t
STAIRS OF SAND !!
A TALE OF A MYSTERY
ST
ERNEST DE LANCEY PIERSON
CTSOB or
"the SEcmrr or the marionettes," "a dangeeous quest," etc.
Copyngim HOI,
Bt STREET A SMITH
CHAPTER XXI.
For some minutes Job Hendricks felt
too weak to rise from the Boor, where he
had flung hiicself down over the trap.
But soon the nense that his safety was
only temporary forced him to thiuk of
his position, anil drew his attention to
the talking that was going on in the
room below.
Still lying there, he peered down
through a crack into the room, and, as
the lamp was lit again, he could see the
two men he judged to be department olfi
cers doing their best to revive the un
conscious Ellison. "I may an well not
wait until he is able to explain matters,"
Mid Job to himself, "for then he will be
tble to direct them, and snow how I
managed to get out of the ambush. I
only hope that this time Ellison's agent
will remain unconscious for half an hour
more."
He rose unsteadily to his feet, and.
fter stretching himself, looked about
him.
The place in which he found himself,
as viewed in the faint light of a small
jndow set high up in the wall, w as lin
ed with rubbish. It must have been the
hospital for all the old furniture of the
establishment, and was crowded with leg
less chairs, broken barrels, and a pil-- of
musty lumber that filled the air with a
strange, earthy smell.
It would not be safe for him to linger
there any longer. Below in the street
the police probably surrounded the
building. He must look for his way to
freedom in other directions.
He left the dismal place, aud, passing
through a door, found himself in a long,
bare hall, faintly Ulumiued by a gas light
flickering at the further end. As he en
tered this corridor he saw the shadow of
what seemed to be a man reflected on the
further wall. Was this possibiy some
one set to guard the escapes? Job turn
ed back, and then saw to the right of
him a spiral staircase of irou, leading
to the upper regions. Surely in that di
rection his course lay, for he knew that
by this time all the approaches to the
building below must be guarded.
The reflection of the figure on the wall
at the end of the ball puzzled him, for
It wag the shadow of a man. and yet it
did not move. He was out of sight and
maintained a silent attitude. Job was in
a position to take everything for grant
ed, and had no desire to go and investi
gate. He was pleased that he had not
been discovered and that this silent sen
try was either asleep or had not heard
him. Slowly he mounted the stairs, still
keeping his eyes on that silhouette that
was outlined blackly on the wall.
"Ah, if I only had not been deprived
of a weapon," he muttered, as with cau
tion he mounted the stairs, thankful at
least that the bogy on the wall had not
shown any signs of life.
The stairs led him into another hill,
much tike that be had just left, and on
each side of it ran long partitions, inter
sected here and there with doors. He
tried one of these, only to hear a grum
bling voice asking what he wanted. He
started away. As he paused to listen,
he heard snores resounding from various
parts of the place. Evidently most of
the lodgers had retired for the night.
Others who had "work," would probably
not appear until daybreak.
Would it be possible, he thought, to
secrete himself in one of the unoccupied
TOO 35, LZ23
make his way out of the building? Thn
he figured that by this time the police
would be acquainted with the manner of
hit escape, and having invested the build
ing on all aides below, would proceed to
"investigate the inmates one by one, as
they had done on many a similar occa
sion, 'fj, he was not secure in this pre
cious "hotel" s all, and the only safety
for him lay in getting away as far as
possible from the neighborhood.
Going to the end of the hall where the
window stood open, he peered down on
the street. It was too high to risk a
leap, tad, even if such a thing could be
accomplished Id safety, he would only
fall Into the bands of the men who were
lying in wait for him.
"Ah, if my work were only done, I'd
go back with them gladly," he muttered,
s he turned away with a sigh. "But
there is more that I have to do, and un
til then the police and I, I hope, will re
main strangers."
Near the window through which be
bad been peering wax an open door, and
.without knowing exactly-why, be enter
ed. The room was empty, but along one
side ran a shelf, on which were rsnged
various rusty candlesticks containing
pieces of candle, evidently for the use of
the "guests."
Job helped himself to the largest piece
of candle he could And and appropriated
some of the matches. "May need 'em,"
be mattered.
"This enterprise may carry me into
many dark places."
As be came out of this room he thought
he heard the sound of steps below and
tbe echoes of muffled voices.
"They most have got on my trail," be
uttered. "Well, the only thing to do
is to try and reach tbe roof; perhaps
It may communicate with some other
building. If not-well, I shall be caoght."
As he approached the stair again tbe
sound of the voices below became loader,
and. from the fragments of conversation
that drifted np to him, he Jedged that
the police were making an examination
of the r so ass on the lower floor.
"It will take 'em seme time to se that,"
was the thoegkt that was rnnning
through his mind, "and la the meantime
who knows bat I may be able to show
Ike a dee a pair of heeler
Be had reached the stain again, and,
raetteaafy, that ho might not awake the
siaeeoM, ascended them slowly.
Whoever it was laveetigatiag the lew
sr rosea, he dli not take any precaution
to maCe hi voice, and fragments of
rfcit was aaM satisflod Jo that the po
X wan hi the MMteg.
He had now reached the upper floor,
which, from the silence that prevailed,
he judged to le unoccupied. There waa
a small iron ladder leading to the roof,
and. without a moment's hesitation, he
climbed this, aud, opening the trap, clos
ed it behind him. aud found himself oa
the toof.
It was only through this trap that they
could possibly find him, go he thought if
he could only weight down the trap, thej
would have no easy task in readmit
him. At the same time, if he found nc
way of escape from the roof, his enemies
had only to wait, and he must eventually
fall into their bands.
He closed the trap carefully, and, see
ing a pile of old lumber near at hand,
by degrees brought the boards over in
his strong arms and piled them on top.
When he found there was nothing else
of a weighty nature that herould pile
over the door, he wiped his forehead of
its perspiration and sat down on the pile
of boards to consider the situation.
looked at in any light, his position
seemed to be desperate, for the place
was guarded below, and the house was
full of policemen. He rose and walked
to the further end of the roof, and then
saw below him a low building that look
ed as if it were a factory of some sort.
Then he wandered to the front of the
building, aud, looking down, thought he
could see a policeman walking back and
forth, aud, beyond, others. So he re
turned to the contemplation of the little
factory. If be could only reach that roof,
it would not be hard to get to the street.
But it lay far below him, and to jump
would be impossible. Just then, as he
was walking about, feeling very uneasy,
he tripped over a rope fastened to one
of the chimneys, and which at some time
must have been employed in the work of
painting the building.
It was only a short piece, but he took
it up tenderly, undid the knots and then
found that it was still of too short a
length to be of any service to him. Hope
in hand, he drew near the brink of the
roof and peered down into the depths.
The roof of the factory, or whatever it
was, lay far below, but he saw a small
projection jutting out from the building
on which he was standing, about half
way down. Ah. if the rope had only
been double iu length! Then a thought
occurred to him whereby he might make
this little rope do double service.
Fastening it to a hook, where a light
ning rod had formerly been, he threw the
noose end over the wall, where it dan
gled in space. Under the knot he had
tied about the hook he placed a candle
and lit it. His intention was that by the
time he had reached the lower projecting
ledge, the candle would have burned its
way through the rope, it would drop into
his hands and then he would be able to
use it again to reach the roof of the fac
tory. Having arranged this, Job scram
bled over the edge of the parapet, and,
climbing to the rope, launched himself
into space. He knew that it was possi
ble that the candle might burn the -ope
through before he reached the ridge of
safety, but it was necessary that he
should take the risk. In his swinging de
scent he could not help but look upward
at the flaring candle, the progress of
which was to decide his fate, for life or
death. An old rope like that must con
sume rapidly. Would it ever last until
he had reached the ledge?
Ktit his movements had been so precipi
tate that he finally swung over on to the
ledge and rested there, before the rope
finally swept out with a trail of fire, the
one end of which he still held. At the
same time he heard a rumbling noise
above his head which showed that tbe
trap door had been forced open, and that
the police must now be upon the roof.
They must soon see the candle, which
in that calm and placid night was proba
bly still burning, and they would know
where to look for tbe man who was at
tempting to escape.
The ledge to which Job clung was be
fore a great iron door probably used to
admit goods into tbe establishment. He
found a book to which he could fasten
the end of his rope, sadly charred by
fire, and again launched himself into
space.
It seemed to him that it waa hours
before he reached the end of the rope,
aud he could hear the angry voices on
the top of the roof. Of course, as soon
as tbey found tbe candle, they must
find, too, where he had gone.
He bad come to tbe end of the cable,
and as there was nothing else to do, let
himself drop, where, be did not know,
for it was very dark. He struck some
thing hard the roof of the factory and
then rolled down until stopped by a curv
ing gutter. He looked with a shudder
down into tbe street, which, though not
far below, was of a sufficient distance to
have killed him had he fallen.
(To be eontinoed.i
Not Completely Filled.
"Isn't this awful?" asked the common-looking
man on tbe crowded
street car. "Ian't tbl awful? Why.
there are already 105 people oa this
car."
"It is awful," agreed the person ad
dressed, who waa a street railway mag
nate. "It is awful! There ought to be
at least twenty more In here. I'll take
that conductor's number and have blm
on the carpet to-morrow." Baltimore
American.
In tbe Far West.
"What do yon do with a man that
steal a horse out here?" asked tbe
tourist oa the coach.
"String him up," blurted Amber Pete,
la forcible tones.
"And a man that Meals aa auto mo
bile r
"Give him a purse for ridding tba
ooantry of a nuisance."
AS TO PUBLIC SPEAKING
Few Great Speetbc Come Without
Previous Stud.
Some wonder has been expressed at
the practice David B. H1U has late
ly adopted of reading his speeches to
his audience, though it is said thai
he reads with such a show of off
baud speaking that those lu the crowd
who can hear him but cannot see him
Jo uot discover auy differeuee. Mr.
Hill is a practiced public speaker, aud
ran unquestionably do his subject jus
tice without the use of manuscript. If
necessity arises he Is eiulueutly satis
factory as at; extemporaneous speak
?r. These be formative times, bow
over, -and- he !--probably auinjus io
ieep his record straight, aud to b
ible to produce the proof against mis
representations.
Some kinds of speeches are uot much
hurt in effect by being read by the
ipeaker. OLhers depend altogether on
the style of delivery. Seuator Bever
idge, of Indiana, would not be a suc
cess as; a speech reader. Deliveries
that depend more on flights of phrase
jlogy aud graceful emphasis than deep
leliberatloti must be unburdened 1J
manuscript.
Heading Speevheg is Kitting to be
quite the fashiou. Guv. Nash read his
speech as temporary chairman of the
Republican State convention from
ypewrltteii pages, and Gen. Grosvenor,
the permanent chairman, also read his
speech.
Ex-Senator Hill Is a busy mail, and
probably had not the time to commit
his speech to memory. Ex-President
Cleveland has plenty of time, and prob-
ibly had his Tildeii Club remarks
"pat."
Of one thing the admiring public
may ret assured: Very few, if any,
)t the great speeches come spolita
eonsly from the speaker without pre
vious reflection and preparation, uot
iiily as to the sentiment and general
ine of thought, but as to the language
employed. Even Ingersoll's great
jpeech placing Rlalue In nomination
Kir President in this city in INTO, whlcn
seemed an Immediate brilliant Inspira
tion rather than a study, was rehears
ed in bed to the sneaker's anxious
brother before the convention met
The brother went to Robert's room
early lu the morning to ..pur him to
preparation. "How will thl.s do?" ask
ed Robert, as lie raised himself from
the pillows, Theu that great speech
was delivered for the first time, and to
mly oue man. Cincinnati Enquirer.
Lady or Tiger.
An unsolved mystery is that connect
ed with the late Frank H. Stockton's
story of "The I.ady or the Tiger." At
the end of the tale the hero is left in
the arena, about to open one of two
doors; behind the first la a tiger, and
behind the second a girl who loves the
hero. Another girl, who also loves him,
aud who knows the secret of the doors,
signals him which one to open. At this
point the story ends, and Mr. Stockton
never confided to any oue bis opinion
at the hero's fate.
"I'm sure I should like to tell you,"
he said to an interviewer, "but I can't,
because I really don't know myself."
The story set everytiody guessing,
nd one day, at a reception, when it
was a topic of debate, Mr. Stockton
told Rudyard Kipling that be thought
if going to India.
"I'm glad of It," said Kipling, euthu-
liastlcally. "and I'll tell you what we'll
lo with you! We'll lure you into tbe
Jungle, aud have you seized and bound.
We'll have you turned on your back,
md get one of our biggest elephants
to stand over you with bis foot poised
ibove your head. Then I'll say. In my
jst insinuating tons 'Coins nnr
Stockton, which waa It, the iudy or lb
tiger T"
At oue time Mr. Stockton was the
tuest of honor at a dinner given in
Washington by a member of President
Harrison's cabinet. When tbe dessert
was served it proved to be two large
plates of ice cream, one an orange ice
a tbe mold of a tiger, tbe other of va
nilla, in tbe form of a woman. Tbe
plates were set lu front of tbe hostess,
ind she turned to ber guest with a pre
maturely triumphant air.
"Which kind do you prefer, , Mr.
itockton?" she asked.
"A little of both, of you please!"
A Tailor's Cunning.
"You've nisde a mistake In my bill,"
aid a young man, excitedly yesterday
to tbe proprietor of a prominent tailor
ing bouse.
'That can't be," asserted the tailor.
mildly. 2V.
"Oh, but It's so," exclaimed the
youth in a flurry. "Look here! Ten
iollars too much charged on this bill."
The proprietor compared tbe bill with
his books.
'You're right, Mr. Blank," be admit
ted. "I'll take $10 off, and bew much
lid you say you wanted to pay on ac
count?" Tbe young man grew red, coughed,
ind finally produced a five-dollar note.
"That works every time," confided
tbe tailor to an interested bystander,
ifterthecustoiner had departed. "Notn-
Ing brings n man here In such a hurry
is to overcharge him on bis bill.
When a customer gets a little back
ward and dodges tbe place, I send him
i bill overcharging blm. He come
n a rush to have tbe mistake correct
Mi and a little diplomacy does tbe rest
lest of all, It doesn't hurt bis feelings,
is would a visit from a collector."
Bed Rock of tbe Karth.
Granite Is tbe lowest rock In the
mrtb's crust. It Is tbe bed rock of the
(vorld and shows no evidence of animal
tt vegetable life. It Is tbe parent rock.
from which all the rocks have bees
ther directly or Indirectly derived.
Increase of Election District, fj
Tba number of election district tola
rear w increased from 1,687 to LMS.
DIED FOR ANOTHER.
UNPARALLELED SELF-SACRIFICE
OF THREE SONS.
They Voluntarily Submitted to Be
Devoured bjr a Pack of Hungry Wolve
in Order to Have Their Old Father
from a Similar Kate.
Wbau Scaevola, in tbe days of ancient
Home, to show bis coutempt for a ty
rant's power, thrust bis right band into
a fire and held it there until it was
consumed, be gave an example, of sub
lime courage and daring which poets
and orators have sluce Immortalized.
But tbe story Is only a legend.
Infinitely greater than the legendary
deed of Scaevola, because of the sacri
fice, was the action of three young men
lu Russia, according to a story which
has come from the fur northern govern
ment of Archangel, along the borders
of the White sea, who voluntarily
faced death in its most awful form aud
knowingly embraced it that tbey might
by the sacrifice ofnbeuiselves save tbe
father whom they each loved and rev
erenced. The names of these heroic
young men are not revealed, but their
devotion Is worthy a place at tbe bead
of tbe highest deeds of self-sacrifice.
The young men aud their father set
out to make a Journey by sleigh from
Archangel to a village 150 miles dis
tant ulong tbe shores of the White sea.
Tbey bad taken a supply of ammuni
tion so as to be provided against an at
tack by wolves, with which the region
is overrun. Unfortunately a storm so
dampened tbe powder that It was use
less, and before their stock could be
renewed tbe dreadful wolves to the
number of 200 appeared. Knowing that
if they remained together tbey would
all perish, the sons determined upon a
aesperate scheme through which it was
hoped one or more of tbe party might
escape. Tbe scheme was for one of
them to leave tbe conveyance and give
fight to the wolves, thereby delaying
the latter in their pursuit of the sleigh.
Wben be fell, as undoubtedly be would,
tbe wolves would stop to devour blm
and probably to fight among them
selves, for injured wolves, especially
wben stained with blood, are frequent
ly eaten by their stronger comrades.
The delay would give tbe occupants of
tbe sleigh a possible chance of escape.
But if tbe wolves again grew hot in
tbe trail another of tbe brothers was
to make a sacrifice of himself, and so
on until tbe father remained.
To determine who would be the first
victim the sons drew lota and tbe
choice fell upon the youngest Grasp
ing bis knife aud with an affectionate
adieu to bis father and brothers, he
waited until tbe leaders of tbe wolves
were at tbe back of tbe sleigh and be
could almost feel their hot breath as
tbeir red, hungry tongues shot out in
rage and tbelr baleful eye shone in
savage ferocity. Aud then with a com
mitting prayer to Heaven be Jumped
to tbe ground, sbeathlng bis knife in
the first brute that reached blm. Again
and again tbe bloody knife was raised
aud as often found a fleshy scabbard
until overpowered by numbers be was
dragged to tbe ground and torn to
piece.
For tbe occupants of tbe sleigh, which
was speeding along as fast as tbe pow
erful horses could draw It, it seemed
but a few minutes before the cries of
the wolves again tilled their ears, and
soon tbe leaders of the now thoroughly
maddened pack were up to tbe sleigh.
Lots were hastily drawn and the second
sou, knife in band, jumped out and
faced tbe Infuriated beasts.
He did not die unavenged. For a lit
tle later, as tbe pack again took tbe
trail and came In sight there was not
over half a hundred of tham.
As tbe leaders again came up to tbe
slelgb tbe remaining son, after implor
ing bis father to drive to the utmost,
and If necessary to turn two of tbe
horse back toward tbe pack and ride
tbe otber to some possible place of
safety, jumped out of tbe conveyance
and faced the animals with bis knife.
Only Imagination can picture that
scene, for the third son perished aa the
otber two. But the father was not
again pursued by tbe wolves. Tbe de
lay saved bis life, and he reached a
settlement In safety, to tell tbe horri
ble story of bin escape and of the sub
lime deaths of his heroic children.
WEE08 THAT POISON MEN.
Animal Can Kat Them Wltfcaat ta
Hllahtcat Injurious Effect
Ont of weed study Is certain to come
remarkable Information, for tba poison
ous plants are tbe most strangely con
stituted ind given to astounding varia
tions. For Instance, the ooromon poke
berry presents a spectacle of contradlc
1$
tory Qualities. Birds eat the berries,
which to men are poisonous. Cattle may
eut the leaves when green and fresh,
but if perchance tbey should eat a
wilted leaf It would poison them. Tbe
roots are deadly poison, yet tbe shoots
which grow up six Inches high in the
spring are an excellent food for man
tbe rival of asparagus and equally
healthful. Science has at last paused
to Inquire why this should be so, and
some day tbe chemical action which
can make a deadly poison by wilting a
leaf when the fresh one Is harmless
will be discovered.
Similarly It bos been observed of
American false hellebore or Itch weed
that the seeds are poisonous to chick
ens, and that tbe leaves and roots are
poisonous to men and horses, but that
sheep and elk, which chew the cud,
seem to relish tbe plant. In all the poi
son, when in tbe system, acts alike,
paralysing the heart and spinal cord.
The poisonous element of corncockle
bus not yet been explained, but its curi
ous action has already been observed.
When extracted it mixes freely with
water, froths like soup and, though
odorless, will when inhaled produce
violent sneezing. Caper spurge, tbe
common gopher plant or spring wort.
Is curious In that the mere handling of
it will poison to the extent of producing
pimples and often gangrene. It Is a
thing that cattle can eat without barm,
and goats eat freely, but the milk of
tbe latter will then be deadly pulsion.
In men a moderate dose will produce
UNPARALLELED SELF-SACRIFICE.
general collapse and death in a few
hours. Tbe poision of the sneeze weed
develops mostly In the showy yellow
flowers and Is violent Tbe young
plants are comparatively harmless and
even In the mature ones the poison
varies greatly some having scarcely
any at all.
In tbe case of this plant and tbe
woolly and stemless loco weed some ef
fort has been made to find out where
they get tbelr deadly poisons. That
of the loco weed Is a most subtle
thing. The poison of tbe woolly loco
produces strange hallucinations In Its
victims. It affects tbe eyesight and
silently reaches one after another of
the vital functions, killing tbe victim
in two years time.
Some animals after eating it refuse
every other kind of food and seek only
this. Tbey endure a lingering period
of emaciation, characterized by sunken
eyeballs, lusterless hair and feeble
movements, and eventually die of star
vation. So mystic an element gather
ed from tbe earth and the air naturally
causes wonder and the desire to know
what such things may be and wby
tbey are, Ainulee'a Magazine.
Bashful Elijah.
There Isabel we Noah well
Woo'd by a bashful feller,
For Theodora of this belle
Adored but dared not Ella.
At last one Eve upon tbe porch
In Ernest tones he pleaded,
He'd give up Paul to win her heart
Her love was Saul he needed.
"I wish that Ida heart to give,"
Unto herself she Seth
"If I'hebe Levi am a flirt
His 81 will close in death."
He'd Caesar Randal little while
As Titus be was Abel
Front his big Guy a tender Luke
Beamed Dora tresses sable.
No sooner Adelaide his arm
About her waist so clever.
Than up she Rose Andrew sway
She wouldn't have it never!
In vain did he for Mercy Sue
This foolish swsin Elijah.
"Oh, Hugo 'Ira hall," she jeeted.
"I never could Abljah!"
He ne'er came Mary time again
And never after seen 'er
And he's grown Grace since that sad day
While she's grown Evelina.
Eugene Field.
Work Without Reasoning.
The death of Archbishop Corrtgan Is
bringing forth many stories of his kind
ness, his charity and bis broad view
of living. Tbe following Is a story
told Illustrative of tbe latter point, says
the New York Times:
Last winter be delivered a series of
addresses oa soclsllsm, setting forth
uot only bis views on that subject but
also bis Ideas of the art of living. One
Sunday morning after one of these ad
drasaes be was approached by one of
his auditors, who asked to speak with
blm a moment Tba archbishop stopped
to listen.
"It asems to me," began the person,
"that yon take quite a cheerful out
look upon Ufa. The misery and mis
fortuoe of tbl world don't trouble you.
Hiding yourself In religion, you don't
sea tba masses of worklngmen who,
tired of waiting for tba bappiaess oi
the world to come, knock at your door
and ask for a little in this oue."
"Ah, yea, my friend, I do," sighed
the archbishop. "I have felt and seen
all that, but after all I find that the
only way for the most of us to render
life supportable la to work without
reasoning."
DRAGQINQ FOR FLOUNDERS.
Bow the Met Is Constructed sad
Handled.
The scheme of our fishermen waa ta
scrape the bottom at a slow pace. Tbe
net was a good sixty feet In length, a
sort of twine fence that rose to a
height of thirty feet or so at tbe middle
part and tapered ta six or seven feet
at the ends, which were each bound
with a stout piece of wood and bridled
on to the drag line that led to the
sloops.
On these drag lines were short wood
een slats, of about tbe stoutness of
fence palings, placed from six to eight
feet apart Twisting and twirling and
ever moving forward, the slats were
calculated to create a panic among any
flounders that might be outlying aud
scare them toward the center of the
line of advance.
The flounder la a slow swimmer, and
It Is a sedately moving arrangenuvit.
Indeed, that docs not overtake blm. He
is not only a slow fish, but also oue
of placid ways, and when overtaken by
the advancing Hue of netting. It is bis
habit to seek a quiet spot. The quick
est spots that be can flud In a burrled
search are the inviting pockets that
open out left aud right on tbe net
These pockets were sufficiently wide
and hospitable to enwrap a wine cask
at the entrance, but at the tuner end,
so rapidly do tney taper, it would take
no Infantile arm to wedge lu a work
lugman's dinner pall.
Tbe crew of a flounder sloop are two
lu number; sometimes it is two grown
men, sometimes a man and a well
grown boy. In this case, Charlie, tbe
Minna's skipper, waa a fair-headed fel
low of 20 or 28, compact muscular and
active. Tbe boy, August, 10 years of
age. was a short and stock boy, rather
slow to grasp an Idea, but a safe exec
utive once he understood what It was
that his captain ordered.
During this dragging operation, says
James B. Connolly, In Seribner's, with
the vessel sailing always across and
sometimes almost Into the wind, the
crews take th'ngs comfortably. Every
thing was workiug nicely by 8 o'clock,
and then our two skippers bad an easy
time of it to watch each other and sell
tbeir parallel courses; and, with drag
ging lines taut and with the net In the
right place, with everything working
properiy, it became tbe boy's business
to boll tbe coffee for breakfast.
Thorough Paced Economy.
A young man living on Walnut Hills
Is a close worker In money matters,
that hi, be stays close to tbe shore with
his expenditures. He had the good
luck to marry a girl whose parents are
quite wealthy, and Is at present living
with hi wife In one of bis father-in-law's
bouses.
One day not long since, while discus
sing affairs with a friend, tbe latter
asked:
"Did the old gentleman give yoa that
bouse?"
"Wetl-er-no, not exactly," waa tba an
swer. "He offered It to ma, but I
wouldn't accept It'
"How's thatr asked the friend.
"Well," answered the man who had
made tbe lucky matrimonial venture.
"You see, tbe bouse really belongs to
me. I'm living In It, rent free, and I'U
get It wben tbe old man dies. If I ac
cept It now I'd have to pay the taxes."
Cincinnati Enquirer.
Me Followed IMfwction.
Murphy being sick aud alone In bis
cabin, Hogan volunteered to take care
of him. The patient had been getting
very little sleep, so tbe doctor left some
powders and told Hogan to give Mur
phy one about bed time.
About 7 o'clock lb the evening Ho
gan went out for a few mlnutea and
wben be returned Murphy was fast
asleep. He slept soundly until 10
o'clock, when Hogan went to tbe bed
side, shook tbe steeping man vigor
ously and sbouted:
"Wa-ake up here, Moorphy, till OI
give yei these powdhers f mn-ake ya
leep!"-Colorado Springe Gazette.
Too Cautious.
"I have tbe greatest confidence la Dr.
Slocum as a physician," said one of tb
doctor's patients. "He never glvea aa
opinion till be bas watted and weighed
a case and looked st It from every side,"
"Um-tu!" ssld I lie skeptical friend.
"That's all right if yon don't carry It
too far. Ther bava bean times, yoa
know, wben he's been so cautious that
bis diagnosis baa come near getting
mlrad us with tba ooat-morttsa,"