A QUEER RACE. A STORY Or A STRANGE FIOFLE ST WILLIAM WI8TALL. CHAPTER II.—YELLOW JACK. Like a good many other men, Peyton did not like to own. even to himself, that he had made a mistake; and as I could well see, he was continually casting about in his mind for reasons that might justify him for taking the “Lady Jane” in tow, in forgetfulness of the French saying, Qui w’excuse, s’accrue. His very anxiety to clear himself from charges which, as yet, nobody had made, showed that he was conscious of having committed a grievous “I am very sorry about poor Bailey,” he said. “Yet, after all, it la no more than was to be expected.” “I don’t quite see—” “Don’t you remember him handllngthat iody on the ‘Lady Janet’ It must have ien then he caught the fever.” “But that is two days since. He was thoroughly disinfected; and if he had ught the fever then it would have shown tself much sooner. I have always under itood that yellow feveris exceedingly rapid its action.” “Generally; but there are exceptions. He oust have caught it that time on the ‘Lady 'ane.’ and would have died just the same rhether we had taken the ship in tow or iot. How else could he have caught it?” “The rats. Bolsover tells me that they ctually swarm about the water-casks; and ■ou know what that means.” “Curse the rats!” Peyton exclaimed, pas lonately. “It’s rats, rats, all day long! 1 ink you have all got rats on the brain, re you quite sure, now, you did see them, nitng across the hawsers?” “Quite. Besides, if they are not from ie ‘Lady Jane,’ how did they get on ard?” “Anyhow, it is not the rats that gave r Bailey the fever; he got it in the'Lady ane,’ and nobody can blame me for that. iio could tell beforehand that she was a lever ship?” To this query I made no answer. I knew hat he was driving at. In the event of ihe fever spreading, he wanted to make >ut that it bad been brought on board by alley; that the rats had nothing to do ith it. I felt annoyed that he should bus try to wrigclo out of the responsibility e had incurred by taking the “Lady ane” in tow, and only the fact of my be g his guest prevented me from saying so. he had been less obstinate, he would ave cast her oil at once, for besides taking out of our course, she was greatly im :ling our progress; and with fever on ard our own vessel, and a fever ship in w, no port in that part of the world ■ould receive us; what he would do with e “Lady Jane” in such circumstances as ese was a mystery. Bailey’s death naturally caused great larm, both among the passengers and w. The captain tried to persuade them at it was merely an isolated case, and at he had adopted such precautions as uhl prevent the pest from spreading. I n’t think, though, that anybody believed Im. I know I did not. The rats, I felt re, would infect the whole ship, and it as quite possible that the fate of the .arty Jane’s” crew would be our—and line—for the more imminent grew the langer the less confident I felt in my sup ised immunity. We dined at half past five on board the Diana.” The party generally consisted if the seven passengers, the captain (who ireSided) and sometimes the first or second ifflcer. The bell rang fifteen minutes be fore the time, and again at the half hour, hen. as a rule, we were all in our places, cept Bulnois who was in the habit of induly prolonging his afternoon nap, and bout evepy other day hod to be wakened ip by a special messenger. This happened on the day Bailey was bur d, and the conversation with the captain hlch I have just described took place. Where is Mr. Bulnois?” asked Peyton, hen we were all seated. Asleep, as usual, suppose. Steward, send a boy to rouse im up, and say that dinner is on the ta le." Just as we were beginning with onrsonp e boy came back to say that Mr. Bulnois as very ill—had a bad headache, was very ick, and could not come to dinner. We all looked at each other. My com lanions turned pale, and I have no doubt I lid; for the same thought passed through ery mind—Bulnois had got yellow fever, it was like the handwriting on the wall at elshazzer’s feast. The foe was inside the litadel, and each of us was mentally ask g himself whose turn it would be next. The captain was the first to break the “A trifling indisposition, I expect,” he aid, with an affected nonchalance which latched ill with his anxious face. “Bui ois is subject to headaches, I think. I till go and see him presently, and give iim something that will do him good, tery likely an attack of indigestion.” The captain looked round as if to invite in expression of opinion in accordance rith his own; but nobody answered a word, ,nd the dinner was finished hurriedly, and a deep, almost solemn silence. But when ’eyton left us to see poor Bulnois, every ongue was loosened. "He is among us now, and no mistake,” d Robinson. "Who?” "Yellow Jack. Yon must have brought im when you went aboard the ‘Lady ane’ the other day, Erie.” “That is impossible. I was not there two linutes, an .; I catne back as naked as I rent. Besides, if I had brought it, 1 should ave been the first victim.” "Well, how is it, then? I can under hand that quarter-master getting it. But 'ulnois never went near him, and nt lunch >n he seemed quite well, and ate with od appetite.” “I’ll tell yon what it is,” put in Saun ers, the bank clerk, a quiet, observant ittle fellow. "It’s those rats.” “Rats! What the deuce have rats to do rith it?” “Everything. I can see it all now. There ras not a rat on board before Tuesday. I iave Inquired among the men, and I can iot find anybody who saw a single speci men until Wednesday, and now they sim ly swarm; and was it not on Wednesday orning that the captain had those guards at on the hawsers to prevent rats running ver them from the 'Lady Jane.' Depend ipon it, he knows, only it does not suit bis urpose to say so. Have you not noticed iow he fires up when anything is said bout rats?” “By Jove! I do believe yon are right, nd it all comes of taking that cursed fever dp in tow. Peyton deserves to be thrown rerboard.” “Mo, no,” I said; “Peyton is one of the sst fellows in the world. He acted tor the Mt> and took every precaution. Who could foresee that rats would come aboard by a hawserf” “He had ro business to run the risk—a risk that involved others as well as himself —of taking a fever ship in tow; and what makes it worse, he did It for his own pro fit. We have no interest in the salvage.” After this I thought it discreet to let the subject drop, for in truth my friend's con duct was almost, if not altogether inde fensible. “Never mind about the captain,” inter posed somebody. "What are we to dof that is the question.” “What can we do but grin and ahidef” I answered. “There is no possibility of running away.” “But cannot we take something—brandy or quinine; or do something with carbollo “Carbolic is merely a disinfectant; It is being used all orer the ship already; brandy, 1 should think, Is about the worst thing you could take, and quinine about the best. A manual of medicine I was looking at yesterday, in the captain’s cabin, recommends strong doses of quinine as a prophylactic.” “Let us have some!”—“Where can we get itf”—“Has the captain anyf”—“How much should we take?” shouted the five passengers. I Bald that I believed the captain had some; and when he returnod from seeking Bulnois they asked him for quinine even before they inquired after theirsick friend. He had some, though not very much, and gave each man a small dose forthwith. Bulnois was very ill; Peyton could not deny that his symptoms were those of yel low fever; and if he had denied it I should have known that he was wrong, for I had been reading the subject up. I had seen Bailey, and the moment X saw poor Bui nois (none of the other fellows would go near him) I recognized all the signs of the dread disease in its incipient stage—the shivering, the hot skin, the suffused eye balls, the drunken-like aspect of the eyes, and the flushed zone that encircled them. Poor fellow! wo could do nothing fo! him; I doubt whether the ablest physician in England could have done anything for him. He died delirious on the second day. In the meantime three of the crew had fallen ill, and they, too, died; and after that there were several deaths every day; within a week of the outbreak of the fever, the forty-six souls whom the “Diana” had on board when she sailed from Liverpool were reduced to twenty-live. Yet the virulence of the plague did not abate. It seemed as if we should all perish, and I do not think there were more than two men aboard who believed they would escape. These two were Bolsover and myself. I had gone so much among the sick, expos ing myself continually to the risk of con tagion without suffering the least ill ef fect, that I began to think my immunity was real, after ull, aud that I ran no more risk of taking the fever than a man who has been effectively vaccinated runs of taking small pox. The boatswain was like Bonaparte—he believed in his star. “I am not afraid, Mr. Erie,” ho said to me one day; “my time has not come yet. I am bound to see that treasure-ship before I die.” It was about this time that Bucklow (now first officer, his senior being among the dead) took mo to the stern, and point ing to the water, said grimly— “There they are, waiting for us. They have been following us these last three days.” “They” were five or six huge sharks, swimming in the wake of the ship. I looked at them for awhile ns if fascinated, and then with a shudder turned away. I never went near the taffrail that I did not look, and they were always close under the stern. As for Peyton, I thought he was going mad. He attended to his duties as dili gently as ever, looked after the sick as well as he could, nnd kept the survivors of his crew to their duties, took the day’s reckon ing, and recorded the day’s run; but he hardly ever spoke, except to give necessary orders. For hours together he would pace about the quarter-deck, mutteriug—“It’s my do ing! it’s all my doing! We shall all die! we shall all diet but my time has not come vet!” Once, when I ventured to suggest that he should cast the “Lady Jane” off (at the instance of some of the meh. who had got it into their heads that so long as we had the fever ship in tow the fever would never leave us) he turned on me almost fiercely. “No!” he exclaimed; “I shall not cast her off. Why should 1? What harm has she done? I am doomed—we are all doomed— and the salvage will be a provision for my wife and family. Don’t you understand? A provision for my wife and family, that’s why. But it’s useless to discuss the sub ject or give my reasons. I absolutely re fuse to cast the ship off; let that suffice.” I-Ie was doomed, but not to die of yellow fever. The very next morning, when 1 went on deck, Bucklow told me, with a significant look, that the captain had been taken ill in the night, and seemed in a very bad way. I went to him at once. Bucklow spoke truly. Tbe captain was, in truth, in a very bad way. He had r11 the symptoms which l now knew so well. Although the tem perature of his cabin was nearly eighty, and his skin hot and dry, he shivered con tinually. He had a terrible headache, too, and, albeit still sensible, rambled at times in his talk, and I doubted not would soon become quite delirious. “Yellow Jack has got hold of me now,” he said, trying to smile. “I thought he would; but not so soon, not so soon. I was quite well lost night. What think you now—is a man safer at sea or ashore? Are these adventures to your taste, Erie? You will have more, more, and pleasanter ones, I hope. Sorry I asked you to come with me. Turned out badly, hasn’t it? If I had known what would happen, you may be sure I would have given that brig a wide berth. But now it is too late! and the sal vage, you know, will be a provision for the wife and children. Poor wife! poor chil dren! I shall never see them again, Erie— never again! Give them my love when you get home, and say I thought about them to tbe last. I knew your father; he was a very good friend; yes, a very good friend. I was second officer of the ‘Or ontes’ when he and your mother were pas sengers; you were a passenger, too—a little chap about two year? old. I remember you well; used to trot you about on my shoulder. How did they get to St. Thomas’? That is where they came on board. Oh, I remember—in a fulucha from Maracaibo; yes, that was it—iu a falucha from Mar acaibo. I say, what do you think I saw in the night?”—lowering his voice, and look ing fearfully round. “Rats! Hundreds! They ran all over the place, and played at leap-frog on my bed—they did—played at leap-frog on my bed. And I could neither touch them nor call out. My arms were fastened to my aides, and my tcngue re fused to move. And what do you think? But don’t tell anybody. A great yellow one—twice as big as any of the others--a great yellow one, with black whiskers, and t white teeth, and fierce red eyes, came and | eat on my chest and spat at me. It gave me the fever, cnrse it! Get doge and cats; set traps; lay poison. Kill it! kill ttl Kill that cnrsed yellow rat, or you will all die. j A little more of that eau-de-Cologne, please; on my eyeballs this time. Thanks. And now I will drink again. This thirst, Is terrible. I am very 111, Erie.” j I remained with him an hoar or more, laving his head with eau-de-Cologne and - giving him some drink, and then, leaving him with his boy for awhile, I went outside to get a breath of fresh air, the oabln be ing both close and hot I Bucklow was still on deck. "How long will he last, do yon thlnkf” "Perhaps until to-morrow,” I answered, gloomily. "They hare all gone on the second day, or sooner, so far; and Peyton has it very badly. I am afraid he will be wildly delirious. Somebody should be with him continually.” "You have left the boy, I suppose?” “Yes; and I shall go back in a few min utes.” "How long will this lost, I wonder? It’s belli I’ll tell you what, Erie. I have a great mind to cast that cursed brig off on my own authority. We have had no luck since we saw her. I am In command now. Do you think I might?" "Certainly. Cast her off, by all means, and let us make all the unste we can for Montevideo, while there’s somebody to navigate and sail the ship; and If—" “Rats! Ratsl Rats! There’s that great yellow one with the rod eyes! I’ll catch him, if I die for itl Ah! he Is making for the ‘Lady Jane,’ Is he—I” “My God! what is that?” exclaimed Bucklow, ns we both turned from the taff rail, over which we had been leaning. It was the captain running across the deck in his shirt, and at the same instant, and before either of U3 could raise a hand to stop him, he sprung on the bulwark and jumped into the sen. The mate, with ready presence of mind, threw a buoy after him, at the same time ordering the ship to bo brought to and a boat to be lowered. My first impulse was to follow Peyton and try to save him. “Don'tl” said Bucklow, laying his hand on my shoulder. "He can swim better than you can. And, see, it would be cer tain death.” The captnin was swimming with power ful strokes toward the "Lady Jane,” in the very midst of a shoal of sharks. They were all rouud him, and even before he reached the brig one of the creatures turn ed on its back for the fatal bite. An ago nized scream, a piteous look from a fever stricken face, a swirl of the waters as the wild beasts of the sen fought with each other for their prey, and all was over. It seemed too terriblo to bo real. My brain was in n whirl; I felt sick and giddy: and had not Bucklow put his arm around me, I should have fallen on the deck. "Don’t give way,” ho said, kindly. "Hor rid sight us it was, it is perhaps better so. Poor Peyton has been spared a long agony. It was not three minutes from the time of his jumping overboard to his death. I’d rather die like that than as some of our poor fellows have died. Just one crunch, and it’s over. Come! I am going to cast the brig off. 1 cannot bear the sight of her.” “Sink her, and so prevent the disasters that have befallen us from befalling oth ers.” "We cannot. She is timber laden.” "Burn her, then.” “I did not think of that. Yes, we will burn her; and those cursed rats with her, if there are any left. Will you come with me? and we will set her on Are, and bring those two fellows off. How they have es caped, Heaven only knows.” “With all my heart.” The dingey was lowered at once, and taking with us matches, axes, and a car boy of turpentine, we went on board th« “Lady Jane.” TO BE CONTINUED. Why Envelopes are Redeemed. Some peonlo have an idea that the Government redeems postage stamps when from any cause they become un fit for use or are difficult to use. Fre quently sheets of stamps are stuck together, or are torn or injured. The loss, if any, falls upon the owner, as the Goverment refuses to assume any responsibility of stamps when onoe sold. The agents of the Government, the Postmasters, can redeem stamps which they have for sale, if through any accident they become untitforuse. But when the citizen buys a stamp he either uses it in the legitimate way or else he is out the value of the stamp. The Government, however, redeems stamped envelopes. If one should happen to be misdirected or should become blotted, or for auy reason a person should wish to tear open a stamped envelope after he had sealed it for mailing, he can bring it to the Post Office and get a brand new envelope in its place. The reason for this difference in the treatment of the adhesive stamp and the stamped envelope is that the adhesive stamp can be used and then washed and uassed ns good, unless a careful scrutiny is made. If the Government should be gin the practice of redeeming ndhesive stamps, the opportunities for fraud would be increased. Then the adhesive stamps are manufactured at a cost to the Government, which the stamped envelope is not. The stamps are fur nished to the public at the face value, and out of this has to come the cost of manufacture but iu the case of stamped envelopes they are sold at their face value, plus the cost of manufacture. Crumbling to Pieces. The British parliament houses are crumbling to pieces so fast that there is constant danger of some portion of the buildiugs toppling down upon the members. Parts of the front of St. Stephen’s have had to be entirely re faced because of the wearing away of the soft stouo. Only a week or two ago a heavy piece of a stone heraldic animal suddenly fell close to the en trance of Westminster hall in Old Pal ace yard—a means of entrance to the house which is largely favored. But a few days before a portion of the orna mental stone work fell close to the member's entrance itself, and another heavy piece fell upon the pavement of New Palace yard not a month ago. An official estimate sets down the number of wolves in Russia at 170,000; it is further stated that the loss caused by the destruction aft sheep and swine by wolves is so r*»*t that it caasot be even approxim *9 estimated. HOMESTEAD WAGES ALMOST CAUSE DEMOCRATS TO LEAVE CONORESS. Mr. Bjrnnm Would Like to llavo a Job— Soma Thing* That Surprised Demo cratic Congressional Investigator*— Protection Strengthen* Labor. The Democratic House sent a com mittee to Homestead with the hope of making a showing of distress and pov erty among the laborers In protected Industries. They hoped to show that workmen in protected Industries get no benefit from a protective tariff. Hut they will not show that. What they found was workmen get ting from $1.40 a day (the lowest rate, and that only a few) up to as high as $10 per day. There were men off eves l $1,000, $2,BOO, $3,000 and even $3,000 per annum, and working about 870 days In the year—and yet they had learned to feel and believe, under the experience of a protective tariff, that they ought to have more. No wonder Congress man Bynum, Democrat, of Indiuna and a member of the committee, inquired with some show of eagerness whether there was a chance for him to secure a position In the works. When Hugh O’Donnell, the leader of the strikers was on the stand, Mr. Boatner (Democrat, of Louisiana)asked him: “You are one of the skilled work men, are you not?” “Yes, sir.” “About what were your wages?” “About $144 per month.” John McLuclcle, a member of the Amalgamated association and a bur gess of Homestead, complained to the committee that the McKinley law re duced the tariff on steel billets, ami that wages, therefore, began to go down with the price of steel billets after its passage. He advanced tho condition of laboring men In Europe and Ureat Britain la proved not to be true out of the mouths of the strikers and the Democrats themselves. ON THE OTHER SIDE. The Free Tra.r>o per ton. A Pertinent Inquiry. Mr. l'lorco portlnontly Inquires of his Democratic colleagues In the House what they are shooting thVough their pop-gun tnrlff bills for under suspen sion of the rules if their objection to the silver bill Is that it would be ap>, proved by tlio 1’rcsldcnt. * 5 ■'« 'f $ ■ V:\ The Mother's Doubt. Mother—I hope, ray son, if you go into politics you will bo honest and re* spectuble. Son—(Ireat Scott, mother, you talk us though you thought I might become a Democrat. lstteh 6fs 4ceep77i/vce „ /684k • drtU (ftuuL.'-AuJ:fr* /L-v^cXd, ' 0 tr~vx ^ ^ 0 per month. The common laborers earned from 81 to *1.50 a dav. “As Mr. Frick had positively declined to disclose to the committee the cost per ton of producing steel billets at the Homestead mills, Mr. Oates could not say whether the contention of the men that the company was making a great deal of money at the present prices was trne or not. He was satisfied, how ever, that the allegation of the men that the company had purposely pro duced an overstock of steel billets in order to reduce the scale of wages of the workmen was untrue.” Blatant demagogues have spread many lying reports of the misery, pov erty and degradation of the workmen at Homestead, and Democratic politi cians have been quick to take up these reports and glory in them as showing the calamity of a protective tariff. But the day has gone by when lies of this sort can befool the people. The coun try is not prepared to judge finally on the merits of the strikers' quarrel at Homestead. But that the wages they have been getting and the wages they are offered are such as would leave them in the helpless and poorly paid hopes of the Democrats for the ap proaching1 Presidential election are so largely shared in this country. Prices of Domestic Products. It is desirable that the prices of do mestic products should remain uni form, and that they should be so high as not to justify a feeling of unrest in the operatives, or a fear of impending disaster in the investors of any voca tion. Such an industrial adjustment should be secured as would equalize the surplus annual product of all voca tions. That is to say, the ordi nary demand for - their con sumption should exhaust the products of all vocations as nearly as possible in equal times. .Such a condition of in dustrial and financial equipoise can never be attained while our markets are exposed to the disturbing effects of an alien competition, or while the in terests of our producers are exposed to the vicious assaults of the whims and the sophistries of our non-producing free-trade politicians. TUn Pacllio Slope. Judge M. M. Esteeof California,who was chairman of the Republican Na tional convention of 1888, said recently: “I regard the administration of Pres ident Harrison as having been wise, prudent and judicious, lie can carry California by a sound majority. The prosperity of California in the last year has been marvelous. We produced wheat, raisins, prunes and wine in un precedented quantities. The McKinley tariff law is popular with us, because it protects our products. The duty on prunes is an example. It is two cents, yet prunes are cheaper in New York and over the country to-day than when the law went into effect. The same thing is true as to raisins, on which the duty imposed is two and one-half cents.” Iron lire Industry. The iron ore industry of the United States has shown since 1880 one of the most remarkable strides ever recorded of any industry in any country. The census figures have just been tabulated, and it appears that the increase of pro duction in ten years has been over 100 per tent., from 7,000,000 to 14,000,000 \ Political Pointer#. f ... Tammany never bolts. It knifes. The campaign song to the tune of Boom-tarra-ra-boom-de-ay is in full blossom. Speaker Crisp has declined to enter tain a “dilatory motion,” and Tom Reed smole a bland smile. The Democrats are likely to lose ' North Carolina if they pass a free lum ber bill through the House. The word is therefore passed around, “Wait until after election.” It is not an issue in the campaign that W. J. Campbell does law business for Armour, any more than is the fact that O. Cleveland is the paid attorney of a soulless street-car corporation. Union miners are killing non-union miners in Idaho with bullets and dyna mite because they take the lowered wages which the union men had re fused. Yet there is free trade in the product of Idaho mines. There is a just mean, I think—that between a system of intellectual com petition which destroys the body and a system of physical training that eliminates the mind.—President Har* rison at Saratoga. Famous Old Oak*. ^ The largest oak now standing in England is the “Cowthorpie,” whick measures seventy-eight feet in circum ference at the ground. At one time this tree and its branches covered more than an acre of space. The gigantio old “Parliamentary Oak,” in Clipstone park, London, is believed to be 1,500 years old. The tallest oak on the Brit ish Isles is called the Duke’s Walking j . Stick. It is higher than the spire of Westminster Abby. The oak of Oelemos, which was felled in 1810, realized 94,350 for its owner. The bark was sold for $1,000 and the trunk and branches for $3,350 more. Big Work for On* Bird. A resident of Columbus, Ind., has a gamecock which was recently attacked by a bull, but in a very few minutes the bull was minus an eye. About a > year ago the gamecock killed in one day seven geese, eleven turkeys and , \ three roosters.