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14
SYNOPSIS.
Robert Cameron, capitalist, consult*
Philip Clyde, newspaper publisher, re
garding anonymous threatening letters he
has received. The first promises a sample
pf the writer's power on a certain day.
On that day the head Is mysteriously cut
from a portrait of Cameron while the lat
ter Is In the room. Clyde has a theory
that the portrait was mutilated while the
room was unoccupied and the head later
removed by means of a string, unnoticed
by Cameron. Evelyn Grayson, Cameron s
niece, with whom Clyde is !n love, finds
the head of Cameron's portrait nailed to
?• tree, where It had been used as a
arget. Clyde pledges Evelyn to secrecy.
Clyde learns that a Chinese boy employed
by Phllatus Murphy, an artist living
nearby, had borrowed a rifle from Cam
L-rori's lodgekeeper. Clyde makes an ex
cuse to call on Murphy and is repulsed.
He pretends to be Investigating alleged
infractions of the game laws and speaks
Of finding the bowl of an opium pipe un
der the tree where Cameron’s portrait
was found. The Chinese boy la found
dead next morning. While visiting Cam
eron in his dressing room a Kell Gwynne
mirror Is mysteriously shattered. Cameron
becomes seriously ill as a result of the
*hock. The third letter appears mysteri
ously on Cameron’s sick bed. It makes (
direct threats against the life of Cameron.
Clyde tells Cameron the envelope was
rmpty. He tells Evelyn everything and
plans to take Cameron on a yacht trip.
The yacht picks up a fisherman found
drifting helplessly in a boat. He gives
the name of Johnson. Cameron disap
pears from yacht while Clyde’s back is
turned. A fruitless search is made for a
motor boat seen by the captain just be
fore Cameron disappeared. Johnson Is al
lowed to go after being closely questioned.
Evelyn takes the letters to an expert In
Chinese literature, who pronounces them
rf Chinese origin. Clyde seeks assistance
from a Chinese fellow college student,
who recommends him to Yup Sing, most
prominent Chinaman in New York. The
latter promises to seek information of
Cameron among his countrymen. Among
Cameron’s letters is found one from »>ne
Addison, who speaks of seeing Cameron
in Pekin. Cameron had frequently de
rlared to Clyde that he Ifad never been in
China. Clyde calls on Dr. Addison. He
learns that Addison and Cameron w’ere at
fine time intimate friends, but had a fall
ing out over Cameron’s denial of having
be**n seen in Pekin by Addison. Clyde
goes to meet Yup Sing, sees Johnson, at
lempts to follow him. falls Into a base
ment. sprains his ankle and becomes un
conscious. Clyde is found by Miss Clement,
a missionary among the Chinese. He la
§ick several days as a result of Inhaling
rhorcoa! fumes. Evelyn tells Clyde of a
peculiarly acting anesthetic which renders
a person temporarily unconscious. Mur
phy is discovered to have mysterious re
lations with the Chinese. Miss Clement
promises to get Information about Cam
iron. Slump in Crystal Consolidated, of
whPh Cameron is the head, is caused by
• rumor of Cameron’s illness. Clyde finds
Cameron on Fifth avenue In a dazed and
rmaciated condition and takes him home.
7armron awakes from a long sleep and
■peaks in a strange tongue. He gives or
Inrs to an imaginary crew in Chinese
(argon. Then in terror cries: "I didn’t
Kill them.”
UMAHTtR a I A.—oonimueo.
"Below!" he yelled, fiercely. "Be
low. you yellow dogs! Below, 1 say!
Every cur’s son of you! Below!”
Respite this truculence he was not
jifflcult to master. Together Bryan
and I grapjjled him; in another mo
ment we had him flat on his bed once
more, and the nurse was pressing
home the piston of that little shining
instrument of glass and silver which I
had so recently seen him take up from
the medicine table.
For a moment the patient rolled
about, restlessly, muttering strange
oaths, mingled with suppliant mur
murs. And to me this was the most
*adly trying part of the incident. I
would gladly have retreated, but Eve
lyn begged me to wait.
"Just until he is quiet,” she pleaded;
•Just until he falls asleep.”
At length he lay quite still and we
thought from his regular breathing he
had succumbed to the narcotic, and so
were about to go, when he started up
with a little feeble cry, low-voiced, but
clearly distinct.
“No, no, for God’s sake, not that! I
didn't kill them. 1 swear I didn’t kill
them. It was an accident. She stove
on a rock. 1—1—didn’t, I say! I didn't
-I—”
His voice trailed into silence. He
dropped back, heavily, upon the pil
lows. He slept.
It is one thing to have your faith
In a friend shaken. That is serious
enough in all conscience. But your
faith may tremble, and sway and rock,
and still there is always the possibil
ity of its being resteadled and made
firm again by explanation—by extenu
ation even. It is quite another thing
to have your faith toppled headlong,
by the snatching away of the last vest
ige of support, the last sliver of under
pinning. That is more than serious.
It is calamitous; it is catastrophic; it
Is tragic.
Back in the library again, I set to
pacing the floor. I think Evelyn re
sumed her seat in the big leathern
fhair. I am sure. For a time I was
aot conscious that she was in the
room. That it was Inconsiderate of
me, I admit. It was, perhaps, unpar
donable. And yet It was not wilful.
Frankly, I had forgotten her. ah >olute
ly, in the stress of the emotional tem
pest raised by that revelation in the
darkened bedchamber.
Back and forth. I strode from book
case tc bookcase, over the soft, neu
tral-tinted Persian rugs; and all the
while there echoed those repeated de
nials of Cameron’s that he had ever
been in China. “Never nearer than
Yokohama,” he had said. "Once I ate
chop suey in a Chicago Chinese restau
rant.” “I have always been interested
lu China and the Chinese, but I know
only what I have read.” And the
words of his quondam friend came
back to me now, too; with redoubled
emphasis: "He refused to admit what
I knew to be the truth.”
Nevertheless I had chosen to believe
that Cameron, should he ever return
to ue, would be able to clarify this
turbid stream of circumstance, and
prove the fallibility of appearances.
The ijlusion to which I had clung,
however, was now in shreds. Cam
eron, returning, with body enfeebled
and brain confused, had spoken In his
at'cuarded delirium. The mask was
dropped, the screen thrown down, and
barefaced and stark he stood revealed,
a wpeful figure In the impartial glare
of truth.
A- the moment I could see no exten
uation. He was a liar and he was a
coward; and all the sympathy, all the
friendship I ever felt for him died ut
terly, as I thought how, probably,
every untoward Incident of the past
month, with its chain of vexatious
consequences, might have been avoid
ed had he been brave to the point of
confession.
It was now plain enough for the
least astute to see that at some time
he had committed an act which had
aroused certain of the Chinese to re
taliation. It was this which I had
feared from the first. It was this
which he had chosen to hide.
As I paoed to and fro, his craven
words rang once more in my ears:
"No, no, for God’s sake, not that! I
didn't kill them! I swear I didn’t kill
them! It was an accident!" And I
knew that he was lying. The very
tone of his disclaimer convinced me
of his guilt. He had killed, and he
cowered before the avengers.
Disgust, abhorrence, anger, ail were
mine in turn.
At length I paused before a window,
and remained there, with my back to
the room, looking down on the with
ered garden behind the house, yet see
ing nothing but the red of my own pas
sion.
A touch upon my shoulder aroused
me to a realization of my surround
ings, and informed me that I was not
alone. Startled as one awakened ab
ruptly from a dream, I turned, and
turning, there came a revulsion. Every
surcharging emotion that had held
and bound me gave way instant
ly to a violent self-reproach, excited
by the pathos of Evelyn’s sad, ques
tioning eyes and sadder, quivering
mouth.
My impulse was to fake her in my
arms, and pacifying, to plead pardon
for what must have seemed to her an
inexcusable churlishness. But the con
ditions which so recently she had set
upon me forbidding the coveted em
brace, I compromised on a hand-clasp.
“My dear child,” I began, earnestly,
I m sorry. But then you must know
how what we just saw and heard dis
tressed me. 1 think I have been mad
since we left that room. I hardly
know what I have been doing. To see
him so unstrung, demented, raving.
To hear him—”
But she would not allow me to fin
ish.
"Philip!” she cried, passionately.
“Oh, Philip! Can’t you see? Don’t
you understand? It Is a mistake, an
awful nightmare of a mistake. That
creature over there is not my uncle.
I am convinced that he is not my
Uncle Robert.”
CHAPTER XX.
An Enigma and Its Solution.
To my amazement I found that Eve
lyn meant more than I fancied. My
Interpretation of her words was that
Cameron was not in his right mind—
that he was not her Uncle Robert, as
she had known him. But in a very
brief moment she disabused me.
' It is not he, at all,” she declared,
with emphasis. "There is a resemb
lance, yes. But the man you found
in the street is not Robert Cameron;
I am sure of that."
The idea that I had brought there,
not my friend, but my friend’s double,
seemed to me too preposterous for a
moment’s entertainment. I fear I sus
pected, just then, that Evelyn’s reason
had been warped a trifle b.v the rack
ing scene of which we had been wit
nesses.
“I would to God, my dear child,” I
said, sympathetically, "that you were
right. But there can be no question
as to the Identity of the sick man.
Every one who has seen him recog
nized him at once—Checkabeedy, Lou
is, Stephen, Dr. Massey. No, no, Evelyn,
you must not be misled by his rav
ings.” And at this point there oc
curred to me a tentative explanation—
one in which I did not In the least be
lieve. but which, at all events, was
worth trying; one which, indeed, 1
prayed would serve.
“Cameron, you must remember, has
been with his Chinese captors for four
weeks. In that time he must have
picked up something of their language.
It is only natural that he should. So,
you see, to hear him use a few words
of pidgin-English in his insane gibber
ish is not so remarkable, after all. And
as for that spirited denial just before
he dropped off to sleep, it is very evi
dent that they accused him of some
thing with which he had no connec
tion, though quite cognizant of the
facts.”
But the girl would have none of it.
Tolerantly she listened, and tolerantly
she smiled when I had finished.
“No, no, Philip,” she insisted, "I see
It all quite clearly. Whatever crime
was comr £ted, the creature lying
there committed it. But he is not my
uncle. Others mistook the resemblance
for identity. Just as you did, only the
situation was reversed. Those who
abducted Uncle Robert thought they
were abducting that villain we are
now housing.”
It was an ingenious notion, but of
course it was not possible. However.
I saw that it would be idle to continue
to dispute with her.
"What would you suggest, then?
Shall we send our invalid to a hos
pital?” I asked, In pretended serious
ness.
But very sagely she shook her head.
"Oh. no,” she returned. "We must
keep him. He is very valuable to us.
Perhaps we can do as contending
armies do—arrange an exchange of
prisoners.”
In spite of my wretchedness, I sup
pressed a smile. It was all very amus
ing; and yet the fear that she was suf
fering aberration due to hysteria, tem
pered pitifully the humor of it
When, later In the afternoon, Dr
Massey called, I told him everything,
Including this hallucination of Eve
lyn's.
"You did perfectly right,” he said. In
tone of cordial approval. “The malady
with which Cameron is afflicted has a
tendency to distort certain lineaments.
Especially at times of excitement his
face changes, so that Miss Grayson is
justified in fancying that this is not
the Robert Cameron Bbe knew. I
have noticed the dissimilarity myself,
but it is due, of course, entirely to dis
torted expression. In a couple of days,
at most, he will be fully restored, and
then he himself will be the best one to
rectify her error. Meanwhile, if I were
you, I would not dispute her. She has
gone through a great deal, and gone
through it bravely; indeed with a cour
age that is quite phenomenal, and she
is entitled to any little consolatory be
liefs that she chooses to entertain.”
And then, as if such advice were not
wholly superfluous, he added: “Be
kind to her, Clyde! be good to her.
She is a wonderful young woman.”
Whereat I grasped his hand, and
promised him, lifting him a notch in
my estimation because of his perspi
cacity. And all the while a lump kept
rising in my throat and threatening
my tear ducts.
On the following day I heard noth
ing from Miss Clement, which some
what surprised me. though she had
told me that her prospective inform
ants were likely to take their own
lime. Early, on the second morning,
however, I had a note from her, the
enigmatic character of which impelled
me to speculation.
"Dear Mr. Clyde,” she wrote, "I hope
you can make it convenient to visit me
this evening, at the Mission. I want
to talk with Ding Fo, an exceptionally
well-educated young Chinaman, who
tells me that his people are much mys
tified over a recent event; and. if
what he says be true—and I never
knew him to lie—a new complexion is
placed upon this whole matter. Come
about nine-thirty, after our service is
over.”
As Dr. Massey’s orders forbidding
any one save Mr. Bryan to enter Cam
eron's room, issued immediately after
our hideous experience, had not yet
been rescinded, our knowledge of hi6
condition was. perforce, gleaned entire
ly through physician and nurse. 3oth
now assured me that he was progress
ing satisfactorily, and that there had
been no return of the dementia.
Evelyn still persisted in her notion
that the patient was not her uncle, but
his double, and following the doctor's
directions l refrained from trying to
convince her of the truth; even going
so iar as 10 pretend that I believed j
as she did. and planning to begin ne- !
gotiations through Miss Clement and '
her Chinese confidants for an ex
change of captives as soon as our host
age was able to be moved.
“I am to see Miss Clement, tonight,”
I told her. late that afternoon, “also an
Oriental acquaintance of hers, who ap- i
pears to be informed on the subject ]
which interests us. It is possible that j
he will provo the very person who can i
arrange it all.”.
"Let me go with you." she urged,
laying a beseeching hand on my arm
“Do let me go with you, Philip. I am
so anxious. It will seem years if I
have to wait here for you to bring me
the news; and there are sure to be
some things you will forget to ask
about, if I’m not there to prompt you.”
In spite of the unflattery of her
speech I smiled, indulgent. Her great
blue eyes, pathetically pleading as her
words, were able advocates. It was
hard to deny her under any circum
stances, and now, as I thought it over,
I saw no reason why in this instance
she should not have her desire.
“Yes,” I agreed, “you shall go. But
remember, you must be very careful,
for the present at least, not to let slip
the slightest inkling that we suspect
our Cameron is not the real Cameron.
We are seeking Information, you know,
Evelyn, not squandering it.”
Pell street wore its night gaudery
when the Cameron electric brougham
with Evelyn and myself as occupants
glided to a halt before the door of the
Mission over wrhich Miss Clement ably
and successfully presided. The pale,
vari-tinted light of lanterns from the
balcony of a restaurant across the
way, mingling with the flickering yel
low beam of the city’s gas lamps,
threw into sharp relief the curious
pendent black signs with their red
cloth borders and gilded Chinese let
tering, hanging before shop doors. It
revealed, too, oddly contrasting figures
o>* loungers and pedestrians, residents
and visitors. And it bared, back of all
that was bizarre, the commonplace
brick fronts of the typically American
buildings, with their marring gridiron
ing or fire-escapes. To Evelyn, rarely
observant, the combination was inter
esting, but disappointing.
"It does not look at all as I expect
ed it would,” she said to me. “It hasn't
the air. It is neither one thing nor the
other. It is like a stage scene, care
lessly mounted ”
As we alighted at the Mission door,
the last notes of a familiar hymn,
mangled in words and melody almost
beyond recognition, flowed out to join
the babel of street sounds; and before
we could mount the high steps there
had begun to pour forth a motley,
malodorous freshet of felt-shod soles,
that gave us pause; blocking, for a
few minutes, not merely the ascent
but the sidewalk as well.
When, at length, the way was clear,
and by direction of a youth at the en
trance, we had passed through the
close, ill-smelling hall, where the lights
had already been lowered, we came
upon Miss Clement, alone In a little
well-ventilated and brightly-lighted of
flee or parlor. Jutting off at the rear.
If she was surprised at seeing Eve.
lyn, she gave no sign. She welcomed
us both with the smiling cordiality ol
a life-long friend. But abruptly her
smile died.
"I tried to get you on the telephone
an hour ago,” she explained, “but
there was some trouble with the wire.
I hoped to save you this Journey for
nothing.”
"Your protege couldn’t comeT" I
queried.
"Unfortunately, no," she returned,
with a little quaver In her voioe. "My
protege will never come again. He
was shot to death. Poor, poor Ling
Fo!" *
"Shot to death!” I cried, while Eve
lyn. with cheeks suddenly pale and
eyes wide, held her underlip fast be
tween her teeth, and gripped hard on
the arms of the rocking chair In which
Miss Clement had placed her.
VYes.” And this strong, sweet
faoed, gray-haired woman in gray, her
momentarily-lost composure quite re
covered, laid a quieting hand softly
over Evelyn's tensed clutch. "Yes.
That sort of thing Is not unusual down
here, you know. There is always more
or less bad blood between the tongs.
But it was most unfortunate, just at
this time, because I feel sure he could
have told you something worth learn
ing. I’m glad he was a good boy. He
was one of the few converts that are
really sincere.”
"Perhaps he knew too much,” I
suggested.
But Miss Clement made no com
ment. I fancy it was out of considera
tion for Evelyn that she refrained
from endorsing my conclusion; while
I reproached myself for being less
thoughtful, I was all the more con
vinced that I had voiced the motive
for the shooting.
As Evelyn did not ask for particu
lars, I profited by the lesson thus
taught and curbed my curiosity. But
I was in no mood to drop the subject.
From Miss Clement's note it was clear
that Ling Fo had already communi
cated to her some of the more impor
tant facts in this connection, and of
these I hoped to possess myself.
"And so. Miss Clement," I ventured,
sharpening my wedge, "Chinatown is
mystified, I understand."
She was seated, now, by her little
desk, and for a moment had been turn
ing up, searchingly, one paper after
another, from an open drawer. At
my observation, she paused and raised
her glance, a folded sheet of note size
in her hand; for a heart-beat her eyes
held mine.
“Yes,” she said at length. “China
town is all at sea, so to speak."
"Over what?” I pressed.
Slowly she unfolded the scrap of
writing she held, and before replying
she read it through, slowly and delib
erately.
"If you don't mind,” she proposed,
"I would prefer not to talk about it.
I am in a peculiar position here, Mr.
Clyde, as you can well understand,
and I can’t afford to play false to
those who trust me. At the same
time I do not always know whom
among these people to trust. Some
one who knew them very well wrote,
once upon a time, something like this:
You can take a Chink away from his
fan.
Away from his lotteries, fiddles and
Joss,
You can give his queue to the barber,
boss:
But you can t get down to the roots that
start
from the yellow base of his yellow
heart.
And it’s very true. There are those
here who pretend to adore me, who
would think nothing of treating me
as they treated poor Ling Fo, if they
suspected 1 knew anything and gave
information."
“1 don’t want you to think I’m a
coward. Miss Grayson,” she went on,
turning to Evelyn. “I think I’ve proved
to you that I wTant to help you and
mean to. but I’m rather upset tonight,
and I’m so afraid we shall have to let
matters rest a little longer. There is
one thing, though, that you cau do
for me, if you wilL”
The last sentence was addressed to
me, and I made haste to assure hei
that she had only to command me.
As she bad spoken she had been
folding and refolding the pape* in her
hand, until it was now a tiny, one
inch square.
“Take this," she said, handing it
to me, her voice a low murmur, “and
after you have read it, destroy it. 1
shouldn't want it found in my poa
session.’*
“1 understand. Miss Clement," I re
turned and the folded square went
into my waistcoat pocket.
“It may mean more to you," she
added, in a whisper, “than anything
I could say.”
When once more in the brougham,
speeding northward, Evelyn, who had
been unusually taciturn throughout
the interview, asked me a question.
“Did you mean what yon said,
Philip?"
"What did I say?” I queried.
“That you understood."
“I understood that it might not b«
well for her to have this letter of
Ling Fo’s about”
“But the rest? Her refusal to talk?
i Her uneasiness? Her fear of possible
I traitors?” she persisted.
Once more she had gone straight to
the heart of the situation. I had been
as puzzled as she by the missionary’s
attitude of constraint, which I could
not attribute wholly to the tragedy she
had told us of; and I admitted as
much to Evelyn.
“If she suspected eavesdroppers,’’
the girl argued, “she said too much.
If she didn’t fear being overheard, why
couldn’t she tell us all she knew?”
For want of a better answer I said:
“Perhaps the letter will solve the
enigma,” and plucking it from my
pocket with thumb and forefinger I
began carefully to unfold it.
The interior of the vehicle was bril
liantly alight, and though we were
already far beyond the Chinatown
zone and the chance observation of
any lurking spies, I nevertheless chose
discreetly to draw the shades prior
to outspreading the written page.
Before the sheet with its network of
creases was quite flattened, Evelyn,
who was bending attentively near, ex
claimed in surprise, "It is her own
handwriting! See, it is written by .
Miss Clement herself!”
Already absorbed, I made no re- ■
sponse. Avidly my eyes were racing j
over the lines; greedily, my brain was
digesting them.
“Tidings of the cruel murder of i
Ling Fo have just reached me. When
you come, as I know you will, I shall
not dare to speak what 1 have written, |
and which is all that the poor boy j
ever told me. Already there are spies j
about me, and your visit is a risk to j
us both. I would have prevented it, If
I could.
“Three weeks ago, according to Ling 1
Fo, a white man was abducted by or
der of the Six Companies, and shipped
to China for punishment, aboard a
tramp steamer. Ling Fo- would not
give me the white man's name or any 1
of the particulars, save that sixteen
years ago he had committed a crime,
known to every Chinaman in America
as ‘The Crime of the Sable Lorcha,’
or ‘black funeral ship,’ by which near
ly one hundred Chinese coolies lost |
their lives.
“It seems now that this man, who
they thought was on the ocean, sud
denly reappeared in New York, a few
nights ago. He was recognized and
set upon by two Chinamen, but he
escaped, and the Six Companies and
all the tongs are in a ferment over the
mystery.”
Evelyn’s hand was on my arm as 1
read, her face close to mine, reading ;
with me. Having finished, I held the
sheet for a moment, waiting for her
to signify that she, too, had reached
the end. And in that moment the
brougham came to a sudden halt.
Before either of us could voice a '
word the door on my side was j
wrenched violently open, and the blue
steel muzzle of a revolver covered me,
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Food of European Peasants
Many Are the Substitutes for Bread
Eaten by Poorer Classes of
Europe.
In various parts of the world the
poorer classes consume little or no
bread, the London Globe observes.
Baked loaves of bread are practically
unknown in portions of southern Aus
tralia and Italy and throughout the
agricultural districts of Roumania.
Austrians aver that in the village of
Obersteirmark. not very far from
Vienna, bread is never seen. The staple
food is sterz, a kind of porridge made
from ground beechnuts, taken at
breakfast with fresh or curdled milk,
at dinner with broth or fried lard and
at supper with milk. This dish is
also called heiden and is substituted
for bread not only In the Austrian dis
trict mentioned but in Carinthia and
other parts of the Tyrol.
Northern Italy offers a substitute
for bread in the form of polenta, which
is a kind of porridge made of boiled
grain. Polenta is not, however, al
lowed to granulate like Scotch por
ridge or the Austrian sterz. It is in
stead boiled into a solid pudding,
i which is cut up and portioned out with.
a string. It is eaten cold as often as
it is hot and is in every sense an
Italian’s daily bread.
There is a variation of polenta call
ed mamaliga, the favorite food of the
poorer classes in Roumama. Mamaliga
resembles polenta inasmuch as it is
made of boiled grain, but it is unlikt
the former in one respect—the grains
are not permitted to settle into a solid
mass, but are kept distinct after the
fashion of oatmeal porridge.
A False Alarm.
"Mrs. Gabbit felt quite foolish last
night.”
"How did that happen’”
"Mr. Gabbit opened his mouth sev
eral times, as if he were just about
to get in a word edgeways, and Mrs.
Gabbit talked a blue streak for an
hour before she found out he was
merely yawning."
Would Open Up Argentina.
A petition has been placed before
the Argentine national senate for a
concession to construct and operate
for a period of sixty years cable rail
ways in various parts of the Argsq
tine republic.
MAKE BETTER PUBLIC ROADS
Experience Has Taught That Much
Work Can Be Drne During the
Winter and Early Spring.
At this time of year much interest
is aroused concerning road improve
ment. As has been found out by ex
perience, much work can be done to
earth roads early in the season, in
fact, during the winter and spring
when they soften, if they are system
atically dragged there is no equal
amount of work that can be done with
as good effect at any other time of
the year
The law permits the highway com
missioners to make contracts with per
sons living alongside a road to do the
dragging. To facilitate this work, the
state highway commission has just is
Bued blank contract forms which may
be used by commissioners in making
their contracts, says the Farm Home.
These blank forms are bound with
stubs attached like an ordinary check
Crushed Rock Road in Missouri.
| book and are very convenient. They
will be furnished free of charge to
| any highway commissioner who will
i apply for them to the state highway
commissioner, Springfield, 111.
The commission has also just is
sued a pamphlet on the procedure
that should be taken when a vote on
hard roads is proposed. Much time
and expense will be saved if all who
are interested in having petitions cir
culated and vote taken will be sure
that all steps have been taken in ac
cordance with the law. Instances are
Constantly arising where through a
misstep at some point or other the
whole proceeding is made invalid,
causing delay and expense. Any one
wishing information concerning the
township hard road law of the state of
Illinois can get the pamphlet here
mentioned free of charge on applica
tion to the Illinois highway commis
sion, Springfield, in.
GOOD ROADS IN CALIFORNIA
Pacific Coast State Ranks Next to
New York in Making Appropria
tions for Improvement.
Next to New York. California ts do
ing *he big thing in road building.
It has 2,300 miles of main routes and
400 miles of laterals, and it is spend
ing its lump appropriation of $18,
000,000, of which it is said, ‘‘Approxi
mately 70 per. cent, cf the burden will
fall upon the incorporated cities." Cal
ifornia communities have the spirit of
the times. For instance. Los Angel
the county alone spent $3.500,000 on
oil macadam highways.
In Alabama a system of trunk roads
from north to south and from east
to west has been laid out. Louisiana
has spent almost $10,000,000 in four
years. Mississippi counties have de
clared bond issues of $600,000, and the
state will spend millions in the next
three ‘years. Utah spent $2,000,000 in
the past two years. Minnesota is
preparing to build 2,700 toiles of road
next year. Maryland has got its road
building under a rigorous system. Its
newest program calls for about $5,000,
000 in two years in the 23 counties. ,
This is the latest expert knowledge.
FILLING ROADS AND STREETS
Modern Transportation Demands Best
of Thoroughfares—Aim Shoufd
Be to Even Filling.
When graveling streets, if the out
sides are filled first and the stones
raked toward the center and covered,
it will leave the surface in nice con
dition. When the center is filled first
it is impossible to cover the stones
with the thin covering at the outsido
of the fill. 1 noticed a tillage street
that was being raised ten inches with
coarse gravel. The center was filled
first and the coarse stones raked to
the outsides. It required twice the
time to do the grading as if ihe out
sides had been filled first and the
coarse stones raked toward the deep
est part of the fill in the center,
writes an expert in the Farm and
Home. Moreover, th9 street is sprin
kled with stones that could not be
covered, which will make extra ex
pense to haul away, and it will be a
rough road for yearn to come.
A deep fill should always be made
from the ends and then the dirt will
settle evenly. If part of the fill js
made through the center, and then
the dirt dumped off on one or both
sides, it will take several years for
it to finish the setting, which will g0
on unevenly. At least so says a very
successful contractor who has had
much experience with this work.
More Silage Beef.
The past season has seen more si
lage beef on the market than ever be
fore. ss feeder has recently taken
up the silo.
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those pains and aches resulting
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Beauty soon fades away. Now
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FLOWERS IN THE HOUSEHOLD
Simple Methods That Will Keep Them
Alive, Fragrant, and a Pleasure
for Many Days.
To make flowers last a week or
more, four things are necessary. First,
do not try to arrange them the mo
ment you get them, but put them in a
pail of water for a few hours, so that
every stem will be under water up to
the flower. Second, cleanse the vase
thoroughly before putting in the flow
ers and change the water every day.
Third, the cooler you keep the flowers
the longer they will last. If you are
too busy in the morning to enjoy them
or have to go out for the afternoon, do
not leave them in the living-room, for
they are not used to such a tempera
ture. Every night put the vase in a
cool place, or better still, plunge the
stems up to the flowers in a pail of
water. Fourth, cut about a quarter of
an inch off each stem in the morning.
It is more trouble to do this under
water, but it pays. If you cut the
stems in the ordinary way air bubbles
get Into the stems and impede the tak
ing in of water.—Delineator.
ARCTIC SKEPTICISM.
“Did you see the janitor?**
“Yes. I told him it was as cold in
j onr flat as at the north pole.”
“What did he say?”
“He merely looked supercilious and
asked tor my proofs.”
Queer Ironing.
A writer in the Wide World maga
zine says that the most curious sight
he saw at Cairo was men ironing
' clothes with thier feet! The men
were employed in the native tailoring
establishments.
Except for the long handle, the
irons were shaped like the ordinary
flat-iron, only larger. A solid block
of wood rested on the top of the iron,
and on this the men placed one foot,
guiding the iron in the desired direc
tion by means of the handle. For the
sake of convenience, ironing boards
were raised only a few inches from
the ground, and, however strange the
method may seem to us, the work
was done very well and very expedi
tiously.
Paradox.
“What makes you think those
rumors are groundless?”
“Because they are so much in the
air.”
Natural Supply.
“What's the use of all the sand on
the seashore?"
“That’s what they scour the seas
with."
When you analyze the ideal husband
you will find that he hasn't the nerve
to be anything else.
FLY TO PIECES.
The Effect of Coffee on Highly Organ
ized People.
"I have been a coffee User for
years, and about two years ago got
into a very serious condition of dys
pepsia and indigestion. It seemed to
me I would fly to pieces. I was so
nervous that at the least noise I was
distressed, and many times could not
straighten myself up because of the
pain.”
Tea is just as injurious, because it
contains caffeine, the same drug found
in coffee.
•'My physician told me I must not
eat any heavy or strong food, and or
dered a diet, giving roe some medi
cine. I followed directions carefully,
but kept on using coffee and did not
get any better.
“Last winter my husband, who was
away on business, had Postum served
to him in the family where he board
ed. He liked it so well that when he
came home he brought some with him
We began using it and I found it
most excellent.
“While I drank it my stomach never
bothered me in the least, and I got
over my mrvous troubles. When the
Postum was gone we returned to cof
fee, then my stomach began to hurt
me as before, and the nervous con
ditions came on again.
“That showed me exactly what was
the cause of the whole trouble, so I
quit drinking coffee altogether and
kept on using Postum. The old trou
bles left again and have never re
turned.”
“There’s a reason," and Itisexplain
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