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(BRIM GAS BATTLES FOUGHT
■ [Asphyxiating Sheila Fired In Gres
( Quantities by Both Sides in Strug
gles on British Front.
Andre Tndesq, writing of the Imttlei
on the lirltlsh front, says there wag
buch an expenditure of asphyxiating
Shells one day that six hours after tin
4ast deluge of them suffocating smelll
kvere still passed through.
; Lavish expenditure of gas on holt
Jsldes form a characteristic of the fu
rious attack and counter-attacks
which have been delivered day imq
tolght round these two villages. Ths
|i tomsk is here as precclous its tl‘1
jgronade or the rifle.
|i ; As In n frightful cnr'nlval. in tin
huinner of Kdgar Allan Poe, one could
bee the night on the slopes west 01
Fresnoy entire regiments in masks)
lighting and killing each other in ths
totldst of black vapors, which werg
? kendered more fantastic by the light of
the moon.
The hand-to-hand struggle tlius took
ton most singular forms. Throwing
iwny their arms the combatants would
ly af each other's throats and fry to
tear away each other's masks. Few
; prisoners were taken In these eneoun.
tera. nnd the wounded are fewer still,
! T*eath alone receives the lion's slmr.1
-,
Provirfina for Em«raAnei«K
ki: uic numment or 11
m whole wheat and
■ barley —digests
SI easily and quickly,
S and the flavor is
delicious.
B “There’s a Beeson"
■ Grape-Nuts
The
DESTROYER
'.' 1
By BURTON E. STEVENSON
;tM»: CHAPTER II.
FRANCE IN MOURNING.
To. M. Thcophile Delcasse, min
ister of Marine, and first states
man of the republic, slumbering
peacefully in his bed at Paris that
morning, came the sound of urgent
knocking. He sat up in bed and
rubbed the sleep from his eyes, for
he knew that not without good
cause would any one dare disturb
him at that hour. Then he stepped
to the floor, thrust his feet into a
pair of slippers, his arms into the
sleeves of a dressing robe, and
opened the door.
“A telegram, sir, marked ‘Most
Important’,” Raid his valet, and
passed it in to him.
It was from Vice Admiral Bel
lue, commander at Toulon, and a
moment later M. Delcasse had
learned of the terrible disaster.
He ordered his carriage and
dressed rapidly with trembling
hands. He was shocked and dis
tressed as he had rarely been be
fore. Would these disasters never
cease? First tke Jena, now the
Liberte—both ships the pride of
their country, the last formidable
word in marine architecture! He
gulped down the cup of coffee
which his valet brought him,
seized hat and gloves, hastened to
his carriage, and drove straight to
the Elysee palace.
The president was already up,
and his broad face, usually so plac
id and good humored, was con
vulsed with grief as he greeted his
minister. He held in his hand a
telegram, which he had just
opened.
‘‘See,” he said, after the first
moment, ‘‘the sad news is already
abroad, ’ ’ and he held out the mes
sage.
Delcasse took it and read it with
astonished eyes. It was from the
German emperor, and expressed
his grief at the catastrophe, and
his sympathy with France, which
he had directed his ambassador to
call at once in person to convey
more fully.
‘‘The kaiser ie certainly well
served!” muttered Delcasse, read
ing the message again, his lips
twitching with emotion. ‘‘There is
something ironical in this prompt
ness. He must have had the news
before we did!”
The president nodded gloomily.
Then the other members of the
cabinet came whirling up, and
were convened at once by their
chief in secret session.
Not many hours later, as a re
sult of that session, a special train
rolled out of the Gare de Lyon,
and headed away for the south,
with a clear track and right-of
way over everything. Aboard it
were the president himself, the
minister of marine, the minister of
war, and a score of minor officials.
There was also a thin little man
with white hair and yellowish
white beard—M. Louis Jean Bap
tiste Lepine, prefect of police, and
the most famous hunter of crim
inals in the world; and in the last
car were a dozen of the best men
of his staff, under command of his
most trusted lieutenant, Inspector
Pigot.
At each station, as the train
rolled on, great crowds gathered
to meet it—crowds strangely si
lent, inarticulate with grief, furi
ous, suspicious of they knew not
what. Terrible rumors were
abroad — rumors of treaehery, of
treason striking at the very heart
of France. No one dared repeat
these rumors, but nevertheless
they ran up and down the land.
The Jena and now the Liberte!
True, the board of inquiry, which
had investigated the destruction
of the Jena, had decided that that
catastrophe was due to the spon
taneous combnsion of the powder
in her magazines. France had ac
cepted the verdict; but now a sec
ond battleship was gone. It would
be too much to ask any one to be
lieve that this was spontaneous
eombusion, also! Such things do
not happen twice.
And at every station telegrams
were handed in giving fresh de
tails of the disaster—horrible de
tails. The ship was a total loss; of
that splendid mechanism, built by
years of toil, by the expenditure of
many millions, there remained on
ly a twisted and useless mass oi
wreckage; and in that wreckage
lay 300 of France’s sailors. Small
wonder that the president sat, chii
in hand, staring straight before
3
him, and that the others spoke in
whispers, or not at all.
At Dijon, which was reached
about the middle of the afternoon,
there was a tremendous crowd,
thronging the long platforms and
pressing against the barriers,
which threatened at every moment
to be swept away. The president
went out to say a few words to
them, but at the first sentence his
voice failed him, and he could on
ly stand and look down upon
them, convulsive sobs rising in his
throat. Suddenly a little red
legged Turco, weeping too, snatch
ed off his fez and shouted “ Vive la
France!” and the cheer was taken
up and repeated and repeated, un
til it swelled to a vast roar. As
the train rolled out of the station,
the crowd, bareheaded, was sing
ing the Marseillaise.
M. Delcasse’s eyes, behind his
heavy glasses, were wet with
tears.
it is tne same people still! he
said, pressing the president’s
hand. “They are as ready to
spring to arms as they were 100
years ago. Now, as then, they
need only to know that their coun
try is in danger!”
His voice haa grown vibrant
with emotion, for the passion of
his life was and always had been
revenge upon Germany. He made
no effort to conceal it or to dissim
ulate. Alsace and Lorraine were
always in his thoughts. To placate
Germany, indeed, France had once
been compelled to drive him from
the Quai d’Orsay, where, for so
many years, he had been to his
contemporaries a sort of Olympian
in the conduct of her foreign af
fairs. But even in retirement he
remained the most powerful man
in France; and now he was back
in the cabinet again, a giant
among Lilliputians, building up
the navy, building up the army,
strengthening the forts along the
frontier, increasing the efficiency
of the artillery, experimenting
with airships, devoting his days
and nights to the study of strat
egy, the discussion of possibilities,
always with the same idea, the
same hope! And now, this catas
trophe !
As he sat gnawing his nails, the
president glanced at him, read his
thoughts, and shook his head.
“No, my friend,” he said, sadly,
“the country is not in danger; or,
if it is, the danger is from within,
not from without. This is an acci
dent, like all the others.”
“You believe so? But it seems
to me that we have had mc*.b than
out share of accidents!”
“So we have,” the president
agreed. “Let us hope that this
will be the last—that it will teach
us to guard ourselves, in future,
from our own carelessness.”
“England, America, Germany,”
Delcasse went on, speaking half to
himself, “these nations, with
navies greater than ours, never
have such accidents. Small explo
sions, sometimes, it is true, wreck
ing a gun or damaging a turret—
but never destroying a whole ship!
Is it merely because they are never
careless?”
“There was the Maine,” the
president reminded him,
Delcasse*s hand went to his
moustache to hide the ironic smile
upon his lips. In that close
cropped head of his, along with
many other such secrets, was that
of the cause of the catastrophe in
Havana harbor. In all the chan
cellories of Europe, it was agreed
that the Maine had been destroyed
by the spontaneous explosion of
her own magazines. Four men
kne wthe truth, and Delcasse was
one of them, there had been a fifth,
but an assassin’s bullet killed him.
In an instant Delcasse’s face
was composed, and his eyes, be
hind their immense glasses, as in
scrutable as ever. The president,
so ingenuous and child like, must
never suspect the truth !
“True!” Deleasse agreed.
* * There was the Maine! I had for
gotten that!” and he relapsed in
to thoughtful silence.
Evening eame, and still the
train rolled southward, past
Macon, past Lyons, past Vienne,
everywhere greeted by surging
crowds. At the latter place, Del
casse arose and, with an almost
Imperceptible nod to Lepine, en
tered the last ear. The prefect
followed him, and a few minutes
later, they were eloseted together
is a compartment, whose, at a
«
[ word from his superior, Inspector
Pigot had joined them.
“And now,” began Delcasse,
when the door was closed and the
train had started again, “tell me
i what you think of this affair, Le
i pine.”
The lattle gray man spread his
j hands wide with a gesture of help
lessness.
“At this moment I know no
more than you, sir,” he answered;
| ‘ ‘ probably not so much. By morn
ing, I shall have a report ready
for you.”
“We shall not arrive until after
midnight,” the minister pointed
out.
“Nevertheless, my report will
be ready, sir,” said Lepine, quick
ly. “Between midnight and dawn
there are six hours.”
Delcasse looked at him. He
knew that this little man never
made an empty promise.
“ Did you go through the papers
at the time of the Jena disaster?”
he asked.
“I did, sir. I assisted the inves
tigating board.”
“You are, then, familiar with
the theories in that case?”
“There were four theories,” an
swered Lepine. “The first was
that the ship had been blown up
by treachery; that is always the
first thought! But in the case of
the Jena, it was quickly discov
ered that treachery was impossi
ble, unless it was that of the high
est officers, for only they had ac
cess to her magazines. That was
unthinkable, for all of them had
served France for many years.
More than half of them were
killed. I myself investigated the
life of every one of these men, for
it was necessary to be absolutely
certain—but not a breath could be
raised aeainst them.”
“And the second theory?”
“That there had been careless
ness of some sort. That, too, was
disproved, for no one had entered
the magazines for many hours
previous to the explosion. It is a
rule of the service that, except
when in use, the keys of all maga
zines shall he in keeping of the
commander, who is responsible
for them. At the inquiry, the
commander of the Jena testified
that the keys had not left his pos
session during the two days pre
ceding the accident. There had
been no occasion to enter the mag
azines during that time. The Jena,
you will remember, was at anchor
in Toulon harbor, just as the
Liberte was. ’ ’
Delcasse glanced at his compan
ion keenly.
“Does that fact suggest noth
ing to you, Lepin?” he asked.
“Nothing, sir,” said Lepine
firmly. “1 have thought of it ali
day, and I can see in it nothing ex
cept coincidence.”
“Coincidence! Coincidence! I
detest the word—I do not believe
in coincidence!” muttered the
minister. -■
“Nor I,” agreed Lepine; “but
even less do I believe in vague
theories and vague suspicions. We
must have a firm foundation be
fore we begin to build.”
“Well, and the third theory?”
said Delcasse, at last.*
“The third theory was most in
teresting. It was that the explo
sion had been caused by waves
from the wireless telegraph. It
was asserted that these waves had
upset the unstable equilibrium,
either chemical or electrical, which
sometimes exists in the compon
ents of modern powder, and that
the explosion had resulted.”
“And this theory also was dis
proved?”
“The most exhaustive tests
failed to confirm it.”
“Ah,” said Delcasse; “but to
fafl to confirm a thing is not to
disprove it.”
4 4 Our wireless experts agreed in
pronouncing the theory absurd.”
“Wireless waves penetrate
metal, do they not?”
“Every metal except lead.”
Delcasse turned this over for
some moments in his mind.
“If that had been the cause,”
went on Lepine, at last, “there
would have been other explosions,
many of them — and our navy
would not have been the only one
to suffer. The whole atmosphere
is charged with such waves, of ev
ery length and every degree of in
tensity. ' ’
“Perhaps you are right,”
agreed the minister. “What was
the fourth theory t”
“The fourth theory was that
finally adopted by the board. It
was that a certain kind of powder,
known as B' powder, degenerates
under heat, and becomes, in time,
eitremely combustible, so that it
will sometimes explode apparently
without any exciting cause.”
“In what manner was the truth
of this theory demonstrated f” de
manded Delcasse.
“In a most convincing manner.
A certain amount of this powder,
which the board waa examining,
did explode in this way, under
! their very hands. Had ihe a1
I been larger, not a member of the
board would have escaped. But,
sir, you know all this as well as I.”
“I wish to refresh my memory,”
Delcasse explained. ‘‘I wish to see
if your, memory, which I admire
so much, agiees with mine. Now
tell me this: what was done to pre
vent a recurrence of such an ac
cident?”
‘‘The powder in all French mag
azines was overhauled, and that
which there was any reason to
i suspect was destroyed. To pre
vent future deterioration, the
magazines of all our battleships
were equipped with a special cool
ing apparatus. In this, we were
soon followed by all other na
tions.”
‘‘And yet,” said Delcasse, in a
low voice, ‘‘the latest and best of
our battleships blew up this morn
ing!”
‘‘I have brought my best men
with me, as you suggested, sir,”
said Lepine. ‘‘If there were any
suspicious circumstances attend
ing this explosion, depend upon it,
they will be laid before you when
you awake! ’ ’
Do not wait for me to awake! ’ ’
cried the minister. ‘‘If any such
circumstances comes to light, wake
me—wake me on the instant!”
Lepine bowed.
‘‘I will do so, sir,” he prom
ised.
il was some time past micmignt
when the train reached Toulon;
but apparently no one of her' 100,
000 inhabitants had thought of
sleep. The streets before the sta
tion were crowded from house
front to house front. The car
riage containing the president and
his ministers had the greatest dif
ficulty in proceeding. Everywhere
there were cries for vengeance,
shouts of treason, threats, wild im
precations. Men stood with arms
extended cursing the heavens. The
Place de la Liberte was massed
with people, facing the fountain in
honor of the revolution, bare
headed, singing the Ca Lra. It
seemed as though the wheels of
time had rolled back a century,
and that at any moment the Sea
green Incorruptible himself might
arise to thunder denunciation. But
at last the president and his staff
reached their hotel.
M. Lepine, after final instruc
tions to Pigot, joined them there, j
and listened to the reports made
by the surviving officers of La
Liberte. They were in despair,
these men, ready to kill them
selves at a word; their faces were
blackened, their uniforms in tat
ters, their hands torn and bleed
ing, for they had labored all day
at the work of rescue. They spoke
between sobs, but it was little they
had to tell.
Commander Jaures, it seemed,
had been absent on leave, the sec
ond in command was ashore, so
that Senir Lieutenant Garnier
was in charge of the ship. Just be
fore dawn, the watch had discov
ered a small fire in one of the
store rooms, but it was so insignifi
cant that no one thought of dan
ger ; the fire was not near the mag-j
azines; in any event, the maga
zines were all securely elosed—the
officer in charge bad seen to that.
Suddenly, apparently without
cause, there had been three ex
plosions, about a minute apart,
first of the forward magazine, then
of the after magazine, then of the
man magazine—it seemed almost
as though they had been fired at
spaced intervals, like a heavy gun.
There had been time to get the
crew on deck, but the final explo
sion had come before the boats
could be lowered. It had broken
the ship in two; the forward part
had turned over and sunk with all
on board; the after part was a
mere mass of twisted wreckage.
The explosion had been so violent,
that the neighboring ships also
suffered—La Republique so seri
ously that it was only by hurrying
her to a dry-dock she was kept
from sinking. No one had any
theory, any explanation; there
had been no warning, no premoni
tion. An instant, and it was over.
But all agreed that the fire could
have had nothing to do with it.
(Continued Next Week.)
Prom the Grandstand.
Prom the Kansas City Star.
"Wen. X wish him luck,” said Mr.
Jones the other night, after reading in
the evening paper an account of the
wedding of a popular member of the
local football team. "But,” he added,
In a ruminating tone, “marriage is very
much like football."
"Don't talk so ridiculous." snapped
Mrs. Jones. "However can you com
pare football to marriage?”
"Why.” replied Jones. ‘It looks so
easy to those who haven’t tried tt!"
in the Shall.
Fnn tha St. I«i> Olob*.
“How’s the gUD here?” a new boarder
asked genially, rubbing his hands, at
the dinner table ota boarding house.
“Well, sir. we nave chicken every
morning for breakfast.’’ an old boarder
grunted.
"Chicken every morning?”
The new boarder positively beamed.
Chicken every morning? And how
^ Tn^tha shell!” granted the old
FARMS THE SOURCE *
OFJBLTH
Careful Tillage, Good Manage*
ment and a Beneficent Soil.
Reading the reports of the managers
of the chartered banks in Canada, one
Is struck by the wonderful showing
that they have made during the past!
two or three years. They are careful
In their statements, and while they
attribute the success that they have
met with, together with that which lias
followed other lines of business, they
are carefu' ^ emphasize the fact that
tlie condition of big business may not
continue. On the other hand, they
point out that the material and funda
mental source of wealth is the farm.
While other lines of business may have
their setbacks, and while care anil
scrupulous care, will have to be exer
cised to keep an even balance, there
is but little risk to the farmer who on
economic and studied lines will carry
on his branch of industry and endeavor
to produce what the world wants not
only today, but for a long distance into
the future, with a greater demand than
ever in the past.
Speaking recently before a Canadian,
bank board at its annual meeting. tUa
vice president, once a farmer himself,
said: I
“The farm is the chief source of j
wealth. We have now three trnnscon- /
tinental railways with branches run
ning through thousands of miles of
the very best undeveloped agricultural
land in the world. In the natural
course of things, these must attract
immigration. The products of the farm
are now commanding the highest
prices ever known, and in my opinion 1
even after the end of the war, high |
(prices for foodstuffs must continue to
(prevail, \yith the mechanical appli
ances now available for farm work, the
(farmer needs no considerable supply
lof extra capital, but should be helped
to the extent needed upon good secur
ity. The food supply of the world is
short, the demand is likely to increase
rather than decrease. Development
of mines, extension of factories and
the reconstruction of devastated Eu
rope must all call for supplies for the
workers. On the whole, the farmer
has been helped rather than hurt by
(the war, and will continue to be, at
,least for a long time to come.” v
Many men of authority and intelli-. y
'gence support what the vice president
(has said, and their statements are
■borne out by the facts that readily pre
sent themselves. The different grain
producing countries' of Europe have
(been robbed of the man power that de
veloped their agriculture, the farm3
have been devastated and laid waste.
Full and complete reliance will have to
(be placed on the United States and
(Canada, and from what we see today,
*lt will take the combined forces of
Ifhese two countries to come anywhere
near meeting the cry that will go out
for food. The warnings and appeals
■sent out by the heads of these two
countries are none too soon nor too
urgent. Therefore, it becomes nee
essary for those who can produce to
exert themselves. Secure land, rent it
buy it. Get it somewhere, some way,
and have it operated. The Canadian
Government, sending out its appeal, ii
not selfish in this matter. Thousands
of acres in the United States await
the tiller’s efforts, and none of it
Bhould be idle. Canada, too, offers
wonderful advantages, with its free
lands and Its low-priced lands, to those
desirous of helping the nation, and im
proving their own condition at the
same time. Many are taking advan
tage of this wonderful opportunity.—
^Advertisement.
Fully Qualified.
The clergyman had advertised for a
[butler, and the next morning after
(breakfast u well-dressed, clean-shaven
■young tuuu in black was ushered into
his study.
“Name, please?” asked the clergy
man.
“Hilary Arbuthnot, sir.”
“Age?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“What work have you been accus
tomed to?”
“I am a lawyer, sir."
The clergyman started. Tills was
odd. However, he know many were
called in tlie law, but few chosen.
"Rut," he said, “do you understand
the conduct of a household?”
"In a general way, yes." murmured
the applicant.
“Can you carve?"
"Yes."
“Wash glass and silver?”
“I—er—think so."
The young man seemed embarrassed.
He frowned and blushed, .lust then
the clergyman’s \#t’e entered?
"Are you married?” was rite first
question.
"That,” said the young man. “was
whut I called to see your husband
about, madam. 1 desire to know If he
can make it convenient to officiate at
my wedding at noon next Thursday
week.”
Ju*t Like Us.
“That sou of yours isn't very bright,
but he hns a big appetite."
“Yes; I expect lie’ll make si fine col
lege nth fete."
Many a woman who thinks herself a x
beauty never succeeds in convincing
her mirror.
When Your Eyes Need Care
Try taortoe Eye, Remedy
do Bwrttm — J*a4 Jtrs ComtSirt. to eenla at
onnlau a? wall, wove for rrao ■». Book.
■oSm naBHiiot co., cuioaoo