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By Robt. J . C. Stead CHAPTER XV. Elden lost no time in making his first call upon the Hardys. He had discussed the matter with Irene over the telephone. "We are hardly in order yet," she had explained. "We are inh a chaos of houge-furnishing, but you will be welcome, And there may be boxes to lift, and carpets to lay, and heavy things to shove about." He found, however, that very fine order had already been established in the Hardy home, or, at any rate, in that part of it available to visi- tors; Mrs. Hardy would have bar- red, with her own. robust body if necessary, his admission into any such surroundings as Irene had pic- tured. 'Irene. received him cordial- ly, but Mrs. Hardy evinced no more warmth than propriety demanded. Eldén, however, allowed himself no Land evening dress, but it doesn't seem to have any place in the foot- hills." "You're right," Conward agreed. "Mister has no place on horseback. If you were to go out on the ranges and begin mistering the cow punch- ers, like as not they'd Jead you into camp at a rope-end. No man really makes much of a hit in this coun- try until everybody calls him by his first name." . "Well, Mr. Elden seems to have made a hit, as you call it, with some of hi§ acquaintances," sald Mrs. Hardy, with a touch of acidity. "I think, Irene, you wonld do well to remember that we are not out on the ranges, and that Mr. Elden no longer pursues his living with a lariat." "It may be a point of view I have acquired in the West," Irene per- pisted. "But I think it a greater courtesy to address a man by his -9) Heaven!" "Have we "Merciful Mrs. Hardy. that?" Irene's brighter still. "Oh, I didn't mean that,"' she protested. *'I was-----I was 'employing a figure of speech." ' So the talk drifted on, sometimes through tortuous channels that threatened at any, moment to over- turn their little shell of convention, But no such catastrophe occurred, and when, at length, Mrs. Hardy be- gan to show signs of weariness, Irene served coffee and cake, and the two men, taking that as an intimation that their welcome had run down, but would rewind itself if not too continually drawn: upon, left the house togethef. On their way they agreed that it was a very heautiful night. Dave turned the situation over in his mind with some impatience. Irene had now been in the city for several weeks, and he had had op- portunity for scarce a dozen person- al words with her , Was he to be baulked by such an insufferable chaperonage as it seened the pur- pose of Mrs, Hardy ad Conward to establish 'over his love affair? No. In the act of undressing he told himself No, suiting to the word such vigor of behavior that in the morn- ing he,found his 'shoes _at opposite | corners of the. room. * No! He who, as a boy had not hesitated to assert a sort of proprietorship over Irene, would not hesitate now He was keyed to the heroic, (To be continued) exclaimed come to cheeks and eyes grew TREES - RSI oe can a THE BOOKSHELF The Reformer's Review of Recent Books Pagan Love by John Murray Gibbon: Published by McClelland & Stewart, Torok. This is the authors best effort. It tells the story of a young Scotchman who came out of the war a wreck. Just as he was about to end all by the suicide' route he saves a man's life and in gratitude is befriended. He is taken to New York by his hene- factor given a good job and ieets with success in business. Oliphant the young Scot is un- able to fathom the many mysteries surrounding his benefactor--em- ployer. He chafes upder the con-| tisual supervision which includes Ma personal life and habits, Many his achieved, however, only after con- siderable adversity. dentist, years a traffic assistant on the state railways, writing only in leisure mo- ments, it published in 1915, he came into fav- orable notice. . Johannes Buchholtz, whose novel, "The Miracles of Clara Van Haag," has translation, is one of the most dis- tinctive of He bas won high praise from his famous and Hamsun, and is an established favorite with the reading public of renectly appeared in English modern Danish writers. contemporaries, Brandes It's Quality is AN Excellent Blend at a Reasonable Price. LUXURA Supreme. Sold in Sealed Packages ° Only. country, His was The son of. a he himself was for many With "Egholm," which was things about his 'boss' puzzle him But no explanation is forthcoming till the very end when a startling climax reveals all. John Murray Gibbon It is a story of mystery and ro- mance with a remarkable climax. In addition there is a great deal of] very excellent writing and the reader meets some very fine wholesome characters, such as the Canadian colony in New York. There is also an able analysis of social and labor te From nothing to him, 'en and at Oxford. in paper man in London, rapidly rising to the position of editor of and Born in the spicy isle of Ceylon. earliest youth distance was Educated at Aber- Also trained art at Paris. Became a news- White". Went to Algiers for 'Black | AT Your Groce rs soms-- cn and 'even to wm ---- over middle Europe Russia and Japan. He visited Can- ada annually or oftener and was consequently no stranger to it when in 1913 he. was asked tg come to Canada as General Publicity Agent of the C. P. R. His "Scots in Canada," a pic- turesque and vivacious narrative of Scottish settlements of this country was publjshed about the time of his arrival here as a resident. His first novel, "Hearts and Faces' establish- ed his position as an important British novelist. "Drums Afar", linked up Oxford to Canada, and more recently "The Conquering Hero' transferred his literary back- dian Authers' Association at its in- augural meeting. To him ia large- ly due the success of the Canadian Book deck idea.' This background of travel ae- counts for the cosmopolitan charac- ter of J. M. G.'s novels with the in- timate knowledge of Europe and the United States which surprises so many reviewers, They cannot un- derstand how he can write Oxford English, Paris French, Chicago slang and Berlin German with equal ac- curgey. The chief character in his newest novel 'Pagan' Love' is a Czecho-Slovak, depicted with a veri- similitade that only can ceme from first hand knowledge of the remark- | Christian name than by any attificial title. It is something like admit- ting a guest into the kitchen--a priv- ilege not extended to the casual vis- ground _entirely to - this country. |able race. Since coming to Canada Mr. Gibbon has been active in promoting an in- terest in Canadian Riterature and was chosen President of the Cana- annoyance over that. A very much greater grievance had "been thrust upon his mind. Conward had pre- ceded him, sud Wag aiveady's guest itor, It seems like taking him into Dave had accepted the fact of Con- | the family---"" ward's dinner party 'as a natural enough occurrence, and after Irene's' By sks > Po ---- ------ ------------ -- - . -- - oxplanation he had dismissed it from i - his mind. Conward's presence in the Hardy home was a more serious matter, He knew Conward well enough to know that purpose always lay behind his conduct, and during 'the small talk with which they whil- ed away an "hour his mind was reaching out.acutely, exploring every nook of possibility, 'to arrive, if It could, at some explanation of the sudden interest which Conward was displaying in the Hardys. These ex- planations narrowed down to two al- most equally unpalatable, Conward was deliberately setting about to cap- ture the friendship, perhaps the af- fection, of either Mrs. Hardy or Irene. Strangely enough, Elden was more irritated by the former alter- native than by the latter. He felt that if Conward's purposes were di- rected toward Irene that was at least fair warfare; he could not bring himself to think similarly of a suit 1. theWinter that involved Mrs. Hardy. Perhaps - this attitude was due to subconscious | Ja Yocupnition of ne jact that he Jad : : . BB ET a EN and women of Ontario--it is time that we should all realize the terrible com- pleteness of the fire calamity that devastated Northern Ontario in the early days of October. Fires and calamities we have had before, but never such complete destruction as this. ; - than as a rival for that of Irene. On the latter score he had no misgiv- ings; he was confident of his ability Over 1,200 square miles laid desolate, town after town nothing but a bleak expanse of ruins, hundreds of farms swept bare, thousands of your fellow citizens 'cleaned out" and thrown abruptly back into man's primeval struggle against nature and her grim forces: fire, hunger, ice and the stark. northern cold. ™ to worst any adversary in that field, and competition would lend a piq- uancy to his courtship not altogeth- Give 1,800 families a fighting chance to get on their feet. Temporary relief must go on. We must not fail the North. Temporary Relief Until Spring All for One--One for All ed without advantages; but he had no such confidence in the case of an assault upon the heart of the elder woman. He could not become Con- ward's rival in such a case, and, re- pugnant as the idea was to him, he In the name of humanity we must see these Here is a portion of our Provinee in ruins, fellow citizens through until Spring opens up the and for si sake op vie whole Proyinee as wel : 2 iais as for its own sake, this gection mu e restor esumed. . 1 land and general business activities are resur to prosperity and happiness. We ithe North, oney must be orthcoming rom the citizens wen fts vigorous, pioneering spirit so one of Ontario, from municipalities, industries, soci- and all, let's "give a hand into the saddle" -- eties, public bodies, lodges, churches, etc.--not felt no assurance that such a match | might not develop. And Conward,| and do it NOW. for rehabilitation or re-establishment, but for the Money is needed. The Relief Com- supply of bare necessities, "temporary relief" as a prospective father-in-law, was! mittee can buy in large quantities, in fact, to the stricken North. conditions as they exist in the United | his health. On his return to Lon- States, The book is well-worth don for a time he did free lance reading. Mr. Gibpon is making a|work. "Discovered, by Baron big place for himself among Cana- Shaughnessy in 1907, he was chosen dian authors. to spread the gospel the C. P. R. See Norman Mcllveen as The Min- ister in My Dream Girl, Regent, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 6 and 7. 102-a A delightfdl specialty will he in- troduced by the Reid Twins in My Dream Girl. » 102-n x Winter--thé relentless foe Coming as this terrible fire did, in the autumn, with the 'harvests gin, with the townspeople already preparing for the rigors of winter--the complete destruction wrought is' the harder to that Mrs. Hardy, notwithstanding | overcome. her years and her eccentricities, had a certain stateliness of manner| through which at times protruded a reckless frankness that lent a | unique charm to her personality, but | it was impossible to suppose that Conward Had been captivated by these interesting qualities. To Con-| ward the affair could be nothing more than an adveature, but fit would give him a position of a sort | of semi-paternal authority over both | Irene and Elden. Fortunately for his train of thought, which was | floundering into more and more dif- ficult travel, the prospect of having | to appeal to Conward for the honor! of Irene's hand inh marriage touch-| ed Dave's sense of humor, and he suddenly burst into® inappropriate laughter in the course of Mrs. Har- | dy's panegyric upon the morals of her late husband. Mrs. Hardy contracted brows. | "I beg your pardon," said Dave. | "I have to confess I allowed my wits | ta go rambling, and they stumbled upon a--upon very amusing absurd- ity." FElden's mind was engaged with Mrs. Hardy and Conward, and uhintentionally, he allowed his eyes to embrace them both in his remark. One more astute than Mrs. Hardy = might have had A Siimmer of the ab- . ; surdity which had provoked Dave's 3 ; untimely mirth, but she was a wom- W. H. ALDERSON (Chairman) . an who took herself with much se- Toronto Board of Trade. Western Ontario Associated 'riousness. If Conward guessed any- A. & YOUNG, North Bay. Boards of Tsade thing he concealed his intuition be- tario Government. . : hind a mask of polite attention. GEO. C. COPPLEY, Hamilton. and MRS. M. SOUTER; Trout Mills end Mrs, Hardy addressed a severe JOHN ELLIOTT, Belleville, R. A. MINNIS, 9roguois Falls, glance at Elden. "You should keep Ontario Associsted Boards of Trade + 4 NO. Associated Boards of and Chambers of C : yt ha Lt Trade, and Farm Organizations in your wits better in hand, young man. When you find them rambling it GEO. BRICDEN, Toronto, 4 Canadian Manufacturers' Assoc. Northern Ontario. might be well to--ah--lasso them. Ha, ha, Mr. Conward. That's the word, is it not? Lasso them." This unexpected witticism on Mrs. Har- dy's part had the fpriunate effect of restoring that lady's good humor, and Elden found an easy way out of the situation by joining in the gen- eral laughter. "I fear a thought would be a some- what elusive thing to get a rope on," he ventured. ' "But if it could be done, Dave would do it" Trene interjected. "You remémber-----" y "Dave?" gaid Mrs. Hardy, sharp- ly. "You mean Mr. Elden." The color rose in the young wom- an's cheeks, but she stood by her guns. "He was Dave in those days," she said. "It would be impossible to think of a mister galloping about over the foothills, swinging his lar- fat, or smashing bottles with his six- shooter. Mister fits in with the con- with tailor: and perfume ' | Thousands of people at first had literally no place to lay their head, little to wear and nothing to eat. fn had to be taken care of at first, somehow, and then, desperately es the days went by, and the cold grew more intense, rough but : serviceable standard shacks, 16" x 20, have been replacing tents, old street cars, packing boxes and sheet iron--a regular food supply has been es- tablished, and rough clothing is being distributed. a more grievous menace to his) peace of mind than Conward as a de-| feated rival. | The more he contemplated this as- pect of the case the lése he liked it. ~get big discounts, and often gifts of merchandise from the many manufacturers who are generously co-operating with the Committee. The exact needs are now known. He would not do Conward the com- | pliment of supposing that he had, or! The Northern Ontario Fire Relief : Committee might develop, a genuine attach- | ment for Mrs, Hardy, It was true) has been enlarged and now is thoroughly represen- tative of the bin of Ontario. The Provin- cial Government is co-operating to the fullest extent and is doing everything that a Govern- ment can properly do to assist in temporarily relieving the fire sufferers. The Brighter Side of the Picture Everywhere throughout the fire swept district one hears only a strong, manly note of confidence, of resolution to go forward, to "'stick to the country" if body and soul can be held together, to make good once more, to restore the hundreds of burned farms, to rebuild the eight or ten - destroyed towns--And it will be done if the stream of temporary relief from 'Old Ontario does not dry up! What can a man do with his house a blackened hole in the ground, his barn a charred heap, his work shop a twisted pile of « . . rubbish--and a northern her eve- | blizzard raging over all? To give immediate relief the Committee must secure actual cash without delay. If each municipality or county would devise some s of raising an amount equal to one half mill on the total assessment the relief can be continued. The raising of relief funds could be undertaken by lic spirited citizens, clubs, churches or councils and provides a most deserving cause for Christmas giving. Ontario to help a neighbouring district in its hour of trial. Make payable to-- "The Northern Ontario Fire Relief Committee, Royal Bask Building, Toronto life and! ow itis up toevery community / K.W. McKAY, St. Thomas Ontario Municipal Associ J. J. MORRISON, Tasonto, United Farmers of Ontario. MRS. H. P. PLUMPTRE, Toronto; Oniarip Division, Canadian Red Cross Seciety. MRS. A. H. WILLETT, Cochrane; Women's Institute. * Wentions;