r p 5 w Vf A H6e Scojrge ofDaaTLkscis Copyrighted1 1861 toy Robert Bonners Sons CHAPTER XXn The Executioners At an early hour the following morning ho sent for Omar who soon answered the call I havo -one word to say one re quest to make said Horam after the mornings greetings had m passed I wish you once more to tell me the story of Helenas innocence and thenceforth to remain silent upon the subject I may have dreamed some of the things that now startle my thoughts for I am not clear at what point you left me last night Thus called upon the king of Aleppo related all that he had told on the previous evening and then made some further explanation of incidents which he had not before revealed It was a plain simple statement bearing the stamp of truth upon every word O groaned Horam clasping his thin hands together what would I give to call Helena back to life But it cannot be She is gone and she was innocent He started up from his seat and walked several times across the floor and when he next approached his royal guest he had grown calmer and his lip had ceased Its quivering Omar I have no blame for you Henceforth let the book be sealed He had taken one or two more turns up and down the apartment when a messenger entered with intelli gence that Benoni had arrived and desired audience Send him in at once Good brother you will remain with me This last was spoken to Omar who had turned to leave In a little while Benoni made his appearance and Horam was sure he could see the flush of victory upon his brow Now my captain what word do you bring Good word sire We have cap tured those whom you desired to see and have also brought an old man and old woman who resided in the cave Have you brought the Lady Ulin and the robber chieftain and Osmir and Selim Yes sire And these others are the old her mit Ben Hadad and the woman who lives with him- Yes sire By the crown I wear cried the monarch leaping up and clapping his hands this is enough to make me forget the wrongs I have suffered Let the robber chieftain and the two treacherous guards be brought before me But hold There was one other spoken of by the Arab the lieutenant Hobaddan his name was He was not in the cave sire nor was he about the place Very well Let the chieftain be brought in The captain retired and presently returned followed by Julian and the two guards They were heavily iron ed and six stout soldiers walked be hind them The youthful chieftain had schooled himself for the ordeal and no sign of fear was manifest Os mir and Selim stood like two deaf mutes seeming to care nothing for the fate that surely awaited them That is all said Horam after lie had looked at the prisoners Take them out and guard them well Place twenty of your most trusty men over them and remember that those twenty heads shall answer for the safety of the charge Shall I conduct them to a dun geon sire No there is no need of it They will not live to behold the setting of this days sun Ben Hadad did not tremble when he stood before the king nor did Ezabel seem much frightened Old man said Horam I under stand that you have harbored and pro tected the notorious Scourge Julian He hath found shelter with me as liave ail who ever sought it replied the hermit And you also harbored the lady Ulin You knew who she was and that she had fled from her home Yes And perhaps you knew why she fled She told me her story sire It is enough cried the king im patiently I wish to hear no more You both stand condemned and the degree of your punishment shall be made known to you soon enough Omar was upon the point of making some remark when Benoni entered Now Benoni said Horam with more nervousness in his manner than he had before exhibited I have a se rious question to ask you and I de sire that you should answer me promptly and truly You have noticed f the conduct of the princess Ulin Yes sire she is in love with Julian the robber Benoni again went out but he did not have to go far as he met Aboul coming towards the royal apartment The king greeted him as he entered and asked him if he had seen his daughter s Yes sire replied the minister I have just left her Have you talked with her Yes Then you must have discovered the secret which hath been imparted to me Did you speak with her of this robber chieftain iV A Story of the Eest By SVLVANUS COBB JR I did sire Well what did you observe 0 mercy sire spare my child That is not the answer to my ques tion Aboul I asked you what you discovered I discovered returned the minis ter in tones of deepest dread that her love had been turned from you Aye and upon whom Upon Julian sire That is it Aboul cried the king again starting up That is the thing that enters most deeply into my soul And now I will tell you what the girls punishment shall be She shall wit ness the death of her robber lover she shall see his head severed from his body and then she shall be shut up to lead a solitary life through the rest of her days None of her own sex shall attend upon her but black guards shall be her sole companions What say you to that The executioners were not long In obeying the order A large mat waa brought in and spread upon thek floor and three stout baskets of palm leaf were placed upon if The mat and the baskets were darkly stained and even Omar used as he was to such scenes shuddered when he beheld the prepa rations When all was ready Horam turned to his captain and ordered that all the prisoners should be brought in At length they came Julian and Osmir and Selim came first Then fol lowed Ben Hadad and Ezabel with Shubal and Ortok And lastly came Ulin and Albia The robber chieftain was led up to the block His arms were folded upon his broad bosom with the heavy chains hanging almost to his feet and his head was borne erect There was a deep pain mark in his face but it was not of fear for himself Outlaw spoke Horam through his shut teeth and with his thin hands clenched the hour has come in which you are to close your career of rapine and robbery and these people who have been friends to you and who have given you protection in your crime are to see your head fall Per haps you would ask for mercy No said the chieftain I ask no mercy at the hand of Horam of Da mascus Let the work be finished as quickly as possible and thus shall one more be added to the list of thy bloody deeds t could wish to live that I might take more vengeance on thee And is there not one thing for which you would live asked the king bending a searching burning glance upon him Julian started and struggled but made no reply And in a moment more Horam turned to his chief executioner Bel Dara go now to your work Let this mans head fall first Your arm is strong and your hand is sure Bend him upon his knees and watch for my signal There was a low wild cry breaking upon the air and as Julian turned his head he saw Ulin white and faint in the arms of her attendant Before the grim executioners could bend the robber chieftain to his knees there was an interruption in the pro ceedings The voice of Ben Hadad stern and authoritative sounded above all else King of Damascus ere you stain your hands with that mans blood I must reveal to you a secret which it is fitting you should know Old man he said you speak a secret Do you think to trifle with me I have to cause a simple story to be unfolded to your majesty replied Ben Hadad and if you will grant this woman speech she will give you light The king looked hard into the face of Ezabel and for the first time he seemed to be struck by something fa miliar in her features A moment he sat as if irresolute and then he said starting up as though his mind were fixed Let the woman approach Ezabel came near to the throne Ben Hadad walking close behind her Woman what is it that you have to tell Speak and let not the words lag upon your lips I speak by the request of Ben Ha dad replied Ezabel and the story which I shall tell you is known only to the old hermit and myself - Even Julian himself knows not the secret I have to impart and were he now upon the verge of death no persuasion should draw it from me It may be that the disclosure will consign me to your executioner but I care not I shall waste no words I was born in this city and was married at an early age One son was born to me and then my husband died Shortly after this bereavement I was called to nurse a sick child a girl some three years old who was suffering from an acci dent The child recovered under my care and as I had formed a strong attachment for her and as she had also conceived the same for me I was retained to attend upon her Her par ents were of the wealthiest of Damas cus and while they made it very pleasant for me to remain with their daughter they also provided a good place for my son Hobaddan My charge grew up to be a beautiful maid en and became my mistress and I served her with joy for she was good and kind and generous and I knew that she loved me In time my mis tress became a wife and I went with her to her new home For a few months all went pleasantly under this I U - new relation -hut finally a dark cloud arose to obscure the heaven of my ladys joy Her husband became jeal ous of her became so jealous that his soul was fraught with deadly ven geance Ho fancied that his wifes guilt had been proved and he resolved to put her away from him forever Her protestations availed nothing He would not listen to her he would not even allow her to approach him but he gave her into the hands of his ex ecutioners and bade them drown her in the waters of the Pharphar I dis covered what was to be done and slipped away from the home of the cruel husband and sought my son who had then become a stout youth Hobaddan and I hid ourselves near the gates of the city and when the executioners came out we followed them They had with them a large sack and I knew that my mistress was in it We saV them sink that sack in the river they sank it where the water was dark and deep sank it in the middle of the night and then went away As soon as they were gone we hurried to the shore and my son plunged into the stream and succeed ed in bringing the sack to the land We opened it and my sweet mistress was taken forth cold and senseless but she was not dead Her heart still had motion and after much labor we succeeded in bringing her back to con sciousness The next need was to find a safe shelter for her We dared not take her back to the city I thought of the hermit Ben Hadad I had heard that he was a benevolent man and I resolved to seek him We found his cave arid when he had heard my story he promised to give us shelter and to protect the unfortunate lady My mistress so far recovered as to be able to sit up but she could not get well Her system had received too great a shock and her poor heart was broken In two weeks from the time when she entered the cave she gave birth to a son and shortly afterwards she died She died as pure and true as heaven itself and her child was the offspring of an honor which no temp tation could have tarnished She died but the child lived and thrived lived and grew strong and noble and bold We told him how his mother had been wronged but we did not tell him all We did not tell him who his father was only we told him that he owed his orphanage to the king of Damas cus When he grew up he resolved that the kingshould suffer for the deed he had done and subsequent events have proved that his resolution was not vain This sire is the son of the woman who was my mistress Julian the Scourge of Damascus is the child I have reared Would you know more Horam sat in his great chair with his hands clutched tightly upon the golden arms and his whole frame quiv ering 0 he gasped the secret is nigh to the surface What shall I ask The king of Aleppo moved to Ho rams side and whispered in his ear Aye exclaimed the quaking mon arch when he had listened to the words of his brother it shall be so What ho Benoni clear this chamber of all save this old man and woman and this this Julian Lead them out quickly and remain with them to watch them In a few moments the two kings were aloneN with the three prisoners who had been designated Now now speak King of Damascus said the aged hermit taking a step forward allow me to tell you the rest The suns of almost a hundred years have rolled over my head and not yet have I wil lingly deceived a fellow creature to his injury What this woman has told you is true The lady who was brought to my cave three-and-twenty years ago who gave birth to a child there and who died in Ezabels arms was Helena Queen of Damascus And the son which she bore was the son of the king I swear it and in sup port thereof I pledge my souls sal vation To be continued Evidence of Desire to Sell Wu Ting fang who was a guest at a recent wedding in Washington was approached after the ceremony by the best man and jocularly asked to go over to the young couple and pro nounce a Chinese parental blessing The obliging Wu immediately com plied Placing his hands on the blush ing bride and shaking groom he said May every new year bless you with a man child offspring until they shall number twenty five in all May these twenty five man children offspring pre sent you with twenty five times twenty five grandchildren and may these grandchildren It is said that the little bride grew hysterical about this time says the New York Times and the best man made another request of Wu this time to desist Not tho Girl for Him The father -was quite anxious for his son to marry and on every occasion he was picking out what he thought was a suitable girl One night at a dinner the old gentleman sat next to a very attractive young woman and on his way home he was loud in his praises My boy he said shes the very girl for you Not much replied the boy with peculiar empha sis But I say she is insisted papa And I say not insisted the son The father became testy on the sub ject Youre too hard to please You dont expect a woman to be perfect doyou No Then why isnt this one just the girl for you Because replied the young man with an effort shes for some other fellow She told me so last night Chicaeo Tribuna 1 DR K LETTER MILLER Norfolk Institute for Insane Splendidly Managed by Dr Tel STATE FUNDS WHERE THEY ARE Report of tbe Senate Committee Ap pointed to JUake nri Investigation of the Management of Oar State Institu tions What They Found Lincoln Nebraska Oct 10 1901 During tho past few years our state institutions have been the source of much scandal from one cause and an other and at times the people of the state have been very much incensed over the reports which in too many cases have been too true The scan dals have completely stopped and on the contrary these institutions are the source of much favorable comment At tention is especially directed to the In sane Asylum at Norfolk which re cently was visited by a most disas trous fire Dr George L Miller of Omaha visited that institution some time before the fire and gave the fol lowing letter to the Omaha World Herald which was published in that paper the mornng of October 4th The letter reads as follows Norfolk Hospital for Insane Omaha Oct 1 To the Editor of the World Herald I was much gratified to read in the World Herald a few days ago what I previously knew to be true of the Hospital for the Insane at Norfolk I was a guest of Superintendent Teal for a day at that Institution a short time ago on his invitation and am much indebted to him for the opportunity given me to see all its inmates and to observe under Superintendent Teals zeal to afford me information not only the superior char acter and plans of the great hospital but to the uttermost opportunity to see with my own eyes one of the best appointed and most humanely and intelligently con ducted asylums for the care and also for the cure of the victims of wrecked reason that J ever saw Not a manacle not a crib not a straight jacket nor any other of the barbarous devices which in humanity begotten of Ignorance and the love of power over the defenseless which I know to be in full swing of operation in similar institutions not far from Omaha The reason for the absence of these instruments of torture at Norfolk is that its Intelligent and well instructed superintendent knows that they are un necessary and cruel as means of restraint and do more harm than good Under the control of kind and competent attend ants and with simple and comfortable means of restraint the wildest patient at Norfolk knows no such thing as violent treatment Nor is violence used in resent ment in that superb institution For in stance I called upon one of the most dan gerous of his patients who as his at tention was turned from him for a mo ment struck Dr Teal a full blow in the face and caused his nose to bleed quite freely Dr Teal did not vield to his nat ural impulses to knock down his irrespon sible assailant but smiled upon him and walked away to repair damages Had this thing happened in some hospitals for the insane of which I have definite infor mation the patient would have been beaten by amateur pugilists choked kicked and manacled Dr Teals steadi ness in dealing with the wildest of his patients his humanity and interest in them and his intelligent adherence to mental sanitary treatment with pot so much as a suggestion of force beyond gentle and firm restrant furnishes a high example and splendid proofs to the people of the state of the reforms that have come in the treatment of the insane Drs Teal and Young and the house as sistants in the late disaster to the Nor folk hospital must command the admira tion of everybody for their coolness and courage The rosult is shown in the sav ing of human life and suffering and much property Norfolk should retain the great hospital No doubt about it No finer location was ever seen than is the Norfolk location for such en institution for healthful im munities for beauty of site and view and for natural drainage GEORGE L MILLER Such splendid testimonials from such men as Dr Miller cannot do other than give the public confidence in the conditions as they exist in our state wards The Treasurers Statement State Treasurer Stuefer has made public a statement showing the where abouts of the funds entrusted to his keeping as state treasurer The report is for the month of September and states that the funds are in regular depositories and drawing interest for the state Mr Stuefer had a balance on hand of some 260000 These funds the state treasurer says consti tutes the balance on hand and he fur ther announced that he was then nego tiating for the purchase of interest Jbearing bonds to the amount of 180 000 since which time these bonds have been bought In his report he makes an item of over 4000 turned into the treasury as interest money paid on the funds of the state It might be well to mention that not a dollar of the state money is deposited in Mr Stue jfers bank at West Point On he jwhole the state treasurer has made a remarkable record in the management of the states money Since January 1 1901 Mr Stuefer has invested over 900000 of these ipermanent funds in Interest bearing bonds and by so doing has kept the money so busy that it could hardly have found time for a deposit anywhere but in the state treasury had Mr Stuefer desired it otherwise jji Report of Senate Committee During the closing hours of the leg islative session everybody was so busy with the 6dds and ends and with the senatorial contest that some matters which should have been presented for consideration were left untouched Among the most important of these was the report of the chairman of an important committee of the senate bearing on the manner in which the taxpayers vrere preyed upon by the late fusion administration It was the intention to submit the report to the legislature and ask that a special com mittee be appointed to conduct a searching investigation with a view to requiring those who have feasted at the expense of the taxpayers to step up to the desk and settle their bills In the rush of business at the close it was found impossible to carry tbe plan for an investigating committeee into effect so the report was held back and is herewith published for the first time It was information of this char acter which prompted the incumbent republican board of public lands and buildings and Governor Savage to make the sweeping general order re quiring all officers and employes ex cepting the superintendents to remove their families from the institutions forthwith The report reads as fol lows Senate Chamber Lincoln Neb March 14 1901 To the Honorablo Members of- tho Senate i - Report of the Penitentiary Not in many years havo the taxpay ers of Nebraska been Imposed upon more extensively than during the last two years In nearly every stato in stitution many people were maintained at the states expense who wore neither Inmates nor employes and as a matter of fact had absolutely no business there I have made an in vestigation as thorough as circum stances would permit and what I havo already ascertained is proof concluslvo that the most shameful methods were practised by those in charge of state institutions in some instances due to pressure from those filling state offices Mr Spence the bookkeeper at the penitentiary who is a democrat and who was bookkeeper during the ad ministration of Warden Hopkins or for tho last two years reports that Warden Hopkins kept in the neigh borhood of twenty people mostly rel atives at tho penitentiary at tho states expense and not one of whom was on the pay roll or had any right there He appointed a relative steward of the institution a young unsophisticat ed fellow who knew practically noth ing of the duties and by reason of his incompetency there is an abundance of evidence to show that the state was preyed upon by dealers from whom he bought goods which accounts in part for the large amount of deficiencies and unpaid bills It is reported by this same bookkeeper too that during the last fusion state convention a prom inent fusion politician from Holt county named Harrington brought down a large delegation of politicians in the interest of Howard his pre ferred candidate for treasurer and had Warden Hopkins board and shel ter them at the penitentiary at the states expense until the convention adjourned Warden Hopkins kept seven or eight of his -family and sometimes more at the penitentiary all the time he was there In addition to this he brought two nieces from Iowa and they attended school here and made their home at the peniten tiary A school teacher who taught school near the penitentiary made her home there for about six months pay ing her expenses thereat to Warden Hopkins of which amount he turned over to the state 18 or at the rate of 3 per month Certain convicts were tacitly required to perform work for private individuals for which neither they nor the state received any pay These are only a few of the offenses committed at the penitentiary during the wardenship of Mr Hopkins Other reports of a very serious nature have reached me but as I have not had the time to make a thorough investigation into them I have refrained from incor porating them in this report Industrial School for Boys Many irregularities are reported at the Industrial School for Boys at Kearney Altogether there were twenty-two people maintained at this in stitution who were not employed by the state and who were either rela tives or friends of the management or of state officers The superintendent maintained his wife and five sons the bookkeeper had his family of four there the chaplain had his wife father and son a teacher named Vos berg had two grown daughters Mrs Taylor the cook had one grown daughter another teacher had a grown son and daughter and the gar dener had a grown daughter Industrial School at Geneva Secretary of State Porter had his sister Mrs E S Philbrook appointed as matron and caused his aged mother to be kept there as a charge on the state for the last three years The lat ters physical condition was such as to require a great deal of attention and the result is that while Mrs Phil brook was drawfng pay for rendering services to the state she was in fact devoting the major portion of her time to the care of relatives There were other irregularities at this institution but of minor importance and I will not here make mention of them though it is a matter of economy that these er rors should be given attention and cor rected Hospital for State Incurable Insane at Hastings There is every reason to believe that shameful fraud has been practiced by the management of the Asylum for the Incurable Insane at Hastings The claims presented for payment to the auditing department from this institu tion for the last three months in 1900 aggregated within S6576 of the entire amount for the first nine months of the year During the first nine months the total expenditures were 3i4i364 and during the last three months the expenditures were 33 55788 Upon investigation I discover ed that from the 6th to the 31st of December bills were rendered against the state for 11132 pounds of butter at 15c per pound This act stands en tirely without precedent in the history of the asylum Not alone was a vast quantity of butter purchased but much of it was unpalatable and unfit even for animal food Bills were ren dered during the same period for up wards of 6000 worth of clothing without any good reason why such a surplus should be purchased The clothing furnished is pronounced by reputable merchants who examined the samples and who are competent judges as to quality far below the sample in quality Superintendent Steele for one and one half years kept his brother at the asylum at the expense of the state and gave him room and board with no right whatever to do so and for which the state received absolutely no compensation Startling reports are made of occurrences at this institu tion but I have been unable to go further than to consult the official documents and question witnesses as to the quality of the butter and cloth ing in question It is due the man agement and it is due the tax payers of the state that these reports and charges be investigated to the bot tom A man must have a whole lot of egotism to get up on the fence and lay claim to more of the earth than God intended for his neighbor teAl WORTH MORE THAN SILVER Colorados Field of Alfalfa Kxcocd Itet Mines In Value Great as Is the wealth of the state of Colorado in silver sho has a far more valuable product in tho royal purple alfalfa that supplies fodder for the innumerable herds that roam the plains and feed In the valleys Last year the value of the alfalfa crop was placod at 10000000 yet that does not represent Its contributory worth In 1862 the Introduction of this grass into the state solved the problem of forage which up to that time had puzzled tho pioneers who had not beon able to raise successfully any other form ot forage Alfalfa made possible the great stock growing Industry of the state Last year tho aggregate number of horses catttle hogs and sheep accord ing to tho assessors returns was 4000 000 valued at 45000000 Excepting the range sheep and cattle and somo horses In the cities alfalfa formed tho greater part of tho food of all these animals Thus dairying a now but rapidly developing Industry depends on the alfalfa The great grain farms and potato ranches need this product as well Alfalfa is peerless as a soil renovator ond enrlcher Its long roots penetrating to a depth below tho sur face that other plants cannot reach gather the needed olements and decay ing liberate them for tho benefit of future crops The Colorado farmer has learned that rotating crops of wheat and alfalfa make the average yield of wheat In Colorado 25 bushels to the acre while the average for the whole country Is less than 14 bushels Tho same rotation has produced the famous Greeley potato as Inimitable In Its way as the Rocky Ford melon The Colo rado stock raiser has discovered that cattle may be fattened at home with out sending them to corn states and that alfalfa produced beef not tallow He has discovered that pigs turned Into the alfalfa patch during the summer are ready for market in the fall and that alfalfa mutton brings the top price in the east The small rancher knows that his chickens geese ducks and Belgian hares are finer for tho alfalfa that forms part of their dally food and that his alfalfa honey equals if it does not excel the delicious white sage honey of California AN ECCENTRIC DINER How a French Millionaire Spent nil Fortune nt the Paris Cafes Paris is par excellence the city of gourmets and cranks and many a story concerning them has added to the gaiety of the nations Here Is one of the latest told by a well known French head waiter One of the reg ular customers of a famous Parisian restaurant used to be a shortthin shy and shabbily dressed man whose name no one knew but who gave out that he was a butter dealer for which rea son he was called the butterman at the restaurant in question He ate next to nothing but his soup tureen filled with a soup specially prepared for him was always put before him He took a few spoonsful and had it taken away Next came a whole fillet of beef from which he cut the tiniest slice Then followed four quail or a large chicken of which he ate one mouthful together with two lettuce leaves and one rad ish His dessert was four grapes never a single one more and a cup of coffee A bottle of the best claret and another of the best champaign was served with the repast but he only touched his lips with a drop of them and let them go He took two of these meals a day and the price for each meal was 120 francs But this was not all Every time the butterman got up from his extraordinary meal he gave 40 francs to the head waiter who put his food on his plate since the guest did not like to handle spoons or dish es 20 francs to the waiter 10 francs to the lady cashier and 5 francs to the porter Thus each meal came to 200 francs The head waiter of the restau rant often did slight errands for him buying his cigars ets and took them to the Grand Hotel where the butter man lived The little old man would then open the drawer of a wardrobe filled with heaps of banknotes of from 100 to 600 francs in value and with an enormous mass of gold pieces Pay yourself said the owner and the head waiter did so putting the bills before his patron who never deigned to look at them One day the myste rious millionaire went away and was never seen again Westminster Ga zette Original Home of Golf The Scotsman contends that golf i a Scotch sport to which poetical ref erence was made in Adamsons Muses Threnodie published at Perth as long agOas 1638 The terms used in th sport are for the most part Scotch But the Dutch assert that it was firs played in Holland on the ice and be fore 1638 the Dutch poet Bredero de scribed how the golfer with ic spurs on stands ready to smile wlti ashen club weighted with lead or bis Scottish cleek of leaded box Bui while this may be the earliest poetical reference to the game it does not shoi that Holland is the original home oi golf The reference to the Scottish cleek seems at first sight to point rather to Scotland Baltimore Sun A Social Sherjpck Holmes She claims to be from the East we said referring to the new arrival I have my doubts remarked the ob servant person Have you noticed that when she shakes hands she onlj raises her hand to her chin I do no think she is from any farther East than Pittsburg It is well when in society to take notice of these littli things Baltimore American i 1 w li A J i