M Y LADY IF TME S0UT1H1 A IFnffeft AnaMveirsaiiry Wmr ISy AMD) ALL PaIISM COPYRIGHT. 1909. BY A. C McCLURG & CO. CHAPTER IX. RELEASED FOK A rmrOsE. I JIMMIED this cellar room to be nt the north side of th( house nnd a brief search a 'one the whIIs of the shadowy Interior re ealed noth'ng t tm t could nld mo In any way. It was totally bare, bricked Mlldl to the floor beams above, the single entrance by a heavy oak dor, erWently barred without, as I could discover no lock, and the only window, scarcely large enough to admit the body of a boy., secured by stout strips of inm. between whit b the daylljibt filter ed weakly. Without tools of some kind the walls were Impregnable, and there was absolutely nothing 1 could use as wedge, lever or hammer. I dim at the tricks, tested the wiudow sir ps and eierclsed my strength and Ingenuity t every possible manner, driven to oew expedients by recollection of my perilous position, but xueb eft oris were all useless. Wearied and uearisiek. I had fallen back upon the blankets, wben food was suddenly shoved through the quickly opened door. I aught merely a glimpse of a black hand and arm. 1 bad completed my meal and was sitting with bead burled in my hands my thoughts insensibly drifting to Jean Denslow. If I could only really nsderstaud her; If I could know how she felt toward me now under the shadow of this crime. Of course I wns In her thought merely as a chance acsuuintanee. an enemy. Indeed, so tor as the uniform went, yet slip bad exhibited some Interest and perhaps still retained a slight doubt of my guilt. Slrl though she was In years, yet hers was the heart of a woman, and I felt that she would stand for all she deemed to be right In face of them all. I was staring down at the bricks, so dpeply Immersed in gloomy esujectures as to be unconscious of all else; I beard no sound, and yet some thing told ir.e of another presence. As my eyes lifted I saw ber. standing lone Just within the closed door, looking at me. 1 stared at her as at an apparition, unable at the moment to d.sassoclate her from the vision of my day dream. I even struggled to my feet without realizing that she nctnally stood there ta the reality of flesh nnd blood. No doubt both look and action pictured my bewilderment, for her lips curved to a smile, nnd she spoke quickly. "I am not a specter. Lieutenant King" "It needed your voice to convince nw." I returned, bowing nnd feeling the sudden release of blood In my wins. "I had been thinking, of you, frilled to bear your entrance, and then Suddenly saw'vou fttaiuTlug there. 11 ertnlnly startled me." "You were thinking of me?" "J" he temp wns slightly curious. Yes; wondering If you believed me gtrtlty; hoping you nt least gave me lie benellt of the doubt. Your appear we was like nn answer to my query.' " am only a girl. Lieutenant King, with no very wide experience In life. yet I cannot he mistaken n I together in your character I not only believe yon guiltless of this crime, but I trust yo i tfhcrwlse or I should not be here TV II I yon give me your word that 1 am ighl V" "Before find." yes." earnestly. "I know nothing of the crime except what I told in the library " "And I may trust yon?" "To i lie end of I lie world. Miss Dens lew " "Lieutenant Klng"-her words spo ken slowly, yet with sutlieicnt clear new "I do not wish to be mlsunder Mood. I nra a daughter of the south, ktyul to the Interests of the Confed eracy. While I believe you guiltless Ht tnts cruel murder, yet you have en tered this house as a Yankee ollicer Scarchlug for one who Is very dear tt roe, Iwyoud all his claims upon my U7n Stary protwiTouTTsTT s...i-T r?"uiy country, lo protect li i in I iiiiitlc you captive, and I consider jou now as rightfully a prisoner of war. I have been left here as your jailer, with no one but negroes to help me guard you. Miss Dunn has given way to her nerves and locked herself In her room: Judge Dunn Is comparatively helpless. I am therefore practically alone." Wlone!" mystified as to her pur pose in siH'li confession. "You mean, but for you. I could walk out of that door What has bc-otne of Calvert Dunn and Colonel Donald?" She stepped aside, again uplifting her eye to my face as she did so. "Yes." slip said simply, "there Is no strength Iktc to prevent your escape I merely appeal to your honor" Hreathini! hard. I looked at her van-el v knowing what to say. The expression of her face, pleading, ques tiomug decided me "Thai II1 have greater weight with me than a barred door. I pledge you my word." "And I nccept It without reserve. give you my hand In token of the compact. You think me nn odd girl. no doubt. When other children learn to walk, I was learning to ride and to use firearms; aye. and to distrust t.'inirevs rpcniur inni cai.. em e uus Drmum au unusual confident e In went. Am I overbold?" "Far from It; yet I may be when I nay you are ir.y Ideal of womanhood." The quick flush mounted to her hair. her hands clasping. "Oh. but I did not expect that. What a poor Ideal you must have? No north ern school ever held me up as a model. I hardly know what spirit possesses me to make me forget the real purpose of my visit I came In all seriousness. I told you I was alone here, but for the negroes. Iteliering you perfectly helpless, confined here In the cellar, Colonel Donald rode away to collect some of his men. who are widely scattered Just now. Intend ing to convey you under guard tonight to Johnston's headquarters. Calvert Dunn, with two of the negroes, de parted even earlier with Lieuteuaut Navarre's body." "They intend holdlug me, then, as a ' prisoner of war?" She hesitated, as If doubtful of her reply, her eyes lifting suddenly to my own. tbeu falling as quickly to the stone floor of the cellar. "You fear to tell me the truth?" "No. not that, but I do not feel quite certain of the final outcome. Itotn Calvert Dunn and his father bold you merely as an emissary of Daniels and would treat you ns they would him if he ever fell Into their hands We have not known much about law In this region, Lieutenant King, and men have learned to wreak their own vengeance. I cannot picture to you what the bitterness of a mountain feud means" She pressed her hands to her eyes as if to shut out the mem ory. yet went steadily on. her soft voice trembling with emotion. "1-1 have seen so much of it: from my i very babvhood I have lived amid scenes of violence burned homes, wo men and children suffering and destl tute. men shot down from ambush and outrages unspeakable. War is terrible, but n mountain fend turns human beings Into fiends " Her words, the deep Intensify of her utterance, told how clearly she recalled it all She stopped, breathing heavily. one hand reaching out to the door for support. "Hut why should It be? We know nothing of such conditions In Hie north. What caused all this lighting?' "1 I heard the story." speaking now almost wearily. "Way back, they say a huudred years ago. when the first settlers came, some controversy arose between the Danlelses and the Don aids. Blood wns shed, nnd little by lit tlo every relative was drawn into the controversy. Tlie TanMses were Hie more numerous, the more Ignorant, the more vindictive. Colonel Donald saw them kill his father and burn his own home to i be g ouud. He sougut e.ir uestly to compromise, lo make peace The others laughed, thought him a oward. and finally burned bis borne for the second time, twenty of them. t midnight. Hill Daniels at their head. They left h' I seriously wound ed and drove his wife ar.d children Into tue nlu'lit and storm. His wife and one 'hiltl died from exposure. He lay for weeks In this house delirious with fever, and twice those fiends sought him even then When he recovered he was auother inau-living for uo other purpose than to clear this region or that scum, lie was five years at It. uight and day. tireless as a blood hound Hill Daniels was tried for mur der and convicted He escaped from Jail two years ago and since then. until the war broke out. we have had peace. Now he has come back come back with the Yankee army behind him -ami and It Is murder agalu" " Y on know tills to be all true?" The cellar was almost dark now. but 1 could see her straighten up, her hands clasped light I v together Do 1 kiu.w? Oh. i bid. yes; I have been part of it. I have seen men sh.it down I have cowered in darkness uiii ruin while flames destroyed I he house I called home. All my t hi.dliood was a passion of fear." "You say Calvert Dunn and his followers hold me lo tie one of Dan iels' followers ami would deal with me accordingly? How about Colonel Don aid?" "He believes you guilty of killing Lieutenant Navarre, but merely In an effort to escape. Otherwise he thinks you have told the truth nnd favors turning you over to the military au thorities." "They expect to return?" "Yes. tonight, with a squad of Colo nel Donald's men." "And yet you ask me to remain Miss Denslow. to remain, here voiun tarlly nnd wait for them?" I asked In despair of comprehending "You opeu the door of my prison, yet ask me to wait the return of men who are un decided whether they will bung un outright or merely fling me Into i southern prison? You really ask this?' Site took a step forward, her hand outstretched us though she would grasp mine "Yes. Lieuteuaut King, I do ask it. I ask It because 1 nm afraid to be left here any longer alone. I nsk it be cause I believe you are innocent, and I wish to give you an opportunity Ic prove It. 1 nsk you to pledge me you! word not to leave me until the other. come I believe the assassin is stil In the bouse." In complete amazement 1 heard these words, too surprised for the momen to utter a syllable. It was fear, thou that had driven ber here. Yet this fact did not lu au.r way lessen the ue as proof of her confidence. "Yon say the assassin Is still here in this house?" I Questioned. "Are you sure?" "No, not sure, but I have every reason to believe so Oue of the serv ants cauubt a glimpse of him. nnd I have secH fnal w filch has aroused my own suspicious. I have uot dreamed this, but i actually believe there is some presence in this house seeking evil. This house was built in time of feud and In a feud country. Judge Dunn was then on the bench and had made many dangerous enemies by his decisions. He always was a 'man to arouse animosity by his arbitrary manner and abrupt speech. As n girl 1 beard this house contained a bidden room nnd secret passages so nrrauged as to facilitate escape In time of peril or attack. Calvert Dunn has confessed as much, but he and his father alone kuow the secret It would be useless to question the Judge." "Where Is he now?" "Where you saw him last, occupy ing bis chair In the library, his body perfectly helpless, bis mind apparently as active as ever, but more bitter than before because of his physical weak ness. I do not thluk be has slept for two nights or that be has uttered a word except to curse the servants who brought hlni food." I had the full picture of the situa tion clearly before me now the super stitious, unwilling darkles, knowing just enough to be frightened at their own shadows: the characterless and colorless Lucille, suffering from a headache and locked safely away with in her own room; that vindictive old man, seated helpless In his chair, bis strange eyes glaring out across the library table, and Jean Denslow left alone In the big house to cope with Its mystery, the night shadows clos ing In. Instinctively I extended by band, and lu the sudden response of comradeship f ho slipped her own Into my grasp. "1-1 believe I nm actually afraid," she confessed. "This is so different from a real danger this tills haunted feeling" 1 do not recall what I snld. but I know I retained her hand In mine and must have spoken words of encour agement, for when we emerged from that dark hole of a cellar Into the nar row hallway, already lighted by a hanging lamp, her eyes were smiling nnd the clasp of ber Angers bud grown firm. "I shall want weapons, Miss Dens low," 1 said, as we stood looking up and down the main hall, "for whoever this visitant may prove he will be of flesh and blood nnd not Impervious to a bullet. You can trust me nrraed?" "Oh. yes; I will get your own re volvers Thpy are left In tho library." She wns buck in a moment and I snnpped the belt about my waist, feel Ing renewed confidence, as I found both weapons still loaded. Lamp in hand. I explored every nook nnd corner, peering under furni ture and into closet recesses, until ab solutely convinced that not even a rat could have escaped my scrutiny. Having thus completed the lower floor. not even forgetting to test the walls In hope of thus locating the secret room. was for following the same course bove. had not she begged me to de sist, her voice trembling, her face pa hetlc as she pleaded Through the partially opened door I caught a glimpse of the Judge at the library ta ble, his head Iwnved forward as If be slept, but I did not venture to enter he room. Miss Denslow." I said at last. stand ng nt the foot of the stairs, "If li is rue that any one is hiding in the house, as you suspect, the fellow musi be the murderer of Lieutenant Na aire. Naturally I wisli to make thai man prisoner. Are you wining to su here In the dark, thus helping me to lraw hlni lino the trap?" Her eyes lified lo mine in a single searching glance Yes." she said quietly. "I know I mi nervous, straugeiy so, yet I a:u not afraid" I blew tint the light, placed two hairs b.,ck In the denser shadow tin lenient!) the circular staircase and made ber sil down In the one nearest the wall Her hand was cold, t remit ling as I touched it. and I whispered i few words of courage Into her ear but she made no eliort to respond Perhaps we had been sitting thus for ten minutes. In a stillness so profound is to lie painful, when I felt the girl's hand steal along the arm of my chair and press my sleeve The movement. incotisciuusly made perhaps, was elo quent of her distress or mind, and. obeying the first Impulse. I clasped her lingers within my own. We sat thus in the dark, like two lovers, listening Intentlv, neither venturing to speak Was she right or wrong in her sus piclon? Had overstrained nerves cans ed her to believe the house haunted? Or had the assassin, dissatisfied with his previous work, returned to com plete his task? I was not couvlnced either way, yet the fellow must be mad to run such risk of discovery Still, If he understood the situation that the girl bad been left nione. his venture would not be particularly dangerous; lie had no reason to fear her or the negroes Yet If lie knew all this, he 'must also be aware that Colo nel Donald and Calvert Dunn would soon return and that he must nel quickly In order to escape. A grea' clock at the rear of the hall boomed out nine strokes, causing us both to start nervously at the first unexpected sound I counted tho strokes to make su r of the hour "Do yon know when the others are expected back?" I asked In a low whis per. turning my face toward her bare ly perceptible outline. "No; they witp unable to say. but they surely must be here before morn ing." "Perhaps it Is cruel of me to luslst upou your remaining here In the dark. Y'ou could go luto one of the rooms with a lump and lie down nnd rest." "Oh. no." the clasp of her hand tightening; "T am Tar foo nervous.' I prefer being here with you." I To He Continued.) Announcement! Altl-iHttpli for the present I nm ti'talile to he on Main si reel, it is my in I enl ion lo continue writing Fire Insurance und AcicuVnt In surance, ana lurmsning jsonus, as heretofore. I hope to retain the business which has been gen erously given to me in the past, and will he pleased to accept any new business in these lines which nay he offered. For the present I can be seen at my homo with Mrs. Waller J. White on North Sixth street, and can be reached by Bell telephone No. F-11 2. J. E. Rarwick. Sheriff Quinton and Adam Kaf fenberger, jr., went to Lincoln this morning to act as an escort for Frank Doud and George Lytle, the men charged with safe-blow ing at Louisville on September 29, 1911. These men will bo tried next week. Doud's trial will prob ably be begun Monday. CASTOR I A For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always Bo'igV Bears the Signature WAHOOMItlS PRESUME Wahoo.neb. 1 s7m The Best Flour in the Market. Sold by all Leading Dealers ia wrn WAY OF DOCTORING MASONRY Germans Adopt Method That Entirely Obviates Necessity of Tearing Down Cracked Walls. Ingenious Germans of Hamburg re cently have adopted a method of doc toring masonry that entirely obviates the necessity of tearing down cracked and decaying walla. In the city of Hamburg two crumb ling railway bridges were used In the experiments. They were 51 feet In the arch spans, and cracks had appeared everywhere, so that the structures barely hung together. Holes were bored through the masonry to get to the depths of the cracks and a watery cement mortar was pumped In under a pressure of five atmospheres until all the crevices were filled. When this bad hardened it was found that the bridges were as firm under all tests as new masonry, and were not even dis figured by the process. To the antiquary as well as the practical engineer, this should appear as a boon, for ancient stone structures with historical associations, which be come dangerously weak can be given a renewed youth without rebuilding or destroying any of the marks of vener able age. In this country more bridges and other stone structures are torn away because they no longer accom modate their needs, than because they are outworn, but there may come a time In America when we shall have occasion to do a little patching, and the German methods will serve ex cellently. PUTTY KNIFE IS IMPROVED Scraper Attachment Leaves Blade Free for Spreading Advantage Over Old Style. Painters and glaziers will find a great convenience In the improved putty knife desljned by a New York man. The Invention la a small one Improved Putty Knife. and the need It fills could scarcely be called a crying one, but It baa distinct advantages over the old style knlie. The new knife has a slot running across It near the end and In the slot a scraper blade Is pivoted on a hinge. When not In use the ncraper lies hat along the knlle blade, but It can be opened to abut tbe blade at right an gles. The putty Is placed. on tbe end of the knife and. with tbe thumb pressed against It, Is laid along tbe edge of a window frame, or wherever It is to go, as in the old mernod In scraping off the superfluous putty, however, it Is not necessary to remove that from tbe knife blade and use the edge of this blade, as was formerly the case. Tbe scraper attachment on the new type does this work even more effectively and the end of tbe knife la kept clean. Age of Fish. , Until within recent years there bad been ascertained no trustworthy way of finding out the age of flab It has been shown that mere size does not Indicate tbe age. Relblsch, Helncke and others have discovered that many of tbe bones, scales and otoliths of fishes have annual age rings, resem bling those In tree trunks. ' INDUSTRIAL MECHANICAL NOTES The art of manufacturing nails by machinery was first practiced In 1790. The cotton Industry of England employs many more women than men. Artificial wood for matches, made from straw, has been Invented by a Frenchman. The Amsterdam diamond trade Is In tbe bands of ten firms employing ten thouband workbmen A species of stiff graRS which grows ebundnntly In that country Is uued for matcu sticks In India The value of the Rand gold Indus try to tjLUih Africa Is estimated at half a million dollars a day. A room will look both larger and higher by the ubo of wall paper con taining detilgns in vertical Hues. Rubber boots are now made with a Jpather Inner heel which greatly In creases the boot's period of usefulness. la Austria, where tbe production of kerosene la a great Industry, a large government refinery is under contem plation. Tbe manufacture of wood pulp pa per Involves 28 separate operations from cutting down tbe trees to sewing the product Nova 8cotla claims to have tbe largest gypsum deposits In the world. Tby vary from a few feet te hundreds of feet la thickness. IS LIKE LITTLE KINGDOM Family Life Is Wholesome Because It Has Bracing Qualities of Commonwealth. The modern writers who have sug gested, in a more or less open man ner, that the family is a bad institu tion, have generally confined them selves to suggesting, with much sharp ness, bitterness, or pathos, that per haps the family 1b a good Institution because it is uncongenial. It Is whole some precisely because it contains so many divergencies and varieties. It Is, as the sentimentalists say, like a little kingdom, and, like most other little kingdoms, it Is generally in a. state of something resembling an archy. It is exactly because our brother George Is not Interested In our religious difficulties, but is Interested In the Trocadero restaurant, that the family has some of the bracing quali ties of the commonwealth. It Is pre cisely because our uncle Henry does not approve of the theatrical ambi tions of our sister Sarah that the fam ily is like humanity. The men and women who, for good reasons and bad, revolt against the family, are, for good reasons and bad, simply revolting against mankind. Aunt Elizabeth ia unreasonable, like mankind. Papa la Is excitable, like mankind. Our young er brother Is mischievous, like man kind. Grandpa Is stupid, like the world: he Is old, like the world. Gil bert Chesterton. IN PRAISE OF PUMPKIN PIE Editor of Yonkers Statesman Pays Deserving Tribute to Great Amer ican Institution. There Is another Richmond In the pie field and the pie editor of the Ohio State Journal would do well to look to his hauberk and hla laurels. The, new knight Is Edwin A. Oliver, editor of the Yonkers Statesman, father of the paragraphic Joke, and he prances Into the arena armed cap-a-ple, as It were, and with his pie knife couchant. Listen to his praise of the flaky; crust with the pumpkin filler: "When one takes a huge bit of tt In his mouth and his happy thoughts unfold Into a dream and he hears afar 'the breaking waves dash high and a stern and rockbound coast, and the woods against a stormy sky their giant branches tossed,' one feels how happily related to a brave hlstorto event is the modest pumpkin pie. It came 'when the conquerors came, and tbey shook the depths of the desert gloom with their hymns of lofty cheer.' This Is cheer the sunbeams Imbued In pumpkin pie." 'Nother cutting, please. Cleveland Leader. Device of a Brandy Smuggler. To conceal dutiable goodB among) free goods, In any Importation, Is the, prime offense against tbe customs) laws; yet the high rates of duty on some articles, such as tobacco and spirits, offer great temptation to Illicit traders, who employ all sorts of ar tifices to smuggle or evade the no tice of the customs ofllcers. When silk was dutiable women were the chief offenders, and as they some times wound the contraband article around their persons, under their or dlnary clothes, It was found neces sary to employ female searchers, now no longer brought Into requisition. One of the latter, on one occasion, made a curious discovery. A female smuggler had had con structed but not for running silk con traband an India rubber dresB for wearing under her ordinary clothes. She appeared, when this contrlvanes was in operation, to be a very fat woman; In reality, she was abnormal ly thin. Dut the India rubber under wear was double and hollow, and th space between the skins, so to speak was filled with brandy! Early Anti-Trust Law. An old statute has been unearthed by the Cincinnati Enquirer and ap plied to present conditions. If the law today were what it used to be In the) early days of Kentucky and were car rled out we might see Wall street dotted with men who had lost their ears for conspiring to restrain trade. A statute of pome 863 years ago, which wns Intended to put a stop to the meat trust, the brewers' trust, tho bread trust and the fruit trust ot those days, makes the Sherman act look gentle. This statute became law In Virginia and therefore In Kentucky when Kentucky was formed out of Vir ginia. It is fair to point out that the statute of Edward VI. also went after any laborers who got together to keep up wages or limit the hours of worfaj, so that It was mnrkedly in oppos'tlon, to the beliefs of our own day. More over, we violate no confidence in say ing thnt It was enforced more vlo'ent ly against tho laborers than ngalnBt the dealers who kept up prices Ken tucky, It may bo well to add, baa since repealed the net. Colllor'a. Wit of Augustus Thomas. "The trouble with amateur carv ers," said Mr. Thomas, on one occa sion, "Is that the gravy so rarely matches tbe wall paper." A fatuous argument he characterized ns."liUe a chorus girl's tights, which touch every point and cover nothing." When MY. Thomas waB rehearsing "The Witch ing Hour," one of the management stopped tbe players, and, turning to the author, remarked: "I think this would be a good place for some witty dialogue." "Yes," replied Mr. Thomas. "Afi for Instance?" Channlng Pollock In "The Footlights Fore and Aft"