THE FALLS CITY TRIBUNE , FRIDAY , MARCH 30 , 1906.
THE SPENDERS
A TALE OF THE THIRD GENERATION
By HARRY LEON WILSON
Copyright , by Lottucp Publlibinj ; Company.
CHAPTI5K XVIII.
A S1JN8ATIONAI. Tt'UN IN TJ1K All-
HIIKY KOHTt'NKS
It was a morning early In Novem
ber. In the sedate Mllbrey dining-room
a brisk wood fire dulled the edge of the
llrst autumn chill. At the breakfast
( able , comfortably near the hearth , sat
Horace Mllbrey. With pointed spoon
ho had daintily scooped the golden
pulp from a Florida change , touched
the tips of his slender white lingers to
the surface of the water In the bowl ,
nnd wns now glnncing leisurely at the
headlines of bis paper , while his breakFast -
Fast appetite gained agreeable zest
from the acid fruit.
On the second page of the paper the
names In a brief Item arrested his er
rant glance. It disclosed that Mr. Per-
dval Bines had left New York the day
before with a party of guests on his
Hpeclal car. to shoot quail in North i
Carolina. Mr. Milbrey glanced at the !
two shells of the orange which the
butler was then removing.
"What a hopeless brute that follow i
was ! " he reflected. He was recalling
u dictum once pronounced by Mr.
Bines. "Oranges should never be eaten I
In public. " he had said with that lord- j |
ty air of dogmatism characterlst'c ' of |
him. "The only right way to eat a j
juicy orange is to disrobe , grasp the !
fiuil firmly in both hands and climb j 1
Into ; i bathtub half full of water. "
The finished epicure shuddered at the j :
recollection , poignantly , quite as if a j i
yaw were being filed in the next room , i
Mrs. Milbrey entered , news of im- j
parlance visibly animating her. Hijr
husband arose mechanically , placed the
chair for her , and resumed his fork In
an ecstasy of concentration.
I
"You really must talk to Avlce. " his j i
wife Bald.
Mr. Milbrey sighed , deprecatlugly.
lie could remember no time within live
years when that necessity had not
weighed upon his father's sense of duty
like a vast bowlder of granite. He
turned to welcome the diversion pro
vided by the rognons sautees which
Jar is at that moment uncoveied ne-
fore him with a discreet nourish.
"Now you really must. " continued
his wife , "and you'll agree with me
when 1 tell you why. "
"But , my dear , I've already talked
to the girl exhaustively , I've pointed
out that her treatment of Mrs. Wybert
her perverse refusal to meet the lady
at nil , Is quite as absurd as it is rude ,
and that if Fred chooses to marry Mrs.
Wybert it is her duty to act the part
of ; i sister even if she cannot bring
herself to feel it. I've assured her that
Mrs. Wybert's antecedents are all they
be ; not Illustrious , perhaps , but
tmincntly respcctaoie. jHseefl , I quite
tpprove of the southern aristocracy.
But she constantly recalls what that
snobbish Bines was unfair enough to
tell her. I've done my utmost to con
vince her that Bines spoke In the way
be did about Mrs. Wybert because he
knew she was aware of those ridicu
lous tales of his mother's Illiteracy ,
llut Avice is er my dear , she Is ilkt
her mother in more ways , than one.
Assuredly she doesn't take it from
me. "
Ho became Interested in the kidneys.
"If Marie had been a.man , " he re
marked , feelingly , "I often suspect that
her fame as a chef would have been
second to none. Ueally , the suavity of
her sauces is a never-ending delight
lo me. "
" 1 haven't told you yet the reason
a new reason why you must talk to
Avice. "
"The money yes , yes , my dear , I
know , we all know. Indeed , I've put it
to her plainly. She knows how sorely
Fred needs it. She knows how that
least of a tailor is threatening to bo
uaaty and I've explained how In val
uable Mrs. Wybert would be , remind
ing her of that lady's generous hint
about the rise in Federal Steel , which
enabled me to net the neat little profit
of | 10,000 a month ago , and how , but
for that , we might have been acutely
distressed. Yet she stubbornly clings
to the notion that this marriage would
be a mesalliance for the Mllbreys. "
" 1 agree with her , " replied his wife ,
tersely.
Mr. Milbrey looked perplexed , but
rollte ,
"I quite agree with Avice , " continued
the lady. "That woman hasn't been
right , Horace , and she 'isn't right.
Young Bines knew what he was talkIng -
Ing about. I haven't lived my years
without being able to tell that after
five minutes with her , clever as she is.
I can read her. Like so many of those
women , she has an intense passion to
e thought respectable , and she's come
. Into money enough God only knows
how to gratify It. I could tel | it. if
nothing else showed it , by the way In
which she overdoes respectability. She
has the thousand and one artificial
little rules for propriety that one never
does have when one has been bred to
it. That kind of woman Is certain to
lapse sooner or later. She would mar
ry Fred because of his standing , be
cause he's a 'ivorite with the smart
people she thinks she'd like to be pally
with. Then , after a little she'd run
oft with a German dialect comedian or
something , like that appalling person
Norinle Whitmund married. "
"But the desire to be respectable , my
) ear and you say this woman has it
is a mighty lever. I'm no cynic
about your sex , but I shudder to think
r I Ihclr- eccentricities If it should
tease to bo a T.-cii.-1 In the feminine
equation. "
"It's nothing more than a passing
. 'Ail with this person besides , that'ji
not what I've to tell you. "
"But you. yourself , were not avrr.-o
to Fred's marrying her , lu spite of
these opinions you must secretly have
,
held. "
"Not while It seemed absolutely nec
essary not while the case was so
brutally desperate , when wo wore
actually ( | pressed "
"Remember , my dear , there's noth
ing magic in those $10,000. They're
winged dollars like all their mates , and
most of them. I'm sorry to say. have
already llown to places where they'd
long been expected. "
Mrs. Milbrey's sensation was no
longer j to be repressed. She had toyed
with the Situation sulllclently. Her
nusband was now skillfully dissecting
'he deviled thighs of an Immature
( hlckcn.
"Horace. " siild his wife. Impressive-
' 'Avlce has had an offer of marriage
from "
Ho looked tip with now Interest.
"From Union Shepler. "
He dropped knife and fork. Sheplcr.
the ( man of mighty millions ! The tin-
disputed monarch of finance ! The
cold-blooded , calculating sybarite ir >
his lighter moments , but a man where
values as a son-in-law were so Ideally
superb that the Mllbrey ambition ha !
.
never vaulted high enough even to
overlook them for one daring moment !
Shepler ; , whom he had known so long
I.
and so Intimately , with never thc
audacious thought of a union so stu-
'lendously glorious !
"Margaret , you're jesting ! "
Mrs. Mllbroy scorned to be dazzled I
by | her triumph. |
"Nonsense ! Shepler asked her last
night to marry him. " '
"It's bewildering ! 1 never dreamed "
"I've expected it for .months. I
could tell you the very moment when ,
the idea first seized the man on the
yacht last summer. I was sure she
interested him. even before his wife
died two years ago. "
"Margaret , it's too good to be true ! "
"If you think It is , I'll tell you some
thing that isn't : Avice practically refused -
fused him. "
Her husband pushed away his plate ;
the omission of even one regretful
glance at Its treasures betrayed the
strong emotion under which he la
bored.
"This is serious , " he said , quietly.
"Let us'get at It. Tell me , if you
please ! "
"She came to me and cried half the
night. She refused him definitely at
first , but he begged her to consider , to
take n month to think It over "
Milbrcy gasped. Shepler , who commanded - | I
manded markets to rise and they rose ,
or to fall and they fell Shepler begging - j i
ging , entreating a child of his ! Despite
the soul-sickening tragedy of it , the ,
hituation was not without its element ,
of sublimity. i '
"She will consider ; she will reflect ? " ,
"You're guessing now , and you're as
keen at that as I. Avlce is not Only
amazingly self-willed , as you intimated j |
a moment since , but she is intensely [ i
iccrctive. When she left me I could
et nothing from her whatever. She
was wretchedly sullen and taciturn. "
"But why should she hesitate ? Shep-
.er Rulon Shepler ! My God ! Is the
girl crazy ? The very Idea of hesita
tion Is preposterous ! "
"I can't dlyjne her. You know she
nas acted perversl'ly fn the past. I
used to think she might have some
sffalr of which we knew nothing
something silly ami romantic. But if
she had any such" thing I'm sure It
ivas ended , and she'd have Jumped at
this chance a year ago. You know
yourself she was ready to marry young
Ulnes , and was really disappointed
when ho didn't propose. "
"But this is too serious. " He tin
kled the little silver bell.
"Find out if Miss Avice will be down
to breakfast. "
"Yes , sir. "
'If she's not coming down I shall go
up , " declared Mr. Mllbrey when the
man had gone.
"She's stubborn , " cautioned his wife.
"Gad ! don't I know It ? "
Jarvls returned.
"Miss Avlce won't be down , sir , and
I'm to fetch her up a pot of coffee ,
sir. "
"Take It at once , and tell her I shall
be up to see her presently. " Jarvls
vanished.
"I think 1 see a way to put pressure
on her , that Is If the morning hasn . .
already brought her bark to her
senses. "
At four o'clock that afternoon. Avlco
Milbrey's ring brought Mrs , .an
Gelst's butler to the door.
"Sandon , is Aunt Cornelia at home ? "
"Yes , Miss Mllbrey. she's confined to
her room h'account h'of a cold , miss. '
"Thank heaven ! "
"Yes , miss certainly ! will you go
h'up to her ? "
"And Mutterchen , dear , it was a reg
ular bombshell , " she concluded after
she had Muttered some of the Novem
ber freshness Into Mrs. Van Gelst's
room , and breathlessly related the
facts.
"You demented creature ! I should
say It must hare been. "
"Now , don't lecture ! "
"But Sbepler is one of the richest
men In New York. "
already suspects ns imiclu"
"And he's kind , he's a blg-heartrd
chap , u man of the world , generous
"
a
" 'A woman fancier , ' Fidelia Old-
alter falls him. "
"My dear , If he fancies you "
"There , you old conservative , I've
beard all his good points , and my duty
has been written before me lu letters
of fire. 'Dad devoted three hours to
writing It this morning , so don't ,
please , say over any of the moral
maxims I'm likely to have heard. "
"But why are you unwilling ? "
"Because because I'm wild , 1 fancy
just because. I don't like the Idea of
marrying that man. He's such n big ,
funny , round head , and positively no
neck his head just rolls around on
his big , pillowy shoulders and then
:
ho gets little right at once , tapers right
off to a point with those tiny feet. "
"It Isn't easy to have everything. "
"It wouldn't be easy lo have him.
cither. "
Mrs. Van Gelst fixed her niece with
a sudden look of suspicion.
"Has has that man anything to do
with your refusal ? "
"No not a thing I give you my
word , auntie. If ho had been what 1
once dreamed he was , no one would
be asking me to marry him now , but
do you know what I've decided ?
Why. that he is a joke that's all
just a joke. You needn't think of him ,
Mutterchen I don't , except to think It
was funny that he should have im-
pressed me so he's simply a joke. "
" 1 could have told you as much long
ngo. "
"Tell mo something now. Suppose
Fred mnrrlcs that Wybert woman. "
"It will be n sorry day lor Fred. "
' "Of course ! Now sec how I'm
pinned. ' Dad and the mater both say
the ' fame now they're more severe
than 1 was. Only we were never in
such straits for money. It must be
bad. ' So this Is the gist of it : I ought
to marry Union Shepler In order to
save Fred from a marriage that might
get * us into all sorts of scandal. "
"Well ? "
"Well. 1 would do a lot for Fred.
Ho ' has faults , but bo's always been
good to me. " r
And so ? "
"And so it's a , question whether ho
marries ' a very certain kind of woman
or whether I marry a very different
kind of man. "
"How do you feel ? "
"For one thing , Fred sha'n't get into
that ' kind of muss if I can save him
from ' it. "
"Then you'll marry Shepler ? "
"I'm still uncertain about Mr. Shop-
ler. ' "
"But you say "
"Yes. I know , but I've reasons for
being uncertain. If I told you you'd
say ! they're like the most of a woman's
reasons ] , mere fond , foolish hopes , so
I won't tell you. "
"Well , dear , work It out by your
lonely if you must. 1 believe you'll do
what's best for everybody In the end.
And I am glad that your father and
Margaret take your view of that wom
an. "
"I was sure she wasn't right and I
knew Mr. Bines was too much of a
man to sneak of her as he did without
positive knowledge. Now please give
me some tea and funny little cakes ;
I'm famished , "
"Speaking of Mr. Bines , " said Mrs.
> an Gelst , when the tea had been
brought by Sandon. "I read In the
paper this morning tnat he'd taken a
party to North Carolina for the quail
shooting , Eddie Arledge and his wife
and that Mr. and Mrs. Garmer , and
of course Florence Akemit. Should
you have thought she'd marry so soon
after her divorce ? They say Bishop
Doollttlc Is frightfully vexed with
ler. "
"Ileally I hadn't heard. Whom Is
[ 'lorence to marry ? "
"Mr. Bines , to be sure ! Where have
you been ? You know she was on his
/acnt a whole month last summer
ho bishop's sister was with her
ilghly scandalized all the time by the
Irlnklng and gayety , and now every
one's looking for the engagement to be
announced. Here , what did I do with
hat Town Topics Cousin Clint left ?
There It Is on the tabouret. Uead the
paragraph at the top of the page. "
Avice read :
"An engagement that is rumored
with uncommon persistence will put
society on the qul ylve when It IB
definitely announced. The man In the
case Is the young son of a mining
Croemin from Montana , who has in
herited the major portion of his fa
ther's millions and who began to daz
zle upper Broadway about a year since
by the reckless prodigality of his ways.
His blonde innamorata Is a recent di
vorcee of high social standing , noted
for her sparkling wit and an unflag-
ging exuberance of spirits. The Inter
est of the gossips , however , centers
chiefly In the uncle of the lady , a right
reverend presiding over a bishopric not
t thousand miles from New York , and
In the attitude he will assume toward '
her contemplated remarriage * At the
last Episcopal convention this godly
and well-learned gentleman was a vc-1
hement supporter of the proposed 1
canon to prohibit absolutely the marriage -
riago of divorced persons ; and though
he stoutly championed his bewitching
nleco through the Infelicities that
eventuated in South Dakota , on dit
that ho is highly wrought up over her
present intentions , and has signified
unmistakably his severest disapproval.
However , nous verrons ce quo nous
verrons. "
"But , Mutterchen , that's only one of
those absurd , vulgar things that
wretched paper is always printing. I
could write dozens of them myself.
Tom Banning says they keep one man
writing them all the time , out of his
own imagination , and then they put
them in like raisins in a cake. "
"Bnt , my dear , I'm quite
AT TII1C TOJ > UP Till1'AOi : .
Is authe.itlc 1 know from ri.ielln
Oldaker that too bishop began to cut
up about It lo Florence , and Florence
defied ' him. That ancient theory that
most gossip is without truth was ex
ploded long ago. As a matter of fact
most gossip , at least about the people
we. know , doesn't do half justice to the
facts. . Hut. really , 1 can't see why he
fancied Florence Akemit. 1. should
have ' thvMight he'd want some one u bit
less lluttery. "
"I dare s\y ; you're right , about the
gossip. I mean " Miss Mllhrey re
marked when she had finished her tea ,
mid refusal ( ho cukes. "I remember ,
now , one day when we met at her
place , and ho seemed M > much at homo
there. Of course , It must bo so. How
stupid of me to doubt It ! Now I must
run. Good-by. you old dear , iintl b
good to the cold. "
"Let mo know what you'do. "
"Indeed I shall ; you shall be the
3I first I one to know. My mind Is really ,
you know , almost intuits up. "
A week later Mr. and Mrs. Horace
Mllbrey announced in the public prints'
the ' engagement of their daughter
Avlce to Mr. Union Shepler.
CI1APT13U XIX.
r.vcu : i'i5TKU IIINISS COMKK TO
TOWN WITH HIS MAN.
One day lu December Peter Illnus , of
Montana City , dropped In on the fam
ily came with his gaunt length if
limb , his kind , brown old face with
eyes ' sparkling shrewdly far back un
der his grizzled brows , with his rough ,
resonant , musical voice , the spring of
youth In his step , ami the fresh , con
fident strength of the big hills in his
bearing.
He brought Billy Brue with him. a
person whose exact social status some
of Perclval s friends were never able to
fix with any desirable certainty. Thus ,
Perclval had presented the old man ,
the morning after his arrival , to no
less a person than Herbert Deluncey
Livlngtton , with whom ho had smoked
a cigar of unusual excellence In the
cnfe of the HIsMower hotel.
"If you fancy that weed , Mr. Bines , "
said Livingston , graciously , to the old
man , "I've n spare couple of hundred
I'd like to let you have. The things
were sent to me , but I find them
rather stilllsh. If your man's about
the hotel I'll give him n card to my
man , and let him fetch them. "
"My man ? " queried Uncle Peter ,
and , sighting Billy Bruu at that mo
ment , "why , yes , here's my man , now.
Mr. Brut1 , shake hands with Mr. Liv
ingston. Billy , go up to the address
ho gives you , and get some of these
se-gars. You'll relish 'em as much as
I do. Now don't talk to any stran
gers , don't get run over , and don't
iie yourself. "
Livingston had surrendered a wav
ering arm uncertain nanu to tne warm ,
eassurlng clasp of Mr. Brue.
"Ho ain't much fur style , Billy
ain't , " Uncle Peter explained when
tjiat person had gone upon his errand ,
' 'ho'ain't a mite gaudy , but he's got
friendly feelings. "
The dazed scion of the Livingstons
had thereupon made a conscientious
tour of his clubs In a public hansom ,
solely for the purpose of relating this
curious adventure to those bust quali
fied to marvel at it.
The old man's arrival bad been quita
unexpected. Not only had he sent no
word of his coming , but he seemed ,
Indeed , not to know what his reasons
had been fur dolnp- thing so unusual.
"Thought I'd just drop In on you uli
and say 'howdy , ' " had been his first
avowal , which was lucid as far as It
went. Later he involved himself In
explanations that were both obscure
and conflicting. Once it was that ho
had felt a sudden great longing for
the life of a gay city. Then It wns
that he would have been content in
Montana City , but that ho had under
taken the winter in New York out of
consideration for Billy Brue.
i " .lust think of it , " ho said to Per-
I cival , "that poor fellow ain't over
I hcen cast of Denver before now. It
'
wa'n't good for him to bo holed up
j ! i out. then ; in them hills all his life.
' Ho hadn't K'it any clmnco to Improve
his mind. '
"Ho'd hitter iraprovo his whlskura
first thing ho does. " suggested Per-
clval. "Ho'll bo gold-bricked if ho
,
wears 'em scrambled that way around
thin place. "
But in neither of these explanations
did the curious ol < l man Impress Per-
cival as being wholly Ingenuous.
Then ho remarked casually one day
that he had lately met Hlgbeo , who
was on his way to San Francihco.
" 1 only had a few minutes with him
1while they changed engines at Green
River , but he told mo all about you
folks what a line time you wet ? hav-
In' . vachtR and card parties , and all 1
llkoThat. Hlgbeo mild u man outfit
to come to Now York eVery now' ' unit
then , jest to keep from getting rusty. "
Back of this Perclval imagined for
a time that he hod discovered Undo
Peter's Iruo reason for deni-cndlug
upon them , lllgboo would have re-
nalcd him with wild laics of HIP Now
York dissipations , and Uncle Peter
had como promptly on to pull him up.
Perclval could bear the story im Ulg-
bee would word It , with the Improving
moral Incident of his own son
snatched an u brand from the "Tender-
.oln , " to live n llfo of Impecunious usefulness -
fulness in far Chicago. Bui , when ho
tried to hold thin belief , and to provo
It from his olmemitlons , he wan bound
to admit Its falsity. For Uncle Peter
had shown no Inclination to net the
part of an evangel from Ibo vlrtiioua
west. Ho had delivered no homilies ,
no warnings as to the fate of people
who Incontinently "cut loose. " Ho
had evinced not the lonst sign of any
disposition even to criticise.
On the contrary , indeed , he appeared
to Joy Immensely In Pcrclval'si way of
life. | | He manifested u willingness and
n capacity for unbending in boon comt
panlonHhlp that went both of them
quite ( utilizing to his accomplished
grandson. By degrees , and by vlrtuo
of being never at all'censorious , ho
familiarized himself with the young
man'a habits and diversions. Ho Usv
tened ! ' delightedly lo the talcs of his
large gambling losses , o the bouts at
poker , the fruitless venture lu Texas
oil land , the disastrous corner In
wheat , engineered by Biirman. and tha
uniformly unsuccessful efforts lo
'break the bank" In Forty-fourth
street. Ho never tired of hearing
whatever adventures Perclval chose
to relate ; and , llndiug that ho really
enjoyed them , the young man came to
coufldo freely In him , and to associate
with him without restraint.
Uncle Peter begged to be Introduced
at the temple or chance , and Hjieuf u
number of late evenings there with hiii
popular grandson. Ho also frequently
made himself one of the poker coterie ,
and relishedkeenly the stock jokes as
to his grandson's pi-oneness to lose.
"Your pa , " ho would say , "never
could learn to stay out of a Jack-pot
unless ho had Jacks or better ; hud
come In and draw four cards to an uco
any time , and then call It 'hard luck'
when he didn't draw out. And he just
loved straights open In the middle ;
said anybody could fill them that's
open at both ends ; but , after all I
guess that's the only way to have fun
at the game. If a man ain't got the
sperrlt to overplay nccs-up when ho
gets 'em , he might ns well be clerkln'
in a bank for all the fun hu'll have out
of the game. "
The old man'H mnliirunco of late sup-
porn and later hours , and bis unsus
pected disposition to "cut loose" be
came twin marvels to Perclval.Ho
could not avoid contrasting thin be
havior with his past preaching. After
a few weeks he was forced to the
charitable conclusion that Uncle Pe
ter's faculties were falling. The ex
posure and hardships of the winter be
fore had undoubtedly Impaired his
mental powers.
"I can't make him out , " ho confided
o his mother. "He never wants to go
lome nights ; he can drink more than
can without batting an eye , and
show up fresher in the morning , and
he behaves like n young follow just out
of college. 1 don't know where he
would bring un If ho didn't have me
o watch over Him. "
"I think It's just awful at his time
3f life , too , " said Mrs. Bines.
"I think that's It. Ho's getting old ,
mil he's come along Into his second
mildhood. A couple of morn months
it this rato. and I'm afraid I'll have
: o. ring up one of those nice shiny
Mack wagons to take him off to ta
'oollsh house. " .
"Can't you talk to him , and tell him
better ? "
"I could. I know it all by heart-
all the things to say to a man on the
downward path. Heaven knows I've
heard them often enough , but I'd feel
ashamed to talk that way to Undo
Peter. If be were my son , now , I'd
cut off his allowance and send him
hack to mnKe something of himself
like Slle Hlgbee with little Hennery ;
but I'm afraid all I can do is to watcl
him and see that he doesn't marry one
of those little pink-silk chorus girls
or lick a policeman , or anything. "
"You're carryln' on the same way
yourself , " ventured his mother.
"That's different , " replied her per
Bplcaclous son.
Uncle Peter had refused to live a
the Hlghtower after three dayn in tha
bplendld and populous caravansary.
"It suits me well enough , " he ex
plained to Perclval , "but 1 have to lool
after Billy Bruc , and this ain't any
place for Billy.ou see Billy ain't
city broke yet. Look at him now over
there , the way he goes around butting
Into strangers. He does that way be
cause he's ail the time looking down
at his now patent leather shoes llrst
pair he ever had. Ho'll be plumb
stoop-shouldered if ho don't hurry up
and get the new kicked off of 'em. I'll
have to get him a nice warm box-stall
In some place that ain't so much on
the band-wagon as this one. The ceil
ings here are too high fur Billy. And
I found him Hhootin' craps with the
bell boy this mornln' . The boy thinks
Billy , beln' from the west , IB a stage
robber , or somethin' like he reads
about In the Cap' Collier llbr'ries , and
follows him around every chance he
gets. And Billy laps up too many of
them little striped drinks ; and them
Frem-h-cooUed dishes ain't so good fur
him , either. He caught on to the bill
of fare right away. Now he won't or
der anything but them alias them
dishes that has 'a la * something or
other after 'em , " he explained , when
Perdval looked puzzled. "He knows
they'll always uo something all fussed
"j _ wlti ) red , white and blue gravy , and
a little paper * * -ft stuck" Into 'cm ,
I never know Billy was such a fancy
enter before. "
So Uncle Peter and Ills diorgo hod
established themselves lu an old-fash
ioned hut very comfortable hotel down
on ono of the squares , a dingy monument
ment lo the tlmo when Ufa bad boon
IOHH hurried. Uncle Peter had stayed
there . " . ( I years before , and he found Iho
place unchanged. The carpels and
hangings wore n bit fa'ifmi. but the
rooms wore geneiiMinU broad , tlin
choirs , us the old man remarked , were
"made to nit In , " and the culslno was
held , by n few knowing old epicures
who still freiiuealed the place , to bo
superior even to that of the more pre
tentious Illghtowcr. The service , Ita
true , was apt lo be slow. Strangers
who ebauced In to order a muni not
Infrequently became enraged , and left
before tholr food came , trailing plain
short words of extreme dissatisfaction
behind 1 thorn IIH they went. But the
elect knew that these delayn betokened
the t presence of an artistic conscience
In Ihii kitchen , and that the food was
worth tarrying for. "They know how
to t ninUn you come back hungry for
Homo more the next day , " mild Uncle
Pnter Blne.B.
From this headquarters the old man
went forth to join In the diversions of
bin 1 grandson , And hero ho kept n
watchful eye upon the uncertain Billy
Drtii ! ; at least approximately , Be
tween th m. hlH days and nights wore
AN AI-TAHUC STIIANOKU.
occupied to crowding. But Undo Po
or had already put In mime hard win-
crs , and was not wanting In fortitude.
Billy Brno was a sore t rouble lo the
old man. "I Jest can't keep him off
.ho streclB nights , " was hlH chief com-
ilalnt. By day Billy Brno walked the
BtreetH In a decent , orderly trance of
lowllderment. He was properly puz
zled and amazed by many strangi )
matters. Ho never could find out what
was "going on" to bring no many folks
Into town. They nil hurried some
where constantly , but he was never
able to reach the center of excitement.
N'or did he ever learn how anyone
could reach those high clothes lines ,
strung -10 feet above ground between
the bucks of houses ; nor how there
could be "so many ahows In town , allen
on one night ; " nor why you nhould got
BO many good things to eat by merely
buying a "slug of whisky ; " nor why
a thousand people weren't run over In
Broadway each 24 hours.
At night , Billy Brno ceased to bo the
astounded alien , and , us Perclval said
Dr. Von Herzllch would say , "began
to mingle and cooperate with his en
vironment. " In the course of this
process he fell Into adventures' , some
of them , perhaps , unedlfylng. But It
may be told that hln Bllvor watch with
the braided leather fob was stolen
from him the second night out ; also
that the following week. In a Twenty-
ninth street traloon , he accepted the
hospitality of an affable stranger , who
hud often been In Montana City. HiH
explanation of subsequent events was
entirely satlHfactory , at least , from the
time that he returned lo consc-.ousnesa
of them.
"I only had nbout $30 In my clothes , "
he told Percival , "but what made me
so darned hot , he took my breastpin ,
too , made out of the llrst nugget ever
found in the Karly Uinl mine over
Silver Bow way. Uee ! when I woke
up 1 couldn't tell where I was. This
cop that found me in a hallway , he
says I must have been give a dose of
Peter. 1 says , "All right I'm here to
go against all the games , ' 1 says , 'but
pass me when the Peter comes around
agin , ' I says. And he says Peter was
knockout drops. Say , honestly , I
didn't know iny own name till I bad
a chanst to look me over. The clothes
and my bands looked like I'd seen
'om before , somehow and then I come
to myself. "
( i ontiniu-d Next Wu-k )
A Habil To He Encouraged.
This mother who IM acquired the
liublt ol kf ' | ilni : on liiunl a bottle of
ChamlnTliiinV ( . 'ouyli Ut-uiDity ,
heru'lfa LTfut amount i > ! uii-'u
ami unxioiy. Uouubh , oiUli u > i urou | )
to whic.li i.-1) I Id run ; ir - - . , - . ; < it , < itru
quickly uured by Uun - . It cmi' inr
aet any lun < i inuy of .1 iiM : ) 'v-ult in
pniMimnnlii , and If L'iv uito n iho
the tir-t - ymi'tninol urout ) appi-nir , It
will provuut ttic .utiiek i'tilt- - -
contain- nothing lujiiritMs and i < i rj
jrw ! I'tullttttt in < > w.th fe > on I
i perfect -a-urll ) wolJ ' . Kcri-'s Oms ;
I .Store
FOLEYSHONEY-TA3