1 15he Borvdnvarv a ....
3 Dy HALL CAINE.
SYNOPSIS
Rachel Jorgenson u in only daugh
ter of the governor ot Iceland. She (ell
In love with and married an idler, Ste
phen Orry. Her father had other hopea
fa her and in his anger he dUuwned her.
Then orry deserted her and ran away to
sea. Of this union, however, a child wan
born, and Rachel called him Juscn. Ste
phen Orry was nearo irom In the Isle of
Man, whera ho whs anuln married and
another ion waa born. Karhel died a
broken-nearted woman, but told Jason of
hlii father acta. Jinan swore to kill
him and If not him, then his son. In the
meantime Orry hud deserted hi ship and
sought refuge In the I1e of Man. and
was Hheltered by the governor of the
Island, Adam Fairbrother. Orry went
from bad to worse, and marled a dlsso
lue, and their child, called Michael (Jun
ior, war born. The woman riled and
orry gave their child to Adam Fair
lirother, who artopt.nl him, and he be
came the playmate of the governor's only
daughter, Greeba. Time passed and the
governor and his wife became estranged,
their live sons staying with their mother
on account of their Jealousy of Suiilwk.
who had become a favorite with the gov
ernor. Finally Stephen Orry confesses
til misdeeds to Burdocks, who promised
to go to Iceland to find Rachel if possi
ble and care for her, and If she was
dead to find her son and treat him as
a brother. He bid good-bye to his sweet
heart. Ureeba, and started on his Journey.
Meantime Jason had started on his
Journey of vengeance and his ship was
wrecked on the Isle of Man. He saved
the life of his father unknowingly. Orry
died, and on hi death bed was recog
tilced by Jaaon.
TUB BOOK OF MICHAEL SUN
LOCKS. CHAPTER I.
He had always stood somewhat in
awe of these great persons, and his
spirits rose visibly at the loss of them,
for he had never yet reconciled him
self to the dignity of his stale.
"It's wonderful how much a man
may do for himself when he's put to it."
he said, as he groomed his own horse
next morning. His sons were not go
easily appeased, and muttered hard
worda at his folly, for their own sup
plies had by thla time suffered curtail
ment. He waa ruining himself at a
breakneck pace, and if he came to die
in the gutter, who should say that it
had not served him right? The mar.
who threw away his substance with
his eyes open deserved to know by bit
ter proof that it had gone. Jason heard
all this at the fireside at Lague, and
though he could not anst.rr It, he felt
Mb palms Itch sorely, and his flats
tfghten llkerlbs of steel, and his whole
body stiffen up and silently measure
Its weight against that of Thurstan
Fairbrother, the biggest and heaviest
and hardest-wpoken of the brothers.
Greeba heard It, too, but took It with
a gay Ughtsomeness, knowing all yet
fearing nothing.
"What matter?" she said and then
laughed.
But strange and silly enough were
some of the shifts that her father's
oprn-handedwMs put hpr to In thes
liad days of the bitter need of the
island's poor people.
It was the winter season, when thing
w ere at their worst, and on Christ inn
Kve Greeba had a goose killed for
their Christmas dinner. The bird was
hung In one of the outhouses, to drain
and cool before being plucked, an?
while it waa there Greeba went out
leaving- her father at lvime. Then
C r,2 .ihrcc cf the who had never
yet been turned empty from the Gjv
;rnor' door. Adam blustered at all
of them, but he emptied his pockets to
me, gave the goose to another, and
smuggled something out of the pantry
for the third.
The goose was missel by the muni
whose work It was to pluck It, and lis
disappearance was made known to
Greeba on her return. Guessing at t!i?
way It had gone, she went Into the
room where her father sat plackiiy
smoking, and trying to look wondrous,
serene and Innocent.
"What do you think, father?" she
said; "someone has stolen the goose."
"I'm afraid, my dear," he answered
meekly, "I gave It away to poor Kin
rade, the parish clerk. Would you be
lleve It, he and bis good old wife hadn't
a bit or a sup for their Christmas din
ner?" "Well," said Greeba, "you'll have 10
'lie content with bread and cheese for
jour own, for we have nothing else
In the house now."
"I'm afraid, my dear," he stammered
"I gave away the cheese ton. Poor
dafc Gelling, who lives on the moun
tains, had nothing to eat but a loaf of
bread, poor fellow."
Now the rapid Impoverishment l
the governor was forcing Greeba Into
the arms of Jason, though they had
yet no Idea that this was so; and when
Ihe crisis came that loosened the ties
which held Greeba to her father, it
came as a surprise to all three of
them.
The one man In the Island who had
thua far shown a complete Indifference
tii the suffering of the poor In their
hour of tribulation was the Bishop of
Sodor and Man. Thla person was a
(fashionable ecclesiastic not a Manx
mana Murray, and a near kinsman
of the lord of the Island, who had kept
the see four years vacant that the sole
place of profit In the Island might
thereby be retained for bis own family.
Many years the Ilishop had drawn his
atlpend, tithe and glebe rents, which
were very large In proportion to the
diocese, and almost equal In amolnt
10 Ihe emolument of the whole body
of the native clergy. He held small
commerce with his people, and the bad
seasons troubled him little until he felt
' the pinch of them himself. But when
he found It hard to gather his tltbe he
began to realise that the Island waa
Causing through sore s traits. Then h
sold his tithe charges by auction in
England, and they were knocked down
to a Scotch factor a hard man, un
troubled by sentiment, and not too
proud to get his own by means that
might be thought to soil the cloth of
lug that, bluster a he would, while th
When the news of thla transfer reach
ed the island the Manx clergy looked
black, though they dared say nothing;
but the poor people grumbled audibly,
for they knew what was coming. It
soon came, in the shape of writs from
the Bishop' seneschal, served by the
Bishop's sumner. Then the cry of
the poor reached the governor at Cas
tletown. No powers had he to stay
the1 seizure of goods and stock, for
arrears that were forfeit to the church
courts, but he wrote to the bishop, ask
ing him to stay execution at a moment
of the Island's necessity. The bishop
answered him curtly that the matter
waa now outside his control. At that
the governor inquired Into the legality
of the sale, and found good reason to
question It. He wrote again to the
bishop, hinting at his doubts, and then
the Bishop told htm to mind his own
business. "My business Is the welfare
of the people," the governor answered,
"and be you bishop or lord, or both, be
sure that while I am here I will see
to It."
".Such is tne penalty of setting a beg
gar on horseback," the bishop rejoined.
tn3r1iimA the Kcotch fsctor went on
with his work, and notices were served
that if arrears of tllhe rent were not
paid by a given date, cattle or crop to
the value of them would then be seized
In the bishop's name. When the word
came to government house, the gov
ernor announced to Greeba his Inten
tion to be present at the first seizure.
She tried to restrain him, fearing trou
ble; but he was fully resolved. Then
she sent word by Chaise A'Kllley to
her brothers at Lague, begging them
to go with their father and see him
through, but one and all refused. There
was mischief brewing, and If the gov
ernor had a right to interfere, he had
a right to have the civil forces at the
back of him. If he had no light to
the help of Castle Rushen he had no
right to stop the execution. In any
case, they had no wish to meddle.
When old Chaise brought back his
answer, Red Jason chanced to lie Hi
Castletown. He had been at govern
ment house oftener than usual sitxe
the clouds had begun to hang on it
Coming down from the mountains, with
his pipe In his mouth,, his fouling piece
over his shoulder, and his birds hang
ing from his belt, he would sometimes
contrive to get up into the yard at the
buck, fling a bnice of pheasants Into
the kitchen and go off again without
(peaking to anyone. Greeba had been
too smart for him this time, and he
was standing before her with a look
of guilt when CSalse came up nn his
errand. Then Jason heard all, and
straightway offered to go with the gov.
ernor, and never let wit of his inten
tion. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" said
Greeba, and she looked up Into his
bronzed face end smiled pioudly, and
her long lashes blinked over her beau
tiful eyes. Her glance seemed to go
through him. It seemed to go through
all nature; and (111 the world with a
new, glad light.
The evil day came, and the governor
was as good as his word. He went
away to Peel, where the first seizure
was to be made. There was a greal
crowd already gathered, and at sight
of Adam's face a great shout went up.
The bishop's factor heard It, as he
came up from Bishop's Court, with a
iroop of his people about him. "I'll
mak' short shrift o' a' that, the noo,"
he said. When he came up he ordered
that a cow house door should be broken
open and the cattle brought out for In
stant sale, for he had an auctioneer by
his side. But the door wa found to
be locked, and he shouted to his men
to leap onto the roof and strip off the
thatch. Then the governor cried to
stop, and called on the factor to desist,
for though he might seize the cattle
there would be no gale that day, since
no man there present would take th
bread out of the mouths of the poor.
"Then they shall try the milk," said
the factor, with a hoarse laugh, and
at the same moment the bishop's sene
schal, a briefless advocate, stepped out,
pushed his hot face Into Adam's, and
said that, governor as he was, If he
encouraged the people to resist, the
sumner should then and there summon
him to appear before the church courts
for contempt.
At that Insult the crowd surged
around, muttering deep oaths, and the
factor and seneschal were both much
hustled. In another moment there was
a general struggle; people were shout
ing, the governor was on the ground
and in danger of being trodden under
foot, the factor had drawn a pistol,
and some of his men were flourishing
hangers.
By this time lied Jason had loungec"
up, aa if by chance, to the outskirts o
th crowd, and now he pushed througl
with great strides, lifted the govern 01
to bis feet, laid the factor on the broa.
of bis back, and clapped his plsto
hand under one heavy heel. Then ttv
hangers flashed around Jason's fact
and he stretched his arms and laid ou
about him. In two mlnutea he hai
made a wide circle where he stood, an'
In two mlnutea mora the factor and hi
men, with seneschal, sumner, action
eer, and the riffraff of. the church
courts, were going off up the road with
best foot foremost, and a troop of the
people, like a pack of bounds at full
cry, behind.
Then the remnant of the crowd com
pared notes and bruise.
"Man alive, what a boy to fight,'
said one.
"Who waa It?" said another.
"Och. Jason the Red, of coorse," ald
a third.
Jason was the only man badly in
jured. He had a deep cut over the
right brow, and though the wound bled
freely he made light of it. But Adam
was much troubled at the sight.
"I much misdoubt me but we'll rue
the day," he said.
Jason laughed at that, and they went
back to Castletown together. Greeba
saw them coming, and all but fainted
at the white bandage that gleamed
across Jason' forehead; but he gave
her a smile and bade her have no feat,
for his wound was nothing. Neverthe
less she must needs dress It afresh,
though her deft flngerB trembled woe
fully, and, seeing how near the knife
had come to the eye, all her heart
was In her mouth. But he only laugh
ed at the bad gash, and thought with
what cheer he would take such another
Just to have the same tender hands
bathe It, and stitch It. and to see the
troubled heaving of the round bosom
that was before him while his head
was held down.
"Aren't you very proud of yourself.
Jason?" she whispered softly, as she fin
ished. "Why proud'" said he.
"It's the second time you have done
as I have bidden you, and suffered for
doing so," she said. '
He knew not what reply to make,
scarcely realizing which was her ques
tion tended. So, feeling very stupid,
ha aaid again:
"But why proud?"
"Aren't you, then?" she paid. "Ke
cause I am proud of vou."
They were alone, and he saw her
breast heave and her grpat eyes gleam,
and he felt dizzy. At the next Instant
their hands touched, and then his blood
boiled, and before he , knew what he
was doing he had clasped the beautiful
girl in his arms, and kissed her on the
Hps and cheek. She sprang away from
him, blushing deeply, but he knew
that she was not angry, for she smiled
through her deep rich color as she fled
from out of the room on tiptoe. From
that hour he troubled his soul no more
with fears that he was unworthy of
Greeba's love, for he looked at his
wound In the glass, and remembered
her words, and laughed in his heart.
The governor was light that there
would be no sale for arrears of tithe
charges. After a scene at Bishop's
Court the factor went back to Eng
land, and no more was heard of the
writs served by the sumner. But wise
folks predicted a storm for Adam Fair
brother, and the great people were
agreed that his conduct had been the
maddest folly.
"He'll have to take the horns with
the hide," said Deemster Lace.
"He's a fool that doesn't know which
side of his bread is butlered," said
Mrs. Fairbrother.
The storm came quickly, but not from
the quarter expected.
Slnoe the father of the Uuke of Athol
hail so.d his fiscal rights to the Eng
lish Crown the son had rued the bar
gain. All the Interest in the Inland
that remained to him lay In his title,
his patronage of the bishopric, and his
governor generalship. His title counted
for little, for It was unknown at tin
Kngllsh court, and the salary of lib
governor generalship counted for less,
for, not being resident in the island, he
had to pay a local governor. The pat
ronage of the bishopric was the on
tangible Item of his interest, and wtiei.
the profits of that otllce were Imperiled
he determined to part with his trun
cated honors, t'tralghtway he sold them
big and baggage to the crown, foi
nearly six times as much as his fa the.
had got for the insular revenues. When
this neat act of truck and trade was
complete he needed his deputy no more,
and sent Adam Fairbrother a"fi Instam
warning, with half-a-year's salary foi
smart money.
The blow came with a shock to Gree
ba and her father, but there was no
leisure to sigh over It. Government
house and Its furniture belonged to the
government, and the new governor
might take possession of It at any mo
ment. But the stock on its lands wus
Adam's and as it was necessary to dis
pose of it he called a swift sale. Half
the Island came to It, and many a brave
btag came then from many a vain atom
ach. Adam was rightly served! What
was there to expect when Jacks were
set In office? With Ave hundred u
year coming In for twenty years h.
was us poor as a church mouae? Aw,
money In the hands of some men was
like water In a sieve!
Adam's six sons were there, looking
on with sneering lips, as much as to
say, "Let nobody blame us for a mesa
like this." Red Jaaon was there, too,
glooming as black as a thundercloud,
and Itching to do battle with somebody
If only a fit case should offer.
Adam himself did not show his fuce.
He wss ashamed he was crushed he
was humiliated but not for the reason
attributed to him by common report
Alone he sat, and smoked and smoked,
In the room at back; from whence he
hsd seen Greeba and Michael flunlocks
that day when they walked side by side
Into the paved yard, and when he aald
within himself. "Now, God grant that
this may be the end of all parting be
tween them and me." He was thinking
of that dsy now; that la waa very, very
far away. He heard the clatter of feet
below, and the laughter of the bidders
and the wondrous Jeeta of the facetious
auctioneer.
When the work waa over, and the
J house felt quiet and so, so empty.
Greeba came In to him, wi'.h eyes large
and red, and kissed htm without saying
a word. Then he became mighty cheer
ful all at once, and bade her fetch oui
her account books, for they had thel'
own reckoning yet to make, and now
i w as the time to make it. She did a
she was bidden, and counted up he
I father's debts, with many a tear drop
ping over them as if trying to blot
them out forever. And meanwhile he
counted up his half-year's smart money
and the pile of silver and gold that had
come of the sale. When all was reck
oned, they found they would be Just
fifteen pounds to the good, and that
was now their whole fortune.
Next morning there came a great
company of the poor, and stood in si
lence about the house. They knew that
Adam had nothing to give, and they
came for nothing; they on their part
had nothing to offer, and they had
nothing to say; but this was their way
of showing sympathy with the good
man in his dark hour.
The next morning after that old Adam
said to Greebi:
"Come, girl, there Is only one place in
the Island that we have a right to go
to, and that's Lague. Let's away.
And towards Lague they set their
faces, afoot, all but empty-handed, and
wilh no one but crazy old Chaise A'KU
ley for company.
(To be continued.)
A STRANGE TRADE.
"Nobody has ever been able to ex
plain the mysterious fascination of
counterfeiting," said an old federal offi
cial at the custom house. "There is,
without a doubt, something about the
work, aside from its possible profits,
that draws men into it and keeps them
there at the sacrifice of almost every
thing that would appear to make life
worth living. 'Once a counterfeiter,
always a counterfeiter.' is an axiom ol
the secret service, and it is borne out
by facts.
"Yet counterfeiting would seem, on
the surface, to be one of the least at
tractive branches of crime. It involves
an Immense amount of hard work, ac
companied, as a rule, by exposure and
privation, and there is not a single
case on record In which a maker or
'shover' of the 'queer' retired in peace
with anything like a competence. In
deed, there are very few instances in
which a counterfeiter ever made as
much as $5,000 out of the operation.
They are almost Invariably caught or
driven to cover before they succeed in
floating enough of their wares to pay
them ordinary day wages for the time
they have put in.
"The engraving of a treasury note Is
a long and tedious operation. Even in
the government bureau at Washington,
where every modern labor-saving appli
ance is at hand and the work Is dis
tributed among a dozen skillful oper
atorsone doing the vignette, another
the lettering, another the scrolls and
xn on It takes several months to nish
a plate. One man, doing the whole
thing, and working under cover In con
tinual dread of discovery, would easily
he occupied two or three years at the
ame task. And you must bear in mind
that an engraver competent to turn
out a dangerous replica could easily be
earning from $S to $12 a day at honest
employment. In other words, he puts
all the way from $7,500 to $10,000 worth
of work into the undertaking, and when
Ihe plate Is at last ready for the press
he has no assurance whatever that a
UIIKrll ti tntr Ullla wilt trl ttltWHJ
passed. The chances are about two to
fine that the Job will land him in
pi ison.
"But In spite of all this." continued
ihe officer, "some of the best engravers
In the country have turned counterfeit
ers and persisted In It to the bitter end.
It Is very strange. The same rule ap
plies to all grades of bogus-money mak
ing. None of it ever pays as a business
proposition. Some time ago an Italian
was arrested here In New Orleans for
manufacturing spurious quarters. He
turned out a cleverly made white metal
coin, but had shoved less than $10
worth when he was caught and given
a term behind the bars. The fake
quarters were first cast In a mold and
afterward touched up or 'sharpened,'
as It Is called technically, by hand. The
'reeding' around the edges was also
hand work and very tedious. I calcu
lated that he could not finish over eight
coins a day, working hard for at least
ten hours. Just think of It! Only $2
a day for highly skilled labor, and even
I hen he didn't reap that amount as net
piotlt. The coins had to be passed, the
object being, of course, to secure good
money In change. That necessitate!
making some little purchase with every
piece, .so at best not more than 20 centt
was actually realized orr the transaction
In short, the Italian was obliged to put
in one day counterfeiting, and the bes
part of another day 'shoving' all foi
a beggarly $1.60, and meanwhile he wai
constantly Jeopardizing his liberty. H
wss a man of considerable n bill ty and
ought to have been able to have earned
$.1 or $4 a day as a pattern maker or
designer.
"Almost every one of the famoui
bank-note counterfeiters has had op
portunities to quit crooked work with
full assurance of no future molestation
on the part of the authorities. Tou see,
the government Is generally only toe
willing to make terms with such dan
gerous fellows. But It Is no use. Not
one of them has ever 'stayed straight'
six months after alleged reformation.
They can't resist the fatal fascination."
New Orleans Times-Democrat.
Philadelphia Press: "The most con
slderate wife I ever heard of," aald the
Corn fed Philosopher, "waa a womat
who used to date all her letters wee)
r so ahead, to allow her husband tlmi
to man them."
AT EVENTIDE.
At eventide, to me sometimes seems
That, ere the morrow's sun shall rise
once more
Perchance, 'tis but a fancy born of
dreams
My new-born soul beyond the skies
hall soar
And the Imprisoned spirit, its bonds In
twain.
The life beyond shall seek, and not In
vain.
And Night, dark Night, shall come to
us at last.
And enu the closing of the setting day,
When Daath, the grim, gray messenger,
his net shall cast,
And, from this vale, shall summon
us away
To Join the throng of those who went
before.
And, in the unknown world, to live foi
evermore.
Horace Wyndham in Cape Argus
THE LIFE OF A MAN
"It is a question," Prof. Kirkhoffer
said quietly, "between this and that."
Saying thus, he looked down at the
two objects between which choice had
to be made. "This," was a man, a
brown-skinned man of the upper Asian
steppes. He lay prone upon the desert
sand, his eyes, unseeing eyes, wide
open, motionless, save for an occasion
al twitching of the limbs' as the fever
shiver shook him; silent, except when
his parched lips moved in the inarticu
late manner of delirium. The profes
sor's gaze did not linger upon this pit
eous figure. It traveled to "that" two
loads of clay tablets, evidently of ex
treme antiquity and closely covered
with a strange cuneiform character,
which had Just been carefully strap
ped by his companion to the backs of
two kneeling camels.
"Seeing we are now reduced to two
beasts only," he went on, his eye shift
ing for an Instant to the. body of a
third camel which lay dead some twen
ty yards off, "seeing also that we are
In a waterless desert, probably twenty-four
hours' ride from the nearest
well, and that this man is a dead
weight on our hands"
"You don't dream of abandoning the
poor chap?" Dick Harding broke in.
The professor glanced uneasily over
his smoked spectacles. Harding was a
puzzle to him, a man of distinguished
scientific attainments and capable of
strong scientific enthusiasm, yet oc
casionally betraying a vein of senti
mentality altogether out of place In
connection with scientific explorations.
Kirkhoffer had had inconvenient ex
perience of this peculiarity more than
once during the year spent with Hard
ing in the remote fastnesses of Thibet.
"You wouldn't leave him here to
die?" the Englishman persisted.
The professor rubbed his forehead
thoughtfully. "He is bound to die soon
In any case.
"I don't see that at all. If we can
keep him alive till we get out of
this"
"Impossible, my friend. He cannot
walk and these two camels cannot
:arry him In addition to you and me
and the tablets."
"Then leave some of the tablets be
hind." The professor fair gasped for
breath.
"Leave leave behind some of the
tablets?" he stammered. "Leave the
records of a civilization to which the
Arcadian Is a thing of yesterday to be.
swallowed up by the next sandstorm?
Give my great discovery, the greatest
-t the century, maimed and imperfect
to the '.vorM? H ardors, yoy 'rr?vQt h
mad. What Is the life of a Khirgiz
Tartar besides these priceless things?"
Klrkhoffer's short-sighted eyes then
bleamed angrily behind his glasses; his
voice was thick with passion.
"What's a Khirgiz Tartar?" he growi
?d like a wild animal.
"He's a man, anyway," Harding re
torted. "Suppose I refuse to leave the
fellow?"
"Then" the professor became all at
once ominously cool "I shall be forced
to remind you that I am the head of
this expedition and you are my salaried
assistant. Also that these animals are
my property. I go and they go with
me. You can Join the party or not, as
you please."
Harding grew pale. "That Is the
choice you offer me? Then I say you
are a blackguard."
"And I say," Indifferently, "you are a
fool. Come, will you mount?"
"No!" furiously.
The German shrugged his shoulders.
"Have It your own way," he said. And,
gathering up the long leading rein,
which he had fastened to the head of
one camel, he prepared to seat himself
on the other.
But here Harding sprang upon him
suddenly. "No, you don't!" he cried.
"You shall leave me one, you brute,'
though it were a hundred times your
property!"
"Stand off!" the professor cried.
Harding's answer was to close with
him silently; and there ensued a trial
of strength whereof the Issue seemed
for seveial minutes doubtful. The
men were not Ill-matched, Kirkhoffer
was the taller and heavier, but then he
was also the elder by twenty years
and Harding's naturally lithe habit of
body had known an English public
school and university training. The
result of the conflict was still un
certain when the professor suddenly
loosed his hold and fell back, leaving
the prise of contention, the camel, al
most In the other's clutch. Harding
stooped to seise the creature's halter
and rose again to And himself covered
by his antagonist's revolver.
"Now, perhaps," the man ot science
observed, "you will consent to hear
reason. No use, my good friend," a
Harding's hand went briskly to hi
breast pocket. "I drew the charge
while you were asleep thla morning; In
view of possible difficulties. Ton ana, 1
know something of your strange Eag
lish character. There la nothing Ilk
being ready for difficulties aa the)
arise."
Dick Harding, under the covering re
volver, stood erect and dumb. To ar
gue further with a man prepared tc
commit murder on behalf of his tablets
of baked clay were simple waste of
breath.
Keeping the muzzle of hia weapon
pointed full at Harding's breast. Pro
fessor Kirkhoffer mounted his camel;
made both the great beasts get up,
and began to move off. Aa long aa
Harding remained within running-up
distance he continued to hold the re
volver raised and leveled, aittlng side
wise on his animal to Insure an ac
curate aim. But after a minute the
camels broke into a long, awkward
trot; in two minutes they were beyond
pursuit; three and the professor pock
eted his firearm and threw his leg,
across the saddle. "Your own fault,
remember!'' was his final greeting be
fore he disappeared over the top of the
nearest sand duna.
When he had disappeared, Harding
looked about him, reviewing the situa
tion. It was no cheering prospect tbat
met his eye: a dead waste of sandhllli
to north, south, east and west, white
hot in the glare of the tropical sun.
Two dark blots alone broke the pal
surface of the wilderness the stiffen
ing bulk of the dead camel and th
limp figure of the fever-stricken camel
driver. Truly no pleasant place to dl
In; more especially if you happen to b
young and strong, and the death t
which you stand condemned be deatt
by hunger and thirst. A few hour
would exhaust the scanty remains ot
food and water left in the skin and
saddle bag lying hard by the dead
camel and then
Hatuiiig shook off anticipations at
coming torture to take stock of till
wretched commissariat, and, rummag
ing In the bag found a priceless treas
ure nothing less than an untouched,
bottle of quinine! Why, with this he
might hope to revive the Khirgiz
whose case, but for tne supposed ex
haustion of the expedition's medicine
chest, had never been a serious one
Escape was yet possible.
Escape? Escape from a trackless wil
derness in which they could only win-
aer aimiessiy to ana iro, naving no nn-
gic moil u'iiiciil u y TV IV UCICI UIHK
their position or point the way? Sav
ing his assistant's pack, the profeasoi
had carried off everything.
No, not everything. Even as tail
thought sank like a "stone into Hard
ing's heart his eyes fell upon somes'
thing glittering at his foot. "With a
shaking hand he grasped it, lifted It
and broke Into a cry of mingled tri
umph and thanksgiving,' which startled
the Khirgiz from his lethargy. Push
ing back his long hair, the man made
an effort to sit up. '
"The master! Where is the master?"'
he asked, looking about him in sur
prise.
Harding laughed , grimly. "Heaven
alone knows, since he has left his
compass here." -
And heaven alone knows to this hour
the course of the wretched Klrkhof
fer's wanderings. When Harding and
the Khirgiz, guided by the instrument
which he had dropped in his scuffle
with the Englishman, reached, ' aftet
manifold toils and sufferings, the con
fines of human habitation, they could
obtain no tidings of their vanished
on organizing a new expedition te
search for him. Its labors were fruit
less. His fate remains as unknown to the
world as the' history of that ancient
empire whose records lie burled with
him in the sands of Central Asia--
Chicago News. .
Keen at Diagnosis.
"Some doctors have a most extraor
dinary gift of diagnosis," remarked a
clergyman of New Orleans, apropos ot,.
nothing In particular. "A very start,
ling example of that sort of thing tame
under my observation a few years age
and made an indelible impression am
my mind. A physician with whom I
am on very friendly terms had dropped
In at my study and I showed htm a
letter I had Just received from an ac
quaintance In Chicago touching upon
a a 1 1 V-i i o r In ii'hloli wn uraia ..
interested. After studying the hand
writing closely for, a few moments th
doctor surprised me greatly by saying:
'That man has locomotor ataxia." I
couldn't help but laugh. "You're greatly
mistaken,' I said, 'he's In vigorous
health, quite a noted athlete and one
of the brightest young business men In
Chicago.' 'That may be,' he replied.
'but he has locomotor ataxia all the
same, and I wouldn't give him over
three or four years to live.' He explain
ed In a general way that he based hi
opinion on certain peculiarities in the
penmanship and an apparent difficulty
In keeping the writing on the lines of
the paper. I took no stock In th
prediction and was greatly startled
about nine months later to learn that
my Chicago friend had suddenly bro
ken down and he was regarded aa
complete wreck. He did have latent
locomotor ataxia at the very moment
of the conversation In my study, and
It subsequently developed In Its moat
appalling form. In a year's time h
waa reduced to a condition of almow
complete Idiocy, and not long afterwart
fcla ittthanni, Mf mtmm tipunllv tmmmtA.
nated by an accident. The doctor say I
now that there was .'a good deal ot
gueMwork' about his long-dlatanee d&
agnosia, but I prefer to attribute It ti
one of those singular intuition tW
generally have ft profoundly
basis."