THE NEBRASKA ADVERTISER
W. W. SANDKUH, Publisher.
NEMAHA, - " - NEHRASKA.
THE PATH AND THE STREAM.
'A Rticty, iliiBty, rroBty (Jay,
"With copper sun In fUy of Brny;
!A pathway strcti hint; fnr nwny
Through (If Ids of withered clover:
Neath leaflets boughs by souKhlni? nine,
And heuKCKtows rtrtitiK with nuked vlnea,
JWhcrc sparrow chirps und blue Juy whine
And noisy crows lly over.
rJcsidc the stream, whoe placid flovr
Ah tiolsclt'gK seems ns falling snow,
Yet fretful o'er It mind below,
It cleaves the barren wood:
JJy mossy banltc, tlirotii;h marsh and fen.
It loiters In the bosky ulcn,
Then rushing down its course nRnln,
in ever cliunKeiuI mood.
Respite Its wnj ward mood and course,
The pathway eont-tant from its source,
Comrades for better or for worse,
They meet the ocean's tide;
Iilke true hearts, Joined by friendship'
chains,
'And soul-knit by Its Joys nnd paln,
Inseparable while life remains,
Though death may sever wide.
-C. II. Dolnir, In Washington Star.
My Strangest Case
BY GUY BOOTHBY.
Author of "Dr. Kikola," "The Beautiful
White Devil," "Pharos, Tho
Egyptian," Etc
V s
ICotiyrlglitcU, 1901, by Ward, Lock it Co.J
PAItT II. Continuhd.
Leaving the jungle behind them,
they found thcinHclvcB face to face
with n curious stone bridge, spanning
the lake or moat which surrounded
tho city, nnd In which the lotus flower
bloomed luxuriantly. When they had
crossed the bridge, they stood in tho
precincts of the city itself. On cither
hand rose the ruins In all their soli
tary grandeur palaces, temples, mar
ket places, and houses in endless eon
fusion; while, at tho end of tho
bridge, and running to right nnd left
us far as the eye could reach, wns a
high wall, constructed of large Htones,
each one of which would have re
quired tho efforts of nt least four men
to lift it. These, with u few excep
tions, wero in an excellent state of
preservation. Pnt'sing through tho
massive gateway the travelers found
themselves in an open square, out o'f
Which streets branched off to the right
und left, while the jungle thrust In its
inquisitive nose on every possible oc
casion. The silence was so imprest
Hive that the men found themselves
speaking in whispers. Not a sound
was to bo heard save tho fluttering of
birds' wings among the trees, and tho
obscene chattering of the monkeys
among the leaves. From tho first
great squure the street began gradu
ally to asend; then another moat was
crossed, and the second portion of tho
city was reached. Here the buildings
were larger, and tho sculpture upon
tho walls more impressive even than
before. In tho narrower streets
creepers trailed from side to side, al
most shutting out the light, and add
ing b twilight etfect to the already
euillciently mysterious rooms and
courtyards to be seen within.
"This is by no menns tho most
cheerful sort of place," said llnyle to
Kit water, as they passed down a
paved street side by side. "Where do
you expect to find the grent temple
end tho courtynrd of the Three Ele
phants' Heads?"
"Straight, on," snid little Codd, who
was behind, nnd had been comparing
the route they were following with
the plan he held in his hand.
As lie spoke they entered another
square, and saw before them a mighty
"BY THIS GKEAT POKER, WE'VE GOT
IT AT LAST," CUIED K1TWATEK.
flight "of steps-, worn into grooves in
places by the thousands of feet that
had ascended ami descended them in
days gone by. At the top was a sculp
tured gateway, liner than anything
either of them hud ever seen, and this
they presently entered. Above them,
clear of the trees, and towering up
into the blue, were the multitudinous
domes and spires of the king's palace,
to which the gateway above the step
was the principal entrance. Some of
the spires were broken, some were cov
ered with creepers, others were muti
lated by time und by stress of weather,
but the general effect wus grund in
tho extreme. From courtyard to
courtyurd they wandered, but without
finding the particular place ol which
they were in search. It was more difll
cult to discover than they had expect
ed; Indeed, they had walked many
miles through deserted streets, and
the afternoon wns well advanced be
fore a hall from Codd, who had gone
on ahead of them, informed them that
nt last some sort of success' had
crowned their efforts. When they
came up with him they found them
selves in a courtyard somewhat larger
than those they had previously ex
plored, the four corners of which were
decorated with thriw united elephants'
heads.
"Hy the greot poker, we've got it nt
last," cried Kitwater, in a voice that
echoed and reechoed through the si
lent halls. .
A tul film,, limn Inn" nrlnrl 1Tnvl
upon whom the plnce wns exercising
n most curious effect. "If you've found
it, show us your precious treasure
chamber."
"All in good time, my friend, all In
good time," said Kitwater. "Things
have gone so smoothly with us hither
to that we must look for n little set
back before we've done." j
"We don't want any setbacks," said
Hnyle. "What wc want are the rubies
as big as pigeon's eggs, the sapphires .
and gold, and then to get bnck to civ-
ilizntion ns quick ns mny be. That's ,
what's the matter with me." I
As I have already observed, the
courtyard in which they were standing
wns consilernbly larger than any they
had yet entered. Like the others, how- .
ever, it had fallen sadly to decay. The I
jungle had crept in at nil, points', nnd ,
gorgeous creepers had wreathed them-
selves round the necks of the statues
above the gateway.
"I don't see nny sign of steps," said
llnyle, when they had examined the
place in silence for some minutes. "I
thought you said n flight of stone steps
led up to where the king's throne was
placed?"
"Codd certainly rend it so," Kitwn-
ter answered, looking about him ns if
he did not quite renlize the situation. !
"And how nre Ave to know that there
are not sonic steps here? They may
be hidden What do you think, little
man?"
He turned to Codd, who was looMnc
t i 1.1 III. ! 1....1 .." i
muni, nun mlii eyes in wiucn it cunuiis
light was shining.
"Steps must be somewhere," the lat
ter replied. "We've got to And them
but not to-night. Sun going down.
Too Intc."
This was undoubtedly true, nnd so,
without more ndo, but none the les
reluctantly, the three travelers re
traced their steps to their camp upon
the hillside. llnyle wns certainly not
in a good temper. The monotony of
the long journey from civilization hnd
proved too much for himand he was
ready to take oiTense nt anything.
Fortunately, however, Kitwater was
not of the snme way of thinking, oth
erwise there would probably have been
trouble between them.
Next morning they were up nnd had
breakfnsted before the sun wns in the
sky. Their meal at an end, they picked
up their nrms and tools, bade their
servants hnve a care of the camp, and
then set oil on their quest once more.
j There wns a perceptible change, how
ever, in their demennors. A nervous
excitement hnd taken possession of
them, nnd It affected ench man in a dif
ferent mnnner. Kitwnter wns suspi
cious, Hnyle was morose, while little
Codd repeatedly puckered up his
mouth ns if he were nbout to whistle,
but no sound ever enme from it. The
sky overhead was emerald blue, the
nir wns full of the sneetest perfumes,
while birds of the most gorgeous
! plumage (lew continually ncross their
path. They hnd no regard, however,
1 for nature's beauties. The craving for
i wenlVh was in their hearts, rendering
them blind to everything else. They
crossed the stone bridge, passed
through the outer portion of the city,
proceeded over the second moat, and
at lust, with the familiarity of old
friends, made their way up the steps
towards the courtyard of the king's
palace,
"Now, my friends, listen to me,"
said Kitwater, as he spoke throwing
down the tools he had been carrying,
"what we have to do is-to thoroughly
sound the whole of this courtynrd,
inch by inch nnd stone by stone. We
can't be wrong, for that is the court
yard of the Three Elephants' Heads,
there can be no doubt. You tnke the
right-hand side," he went on, address
ing Hnyle; "you, Coddy, must take the
left. I'll try the middle. If we don't
hit it to-dny we'll do so to-morrow, or
the next dny, or the dny after that.
This is the place we were told about,
and if the treasure is to be found any
where, it will be here. For that rea
son we've got to set about the search
as soon ns possible l Now to work!"
Using the iron bar3 they had brought
with them for the purpose, they began
their task, bumping the iron down
upon each individual stone in the hope
of eliciting the hollow sound that was
to reveal the presence of the treasure
chamber. With the regularity of au
tomatons they paraded up and down
the walled inclosure without speak
ing, until they had thoroughly tested
every single stone; no sort of success,
however, rewnrded their endeavors.
"1 expected as much," said Haylt,
angrily, as he threw down the bar.
"You've been humbugged, and our
journey is all undertaken for nothing.
I was a fool ever to have listened to
your nonsensical yam. I might have
known it would have come to nothinir.
It's not the first time I've been treas
ure hunting, but I'll swear it shall be
the last. I've had enough of these fool
rles." A dangerous light was gathering in
Kitwater'B eyes. He moreover drew
the iron bar as if in anticipation of
trouble, nnd placed his fists defiantly
on his lips.
"If you're going to talk like that,
my boy," ho began, with never a
quaver in his voice, "it's best for us
to understand each other straight off.
Once nnd for all, let mc tell you that
I'll have none of your botinco. Wheth
er or not this business is destined to
come to anything, you mny rely upon
one thing, nnd that is the fact that I
did my best to do you a good turn by
allowing you to come into it. There's
unother thing that calls for comment,
and you can deny it if you will. It'
a fact that you've been grumbling
nnd growing ever since wc left Kan
goon, and hnve made difficulties in
numerable where you needn't have
done so, nnd now, because you think
the affair is going to turn out badly,
you round upon me ns if it were all a
put-up job on my part to rook you of
your money. It's not the thing, llnyle,
and I don't mind saying that I resent
it."
"You may resent il or not, ns you
dnrncd well plcaXc," said Hnyle dog
gedly, biting at the butt of his cigar
as he spoke. "It don't matter a curse
to me; you don't mean to tell mc you
think I'm fool enough to stand by and
sec myself "
At thnt moment Codd, who had
been away investigating on his own
account, and had no idea of the oth
ers' quarrel, gave a shout of delight.
He wos nt the further end of the
courtyard, at a spot where a dense
mass of creeper had fallen, nnd now
lay trailing upon the stones. The ef
fect upon his companions was in
stantaneous. They nbamloncd their
quarrel without another word, and
picking up their crowbars hastened
to the spot where he wns waiting for
them.
"What have you found, little man?"
inquired Kitwater, as he approached.
Mr. Codd, however, said nothing in
reply, but bent with his bar upon the
stone beneath hiin. There could be
little or no doubt about the hollow
sound that rewarded his endeavors.
"We've got it," cried Kitwater.
"Bring the pickax, Hayle, and we'll
"NOW, THEN, GIDEON, MY WORTHY
FRIEND, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT
TO SAY AUOUT THE BUSINESS?" J
soon see what is underneath this
precious stone. Wc mny be at the
heart of the mystery for all we
know."
In less time than it takes to tell,
Hayle had compiled with the other's
request, nnd was hard at work pick
ing out the earth which held the
enormous fiagstone in its place. A
state of mad excitement had taken
hold of the men, nnd the veins stood
out like whipcord upon Hnyle's fore
heud. It was difficult to say how
many feet separated them from the
treasure thnt was to make them lords
of all the enrth. At Inst the stone
showed signs of moving, nnd it was
possible for Kitwater to insert his
bnr beneath one corner. He did so,
pried it up, and leaned upon it with
all his weight. It showed no sign of
moving, however. The senl of Time
was set upon it, and it was not to be
lightly disturbed.
"Push your bar in here alongside
of mine, Coddy," said Kitwater at
last. "I fancy wo shall get it then."
The little man did ns he was di
rected, Kitwnter and Hayle seconded
his efforts on the other side, and then,
under the strain of their united exer
tions, the stone begnn to move slow
ly from its place. Little by little they
raised it, putting all the strength
they possessed into the opcrntion, un
til ut Inst, with one great effort they
hurled it backwards, and it fell with
a crash upon the pavement behind
them, revealing a dark, narrow hole,
tho bottom of which it wns impossi
ble to see.
"Now, then, Gideon, my worthy
friend, what have you got to say
about the business?" asked Kitwater,
as he wiped the perspiration from his
brow. "You pretended to doubt niv
story. Was there anything in the old
Frenchman's yarn after all? Wero
we wasting our time upon n fool's er
rand when we set oil to explore Seng-kor-Wut?"
Hayle looked at him somewhat
sheepishly.
"No, no," he said, "I nm willing to
ndmit that so far you have won tho
trick. Let me down easily if you can.
I can neither pnsn nor follow suit. I
nm right out of my reckoning. Now
what do you propose to do?"
"Qctone of those torches we brought
with us, nnd find out what there is in
that hole," Kitwater answered.
They waited while the latter went
back to the camp, and when he reap
peared, and hnd lighted the torch, they
prepared to follow him down the steps
into the mysterious depths' below. The
former, they soon discvovered, were as
solidly built as the rest of the palace,
and were about 30 in number. They
were, moreover, wet and slimy, nnd so
narrow that it was only possible for
one man to descend them at once.
When they reached the bottom they
found themselves standing in a nar
row passage, the walls of which wero
composed of solid stone, in many
places finely carved. The air was close,
and from the fact thnt now and again
bats dashed past them into the deeper
darkness, they argued that there
must be some way of communicating
with the open air at the further end.
"This is just what the Frenchmnn
told me," snid Kitwater, and his voice
echoed away along the passage like
distant thunder. "He said we should
find a narrow corridor nt the foot of
the steps, and then the treasure
chnmber nt the further end. So far it
looks all right. Let us move on, my
friends."
There was no need for him to Issue
such nn invitation. They were mora
than eager to follow him.
Leaving the first room, or ante
chamber, as it might more properly
be called, they continued their way
along the narrow passage which led
from it. The air was growing percept
ibly closer every moment, while the
light of the torch reflected the walls
on either side. Hnyle wondered for a
moment as he followed his leader what
would happen to them if the Chinese,
of whom the old Frenchman hnd
spoken to Kitwater, should discover
their presence in the ruins, and should
replace the stone upon the hole. In
that case the treastire would prove of
small value to them, for they would
be buried alive. He did not allow his
mind, however, to dwell very long
upon this subject, for Kitwater, who
was pushing on ahead with the torch,
had left the passage and was standing
in a large and apparently well vaulted
chamber. Handsomely carved pillars
supported the roof, the floor was well
paved, while on either side there were
receptacles, not unlike the niches in
the Roman catacombs, though for
what purpose they were intended was
not at first glance so easy to deter
mine. With hearts that beat tumul
tuously in their breasts, they hastened
to one of them to see what it con
tained. The niche in question was
filled with strange looking vessels,
some like bowls, and others not unlike
crucibles. The men almost clambered
over each other in their excitement to
see what they contained. It was asif
their whole existence depended upon
it; they could scarcely breathe for ex
citement. Every moment's delay was
unspeakable agony. At last, however,
the coverings were withdrawn and the
contents of the receptacles stood re
vealed. Two were filled with uncut
gems, rubles and sapphires, others
contained bar gold, and yet more con
tained gems, to which it was scarcely
possible in such n light to assign a
name. One thing at least was certain.
So vast was the treasure that tho
three men stood tongue-tied with
amazement at their good fortune. In
their wildest dreams they had never
imagined such luck, and now that this
vast treasure lay at their finger-ends,
to be handled, to be mnde sure of,
they were tumble to renlize the extent
of their future happiness. Hayle dived
his hands into a bowl of uncut rubies,
and having collected as many as he
could hold In each fist, turned to his
companions.
"Look here," he cried, "it's the Bank
of England in each hand."
His voice ended in a choke. Then
Kitwater took up the tale.
"I must get out of this or I shall go
mad," he muttered, hoarsely. "Come,
let us go back to the light. If I don't
I shall die."
To Be Continued.
Sntiliblni; a. Woultl-llc M. P.
Aii English firm of solicitors, who
recently wrote to the president of the
University of Idaho offering to pur
chase an LL. D. degree for a young
client who wns thinking of entering
parliament, received the following
very caustic reply: "The principal
whom you represent has disgraced
his nationality, the bar and himself.
I hope that when he attempts to enter
parliament he will learn that a cad's
ambitions, unless carefully limited,
are unrealizable." Literature.
Shrewil IlniupNtlo.
Mistress Did you tell the lady I was
out?
Domestic Yes, ma'am.
"What did she say?"
"She said she would call again to
morrow morning, ma'am."
"What did you say?"
"I told her it -wouldn't be nny use
because you would be out for sura
then." Ohio State Journal.
THE WORK OF CONGRESS.
It'iinr Hills of Far-Itenclilnc Importance
KiiHctml Appropriation Will AtCRre-
Bit to Nearly S 1,000,000,000.
Washington, Juno 30. The work
of congress is now practically closed,
so that it is possible to sum up the
record of whnt has been accom
plished during tho past seven mouths,
which constitute tho first session of
tho Fifty-seventh congress. With
tho exception of tho Cuban reciproc
ity bill, most of tho larger subjects
of general legislation have been cn
nctcd as laws or will become such be
foro the session closes. Notablo
among these larger measures is tho
isthmian canal bill, which consum
mates the efforts of a hnlf century
to link together the waters of tho
Atlantic nnd Pacific. The Philippine
civil government bill is another meas
ure of fnr-reaching importance ex
tending to our remote Pacific posses
sions n syBtem of international gov
ernment together with coinnge, cur
rency, banking, corporation, timber
and homestead laws. Among the
other important general laws are
those repealing tho war revenue
taxes; extending nnd making more
effective tho Chinese exclusion laws;
establishing a tariff for good to and
from the Philippines; extending the
charter of national banks for 20
years; establishing a permanent ccn
bus office; restricting tho sule of
oleomargarine by placing a high tax
on imitation butter; providing a con
sular nnd diplomatic service for
China; establishing an extensive sys
tem by which the government will
aid in the irrigation of the arid sec
tions of the west.
Tho amount of appropriations for
tho session will almost, if not quite,
come up to the billion dollar mark.
KANSAS' BONDED DEBT.
A Total or 8033,000 1m rrnctlcnily All
Owned by the Permanent School
Fund of tho Mute.
Topekn, Kan., June 30. George E.
Cole, auditor of state, is preparing
one bond of $120,000 to take up 150
$1,000 state bonds which will become
due July 1, 1902. This bond is to be
dated July 1, 1002, nnd it will mature
July i, 1911, with interest at the
rate of four per cent. This is in com
pliance wth an net of the legislature
of 1901. The total bonded debt of the
state is $032,000, and nil of it is owned
by the permnnent school fund, with
the exception of $9,000, which is
owned by the state university fund.
TIME FOR REJOICING.
KliiR Kilwiinl'H I'hyHli'lnn Declare the Fa-
tluiit'K Condition If "Entirely
biitlii factory
London, June 30. King Edward's
physicians announced nt 10:20 laBt
night that the royal patient's prog
ress was entirely satisfactory.
Lord Cranborne authorizes the fol
lowing statement: "The king is
rapidly getting better and the mo
ment, therefore, seems most ap
propriate for public rejoicing. As
chairman of the bonfires committees,
I suggest that bonfires throughout
the country be lighted to-night."
BRAVE OFFICER KILLED.
At Kantian City Abo Kmnronit, a NaRroBx-
Convlct, Shot to Death Police Sergt.
Frank MoNiimurii.
Kansas City, Mo., Juno 30. Sergt.
Frank McNanmra, one of the oldest
members of the Kansas City police
department, wns shot and almost in
stnntly killed at eight o'clock Sat
urday night by Abe Emerson, nlins
"Hue," n negro ex-convict, whom he
was trying to arrest. After he had
received his death wound Sergt. Mc
Namava shot the negro through tho
body and fell bnck dead. Emerson
will die.
Manufacture of Pon and PencllH.
Washington, June 29. The census
bureau isstied a report on the manu
facture of pens nnd pencils in the
United States for 1900. It shows thnt
a total of $3,071,741 was invested in
this manufacture in the 55 estab
lishments reporting for tho United
States. The valeu of the products is
returned nt $4,222,148.
Drought llroken In Colorado.
Denver, Col., Juno 30. The drought,
which threatened to be tho most se
vere that Colorado has known for
years, has been broken by a rain
as general in extent ns It was copious
in quantity. The storm was in places
nccompanlcd by hail, which did much
damage.
Heavy Italn In Kaatern Nebraska.
Lincoln, Neb., June 30. Eastern
Nebraska has had four days of al
most continuous rainfall, flooding
cornfields nnd delaying the harvest
ing of small grain. Some damage has
been done to wheat in the shock.
Country roads arc almost impassable.
Next Convention at Joruleni.
Denver, Col., Juno 30. Toronto
having been selected as tho meeting
place of the next triennial conven
tion of the International Sunday
School association in 1905, the world
wide convention in 1004 will be held
at Jerusalem.
X
i.
k.
