♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦>♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦4444♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Ai\ American Nabob. A Remaurk©k.ble Story of Love, Gold a.r\d Adventure. By ST. GEORGE RATHBORNE ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦❖♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ Copyright, by Stukbt A Smith, New York. ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*♦♦♦ CHAPTER X (Continued.) Not that shots were uncommon In San Jose by any means, for where men carry arms continually it is only natu ral that an occasional explosion oc curs. But there was something peculiar about this discharge—it came in the midst of silence, and seemed, as indeed it must be, a signal. Jack struck a match and lit his pipe. It was none of his funeral, any way, and if on the morrow the good people of Gautnrica woke up under another dynasty, why that was their lookout. The recollection of Barrajo gave Jack something of a shock, for he remem bered the expressed determination of the general that h° should be made a full-fledged citizen of the stormy little republic, with all the rights and privi leges that citizenship implied. Could that mean duties, too?” Would he be expected to sally forth and join in the game of hide and seek, of shooting at one who wore the rival colors, whether in arms or endeavoring to escape? He guessed not. Still he dared not go to sleep—who would care to do so when a volcano was in eruption all around?—and the night gradually wore away. The clamor died away a dozen times, only to break out afresh. At last, dawn. Jack Overton was jolly glad to see it arrive through the little window. He devoutly prayed fie might not pass another such night for a long time to come. Somehow, he could not but speculate as to the complexion of the new dynas ty, and what effect, i.f any, the change might have on his fortunes. Then came a heavy rap on the door —a rap he knew full well could pro ceed from no other than Barrajo. So Overton, pipe still in hand, stepped over to the door and opened it. He had no sooner done so than a mighty cheer went up from more than two score of throats. Jack stared in amazement, for he realized that the whole army of the re public was represented in that double line of shouting and gesticulating troops, some of them barefooted, oth ers most gorgeously appareled, and all carrying arms. General Barrajo stood there, smiling and bowing. To say that Overton was surprised, would be expressing it mildly—he could not for the life of him under stand why the general wanted to mar shal his ragtag and bobtail army be fore his little domicile in order to tell him who was “in" and who was “out” at the palace. To Barrajo he must ^ look for an explanation, and when a wave of that hero’s sword again brought siience upon the scene. Jack hastened to ask: “What does this mean, general?” “They want a speech, Senor Overton ■—it is customary.” “Then why don’t you give it to them?” “Por Dios! It is not Barrajo they wish to hear. Every day I make them a speech and swear at them in six lan guages. It is you, senor, you alone, they clamor to hear.” “Good heavens! why should I ad dress your old army?” demanded Jack, aghast, and with growing uneasiness. “Because. Senor Overton, you have been appointed to rule over us—last night you ceased to be a plain citizen and became the President of Gautarica Republic! ” CHATTER XI. Jack Moves On the Palace. You could almost have knocked Jack Overton down with a feather when he heard Barrajo make this astounding declaration—In fact he was tempted to pinch himself, in order to discover whether he were awake or sleeping. It was not Jack’s habit to appear dis tressed—whether the announcement were a huge canard, or given in dead earnest, he did not mean these men of Gautarlca should see him staggered, so he quickly pulled himself together and. laughing, said: "Ah! indeed! Thank you for the honor, but tell me, how did this little event transpire?" “In the natural course of events, your excellency. The noble army had grown weary of Roblado. whose prom ises of reform were never kept. They liked Montejo no better, and, as usual, elected me dictator, with the power to choose their next President." A wave of the sword brought out an other blast of cheers and whistles and vivas—then silence. It was wonderful. "But, see here. I am an alien!” pro tested Jack, weakly. "Not so—you have been a full-fledged citizen of the republic for two days, and, as such, as eligible to the presi dency as any man among us,” declared the general, smiling blandly. “Then I can’t decline?” dubiously. “It is too late—presidents die and run away, but they never decline.” “Well, in that case, I might as well make the best of a bad bargain and go in. Only I warn you, general, I shall really be the president, and the re forms you have heard me speak of must engage our immediate attention.” Now, few men could have adapted themselves to the situation in that masterly manner! “Are you ready to take the oath of office?” “At any time,” was the nonchalant reply. Home people might have thought such a solemn ceremony necessitated pomp and full dress—they might even have been horrified at the sight of the new president standing in his shirt sleeves within the doorway of his adobe domicile, with his pipe between his teeth, holding up his right hand and repeating in Spanish the oath of office, which Ilarrajo uttered for per haps the thirteenth time in his long held capacity as dictator. Thus it was done. The general called for a farewell rotind of cheers, and they were given with as much good will as the husky and parched throats that had been in positive evidence all night could mus ter. Then the rabble betook itself off, much to Jack's relief, the general not forgetting to give the highly enter taining military salute due to the ex alted office his friend and protege now occupied. Having once embarked upon the sea of adventure. Jack had become quite reckless as to what port he brought up at. There was at least a chance that this astonishing change in his fortunes might mean a material advance in the line of his dream, for he had never yet heard of a president of a Central American republic who had not man aged by some means or other, fair or foul, to amass wealth by virtue of his position. Book Two. Tlie Modern Argonaut*. Two years had flown since Senor Jack was duly installed in office as president of the republic—such a pe riod Gautarica had never seen before, and would hardly witness again in the next decade. It would be impossible to narrate the many successes and failures Jack made during those two years, nor shall I attempt it, since more important events await our at tention. About the only cloud in Jack’s sky was Dona Juanita, who had become passionately enamored of him. Bar iajo, who dearly desired to see him settled down, advised him to marry her, and cast his fortunes for all time with the people of his adoption. Whereupon Jack felt compelled to narrate the whole story of his past, and Barrajo was so affected by it that he fell upon his neck and wept tears of sympathy, generous old soul that he was. But Barrajo was fearful of the re venge Dona Juanita might take if her love were openly repulsed, and finally confided to Jack the plan he had for the advancement of their fortunes. Briefly it was this: When Cortez, with fire and sword, scourged the fair land of the Monte zumas to the north, and his savage soldiers dealt out death with a lavish hand whenever the people failed to re spond to their stern orders for more treasure, a reign of terror had swept over the whole of Mexico. Then it was that thousands fled to tho unknown southland, led by their priests, seeking new homes amid the forest-clad wilderness of Central Amer ica. Since the object of Cortez's brutal soldiers’ decree was to gain possession of what riches the country possessed, these guardians of the temples, before indulging in flight, despoiled them of the golden images and jewel studded altars, which vast treasures they car ried with them, determined that, come what might, these bearded barbarians from over the sea should not succeed in accomplishing their boasted object. History tells of the wonderful booty secured by the Spanish conquistadors; indeed, the imagination is appalled at the extent of the riches they secured. In Peru, the people, hoping to ransom their captive Inca, Atahuallpa, from the cruel hands of Pizarro, had readily filled a room seventeen feet square and as high as a man could reach with gold in the shape of ingots and statues from the temples and palaces, and history likewise declares that the quantity of treasure conveyed away and concealed forever from the covetous eyes of the Europeans “was said to have infinitely surpassed that which they had se cured." As in Peru, so it was also in Mexico, richest of all the native countries of the new world—there fugitive priests carried with them to the new land to the south probably the most astound ing collection of treasure ever gath ered together since the world began. This was the bee that for years had buzzed in the bonnet of old General Barrajo- he had never let It get out of his mind day or night in all that time, ‘'And. Senor Jack.” ne now declared, triumphantly, slapping the president familiarly on the back, “success has crowned my long search. Yes, por Dios, senor, I believe 1 have found the treasure.” CHAPTER XII. A Sentinel of the Centuries. When he heard what General Barra jo had to say Jack Overton found some difficulty in restraining his delight. Should this enormous fortune fall into their hunds how his sanguine dreams would be realized, and w'hat wonderful things he could accomplish. Barrajo disclosed a rude parchment map, supposed t.' have been drawn by an Indian many sores of years before. Overton, with that readiness ehaij* terlstic of tho enterprising Araerieur, at once made «. duplicate copy of th*. same. Then they talked over the wonderful matter in a most serious way. arrang ing their plans even down to the most minute details. The crisis was coming none toe soon. Jack concluded, for unless something happened to get him out of the country there must presently be an explosion. He had feared it of late, for Dona Juanita was beaming love upon him every time they met. and from more than one quarter he found blark looks bent upon him by the jealous-minded young gallants of San Juan. Many a conqueror of kingdoms has met his fate finally through the venge ful hand of a woman whose love he has treated lightly. Overton cursed the hour when he first saw this dark-eyed houri luring her two rivals to meet in deadly com bat so that the public ball might wind up in its usual blaze of glory. Here then came old Barrajo, just in the nick of time, it seemed, with a grand project which, if successful, would open up an avenue of escape. Thus Overton was doubly anxious to. make a start, having so much at stake. The general declared two days would be quite sufficient to make all his prep arations, for he believed in being ade quately armed and equipped for any emergency. It was a moonlight night when they set out, and as usual San Jose was given up to music and merry making. Our two fortune hunters waited un til near the noon of night, when the hot time in the old town had in a measure subsided, and then, suitably disguised so as to conceal their exalt ed personality from curious eyes, quit ted the capital, whore the electric lights still glowed and announced the presenco of modern institutions. When the two men left San Jose and plunged into the interior they did not know their movements had been close ly watched, and that immediate pur suit was given, yet such was the case. Evidently others there were who sus pected Barrajo’s wonderful plans for fortune's favors and meant to take a bid in the same quarter. Perhaps it would grow interesting before the end w'as reached, especially since the two adventurers carried plenty of arms and were grimly resolved to fight for the prize if it came to that, point. Barrajo soon left the main trail, and they were now traversing what had once been a path through the primeval forest, hut was so overgrown with swinging vines that the keen machete of the general was kept swinging most of the time in order to hack out a passage. Which would naturally make it an easy matter for those who followed to keep upon their trail. Our two adventurers traveled all day, and at sunset camped for very necessary rest and refreshment. After a hasty meal, only carrying their arms and a pick and shovel between them, to be used in emergencies, they ad vanced in the direction Barrajo nad marked out. His reasoning was sound. If Jack doubted it at first, he was presently convinced that the general had built wisely. “Madre de Dios! Look, Senor Jack!" suddenly exclaimed the dictator, start ing back, and pointing to some object beyond. The white moonlight sifted through the tangled masses of tropical verdure above, and at that particular moment fell full upon what appeared to be a human form, bent partly over in a de votional attitude, and facing the rising moon. Jack was startled at first, but, see ing no motion to the figure, which was partly covered by the wild under growth, he realized that it was a rude statue, carved to represent a sun-wor shiper and placed there hundreds ol years ago by those wrho fled from the Spanish reign of terror to the north. They approached closer, and mar veled to find this image apparently of silver. (To Be Continued.) INGENUITY OF THE FILIPINOS. Natives Use a Clever Little Device to Striking Fire* People who regard the natives of th< Philippine Islands as an uncivilized and ignorant race would be surprised to see some of the very clever device* that they have Invented to simplify matters of everyday life, says the St Paul Globe. For instance. Captain Darrah of thf commissary branch of the department of the Dakotas, who recently returnee from the islands, brought with him e little device for striking fire that makes the old steel and flint, that wa* used so long ago in this country, loot clumsy and insufficient. The natives take a caribou hori and bore a small hole in the small enc of it. Into this hole they insert » plunger, wrapped so as to fit the hole so no air may get into the horn, ati< made to slide smoothly up and dow« by greasing the wrapping with tallow The end of this plunger is hollowed out and when a Filipino wants U strike fire he simply places a srual piece of ordinary ‘“punk” in the cob cave at the end of the plunger, aBc strikes it a sharp blow, driving tfcf plunger down into the horn. The compressed air, by the force 01 the blow, ignites the punk and tfct plunger is pulled out, the punk flamlBi and ready for use. This is only on* nee and supremacy which it enjoyed prior to 1861; furthermore (see history pf the war with Spain), to provide an idequate system of transports In time >f war. “Resolved, That the erection of a Jepartment of commerce as an ad unct to the executive branch of the federal government is imperatively lenianded in behalf of trade, com nerce and Industry. "Resolved, That the early construe .lon of an Isthmian canal, supplement id by cable communication with our ’’aciflc possessions and with the coun rles of the far east, is indispensable o our lommercial supremacy.” Wanted, Profit for the Partner*. Henr> T. Oxnard Is largely interest 'd iD the manufacture of beet sugar, .nd. like our farmers, a strong oppo vent of the free admission of Cuban agar. The New York Evening Post, lowever, has unearthed an ancient clr :ular signed by Mr. Oxnard in which le states that with free trade in sugar, esulting, as in 1891, in a market price if 4 cents per pound, there is still a iroflt to the factory of |3 per ton on ieets. Some journals which are spe ially friendly to Mr. Oxnard are en teavorirg to explain this old dellver nce away, and they do not make very ;ood work of it. Whenever in life the ipeeter.of youthful peccadilloes rises teforc ua the best way, Ity 'he language j of Mr. ripv"l«n1. Is to "tell US# truth," and the truth is (hat Mr. Oxnard wrot« that circular for the purpose of selling stock in sugar factories. That explain* the matter quite sufficiently. Besides. Mr. Oxnard docs not claim that the profit under free trade is sufficient tu compensate both factory men and ! beet growers, but only that the factors i men absorb it all. What the country demands is some profit for the farm ers, which free trade prices will no* give.—San Francisco Chronicle Fight on the .Sugar Tariff. It is pleasing to note in the dis patches from Washington that tin members of the Michigan delegation it the lower house are a unit in standing by the beet sugar interests and oppos ing every attempt to change the tariff The beet sugar Industry lias flourished under the benefit of the protective tar iff, and will continue to do so as long as the tariff is undisturbed. What changes would follow a reduction oi the duty on Cuban sugar are problem atical, but it is certain the industry would be given a severe blow from which it might not speedily recover. From the beet sugar states farmers and others are sending petitions tc congress protesting against any change in the sugar tariff. What effect these petitions will have is for the future tc decide. The question is fraught with the greatest interest for Michigan where tlie beet sugar interests are ol enormous proportions, and also to t number of other states that are Just embarking in the business. The flood of petitions should not cease until final action ii taken.—Bay City Tribune. lie lla* Surreeile.l. On the curious plea that if the Re publicans don’t do it the Democrat! will, Mr. Roberts of Massachusetts ad vocates the*opening up of the question of tariff revision at the present session of congress. Why stop at tariff re vision? Why not urge the repeal'ol the Dingley law as a whole, on th< plea that the Democrats would do it if they had the power? To do things that the enemy wants done, lest the enemy himself undertake to do it and thereby gain all the advantage, is a queer doctrine in practical politics and practical statesmanship, Political ad vantages have not usually been gained that way or retained that wray by the party in power. Mr. Roberts evi dently is a new convert to the school of tariff ripping theorists who would be more dangerous if they were more numerous. As the matter stands they are just numerous enough to attract some attention when they make fool ish breaks. Mr. Roberts has succeeded in attracting some attention. Where Danger I.lea. There is no danger to America in the retaliatory amendment to the Ger man tariff modeled after our own tariff law. This provision is aimed only at discriminations, and the United States tariff does not discriminate. It differs from almost all other tariffs in the world in having a uniform rate for goods from all foreign countries, save, indeed, those with which reci procity agreements exist. Moreover, considering the high wages which it protects, our American tariff Is very much less rigorous than that of most Continental nations.—Boston Journal. Danger begins when we leave the safe anchorage of tariff laws under which all the world is treated exactly alike, and embark upon the unchar tered sea of reciprocity treaties which favor one nation at the expense of an other, and so provoke ill-will and re taliation. I On#) Consumer. It ia shrewdly suspected that when Mr- Hamemeyer states that a removal of the duty on raw sugar would result in a saving to the consumer of $85,* 000,000 a year, the trust magnate hat reference to one consumer only, the American Sugar Refining company. The Sugar Trust is practically the only consumer of raw sugar imported into the United States, and there is the best of reason for believing that this one consumer would get the lion's share, if not the entire amount, of the saving of $85,000,000. Confirmation of this belief is at least suggested by the fact that nobody has heard Have meyer urge the removal or the reduc tion of the duty on refined sugar That's different! How Much? The sugar trust literary bureau is working overtime organizing poverty and syndicating misery in Cuba in the hope of getting the duty on raw sugar removed. How much of that duty would go into the pockets of the Cu ban planter or wage earner? The American people have a very accurate estimate of the philanthropy of the sugar trust.—New York Press. Somebody Will Hot Skinned. Academically reciprocity is a fine thing. It has two "r’s” in it that can be rolled beneath the tongue with fine effect. But in practice it is a good deal like a horse trade. Usually some body gets skinned in a horse trade. In his leciprocity propositions it is observed that the tariff tinker offers the American people as the victim.— Mt. Clemens (Mich.) Monitor. Enclnnd'n Fean. England has been a free trade nation and the United States a protective tariff nation. And now England fears that America, which has preserved for herself her own markets, is about to control the markets of the world. —Oswego Times. -♦»» Clara—It’s a thrilling story, isn’t it? Maude—One of the most thrilling 1 ever read. I couldn’t skip more than half of it.—Detroit free Press.. an ScttrfMicffr*. From the Farmers’ Review: That sheep act as scavengers is one great argument in favor of having a flock on every farm. They assist in clear ing the farm of weeds, sprouts, etc., utilizing these Intruders as food to grow mutton and wool. It is true that sheep will aid very materially in erad icating noxious plants. But to have the sheep do this cleansing work, aud at the same time yield a handsome profit from wool and mutton, is a dif ficult problem. To starve any animal in order to force it to eat that which is distasteful to it, is almost always a losing game, and it would be better economy to hire a unan to cut the weeds with scythe and hoe. If the sheep can bo so managed that they will eat the weeds willingly, without detriment to themselves, they will, of course, act as double wage-earners, and tho practice will indicate good farming. To do this successfully requires ex perience in handling sheep, and a knowledge of their peculiar habits. A lack of this experience and thiB knowledge has caused many a farm er’s flock to dwindle away until the owner would become disgusted and dispose of the few remaining oecause lie “could have no luck with sheep.” Sheep enjoy frequent changes from one field to another, and it is quite noticeable that when turned from good pasture into another field con taining weeds, they will run through the new field, biting off the leaves and nibbling the weeds and buds with as • much relish as they ate the grass. They, however, soon tire of this diet. If tills roving nature of the sheep is catered to, many weeds may be de stroyed. In the fall and winter, after pasture is gone, sheep, well-fed on dry feed, will run over tho Helds eating buck plantain, briars, and bush buds with great relish, and to their mate rial benefit. At this time of the year the sheep may be seen biting the bulb of the buck plantain that has been raised in the ground by the freezing and thawing, and nibbling the green leaves of this hardy plant. These win ter raids give the breeding ew‘>s the needed exercise, and prepare them for lambing and for furnishing their young with nourishing milk immedi ately after birth.—W. B. Anderson. t'hlruao I’oultry Show. The Chicago Poultry Show was held last week and was a great success. The number of entries wns very large and (he fowls entered were of high quality. The show was so big that it was not containable in the Coliseum and a building on the south of it had to be utilized. It was in fact five great shows In one, comprising farm fowlB, pigeons, rabbits, dogs and cats. All of these classes of animals were represented by numerous and excellent specimens. The attendance was good, and certain ly those who attended got the worth of their money, if they had any interest at all in any of the lines mentioned. As a means of education, the Chicago show is most certainly a success, and the men that have brought it up to the present point of excellence deserve great praise for the hard work they have done. Wo hope to have more to say on the show in a future issue. The Cattle freerHng Problem* From Farmers' Review. Counting corn and hay at their present value, it is a question whether cattle breeders and feeders are making any money out of beef production. The feel ing among beef producers is that corn is too high to feed at a profit, unless fat cattle advance in price, and the result is that but few cattle are being fed here. Corn was a fair crop here, but is selling at 60 to 65 cents per bushel, and farmers are inclined to sell rather than feed it.— Oi H. Hughes, Lee County, Illinois. To Start Oatrlch I-arum. Arrangements have been made for the introduction of ostrich farms on the Riviera as a practical industry. A start, is to be made between Nice and Monte Carlo. Forty ostriches have been imported from California for a beginning, American birds being se lected after careful study, the climate of the Riviera has been found to ap proximate closely to that of parts of the California coast. Charcoal for Turkeys. It has been ascertained by experi ment that turkeys that get charcoal mixed with their food get heavier than others, and their meat is more tender and better flavored. At the recent convention of Illinois dairymen, the question of the con struction of silos was discussed. One man said that in lathing his silo he placed the lath diagonally. He had obtained his ideas of the construction of a round silo mostly from H. B. Gur ler. The question was asked whether Mr. Gurler lathed his silo In this man ner, but, Mr. Gurler not being present, it was unanswered. Later, the Farm ers’ Review addressed an inquiry to Mr. Gurler on the subject, and re ceived the following reply: “I think it best to put on the lath horizontally, as we get more resistance that way than when the lath is put on diagon ally. Our idea is to have strength in the circular form to resist the lateral pressure.” The phylloxera is threatening thn vineyards of California to such an ex tent that growers there are experi menting with resistant roots, such as those of grapes growing east of the Rocky Mountains. An old bachelor says that matrimonj and not Wisconsin is the ‘‘badger* state.