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#^4«+»i«*»^«4<H-»-f«>«4«+a4«^«+«^»4«+»+»-f«i» i THE STEWARD'S SON CHAPTER XIX.â€" (ConUmicd.) "C!ivo me a glass of clmmjnigne, plon.si'." he Siiiil lo llio foutmuu in attindancc, niid, having got It, hu »vcnt outsiiio again. Ikwca had ceased cryiiis, but she Wa.s still shiikon by dry lilllo sobs. •'There," said Cyril, "drink that, ond then run away and dance. Talic my word for it, Jiecca, tlioro i» Kcurccly anything in the world worth crying over, ' ho added, 1,'itterly, as ho thought of his own trouble. llccca took the wine in both her trembling hnnds and drunk It, then she looked up at Cyril, with a Btrungo expression in her face. "Yiiu'ro â€" yju're very kijid to me, sir," she said. "Oh, nonsense," said Cyril, rather Imiialiently; ho was anxious to l;o off. "The man who would turn from S!io was sitting be.side Lady Fern- dale, still palo but composed, though hor heart was aching, her brain burn- ing, with the emotion that threaten- ed to overni.ister her. What did it mean? Could it be pos- sible that ('.vril, hor hero, her god, whoso faith and honor she would have answerotl for with hoi' life, was false to her? Had the .scene she had witnessed been a trick of her imagination? She had seen him place a ring on Becca'a finger, had seen the girl look up into his face with tear-dimmed eyes, and kiss his hand wilh a passionate de- votion! And he had danced with her, and with her alone of all women in tho room. lb; had been walking in. the darkness with her, making lovo to her â€" n shudder ran through Norah's frame, and her eyes filled a woman in dislress,' you know. Arc j W'th Jiroud ^and burning tearsâ€" while you uU right now?" shi\ she, the W(jninn who.so heart he Hut it seemed as if there were still I had won, tho woman with whom ho something troubling Uecca, which | had o.\chnnged solenm vows of eter- Iho glass of unwonted champagne i nal love, had been neglected by him. couhl not di.spel. | ^^ ^^"•'' i'lsidt past all romprehen- "Mr.â€" Mr. IJurne," she faltered, "I'sion. exceeding all belief. And yet â€"1 ought to havo told you " Then j k'ic had seen those two with her owu she stopped. I eyes! "What ought you to have told me," Baid Cyril, half absently. IJecca's face grew red, and she looked ut his boots and plucl^ed at tho fiounco of her drcBS iir^s.-jlutely ond nervou:ily. "It';> â€" it's something I've found," Eho said. "Something of mine, llecca? Well. xvhat is it?" and he smiled. "Don't A feeling of shame swoDt over her â€" shame for him who could bo so fabsc, for herself in that she had loved ond trusted him. Slio longed to plea<l s:)mo cxcu.se and go home, to tly from tho heat that seemed to be .stilling her, the hideous din of the band, tho clatter and laughter which s(ninded like the voices of so many mocking demons bo so frigiitoned. I don t suppose it's i in her ears, anything of consequence." I "-'\ro you tired, Norah, dear? It "Iâ€" I meant to gi'.e it to you when ' has been a long day." I saw you," said poor Tecca.. fulter- ing for the (irst (injo in her lifo oVit a fib; "butâ€" but it slipped my mind. Here it is," and she held out tho ring, which she had tuken from her pocket and hold in her hand while ho had gone {or the clian)paEno. "Oh, my ring," be suiil, carelessly. "Why, is that what has been troubl- ing .vou? or partly, eh? What a silly child you are! Why, I don't care any- thing about it; sec here, Uecca, lind- , stmigl-.t before her Ings arc keepings. As you'vo found I "Whit a handsome man!" said an It, you shall havo It." j olil lady to I.ady Kerndale. "Who is Ho .s))oko thoughtle.ssly, and wilh | he, niy dear? I don't remember see- tlio carelessne.'^s characlerist ie, of him. ; ing him before Noâ€" yes, I think I am a littlo tired." ... Then a wave of attraction, repid- sion, sw('pt over her. for she saw Cyiil approaching them. Her heart, her soul went out to- ward him, but her insulted, injured womauhood riH-oiled. She would havo risen and moved away, but her limbs refuse<l to obey her will, and she sat motionless, slalue.S(pie, looking It did not occur to him that tliere was any inipru<lenco or iniilscolion in giving a twopenny-half-pi nny ring to u girl who liad happened to lind It. "You shall have It If you llUo, Der.ca," he said. "Oh, sir!" "TlK-ro .vou ore." suid Cyril. "Ui'ro hold out your hand, and I'll put it on for you." Hoccn, a smile strugglinj? upon her face, held uj) her hand, and at th it moment two persons came to thi- opening of tho uiarqiico and looked out. They were Guildford llerlon and Norah. "A lovely night, but dark," he sniil. "1 think 1 did ri;4ht in advis- ing .you to gi't a breath of fresh air. Lady Noruh." Sho was about to make some reply when her eyes fell upon Cyril and llei'ca. (Ivril's back was turned to- "Oh, a great fovorito of mine. Ifo is .Mr. Cyril llurne, who is going to be a fainoUH artist; i.-^n't he, Norah?" Norah did not an.swer. Cyril wa!» close upon them. "Well, Mr. Uurno." said Lady Fern- dale, ",vou havo come to make those excuses jou owe mo?" "I httvo come to ask Lady Norah to lie gracious enough to give me the n('Xt dance. Lady Ferndale. Will you give mo this dance, I^ady Norah? '"J'liaiik yo\i, but I am tired." 'I1in ie> words fc'll upon Cyril's heart like so manv stabs. At last, ni desperation, lie said: "What a ca)>ital liall room this makes. Lady Norah." Without looking at him sho (Irop« j)ed a cold "Vos," and resumoil her conversation with Lady I'erndule. llo cf)Uld not say. "Lady Norah, will y(ni come w ith me? I havo some- thing to say to you;" lu! could not say tliis openly, with Lady Ferndalo Ward Norah, and liecca was too in-|unil all these old womon silting by. tent upon Cyril to seo tho pair look- ing at them. "It fits as if it weie nia'lo for you," Cyril said, a» ho slipped tho ring on her linger. Mecca's eyes filled wilh tears os sho looked at 'the ring- Htolen property no longer, but her own, her very own. Then sho took Cyril's hand unil put it to her |i|..s. Cyril started and almost snatched his hand away, and lluTo Hashed up- on him for tho first time during the transaction the doubt as to its wi.s- dom. "Oil, come." ho said, "don't make ft fuss iibout such a trumiory j)rns- oiit, Mecca; anil let mo take you back to ti.e tent." Oiiildford Herton ha<l Blood look- ing for (!yrll and llocca to Norah wilh a gleam of gratification in his j her! dark eyo.i. Ho felt Norah's arm (piiver as if a spHsm of pain had shaken her, and saw her face grow, slowly, slowly white; then in a low Voici^ said: "I'm afraid wo nio intruding upon a little love scene, and nro rulher do trop. f/Ol us elVaco ouiselves." "Will you tnko mo to Lady Fern- jlale, Afr. Herton?" and in silence ho Jed hei' to tho lino of dowagers ut tho other end of the room, and, with a low, reverential bow, left her. Meanwhilo Cyril had taken Ilecea's arm, and was luurving her to tho tout; but at tho door Ihn'ca drew back half shyl.v. "Iâ€" I don't Want to Ro back Just yet," sho murmiireil. "Vou go and leave me, Mr. Hume. I've given you trouble enough already " "^'ou'd like to stay in tho oir a liltlo while longer? 'V'c'ry well, Hecea go and sit down rgain until you fool niid yet he must speak with her, and j alone. He saw the peojile streaming to- I ward the end of tho tent into the I supper room. but. wilh eyes that not- iced nothing; nnd it, was wilh a start that he found (liiildford Herton sud- deiil.v bi'l'iu'd them. "Will you let me take you in to supper. Laily Norah?" Cyril's heart felt like lead oa shn rose and placed her hand on (luild- ford liertcm's arm, nnd, rising him- self, he stood and stareil afti^r them, as thi-y walked away, like a man in a dream. What had he done, ho asked him- S(^lf, Hint she should treat him with such cold disdain? .\li, if slio could only know what lu! hud emlurod dur- ing that fortnight of absence from "I'm afraid you will havo to takn mo or some other old lady, Mr. llurne," said Lady l''i>rndale, eyeing him with a half smile of amusement. ('yiil started, and olYered hor his arm, but Lady Ferndale turned to one of tho downgi>i s. "Lady 'i'l-e.-isinglon, lol nio Intro- duce Mr. (.'yril Huino," and (\vrll feeling that, lie must be dreaming out of his senses, gave \\\n arm to the old lady nnd led her off, It was Mot for the honor and pleas- ure of taking Countess of Ti-.-ssing- ton in to supper that ho had d;«8'.ieit down from London: nnd ,\et It seem- ed as if it would bo his cuily rewird. for when he reached tho sujiper ro(un he found that the imly seats vacant worn at Ilia end of tho long tahlo, iin<l that Norah was far nwny from him at the upper enil. Tho meal appeared to Cyril to stretch into eternity; but Lady Tres- all right," he said, and with a nod ! sington rose at last, nnd ho took her nnd a smile ho left her, feeling, if tho back to tho ball room. truth must bo told, g/-catly ro'.ievei He entered the m»r(|Ueo during (n iii- . larval in tho dances, and at once lo'*ho(l rouna for Noruh. "Now .V(ui have dono your duly, Mr. Hurne, don't let ino kc-cf yoU," said Lady 'JVi^ssington, sef.tng her- self in the chair sho b t-^ occupied during the whole of tho evening. "Can you tell mo the time? I sup- pose it will not last much longer. I hnvo a young daughter hero some- where, and wo must be thinking of going." Cyril looked at his watch and told her. "So late!" she said. "It is quite time my girl was in bed. Will you bo so good as to find her tor me. There she is, tho ono wilh the dark rose in her hair." Cyril Went off, thinking with dis- may OS he went that in a short, a Very short time he too must be olT; that is, if ho meant to catch the market train, wtiich would enable him lo keep his appointment with l,ord Nowall. Ho found Lady Tressington's daughter, a young girl just out of the schoolroom, and full to the brim wilh delight in her first ball, and delivered tho message. "Oh, dear! So soon!" sho said, pouting iier fresh young lips, and looking at Cyril reproachfully. "Are you sure mamma said wo wore go- ing? I thought you were going to ask mo to dance!" sho added, with tho naivete of a schoolgirl. I'oor Cyril's heart fell. "That is what I should like," he said. "I'orhaps Lady Tre.ssington will bo gracious enough to permit us." "Let us dance first, and ask mam- ma afterward." suggested the young lady, demurely, and Cyril, with a laugh of despair that must have sounded rather otldly in Lady Anne's oars, put his arm around her waisL. 'J'ho dance seeineil, like the supper, I'n'lless. Ho saw tho minutes racing away, and carrying with them his last opportunity of speaking with Norah. Laily Anno was pretty and charming enough to win the heart of any man, but it is lo be feared that Cyril went very near to actual- ly disliking her. Tlio moment tho music ceased ho look her to lior motlier, nnd, meta- phorically, almost threw her at Lady Tres.sington. Then, palo with excite- ment and nnxioly, ho went round in searcli of Norah. Ho Could not see her anywhere. Ho lookt-d at ilia watch; there was very little more time left than would suf- fice for him to go back to The Chequers and got his things and catch the train. At last lie sow Lady Fcrndalo standing by the opening of tho lent, and ho made his way to her. "So soon, Mr. Hurne?" sho said, thinking ho was going. "I am afraid so," said Cyril. "Thank you for so very pleosant an evening " Tlion he out wilh his (piestion wilh u suddenness that al- most startled liiiiLself. "Have you seen Lady Norah, Lad.v Fcrndalo? 1 â€" I want to beg a dance." "Oh, I'm so sorry," said Lady Feri.dolo. "Sho was tiretl. It has been a long day, and sho has been so good in helpin'j us! Sho has gone in to tho house, and to bed, I hope; but 1 am really sorry that you should miss your dance." Cyril stared at her for a moment aghast, then in a bewildered kind of way he made for the cloakroom, and got his hat and coat, and went into tho open air. There ho stood with his hand.^ thrust into his pockets, storing va- cantly at the Ktnrs. Norah gone! Tho last chanco of see- ing and speaking to her lost! And he was going away jierliaiis for months. And there was no way of communicating wilh her! do! Leave her with nothing to take with him but thi- remembrance of lier strange, inexiilicr.blo coblne.ss! Not he! Lord Nowall and his picture might go hang! Then he th()ii);lit of his hinh resolve, of the chance which luck had given him, of what duck would say, of what Norah herself would .say if ho let it slip; and ho groaned. Was there no way of letting hor know where bo was going and why. no way of telling her how cruelly sho had ni.ide him sufl'er Hint niuht, and bogging her for an explaimtion? I'A'en as he asked himself the (luostion ho saw Hecca South coming from tho tent. Sho was wrapi>ed in a shawl, and Was evidently going honie in coin>>aiiy with some of the girls of tho vlllaso who were with her. Her presence luilurally supi)li<'d him with an idea. She hud carried ii message for him once; rho should do so again. .loining Iho group, ho went up to her, and, touching her arm, whisper- ed her nam,'. She started, and turned her face to him, and its pallor slrnek him as it had dono when he had run against her on his way fioiu tho suiipar room. "Como wilh mo a minute, llocca,'* ho said in a whisiier. She did not hesiluto for a socond, hut, ol.'eying him us it ho had n right lo ciunmanil, look her arm trcun that of the girl next to lier. and said, "Co on, lOiiiily; I'll catch you up directly." The girl, Inileed tho whole of tho littlo group, looked at her ami at Cyril, and the one she addressed as Kiiiily plge.kid knowingly, and wlii.-i- pereil KomelhhiB which made tho rest laugh as they looked over their sliouhlirs. Cyril wn:i half a dozen yards in Ih.i (InrkneSH, Hecca following. Then h.i stopped. I "Ho en," ho Slid, "wl!l you do [ nonielliing for me?" Sho noddecl, her black eyes fixed iijion his face. "That's a good girl." ho said. "I want you to take u letter lo" â€" ho falteiiHl for a . n.omont â€" "to Ij;;dy Nornh." Uocca nodded silently agnin. "I â€" I wanted to any something to her," said Cyril, "but could not got a chanco to-night. Will you give hor a nolo from mo; give it to her when you aro alone with her? Vou took a message from mo onco, you know â€" " "I know. Give rae the letter, Mr. Hurne." "It isn't written yet, nccca. and where am I to got â€" Wait!" ho hunted his pockets and found an old letter. "Como this wa.v," ho said, f;uickly. Uecca followed him to tho edge of tho shubbery. and. Kneeling down. Cyril spread out Ihc half shoot of paper on Ids hat. â- Now lake this matchbo.x and lignt a matchâ€" ono after tho other: keep them going till I've finished. There's a good girl, Uecca." he said. Sho struck a wax match, nnd hold it clo.so lo tho paj.'er, and lit othe.s in succession as he wrote tho follow- ing: "I havo been absent on important business. I could not ccnio to you I could not v.rilo. Are you angry because of my absence? I havo done nothing to deserve your coldness. To- morrow â€" to-duy â€" I must leave Kng- land. I may be away months. I cannot leavo you without a word begging you to tell me why you have treated mo so cruelly. Norah! Have you forgotten in a short fortnight ail that he.s passed bctwion us? Write mo a line, and at once, to 'Lorient. Hrittany.' I shell know no hal>pi- iiess until I hear from you, till I know that you still lovo me. "Cyril." "There! Vou will give it to her, Hecca? .And Boon! And â€" I've no en- velope. Heccu!" "No ono shall see it. You can trust nie, Afr. Hurne." "Ves, ' ho said gravely, "I can trust jou, HiKxa. Tal-o it. thenâ€" and for Cod's sake take cure of it. Vou can't know how iaiportunt it Is " His face wns pale in tho light of the match, and his lips quivered. "\'(ni can trust nio!" sho repeated. Ho watched her intontly as sho carefully hid tho letter away in the bosom of her dress. "'i'hunk you. Hecca." ho said. "And goodliy for the present. I must go now. J,et nio sej you on your road." "No, no," sho .said. "I understanil," ho said. "Pirihaps we had better go seiinralely â€" " Kven ns he spoko a .voting man and woman pas.si'd close to him. and looked cur- iously at them, and tho girl called out; "Cood-night, llccca." "Co on now, then." said C.vril. "I will wait here until you havo got into tho road. Cood-night. and thank you! I hope your trouble has all ;vone now. Hecca," ho added. "My trouble? Oh, yes, sir. Good- night. Vou needn't fear obout the letter. Vou can trust me." Cyril looked after her. anxiously, thinking only of his precious letter; then ho set off across the park at a sharp trot. Onco he pulled up, suddenly smit- ten b.v one of thoso unaccountable impulses which fall upon us at limes â€" the impuUe to run after Hecca, and .see her safely to the village. If he had (Uil.v dono so! But he thrust the impulse from him ond hur- ried on his own way. (To bo (Continued.) OLD SHIPS OF THE LINE THEIR COST AND SPEED THE GOOD OLD DA"SS. IN Naval Architects Seek Lessons From the Sliips of Time of Trafalgar. Hef(uo the Institution of Naval .â- Viehilects, in London, Sir I'liilip Watts recently read an interesting piil>er on Urilish warships at tho time of Trafalgar. Tho records us to the rate of sail- ing, he said, were of necessity very iiuletinite. Tho speeds attained, how- e\ei, were slow, even if judged by the .speed of large modern sailing vi's- sels. The maxinium sjieod recorded for frigates at the lime under con- sic'eratioii was ten knots running free, and eight to eight nnd a halt knots when close hauled. At 'l''rafal- gai the nvorago age of tho English liiM^of-ballle ships was IT years. That the French ships in lHOr> were mostly newer than ours was maiiil.v due lo the enormous lo.sses which their navy had sull\'re<l in the preceil- int half-century. Uelwi-en 178'.> and 18t)i» there were 48 l''ronch lino-ot- biittle shijis and 5;{ frigates lost by wreck anil calituro. COST OF OLD MF.N-O'-WAU. Tho cost of ships varied largely from lime to lime. The Itoyol Wil- liam, of 1,918 tons burden, built in J71S). cost obout JUao.HlH), being XIO per ton. Tho Itoyal Ceorge, of 'J,- PIO tons, built in IT.'iO, cost .€51.- 700. or i:2C..7 per ton. In IHOO ships of the lino cost £'2l per ton, while in ISO.") the cost had risen to i;ir>.4 i>er ton. Tho time of building varicHl, in the case of ships of the line, from about live to ten yj-ars, hut was often longer than wtniUl have otherwise been necessary, in or- ('ei to allow the frame lo season well before being plunked. Tho orma- 11 eiits of lOngllsh nnd foreign ships had hurdl.v altered mme than the sliiiis themselves during the lialf- cei.tury beforo Trnfalgar. CHANtU': TO TO-J)AV. There wns so little chan.go in naval in:ilerinl during tho century before Trafalgar tliat both the designing and fighting of .ships was less oxperi- mv'iitrtl I'l ciiaracler than in modern liiiiH. There was i>o (piestion of gun Versus torpedo; no douiits alioiit ram subnu'.rino or mines; no problems as t# tho relative value of speed aa me Finish The farmer manufactures beef, porlc, milk, etc., and he must properly handle his live stock machinery to get the greatest and best finished production. Just as he is careful to put oil on his harvester bearings, so should he be as careful to keep his live stock machinery in good working condi- tion. An animal whose digestive ma- chinery is heavily loaded needs more oil than one that isn't Clydesdale Stock Food is the oil to ease the load on yo'or animal's digestive machinery, be- cause it increases the digestive fluids owing to the food being made "tasty." It also makes the feeder bristle with activity and vitality, laaking the blood circulate better, thereby distributing the flesli more evenly over the body instead of into the paunch for tallow at 4c. per pound. It makes the hide ami coat soft anJ flossy, giving that " fine tinish" that fetches from 25c. to 50c. i)er hundred more than from ordinary feeding. Contains nothing injurious, and can stop feeding it without harmful effects. Your money cheerfully refunded by the dealer if you aro not satis- j fied after feeding it. Same for all Clydesdale Preparations. Clydesdale Carbollne Antiseptic will Uep your stable clean Try HERCULES POULTRY FOOD Clydesdale stock Food Co. Limited, Toronto, Ont. against coal endurance, or additional guns or protection: not speculations ns to tho best dLstribiition of armor and the comparative risk of belt deck or thin side perforation. The sidoa biiiig of oak, no iirogressive improvo- mint was possible in the protective material, as was the case at present, when processes for manufacturing im- proved armor were being continually discovered. Since that date steam propulsion in its varied forms, shell fire, iron and steel armor, steel hulls, bieech-loading nnd rillod guns, tor- pedoes, mines, high explosives, elec- trical appliances, submarines, had all been introduced. lilG (UIiN THK FAC'TOU. These changes had been threatened, but had still left intact, the suprem- acy of the big gun in the big ship as it existed at Trafalgar. In the old days, as now, there was sometimes a strong liisposition to discover de- fects in IJritish ships. Our vessels, it was said sailed slower, carriod smaller nnd poorer guns ut a less height, and were of inferior form to those of tho enem.v; they were da- signed with finer etwis. so that they I'itched more hea^ ily and even en- dim.gered their masts; they wcra older than the enemy's, for we had not to biiilil so many new ships to rej^lace injured ones. Vet, in spito of it all. they generally brought tho enemy lo action, and on the whole they generally beat him. One might hope that , should need unhappily arise this, too, might bo repeated in our day. SPKKn WON VOU TtMiO. Tho discussion was opened by Ad- niiial Sir N. llowden-Sniilh. who .said that at this time our thoughts Wert necessarily can ii«d fnim 'iVafal- gar to Japan. 'iVafaigar had ensur- ed us peace on the 5 gh sens tor 10(1 years, and wo miglW hope tho same would be true with .lupanewe victory at 'I'su-shiina. Speed, ho thouglit, hud enabled Admiral Togo at that battle to place his ships where ho pleased; and, though ever.v warship must bo a compromi.so, he hoped that sjiecd would not bo one of tho •factors in their construction that would bo liglitly thrown over. VISHINO IN FUANCE. Now is tho season tor I'.shing In rranco: dmi't imagine that li.sh hero are tho size of your trout in your. Clearwater lakes and rivers. Fishing in tho JSeino ineaiis satisfying tho passion for lishing, and catching no- thing, or else cuie or two lisli so small that it is necessary lo usn 11 magnifying jjlass to lind out what kind thi'y are. In this lishing seas- on, you will daily .see an army of men turning their bacKs upon work and tho beauties of Paris for livo or fii.\ long hours, holding out ll.shlng poh\s and lines, tho latter sinking tn no purpose, except to bring up aa old shoo, incidentally. "Is Freil out of danjfor?" '"Nttl Millie hasn't given him an anj!Wer t* his proposal yot."- 1^