IT *
I That # *
. . .BY. . .
Mysterious
ETDEL A. SOUTIIAM
ri Majon. .
CHAPTER XIV. ( Continued. )
It was not until the gig had been
"brought round from the stables , not
dntll the major had helped Evelyn up
to the front seat and taken his place
by her side and they had actually
started on thuir homeward drive , that
a single word was spoken regarding
the subject which was uppermost in
both their minds.
"Well , we are off at last , " observed
the major , with a twirl of his some
what dilapidated whip ; "and now we
Bhall have to entreat this old mare to
put her best foot forward , or Lady
Howard will be In hysterics if Mrs.
Courtenay returns from the theater
without her charge. '
"If " A look of horror came Into
Evelyn's face. "Oh , but we must get
back before that ! What would'Aunt
Lydla think ? But I I can scarcely be
lieve even now that that letter was
not from her. Are you certain you
have riot been mistaken ? It was so
exactly like her writing. "
"Miss Luttrell , I assure you there is
not a shadow .of a doubt ; for , besides
knowing for a fact that Lady Howard
was atths 'Royal George' at ten min
utes to nine , I found an envelope di
rected to you which you had evidently
dropped at the station , and it was as
clearly'a forgery of your aunt's writIng -
Ing as that check was of your own last
night ; and in both cases I saw at a
glance that it was Falkland's hand
work. "
M "But I I cannot understand ! I was
never zo puzzled in my life ! " Evelyn
shook her head and gazed blankly be
fore her at the thick shroud of mist
rising slowly from the surrounding
fields. "Can it be possible that Mr.
Falkland is really that fearful man
( whom the authorities have been trying
! to find ? Have you known all this
time and never told us ? "
"I had my suspicions , certainly , " he
confessed , with a half smile ; "but
thee. , that is just it they were only
suspicions. If I had come to you and
ard for his next victim , and I imme
diately -realized how helpless you
would bo In the hands of such a vil-
Han. We have put a stop to his games
at last , though , " he preceded , after
a momentary pause. "Falkland no
doubt Imagines that he will be able to
make his escape with psrfoct safety
when he arrives at his destination.
He Is blissfully unconscious that a pair
of handcuffs is following closely In the
next carriage. "
"Do you mean to say that "
"Exactly , " acquiesced the major with
a smile , as he noticed her horrified ex
pression. "For once in my life fortune
favored me. I telegraphed up to Scot
land Yard this mor/iing. telling them
to send down the detective who had
helped me before in this affair ; and ,
receiving an answer to say he would
be here by the five minutes past nine
train , I went to the station to meet
him. He had only just arrived , when ,
to my astonishment , I saw you and
Falkland alone together upon the op
posite platform , hurrying to the Lon
don express , and , feeling certain that
something was wrong , wo instantly
made a rush for the train , only just
managing to jump into the guard's van
before it had moved off. Here again
the luck was on our side. Knowing it
was the London express , we had quite
made up our minds that we should bs
able to find out nothing until it
reached town ; but fortunately there
was a block on the line , which im
mediately set our fears at rest. Ypu
of course supposed that you were right
for Royston. "
"Yes and that Parker was waiting
for me with the luggage and Sambo at
the next station , " answered Evelyn ,
with a rueful shake of her head. Even
now she seemed scarcely to realize the
enormity of Falkland's act. "But what
in the world could he hope to gain by
such conduct ? He must have known
that sooner or later I should find him
out. "
"Yes ; but that was it. How entlre-
j it
I' ' i
ANXIOUSLY SURVEYED THE FLUSHED , PRETTY'FACE. "
boldly declared that my own convic
tions warned me that this fellow was
Samuel Cripps , the forger , what would
you have said ? Why , you would prob
ably have answered that it was far
more likely that I myself was the re
nowned Samuel Cripps. The truth is ,
I had seen this fellow Falkland
abroad , and something about his ap
pearance I do not know what it was
told me that he was the very man who
had been connected with a tremendous
forgery in New York , and who , only
a few days afterward , I discovered , had
forged my "name to the amount of
25,000 pounds. It was a most curious
Affair altogether. How he had gained
possession of my check book , or had ,
learned that the amount of money was
lying idle in the bank , remains to this
day a mystery. And , though I felt
certain that this fellow , who had so
attracted my notice at Monte Carlo ,
was the same man who had forged my
name , there was unfortunately not the
slightest evidence really against him.
The moment , however , that I saw him
here on the night of my arrival I rec
ognized him at a-glance , even though
he had disguised himself most effec
tually by shaving off his mustache and
dyeing his hair two or three shades
lighter. I had really come with the In
tention of staying only one night in
order to look at some property which
had beea left me by an uncle ; but the
Instant I saw that man I resolved ,
whatever happened , to remain until
doomsday , if necessary , in the hopes
of finding out what grounds I had for
my "suspicions. At the same time I
saw you" here th ? na.Jor gave one
swift glance at the slight tans , beside
him "and it struck -me that , if tnfo
fellow Falkland were the man I sus
pected him to be , he had most prob
ably chosen either you or Lady How-
ly he would have had you in his power !
Alone in London at that time of the
night , what could you have done ? It
would have been ths easiest thing
imaginable for him to circulate a re
port saying that you had eloped with
him ; and how could you have pre
vented him , except by satisfying him
with a bribe of perhaps some thou
sands of pounds ? "
"All the same it was a risky thing
to do , " proceeded the major decidedly.
"And I do not suppose Falkland would
have attempted it if he had not really
been at the end of his tether ; other
wise I am perfectly certain that he
would never have been so venturesome
as to allow one -of his confederates to
cash that check of yours whilst he was
actually living under the same roof
with you. "
"Yes , but if it had not been for you ,
who would have found him out ? " ob
served Evelyn , suddenly raising her
eyes to tiis with a sense of the deepest
gratitude. "I cannot think how you
managed. You seem to have had so
little to go . .upon only ft piece of blot
ting paper and some of his writing
at least" dubiously "that Is what
you said , was it not ? "
"Yes cannot you believe it ? " laugh-
Ing. "But really it'is quite true ; it
was your signature the forgery of it ,
at least that I found blotted on a
sheet of blotting paper. Somehow my
suspicions were aroused at once. I
was sure you never wrote in the public
room ; but then there was no reason-
that some person in the hotel. , or Falk
land himself , might not have had oc
casion to write your name with no
criminal intent whatever. It was ,
therefore , with the object of arriving
at some mce definite conclusion that
I had to make an excuse for asking
you to give me your signature ; and
the only way out of my difficulty which
I could think of was" and here a
quizzical gleam of amusement came
Into the major's eyes "by that birth
day-book. "
"Yes , indeed that horrible birth
day-book ! " Evelyn stopped short and
regarded him as if words absolutely
failed her.
"Ah , Miss Luttrell , you will forgive
me ! You are not very angry .with me ,
I hope ? "
The major suddenly put his whip
aside , and , leaving the old gray mare
to her own devices , bent forward , anx
iously surveying the flushed , pretty
face at his side.
"Well , no I am not exactly angry.
Considering that that wonderful book
had so much to do with- the discovery
of the forgery , it would perhaps be
rather unreasonable if I were. At the
same time , " she added , wrinkling up
her forehead into a perplexed little
frown , "though It might have been
quite necessary for you to start a
birthday-book for the occasion , I hard
ly think that there was any real need
for you to have invented the endless
stories that you did. I believe you
thoroughly enjoyed taking me In ! "
"Well , at any rate , I spoke the truth
when I told you that not another per
son should enter his or her name In
that one particular book "
"Yes you spoke the truth then"
"And when I declared that I should
value your autograph 'more than any
other that I possessed , " he added
quickly. "Miss Luttrell , there was
truth in every word of that. You may
think that I valued It merely because
I thought it would meet my
own ends ; but you are quite
mistaken. From the very first
hour I saw you I have been in love
with you , over head and ears in love ,
and for the past fortnight I have been
longing for the day to come when I
might throw off my disguise and"
with sudden recklessness "ask you to
be my wife. Miss Luttrell Evelyn
tell me , Is It possible you can ever give
me any hope ? "
"You must surely have known that
I admired you you must have seen all
along that each day I was falling
deeper and deeper In love with you , "
he went on , absolute despair in his
tones , an expression of keenest anx
iety on his face. ' 'Dearest , I know that
I am not worthy of you , that I have no
right to ask you ; but , if only you will
marry me , it shall be my one aim and
object in life to make you happy. I
will do anything on earth for you ! "
There was a long pause , and then
"Major Brown , " came slowly , hesi
tatingly from Evelyn.
"Ah , that Major Brown , " he inter
rupted ruefully. "I know that your
answer to him can naver be satisfac
tory. Please" entreatlngly "do not
call me that again ! Try to forget that
you ever knew me by such a name , and
for the future try to think of me as
Adrian Beauchamp. "
"I am afraid that that is impossi
ble ; " and Evelyn gave a lugubrious
little shake of her head. "I could no
more call you Sir Adrian Beauchamp
than I could our worthy landlord , Mr.
Gillibrand himself. "
"Then let me suggest a way out of
the difficulty , " he answered with a
covert smile. "Suppose you drop both
'Sir' and 'Beauchamp' , and call me
' ' "
'Adrian.
How soon the , baronet prevailed upon
Miss Luttrell to consent to his ar
rangement remains a profound mys
tery ; but three weeks later two para
graphs appeared in the morning
papers , one announcing the forthcom
ing trial for forgery of Samuel Cripps ,
alias John Barton , Gilbert Falkland ,
etc. , the other the marriage shortly to
be solemnized between Major Sir Ad
rian Beauchamp , Bart , late of the
Hussars , of Beauchamp Manor , Witts ,
and Belgrave square , W. , and Evelyn ,
only daughter of the late William Lut
trell of Luttrell court , Devonshire.
THE END.
Honr to Care for the Watch.
A watch should be wound up every
day at the same hour. Avoid putting
it on a marble slob or near anything
excessively cold. A sudden change of
temperature , contracting the metal ,
may sometimes cause the mainspring
to break. The cold also coagulates the
oil , and the pivots and wheel work less
freely , and affect the regularity of the
timekeeping. In laying aside a watch
be sure that it rests upon its case. If
suspended , the action of the balance
may cause oscillation , which will in
terfere with its going. To keep your
watch clean take care that the case
fits closely and see that the watch
pocket is kept free from fluff , which is
so 'often given off by linings. Avoid
sudden jars and falls , for even if it
does not seem to affect it at the mo
ment , a watch will resent rough
handling by becoming gradually "out
of order" without apparent cause.
A teacher in a Boston suburban pub
lic school received the following "eggs-
cuse" from the mother of a boy who
had failed to be present on a certain
day : "Dear Teacher Please eggscuse
Andrew James for not having went to
school yesterday. He started all right ,
but him and another boy stopped for a
little swim in the river , and a dog
came along and carried off Andrerw
James' pants and shirt and he had to
stay in the water until the other boy
come home and got more pants and
shirts for him , and then It was too
late. Under the circumstances you
could not expect him to be there , so
kindly eggscuse. "
Wbere Apples Grow Wild.
The apple grows wild in the Sand
wich islands.
AS TO EXPOET PEICES
NOT NOW ON FOREIGN BAR-
CAIN COUNTERS.
In Free Trade Tariff Tlmcn American
Manufacture * Word KoinolSmc * Kx-
ported at a L.o s , but That Coaclltlon
No Longer Kx H.s.
The sale to foreign consumers of
American manufactured products at a
lower price than American consumers
are required to pay Is one of the prin
cipal counts in the indictment which
free traders bring against the Ameri
can policy of protection. Indeed , this ,
together with the claim that trusts are
fostered and promoted by protection is
almost the only ground of attack re
maining for the free traders. The
splendid facts of a revived domestic
trade.of a wonderfully enlarged export
trade , and of a general condition of un
precedented prosperity growing out of
the restoration of a protective tariff ,
these great-facts are so patent and so
indisputable that the free trader of to
day is reduced to the extremity of op
posing protection on two pretexts only ,
that of responsibility for trusts , and
that of enabling our manufacturers to
make big profits on' the goods they sell
at home while selling the same class
of goods to foreigners at much lower
prices.
The first of these indictments that
relating to the trusts is easily dis
posed of by the proof that trusts thrive
in free trade Great Britain fully as
well as in protected America , and that
the most powerful of all our domestic
trusts are- those which are not in the
least degree affected or benefited by a
protective tariff.
The assertion that protection lays an
unjust burden upon our own people by
compelling them to pay higher prices
than foreigners pay for goods produced
in this country prove to be quite in the
nature of a boomerang. To begin with ,
the assertion Is at present false and
promises to remain false for some time
to come. It is downright absurdity to
suppose that , with our mills and fac
tories running overtime in order to
catch up with orders for goods , our
manufacturers are sacrificing any part
of their profits in order to sell abroad
at reduced prices goods which they are
unable to supply in sufficient volume
to meet the domestic demand. Ameri
can business men don't do business
that way.
Present information bearing upon
this point is at hand in the shape of a
report just put out by the treasury
bureau of statistics , whose energetic
chief , Mr. Austin , has just made a tour
of observation to the manufacturing
centers of New England and the Mid
dle states. Mr. Austin concludes that if
the places included in his visit are
fairly representative of the conditions
generally existing among manufactur
ing establishments throughout the
country , as they undoubtedly are , there
can be no occasion for complaint that
mills and men are lacking employ
ment. Mr. Austin visited the cotton ,
woolen , worsted , silk , fiber , carpet ,
print goods , rubber , boot and shoe.hat ,
pottery and watch and clock manufac
turing establishments , and in no case
did he find a lack of orders for the
manufacturers or of employment for
men and women during employment.
On the contrary the great cotton ,
woolen , silk and other textile mills are
running on full time and overtime ,
while the manufacturers of rubber
goods , boots and shoes , clothing and
pottery reported their orders far in
excess of their capacity to fill with
promptness.
"Our chief difficulty , " said the man
ager of a great manufactory of rubber
clothing , "is to get a sufficient number
of employes and sufficient machinery
to meet our orders. The crude rubber
we can get , though the Importations of
that are increasing rapidly , and the
price advancing because of the in
creased demand ; but the costly ma
chinery and the skilled labor which are
to do the work are not so easily had.
We maintain constantly a school for
the instruction of young men and
women in the lines of work required
in our factory , and yet with the con
stant reduction of our force by the de
mands upon it from other mills of this
character , we are short of hands and
unable to keep up with our orders. "
Similar statements were made by the
managers of other manufacturing es
tablishments. The cotton millswoolen
mills and silk manufacturing establish
ments were running at their full ca
pacity , and in some cases over hours ,
while the great boot and shoe manu
facturing establishments were reported
weeks behind with their orders , which
come from all parts of the United
States and of the world. During the
last eight months between $2,000,000
and $3,000,000 worth of boots and
shoes , the product of American facto
ries , have been sent out of the coun
try , the total of the eight months be
ing double that of the corresponding
months of 1898. Of this large expor
tation of this single product of our fac
tories the exports to the United King
dom alone were $477,734 , against $263-
175 in the corresponding months of
last year ; to the West Indies , $467,519 ,
against $167,420 in the corresponding
months of last year ; to British Aus
tralasia , $392,439 , against $208,783 in
the corresponding months of last year ;
to Mexico , $206,880 , against $66.816 in
the corresponding months of last year ;
to Africa , $94,605 , against $54,653 in
the corresponding months of last year ,
while shipments were also made to
Asia , Oceanica , Central and South
America , as well as to the great in
dustrial and manufacturing countries
of France , Germanj aid the United
Kingdom
An illustration of the activity of the
manufacturers In other lines Is found
In a statement made by Dr. Wilson
the head of iha Philadelphia Commer
cial museums , and also the director of
the export exposition : "Our chief dif
ficulty In the preliminary work of the
exposition , " said he , "was in the fact
that the manufacturers of the coun
try were so busy that many of them
could not find time and the necessary
force of employes with which to pre
pare exhibits satisfactory to them
selves , while in many other cases our
requests for exhibits were met with
the statement that , since they are now
months behind with their orders , the
display of their products would merely
add to their temporary embarrassment
by bringing them a still greater ex
cess of orders over their capacity for
production. In the great Iron and steel
manufacturing industries we found
that many of the establishments had
from six to eighteen months' orders
ahead , and that they were working to
their fullest capacity and unable to
increase their product without an in
crease in machinery , which , of course ,
cannot be made in a moment. "
In the iron and steel industry the
figures of our exports show that the
extreme activity of manufacturers ex
tends not alone to the home market ,
but to that supplied IB other parts of
the world. The expoilatlon of manu
factures of iron and sfkel in the eight
months ending with August , 1899 ,
amount to $668,008,97 , against $52-
925,082 in the corresponding months
of 1898 , $40,757,920 in the correspond
ing months of 1897 , and $29,957,090 in
the corresponding months of 1896.
A still further evidence which our
foreign commerce figures show of the
activity of our manufacturers is found
in the rapid increase in the importa
tion of materials used by manufactur
ers. The importations of fibers for use
in the manufacturing industries in the
eight months ending with August , 1899 ,
amounted to $14,377,758 , against $11-
989,146 in the corresponding months of
1S98 and $9,851,516 in the correspond
ing months of 1897 ; hides and skins ,
$32,606,820 , against $27,747,084 in the
corresponding months of 1898 and $22-
637,286 in the corresponding months
of 1897 ; India rubber , $22,860,318 ,
against $17,418,404 in the eight months
of 1898 and $13,100,645 in the corresponding
spending months of 1897 , and raw silk
for use in manufacturing , $23,452,903 ,
against $16,639.211 in the correspond
ing months of 1898 and $13,416,156 in
the corresponding months of 1S97.
Does this look as though our man
ufacturers were engaged in supplying
foreign consumers at cut rates ? They
are , of course , doing nothing of the
sort. There was a time the free-trade
tariff time of 1893-97 when American
exporters were sending abroad consid
erable quantities of domestic manufac
tures at a very small profit , sometimes
at a loss , for they needed the money
with which to pay wages and keep
their mills and factories in operation.
Many of them , however , were unable
to continue producing and were forced
to shut down altogether. But we are
no longer doing business under free-
trade tariff conditions , no longer look
ing for a foreign outlet for surplus pro
duction without profit or at a loss.
Foreigners continue to buy our goods
in constantly increasing quantities ,
but they are paying current market
prices for them. These are not the
bargain-counter times of "Cleveland
and tariff reform. " They are the flush
times of McKinley , protection and
prosperity.
Blown OH the Kartb.
An Object Lesson for Kentucky.
" 'Way down in old Kentucky" they
are feeling the difference between
keeping the American market for our
selves , in supplying the demands of
the American people with American
products , in keeping American money
at home and in attracting the gold of
other countries to the United States
the difference between all that and the
giving up freely to foreigners all the
advantages of the American market.
Mr. George Braden , president of the
Globe Fertilizing company of Louis
ville , recently spoke as follows :
"In Kentucky the general business
conditions are better than they have
been since 1893 , and in some respects
they .are better than they have ever
been since I can remember. Manufac
turers are very busy , and concerns are
paying better dividends than they have
paid for a long time. In addition , a
goodly number of new industries have
sprung Into existence , and there is ,
therefore , plenty of work at good pay
for all. Money is easy , and we have
felt no stringency whatever. "
This sort of thing ought to swing
Kentucky over permanently vo the
party which makes its fundamental
principle of faith the protection of
American interests.
Surely an Orphan.
A calico trust in England has been
capitalized at $50,000,000. As its par
ent cannot be a protective tariff. Dem
ocrats will claim that this trust Is an
orphan. St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
CHANCE FOR FREE-TRADERS.
To Go ) Up an Industrial Ceniiu/i Showing
There In No I'ronporltjr.
The figures of the Industrial census
of the American Protective Tariff
league for 1899 , showing , by compari
son with March , 1895 , In free-trado
tariff times , a gain of 39.56 per cent in
the number of hands employed , a gain
of 54.09 per cent In the gross sum of
wages paid , and a gain of 10.49 per
cent In the average rate of wages per
capita , lead the Press of Paterson , N.
J. , to ask :
"Is it any wonder that Mr. Bryau
wants the American workers to shut
their eyes to this state of affairs and
prefers to get his calamity Issues sev
eral thousand miles away in the Phil
ippines ? "
Free trade stump-speakers and free-
trade editors fight shy of the facts of
DIngley tariff prosperity. They get as
far away from them as possible. Thir
teen thousand miles away , in the Phil
ippines , Is none too far for them. If
they could raise some sort of an issue
on the planet Mars they would wel
come the opportunity to divert atten
tion from the truth regarding protec
tion and prosperity. SThey are dis
gruntled at President McKInley's
Thanksgiving proclamation because It
so convincingly sets forth the greatly
improved condition of things. Pome
of them call the proclamation "u. Re
publican stump speech , " while one
ardent journalistic exponent of Bryan-
ism has gone so far as lo mutilate the
proclamation by omitting from its
rescript the statement that "in all
branches of Industry and trade there
has been an uncqualed degree bf pros
perity. "
The industrial census of the Ameri
can Protective Tariff league does not
please the Bryanites and the free trad
ers. Not one of them has referred to
it in any way. It is not agreeable
reading for them. It does not fit In
with thejr scheme of politics. The way
to make a hit with Mr. Bryan and his
free-trade friends is to get up an in
dustrial census that will show pre
cisely the opposite of that which is
shown in the tariff league's statistics
one that will show depression , disas
ter , desolation and ruin in place of
enormously Increased payments of
wages to American work people. Hero
is a chance which the New England
Free Trade league ought not to over
look.
A PERILOUS REMEDY.
Free Trade Would Smash Industrie *
but Would Not Smiih the Trust * .
The fact that trusts are already in
ternational and hence that the removal
of protective duties would aggravate
rather than remedy the evils com
plained of at the hand of trusts , was
forcibly presented in the remarks of
Hon. Henry W. Blair , ex-United States
senator from New Hampshire , deliv
ered ac the Chicago Trust conference
of September , 1899. That portion of
Mr. Blair's contribution to the delib
erations of the conference relating to
tariff and trusts is printed in the cur
rent issue of the American Economist.
Clearly it is pointed out that as a con
sequence of the abolition of our pro
tective system the trusts and all other
employers of labor In industrial en
terprises would be forced to transfer
their field of operation to countries
where labor is cheaper than in the
United States. Either they must do
this or else they must lower the Amer
ican standard of wages and of living
down to a point where they can suc
cessfully compete with the cheaper
payrolls of Europe and Asia , and , as
Mr. Blair suggests , later on , of Africa
and the Oceanic islands , whose Inhab
itants may easily be taught the use of
the machinery which now does nine-
tenths of the world's work.
"Any man , " says Mr. Blair , "can
take a million-dollar plant of cotton ,
woolen , sugar , or any other product of
manufacture , to England , Russia.
China , Japan or the Philippines , in his
pocket , or in his check book , while the
thousand laborers who have lived by
working that plant for half their lives
in this country are obliged to remain
and starve , unless they choose to work
'or foreign pay. " The ease and celer
ity with which capital can always
adapt itself to new conditions , while
labor must remain rooted to the soil
of its birth or adoption , is tersely lllus-
: rated in the sentence just quoted. It
is a point of vital value In the discus
sion of the trust question , and ex-Sen
ator Blair has done well to bring it
into view in connection with his in
teresting survey of the perils possibly
attendant upon the removal of protec
tive duties for the purpose of smash
ing the trusts.
Sam Jones on Pro * per I ty.
Sam Jones , the picturesque exhorter.
occasionally stops his talks on religion
eng enough to speak a little on world-
y affairs. A few "days ago he was
preaching in a town in Georgia , and ,
dipping into politics , got off the fol-
owing :
"The biggest fool in the world ia
the one who stands up and argues
against facts. I was talking to one of
those old free-silver loons a few days
ago and called his attention to the
great prosperity which has come upon
our country , mills and shops running
on full time , and I said truly prosper-
ty has come to our land again. He
said : 'It ain't struck me yet. ' I said :
It's mighty hard to hit nothing. ' "
Bozeman ( Mont. ) Avant-Courier.
A Typical Bryanlte.
Aguinaldo has progressed so far that
he is willing to accept independence
with a democratic tariff. He Is a silver
man. of course , for he stipulated when
he sold out to Spain that he should be
paid In Mexican dollars. St. Louis
Jlobe-Democrat.