Ffc ii r 11 r i Al a 3 X V 4 433tK33 t6e Bondrrvarv By HALL CAINE A Contliaei Story 444kk33h CHAPTER III Continued That night when they had returned to the hut wherein they slept or tried to sleep they found that some well meannig stranger had been there in their absence and nailed up on the grimy walls above their beds a card bearing the text Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest And so ghastly ceemed the irony of those words in that place that Jason muttered an oath be tween his teeth as he read them and Sunlocks threw himself down being unbound for the night with a peal of noisy laughter and a soul full of strange bitterness The next day after that the sixth of their life together rose darker -than any day that had gone before it for the wounded hand of Michael Sunlocks was then purple and black and swollen to the size of two hands and his bod ily strength was so low that try a3 bravely as he might to stand erect whenever he struggled to bis feet he fell to the ground again Thinking nothing of this the warders were for strpping him up to Jason as before but while they were in the act of doing so he fainted in their hands Then Jason swept them from him and ypwed that the first man that touched Sunlocks again should lie dead at his feet Send for the captain he cried and if the man has any bowels of compas sion let him come and see what you have done The warders took Jason at his word and sent a message to the office saying that one of their prisoners was mutin ous and the other pretending to be ill After a time the Captain despatched two other warders to the help of the first two and these words along with them for his answer If one rebels punish both Nothing loth for such exercise the four warders set themselves to decide what the punishment should be and while they laid their heads together Jason was bending over Sunlocks who was now recovered to consciousness asking his pardon in advance for the cruel penalty that his rash act was to bring on both of them Forgive me he said I couldnt help it I didnt know what I was do ing There is nothing to forgive broth er whispered Michael Sunlocks And thus with stammering tongues they comforted one another and with hands clasped together they waited for the pnnishment that had to come At length the warders concluded that for refusing to work for obstinate dis obedience and for threatening notbrng would serve but that their prisoners should straightway do the most peril ous work to be found that day at the sulphur mines Now this was the beginning of the end for Red Jason and Michael Sun locks and if the evil chance had not befallen them God alone can say how long they might have lived together at Krisuvik or how soon or how late they would have become known to one another by their true names and char acters But heaven itself had its pur poses even in the barbarity of base hearted men as a means towards the great end that was near at hand And this was the way of its coming A strange change that no one could rightly understand had lately come upon the natural condition of the sul phur mines The steam that rose from the solfataras nad grown less and less week by week and day by day until in some place it had altogether subsided This was a grave sign for in the steam lay the essence of the sulphur and if it ceased to rise from the pits the sul phur would cease to grow Other changes came with this such as that deep subteranean noises arose from parts of the plain where no fis sures had yet been seen and that foot steps on the earth around these places produced a hollow sound From these signs taken together the Captain had concluded that the life of the mines the great infernal fire that raged beneath the surface was changing ground leaving the val ley where it had lived for ages for the mountain heights where the low grumblings were now heard to come from beneath the earths crust of lava and basaltic rock So taking the counsel of his people he decided to bore the ground in these new places in the hope of lighting on living solfataras that wouM stand to him against the loss of the dead ones And it chanced he was in the midst of many busy preparations for this work when the report of the warders reached him and the boring was still uppermost in his mind when he sent back his answer as he came upon the flogging and stopped it Thus it happened that the first thought that came to the warders was to send their prisoners to one of the spots that had been marked on the hillside for the test of bore and spade So in less than half-an-hour more Jason and Sunlocks lashed together arm to arm and leg to leg were being driven up the mountain to the place assigned to them They found it a hideous and awesome spot Within a circle of two yards across the ground was white and yellow and scaly like a scab on evil fish It was hot so that the hand could not rest upon It and hollow so that the foot made it shake and from unseen depths beneath it a dull thud came up at intervals like nothing else but the knocking of a man burled alive at the sealed door of his tomb Beneath this spot the heart of the solfatara was expected to He and Ja son and Sunlocks were commanded to open it Obeying gloomily they took the bore first and pierced tne scaly surface and instantly a sizzling and bubbling sound came up from below Then they followed with the spades but scarcely had they lifted the top crust when twenty great fisures seemed to open under their feet and they could see lurid flames -rushing in wild confusion like rivers of fire in the bowels of the earth It was a sight at wjiich the stoutest heart might have quailed and Jason leapt back to the bank and dragged SunlockF after him This is not safe he said In with you shouted the warders from their own safe footing of four yards away With a growl from be tween his clenched teth Jason stepped back into the hole and Sunlocks fol lowed him But hardly had they got down to the fearsome spot again when a layer of clay fell in from it leaving a deep wide gully and then scarcely a yard of secure footing remained Let us stop while we are safe Ja son cried Dig away shouted the warders If we do we shall be digging our own graves said jason Begin shouted the warders Listen to me said Jason If we are to open this pit of fire and brim stone at least let us be free of these ropes Thats but fair that each man may have a chance of his life Go on shouted the warders If we go on like this we shall be burnt and boiled alive said Jason Get along shouted the warders with one voice and then an awful light flashed in Jasons eyes for he saw that out of revenge for their paltry fines they had resolved to drive two living men to their death Now listen again said Jason and mark my vords We will do as you command us and work in this pit of hell I will not die in it that I know But this man beside me is weak and ill heaven curse your humanity and if anything happens to him and lam alive to see it as sure as there is strength left in my arms and blood in my body I will tear you limb from limb So saying he plunged his spade into the ground beneath him with an oath to drive it and at the next instant there was a flash of blue flame an av alanche of smoke a hurricane of un earthly noises a cry ifke that of a dy ing man and then an awful silence When the air was cleared Jason stood uninjured but Michael Sunlocks hung by his side inert and quiet and blinded by a jet of stream What happened to Jason thereafter no tongue of man could tell All the fire of his spirit and all the strength of all his days seemed to flow back upon him in that great moment He parted the ropes that bound him as if they had been green writhes that he snapped asunder He took Sunlocks in his arms and lifted him to his shoul der and hung him across it as if he had been a child that he placed there Be steped out of the deadly pit and strode along over the lava mountain as if he were the sole creature of the everlasting hills His glance was ter riffic his voice was the voice of a wounded beast The warders dropped their muskets and fled before him like affrighted sheep CHAPTER IV THROUGH THE CHASM OF ALL MEN It was still early in the morning a soft gray mist lay over the moor lands but the sun that had never set in that northern land was rising through clouds of pink and white over the bald crown of a mountain to the northeast And towards the rising sun Jason made his way striding on with the red glow on his own tanned and blackened face and its ghastly mock ery of the hues of life on the pallid cheeks and whitened lips of Sunlocks From his right ankle and right wrist hung the rings of his broken fetters and from the left ankle and left wrist of Sunlocks trailed the ropes that had bound them both Never a moment did he pause to breathe or think or question himself On and one he went over lava rocks and lava dust basaltic rock and heavy clay and hot blue earth and scorched and withered moss And still Sunlocks lay over his right side and shouldermotionless and un conscious hardly breathing but alive with his waist encircled by Jasons great right arm and his waist belt grasped tight as with the grip of a talon by Jasons hard right hand Before long Sunlocks recovered some partial consciousness and cried in a faint voice for water Jason glanced around on the arid plain as if- his eyes would pierce the ground for a spring but no water could he see on any side of him and so without a word of answer he strode along Water water cried Sunlocks again and just then Jason caught the side long glint of a river that ran like a pearl chain down the black breast of a mountain Water cried Sunlocks again and yet again in a voice of pain and deep pleading not rightly knowing yet where he was or what bad chance had befallen him Yes yes one moment more only a moment there there there whisp ered Jason And muttering such words of com fort and cheer he quickened his pace towards the river But when he got near to it he stopped short with a cry of dismay The river bubbled and smoked Hot It is hot cried Jason And the land is accursed At that word Sunlocks utered a low groan and his head which had been partly lifted fell heavily backwards and his hair hung over Jasons shoul der He was again unconscious Then more than ever like a wild beast ranging the hills with its prey Jason strode along And presently he saw a lake of blue far away He knew it for cold water Ulessed ioe cold water water to bathe the hot forehead with water to drink With a cry of joy which there was no human ear to hear he turned and made towards it but just as he did so softening as he went and muttering from his own parched throat words of hope and com fort to the unconscious man he carried a gunshot echoed through the moun tains above his head He knew what the shot was it was tHe signal of his escape And looking down the valley he saw that the guards of the settlement were gather ing on their ponies in the - 1 the plain that he must traverse to reach the water for which Sunlocks thirsted Then Water water came again in the same faint voice as Ueiotc aua whether with his actual ear ne ueaiu that cry or in the torment of his dis traught sense it only rang out in his empty heart no man shall say But all the same he answered it from his J choking throat Patience patience And then with another look down ward the look of a human stag at the cool water which he might not reach and live he turned himself back to the mountains What happened to him then and for many weary hours thereafter it would weary the spirit to tell what plains he crossed what hills he climbed and in what desolate wilderness he walked alone with no one for company save the unconscious man across his shoul der and no eye to look upon him save the eye of God And first he crossed a wide sea of lava dust black as the raven that flew in the air above it and bounded by hills as dark as the earth that were themselves sand dirfts blown up into strange and terrible shapes by mighty tempests Then he came upon a plain strewn over with cinders having a grim crag frowning upon it like the bank of a smelting house with its screes of refuse rolling down By this time the sun had risen high and grown hot and the black ground under his feet began to send up the reflection of the suns rays into his face to scorch it And still the cry of water water rang in his ears and his eyes ranged the desolate land to find it but never a sign of it could he see and his strong heart sank Once when he had mounted with great toil to the top of a hill where all behind him had been black and burnt and blister ed he saw a wide valley stretching in front of him that was as green as the grass of spring And he thought that where there was grass there would surely be water streams of water rivers of water pools of water sunny stretches of sweet water lying clear and quiet over amber pebbles and be tween soft brown banks of turf So at this sight his heart was lifted up and bounding down the Ullside over the lava blocks as fast as he could go for his burden he began to sing from his cracked throat in his hoarse and quavery voice But when he reached the valley his song stopped and his heart sank afresh for it was not grass but moss that grew there and it lay only on big blocks of lava with never a drop of moisture or a handful of earth be tween them To be continued ABOUT MEXICAN INDIANS Under Natures Selection They Grow Up to be Oar Superiors There is great hope for the Indian peoples of Mexico says a writer in the Boston Herald They are for the most part clean of blood with a ner vous force which makes them on be ing educated go far Many eminent men there are of mixed blood and it is worthy of note that the Indian blood gives gravity mental poise and great will power The Indian is loyal a good friend a tremendous enemy and sometimes none too enamored of the ideas of the white race Down deep in his heart Is something abor iginal intense and sound We have lost something in the United States by holding the Indian at arms length socially Indian blood is good blood and renovates the white race You get good brains in the Indian because they are not vitiated and are not too far removed from the strong old life that nature prefers and in which she eliminates weaklings Had the Ger man philosopher Nietsche visited Mexico he would have found some types of his over man his natural superior being among the Indians Na ture is a rough nurse but she makes men and women who delight in living and who live long Our urban civili zation and daintiness and comforts de stroy real manhood and womanhood and so do flourish dentists doctors faddists and milk-and-water reform ers Nothing but the sun and air the free life of nature produces the best in physique and in character The In dians grow up without coddling and their strength of body is equaled by their vigor of mentality It is a great thing not to be nervous to breathe deep to have plenty of quick moving blood One is amazed at the power of application of Indians of culture they get fathjued only after intense work They have stamina It is a goodly sight to see coming down into warm country valleys from the Sier ras the Indian women straight clear eyed uncorseted Maidens with fine and eloquent eyes walking as the Greek goddesses did their every mo tion graceful and if gowned in civil ized manner fit to adorn a drawing room Some of the tribes have many handsome women you look at them and all accepted civilized standards fall away Contrast the erect and se rene Indian maidens on the country roads of Mexico with the parlor darl ings of civilization under the care of the specialists teeth yellow with gold with a hundred arts of the toilet and nerves easily tired and jangled Uniform Price on Books American publishers have decided that after May 1 of the present year they will settle upon a net price at which books will be disposed of for sale by the retail stores English pub lishers announce that a similar step to enforce a uniform price on the mid dlemen in that country will be at temptedT Jerusalems Stamp Jerusalem has its own Hebrew can cancellation stamp says the Jewish World Hitherto all manner of stamp3 have been current in payment of out ward bound mails Now however the Turkish stamp is the of the day and Jerusalem in Hebrew neat square characters forms part of the postmark which cancels the stamp i -- iiiTinfiiiMitftHiMBBBHBBlBIBBBMMMBBB m I ABOUT EATING MUCH MEAT Devouring Unnecessary Quantities of Food Brings Us Suffering It is a frequently discussed fact that Americans as a rule eat too much meat la European countries even in England the land of four meals a day there is not so much meat consumed as in the average American household whoso Inhabi tants belong to the elastic class of well-to-do Taking the naturally nervous constitution of most Ameri cans the national lack of systematic exercise the general preponderance of sedentary occupations all of which operate against the digestion and as similation of such quantities of meat it is not difficult to trace many of the ills whiph flesh is heir to back to the quantity of meat consumed per aiem There are many scientists in the world who allege that all of us overeat regularly and systematically consum ing vast quantities of food over and above what the body demands and suffering consequently Physicians and dietists are constantly endeavor ing to win the world over to simpler and more abstemious living and it is almost common now for a physician who has had the advantage of the most modern teaching to advocate ab solute fasting during illness It is unquestionable that if we could all follow Pope Leos methods of eating a little fruit for breakfast a little soup and vegetable for dinner and fruit again with crusty bread for supper we might live to be as old as he is but such a reformation in our ways is scarcely possible in a single generation Particularly in summer weather when every extra ounce put Into the stomach robs us of just so much energy should we make stringent reforms in the butchers bill Once a day from June to Octo ber for meat is more than sufficient and is the first step toward reform Three times a week is better once a week still better and if we could force ourselves to do without flesh en tirely for that period we should be triply the better for it Vegetables fresh and crisp uncooked or simply prepared with a little butter and sea soning fruit plenty of it ripe and sweet salads at all times and of all varieties and whole wheat or crusty brown loaves these would work di rect reformation in the summer health for most of us BROWN HAIR IS POPULAR Auburn and Blonde Tresses Have Gone Out of Fashion The woman of today who desires to be fashionable must wear brown tress es whether she seeks to shine upon the stage or in society The change is not due to the initiative of the stage however The mania for blonde hair some years ago was most evident among the footlight favorites Then came the more recent rage for all shades and grades of auburrn hair of which Zaza was the spectacular ex ample The quiet domesticated brown hair of so many player women today reflects the vogue for it in all classes of society Miss Mannering Miss Marlowe Miss Anglin Miss Eleanor Robson Miss Tyree Miss Bates and many more have won suc cess in spite of what would once have been considered a tremendous handi cap brown hair It is the blonde ac tress whether actually or artificially so who is handicapped today She not only suggests the socially fast and furious but she is old fashioned which is even worse Most light haired actresses such as Miss Adams are light haired and nothing more They are careful not to hint at the word blonde It is noticeable that the brown haired actresses are as a rule recent recruits to the profession They represent the new order of jthings Among women In private life that one meets on the streets at the shops and in cafes brown hair is much more common than it has been Jfor years It is the fashion and a good one it stands for the real rather than the false Chicago Chronicle Is a Jack at All Trades Few people can successfully con duct more than one business enter prise yet Mrs John Bucher of Gib raltar Pa has for several years pre sided over the destinies of a black smith shop a saw mill and a farm and has besides taken care of her five children and nursed her sick husband She has thus established the repu tion of being the most remarkable wo man of her kind in Pennsylvania When Mr Bucher was taken ill his wife assumed all of his duties as well as her own Last fall Mrs Bucher cradled and harvested an entire field of rye and cut all corn raised on the farm She also assisted in the run ning of the big cider press During the winter she helped filLthe icehouse Japans First lady and England There is no more ardent admirer among foreign royalties of England and all things English than the em press of Japan who with her hus band has done so much to develop her country on western lines The empress who has been married thirty years and has a family of five chil dren is still as essentially young and vigorous as any of them Every day she spends an hour in her private gymnasium in the palace at Tokio and she is said to be one of the most skill ful horsewomen in Japan The past remains with us to remind us of our perils and our constant need of help but it ought not haunt and oppress us The real life of an aspir ing soul is always ahead We are not fleeing from the devil but seeking God KKMHKHMHMHK Commoner Comment Extracts From W J Bryans Paper 7 3X HHHHHMK What About 2cxt Week When President McKinley was ad dressing the laboring men at San Francisco and congratulating them upon their prosperity and content ment one brawny wage earner arose and asked What about next week Of course he was guilty of some dis courtesy in thus interrupting a meet ing made notable by the presence of the chief executive and bis companions beckoned to him to be silent But he could not have asked a more embar rassing question at a republican meet ing The administration is living in the present with no thought or plan or the future It might be well for the president to consider the simple question propounded by the California toiler The railroads are consolidating shut ting out competition issuing watered stock and making worthless securities dividend paying by the exercise of ar bitrary power in the fixing of rates They are having things all their own way now but What about next week The trusts are swallowing the indus tries building up enormous fortunes and levying tribute upon the entire country They may be willing to con tribute largely to the republican cam paign fund today but what will be the effect upon industry What about next week The money changers are in control of our finances they can expand or contract the currency at will they can make more out of the fluctuations of the money market than they can in legitimate business they rule with a rod of iron but what is the end What about next week Imperialism is rampant speculators are planning forays against distant lands carpet baggers are growing fat and respect for political principles and moral precepts is being lost sight of some people are making money out of it but What about next week If the republicans are not too busy to think if prosperity leaves them time for reflection they will find it worth while to answer to their own satisfaction if they can that pertinent and perplexing questio n What about next week Consulting Destiny It seems to be destiny that the United States should acquire the Danish West Indies A treaty of sale is now being arranged between Denmark and the United States for the sale to this country of the islands the considera tion being S4000000 One consideration of the proposed treaty is that Denmark must have in these islands equal trade privileges with the United States In other words if the United States have free trade wiih the Danish West Indies Denmark must also have free trade A similar concession for a period of ten years was made to Spain so far as the Philippines was concerned The republican leaders have told us that a mighty principle was involved in the tariff question and yet in the differ ent arrangement the republican ad ministration has made concerning our various posessions in the matter of tariff it would seem that no principle whatever is involved in this question and that as one distinguished Ameri can said the tariff is purely a local question If the United States acquires the Danish West Indies it will be interest ing to observe the position the new territory and its people occupy with relation to this country Will they be citizens of the Danish Islands and will they be denied constitutional trade privileges with this country No one may safely make prediction on this subject The clairvoyant of the ad ministration must first ascertain the decree of destiny on this matter and by the decree the rights privileges and immunities of the people of the Danish Islands will be arranged Destiny has usurped the place of the constitu tion Save the Echoes It is proposed to put a ne w roof on Statuary Hall in the capitol at Wash ington and the guides in that famous old structure express the fear that the result will be a loss of the echoes that have long been an attractive feature to visitors at the national building The New York World says that the appeal of the guides is Save the Echoes and the World adds Now this is an appeal that the people might well take up in a broader sense There have been many sentiments ring ing in the legislative halls of the capitol that we should desire to have preserved Let us save the echoes Of Bayards voice when he pro claimed The oath I have taken is to support the constitution of my countrys government not the fiat of any poli tical organization Of Websters voice saying I mean to stand upon the constitu tion I needno other platform Of Summers voice declaring that The true grandeur of a nation is to be found only in deeds of justice and the happiness of its people Aman signing his name A Jenkins shot himself at a Philadelphia hotel Before doing so he wrote a note to his brother-in-law saying This is the ultimate result of gambling and a dissipated life and is a warning to young men But will it be a warding Or must each person learn for himself by bitter experience the penalty of sin The Earl of Cadogan announces that Edward VII is ready to aid Ireland Edward must be preparing the ground for another call for Irish troops to serve in South Africa Before and Af tor During the campaign of 1900 the re publican papers gave great prominence to those democrats who declared their intention of voting the republicon tick et On the morning of October 18 the LaCrosse Chronicle printed an inter view with Mr Albert flirshheimer in which that gentleman gave his reasons for voting for the re election of McKin ley A few days ago Mr Hirshheimers company sold out to a trust and tho LaCrosse Republican and Leader of May 8 contained an interview with Mr Hirshheimer in which he gave tho reasons for selling He began business in 1S65 seven years before silver was demonetized and the agitation of the money question never drove him out of business but the trusts have forced him to sell Below will be found ex tracts from his two interviews October 18 1900 Said Mr Hirsh heimer I voted once for Abraham Lincoln and for William McKinley four years ago and these are the only exceptions to my voting for the nomi nees of the democratic party on na tional candidates I shall vote for the re election of President McKinley My reasons you ask I dont court news paper notoriety but I will give my reasons for voting for President Mc Kinley They are purely business rea sons We want stability in our finan cial affairs as well as stability in our tariff laws I do not consider that a high tariff or a low tariff makes much difference The trouble comes from anticipating changes every two or four years I submit that the commercial interests of the country should not be made the football in tho game of the1 politicians May 8 1801 Said President heimer The Packers Package Com pany was forced to sell out to the1 trust They control the tin output1 and they have been hindering us so during the past month that we have not been able to run our factory only one half its capacity They have re- fused to deliver us the tin ordered shipping only one or two cars a week Thus we either had to sell out to them or fight them We could not do the latter thing for we could not get the tin with which to make our product and carry on the fight Therefore we simply had to sell out to the trust It was either that or lose our money rt Tillman and 3IcLaurln j The most important item of political news last week came from South Caro lina Senators Tillman and McLaurin have agreed to leave their political dif ferences to a democratic primary and to that end have placed their resigna tions in the hands of the governor to1 take effect in November after the priJ mary has determined the wishes of the voters It is an honorable course for the senators to pursue and beneficial to the state At present South Caro lina virtually has no voice in the set tlement of public questions as the vote of one senator kills that of the other Senator Tillman has just been re elected and thus risks the loss of a longer term but Senator McLaurin really sacrifices more because he has less chance to win at the primary The readers of The Commoner will be kept informed as to the progress of the contest It is needless to say that the editor of this paper hopes and to see Senator Tillman win a sweeping victory because he repre sents the man while Senator McLaurint represents the dollar The vote will1 show whether the plutocratic idea is making any headway in the south Should Apologize to Editor Rice The investigation of fraud in the government service atManila has de veloped that certain officers have been guilty of the most flagrant wrongs Representatives of business concerns have testified to the payment of com missions to commissary officers in re turn for the purchase of their goods It also developed that complaints of shortages in deliveries of goods have been silenced by the payment of liber 1 al sums of money and that a shortage was covered by placing a number of fictitious laborers on the pay roll I Evidence accumulates each day that the administration owes to Editor Rice a large apology even though it does not return him to Manila from which place he was deported because he charged the existence of fraud The machinists throughout the conn try are striking for a nine hour day witli ten hours pay No one can give an intelligent decision upon the subject of -ages without knowing the condi tions existing in the various sections where the demand is made although it is only fair to assume that the demand is reasonable unless the republican re ports of prosperity are subject to heavy discount As to the number of hours however that should constitute a days work it is easier to form an opinion A1 nine hour day is long enough any where The Commoner is an advocate of an eight hour day and observes this limit among its employes It hopes to see the rule adopted everywhere The Hereford Republicans the white faced variety are doing a little pre mature rejoicing in the south When a democrat becomes a republican for office he is not apt to take many withJ him A mans political influence is ac quired by the advocacy of principles and is lost when he abandons hisi principles j General Chaffee has issued a fare well address in China which is more like Washington than any action on the pare of this government for two or three years