s
JLLUSTAWStS Y &WEJL *
COPYRIGHT J9O7 BY MAfUOft -
SYNOPSIS.
Baraka , a Tnrttir Rlrl.beeamo cnnmorcil
ot a. golden bearded stranger who was
prospectlnK and studying lierbs In tin-
vicinity ot her homo In central Asia , and
revealed to him the location of a mini ?
of rubles hoplns that the struimer would
love her In return for her disclosure.
They wore followed to the cave by the
Blrl's relatives , who blocked up the i-n-
trnncc , and drew oft the water supply ,
leaving the couple to die. Btmika's cousin
Sand , her botrothod. attempted to climb
down a cliff overlooking the mine ; but
the traveler shot him. The struiiKor was
revived from a water gourd Baud cur
ried.
CHAPTER I. Continued.
It was a long time slnco Bho hail
heard any sound from the cave ; she
went to the entrance and listened , hut
all was quite still. Perhaps.the trav
eler had fallen asleep from exhaus
tion , too tired even to drag himself
out Into the air when ho could work
no longer. She sat down In the en
trance and waited.
An hour passed. Perhaps he was
dead. At the mere Inward suggestion
Baraka sprang to her feet , and her
heart beat frantically , and stood still
an Instant , and then heat again as if
it would * hurst , and she could hardly
breathe. She steadied herself against
the rock , and then went In to know
the truth , feeling her way , and in
stinctively shading her eyes as many
people do in the dark.
A breath of cool air made her open
them , and to her amazement there
was light before her. She thought
she must have turned quite round
while she was walking , and that she
was going back to the entrance , so
she turned again. But in a few seconds
ends there was light before her once
more , and soon she saw the dry sand ,
full of her footprints and the travel
er's , and then the hollow where the
mine was came In sight.
She retraced her steps a second
time , saw the light as before , ran for
ward on the smooth sand and stumbled
upon a heap of earth and stones , just
as she saw the sky through an irregu
lar opening on the level of her face.
Scarcely believing her senses she
thrust out her hand towards the hole.
It was real , and she was not dream
ing ; the traveler had got out and was
gone , recking little of what might hap
pen to her , slnco he was free with his
treasure.
Baraka crept up the slope of earth
as quickly as she could and got out ;
If she had hoped to find him waiting
for her she was disappointed , for he
was nowhere to be seen. He had got
clear away , with his camel-bag full of
rubies. A moment later she was lying
on the ground , with her face lu the
stream , drinking her fill , and forgetful
even of the man she loved. In order
to deprive them of water the men had
dug a channel by which it ran down di
rectly from the spring to the ravine
on that side ; then they had blocked
up the entrance with stones and earth ,
believing that one man's strength could
never suffice to break through , and
they had gone away. They had prob
ably buried or burnt Baraka's clothes ,
for she did not see them anywhere.
. She ate some of the dates from the
dead man's wallet , and a bit of the
dry black bread , and felt revived ,
slnco her greatest need had been for
water , and that was satisfied. But
when she had eaten and drunk , and
had washed herself In the stream and
twisted up her hair , she sat down
upon a rock ; and she felt so tired
that she would have fallen asleep if
the pain in her heart had not kept
her awake. She clasped her hands to
gether on her knees and bent over
them , rocking herself.
When nearly an hour had passed
she looked up and saw that the sun
was sinking , for the shadows were
turning purple in the deep gorge , and
there was a golden light on the peaks
above. She listened then , holding her
breath ; but there was no sound ex
cept the tinkling of the tiny stream
as it fell ever a ledge at some distance
below her , following its now way
down into the valley.
She rose at last , looked upward ,
and seemed about to go away when a
thought occurred to her , which after
wards led to very singular cense
quences. Instead of going down the
valley or climbing up out of it , she
went back to the entrance of the cave ,
taking the woHet with her , dragged
herself in once more over the loose
stones and earth , reached the secret
hollow where the pool had been , and
made straight for the little mine of
precious stones. The traveler had
broken out many more than ho had
been able to carry , but she did not try
to collect them all. She was not alto
gether ignorant of the trade carried
on by the men of her family for gen
erations , and though she had not the
least Idea of the real value of the
finest of the rubles , she know very
well that it would bo wise to take
many small ones which she could ex
change for clothing and necessaries
with the first women she met in the
hills , while hiding the rest of the sui
ply she would bo able to carry in the
wallet.
When she had made her wise se
lection , uho looked once more towards
the quicksand , and left the place for
ever. Ouco outside she began to
climb the rocks as fast as she could ,
t for very soon it would bo night and
Bho would have to lie down and wait
uiany hours for the day. since there
was no moon , and the way was very
dangerous , even for a Tartar girl who
could almost tread on air.
High up on the mountain , over the
dry well where Baraka and the stran
ger had been Imprisoned , the vulture
perched alone with empty craw and
drooping wings. But it was of no use
for him to wait ; the living , who might
have died of hunger and thirst , wore
gone , and the body of dead Saad lay
fathoms deep in the quicksand , in the
very maw of the mountain.
CHAPTER II.
There was good copy for the news
papers on both sides of the Atlantic
In the news that the famous lyric so
prano , Margarita dti Cordova , whose
real name was Miss Margaret Donne ,
was engaged to Mons. Konstantin
Logothetl , a Greek financier of large
fortune established in Paris , and al
most as well known to art collectors
as to needy governments , would-be
promoters , and mothers of marriage
able daughters.
The engagement was made known
during the height of the London sea
son , not long after they had both been
at a week-end party at Craythew ,
Lord Crecdmore's place In Derbyshire ,
where they had apparently come to a
final understanding after knowing
each other more than two years. Mar
garet was engaged to sing at Covent
Garden that summer , and the first
mention of the match was coupled
with the information that she intended
to cancel all her engagements and
never appear In public again. The re
sult was that the next time she came
down the stage to sing the Waltz
Song in "Romeo and Juliet" she re
ceived a tremendous ovation before
she opened her handsome lips , aivl
another when she had finished the
air ; and she spent one of the hnppiest
evenings she remembered.
Though she was at heart a nice
English girl , not much over 24 years
of age , the orphan daughter of an Ox
ford don who had married an Ameri
can , she had developed , or fallen , to
the point at which very popular and
successful artists cannpt live at all
without applause , and are not happy
unless they receive a certain amount
of adulation. Even the envy they excite -
cite In their rivals is delicious , if not
almost necessary to them.
Margaret's real nature had not been
changed by a success that had been
altogether phenomenal and had prob
ably not been approached by any
soprano since Mme. Bonannl ; but a
second nature had grown upon it and
threatened to hide it from all but
those who know her very well Indeed.
The Inward Margaret was honest and
brave , rather sensitive , and still gener
ous ; the outward woman , the prima
donna whom most people saw , was
self-possessed to a fault , imperious
when contradicted , and coolly ruthless
when her artistic fame was at stake.
The two natures did not agree well
together , and made her wretched when
they quarreled , but Logotheti , who
was going to take her for better , for
worse , professed to like them both ,
and was the only man she had ever
known who did. That was one reason
why she was going to marry him , aft
er having refused him about a dozen
times.
She had loved another man as much
as she was capable of loving , and at
one time ho had loved her , but a mis
understanding and her devotion to her
art had temporarily separated them ;
and later , when she had almost told
him that she would have him if ho
asked her , ho had answered her quite
frankly that she was no longer the
girl he had cared for , and he had sud
denly disappeared from her life alto
gether. So Logothetl , brilliant , very
rich , gifted , gay , and rather exotic in
appearance and manner , hut tenaci
ous as a bloodhound , had won the
prize after a struggle that had lasted
two years. She had accepted him
without much enthusiasm at the last ,
and without any great show of feel
ing.
ing."Let's
"Let's try It , " she had said , and he
had been more than satisfied.
After a time , therefore , they told
their friends that they were going to
"try it. "
The only woman with whom the
great singer was at all Intimate was
the Countess Leven , Lord Creedmore's
daughter , generally called "Lady
Maud , " whoso husband had been In
the diplomacy , and , after vainly try
ing to divorce her , had been killed in
St. Petersburg by a bomb meant for
a minister. The explosion had been
so terrific that the dead man's Identity
had only been established by means
of his pocket-book , which somehow es
caped destruction. So Lady Maud
was a childless widow of elght-and-
twonty. Her father , when ho had no
prospect of ever succeeding to the
title , had been a successful barrister ,
and then a hard-working member of
parliament , and ho had been from boy
hood the close friend of Margaret's
father. Hence the intimacy that grow
up quickly between the two women
when they at last mot , though they
had not known each other as children ,
because the lawyer had lived in town
and his friend in Oxford.
"So you'ro going to try it , my
dear- ! " said Lady Maud , when she
heard the news.
She had a sweet low voice , and
when she spoke now it was a little
sad ; for sh had "tried It , " and it had
failed miserably. Hut she knew that
the trial had not been a fair one ; the
only man she had ever cared for had
been killed In South Africa , and as
she had not oven the excuse of having
been engaged to him , she had married
with Indifference the first handsome
man with a good name and a fair for
tune who offered himself. Ho chanced
to bo a Russian diplomatist , and he
turned out a spendthrift and an un
faithful husband. She was too kindhearted -
hearted to bn glad that he had been
blown to atoms by dynamite , but she
was much too natural not to enjoy the
liberty restored to her by his destruc
tion ; and she had not the least Inten
tion of over "trying It" again.
"You don't sound very enthusiastic , "
laughed Margaret , who had no mis
givings to speak of , and was generally
a cheerful person. "If you don't en
courage mo 1 may not go on. "
"There are two kinds of ruined gam
blers , " answered Lady Maud ; "there
arc tliose that still like to watch other
people play , and tliose who cannot
bear the sight of a roulette table. I'm
ono of the second kind , but I'll come
to the wedding all the same , and
cheer like nind , if you ask me. "
"That's nice of you. 1 really think I
mean to marry him , and I wish you
would help me with my wedding gown ,
dear. It would bo dreadful If 1 looked
Then ho suggests going to Constan
tinople and getting it done by the
patriarch , who Is his uncle. Really ,
that would ho rather smart , wouldn't
It ? "
"Distinctly , " assented Lady Maud
"But It you do that , I'm afraid 1 can
not help you with the wedding gown.
I don't know anything about the dress
of a Fanarloto bride. "
"Konstantin says they dress very
well , " Margaret said. "But of course
it is out of the question to do any
thing so ridiculous. It will end In the
ehnpcl-of-cnse , I'm sure. Ho always
has ills own way. That's probably
why I'm going to marry him , just be-
cauo ho Insists on it. I don't sco any
other very convincing reason. "
Lady Maud could not think of any
thing to say in answer to this ; but
as she really liked the singer she
thought it was a pity.
Paul ( Jrlggs , the veteran man of
letters , smiled rather sadly when she
met him shopping In Now Bond street ,
and told him of Margaret's engage
ment , llo said that most great sing
ers married because the only way to
the divorce court led up the steps
of the altar. Though ho know the
world ho was not a cynic , and Lady
Maud herself wondered how long it
would be before Ijogothotl and his
wife separated.
"But they are not married yet , "
Grlggs added , looking at her with the
quietly ready expression of a man
Went to the Entrance and Listened.
like Juliet , or Elsa , or Lucia ! Every
body would laugh , especially as Ken
stantin is rather of the Romeo type ,
with his almond-shaped eyes and his
little black mustache ! I suppose he
really is , isn't he ? "
"Perhaps just a little. But he is
a very handsome fellow. "
Lady Maud's lips quivered , but Mar
garet did not sco.
"Oh , I know ! " she cried , laughing
and shaking her head. "You once
called him 'exotic/ and ho is but I'm
awfully fond of him all the same.
Isn't that enough to marry on when
there's everything else ? You really
will help mo with my gown , won't
you ? You're such an angel ! "
"Oh , yes , I'll do anything you like.
Are you going to have a regular
knock-down-and-drag-out smash at St.
George's ? The usual thing ? "
Lady Maud did not despise slang ,
but she made it sound like music.
"No , " answered Margaret , rather re
gretfully. "Wo cannot possibly bo
married till the season's quite over , or
perhaps in the autumn , and then there
will bo nobody here. I'm not sure
when I shall feel like It ! Besides.
Konstantin hates that sort of thing. "
"Do you mean to say that you would
like a show wedding in Hanover
Square ? " Inquired Lady Maud.
"I've never done anything in a
church , " said the prlma donnu , rather
enigmatically , but as if she would
like to.
" 'Anything in a church , ' " repeated
her friend , vaguely thoughtful , and
with the slightest possible interroga
tion. "That's a funny way of looking
at it ! "
Margaret was a little ashamed of
what she had said BO naturally.
"I think Konstantin would like to
have it In a chapel-of-caso in the Old
Kent Road ! " she said , laughing. "lie
sometimes talks of being married In
tweeds and driving off in a hansom !
who is willing that his indifferent
words should bo taken to have a spe
cial meaning if the person to whom
he has spoken chooses , or Is able , to
understand them as they may bo un
derstood , but who is quite safe from
being suspected of suggesting any
thing if there Is no answering word
or glance.
Lady Maud returned his look , but
her handsome face grow rather cold.
"Do you know of any reason why
the marrL-ige should not take place ? "
she inquired after a moment.
"If I don't give any reason , am I
ever afterwards to hold my peace ? "
asked Grlggs , with a faint smllo on
his weather-beaten face. "Are you
publishing the bans ? or are wo think
ing of the same thing ? "
"I suppose we are. Good-morning. "
She nodded gravely and passed on ,
gathering up her black skirt a little ,
for there had been a shower. Ho stood
still a moment before the shop win
dow and looked after her , gravely ad
miring her figure and her wall : , as ho
might have admired a very valuable
thoroughbred. She was wearing
mourning for her husband , not be
cause any ono would have blamed her
If she had not done so. considering
how ho had treated her , but out of
natural self-respect.
Grlggs also looked after her as r.ho
went away because ho felt that she
was not quite pleased with him for
having suggested that ho and she had
both been thinking of the same thing.
The thought concerned a third per
son , and one who rarely allowed him
self to bo overlooked ; no less a man ,
in fact , than Mr. Hufus Van Torp , the
American potentate of the great
Nickel Trust , who was Lady Maud's
most Intimate friend , and who had
long desired to make the prlma donna
his wlfo. He had bought a place ad
joining Lord Creedmoro's , and there
had lately been a good deal of quite
groundless gossip about him and Lady
Maud , which had very nearly become
a scandal. The truth was that they
were the best friends In the world ,
, aml nothing more ; the mllllonniro had
for Homo time boon Interested In an
unusual sort of charity which almost
filled the lonely woman's life , and ho
hud given considerable sums of. money
to help It. During the mouths preced
ing the beginning of this tule , ho had
also been the object ot ono of those
dastardly attacks to which very rich
and important financiers are more ex
posed than other men , and ho had
actually been accused of having done
awny with his partner's daughter , who
had come to her end mysteriously dur
ing a panic in a Now York theater.
But his Innocence had been proved in
the clearest manner , and ho had re
turned to the United States to look
after the interests ot the Trust.
When Grlggs heard the news ot
Margaret's engagement to Logolhotl ,
he Immediately began to wonder how
Mr. Van Torp would receive the intel
ligence ; and if It had not already oc
curred to I-uly Maud that the million
aire might make a final effort to rout
his rival and marry the prlma donna
himself , the old author's observation
suggested such a possibility. Van
Torp was a man who had fought up to
success and fortune with little regard
for the obstacles ho found in his way ;
ho had worked as a cowboy In his
early youth , and was apt to look on
his adversaries and rivals in llfo eith
er as refractory cattle or as danger
ous wild beasts ; and though ho had
some of the old-fashioned ranchcro's
sense of fair play In a fight , ho had
much of the reckless daring and ruth
less savagery that characterize the
fast-disappearing western desperado.
Logothetl , on the other hand , was
In many respects a true oriental , su
premely astute and superlatively calm ,
but imbued , at heart , with a truly
eastern contempt for any law that
chanced to oppose his wish.
Both men had practically Inexhaust
ible resources at their command , and
both wore determined to marry the
prlma donna. It occurred to Paul
Grlggs that a real struggle between
such a pair of adversaries would bo
worth watching. There was unlimited
money on both sides , and equal cour
age and determination. The Greek was
the more cunning of the two , by great
odds , and had now the considerable
advantage of having been accepted by
the lady ; but the American was far
more regardless of consequences to
himself or to others in the pursuit of
what ho wanted , and , short of com
mitting n crime , would put at least ns
broad an interpretation on the law.
Logothetl had always lived in a highly
civilized society , even In Constanti
nople , for it is the greatest mistake
to imagine that the upper classes of
Greeks , lu Greece or Turkey , are at
all deficient in cultivation. Van Torp ,
on the contrary , had run away from
civilization when a half-educated boy ,
he had grown to manhood in a com
munity of men who had little respect
for anything and feared nothing at
all , and ho had won SUCCORS In a field
where these who compete for it buy
it at any price , from a Ho to a llfo.
Lady Maude was thinking of these
things as she disappeared from Grlggs'
sight , for she was a little afraid that
she had made trouble. Ten days had
passed since she had last written to
Rufus Van Torp , and she had told
him , amongst other things , that Mme.
do Cordova and Logothoti were en
gaged to bo married , adding that It
seemed to her ono of the most Ill-as
sorted matches of the season , and that
her friend the nlnger was sure to bo
miserable hersolt and to make her
husband perfectly wretched , though
ho was a very good sort in ills way
and she liked him. There had been
no reason why she should not write
the news to Mr. Van Torp , even
though it was not public property yet ,
for ho was her intimate friend , and
she know him to bo as reticent as all
doctors ought to be and as some so
licitors' clerks are. She had asked
him not to tell any ono till ho heard
of the engagement from some ono
else.
else.He
He had not spoken of It , but some
thing else had happened. IIo had
cabled to Lady Maud that ho was com
ing back to England by the next
steamer. Ho often came out and went
back suddenly two or three times at
short Intervals , and then stayed away
for many months , hut Lady Maud
thought there could not bo much
doubt ns to his reason for coming
now. She know well enough that ho
had tried to persuade the prlma donna
to marry him during the previous winter -
tor , and that If his passion for her
had not shown Itself much of late , this
was duo to other causes , chiefly to the
persecution of which ho had rid him
self just before ho went to America ,
but to some extent also to the fact
that Margaret had not seemed in
clined to accept any ono else.
Lady Maud , who know the man bet
ter than ho knew himself , inwardly
compared him to a volcano , quiescent
just now , so far as Margaret was con
cerned , but ready to break out at any
moment with unexpected and destruc
tive energy.
Margaret herself , who had known
Logothetl for years , and hud Been
him In his most dangerous moods as
well an in Ills best moments , would
have thought a similar comparison
with an elemental force quite ns truly
descriptive of him , If it had occurred
to hor. The enterprising Greek had
really attempted to carry her off by
force on the night of the final re
hearsal before her first appearance on
the stage , and had only been thwarted
because u royal rival had caused him
to bo locked up , as if by mistake , In
order to carry her oft himself ; In
which ho also had failed most rldlcu *
lously , thanks to the young singer's
friend , the celebrated Mme. Bonnnnl.
That Was n very amusing story. But
on another occasion Margaret had
found herself shut up with her ori
ental adorer in a room from which
she could not escape , and ho had qulto
lost his head ; and if she had not been
the woman she was , she would have
fared 111. After that ho had behaved
more like an ordinary human being ,
and she had allowed the natural at
traction ho had for her to draw her
gradually to a promise of marriage ;
and now she talked to Lady Maud
about her gown , but she still put oft
naming a day for the wedding , in spite
of Logothetl's growing Impatience.
This was the situation when the
London season broke tip and Mr. Van
Torp landed at Southampton from nn
ocean greyhound that had covered the
distance from Now York In 5 days 12
hours and 37 minutes , which will
doubtless seem very slow traveling If
any ono takes the trouble to road this
tale 20 years hence , though the pas
sengers wore pleased because it was
not much under the record time for
steamers coming east.
Five hours after ho land d Van
Torp entered I ady Maud's drawing
room in the little house In Charles
street , Berkeley Square , wlioro she
had lived with the departed Levon
from the time when ho had been at
tached to the Russian embassy till ho
had last gone away. She was giving
It up now , and It was already half dis
mantled. It was to sco Van Torp that
she was In town in the middle of
August , instead of with her father at
Craythew or with friends In Scotland.
London was as hot as it could be ,
which means that a Now Yorker would
have found It chilly and an Italian de
lightfully cool ; but the Londoners
were sweltering when Ynji Torp ar
rived , and were talking ot the oppres
sive atmosphere and the smell of the
pavement , not at all realizing how
blessed they wore.
The American entered and stood
still a moment to have a good look at
Lady Maud. Ho was a middle-sized ,
rather thick-sot man , with rude hands ,
sandy hair , an over-developed jaw ,
and sharp hluo eyes that sometimes
fixed themselves In a disagreeable
way when ho was speaking eyes that
had looked Into the barrel of another
man's revolver once or twice without
wavering , hands that had caught and
saddled and bridled many an unrlddon
colt In the plains , a mouth like a carpetbag
pet-bag when it opened , like a closed
vice when it was shut. lr- was not n
handsome man , Mr. Rufus Van Torp ,
nor ono with whom any ono short of a
prize-lighter would meddle , nor ono
to haunt the dreams of sweet 1C. It
was not for his face that Lady Maud ,
good and beautiful , liked him bettor
than any ono In the world , except her
own father , and believed In him and
trusted him , and It was assuredly not
for ills money. The beggar did not
live who would dare to ask him for a
penny after ono look at his face , and
there were not many men on either
side of the Atlantic who would have
looked forward to any sort of contest
with him without grave misgivings.
"Well , " ho said , advancing the last
step after that momentary pause , and
taking the white hand In both his
own , "how have you been ? Fair to
middling ? About that ? Well I'm
glad to see you , gladder than a sitting
hen at sunrise ! "
( TO I3G CONTINUED. )
Ruskin on Railways.
One can imagine perhaps the feel
ings with which Ruskin , had he been
alive , would have heard the news
that n new Alpjno railway Is now In
course of construction. His most
withering sarcasms were directed
against these "travelers through the
Alps by tunnels" who "go to balls in
Rome , or hells nt Monaco. " And ho
was vehemently opposed to all at
tempts to beautify the railway sta
tion. "Tho railroad , " he writes , In
"Tho Seven Lamps of Architecture , "
"Is in nil its relations of earnest busi
ness , to be got through as soon as
possible. It transmutes a man from
a traveler into a living parcel. For
the time he has parted with the
nobler characteristics of his human
ity for the sake of a planetary power
of locomotion. Do not nsk him to
admire anything. You might as well
ask the wind. Carry him safely , dis
miss him soon ho will thank you for
nothing else. "
Real "Homo Body. "
Miss Harriet Nlcklln , whoso funeral
took place at Folchill , England , re
cently , had never , during the 02 years
of her life , passed a night out of the
house in which she was born , and
slept for l-J.OOQ nights in the same
bedroom.
