o s l i a i it U r 1 fv i c x k i I ft u - - n - t rr BY ARY BSVKREUX MTH ILLUSTRAT10N5 BY DON C WILSON C4J JPsft GcjtrxJ CHAPTER XXI Having emerged from the building Lafitte saw as he was locking the door that many of his men armed with guns had f thered within the stockade the greater number of them standing around another loghouse at the lartbermost end where two of his sub captains Beluche and Dominique You had their quarters He went to the end of the stockade and not seeing Pierre amongst the men gathered there asked if anyone knew of the latters whereabouts He was outside my captain when ast I saw him He was sitting on the bluff smoking and swearing that the men should do no harm to that boat load of beauties lying off shore re plied Dominique You his swarthy face wrinkling with a grin The shadows were falling fast and the dampening air was melodious with the notes of the mocking birds that filled the trees about the fort while faint but sweet came other fluting voices from the deeper woods mingling with the occasional cry of an owl or the reiterative note of a Whippoorwill and now and then the maniacal scream of a loon came from the sedges On the edge of the bluff was Pierre a gun across his knees and looking like a sentinel on guard except that he was stretched upon the ground smoking Pierres head turned quickly at the sound of footsteps behind him and he sprang upright as Jean said We must row out there and send those fellows back to their ship The offi cers will remain here for the night Nothing more was said until a small boat had been pushed off Jean sat in the stern and Pierre laying his gun across the seat picked up the oars and began to row with long steady strokes that sent the light craft speeding out toward the English boat showing black in the gathering dusk Jean now tied a handkerchief to an extra oar and raised it making a white flutter in the shadows Offered they a generous bribe Pierre inquired softly turning his head in order to make sure of the other boats exact position while his are to return to the brig and report here at noon to morrow Aye sir replied the boatswain Eight oars touched the water as one and the English boat went her way Pierre soon began to row more slow ly and Jean asked in continuation of their recent talk Heard you ever of a more dastardly plan for white men to map out Not I growled Pierre Even La ro scoundrel as he was never did a worse thing And if we decline this Jean then what is it to be or did they not do us the honor of doubting our ac ceptance Barataria is to be overrun by the English our ships and property con fiscated and you and I together with our men put to death as pirates who have merited the vengeance of Great Britain by our seizure of Spanish ves sels So But Pierres laugh had little of mirth in it Louisiana offers a price for your head and England threatens to hang you if you will not help her destroy New Orleans so that she may have Louisiana by the throat A fine choice of favors this to select from Unf the low cane thatched roof coveiiiijthe abode of Beluche and Domini je You they and the two La fittes ate supper in comparative si lence owing to the coming and going of the slave Juniper who waited upon them But the meal over with pipes and bottles upon the cleared table and Juniper shut apart in his own do main they proceeded to discuss the matter whose contemplation had made their silence seem sullen When they were all seated Lafitte in a low tone and to the accompani ment of occasional angry comments and imprecations read the two papers omitting however all mention of the money offered to himself Now tell us Captain Lafitte spoke up Beluche who like Pierre had been smoking contemplatively apparently revolving what had been read tell us what you advise as the cause to be pursued But first of all I declare that never will I take up arms for England against America or any other I - ZTSJ - - Si vmm iw m wa v v l Pacing up and down with the hounds for company powerful arms worked with the smoothness of a piston rod Indeed yes They offer me the rank of captain in the English navy and thirty thousand dollars in cash Pierre gave a low whistle And the price of all this honor and wealth he asked taking another backward glance Pull a bit more to larboard we will stop at easy hailing distance said Jean after turning half way in his seat Then in an entirely dif ferent tone one of concentrated rage The price is that we are to sell our selves to the English and lead them by our own paths and waterways so that they may fall unexpectedly upon New Orleans and burn the city after pillaging it They are also to buy the slaves with promised freedom and then add to the ruin by an insurrec tion Pierre although of not so fine a mould as Jean shared the latters dis like to profanity and rarely indulged in strong language But he now ut tered a terrible oath This was his only comment and it was followed by silence until Jean announced Here we are and well lie on our oars He sent a challenging shout over the water It was answered at once then came the sound of working oars and Lafitte called again Come no nearer Captains Lockyer and Mc Williams will remain on the island for the night and have sent you writ ten orders Stop where you are and I will bring them to you A short pause succeeded then a surly Aye aye came across the water and the rowing stopped just as a fiery thread of the rising moon was lifting above the sea Pierre soon brought his boat along side the other one and Jean laying a hand on its gunwale inquired Who is in command here I am sir replied one of the men rising so that his powerful form stood out above the others Im bosn of the brig Here are your orders said Lafitte handing the sealed paper to the near est man who passed it along You nation As to that I can count upon enough followers to make it Avorth my while to sail away southward and stop there until this trouble is over I will tell you that my idea is to communicate promptly with the au thorities in New Orleans offering them for the citys defense our ser vices which the English appear to value so highly The price I shall de mand is the granting to us of- pardon for all past offenses or supposed of fenses To such of my officers and men who may suffer materially I will promise all the help my private purse can give What say you to this He glanced around the circle his eyes resting or Catalon and Dominique-You I say my captain that is all very much to my taste replied the latter and Catalon added as emphatically Mine as well And you Beluche what say you Beluche replied slowly I say with out reserve that I am with you in everything that is for America as against England and I know that my men will be with me Aye added Catalon we can all fight with a better stomach for Gov ernor Claiborne than for King George And what if Governor Claiborne refuse us the opportunity of fighting for him The question was from Pierre who had left his chair and was knocking the ashes from his pipe into the fire place He cannot afford to refuse us de clared Beluche with unusual anima tion before Jean could speak And Not he exclaimed Catalon and Dominique You speaking as with a single voice This then is our course said La fitte as if Pierres question had been fitly answered and which for the present must be kept strictly to our selves as our men need not be told for several days to come Meanwhile In the morning I will answer Lock yer and McWilliams as I find it best to do And Catalon remember you and Dominique see to it that the men are kept quiet and that nothing oc curs to prevent my returning the two officers safely to their boat Several times during the night Jean and Pierre singly or together went outside to reconnoitre but the hours passed without disturbance Once while Jean was pacing up and down beneath the bright stars with the hounds for company the sound of a far off wolfs cry changed as would have the blast of a trumpet the current of his thoughts Was it really coming and so near as it seemed the day for which he had longed holding for him the chance of redeeming himself in the estimation of the Island Rose And were not events seeming to shape for enabling him to fulfil the promise made upon Elba that he would erase the stigma from the name of Lafitte in Louisiana A thrill of hope made new life spring within him and with an un voiced prayer he lifted his wilful face to the heavens from whence there seemed to descend a strange peace CHAPTER XXII At sunrise a change had taken place in the appearance of things about the stockade Before the now opened gates a brawn Irishman one of Be luches trusted followers fully armed paced to and fro and Lopez stood guard before the locked doors of La fittes house As Pierre Jean and the two under captains were finishing breakfast a messenger came to tell the former that the Star of the Gulf had corae to anchor in the harbor and was fly ing a signal for his presence on board It is Zendanner from Mexico at last he said glancing at Jean and I am glad to know of his safe arrival He should have been in a week ago Will you go or shall I Pierre ask ed as Jean remained silent The latter like Pierre knowing the full meaning of the signal replied that he would go aboard and leaving Pierre in charge of matters at the stockade he took his way to the har bor Returning in an hours time he was coming up the path from the beach when he heard unmistakable sounds of tumult followed by the roar of the gun mounted upon a pivot in front of his own house as a protection against possible disturbances Pierre Beluche and Dominique You were standing upon the steps of the house shouting angrily at the rioters for such they were who armed and filled with murderous lust crowded before them demanding The two English spies To be continued ARE BLONDS TO DISAPPEAR Probability That in the Future We Shall All Be Brunettes The somewhat startling statement has been made that the blue eyed golden haired and light complexioned variety of the human race is in the course of extinction and that within a few more generations blonds are likely to become so rare in the worlds population that they may be looked upon as curiosities somewhat as al binos are to day The blond type has been so often chosen by artists and poets to represent their noblest con ceptions of human beauty that no one can regard even the bare suggestion of its extinction -without dismay Moreover some of the worlds great est races and many of its most mas terful personalities have belonged to this type and its admirers have some times gone so far as to aver that light complexions and in particular light colored eyes are the favored livery of the highest genius This is undoubtedly an extreme and untenable claim yet it cannot be de nied that history shows an extraor dinary number of men and women of the first rank in all the higher fields of intellect who possessed the charac teristic marks of the blond and this not only in countries where the light type prevails but also in lands like Italy where the general complexion of the population is dark Success Flowers and Character That which surounds us forms our character If we live in the midst of filth we cannot keep it secret The world turns its knowing eye on us looks beneath the surface sees our inner selves our degraded minds and our cold cruel hearts If we live surrounded by the beau ties of life the world knows too Our hearts grow kind and sympathetic and our thoughts high and pure We all know that this is true Then is it not our plain duty to surround our little children with every lovable uplifting thing the world affords Is it not our duty to ourselves to sur round ourselves with everything which will refine our thoughts and help to form within us an admirable character We owe it to our children to ourselves and to society Probably the purest and most beau tiful things on earth are flowers Can you not imagine a character grown in the midst of a garden of flowers Montreal Herald So He Could Sleep A guest at one of Kansas Citys large hotels surprised the key clerk Tuesday night by stepping up to the desk at 10 oclock and saying I am going to bed now Please call me at midnight The clerk couldnt understand why the man wished to get up at that hour Going out to night he asked No replied the guest You see Im always called in the morning at home and I can always go into a sound sleep after the call To night the fact that Im in a strange bed may keep me awake so I thought Id try to get to sleep through the call method See Kansas City TimAS WAR WILL GO M EMPEROR OF RUSSIA DECIDES TO CONTNUE THE FIGHT WILL PRESS JTJflTH ENERGY Advices to the German Court from Russia Czars Advisers Think Chance for Great Victory in Man churia Is Good BERLIN The emperor of Russia has elected to continue the war His position is absolutely firm and the German court has been advised in that sense The war will be pressed with the utmost energy the domestic situation being now within the control of the authorities Those who have advised peace and suggested inquiries for japans terms the French and British governments are for the present silent and are like ly to remain so unless events of an extraordinary character shake the Russian emperors resolution The considerations that led to the emper ors decision as understood here are First The judgment of the chiefs of the army that Field Marshal Oyama not only cannot defeat General Kuro patkin but stands in danger of defeat himself How cowardly therefore for Russia to ask for mercy with all the men and money essential to a suc cessful war Second All the forces of criticism now directed against the government for having fought rather than yield to legitimate interests and for having failed to win victories would be con tinued with added fury against the government that accepted war and then betrayed the country A govern ment that would crave peace of Rus sias enemy while still capable of win ning victory would be giving the party of change genuine grounds for revo lution The facts of the military situa tion love of country and arguments of expediency were all against peace and for pressing the war hopefully ST PETERSBURG A second day has passed without dispatches having been given ou from General Kuropat kin which is interpreted to support the rumors that great events are in progress in Manchuria The war of fice however steadfastly maintains hat there is no important news and ihat there have been no developments since the last dispatches made pub ic in which the commander-in-chief reported all quiet with the exception of minor actions to the eastward The Associated Press dispatches from Mukden made no mention of a battle and the retirement of the Russians JAPAN WANTS INDEMNITY Has Spent 350000000 in Upholding Principles PARIS Rusia has not given any indication to France that she is ready to take up the question of peace and therefore the authorities here do not feel qualified to discuss the St Peters burg reports giving the precise terms The reports are explained substantial ly as follows The peace sentiment has lately been steadily augmenting throughout Russia particularly outside of St Petersburg and within recent days some of the most influential person ages in St Petersburg have come out favorable to peace and have sought to impress responsible officials that the time has arrived to take definite action However those having the chief responsibility such as Foreign Minister Lamsdorff have not yet shown willingness to accept peace ar guments Therefore so long as the Russian foreign office is not prepared to accept the peace view it is consid ered doubtful of accomplishment In spite of this the peace reports are considered a hopeful sign of a tend ency in the highest quarters towards peace The Japanese leglation points out that peace negotiations require certain definite steps between parties and as Russia has not yet made the slightest overture to Japan concern ing terms Russia is not in a position to elaborate pacific conditions The officials of the legation incline to the view that St Petersburg reports were designed to sound official sentiment in Japan What Tokio will say is not known TO PUSH LAND FRAUD CASES President Roosevelt Determined to Go to the Bottom WASHINGTON As the result of conference held at the white house with President Roosevelt further de velopments in the land fraud cases in Oregon and California may be expect ed at no distant day Since the first steps were taken looking to the prose cution of the alleged offenders the president has shown a keen interest in the investigations which have been made and in the indictments which followed With the view of acquaint ing himself with the situation as it exists up to the present time the pres ident was in close conference with Secretary Hitchcock Attorney General Moody and Special Attorney F J Heney who discussed with him the evidence so far gathered Later in the day he held a second conference at which were present Secretary Hitch cock Mr Heney and Secret Service Inspector William D Burns who was active in bringing about a number of arrests At this latter meeting it is understood a plan of action was mapped out and the statement was made that it need not occasion sur prise if further arrests are ordered A MINE DISASTER Over One Hundred Men are En tombed BIRMINGHAM Ala By an explo sion in the Virginia mines about eighteen miles southwest of Birming ham at 4 oclock Monday afternoon between 110 and 135 union minora are entombed and it is believed that the entire number suffered an awful death Scores of vigorous rescuers are at work digging into the mine to re lieve their friends and comrades on the inside The explosion is believed to have been caused by an accumulation of dust although the mine has hereto fore been noted for being entirely free from gas It is also believed that as the entire quota has probably been killed the details of the cause of the disaster will never be known The news spread like wildflro through the whole district The camp is almost isolated from the rest of the world as there is no telephone station at Virginia and the only wire running to the place is a dispatchers wire of the Birmingham Mineral rail way on which Virginia is located Details are slow to come In but each man who arrived in the city from the scene told a more gruesome story of the horror Since the strike has been on in the Birmingham district many of the most industrious and thrifty miners of Pratt City and other important mining points have removed to the Virginia mines so that the mined were bing worked to their full ca pacity by the most skilled minors in the community Relief trains with surgeons and workmen were dispatched from both Birmingham and Bessemer as soon as the news of he disaster was learn ed They began the work of succor1 in earnest before G oclock and at midnight had not gotten half way through the mass of debris It is thought it will be 10 oclock Tuesday before the interior of the slope is reached The slopes are well arrang ed and there has never been the least trouble in the mines before They are owned by he Alabama Steel and Wire company but are leased and operated by Reid Co BIRMINGHAM The scene at Vir ginia mines on Tuesday where a ter rific afterdamp explosion occurred imprisoning 100 men 700 feet below the surface was the most gruesome and sorrowing that has ever been witnessed in this section of Alabama Of the miners who entered the mine so far only forty five bodies have been recovered The recovery already of so many dead bodies precludes the idea that any living men remain among the unfortunates still in the mine The corpses are frightfully mangled and disfigured and identifica tion is almost impossible OSAGE OIL LEASE House Resolution Asks Pointed Ques tions WASHINGTON Another chapter in the Osage oil lease incident developed Wednesday when Representative Stephens of Texas introduced two resolutions in the house addressing inquiries to the secretary of the in terior regarding the Foster lease of oil and gas lands belonging to the Osage Indians One resolution calls on the secretary to furnish the house with a copy of the Foster lease and of all subleases under the lease giving the dates of the approval or rejection and all correspondence on the sub ject The other resolution asks under what act of congress the Foster lease was made and under what authority of law the subleases were approved The secretary is asked whether ho did not ratify the sublease to the Al meda company and whether this was not the first sublease so ratified and whether he had not previously re fused to ratify subleases The reso lution asks not only for the late o the ratification of the Almetla sub lease but also calls for a list of the officers directors and stockholders of the Almeda company with informa tion as to whether any of these per sons are personally known or in any way related to him the secretary and if so the name of such person and how related The resolution directs the secretary to say whether he did not on Febru ary 13 last in a letter addressed to the chairman of the committee on In dian affairs write that the commis sioner of Indian affairs also shows that there is no necessity for the pro posed legislation in order to protect the existing rights of the parties who hold under the said Foster lease and it is not deemed advisable nor in deed would it be just to renew and extend the said lease for a period of ten years or any other period with out the knowledge and consent of the Indians The resolutions continue And if you did write this letter please state to this house what infor mation you have since received that has caused you to recommend the adoption of the senate amendment to the Indian appropriation bill extend ing said lease for ten years on 680000 acres of said Osage Indian lands with out first securing the consent of said Indians The statement recently given out by Secretary Hitchcock is cited in which he said that the original Fos ter lease was an unheard of monopoly and nothing short of a public scandal and the resolution asks the secretary if he was correctly quoted and if so to state why he now recommends ex- i tension of the lease IS Ifl THE BLOOD Neither Liniments nor Ointments Will Reach Rheumatism How Mr Stephenson Vas Cured Peoplo with inflamed and aching joints or paiuful muscles peoplo who shuffle about with tho uid of a cano or a crutch and cry Oh at ovory slight jar nro constantly askingWhut is tho best thing for rheumatism To attempt to euro rheumatism by ex ternal applications is a foolish wusto of time Tho scut of tho disease is in tho blood and whilo tho sufferer is rubbing lotions and grease on tho skin tho poison in tho circulation is increasing Dolaysin adopting n sensible treatment nro dangerous bocauso rheumatism may at any moment reach the heart and provo fatal The only safocourso forrhoumatio sufferers is to get tho best possible blood remedy nt once Mr Stephensons experience with this obstinate and distressing afiliction is that of hundreds Ho says About a year ago I was attacked by severo rheumatic pains in my left shoulder The pains wero worse in wet weather and at these periods caused mo tho greatest suffering I tried ti number of treatments and ointments but thoy failed to alleviate tho pains Then he realized that tho causo mnsfc bo deeper and tho pain only asurfuco in dication Ho adds I had heard Dr Williams Pink Pills for Palo Peoplo recommended as a euro for rheumatism and when I found that I was getting no relief from applications I iniido up my mind that I would try them Before tho first 1kx whs gono I noticed that tho jHiins wero becoming less frequent and that they were not so sovero as before After tho second box jnd been used up I was entirely freo from discomfort mid I have had no truces of rheumatism since Tho change in treatment proved by almost iiiuiicdiato results that Mr Thomas Stephenson who lives atNollV Greenwood street Springfield had found the true means for tho purifi cation and enrichment of his blood Dr Williams Pink Pills are without doubt the btst of all blood remedies They eftec t genuine and lusting uures in rheumatism They do not merely deaden the ache but they expel the poison from tho blood These pills are sold by all druggists Spread of English Language New Zealand Samoa Hawaii most of Polynesia and various small states have permanently adopted our mother tongue and there is every reason to believe that the 10000000 of Filipinos will be using it in the course of time With the construction of the Panama canal Central America also will prob ably yield to its influences to a large extent Definition cf Railway Ticket A little school girls definition of a railroad ticket is worth repeating In a composition written in one of tho Boston primaries on A Railway Jour ney the little one says among other things You have got to get a ticket which is a piece of paper and you give it to a man who cuts a hole in it and lets you pass through Have Strange Beliefs Strange beliefs linger in many out-of-the-way corners of Britain In Dev onshire for instance the country folk still make cramp rings out of old coffin handles and bracelets forged out of nails on which suicides have hanged themselves are worn by gouty people and deemed singularly effica cious Cured Her Diabetes Halo Ind Feb 27tn Special If what will cure Diabetes will euro an form of Kidney Disease as so many physicians say then Dodds Kidney Pills will cure any form of Kidney Disease For Mrs L C Bow ers of this place has proved that Dodds Kidney Pills will cure Dia betes I had Diabetes Mrs Bowers says my teeth all became loose and part of them came out I passed a great deal of water with such burning sen sations I could hardiy bear it I lost about 40 pounds in weight I used many medicines and doctored with two local doctors but never got any better till I started to use Dodds Kidney Pills They cured me so com pletely that in three years I have had no return of the disease I am a well woman now thanks to Dodds Kidney Pills Dodds Kidney Pills cure all kidney ailments from Backache to Brights Disease Cure your Backache with them and you will never have Brights Disease Diabetes or Rheumatism Lake Chad is gradually drying up and recent researches tend to show that its complete disappearance is only a question of time CUTICURA GROWS HAIR Scalp Cleared of Dandruff and Hair Restored by Ona Box of Cuticura and One Cake of Cuticura Soap A W Taft of Independence Va writing under date of Sept 15 1904 says I have had falling hair and dandruff for twelve years and could get nothing to help me Finally I bought one box of Cuticura Ointment and one cake of Cuticura Soap and they cleared my scalp of the dandruff and stopped the hair falling Now my hair is growing as well as ever I am highly pleased with Cuticura Soap as a toilet soap Signal A W Taft Independence Va Tho trouble with remorse- is thax it never turns up till next morning