E5 J 9ri A v sfcr - fc - THE FATAL REQUEST O R F O U N D O U T By A L Harris Author of Mine Own Familiar Friend etc Copy rig ht ISO l by Vat t ell Pub li thing Company Copyright 19 0 3 by Street cfi Smith mm ii ij MtiVlttfmi CHAPTER IX Continued It was rather strange but the moment ho put this question the little doctor shifted his glance and merely answered Humph while he seemed to be looking at nothing in particular You know what I mean was the somewhat impatient response Did my father meet his death through the shock of the collision or by the Your father was not killed in the railway accident at all was the paralyzing reply as the giver of it still avoided the eye of the questioner What shouted the latter leaping to his feet What do you mean For Heavens sake explain yourself and do not talk in riddles What I mean is this was the an swer given with great confidence and decision as he once more allowed him self to meet the other mans eye Your father was not burnt to death as you feared and he did not perish thrc h the shock of the collision which you hoped might be the case as being the more merciful death of the two Your father was shot Had the young man received a bul let wound himself he could not have started more violently than he did onl hearing these words Shot he cried shot Then passing his hand across his forehead Im not dreaming am I Dr Cartwright shook his head No my boy youre not dreaming except inasmuch as life itself is a dream Your father I repeat met his death by foul play that is putting aside the question of sui Suicide cried the young man snatching at the word as it were Suicide My father Oh you must be mad The doctor shook his head again I discovered on examining the body after you had left the church that death had resulted from a bullet wound in the right temple which had Of course you did interrupted Dr Cartwright and quite right of you too Always make game of this sort of thing whenever you come across it I always do myself on principle If I didnt I should have half the parish sending for me whenever they had the nightmare At the same time he added in a tone of concession I admit that it certainly was a c6in cidence Anything more I cant ac knowledge my reputation wont al low it Yesterday morning resumed the young man we received a telegram It said Hero it is you can see for yourself Dr Cartwright brought his spec tacles to bear upon the document Humph Ha Am returning to day by the 430 train Shall be home to dinner Friend accompanies me He read it through twice before re turning it And you say you have no idea what the name of this friend Vour father went to meet was To my knowledge I have never heard It mentioned I thought I knew all my fathers friends but this one must have been an entire stranger to me and my father must have had some reason for- He stopped abruptly respect for his dead parent held back the words upon his tongue But Dr Cartwright ap parently guessed the remainder of the sentence You mean your father must have had some reason for concealing the fact of his previous acquaintance with the man he went to meet at Dover The young mans face flushed I tell you no I wont believe it I wont even listen to such a supposi tion for a moment I tell you but there you never knew him And he turned his head away To return to our subject said the doctor You insist on connecting this same unknown personage with the mMjfLTf 111 M knew the man he cried traversed the head completely and must have caused instantaneous death I cant realize it groaned the oth er Who could have done it unless he was robbed Dr Cartwright shook his head His watch and chain and valuables were taken charge of like those of the other passengers and a consider able amount of money was found upon him Whatever the object it was not that The thing will be to discover if he had a traveling companion and who that traveling companion Ted Burritt brought down his hand upon the table with a force that made that article of furniture shiver I know the man he cried Or if I do not know now I will never rest until I have found out Phew whistled the doctor Then you know something about the affair You have your suspicions Suspicions cried the young man more than suspicions I see it all if I only knew the mans name What mans name asked the doc tor What man was the impatient re ply Why the murderer to be sure I wish you would just begin at the beginning and tell me all you know about it Ui I will tell you all I know as well as what I only guess Two days ago my father received a letter which ap peared to have a peculiar effect upon him It is evident to me that he was expecting the letter and that it was that which made him nervous and fidgety and unlike himself At break fast the next morning to our sur prise he announced his intention of taking a short journey giving no oth er explanation than that he was go ing as far as Dover partly on busi nessthough we had reason to be lieve that the business was only an appointment with a friend And the friends name of course he told you No was the answer that was just what he did not do Humph said the doctor that was rather Well never mind Go The night after my father left suddenly in the awakened home I was middle of the night by his voice call answered him back ins me And I The next morning my sister May came to me in trouble about a dream shed had the same night She dreamt that something dreadful had hap pened or was about to happen to her father Of course I miule game of it mysterious circumstances of your fath ers death Who else could it be exclaimed Ted You yourself have put the mo tive of robbery out of the question Certainly was the reply But having disposed of that motive only makes it the more necessary to pro vide another And there again you supply it your self burst out the other You hint ed of the possibility of my father hav ing something discreditable in connec tion with his past life Not discreditable interrupted the doctor only indiscreet Now proceeded the other re verse your implication Apply what you have said of the one to the other and there you have your solution of the mystery your motive and what ever else you require He paused breathless with the ve hemence with which he had pro nounced these last words Well said the doctor wagging his head sagely I dont deny it There you have a motive of a sort not a very strong one But before you can proceed further with it you have to establish the important fact as to that other occupant of the carriage And when you consider that the individual in question even if he did travel by that same train and in that same car riage was actually the recipient of an invitation to your own house there seems to be something so improbable so coldblooded about the whole con cern that And is not that exactly what it is A coldblooded dastardly outrage upon one who never injured a soul and who was one of the kindest and best of men Oh Lord I cant stand the thought of it Now Ive started him off again murmured the doctor remorsefully Why couldnt I have left well alone Anyhow I must be going now So drawing himself up and squar ing his shoulders in his most military style he remarked falling back into his ejaculatory manner Must be off now Found the wound in your fath ers head to day To morrow look for the bullet that made it Good bye Cant stop another moment and he waa gone CHAPTER X The Fourth Carriage From the En ginu The next morning being Sunday everyone from far and near repaired to the church which contained wfttlr TS1A f i fST i - - - it--- - r tff jrrhS it rTrtfm i irim 1 I- v I T wW AirS2L63L its walls the materials for such a fune ral sermon as in all its ancient his tory It had never before seen gath ered together there The remains now all decently in closed in coffins still lay within tho precincts of the chancel where they must remain until after the inquest on the following day The church which was of no great size was filled to overflowing For not only were there many mourners present who had come post haste from all parts of the kingdom but strangers for miles round attracted by the morbid curiosity which draws crowds as with a cart rope wherever there is a prevalence of the ghastly element blocked the aisles filled the porch and even occupied the pulpit stalls People who came to gape and gaze and then going home to the Sunday dinner exchanged experiences over the shoulder of mutton and baked po tatoes remarking as they wiped their mouths that it was a sad sight but one they wouldnt have missed for anything you could have offered them At the same time they were compelled to own that there were not so many bodies as they had confidently ex pected but then nothing ever did come up to your expectations in this world Ted Burritt had a seat assigned him in one of the front pews A glance at his face on the part of the functionary who discharged the office of ushering the people into their places seemed to be sufficient to show to which portion of the congregation he belonged Ted Burritt knew that his fathers body now lay there within the chan cel rails in one of those hastily con structed coffins which had been roughly put together to meet the sud den and unprecedented demand It was evident that a certain num ber of seats had been reserved for those who it was felt had the great est claim to them for he observed after a short time that the same pew into which he had been ushered also contained two of his fellow passen gers on that ever memorable journey a poor widow and another woman The former it was impossible to doubt had found her worst fears realized for she still cried silently and ceaselessly behind the shelter of her veil The other woman whom he now guessed to be about forty years of age and who was good-looking in a sort of hard featured way was also clothed in deep black gar ments but there was a suppressed glitter in her eye and that same rest less movement of the fingers as she perpetually rustled the leaves of her prayer book which betrayed the ex istence of some strong but suppressed feeling which seemed to be more like excitement than grief But then we are all at liberty to show our grief in our own peculiar way In the other pews round him he rec ognized other faces those of fellow travelers or others whom he had seen at the station or in the church in the early morning of the day before Among these there were of course happy exceptions to the general rule There were those who had found the living where they had looked for the dead and who after a few hours of torturing suspense had discovered the one they sought either in the village or in some of the neighboring ham lets and were present on that morn ing with a chastened joy and grati tude unspeakable To be continued School Children Saved In but few of the cities of the world are school children examined on en trance or subsequently to determine which are defective with reference to applying the remedy Examinations of nearly nine hundred pupils in an American school of the better class during the last year showed that 34 per cent were near sighted 129 per cent had functional heart disorders 56 per cent had spinal curvature with some vertebral rotation 412 percent more had a symmetry of spine hips or shoulders 14G per cent had ade noids or chronically enlarged tonsils In over 10 per cent of the cases letters were sent to parents recommending that medical attention be given to some physical condition Examina tions of 40000 school children by school physicians in the duchy of Saxe Meiningen Germany showed that 23 per cent were near sighted 10 per cent or more had spinal curva ture and 60 per cent had teeth which needed attention Protecting School Children The Minister of Public Instruction in France has taken the lead of all the world in measures for the preven tion of consumption in the schools A new law requires that an examination of every pupil shall be made once in three months and the hight the weight the chest measure and the general physical condition of every one shall be entered on the pupils report The schoolrooms receive the same preventive attention Carpets are prohibited curtains must be ol cloth that may be frequently washed no dry sweeping is allowed and dust must be removed by wet cloths all school furniture must be often scoured books are regularly disin fected and no book that has been used by a consumptive child may be used by another person Colleagues at Outs S Years ago when Lord Anglesey wai lieutenant ot ireianu ne sam once oj the Irish secretary of that day Mr Stanley and I do very well together as companions but we differ so totally abut Ireland that I never mention tha uoject to him Just how they trans acted official business remains a mys tr dgfe ACT IS NOT POPULAE PELUCTANT REPUBLICAN SUP PORT OF THE CUBAN BILL President McKinley Quoted by Con gressman Hepburn to Prove That the Only Sound Reciprocity Is That Which Excludes Competitive Prod ucts The number and the names of the Republican representatives who voted reluctantly and under protest for the Cuban reciprocity bill will never be known It is however perfectly well known that a large number probably a majority voted for the bill under pressure of one sort or another and against their better judgment Mr Hepburn of Iowa like the most of his associates lacked the courage to vote according to his convictions and against the bill but he had the cour age to say that he voted for it under constraint and unwillingly In his speech of November 19 Mr Hepburn confessed that he was yielding to co ercion when he said Mr Chairman I have Intimated that I intend to vote for this bill and yet I confess I do it with reluctance I do it because a large majority of my associates seem to think that it is necessary because the administration very heartily approves of it because the last Republican state convention o the State of Iowa declared in favor of it Therefore I intend to vote for it but I am not satisfied with the reasoning indulged in by gentlemen in support of it Under ordinary circumstances peo ple who disapprove of a measure vote against it It would seem however that extraordinary circumstances must have impelled Mr Hepburn and a hun dred or more just like him to stifle their convictions and help enact into law a bill which they know to be bad in principle and vicious in practice like the gentleman from Iowa all of those unwilling supporters of the Cu ban bill did the wrong thing with their eyes wide open All of them in so doing confessed that they surrendered to influences stronger than their con- cent of the tariff Imposed on like products from other foreign countries will be imposed if the bill becomes a law This would mean a reduction of one half in the duty on sugar and It would be a more injurious blow to the sugar beet industry than the proposed reduc tion of 20 per cent in the duty on sugar from Cuba There is no foundation for a claim that this reduction should be made on Philippine sugar It would be made at the expense of an American indus try which needs protection If thero is any merit in the protective tariff theory at all it applies in the case of the beet sugar Industry As a result of the proposed reduc tion of 50 per cent in the tariff on Philippine sugar great sugar planta tions would be started in those islands and it is altogether possible that leg islation would be crowded through permitting the importation of Chinese labor into the archipelago for the purpose of working such plantations The Philippines are costing the peo ple of this country millions of dollars every year and it inures to the bene fit of the inhabitants of those islands rather than to the people of the Unit ed States Certainly we should not be asked to go farther and destroy one of our industries in order to make the sugar plantations of the Philip pines more profitable Denver Repub lican To Attack the Tariff The majority of those who are con stantly sounding the praises of reci procity have no other purpose except to attack the tariff by the only means at hand Of course there are a few who honestly believe that reciprocity in competitive products is consistent with a protective tariff But there are not many of that kind Reciprocity re minds one of the men who used to call themselves bimetallists Men used to stand around and say We are in favor of the use of gold and silver both we are bimetallists- They would proceed to say that there was not gold enough in the country to make a currency therefore silver must be used Time demonstrated that all such men were silver standard A BREAK THAT THREATENS THE ENTIRE DYKE sciences more potent than their con victions Mr Hepburn was neither worse nor better than his associates so far as his vote was concerned They were all in the same boat The speech of the Iowa congressman was full of good reasons for sticking tr hits principles He denied that we owe anything to Cuba and rightly ar gued that in sacrificing many lives and three or four hundred millions of treasure we incurred no moral obliga tion to assassinate any of our own industries for Cubas benefit He de clared his belief in Republican reci procity namely non competitive reci procity the reciprocity that McKinley advocated in the last speech he ever uttered We should take from our custom ers such of their products as we can use without harm to our industries and labor That said Congressman Hepburn is what William McKinley said And then he asked What is there in that that gives encouragement to men who claim that the competitive article the article toat does harm to our industries or Ooes harm to our labor is to be the subject of reciprocal agreement And yet Congressman Hepburn vot ed for the Cuban bill But so did something over a hundred Republicans in the House There ras applause and approval on the Republican side when the eloquent speaker deprecated the democratic free trade policy which looks to the support of people be jond the seas rather than to the inter est and happiness of our own people It was a fine sentiment finely express ed And yet Mr Hepburn and more than a hundred others of his party voted to do tht identical thing voted in the interest of people beyond the seas rather than to the Interest and happiness of our own people Like the reluctant dame described by By ron And whispering I will neer consent consented Philippine Tariff Reductions Senator Lodge has introduced a bill placing all Philippine products on the free list except sugar and tobacco and on these a duty of only 50 per men In this instance time will dem onstrate that the radical advocates of reciprocity will necessarily land in the Democratic party Des Moines Capital Would Injure Eighty Per Cent Senator Allison is an acknowledged authority on economics He always knows what he is talking about He says that only 20 per cent of goods are made by trusts in this country and he deals in facts because he knows In other words the tariff has nothing to do with the formation of trusts The tariff is intended to keep countries where labor and material are cheap from flooding our country with arti cles which will bankrupt our produc ers and force labor into idleness To remove the tariff he says from trust made goods would remove protection from 80 per cent of goods made by in dependent manufacturers Free trad ers should give this subject serious thought Davenport Republican Hangs to Calamity The Waterloo Times Tribune is a truly Democratic newspaper Under a block head entitled Hot shot for the prosperity makers it publishes a col umn or so calamity items Since the miserable failure of the last Cleveland administration it is wonderful with what tenacity the Democratic party hangs to calamity Vinton Iowa Eagle The Better Way The case is clear It is better to protect your own and take chances on other nations buying of you than to throw open your industries to foreign competition with the possibility of not producing any manufactures which they want to purchase Troy Times Which The Democrats claim that free trade will capture the trade of the world for the United States To do so it will be necessary to cut the incomes of Amer ican wage earners on a level with un derpaid foreign labor Which do you prefer gentlemen Davenport Iwa Republican P5E55iS3J AS THE WORLD REVOLVES REV BROOKE HEREFORD DEAD Was Among the Most Prominent of Unitarian Divines Announcement was made at Boston last week of the death in London of Rev Brooke Hereford D D at one time pastor of the Church of tho Mes siah in Chicago Dr Hereford was pastor of the Rosslyn Hill Chapel Lon don and was born In England In 1830 As a Unitarian preacher he attained tho highest place and was regarded as a very pillar of strength to that de nomination His career In Boston when ho was in charge of tho Arling ton Street Church will long be remem bered for tho splendid work he did Rev Brooke Hereford aroso to prominence in the Unitarian church in England and from Manchester ho was called to Chicago in 1876 taking charge of the Church of the Messiah He remained in that city until 1882 when he went to Boston to fill tho pul pit of the Arlington Street Church where he was regarded as one of tho I ysmZzf nK via EEV BROOKE HEREFORD r yminrer foremost ministers of the city For ten years ho remained in Boston and then accepted a call from his native land taking a pastorate in Hampstead London Dr Hereford was a writer as well as a pulpiteer and was the author of three books The Life Story of Tra vers Madge Sermons of Courage and Cheer and The Forward Move ment in Religious Thought as Inter preted by Unitarians Some years ago Dr Hereford returned to this country to attend the national con ference of the Unitarians in Wash ington At that time he spent nearly two months in Boston and other Mas sachusetts cities ROMANCE REVEALED BY DEATH New York Recluse Leaves Money to Unknown Daughter Alpheus D Dubois for fifty three years principal of a public school in New York city died the other day after leading the life of a recluse for many years It was then learned that he was worth about 500000 Tho pe tition for probate of will sets forth that a widow Julia Dubois survives him and there is this strange clause in the will I give and bequeath to my daughter Ivy Blanche married name and residence unknown 10 000 No reference whatever is made in the will to the widow Two sisters living in New York are made residu ary legatees but they refuse to sive any information regarding the old mans romance BRIDE FOR SPANISH KING Youthful Bavarian Princess Said to Have Been Selected According to the Spanish news papers a project is on foot for the mar riage of King Alfonso to his cousin Princess Marie del Pilar of Bavaria The princess who is 13 years old is the only daughter of Prince and Prin cess Louis Ferdinand of Bavaria Her mother was the Infanta Marie de la Paz of Spain sister of King Alfonsos father Career of Lieut Perrill Lieut Harlan P Perrill of the United States cruiser Atlanta who took a prominent part in a controver sy with Gen Daniel Ortiz commander in chief of the Colombian forces of the Atlantic and Pacific in the Gulf of Darien refusing to lower the star and stripes on the demand of the Colom bian officer is a son of Nathan A Per rill of Lebanon Ind Lieut Perrill with Vern Bryan an apprentice also of Lebanon has been on the Atlantic since the vessel has been on Its pres ent cruise Lieut Perrill is 29 years old 1