hasn't said yet what he would do to
throttle them were he elected nresi-
dent. And it may be necessary for him
to outline a policy before the people
place their undivided confidence in his
ability. Mere howling Isn't popular
any more. The voters are too busy
with the new McKinley prosperity to
listen to declamation. Winchester
(111. ) Standard.
r
t }
