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THE FATAL REQUEST
O R F O U N D O U T
By A L Harris Author of Mine Own Familiar Friend etc
Copy rig ht ISO l by Vat t ell Pub li thing Company
Copyright 19 0 3 by Street cfi Smith
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CHAPTER IX Continued
It was rather strange but the
moment ho put this question the little
doctor shifted his glance and merely
answered Humph while he seemed
to be looking at nothing in particular
You know what I mean was the
somewhat impatient response Did
my father meet his death through
the shock of the collision or by
the
Your father was not killed in the
railway accident at all was the
paralyzing reply as the giver of it
still avoided the eye of the questioner
What shouted the latter leaping
to his feet What do you mean For
Heavens sake explain yourself and
do not talk in riddles
What I mean is this was the an
swer given with great confidence and
decision as he once more allowed him
self to meet the other mans eye
Your father was not burnt to death
as you feared and he did not perish
thrc h the shock of the collision
which you hoped might be the case as
being the more merciful death of the
two Your father was shot
Had the young man received a bul
let wound himself he could not have
started more violently than he did onl
hearing these words
Shot he cried shot Then
passing his hand across his forehead
Im not dreaming am I
Dr Cartwright shook his head
No my boy youre not dreaming
except inasmuch as life itself is a
dream Your father I repeat met his
death by foul play that is putting
aside the question of sui
Suicide cried the young man
snatching at the word as it were
Suicide My father Oh you must
be mad
The doctor shook his head again
I discovered on examining the
body after you had left the church
that death had resulted from a bullet
wound in the right temple which had
Of course you did interrupted Dr
Cartwright and quite right of you
too Always make game of this sort
of thing whenever you come across it
I always do myself on principle If I
didnt I should have half the parish
sending for me whenever they had
the nightmare At the same time
he added in a tone of concession I
admit that it certainly was a c6in
cidence Anything more I cant ac
knowledge my reputation wont al
low it
Yesterday morning resumed the
young man we received a telegram
It said Hero it is you can see for
yourself
Dr Cartwright brought his spec
tacles to bear upon the document
Humph Ha
Am returning to day by the 430
train Shall be home to dinner
Friend accompanies me
He read it through twice before re
turning it And you say you have no
idea what the name of this friend Vour
father went to meet was
To my knowledge I have never
heard It mentioned I thought I knew
all my fathers friends but this one
must have been an entire stranger to
me and my father must have had
some reason for-
He stopped abruptly respect for his
dead parent held back the words upon
his tongue But Dr Cartwright ap
parently guessed the remainder of the
sentence
You mean your father must have
had some reason for concealing the
fact of his previous acquaintance with
the man he went to meet at Dover
The young mans face flushed
I tell you no I wont believe it
I wont even listen to such a supposi
tion for a moment I tell you but
there you never knew him And he
turned his head away
To return to our subject said the
doctor You insist on connecting this
same unknown personage with the
mMjfLTf 111
M knew the man he cried
traversed the head completely and
must have caused instantaneous
death
I cant realize it groaned the oth
er Who could have done it unless
he was robbed
Dr Cartwright shook his head
His watch and chain and valuables
were taken charge of like those of
the other passengers and a consider
able amount of money was found upon
him Whatever the object it was not
that The thing will be to discover
if he had a traveling companion and
who that traveling companion
Ted Burritt brought down his hand
upon the table with a force that made
that article of furniture shiver
I know the man he cried Or
if I do not know now I will never rest
until I have found out
Phew whistled the doctor Then
you know something about the affair
You have your suspicions
Suspicions cried the young man
more than suspicions I see it all
if I only knew the mans name
What mans name asked the doc
tor
What man was the impatient re
ply Why the murderer to be sure
I wish you would just begin at the
beginning and tell me all you know
about it Ui
I will tell you all I know as well
as what I only guess Two days ago
my father received a letter which ap
peared to have a peculiar effect upon
him It is evident to me that he was
expecting the letter and that it was
that which made him nervous and
fidgety and unlike himself At break
fast the next morning to our sur
prise he announced his intention of
taking a short journey giving no oth
er explanation than that he was go
ing as far as Dover partly on busi
nessthough we had reason to be
lieve that the business was only an
appointment with a friend
And the friends name of course
he told you
No was the answer that was
just what he did not do
Humph said the doctor that
was rather Well never mind Go
The night after my father left
suddenly in the
awakened
home I was
middle of the night by his voice call
answered him back
ins me And I
The next morning my sister May
came to me in trouble about a dream
shed had the same night She dreamt
that something dreadful had hap
pened or was about to happen to her
father Of course I miule game of
it
mysterious circumstances of your fath
ers death
Who else could it be exclaimed
Ted You yourself have put the mo
tive of robbery out of the question
Certainly was the reply But
having disposed of that motive only
makes it the more necessary to pro
vide another
And there again you supply it your
self burst out the other You hint
ed of the possibility of my father hav
ing something discreditable in connec
tion with his past life
Not discreditable interrupted the
doctor only indiscreet
Now proceeded the other re
verse your implication Apply what
you have said of the one to the other
and there you have your solution of
the mystery your motive and what
ever else you require
He paused breathless with the ve
hemence with which he had pro
nounced these last words
Well said the doctor wagging his
head sagely I dont deny it There
you have a motive of a sort not a
very strong one But before you can
proceed further with it you have to
establish the important fact as to that
other occupant of the carriage And
when you consider that the individual
in question even if he did travel by
that same train and in that same car
riage was actually the recipient of
an invitation to your own house there
seems to be something so improbable
so coldblooded about the whole con
cern that
And is not that exactly what it is
A coldblooded dastardly outrage upon
one who never injured a soul and
who was one of the kindest and best
of men Oh Lord I cant stand the
thought of it
Now Ive started him off again
murmured the doctor remorsefully
Why couldnt I have left well alone
Anyhow I must be going now
So drawing himself up and squar
ing his shoulders in his most military
style he remarked falling back into
his ejaculatory manner Must be off
now Found the wound in your fath
ers head to day To morrow look for
the bullet that made it Good bye
Cant stop another moment and he
waa gone
CHAPTER X
The Fourth Carriage From the En
ginu
The next morning being Sunday
everyone from far and near repaired
to the church which contained wfttlr
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its walls the materials for such a fune
ral sermon as in all its ancient his
tory It had never before seen gath
ered together there
The remains now all decently in
closed in coffins still lay within tho
precincts of the chancel where they
must remain until after the inquest
on the following day
The church which was of no great
size was filled to overflowing For
not only were there many mourners
present who had come post haste
from all parts of the kingdom but
strangers for miles round attracted by
the morbid curiosity which draws
crowds as with a cart rope wherever
there is a prevalence of the ghastly
element blocked the aisles filled the
porch and even occupied the pulpit
stalls
People who came to gape and gaze
and then going home to the Sunday
dinner exchanged experiences over
the shoulder of mutton and baked po
tatoes remarking as they wiped their
mouths that it was a sad sight but
one they wouldnt have missed for
anything you could have offered them
At the same time they were compelled
to own that there were not so many
bodies as they had confidently ex
pected but then nothing ever did
come up to your expectations in this
world
Ted Burritt had a seat assigned
him in one of the front pews A
glance at his face on the part of the
functionary who discharged the office
of ushering the people into their
places seemed to be sufficient to show
to which portion of the congregation
he belonged
Ted Burritt knew that his fathers
body now lay there within the chan
cel rails in one of those hastily con
structed coffins which had been
roughly put together to meet the sud
den and unprecedented demand
It was evident that a certain num
ber of seats had been reserved for
those who it was felt had the great
est claim to them for he observed
after a short time that the same pew
into which he had been ushered also
contained two of his fellow passen
gers on that ever memorable journey
a poor widow and another woman
The former it was impossible to
doubt had found her worst fears
realized for she still cried silently
and ceaselessly behind the shelter of
her veil The other woman whom
he now guessed to be about forty
years of age and who was good-looking
in a sort of hard featured way
was also clothed in deep black gar
ments but there was a suppressed
glitter in her eye and that same rest
less movement of the fingers as she
perpetually rustled the leaves of her
prayer book which betrayed the ex
istence of some strong but suppressed
feeling which seemed to be more like
excitement than grief
But then we are all at liberty to
show our grief in our own peculiar
way
In the other pews round him he rec
ognized other faces those of fellow
travelers or others whom he had seen
at the station or in the church in the
early morning of the day before
Among these there were of course
happy exceptions to the general rule
There were those who had found the
living where they had looked for the
dead and who after a few hours of
torturing suspense had discovered the
one they sought either in the village
or in some of the neighboring ham
lets and were present on that morn
ing with a chastened joy and grati
tude unspeakable
To be continued
School Children Saved
In but few of the cities of the world
are school children examined on en
trance or subsequently to determine
which are defective with reference to
applying the remedy Examinations
of nearly nine hundred pupils in an
American school of the better class
during the last year showed that 34
per cent were near sighted 129 per
cent had functional heart disorders
56 per cent had spinal curvature with
some vertebral rotation 412 percent
more had a symmetry of spine hips
or shoulders 14G per cent had ade
noids or chronically enlarged tonsils
In over 10 per cent of the cases letters
were sent to parents recommending
that medical attention be given to
some physical condition Examina
tions of 40000 school children by
school physicians in the duchy of
Saxe Meiningen Germany showed
that 23 per cent were near sighted 10
per cent or more had spinal curva
ture and 60 per cent had teeth which
needed attention
Protecting School Children
The Minister of Public Instruction
in France has taken the lead of all
the world in measures for the preven
tion of consumption in the schools A
new law requires that an examination
of every pupil shall be made once in
three months and the hight the
weight the chest measure and the
general physical condition of every
one shall be entered on the pupils
report The schoolrooms receive the
same preventive attention Carpets
are prohibited curtains must be ol
cloth that may be frequently washed
no dry sweeping is allowed and dust
must be removed by wet cloths all
school furniture must be often
scoured books are regularly disin
fected and no book that has been
used by a consumptive child may be
used by another person
Colleagues at Outs
S Years ago when Lord Anglesey wai
lieutenant ot ireianu ne sam once oj
the Irish secretary of that day Mr
Stanley and I do very well together as
companions but we differ so totally
abut Ireland that I never mention tha
uoject to him Just how they trans
acted official business remains a mys
tr
dgfe
ACT IS NOT POPULAE
PELUCTANT REPUBLICAN SUP
PORT OF THE CUBAN BILL
President McKinley Quoted by Con
gressman Hepburn to Prove That
the Only Sound Reciprocity Is That
Which Excludes Competitive Prod
ucts
The number and the names of the
Republican representatives who voted
reluctantly and under protest for the
Cuban reciprocity bill will never be
known It is however perfectly well
known that a large number probably
a majority voted for the bill under
pressure of one sort or another and
against their better judgment Mr
Hepburn of Iowa like the most of his
associates lacked the courage to
vote according to his convictions and
against the bill but he had the cour
age to say that he voted for it under
constraint and unwillingly In his
speech of November 19 Mr Hepburn
confessed that he was yielding to co
ercion when he said
Mr Chairman I have Intimated
that I intend to vote for this bill and
yet I confess I do it with reluctance I
do it because a large majority of my
associates seem to think that it is
necessary because the administration
very heartily approves of it because
the last Republican state convention
o the State of Iowa declared in
favor of it Therefore I intend to vote
for it but I am not satisfied with the
reasoning indulged in by gentlemen in
support of it
Under ordinary circumstances peo
ple who disapprove of a measure vote
against it It would seem however
that extraordinary circumstances must
have impelled Mr Hepburn and a hun
dred or more just like him to stifle
their convictions and help enact into
law a bill which they know to be bad
in principle and vicious in practice
like the gentleman from Iowa all of
those unwilling supporters of the Cu
ban bill did the wrong thing with their
eyes wide open All of them in so
doing confessed that they surrendered
to influences stronger than their con-
cent of the tariff Imposed on like
products from other foreign countries
will be imposed if the bill becomes a
law
This would mean a reduction of one
half in the duty on sugar and It would
be a more injurious blow to the sugar
beet industry than the proposed reduc
tion of 20 per cent in the duty on
sugar from Cuba
There is no foundation for a claim
that this reduction should be made on
Philippine sugar It would be made
at the expense of an American indus
try which needs protection If thero
is any merit in the protective tariff
theory at all it applies in the case of
the beet sugar Industry
As a result of the proposed reduc
tion of 50 per cent in the tariff on
Philippine sugar great sugar planta
tions would be started in those islands
and it is altogether possible that leg
islation would be crowded through
permitting the importation of Chinese
labor into the archipelago for the
purpose of working such plantations
The Philippines are costing the peo
ple of this country millions of dollars
every year and it inures to the bene
fit of the inhabitants of those islands
rather than to the people of the Unit
ed States Certainly we should not
be asked to go farther and destroy
one of our industries in order to make
the sugar plantations of the Philip
pines more profitable Denver Repub
lican
To Attack the Tariff
The majority of those who are con
stantly sounding the praises of reci
procity have no other purpose except
to attack the tariff by the only means
at hand Of course there are a few
who honestly believe that reciprocity
in competitive products is consistent
with a protective tariff But there are
not many of that kind Reciprocity re
minds one of the men who used to call
themselves bimetallists Men used
to stand around and say We are in
favor of the use of gold and silver
both we are bimetallists- They
would proceed to say that there was
not gold enough in the country to
make a currency therefore silver
must be used Time demonstrated that
all such men were silver standard
A BREAK THAT THREATENS THE ENTIRE DYKE
sciences more potent than their con
victions Mr Hepburn was neither
worse nor better than his associates
so far as his vote was concerned They
were all in the same boat
The speech of the Iowa congressman
was full of good reasons for sticking
tr hits principles He denied that we
owe anything to Cuba and rightly ar
gued that in sacrificing many lives and
three or four hundred millions of
treasure we incurred no moral obliga
tion to assassinate any of our own
industries for Cubas benefit He de
clared his belief in Republican reci
procity namely non competitive reci
procity the reciprocity that McKinley
advocated in the last speech he ever
uttered
We should take from our custom
ers such of their products as we can
use without harm to our industries and
labor
That said Congressman Hepburn
is what William McKinley said And
then he asked
What is there in that that gives
encouragement to men who claim that
the competitive article the article
toat does harm to our industries or
Ooes harm to our labor is to be the
subject of reciprocal agreement
And yet Congressman Hepburn vot
ed for the Cuban bill But so did
something over a hundred Republicans
in the House There ras applause
and approval on the Republican side
when the eloquent speaker deprecated
the democratic free trade policy which
looks to the support of people be
jond the seas rather than to the inter
est and happiness of our own people
It was a fine sentiment finely express
ed And yet Mr Hepburn and more
than a hundred others of his party
voted to do tht identical thing voted
in the interest of people beyond the
seas rather than to the Interest and
happiness of our own people Like
the reluctant dame described by By
ron
And whispering I will neer consent
consented
Philippine Tariff Reductions
Senator Lodge has introduced a bill
placing all Philippine products on the
free list except sugar and tobacco
and on these a duty of only 50 per
men In this instance time will dem
onstrate that the radical advocates of
reciprocity will necessarily land in
the Democratic party Des Moines
Capital
Would Injure Eighty Per Cent
Senator Allison is an acknowledged
authority on economics He always
knows what he is talking about He
says that only 20 per cent of goods are
made by trusts in this country and he
deals in facts because he knows In
other words the tariff has nothing to
do with the formation of trusts The
tariff is intended to keep countries
where labor and material are cheap
from flooding our country with arti
cles which will bankrupt our produc
ers and force labor into idleness To
remove the tariff he says from trust
made goods would remove protection
from 80 per cent of goods made by in
dependent manufacturers Free trad
ers should give this subject serious
thought Davenport Republican
Hangs to Calamity
The Waterloo Times Tribune is a
truly Democratic newspaper Under a
block head entitled Hot shot for the
prosperity makers it publishes a col
umn or so calamity items Since the
miserable failure of the last Cleveland
administration it is wonderful with
what tenacity the Democratic party
hangs to calamity Vinton Iowa
Eagle
The Better Way
The case is clear It is better to
protect your own and take chances on
other nations buying of you than to
throw open your industries to foreign
competition with the possibility of
not producing any manufactures
which they want to purchase Troy
Times
Which
The Democrats claim that free trade
will capture the trade of the world for
the United States To do so it will be
necessary to cut the incomes of Amer
ican wage earners on a level with un
derpaid foreign labor Which do you
prefer gentlemen Davenport Iwa
Republican
P5E55iS3J
AS THE WORLD
REVOLVES
REV BROOKE HEREFORD DEAD
Was Among the Most Prominent of
Unitarian Divines
Announcement was made at Boston
last week of the death in London of
Rev Brooke Hereford D D at one
time pastor of the Church of tho Mes
siah in Chicago Dr Hereford was
pastor of the Rosslyn Hill Chapel Lon
don and was born In England In 1830
As a Unitarian preacher he attained
tho highest place and was regarded as
a very pillar of strength to that de
nomination His career In Boston
when ho was in charge of tho Arling
ton Street Church will long be remem
bered for tho splendid work he did
Rev Brooke Hereford aroso to
prominence in the Unitarian church in
England and from Manchester ho
was called to Chicago in 1876 taking
charge of the Church of the Messiah
He remained in that city until 1882
when he went to Boston to fill tho pul
pit of the Arlington Street Church
where he was regarded as one of tho
I ysmZzf nK via
EEV BROOKE HEREFORD
r yminrer
foremost ministers of the city For
ten years ho remained in Boston and
then accepted a call from his native
land taking a pastorate in Hampstead
London Dr Hereford was a writer as
well as a pulpiteer and was the author
of three books The Life Story of Tra
vers Madge Sermons of Courage
and Cheer and The Forward Move
ment in Religious Thought as Inter
preted by Unitarians Some years
ago Dr Hereford returned to this
country to attend the national con
ference of the Unitarians in Wash
ington At that time he spent nearly
two months in Boston and other Mas
sachusetts cities
ROMANCE REVEALED BY DEATH
New York Recluse Leaves Money to
Unknown Daughter
Alpheus D Dubois for fifty three
years principal of a public school in
New York city died the other day
after leading the life of a recluse for
many years It was then learned that
he was worth about 500000 Tho pe
tition for probate of will sets forth
that a widow Julia Dubois survives
him and there is this strange clause
in the will I give and bequeath to
my daughter Ivy Blanche married
name and residence unknown 10
000 No reference whatever is made
in the will to the widow Two sisters
living in New York are made residu
ary legatees but they refuse to sive
any information regarding the old
mans romance
BRIDE FOR SPANISH KING
Youthful Bavarian Princess Said to
Have Been Selected
According to the Spanish news
papers a project is on foot for the mar
riage of King Alfonso to his cousin
Princess Marie del Pilar of Bavaria
The princess who is 13 years old is
the only daughter of Prince and Prin
cess Louis Ferdinand of Bavaria Her
mother was the Infanta Marie de la
Paz of Spain sister of King Alfonsos
father
Career of Lieut Perrill
Lieut Harlan P Perrill of the
United States cruiser Atlanta who
took a prominent part in a controver
sy with Gen Daniel Ortiz commander
in chief of the Colombian forces of
the Atlantic and Pacific in the Gulf of
Darien refusing to lower the star and
stripes on the demand of the Colom
bian officer is a son of Nathan A Per
rill of Lebanon Ind Lieut Perrill
with Vern Bryan an apprentice also
of Lebanon has been on the Atlantic
since the vessel has been on Its pres
ent cruise Lieut Perrill is 29 years
old
1
