The Secret
By JAMES
I
01 1 APT Hit III. (Continued.)
"Nay, If ho wns to perish Uiiih, suspl
clon might too readily full upon mc; for
ho In n fnvorlto olllcor of the lOinproHS,
and of Weymnrn, too. My plan In UiIh:
I may get the dispatch to-night in yon
der castle."
"And If not?"
"Then I Hhnll ngnln lure and mlnload
Ilnigonio, and brine liim licro in tho
.nlftht."
"Wlmt then?" asked the woodnmn,
doggedly.
"How dull wo nre, rnulovitcli. Wo
linll drug mid drown him; Uiiih shall hu
dlo without n wound. 1 will tnko hack
tho dlHpatch to Novgorod, and you can
ienrry tlio body on his borne to St. Peters
burg, where a hiiiii will bo given you for
finding It. Tlio poor stranger, they will
nny, hart perished amid our keen Kusslnn
frosts, and that will bo all. Nicholas
I'uulovitch, (ho enrenss will bo well
worth twenty roubles to theo."
"And thy HftyV"
"You Hhall receive when the affair la
ovur, and when you como to mc at Nov
gorod, where I am quartered."
"Hy tlio bones or my tribe, I nin with
toii, Podntehk.'ne!" exclaimed the half
urcod with ferocious Joy. Then they
hook heartily thHr hnrd and Ilny liandN
hands that had wrought many a deed
of merciless cruelty.
A few mluutcH more and tlieHo worthy
compatriots liad acparated.
There waH a third person who had
ovcrlieard tlio first savage plot, and who
felt her heart stirred with pity aud terror
for Hulgonic, who had glvon iier a silver
kopec at ICrejko but ycaterday the gyp
ay girl, Olga raulowna, tho sister of
"Nicholas Paulovitch; and she resolved to
balllo botli conspirators if hIio could.
CHAPTIOIt IV.
Corporal Podatchklno wiih an admira
ble npecimen of his own type of UiiHHiau,
His thick black scrubby hair was cut
tuxaight across tho forehead in a line
with tlio eyebrows, and at each side It
hung perpendicularly down below the
cars, and was, moreover, cut square
ncross tho neck behind; and lie kept al
ternately scratching and smoothing his
rugged front, nervously and assiduously,
when ho removed his fur Cossack cap;
and, full of affected concern, oven to ex
hibiting tears in his small, cunning eyes,
presented himself to Natalie Miorowna
iioxt morning, and besought her to have
Jdm "conducted to tho chamber of his
brave, his ln-loved captain, his comrade
nnd brother, who was, ho now learned,
seriously ill.vhelpless aud delirious"
and, in fact, just as tlio cunning corporal
wished him to be.
There ho found Hulgoiiie, certainly too
111 nnd weak either to recognize him or
understand what ho was about; so tlio
faithful Cossack made a rapid and skill
ful Investigation of all the olllcer's pock
ets for the dispatch. Not a' vestige of
it was to bo found.
"What can ho have dono with it?"
muttored tho bewildered corporal; "can
ho havo lost it in tho river, or swallow
ed it?"
Tlio truth Is that Natalie Miorownn
had lior doubts about the tidelity of Po
datchkine, and even of some of her own
domestics, and awaro of tho risk run
by tho stranger if lie lost a dispatch of
tho empress, she had, prior to the intro
duction of tlio corporal, secured tlio doc
ument, aud at that moment it was hid
den in her own fair bosom until she could
neeuro it in a safer place, Poor Natalie!
lAlas, she little know its contents, and
tho horrors they were yet to produce.
Unfiled thus In his attempt to securo
jit, there was no resource for tho faithful
warrior of tlio steppes now but to take
up his quarters which lie was nothing
loath to do, at tho Castle of tho Lougn,
'and thoro quietly await tho recovery
or tho death, ho cared not which, of Hal
'gonto; nnd to concert further measures
;with tho lingo gypsy, Nicholas Paulo
vitch, whom ho saw daily.
It was no feverish dream of Ilnigonio
,thnt Natalie Miorownn had been hover
ing about his bedside; for she and her
cousin Muriollzzu had been his especial
nurses,
In less than threo days tho feverish
delirium subsided, sense completely re
turned, nnd tho young captain appeared
to bo laboring under a species of influ
enza. "My dispntch!" ho frequently Raid
nloud "I must be gone with my dis
patch!" flight it not bo Intrusted to Corporal
IVSatohkinoV" asked Natalie one morn
ing, as she personally gavo him his wa.
nnd soothing drink witli her own h
Kntinkn, tlio maid, standing demurely hy
with a silver salver.
"Impossible, llosphoza, for so I may
call you; an olllcor alono can carry u dis
patch for the empress. Its contents are
.most urgent; this delay, ovor which I
.liavo no control, may bo visited by royal
disfavor, oven punishment; nnd I fear
that tho air of Tobolsk or Arkutsk would
'ill suit a Scotsman's lungs, Natalio .Mio
rownn." "Yet tnrry hero you must," she Bnld,
with n smile, tho beauty of which proved
,very bewildering; "tlio Louga is coated
with ico this morning, but not so thick,
however, that it might not bo broken by
throwing n stono from here; but to trnrol
'yet would only kill you, Carl Ivnnovitch,
nnd cannot be thought of just now."
Then bIic glided away, with her benm
ing smile, her whito hnnds nnd taper
arms, her rustling dress of scurlot silk
trimmed with snowy minivor, nnd all the
aenso of perfume that pervnded her.
Dispatch
GRANT
Ilnigonio sighed wcnrlly yet pleasantly,
ami half thought that beautiful figure
a dream, as ho turned on his soft aud
luxurious pillow and inarroled whether
Ills past or his present existence was the
real one.
OIIAITMH V.
Charles Hulgoutc, Ron of John Ilni
gonio of Strutlicnrn, hud come into tho
world during that which was perhaps tho
most stupid, lifeless nnd impoverished
era of Scottish existence, tho middle of
the reign of Georgo II.
My the early death of his parents,
Charlie had been cast, in his extreme
boyhood, upon the tender mercies of a
bachelor uncle, Mr. Gamaliel Halgonie,
a hard-hearted, grasping, avaricious mer
chant in Dundee.
In the lovely vnle of Strathearn stood
the home of Charlie Italgoule. On the
death of his parents his small paternal
estate of a few hundred per annum
would havo become Ills inheritance, but
the relation before mentioned the pa
ternal uncle, Gamaliel, suddenly produc
ed a will, by which, to tlio profound as
tonishment of all, the entire estate was
left to him as a return for certain loans
and sums advanced to tho deceased, of
which, however, no proof could be
found; but It was n veritable deathbed
will, written accurately by a notary, and
duly signed.
Though tremulous and slinky, strange
ly ho and rather unlike tlio usual sig
nature of the deceased laird, three men
thoro were, accounted good, worthy and
religious men, wiio solemnly deposed to
having seen "the hand of tho dead man
pen those words."
it was a ease which made some noise
in those days, because thirty-six hours
after the alleged signature was given
John Hulgonic died.
Tlio law of Scotland requires Hint, af
ter framing and signing such a deed, the
testator must have been able to go.once
at lonst to church or market. How it
came to pass we know not now, but the
dispute, though without a basis, was
brought before the supremo court by
Homo friends of the orphan, for there
wen; not a few persons in Stratliearn
who alleged that John Rulgonie's hand
had certainly traced the signature which
was sworn to so solemnly as his but
had done so after death; the pen being
placed in tlio ungrrs of the corpse, which
were guided by thoso of the pious and
worthy merchant of Dundee, who want
ed his nephew's little patrimony in aid
of certain speculations of his own.
Ponding a decision, tlio bereaved boy
was removed to the busy town on Tay
side, and was left to solace his sorrows
at school, prior, as ho supposed, to be
coming a drudge in his nffeetionnle un
cle's counting house, when tlio Inst of
his slender inheritance had been frittered
away in the fangs of the law.
One day his worthy uncle Gam return
ed to lOdinburgh by the packet. The
ease had been decided against him, and
the court was about to name trustees to
look after tho estate of the oiphan boy.
Mr. Gamaliel Ilnigonio was unusually
grave, stern nnd abstracted; but he de
liberately seated himself at his desk,
and while humming, as was his wont, a
verso of n psalm, lie penned a loiter ad
dressed to the captain of a vessel then
lying in tho harbor, nnd gave it to his
nephew for iinnicdinte delivery, desiring
him to wait for the answer.
The boy, then in his fifteenth year,
started on his errand with alacrity. He
soon found the ship, which was moored
at some distance from the shore, with her
fore-topsails loose, to indicate that she
was ready for sen; yet Charlie had no
suspicion of tho trap Into which he was
running or the cruel fate that awaited
him.
Tho skipper, a rough, surly and brutal
looking man, eyed the boy keenly, while
tearing tho letter Into minute fragments,
alter he hud perused it, with a grim
smile of sntisfnetion. Ho then went to
a locker, where he poured out n glnss
of milk.
"Drink that, my lad," said he, "while
I write an answer to your uncle."
Charlie drained the glass; but scarce
ly had ho done so when tho cabin seem
ed to be whirling round him; he thought
that ho was becoming seasick, and was
in tlio act of staggering toward the cabin
stairs when ho was felled to the floor
by a blow from the skipper's heavy hand
a blow dealt cruelly and unsparingly.
Ho recovered consciousness some time
after, to find himself stiff, sore and
bloody, from a wound in the temple
1 lying on deck in the moonlight, with some
, twenty-live other boys, several of whom
were in the same state of stupor in which
they had been brought on board. To his
horror aud dismay, Charlie now found
that the ship was at sea, and running
between the dangerous reef known us the
Hell Kock nnd tho tint sandy shore of
Harrle; and that, through tho machina
tions of Undo Gamaliel, lie had been
lured into tho hands of one of tlio most
notorious plantation crimps that over in
fested tlio Scottish coast, Captain Zacii
arlnh Collin of Now England, whose
craft, tlio Piscatona, was n letter of
marque, carrying twolvo six-pounders
and lighting her own way.
After this tho Piscatona was hnulcd
up, in order to go north nbout by Capo
Wrath, hnvlng on board nearly fifty
boys. Storms camo on when tho Pisca
tona entered tho Pcntlnnd Firth, nnd
four dnya after Dunnet Head with its
flinty brow, 400 feet In height, had van
ished into tho wrack and mist astern, a
sudden cry of firo caused every heart to
thrill on bonrd the lawless vessel.
Whether nn net of trenchcry or not, it
wan Impossible to nscertnin; but it had
broken out nenr the ship's mngnzina. to
which it communicated witli frightful ra
pidity, for suddenly, while the crew were
nil running fore and aft with buckets,
a dreadful explosion seemed to rend tho
Piscatona in two. Half of tho mala
leek wuh blown away with two of the
boat. A whirlwind of fragments How
in every direction, and then tho flames
shot into the air In scorching volumes.
Discipline, or such a system of it ns
Zacliarlah Collin maintained on bonrd,
was totally at an end. Some of tlio crow
lowered the only remaining boat and
fought like wild beasts for possession of
it, knocking each other into the water
without mercy. Captain Collin cocked
his pistols at the gangway, shot one man
dead and swore that he would kill the
next man who dared to precede him; but
ho was struck from behind by nn iron
marline spike and, falling, together with
his savage dog, into the flaming gulf that
yawned amidships, was seen no more.
Some of the crow ultimately pushed of!
tho boat; others sprang overboard and
held on to the spars and booms. Hut
these perished miserably after being half
scorched. Some were crushed to death
by the falling yards mid masts. Many
held on to the fore and main chains, till
those became so unbearably hot that thoy
had to drop off, with screams of despair
when thoy sank, faint, weary and help
less, to the bottom at last.
How it all happem d Charlie Hnlgonlc
never knew. Hut hours after tlio whole
affair was over and the detested Pisco
tona had burned down to tier waterlino
and sank, leaving all the sea around her
discolored and covered with floating
pieces of charred wood and the buoyant
parts of her cargo, he found himself
adrift in the wide and stormy Pcntlnnd
Firth, but wedged with comparative
safety in a largo fragment of the fore
top, to which, the yard being still at
tached by tho sling, a certain amount of
steadiness was given; yet his heart lonp
ed painfully each time when tho frag
ment of wreck rose on the summit of n
green glassy wave or ivent surging down
into the dark and watery trough between.
To add to the terrors of his lonely sit
uation, the sun had sunk amid gloomy
purple clouds and a rainy night wart
drawing on. Half drowned, tho poor boy
soon became faint and exhausted, and
would seem to have dropped into a spe
cies of stupor, for when roused by tho
sound of strange voices ho found himself
close by a grout nnd towering ship, which
lay to, now right in the wind's eye with
her mainyard aback and her guuports
and hammock nettings full of weather
beaten faces, gazing at him with eager
ness and curiosity in the twilight, whilo
a bout was lowered ami pulled steadily
toward him by six sailors clad in dark
green.
She proved to he a Itussiun fifty-gun
ship, the Anne Ivaiiowua, commanded by
Thomas Mackenzie, one of the ninny
Scottish admirals who have bravely car
ried the Russian Hug in the Haltic and
the Hlack sea.
His you 1 1 1 In I countryman became his
protege. The worthy admiral sought to
make a sailor of Charlie, but the latter
had seen quite enough of the sea while
on board the Piscatona, nnd while ho
was clinging like a limpet or bnrnaclo
to tho piece of drifting wreck; so he bo
cnim! a soldier, nnd served under General
Ochterlony, of Guy ml, in the Uogiment
of Smolensko. where us a cadet his su
perior smartness, intelligence and edu
cation, not less than his courage, soon
distinguished him among his thiek-patud
Russian comrades. Thus in leas than t'n
years ho became, as we find him, Captain
Carl Ivnnovitch Halgonic, the most trust
ed aide-de-camp of Lieutenant General
Weyinarn, commander-in-chief of the fit?
and district of St. Petersburg.
CHAPTHR VI.
"You can never know, Ivnnovitch Hui
gonle, how much 1 pitied you "
"You, IndyV" was the joyous response.
"That is, I and Marlollz '.a." said Na
talie Miorownn, slightly blushing, "when
wo found you Jsunfc on a fever bed in a
foreign land, so far from your country,
your friends, your mother perhaps, for
you are young enough, I think, to miss
her still at such a time, although a sol
dier." "Far, indeed, in ninny ways!" replied
Ilnigonio, with a bitter smile, as ho
thought of I'nole Gum, or perhaps it was
illness that had weakened him. "1 havo
a country, to which It is more than prob
able I shall never return; but father.
'mother or friends I luivo none there nil
who loved 1110 once havo gone to tho si
lent srrnve before me."
"All?"
"Yes, lady."
"Hut you are making many friends in
Russia," said Mariollzza cheerfully;
"there are my cousin, Hnsll MIorowitz,
nnd my brother, Apollo Usakoff, who
both, I know, love you as a brother."
"True, and most grateful am I to them
for their regard, for both are polished
gentlemen. 1 havo old General Woy
marn, too, though I know not what ho
will think of this delay in delivering tho
imperial dispatch."
''Alas, that most tiresome dispatch!"
exclaimed jatalio. "Hut 1 forgot." she
added, with a curl of her short upper
lip; "thoe who proceed on tho errands
of tho Fmpress Catharine would need
seven-league boots, or the carpet of tho
prince in the fairy tale, which transport
ed tho owner at a wish."
"Hush, cousin," said Marlol'uzn, glanc
ing timidly around.
Hut no ono was nenr, snve Corporal
Podntchklne, who was nt a littlo distance
on tho terrace, when this conversation
took place two days nfter Ilnigonio bo
camo convalescent, and fully a week
slnco tho night of peril on which ho
swnm tho Louga.
"I cannot describe to you, ladies,, tho
relief that camo to my mind in discov
ering that it had neither been lost nor
stolen, but was safe "
"In Natalie's bosom!" said Marlollzza,
laughing, '
(To bo continued.)
Women Arc Not JlxtrnvnKiint.
Onu Is constantly hearing and read
ing of tlio extravagant follies of wo
men, hut there is seldom anything said
of tlio wastefulness of the opposite
sex. Of course, everyone knows there
is extravagance in both sexes, but the
women are not responsible for the cx
Irnvngnnt men, while the men are re
sponsible for the extravagant women.
Women, ns n class, not being wage
earners, have not the same reason for
appreciating the value of money as
men.
Husbands and fathers, us a rule, nre
either very .stingy or fail to let their
womenfolk know their real llnanclnl
condition. In the first case, a woman
naturally attributes the doling out of
money to her a pure selfishness or lack
of regard, and takes a natural delight
In extracting and spending all she can;
In the second ease she had no renson
to think the man "can't afford It" or
realize that economy Is necessary: In
either case it is the man, not the
woman, who is to blame. The major
ity of women are certainly not extrav
agant, declares a writer in The House
keeper. The reports show that there
ure more women depositors in the sav
ings banks than men, and they are
slower In withdrawing their savings,
and the man's "bargain counter" Joke,
with its odd cent price, is conclusive
evidence of woman's regard for the
penny.
Hvory man knows that a woman Is
better and closer at making a bargain
tJian be is. The woman's mind Is con
stituted to consider trifles and it is
trifles that count In economy. The av
erage woman can get along on less and
"make nn appearance" than the aver
age man can. I have never met a man
yet who stinted himself on cigars or
Ids stomach or his neckties, but if the
woman wants a new OS-cent shirtwaist
this man will want to know what she
has dime with the one he bought two
years ago! New Orleans Picayune.
as?
"Don't feed the baby with adult
food. Giving the child this sort of
nourishment too early produces soft
bones and hence the host of howlcggcd
and knock-kneed youngsters."
Don't box the baby's ears. You ure
liable to render it permanently deaf.
In fact, consider well before' you chas
tise the child, since It is quite easy
to use the rod and spoil the child.
The weight of a growing child is tlio
most important index of Its general
health. The standard weight for grow
ing children usually given by authori
ties in the matter Is that at years
of age a child should weigh as many
pounds as it is inches high. As 11 rule
this will not. be much over or under
forty pounds. Children who come of
large parents should weigh something
more than that. The rale of increase
should be about two pounds for every
inch of growth, with a tendency for
tho weight to exceed this standard
rather than to fall below It. When a
chihl is heavier in proportion to its
height than this standard, U Is a sign
of good health. If the child is growing
rapidly, it should not be allowed to fall
much below it without being made to
rest more titan has been the custom. A
deficiency of weight In proportion to
height is always an unfavorable sign.
Any interruption in tlio progress of in
crease of weight, especially while
growth continues, is a danger signal
that should not be neglected by those
Interested in the child.
lor tho Woman Who Trnvoln Alone.
My plan for locating in a strange
place, especially when It savors of a
foreign country, is to ask the purser
or steward which Is considered the
best family hotel. Then, on arrival, to
wait until the first rush of landing is
over, thus avoiding the confusion
which reigns supreme at such times.
Standing quietly back, tho excited en
deavors of the crowd to hurry all tlio
officials into attending to them first
affords much amusement and furnishes
a study of the routine of tilings. When
you finally do go down the gangway
you know which way to turn, can walk
up to the carriage or omlnbus bear
ing tho name of the hotel, and be
driven to the door, without any hag
gling with cabmen or fuss of any kind.
Having reached the hotel, tell tlio por
ter who takes your u bag to show you
to the parlor tvv ladles. Then write
on your jenrd, "Please assign me a
ii'iqiipflrv . VS fiftP
room; price not to exceed three dollars
a day." A bell-boy will soon rctura
with a key, and conduct you to the ele
vator. What If It does shoot you up,
to tho top floor to a small room? Yoav
arc not going to stay there long, and
it's pretty sure to have a good bed
nnd plenty of towels.
This plan of mine may seem extrav
agant at first, but consider the ad
vantages you see one of the best ho
tels, always worth a visit in such
places; you can examine local papers
nnd guide-books in tho reading-room.,
nnd get at the addresses of private
boarding houses and smaller hotels,
easily locating their wheren bouts.
"Woman's Home Companion.
Japanese ladies as a rule make their
own dresses and if the sewing Is done
for them the beautiful embroidery, at
any rate. Is their own handiwork.
Sbamokin, Pa., has a woman cob
bler Mine. Clautine Clemenc- De
furne, who was born in France (!
years ago. The old woman lias? "seen
better days," as she Is possessed of ed
ucation and culture.
One of the most picturesque charac
ters in Europe is the Countess Schim
melmann, of Denmark She devotes
her life to missionary work, and for
eight years bus traveled exclusively In
foreign lands.
Miss Caroline L. Grioshnm, a clerk
in the civil service bureau at Wash
ington, has had u unique duty cut
out for her. She has been detailed to
uake a tour of inspection of the post
olllces of the country and interpret
the civil service regulations. Miss,
Groishoim does not expect to have a
warm reception, but this does not wor
ry her. she says.
An extraordinary head of hair is
possessed by Mercedes Lopez, the wife
of a poor sheep herder in San Vincente,
Mexico. Her height Is ." feet, and
when she stands erect her hair trails
on the ground four feet eight inches.
The hair is so thick that she can com
pletely hide herself in it. She has it
cut very frequently, as it grows so
quickly, enniding her to sell large
tresses to hair dealers every three or
four months.
A certain Mrs. Heatunont, of Rrotton,
Knginnd, who lived in the time of Pitt,
and whom the possession of lead mines
made wealthy and purseproud. one
day thought to impress Pitt, who was
shiying at Hretton, with iier riches.
She had the most splendid service of
plate at dinner and, waving her hand,
she said: "There, Mr. Pitt, that's all
from the mines." "Indeed!" answered
Pitt. "If you had not told me, Mrs.
Heaunioiit, I should have thought it
was silver."
Thonter nintinr.
III Of heliotrope crepe do soie with
black chenille fringe and lace.
t'J.) Soft white satin with long lace
eulTs and berthe of applique htco.
KtylcM in C ti,
Some of the new sack coals end well
above (he deep waist belt with broad
box plaits back and front allowed to
flow loose. Of quite another nature
arc the whole back coats reaching to
the knees, whnlo tho most fashionable
are a revival from the middle of the
TiOs. With the addition of a watteau
plait they have the same turndown col
lars and wide, hanging sleeves. Somo
of the shorter ones havo little attempt
at fastening save cords, which are but
seldom secured, and are usually ac
companied by a. big turndown eollar,
often with drooping tassels or cord
ornaments.
Patronize those .who advertise.
