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This is my property
as soon as you can or with a
slightly more lenient tone as he re
flected that after all as the fellow
himself had said there might be rea
sons not necessarily bad for the con
cealment you can remain until to
morrow if you like
Victory Another night which was
all he required
He could scarcely prevent himself
from showing some signs of exulta
tion Ah perhaps by this time to
morrow the situation might be chang
ed He might be the judge and an
other
Stay one moment Mr Ferrers
continued
This time he addressed the woman
Perkins who had reached the door
As I have also a strong objection
to persons who pry into other peoples
concerns and interfere with their pri
vate property you may as well take
a months notice at the same time
That will do you can go
The biter war it She had not a
word to say herself She had
succeeded in w King her spite upon
him who had de jised her attractions
and repulsed her overtures but she
had done it at tne expense of a good
rItuation Moreover the man whose
disgrace she had labored to secure
laughed in her face as he passed her
CHAPTER XXIII
The Envelope With Three Seals
It was twelve ocock on Friday
Slight The clock in the hall below
ad struck the hour Another half
hour ticked slowly by and at the end
of that time a uoor in the upper part
of the house was opened softly and
by imperceptible degrees
The room within was in darkness
and the figure of the man who cau
tiously emerged was barely visible in
the general glocm
He crept lightly on his stockinged
feet past the doors of the rooms on
the upper floor and began to descend
the staircase
It was much in his favor the stairs
being so well and so massively con
structed that there was no startling
and treacherous creak to betray the
feet which trod them secretly in the
dead of night And so he made his
way slowly and safely to the floor on
which the room was situated into
which he was minded to penetrate
After careful and noiseless search
he succeeded In laying his hand upon
a candle and a box of matches which
earlier In the evening he had secreted
in a convenient but out-of-the-way
corner
mUHH HI EZnZZZTCTS
THE FATAL REQUEST
U K
SOUND OUT
By A L Harria Author of Mtno Own Familiar Friond etc
Copyright 1801 by Cast el I Publishing Company
Copyright 1002 bystreet fi Smith
CHAPTER XXII Continued
Before he could reply the house
maid put in another word
Beggiig your pardon for speaking
after being told to hold my tongue
out its something beginning with a
B as I saw it myself in a prayer
book 1 came across accidental
So that is how you came by your
information said her master Some
thing beginning with a IV is it Sup
pose you lot me see the book
Which I intended to have showed
i to you at the first she said fum
bling in her pocket and producing the
well worn little volume which she
was about to hand to her master
v hen
A sudden dart a long arm stretch
ed out and a powerful hand wrested
it from her
This is my property exclaimed
ils owner sternly The name writ
ten within may be mine or anothers
but so long as 1 choose to keep It a
secret secret it shall remain
This is most extraordinary con
duct exclaimed Mr Ferrers most
extraordinary Under the circum
stances only one course is open to
me It is impossible for me to harbor
under my roof one who has obtained
admittance under a false name and
absolutely refuses any explanation I
must therefore assuming his se
verest expression while the young
man seemed to hold his breath as he
waited for the sentence to be pro
nounced upon him I must there
fore discharge you at once and with
a months wages in lieu of the ordi
nary notice
It was all up
When when am I to leave in
quired Ted with eyes fixed upon the
floor and heart beating furiously
This question seemed to take the
person to whom it was addressed
unawares
When he answered why oh
MR
He struck a match and lighting
the candle advanced towards the door
of the apartment into the lock of
which he inserted his duplicate key
lie entered and closed the door be
hind him without however com
pletely shutting it
Ho put his candle down on the writ
ing table while he considered what
was to be done next The waste
paper basket first attracted his atten
tion as being at once the nearest and
the easiest object on which to exer
cise his powers of investigation
It was about a quarter full of torn
fragments which he promptly
emptied out before him A rapid and
cursory examination was sufficient to
prove that these were of no import
ance So he swept them back into
their original receptacle
The next thing to be done must be
to tackle the writing table How was
this to be accomplished Shocking
to relate he produced from his pocket
nothing less than a bunch of skele
ton keys
To his great disappointment one
after another of the drawers upon the
right hand proved to be empty He
turned his attention to those on his
left
He put his hand to one and pulled
out the tightly wedged contents He
spread it open yes it was a news
paper some months old What could
be the reason for preserving it A
sudden thought he looked at the date
and then Yes there it was on the in
side sheet Terrible Railway Acci
dent The 430 train from Dover
wrecked and partially consumed
There was a fall account of that
ghastly affair with minute details
of all the horrors a recollection of
which returned to him most vividly
as he scanned the column He re
placed the first and took down an
other and another
Further details number of bodies
found distressing scenes the in
quest the verdict mysterious dis
covery with regard to a first class pas
senger foul play suspected Verdict
of Wilful Murder And so on and
so on he retraced his way through the
whole of that dark tragedy wasting
what he felt to be precious time but
unable to tear his attention away
from these records of the past
At last he rammed the paper back
into its pigeon hole and turned his
attention again to the drawer be
neath When it at last yielded to
his efforts he was rewarded by the
sight of a flatly folded packet of
parchment tied with tape the iden
tical last will and testament which he
had heard spoken of so often by the
cook But this though of interest in
one way was not that of which he
was in search and he began to feel
a qualm of fear lest after all his
quest should prove useless
His eye roaming restlessly about
was caught by the gleam of brass in a
dark corner The candle which was
sufficient to light him at his task still
left the greater part of the room in
semi darkness and there was some
thing over there in that corner which
he had not taken into account
It was an old fashioned piece of fur
niture the only shabby and evidently
second hand article in the room It
was an upright article and was divid
ed into i o portions the lower con
taining drawers and the upper being
shut in with doors which were fitted
with a brass lock and fastening
It was old and much scratched and
had apparently seen considerable use
but must have been a good article
originally He took the candle in his
hand and crossing the room inspect
ed it closely There is a look about
it holding the candle up higher
as though it might have a history
attached to it It looks with a sud
den impulse as though it might be
trusted to keep a secret He put the
candle upon the mantelpiece close by
and again resumed his burglarious
operations I shall soon be able to
pass muster as an experienced house
breaker at this rate he remarked to
himself with grim irony as the lock
turned traitor and the door swinging
open revealed a number of drawers
within each garnished with a lock
and brass handle Which should he
attack first Much time had already
been wasted and at that moment as
though in answer the clock on the
mantelpiece chimed three while the
clock in the hall without repeated the
hour after it
I will try the third first he said
and inserted one of his skeleton keys
into tho lock This drawer the
third in order from the top on being
opened showed itself strangely
enough to contain three articles all
of a widely different character
These were a large and bulky en
velope a revolver and a small bottle
of colorless fluiu The young man
could not repress an exclamation of
surprise and triumph as his eye fell
upon these
The secret he had been in search of
so long lay ready to his hand the
proofs of the crime were there wait
ing for him to grasp them He knew
it and yet hesitated The shock of
the discovery seemed to paralyze his
hand so that for an instant he was
unable to stretch forth and take pos
session of what he believed would
make him master of a mans fate
At last he put Out his hand which
trembled as he did so and took up the
reyolver It was a six chamber revol
ver and a glance showed that one
ony of the chambers had been dis
charged
A fierce hungry look came over his
face as he roticed this and laying the
weapon down he searched for some
thing which he always carried about
him the conical shaped bullet which
had been discovered in the stuffing of
the fourth carriage from the engine
He dropped it into the empty cham
ber which it fitted exactly
Proof number one he said with
grim joy as he felt the dreadful thirst
for blood return upon him with ail its
former strength He laid the revolver
down and took up the small stoppered
bottle What was this and what bear
ing had its contents upon the matter
He removed the stopper and inhaled
the contents carefully A strong and
unmistakable odor of bitter almonds
greeted him Prussic acid beyond
doubt What did this point to There
seemed to be only one answer pos
sible Suicide A moans of escape
provided in case of the worst happen
ing He replaced the stopper and
placed the bottle by the side of the
revolver while he took up the third
and last article This was the envel
ope before mentioned It was large
and thick and sealed in no less than
three places On it in place of an
address were written the strange
words To be burned unopened
after my death
To be burned unopened after his
death what did that mean Why
if it were to be burned unopened had
he put himself to the pains of writing
it For that the envelope contained
the completed copy of the true narra
tive and confession of the strange
tragedy he had not the least doubt
But why had he described it as the
strange tragedy Cowardly and de
testable it might well be but why
strange
At any rate so far from its being
burned unopened he said aloud I
will now myself
He held the letter in one hand and
with the other he was about to break
the seals when a voice cried
Stop
To be continued
Doctors Knew a Good Thing
Congressman John Sharp Williams
tells of a man in Mississippi who is a
hypochondriac ot the first order This
individuals failing is a source of never-ending
amusement to his fellow
townsmen It was of this man that
some one humorously remarked in an
swer to a question as to how the sick
man was getting on that he com
plained that he was feeling somewhat
better
Mr Williams says that the hyno
chondriae was one day telling a friend
of his efforts to regain his old time
health He ran over the list of doc
tors whom he had consulted Where
upon the lriend remarked
Well old man I must say that you
appear to have lots of faith in doc
tors
Certainly I have replied the sick
man Dont you think the doctors
would be foolish to let a good cus
tomer like me die Colorado
Springs Gazette
Long Lines of Kings
Though Japan be the latest country
to enter the circle of world powers
her emperor surpasses all sovereigns
in the length of his pedigree accord
ing to the London Chronicle He is
the one hundred and twenty second
member in direct unbroken descent
of his family who has sat on the
throne of Japan The founder of his
house was in Japanese legend a god
dess of the sun and contemporary
with Nebuchadnezzar CG6 years be
fore the Christian era On the other
hand the Romanoffs have been royal
only since 1601 when they succeeded
to the sovereignty of the then ex
tinct house of Rurik As for other
European rulers King Edward can go
back to Cerdic 395 A D the Haps
burgs to 952 A D and the Hohen
zollerns to the eighth century but as
kings only to 1701
Why It Wasnt Legal
In the New York Law Schcol at a
recent lecture on the making of wills
the case of a woman in one of Rider
Haggards books was cited This
woman had a mans will inscribed in
ink on her back And the will was
held regular and legal because it had
been made in writing
After giving this practical illustra
tion the professor called on John
Smith saying
Is a will so inscribed regular and
legal in your opinion
No answered Smith
Why not asked the professor
Because its a skin game replied
Smith
The professor felt angry enough to
order Smith out of the room but the
class laughed so much that he de
cided to overlook the students flip
pancy
V
WBMBlWRtmMgWHSls TwTWWttiB
EUROPE IS JEALOUS
STIRRED UP BY AMERICAN COM
PETITION
Tilk of Commercial Unions Arairit
the United States Is Almost Univer
salPresident McKinleys Words of
Advice Recalled
The government report of the com
merce of the United States for the fis
cal year ending June 30 1903 plainly
indicated that the calendar year 1903
would be a record breaker with re
spect to exrorts and imports The to
tal for the year is 2479000000 The
export figures are 14S4GGS127 im
ports 995473101 excess of exports
over imports 480095000 In thirty
years from 1S73 to 1903 exports in
creased 107 per cent while imports
increased G7 per cent The figures
tell their own story fully justify the
foreign tributes to our commercial
progress and explain the movements
on foot in Europe to organize trade
alliances to meet American competi
tion
A Middle European Commercial Al
liance particularly directed against
the United States has been a pet
project with Count Goluchowski the
Austro IIungarian Minister for For
eign Affairs That somewhat irascible
official proclaimed six years ago that
Europe should counteract American
commercial energy European nations
he urged must stand together against
transoceanic countries An Italian
admiral and former foreign minister
took up the refrain and even the se-
J date London Spectator observed that
America was cherishing illusions as
to its security from huge coalitions
of this kind The London journal said
that Europe had become restive for
the reason that we are beyond foreign
commercial competition are disposed
to monopolize trade take swift re
prisals when European countries for
tify their industries with tariffs are a
rock in Europes way in China while
holding fast to the Philippines Fear
hatred and dread were rapidly becom
ing according to the Spectator the
dominant continental emotions toward
America
The difficulties confronting this eco
nomic alliance have been insuperable
hitherto but a step has now been
taken in that direction by the organi
zation of the Middle European Eco
nomic Society One of its founders
says that the greatest task before the
organization will be the creation of
Count Goluchowskis commercial
union It is hoped to bring the Triple
Alliance France Switzerland the
Netherlands and Scandinavia within
the operations of the society
The French Customs Commission
has recently reported that it is neces
sary to obtain a reduction of the
American tariff by a reciprocity con
vention in the interest of French in
dustries and it is probable that
other European countries will en
deavor to secure similar treaties with
the United States all of which gives
emphasis to President McKinleys dec
laration
Commercial wars are unprofitable
A policy of good will and friendly
trade relations will prevent reprisals
Reciprocity treaties are in harmony
with the spirit of the times measures
of retaliation are not
Neither Patriotic Nor Politic
By still holding up the Panama
treaty Senator Gorman and his asso
ciates may be embarrassing the ad
ministration but the- certainly are
injuring their own party
Incident to the presidential election
in Colombia popular feeling in the
little republic is excited Reports
from Bogota are that a large force
of troops is to be sent to the isthmus
If this be done the United States
will be at war Avith Colombia
Responsibility will be charged upon
the Democratic senators who refusing
to recognize an accomplished fact and
in order to put the administration in
a hole delay the treaty and encour
age the Colombians in their miscon
ception of this countrys attitude
Secretary Hays note of Nov 11 dis
tinctly stated that under this govern
ments interpretation of its obliga
tions no hostile troops would be per
mitted to land in any part of Panama
Since that time the new republic has
been recognized by all the great Euro
pean powers and the United States
has negotiated with it a treaty guar
anteeing the integrity of its territory
the treaty now before the senate
Thus as Mr Hay asserts Panama
has acquired an inchoate right to
our protection and invasion by Colom
bia would be forcibly repelled by the
United States In view of the strong
popular desire for the canal of the
demands expressed by southern leg
islatures and of the demonstration in
caucuses that Democratic senators
cannot be mustered to defeat the
treaty Mr Gorman and his associates
are neither patriotic nor politic in pro
tracting their vain and factious hold
up
A Felicitous Phrase
When Secretary Hay was asked for
a statement in regard to the rumored
settlement of the war crisis in the
east he made an answer which con
tained this felicitous phrase The
state department never plays politics
but in the foreign relations of the
government aims to represent the
whole people
This is as it should be It is a
pity that the same cannot be said of
the United States senate which has
so much to do with the foreign rela
tions of the country by virtue of its
participation in the treaty making
power
There are some senators who in
theory and practice differ radically
from the secretary of state Tho
seem to think that the relations of tho
whole country to foreign nations are
an appropriate field in which to develop
personal and political rancor and
seek for partisan advnntng at the ex
pense of the whole country If they
cannot find at home political issues on
which their party may ride into powe
they in search of such issues play
politics with the foreign relations of
the government careless of the injury
they may inllict upon the credit and
prosperity of their country
It is unfortunate that senators who
have been trying to make political
capital out of an important treaty now
before the senate hae not that high
sense of patriotic duty and of regard
for the welfare of the whole country
which Secretary Hay put in one preg
nant sentence They should go to
school to him until they have learned
tho difference between the foreign
and domestic affairs of a nation Every
man in public life should know and
respect it but tnere are senators who
do not They have made themselves
so conspicuous that it is not necessary
to nasie them
Time to Stop It
Last Monday the insurgents about
the city of Santo Domingo fired upon
the launch of the United States crui
ser Yankee killing Engineer J C
Johnston and openly attacking the
American flag
In itself the incident is not of great
international importance But t is
symptomatic of a condition that has
prevailed for a century in Santo Dom
ingo and ils neighbor Ilayti and
whose further endurance by the
United States is a public scandal
The people of these two so called
republics have proved through three
generations of experiment and experi
ence absolutely incapable of orderly
government Their history is but a
chronicle of factional brawls and their
rulers but a succession of military
adventurers
Aside from tho destruction of the
Maine there was nothing in the con
dition of Cuba more warranting Ameri
can intervention than there is and
long has been in the condition of Santo
Domingo and Ilayti People so bar
barous as to murder Engineer Johns
ton would not hesitate to blow up an
American national vessel with all her
crew
It is time to drop the sentimental
nonsense which has governed our
treatment of this American island
and to stop this public anarchy Since
these people cannot and will not keep
peace and order for themselves it is
time for the United States to keep
peace and order for them Chicago
Inter Ocean
Gorman Out of the Race
The election ct Isidor Rayner to the
United States senate from Maryland
probably will put an immediate end to
the talk of the nomination of Senator
Gorman for the presidency Mr Ray
ner is a strong anti machine man and
won his fight against the determined
opposition of the political organiza
tion of which Senator Gorman is the
head
At Senator Gormans request for
mer Governor Smith called an extra
ordinary session of the legislature
two years ago for the enactment of a
negro disfranchisement law It was
understood at the time that in return
for this action Governor Smith was to
be sent to the senate
When the time for the balloting
came however Senator Gorman dis
regarded his alleged promise and
threw his strength to Bernard Carter
the leading railroad corporation law
yer of Maryland Some of the former
governors friends stood by him but
neither Mr Smith nor Mr Carter
could muster at any stage of the pro
ceedings as many votes as Mr Ray
ner the out-and-out independent who
will be Senator Gormans colleague
The long and bitter fight and his
final defeat have greatly weakened
Mr Gormans influence in hia own
state and the number of Democratic
presidential possibilities is reduced
by one
Mr Bryan and Mr Carnegie
Mr Bryan as becomes a blossoming
plutocrat begins to emulate Mr Car
negie He is to erect and give to Sa
lem 111 the city of his birth a library
building to cost 25000 Then he is
to provide and install a library at a
cost of 15000 It may be doubted
if that is not too much money to
spend upon the books in a 25000
building Whether the sum be dispro
portionate or not it testifies to the
donors breadth of view and enlight
ened generosity The race between
Mr Carnegie and Mr Bryan will be
watched with tnrilling excitement by
all the admirers of philanthropy
Mr Carnegie may have more money
but Mr Bryan has more youth a pro
fitable pen and voice and great testa
mentary expectations Mr Carnegie
is trying to give away his money
while he is living Mr Bryan collects
the money from the dead to give away
The conditions are less unequal than
they seem New York Sun
No Law a Panacea
The whole discussion of remedies
for trusts is apt to create the unfound
ed belief that for all industrial ills
there is an absolute cure It con
ceals the fact that great financial suc
cess even by a trust can be won not
only by hidden and abhorent means
but by transcendent ability and unflag
ging industry It is apt moreover to
engender the delusion that law can
transmute leaden instincts into gold
en conduct and that eventually so
ciely will evolve a way by which the
individual may avoid pocketing una
voidable losses and will devise a
substitute for the old fashioned vir
tue of looking out for number one
New York Post
SOr iP
evmm
Know the Weeds
This is more important than it
seems at first sight Not until a
farmer learns something about tho
weeds on his farm their life habits
and the Injury they are doing will he
be interested enough to try and erad
icate them says Professor L R Wal
dron of the North Dakota station
The quantity of weeds upon many of
tho Indians farms In this state Is
notorious and it is here that we find
the knowledge in regard to weeds
and consequently tho interest taken
in their removal at its lowest ebb
It is when we find the weed question
becoming a part of the farmers con
science a part of his moral life that
we have great Lopes for the future of
that mans farm This can come about
only through the channel of educa
tion An observing farmer learns in
two or three years the weeds that aro
most abundant upon his farm also
those that aro doing him the greatest
amount of damage He can also learn
the names of these upon inquiry or
they can be sent to the experiment
station where information concerning
them will bo cheerfully furnished
A piece of land is infested with a
certain kind of weed which becomes
more abundant than all other kinds
The method of rotation the farmer is
using increases rather than decreases
tie weed If he knows the habit of
this weed he can change his rotation
soon enough to prevent Its becoming
very abundant If he knows the ap
pearance of the seed he will quit
sowing grain containing that weed
seed An example came under- the
writers observation some time ago
A piece of land was infested with wild
morning glory or bindweed This
weed is a perennial and spreads by
means of deep seated underground
stems The land had been seeded for
several years in such a way as not to
hinder the growth of this weed By
the middle of June tho morning glory
had almost complete possession of
the field and frpm that time the wheat
crop was doomed Had the farmer
known this weed and the nature of
it a few years ago he could have got
ten rid of it without miici trouble
whereas now the land is practically
worthless and a large amount of labor
will be necessary to extorminate It
If every farmer knew the Canada this
tle on sight and kept a sharp lookout
for it many of the thistle pathes
could be gotten rid of easily but the
plants become deep rooted after four
or five years and difficult to eradicate
The Wheat Crop 19C3
Below we give by states and terri
tories the yields of winter and spring
wheat for the year 1903 as compiled
by the United States Department of
Agriculture
WINTER WHEAT
States and Yield proiUC
ritories Acreage per u
acre
r
Acres ISuxttl Jiwsh cte
New York 541039 178 96S3S9r
New Jersey 113456 140 1583 331
Pennsylvania r669131 156 2C03Sllt
Delaware z 1114S9 102 116778S
Maryland 809667 125 1012033
Virginia SOI 557 87 6999616
North Carolina C330G0 51 3228G06
South Carolina f 270261 65 1756696
Georgia 299953 02 1S39719
Florida
Alabama 412133 9X 1020110
Mississippi f 3569 80 23552
Louisiana
Texas 1483595 134 19880171
Arkansas 271 C51 70 1922578
Tennessee 10S3531 71 7693070-
West Virginia 4fM785 102 4128807
Kentucky I 920028 81 772823
Ohio 20f950 137 2330351
Michigan 1091C0J 155 15521 S62
iridiana 2399103 100 2399403O
Illinois 1972850 84 16571950
Wisconsin 192761 1S6 24G9782
Minnesota J
Iowa 80156 159 1274480
Missouri 2531105 87 22191 0U
Kansas 5951146 14 0 83316011
Nebraska 2183494 161 35 809302
Idaho t 127759 1 210 2682939
Yvashington 373989 201 7517179
Oregon k 368126 18 9 6957 551
California 1868410 112 20926192
Oklahoma 1613130 11 9 244S2637
Indian Territory- 2496U 120 2996292
United States 32510510 1 12 3 i399S67250
srniNO WHEAT
States and Acreage Pper VJ
ntones acre
Acres Hush Jiushctx
Maine - S132 25 5 2073UJ
New Hampshire
Vermont 17r 209 1 35697
Wiscomn 403815 i 3W 55l
Minnesota rdJiUa it 1 70652597
lows iiVOIo 12 I j II256S21j
Missouri
Kansas 20 c 171 39335
Nebraska 503 30 12 6 6313253
South Dakota 3121130 L t 47252991
North Dakota 4319 052 12 7 3524058a
Montana 98735 232 2751327
Wyoming 22667 20 9 473710
Colorado 2702 I 26 0 7423VI
New Mexico 41712 1 I- 1 822701
Arizona 253 483901
Utah 1S3S7 226 4155072
Nevada 21426 276 59135a
Idaho 114701 213 25150H
Washington C0S252 20 5 12169 166
Oregon 316833 173 I 5yl5IJi
Cahiornia
Oklahoma
Indian Territory -----
United States 16951 457 no 7at5S5
Go to the country where man Iive3
close to natures heart study him a3
he there meets the problems of life
and you will find literature which 13
realistic in the best and truest sense
Men of the country are to our national
life what the steel frame is to our
mighty stone or brick structures when
the crisis comes that shakes the na
tion to its foundation It is the loyal
hearts and clear brains of the country
folks which save It from destruction
Ian McLaren Rev John Watson
Farmyard manure is a universal fer
tilizer suiting all crops climates and
soils In the case of leguminous crops
where great difficulty has been ex
perienced in arranging satisfactory
artificial mixtures farmyard manure
has always given excellent results
f1