The Long Corridor
> HEN Edwin Dumble , sou of
old Kichard Dumblo , the mil
lionaire brewer , fell in love
with Henrietta Schouler , lie knew that
his father would oppose their marriage ,
lie was a sophomore at Harvard , and
Henrietta was studying music with
Madame Frisonne in Boston. Mrs.
Sears , the girl's chaperone and aunt ,
had warned the youth that the attach
ment must be broken. "Not that I or
Mrs. Schouler object , for you arc a
nice boy , Edwin ; but your father would
rather see you dead than allied to the
Schoulcrs by marriage. Why ? I can't
tell you go and ask your father. "
So Edwin , hurriedly packing a bag ,
rushed to his parent's big New York
office , blurted out the story of his love
for the pretty music student , and de
manded the reason for the anticipated
opposition. There was a quarter of an
hour of storming. an incoherent dam
nation by the old man of everything
connected with-the Schoulers , and a
sweeping characterization of the family
that brought the young man to his feet
almost screaming with rage before an
explanation was offered.
Then old Dumble said tersely :
"Old Scliouler was my secretary
once. Your mother was his sister ; he
trotted her around to me when lie
found out that I wanted a wife , and
I married her. Before your mother's
death Scliouler married his second
cousin , a woman of no family , an ad
venturess , who has been trying to get
a hold on me ever since. This daughter
has been shipped from St. Louis to Bos
ton to study this fol-de-rol French sing
ing , and mark my words , boy and to
take you in ! You've been taken in ,
too , easily enough. "
"But , " the old man's voice was raised
in auger , "you must not see thatcrea
ture again ! "
"Creature ! " cried young Dumble ,
starting up from his chair , "Sir. you
must not say that again ! Henrietta
Schouler ; s the dearest , best girl on
earth , and " Edwin controlled him
self with an effort.
"There is no use wasting words be
tween us. " said the father , speaking
quietly now. "L can never consent to
your marriage with that girl I cannot
consent to have you see her again. Mrs.
Sears agrees with me. Now , will you
give uie your word as a gentleman as
my sou not to try to see her if you go
back to CambridgeT
"No. " replied the son , "I love Hen
rietta better than my own life. I shall
marry her , whatever you say or do. "
Then , for a time , the two stood face to
face. The father turned from his gaze
and began to pace the thickly carpeted
door of his big oth'ce , and presently the
son was measuring the opposite limit
of the room. And so , for half an hour.
At last the old brewer stopped to face
his sou and say :
"I am quite determined that this mar
riage shall not take place. You would
do well not to try to torce it. I am pre
pared to go to any extent to prevent it.
Now , go back to Cambridge with this
thought before you always : I shall
thwart every attempt you make to see
the girl and will make it absolutely
Impossible for you to marry her. I
hope you will recover from this mad
ness. "
The old man's tones were so even , so
controlled , that the boy suspected a dis
position to yield. He began toplead ,
saying that the girl was worthy , beau
tiful everything desirable. But the
thunder-cloud began to gather , and the
Incoherent pleading was stopped by a
tierce oath.
"Go now , my son , before we quarrel
further , " said the old man quietly.
Young Edwin went back to Cam
bridge , leaving his father to an hour of
fierce anger , then a night of active
planning.Vhen ( lie rumble of the
milk carts in the deserted streets an
nounced 'he morning , the old man
went home aud to bed with a smile of
confidence.
"U will be unusual , and a little hard
to manage , but it won't hurt them ! "
he muttered before going to sleep.
Mrs. Soars , co-plotter with Mrs.
Schonlnr. was entirely satisfied with
the result of Edwin's visit to bis fath
er ; Hie youth came back to her with a
pitiful pleading to be allowed to see
Henrietta. But she had to deny him ,
sheaid. . Her plan was to force an
* elopement , and the boy must be goaded
to a very frenzy of desire. She. pri
vately determined to allow their next
attempted meeting , which was due
within two days. But when that time
arrived she was thunderstruck to Qnd
that another plotter had entered the
game : that Henrietta bad been , in some
Inexplicable way. spirited away from
her house. , half an hour before the
young mnn made his back-yard entry
to a deserted first-floor parlor.
As tluj youth opene.d the Sears' front
door on the evening following his
burglarious entry , the girl's aunt met
him. wild-eyed and distraught.
"Oh ! where have you taken Henriet-
< . ta ? where is the child ? " Mrs. Sears
was in an agony of fear. ,
"IV" queried the astonished boy , "I
have not seen her for months. Oh !
what has become of her why did I
not see her last night ? " Mrs. Sears
promptly fainted , and was given over
to thu care of her maid. Edwin could
get not lung more from her. But he was
determined to find Henrietta and mar
ry her at once.
In a delirium of fear for the girl and
rage at his own cursed stupidity , he
started to walk'back to his rooms in
Cambridge. He never got to them.
He disappeared from the college world
as completely as though the earth had
opened to swallow him.
* * * * * * *
On the top of Cardigan Mountain in
New Hampshire , a stern-faced old man
directed the labors of twoscore of work
men. This horde had suddenly de
scended upon the peaceful hill village
two days before , and straightway be
gan the erection on the mountain top
of a curiously divided , substantial
structure , where , it was announced ,
certain rich meteorological experiment
er was to spend the winter and spring
It was a matter of snow formation and
precipitation , it was said , in which Pro
fessor Butler was interested.
Two days from the appearance of the
workmen the last nail was driven , and
a train of wagons , loaded with a win
ter's supply of food and clothing , was
started for the top. And that evening ,
when the darkness blotted out every
feature of the landscape , the old man
appeared with a clinging , frightened-
looking girl on the mountain-top. On
the next evening , the darkness blotting
everything from view as before , the
old man brought up a younger man. to
be , as he said , assistant to the profes
sor. Then , with a corps of close-
mouthed helpers , the experimenters
shut themselves away from the world
and were buried in the snow of the
mountain-top.
The mythical Professor Butler's ex
periment station was constructed in a
peculiar way. Two low-roofed , solidly
anchored structures , identical in size
and shape , were set on the very edge
of a precipice that dropped sheer 500
feet. Three walls of each structure
were windowless , unbroken save by
heavy doors , the third , fronting 'the
precipice , had abundant light and ven
tilation. And between the two struc
tures , opening into each , was a long ,
covered corridor , lighted from the
north , but through which , when it was
completed , no man could pass.
Old Richard Dumble , who had as
sumed the role of the professor , took
liis son to the end of this strange corri
dor , and. pointing to the door that
loomed at the other end , said :
"In the room at the end of this iong
passage is the foolish young girl you
profess to love better than your own
life. This door here , as you see , is
open , and will be left unlocked. Yonder
door is likewise freely passable. But
between these doors is this passage ,
through the floor of which , when either
of you tries to pass , you will fall upon
the rocks oOO feet below , t have had
marked upon this passage floor the
point beyond which you may not go
without breaking through. On the
girl's side [ have taken the same pre
caution.
"I shall keep you both up here until
you are tired of this farce you call lov
ing. I can trust my helpers. I have
everything ready to keep you a year
if necessary. Whenever you are ready
to come to me and swear that you have
banished all thought of Miss Schouler
from your mind , [ will bave you both
released , send you back to Harvard
and make a man out of you.
"But If , in reality , you love one an
other better than life , you bave only to
rush together through this passage to
a romantic death. Rather than to see
you mated with that girl. I would come
up to this mountain when the snow is
gone in the spring and gather your
bleached bone.s off the rocks. You
won't do anything so foolish. I know ,
and so goodby , my boy. until you send
for me. "
The old man went out hurriedly ,
choking a little over the last words. A
ponderous lock grated as the father's
form disappeared through the door ,
and the boy turned to gaze , fascinated ,
down that fatal corridor.
Presently , as he watched. Edwin saw
the form of Henrietta Schouler at the
opposite door , and he started forward
impulsively in an ecstacy of welcome.
When the girl saw her lover , she , too.
strained forward a pace , and then re
coiled with a cry of terror. That tell
tale mark which the old brewer had
showed her stretched its impalpable
barrier almost under her feet
On his side , Edwin approached the
white line with an unnatural caution.
With his toe on Its edge , he felt the
fragile floor quake and sway. He crept
back to the doorway , a blind animal
terror clutching him. and the sweat
beading on his forehead. He stood for
a moment gazing at the face framed ,
beside his father's , in that other prison
door. He stretched his arms towards
the girl , and cried out to his father for
pity. The old man finished his talk
to the girl , and went out , paying no
more heed to the boy's cries than to the
wind that rattled the window frames.
Then , for the two young people , be
gan the most curious imprisonment
that a prosiac twentieth-century chron
icle has ever recorded. In an age that
fostered intrigue and inquisition , old
Dumble would have been a master plot
ter. Now he was a shrewd , rich old
autocrat with a purpose in view which
lie was determined to accomplish as
quickly as possible.
Thus reasoned the old man : "Once
in a thousand cases perhaps a man and
a woman will love one another better
than life. In this practical age ,
though , the proportion may be cut
down to one in ten thousand. What
3routh mistakes for the divine passion ,
lasting through and beyond the span
of life , Is the impatience of young
years , the desire of a child for the
moon , the changing whim of an eager
age. Fan this quick flame to white heat
{ and it will soon die to cold ashes.
{ Now , If Edward is of th ? nine thousand
nine hundred and ninety-nine , he will
| soon wear out this love in daily sight
of his desired one , and come back to
me a wise boy , and no law will be
broken the girl will go unharmed. If
he is the one in ten thousand , and the
girl is the one in five thousand ( for that
sex Is certainly more impulsive ) , why ,
then but , pshaw ! he isn't. "
The brewer knew humanity passing
well and watched his experiment with
confidence. Old Schouler was wild at
the disappearance of his daughter ; the
little world in which the Schoulers and
Mrs. Sears moved was in a turmoil ;
but old Richard Dumble's world had a
wider orbit ! No suspicion attached to
the old man , and the world , or that
part of it that fretted over the young
people's affairs , had to fall back upon
the theory of an elopement.
Deserted by the world , miustered to
by grim , close-mouthed servants , sup
plied with the comforts and amuse
ments of normal young people Edwin
with books and gymnasium apparatus ,
Henrietta with music , the latest novel ,
embroidery the two prisoners passed
their days in maddening proximity.
The corridor was far too long to per
mit the tender whisperings that lovers
commonly use ; indeed , there was al
ways the bellowing wind as a rival in
any exchange of vows. But there was
the language of signs , and eternal trust
that could be expressed in a clutching
at vacancy.
Books mocked the young man.
what did they say but love that was
always rewarded in the end ? Music ,
such as she knew , spoke to Henrietta
of love that blossomed in a free young
breast , and here the blasts that
whirled up that precipice face turned
her plaintive notes to a thin wailing.
The grim faces of the servants , pass
ing in and out , silently , except for the.
jangling of the big keys , oppressed
the spirits of both. A sort of desper
ate recklessness possessed the lovers ,
they paced their rooms , in and out of
Ihose corridor doors , up to the line be
yond which it were death to pass ; and
a great despair came upon them.
Winter gave way at last to spring ,
and even on that bare mountain-top ,
where the world stretched away from
their view a thousand feet below , the
new balm came to renew the lovers'
passion. Xot once had Edwin taken
pen to write his defeat : not once had
Henrietta failed to gain courage from
a fresh sight of the man who loved her.
Sometimes , in a lull of the everlasting
mountain storm , they had called to
, ne another to be brave and faithful.
The earth was released from the grip
of the snow , and young leaves came
out to clothe the trees on the beautiful
New Hampshire hills. At last the little
lakes that dotted a broad , gree.n val
ley shone up to the prisoners like
bright jewels on a warm , full bosom.
Life , throbbing , new , eternal , woke the
flame of love to white heat. The de
crees of man seemed impotent , unreal.
Heaven-sent love , the cry of man to
maid , and of the spring to young
hearts , swept the lovers' reason and
fear to the winds. A great cry. like a
challenge to God. rang out from the
boy's lips.
"My love , do you fear death ? " And
the answer , keyed to an exultant pitch ,
rang back :
"Not with you , my sweetheart ! "
"Ah ! then come. " With the words ,
Edwin sprang forward to meet the on
coming rush of the mad girl. One step
over the white dead line , and the floor
was creaking like thin ice. Two steps ,
nnd it was swaying like a showman's
net. With the touch of hand to hand ,
the frail foundation splintered and fell
with a crash in which were mingled
the terrified scream of the girl and. , the
exultant cry of the infatuated lover.
* * * * * * *
"Sir , my master bade me give yor
this paper whenever you nppeareJ
here. " Dazed , uncomprehending. EG.
win Dumble glanced up from a tanglt
of broken beams to see a close-but
toned , deferential servant at his side ,
extending to him a square folded pa
per. His eyes sought wildly for Hen
rietta. She was lying near him in an
incongruous heap , looking about in a
panic of wonder.
The youth opened the paper and read :
If you are the one in ten thousand ,
iind risk death for the girl , you deserve
lier. Go and be married , and come to
me at once. I hope you will not be hurt
by the splinters.
splinters.RICHARD
RICHARD DUMBLE.
"Splinters ! " What kind of an after-
death dream was this. Then young
Dumble looked up , to see the gaping
hole in the corridor floor hardly six
feet above the sawdust-covered ground
on which he sat ! John K. Oskiem , in
New York Evening Pot > t.
The Pen Paramount.
A Supreme Court justice , a diploma-
List and a writer were talking of the ex-
Lent of the influence wielded by each ,
ind the New York Times justly credits
the last laugh to the writer.
" 1 can govern by injunctions , as the
Populists put it , " said the Judge.
"I can involve nations in war , " said
the ambassador.
"And I could , If I would , make the
world laugh at both of you , " said the
writer.
A Seller.
Playwright I have here a German
tragedy.
Manager Don't want it.
Playwright I was about to add ,
translated , adapted , dramatized , ron-
tensed. arranged and set to ragtime
by myself.
Manager I'll take it , sir. Pray name
your own terms. Smart Set.
A young man who takes the time at
noon to walk home with a pretty girl ,
is making himself solid with the wrong
party ; the girl , when it should be his
employer.
;
Annapolis , Md. , carpenters want an
eight-hour day.
Boston's electrical strike was settled
by the board of arbitration.
Sydney , Australia , street car men
have inaugurated the eight-hour day.
Chicago team owners may appoint a
hibor commissioner to hear complaints.
The number of laborers required to
cultivate the tea crop in India is i > i > U-
000.
000.The
The American Federation of Labor
would add a buiKling trades section
to the organization.
Havana , Cuba , butchers , bakers ard
coachmen won their demands for nine-
hours at $ 2 per day.
The plumbing supply men , Cleveland ,
Ohio , have been granted a nine-hour
workday without a strike.
New Orleans has in recent years be
come a well-organized city , having
more than 40,000 trade unionists.
Leominster. Mass. , piano factory
owners will voluntarily establish tho
nine-hour day , beginning Jan. 1 , l'JO. ° > .
Kingston , Canada , labor n en talk ol' '
establishing a national headquarters
there independent of American control.
Every member of the Cigarmakers'
Union at Jacksonville , Fla. , contrib
utes 25 cents a week toward advertis
ing their union label.
Indianapolis' English-speaking cabi
net workers have organized. Cooks
and waiters and barber shops there
were also recently organized.
Canadian Pacific Railway bridgemcD
have been granted a voluntary increase
in wages from 91.45 for a day's work to
? 1.G3 , the foremen from iU oO to 'J.
At Canton , Ohio , an organization ol
the Women's Union Label League ha.s
be-on effected. The object is to havo
women pledge themselves to use nothing
at home that does not bear the stamp
of union labor.
The Paris police havo issued an ordeu
that no boy under 14 employed in eith
er a factory or workship is to be al
lowed to carry a weight of over twenty-
one pounds , while girls arc restricted
to less than that.
Efforts have been started to reunite
the warring Knights of Labor through
out Greater New York. The remnant
of the Knights throughout the country
are divided in two factions , one of
which continues to recognize John W
Hayes as ( what has been often termed )
Permanent General Secretary-Treasur
or , and is under the nominal leadership
of Henry A. Hicks , while the other and
much less numerous sections follows
the leadership of John N. Parsons.
The benefits of organization are
shoAvn by the following recent raise in
wages throughout the country : An in
crease of 1 per cent an hour to motor-
men and conductors , nearly 5.000 in
number , on the Union Traction trolley
lines in Philadelphia. This is practical-
ly a 10 per cent raise. An increase of
10 per cent to cotton mill operatives in
southern New England , affecting more
than 50,000. An increase of 25 per cent
and an eight-hour day for 2,000 struc
tural iron and bridge workers in and
about Pittsburg. An increase of from
3 to 10 per cent to 1,000 employes of
the Barbour Flax Spinning Company ,
of Paterson , N. J. An increase of 1C
per cent to the 4,000 employes of the
John A. Roebling's Sons , Trenton , N. J
An Oltl Acquaintance.
At the fourth house I was met by o
bristling cur that seemed to know me
not as master , but as foe. He veachec
earnestly for my trousers through i
era ok in the fence. I fancied 1 saw
rags in his teeth when he first snarlet'
nt me. He stubbornly disputed 1113
im trance , and yielded only when tlu
liarsh voice of his mistress called Inn
off.
off.At
At the door I was met by the mis
tress of the house , a brawny , double
fisted dame with a face like a pot o'
kraut , who , planting herself squarelj
in the doorway , sternly demanded mj
? rrand. This tactic was a stunner
My instructions had been to enter tlu
parlor and gallantly take my seat be
side the lady and show up my boot
with grace and dignity.
I did nothing. I stood there in con
[ usion , like a scared lunatic , until the
woman herself recalled me to mj
senses by demanding :
"Zee here , young zhap , vat you vane
here ? "
I fumbled mechanically for my pros
) ectus and began :
"I am introducing a new work , jus
from the press , which I would like '
"I no vand any new vork , shus
from do bress ; und I don'd care va
you vand. I vand you to get right one
> f here as vasd as your pipestem leg ;
rill carry you. Do you hear ? "
I heard , and the next three or foui
louses I walked past very quietly.
From the Confessions of a Book Agent
in Leslie's Monthly.
There Was a Limit. 1
"I am glad they moved away , " re
narked the good housewife , speakini
Df a family of borrowing neighbor.-
who had just left the neighborhood
'I was willing to lend them a loaf o !
jread occasionally or half a dozei
iggs or the washboard or the lemoi
squeezer , but when they got down tc
; eudiug the little girl over to borrow
jennies to give the organ grinder i
began to think it was nearly time t (
Iraw the line ; airl , to cap the climax
jne day thr-y actually asked me t <
: ome over and take care of the bahn
while they went out to do the shop I
THE POOR OLD SULTAN.
The Turkish Kulcr Looks and Acts as
Thou till lie Were II u tinted.
Probably no potentate on earth is so
continuously haunted by the fear of
death as is the Sultan of Turkey. This
Is the pen picture given of him by an
American correspondent who recently
saw him in Constantinople :
"I stood on the palace terrace rising
above the little roadway down which
on Friday the Sultan ventures forth to
say his prayers. I saw the extraordi
nary precautions taken to protect him
the gathering of all his 5,000 troops ,
the stoppage of traffic by walls of arm
ed men in every roadway leading up
to the palace , then the surroundings of
the few hundred yards of roadway
which the Sultan must traverse from
his palace gate to his mosque by rows
of soldiers knee-dt-ep. It was a strange ,
gorgeous , incongruous spectacle.
SULTAN OF TUltKEY.
"Preceded by his women in closed
carriages , several of their sous and
some SO great generals and officers of
the army inarching on foot , came the
Sultan himself. He was driven slowly
in an open carriage facing forward ,
with the minister of war facing oppo
site. And this is Abdul Hamid II. the
absolute ruler of 25.000.000 peoplethe
defender of the faith , monarch of the
IIuky-met-5-sonize. the glorious gov
ernment , variously known elsewhere as
the 'sick man of Europe' and the 'great
assassin. ' Every splendor of general
and trooper is forgotten ; every eye is
fixed on the little , old , round-shoul
dered man in the carriage. A shout-
well-trained and evidently long-prac
ticed shout , curiously lacking in lire or
spontaneity goes up from the troops
The old man raises his hand in salute
He wears a red fez ; his face is sickly
white , like parchment ; the nose is that
of an aged eagle , long , hooked , high-
bridged the Armenian nose , his sub
jects will whisper in contempt. His
e3es , what one sees of them , for he
turns his head neither to the right nor
to the left , are deep set and black.
"Those who know him best say that
he has a peculiar way of moving his
eyes without moving his head , as if he
were always seeking to look behind
him , to pry out secrets , to surprise
hidden motives. His beard is deep blue-
black , as are his eyebrows ; naturally
they would be gray , but he dyes them ,
for the Sultan must never look old. To
his generals he leaves all the pomp and
display of gold lace and tinsel ; for him
self he is clad wholly in black , like a
eunuch , without ornamentation of any
kind. 'The Raven , ' he has been called ,
and the raven he looks. The Sultan is
not really old and yet if there is one
impression above another that he gives
it is that of age and great weariness. "
ELAINE'S FEAR OF HORSES.
Would Not Have Been in an Accident
Like That of Koosevelt.
"Had James G. Blaine been alive and
a member of President Rjosevelt's par
ty at Pittsfield last week , " remarked
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Taylor to-day , "the disaster by which
Craig lost his life would not have oc
curred. I don't think I ever met any
one who was in such mortal fear of be
ing in a runaway as was the brilliant
Maine statesman. He would take abso
lutely no risks with horses , and required
the most extreme precautions to be ob
served before he would submit himself
to a carriage ride. I remember many
years ago that Mr. Blaine was to visit
our city of Milwaukee , and I was in
charge of the arrangements for his re
ception and entertainment. One of the
prominent liverymen of the town came
to me and offered free of charge the
services of a magnificent team of six
white horses to draw the carriage of
Mr. Blaine. I accepted the offer , and
when the statesman arrived at the de
pot I escorted him to the street where
the team and carriage were waiting.
I was about to hand Mr. Blaine into the
vehicle when he suddenly drew back.
"There is no one at the head of those
horses , " he said , "and I would prefer
that you get some man to guard them
before we proceed. ' I told the driver
what he said , and the latter insisted
that he had absolute control over his
animals ; that they were used to bands
and other noises , and that there was not
Ltie slightest danger. I repeated this
to Mr. Blaine , and told him that I
thought he could safely take a seat.
But he wouldn't do it. 'I shall not put
tny foot into the carriage , ' he said , 'until
a man is put at the head of each horse
and is made to stay there. ' That ended
It , and we hurried around and got half
i dozen men together and had each
hook on to a bridle. Then Mr. Blaine
jot into the carriage and we proceeded
uptown. " Brooklyn Eagle.
CRIPPLES MADE IN RUSSIA.
Disfiiriire Children and Ex
hibit Them for Ga'n.
That the making of cripples Is ear
ned on in Russia as a regular trade , and
is mighty profitable one , has jujt
jeen proved in a startling way. A. the
result of a dramatic happening at the
1 annual fair at Podkamla , It has come to
light that Russian beggars make a prac
tice of mangling and disfiguring chil
dren in order that they may show them
[ in public and pocket the alms drawn
i from tender-hearted people by the sight
1of 1 them.
At the Podkamla fair , In the charge
of an old beggar woman , there was a lit
tle girl of about G , whose condition
shocked everyone. She was entirely
blind , she was lame in one leg , one of
her arms was broken , and her body was
a mass of disgusting sores. Money sim
ply poured in on the old hag who had
her in charge , one of those who gave
being a shabbily dressed woman.
Handing the little girl some money ,
she said , "Pray my child , for my lost
niece , Kitty ! "
"I am Kitty , " said the little girl.
The hag with her was arrested at
once , and it was soon proved that she
had stolen the child from her aunt's
house at Zarvanic , in Galicia. She took
her to the headquarters of a regular
gang of which she was a member , and
there the child's eyes were put out , one
of IICT legs and one arm were broken ,
and terrible wounds were made on dif
ferent parts of her body. Then the lit
tle girl was taken from place to place
in the country , the sight of her never
failing to bring pocketfuls of money tc
her abductors.
When the people who were at the Pod-
kamia fair heard the story they vowed
that they would lynch every beggar on
the grounds , and it was all the policu
could do to keep them from doing so.
Investigation proves that over fifty
cases similar to the one described above
have been detected during the last year.
STRANGER THAN FICTION
Were the IJoinantic Adventures of aa
Jixile in Australia ,
Like a page of sensational fiction
read the romantic adventures of Jo
seph J. Gill , once a resident of Brook-
lyn , who died re
cently while home
ward bound from a
life of remarkable
exile in centra.
Australia.
In IbJjtJ Gill lefi
his wife and twc
children and se'-
sail for Australia
to look after some
mining interests
there. After some
'ii j. < , ILL. tjme no letters
were received from him , and after
3 ears of waiting his relatives in this
country believed him u'ead a belief
that was firmly established when , In
1SUO , word came from the United
States consul at Sydney , Australia , that
a man named Gill , together with four
companions , had been ambushed and
killed by bushmen in the interior.
Three years after his reported death
his wife became Mrs. Frank Johnson
of Brooklyn.
Meanwhile Gill was having his chap
ter of adventures in Australia. Instead
of being killed by the bushmen he hac
been captured by them and forced Intc
servitude , doing the most menial wortt
and subjected to every indignity. FoJ
twelve years he lived in constant hope
of deliverance , but so close was ths
watch upon him and so far had he beer
removed from civilization that hir
hopes seemed vain. Finally the op
portuuity came and Gill succeeded ir
making his way to the coast.
He yearned for the home and friend }
from whom he had been absent for six
teen years and sought information re
garding them through a detective agen
cy. After some delay he was informec
that his wife was dead. Accepting thi
report as true , he remarried In Aus
tralia and this second wife and a child
survive him. In March of this yeai
Gill made further inquiry for his peopbj
and with more success. He learned
from the Brooklyn police that members
of his family were still living in tha
city and it was while he was on hi *
way to join them that death came. U (
died on shipboard and was buried aJ
sea in the straits of Java.
Quite Safe.
The truth is never more convincing
than when it "slips out" involuntarily
Geenrally at such times it has a pe
culiar charm also , as this incident sug
gests. A tattered and forlorn young
girl of 15 summers or so entered thi
office of a real estate man the othez
day. Ordinarily he is the politest ol
individuals , but this day he was sc
busy that he did not know which waj
to turn. So , with a swift glance out ol
the corner of his eye , he said rathej
sharply :
"Well , what do you want ? "
"P-p-p-lease mister '
, won't
, you bny a
ticket on our cuckoo clock ? " replied
the girl , hesitatingly.
"Your cuckoo clock ? What could 1
lo with a cuckoo clock even if I should
set it ? "
"Oh , you won't get it , mister ! Pleas ?
juy a ticket. "
Grass Houses in Oklahoma.
Among the most interesting features
) f Sjutheru Oklahoma are the remains
) f the grass houses formerly built bj
: he Wichita Indians , who , to a certain
; xtent , keep up their novel mode of ar
chitecture to the present day.
Best Wage Earners.
In the average wages paid to em
ployes the industry that stands highesl
imoug the large undertakings is thai
> f smelting and refining , says Mahin's
Magazine. Here the average for th *
! 4oOO workers is $ G52 per worker.
Cattle Sprayed with Kerosene.
The cattle which draw the mahoganj
ogs in the forests of the Isthmus 01
anaina have to be sprayed with kero-
i-ne to destroy the parasites which arr
heir deadly enemies.
The smaller the man , the larger oath/
ic uses.