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\^ By Ginr^BppTHBY Author of "A Hid for Kortuiie," "Tlie Marriii^e (if Ksther," etc. (Copyright lUlia, by U. Applelou & Co.] CnAPTEB I. BOW I COMR ro lU'.AU OK THK BEAUTIFinL, WllITK DKVIL. The Difsht \vu8 Hweltoriug hot, even for lioiii^koiiK. "Hollo! VVIioH tbis?" 8aid Pccklo. "Podiiy, by all that's huii'un. Wuteh- mnu, whut n( the uinht? Wby tbis iu- decent Imst"':'" Tbo uewc'oinor was a sbort, podgy fnao, witb a i^loaa Nbavcu, red face, wbitu tcc'tb, very {iruiniiietit eyes, lar^e euTb and almost iiiurniiilu<leculi)rrd bair, "Fuildy ib (iulTtiriiiK from a bad attack of siipiiroused iiiforiiiation, " Huid Uou- well, who hud bncij uxuiiiiiiiiiK bini oi-iticuUv. "Butter urcscribo for biui. De NDiiiiauville. Ab, I f(ir(,Mt you don't know one auotlier. Let nie intro- duce you â€" Mr. Horace Veudcrbruu, Mr. Oe Noriiiaiivillu. Now you're acqueut, «8 they say in the farces." "Ont witb it, Poddy," continued Peckle, digging biiu in tbo ribs witb the butt of bis <^uu. "If yuu don't tell OR soon, we shall bo sorrowfully com- pelled to poslpoue our cnKaKciiicuta to- enorrow iu order to witut-sw your intor- tneut in the Haiipy Valley. " "Well, in the first place," began Mr. Vauderbruu, "you uiuut Sfoow tbat the Ooduadatta" â€" "Well â€" well, Hkipper â€" Perkins, mar- tinet and teetotaler; chief ollicer, Urad- bnru; otherwise tbo Ohiua Kea liar I What about her? She sailed tbis even- bag for Kbauf^'hai?" "Witb H million and a half of specie •txiard. Dou'tlurf;et tbat. Went ashore (n the Ly-ee-uioon pass at 7 o'clock. Surrounded by junks instantly. 8kipper dispolcbed third oflircr iu launch full tteain for assistance. Gunboat went down posthiistr, and, like most guu- boats, arrive d too late to be of any use. Apulo'iifs. Peckle, old man! fciliippor au<l K'u meu shot, chief officer dirki d, first .''uloou pus.'-i uKiTH of iniportauie citauidof their valuubleHand locked up ill their own l.i rths. The Imlliou room was liicn ri!!i:d, and every red cent of ♦bo iiKjncy is j^one â€" goodness knows wlinre. Kow, wbut d'you think of tbat lor news?" "My gracious'" "What junks worn thoy?" "Nobody kiir.ws. " "Tbo Liy-oc-moon pass tool Right indcr our very noses, Crimiuyl Wou't there bo a row?" ' "Tbo lieuutiful White Dovil again, 1 tappoKe?" "Looks like it, don't it? Peckle, my boy, from this bonr forward tbo papers will take it op, and â€" well, if I know •ny liing of newsiMipers, they'll drop it «n to you fiuuboat fellows pretty hoi." "If I were tbo liritish navy, I'd be teahed if I'd be beaten by a woman." I thought it was time to interfere. V "Will somebody take pity on a poor barbarian and oon<lesceud to explain?" I nid. ".Since I've boon in the east I've heard nothing but Ueautiful White Devil, Beuntifnl White Devil, lieautiful White Devil. Tidin at goverumont house, Colombo â€" lieuutiful White Dev- il; olnb chow, Yokohama â€" Uoautifnl White Devil ; flagship, Nagasaki â€" Beau- tiful White Devil, and now here. All Beautiful White Devil, and every yarn differing from its predecessors by milou. luan tell yon I'm beginning to feel rsry much out of It." Each of tho four men started in to ex- plain. I bold up my hand in entreaty. "As you aro strong, be merciful," I wie^. "Not all at onco. " One of the silent footed China boys brocgbt me a match for my cigar and h«ld it until I had obtained a light. Then, throwing myself back in the long 4iane chair, I bade them work their wicked wills. "r,ot Poddy tell," said Peckle. "Ho txMUits the most prolitio imagination. Ho on, old man, and don't spare him." Veuderhruu pulled himself together, «lgned for silence and, having done so, began theatrically: "Who is the Beau- *ifnl Devil? Mystery. Where did she first ImU from? Mystery. What is her name â€" I mean her real name, not tho pietur- eaqne Chinese cognomen? Mystery. As (ar as can be ascertained sluj made ber flrat appearance iu eastern waters in Bangnu July 24, 18 â€" . Oot hold of aome native prince blowing the family treasnre and blackmailed him ont of 9000,000. A man would never have Dome out of the business alive, but she 'did, and, what is more, with the money to boot. Throe months later the Veotis 4)iieen went ashore, when 48 hours out «< Singapore, junks sprang np out of â- owhere, boarded her in spite of stnb- 'bom resistance on the part of the ship's company, looted ber bullion room of 400,000 and her passengers of £8,000 «iare. " "lint what reason have yoq for oon- 4Moting tho Beautiful White Devil with 'mJm( affair?" "White yacht banging about all the ,Wlm& Known to be hers. Signals passed j'totween them, and when the money I Was secured it was atraishtway carried '4B board her." "All right, aoon." "Quite quiet tcif thre^ nfqtaths. Then the sultan of Surabaya chanced' to make BUfracCiQalutauoe in Bataviaof fiO^ex- traordiuarily beautiful woman, ^ey ^ .#i«dt about »--|!i5bd deal together, after which she' lured him on board a steam Vaoht in Tanjoug Priok, presumably to \ aay goodby. Having done so, sho coaxed him below, sailed off with him there and then kept him un<ler lock and key nntil he badvaid u ransom of over 400,- 000 guilders, when he was put ashore again. Two mouths later Vesey â€" yon kuow Vosey â€" of Jobore street, prolfably tiie richest man in HongkouK, met a woman staying at tbis vorv' hotel. She preueuueu lo ,jo just oiit f?om home anu no end innocent. "Well, Vesey was so awfully smitten th#t be wanted to marry her â€" bad as all'that. She took him in bund and one day got him to take ber for a cruise iu his yacht. Uf course lie jumped at tbo chance, and o£f they sailed. Out at sea they were met by a white schooner. I believe V^esey was in the middle of pro- testing bis undying love, and all that sort of thing, you kuow, when my lady clapped a revolver to his head and bado him heave to. A boat put off from the stranger, and both lady and friend boardtd her. The long and the short (jf it was, when Vesey was released he had signed a check for £riO,000, and, by Jove, the money was paid on tho nail! Chinese government had a scora against her forabducting a mandarin of the gold I "ttou. They tried to catch her, but ^ai..-d. English cruiser went after her for two days and lost her near Formosa. Silence again for three months, then new governor and wife, Sir Preudergast Prendergast, were com- ing out hero on theOloomoo. Her lady- ship, who, yon know, was mixed up iu that Belleville business, bad ber famous diamonds with her â€" said to be worth £80,000. There was also £80,000 in gold going np to Shanghai. It is sup- posed that the purser must have been bribed and in the business. At any rate when thoy arrived at Hongkong both bullion, diamonds and purser were mys- teriously missing. Couldn't find a trace of 'em high or low. Whether they went overboard in a fog, whether they were still stowed >vuy on board, nobody ever knew. Thry were gone; that wiis enough. Tho governor was furious ap'i worried tb> admiralty so witb dis- patches that two cruisers were sent o' with iustrui lions to look for her. They pottered ub'ut and at last sighted and chased her to the Philippines, who. they lost her in a fog. Those are tbo principal counts against her, I believe. Bum story, ain't it?" "E.Ntraordiuary 1 Has anybody ever seen her?" "I should just think so; sultan of Surabaya. \'is;y, native jirinco and nil tho people staying at tbis bouse when she was hero. " "Whut description do they give of her?" "Quito a young woman â€" eight and twenty at most, tall and willowy; beau- tiful fcatur , clear cut us a cameo; ex- quisite coiii)ilexion ami rippling goldc: hair, a voici' like a flute, figure like Venus and eyes that look tlirough yours into the uttrrnioHt depths of your soul." "And i.sii't she wortji being tuthusi- astic about? By Jovel I'd like to kuow her history. " "And do yon mean to tell me that with the Kiiglisb, American, French, Gcriiian, C'liineso and JapiiU'^so fleets patruling these waters it's impossible to catch her?" "Quito â€" np to the present. Look at the facts of the case. She's here today and gone tomorrow. White yacht seen near Singapore today â€" copper colond off Macassar (jn Thursday â€" blaok with white ports near Shanghai the week following. The police and the poor old admiral are turning gray under the â- train. ' ' "By Jovel I'd like to see her." "Don't say that or yon will. Nobody ever knows where she'll turn up next. It is certain that she has agents every- where and that she's iu league with half tbo junk pirates along the coast. Glad I m not a man worth abducting." "But in spite of what you say I can hardly believe that it's possible for a woman to carry ou such a trade. It's like a romamte. " "It's not like it; it is a romance, and a pretty unpleasant one too. Sultan of Surabaya and poor old Vesey were glad enough to see the flnal chapter of it, I can assure you. 'You should just hear the latter's description of the yacht and its appointments. He used to make us creep when be told us how this woman Would sit ou deck, looking him through and through out of bar half closed eyes till he began to feel as if he'd have to get up and scream or sit where he was and go mad. Ho saw two or three things on board tbat boat that he says he'll never forget, aud I gathered tbat he doesn't want any more axonraious io the lady's company." "He must be a man without imagina- tion." "He's a man blessed with good sonnd common sense. That's what he is." "It seems incredible that she should have escaped so long." Peckle took np faia cue again. "Hear, hear, to that. And now, Ben- Well, my boy, if you don't want to go to Bleep in that chair turn ont and flniab the drubbing you've begun. I must be letting aboard directly." Benwell rose and went round the ta- ble to where his ball lay under the onahion. The impertnrbable marker •ailed the score aa if there bad been no pente hi'tbagamo, and the viatoh was once'more getting tiudet way' when the â- wing doors opened and an elderly man entered the room. He was dressed in white frqm top iotoe, carried a big Um- brella and wore a broad brimmed solar topee upon bis head. Oqce inside be paused as if irresolute, and tlien, look- tag round on its occupants, said politely : "Forgive oiy intrusion, bui can yon tell me where 1 can find a gentleman named Do Ncrmanville?" "I am that person," I said, rising from my chair. "I hope yon will not think me rude," he coatiuued, "but if you could allow me the honor of five minutes' conversa- tion with you I should be obliged." "With pleasure." I crossetl the room to where he stood and signed him to a seat near the door. "Pardon me," he said, "but the busi- ness about which I desire to consult you is of a highly importaut and confidential nattire. Is there any room in the hotel where wo can be alone?" "Only my bedroom, I'm afraid," I answered. "We shall be quite free from interruption there." "That will do excellently. Let us go i toit." Arriving at my room, I lit a candle and pushed a chair forward for him. Having done so, I took np my position beside tho opi-u window. Down in the street below I could hear the subdued voices of the passersby, the rattle of rickshaws and the chafing of saiiipaua alongside the wharf. I remember, too, tbat the moon was just rising over the mainland, and to show how unimpor- tant things become engraved upon the memory I recollect that it struck mo as being more liko tho yolk of a hard boiled egg than evtr I remembered to have thought it before. Suddenly I remem- bered the laws of hospitality. " Before ve begin business may I offer yon some refreshment?" I aaked. "B. and S.? Whisky?" "I am obliged to yoa," be answered. "I think I will take a little whisky, thank you." I put my head ont of the door. A â- ervaut wa passing. "Boy, tring two whisky pegs." Then returning to my guest, I said. "Do you smoke? I think I can give yon a good cigar." He took ouo from the box and lit it, pnfling the smoke luxuriously through his nose. "You are a stranger in Hongkong, I believe. Dr. De Normanville?" he be- gan. "Not only in Hongkong, but you might say in tho east generally," I an- swered. "I am out on a tour to study Aaiatio diseases for a hook I am writ- "Ytm are a ttranner in Uongkong, 1 be- Ucvef "Yon have achieved considerable â- nocesH in your profession, I believe. â- We have even heard of you out here." I modestly Indd my tongue. But so pitiful is tho vanity of man that from this time forward I began to look upon my companion with a more friendly air than I had hitherto shown him. "Now forgive my impertinence," he continued, "but how long do yon con- template remaining in the east?" "It is very uncertain," I replied, "but I almost fancy another six weeks will find me upon a li*. aud O. boat homeward bound." "And in that six weeks will yonr time be very importantly occupied?" "1 cauuot say, but I should rather think not. So far as I can tell at present my work is accomplished." "And now will you let me come to business? To put it bluntly, have yon any objection to earning £1,000?" "Not the very least, "I answered, with a laugh. "What man would have, provided, of course, I can earn it in a legitimate manner?" "You have bestowed considerable at- tention upon the treatment of smallpox, I believe?" "I have had sole charge of two^ small- pox hospitals, if that's what you mean. " "Ab, then our informant was right! Well, this business, in which £1,000 is to be earned, has to do with an outbreak of tbat disease." "And yon wish me to take charge of It?" "That is exactly what I am commis- sioned to negotiate." "Where is the place?'' "I cannot tell yon." "Not tell me? That's rather strange^ U It not?" "It is all very strange. Bnt with year permission I will explain myself more clearly. ' ' I nodded. "It is altogether an extraordinary hoaiaeas. But, on the otbcf baud. U>« pay is equally extraordinary. lam com- missioned to find a doctor who will un- .dertake the combat.ipg of ap outbreak of smallpox on tlie following terms and conditions: -The remnneratioiv. shall be £1,000; the doctor shall givebiaword of honor not to divulge the business to any living eoul; he shall set off at onU to the affected spot, and he shall still further pledge himself to reveal nothing of what he may have heard or seen when he returns here again. Is tbat clear to you?" "Perfectly. Bnt it's a most extraor- dinary proposition." "I grant you it is. Bnt it is a chance tbat few men would care to let slip. " "How is the person undertaking it to find the place?" "I will arrange that myself." "And bow is he to return from it "He will be sent back in the same way that he goes." "Aud wken must he start?" "At once, without delay; say 12 o'clock tonight." "It is nearly 11 now." "That will leave an hour. Come, Dr. De Normanville, are yon prepared to nndertako it?" "I don't really know what to say. Thero is so much mystery about it." "Unfortunately that is necessory. " I paced the room iu anxious thouRbt, hardly knowing what answer to give. Should I accept or should I decline the offer? The £1,000 was a temptation, and yet, supposing there were some treachery lurkiug behind it tbat, in my innocence of the east, I could not fath- om â€" what then? Moreover, the advin- turous side of the affair, I must own, appealed to me strongly. I was young, and there was something supremely fasciuatiue about the compliment and the mystery that enshrouded it. "Look here," 1 suid at length. "Pay me half the money down before I start â- a a guarautee of good faith and I'm yonr man." "Very good. I will even meet you there." He put biii hand inside hla coat and drew out a pocketbook. From this ha took five £100 Bank of England note j and gave them to me. "There, you have half the mone;ii^ "Thank yon. Keally, Imustbeg >«f'r pardon for almost doubting you, but" â€" "Pray say no more. Yon understand the conditions thoroughly. You are not to divulge a detail of the errand to any living soul now or when you return." "I will give yon my word I will not." "Then tbat is settled. I am mn^h obliged to you. Can you arrange to nicet me on tho wharf exactly at midnighfr" "Certainly. I will be there without fail. And now tell lue something of the outbreak itself. Is it very severe?" "Very. There havo already been near ly 100 cases, out of which quite 50 have proved fatal. Your position will bo no sinccuro. Yon will have your work cut out for you. " "So it would appear. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go out and en- deavor to obtain somo lymph. We shall need all we can get. " "Yon need not put yoorself to so much trouble. That has been attended to. To prevent any suspicion arising from your asking for such a thing, wo have laid iu a stock of everything yon can possibly need.' "Very well, then. I will meet yon on the wharf." "On tho wharf at 13 o'clock precise- ly. For tho present adieu." CHAPTER n. AN KVKNTFUL VOYAQB. The Inst stroke of 13 was just boom- ing out ou the muggy night when I stepped on to the lauding stage toawait my mysterious employer. The hotel servant who had carried my bag put it down aud, having received his gratuity, left me. [to be CONTINUKD.] A Bit of London Weather. Our weather is grown decidedly gooa for tbo last three days â€" very brisk, clear and dry. Before that it was aa bad ae weather at any time need be. Long con- tinued plunges of wet, then clammy, glarry days on days of half wet (u kind of \yeather peculiar to Loudon, and fully uglier than whole wet) â€" a world of black sunless pluister [a soft mixture, neither one thing nor another], very nupleasaut to move about in I The in- oessaut travel makes everything mud here, in spite of all that clats [a clat, a wooden scraper { aud besoms can do. A kind of uind, too, which ia as fine as paint aud actually almost sticks like a kind of paint. I took, at last, into the oonutry, with old clothes and trousers folded up. There the mud was natural mud, and far less of it; indeed little ol it in comparison with other country. We dry again in a single day of brisk wind. â€" Curlyte Cor. in Athmtio. A cow when slowly milked will not only tend to reduce ber yield in quanti- ty and thns go prematurely dry, bnt ic baa been found from exi>eriment that as between slow milking versna qnick milking there was a difference of 10 per cent in tho butter fat in favor uf the qnick milking, and that this differ- ence continued during a greater part of the period of lactation. A oow to yield the largest quantity of the riobeat milk mnat be quickly milked and cleanly milked, for if tbis ia not done the ani- mal'a yield ia very mnoh redooad io arary reapect. FARM MILLS. What FArnirra Sny ^bont. ^aclflaea For Grlndlnv tirain at Home. ^isThe R\ita\ NeW Ycwker giv«!B expres- sion to the ideas entertained by some of .thn.farmers in regard, to grinding'grain with individual farm mills as followa: Most farmers who have bought Euch mills agree that they save money by owning them. They save the miller's toll, the cost of running to and from the mill and can -atilize stormy days when otherwise there would be little to do. Thoy all seem to agree that it pays to grind the feed for most kinds of stock. Even in the west, where corn on the ear is so largely led, and steers ara followed by hogs in the pasture, all tinners now agree that it pays to grind. With regard to powers, there seemi to be a wide diversity of opinion. A great many farmers are using the sweep power and are apparently well satisfied witb it. Others prefer the tread powers, chiefly for the reason that they occupy less room, are more easily put under stielter and give a little niore powei than the sweeps. Many farnu'rs are using wind power to run their fiinding milla This seems to give fair satisfaction when pains are taken to work enough feed ahead to last while the wind doei not blow. Steam or gasoline power, however, is much more satisfactory fox the larger mills. With regard to the kind of milli used, the majority of correspondents ap- pear to be using small sweep mills oi crushers. These grind an average of IC or 12 bushels an hour and of course dc not givo as fine a feed as the larger and more powerful burr mills. Some farm- ers with these sweep mills follow the plan of grinding twice. First they grind their corn, cob and all, and then run tbis chop through the second time, mixed witb oats or rye, thus making â-  fair feed, which gives better resultl than very coarse chop. The beet work of coarse is done with the larger mills, but in order to make them profitable one mast have a larger amonnt of grain to be ground more probably than aver- age farmers can expect to feed during tbo year. One gieat advantage in favoi of the sweep or tread po^vers ia the fact that a farmer can bitch bia horse to tbera at ouce and start np the mill without delay, while with steam con- aiderablo time is necessary before thi mill will start. Tho substance of the matter seems to be that a grinding mill pays good in- terest when a farmer ha? 1,000 or more bushels of grain to feed. Tho cheaj sweep crushers or grinders are certaiulj giving fair satisfaction. Fall riantluMT of Small Frnlta. I havo b-'cn quite Bnccessful in plant- ing raspberries in tbo fall. These should not bo plauttd uu'jl October, and thev the work may be done any time before the ground freezes. Dig yonr plants if you have them of your own, cut the canes back to 8 or 13 inches and the roots to about tho same length. Plow furrows for the red varieties about six feet apart and six inches deep. Set the plants about three feet apart in the fur- row, eular)iiug it somewhat with the hoe and spreading the roots out, ond covering tliem witb fine soil, then at once place a mulch of manure around each plant. I have for years set rasp- berries and blackberries in this way in the fall, and not one plant iu 100 baa died. When setting these plants in the fall, tbo main thing is tbo mulch nround tbem, then tbo freezing and thawing of the ground iu the winter will not heave tbem out. These directions, with a little modifi- cation, apply to plautiug grapes, cur- rants and gooseberries if you havo plant) grown from cuttings which were set in nursery tuvn last spring. In planting grapes, tho tows should be eight to ten feet apart aud the vines six to eight feet apart in the rows, according to the variety. It is not quite as safe to plant grapevines in the fall as in the spring, bnt they will usually live in dry soils. The successful planting of the small fruit trees, such as plums and cherries, depends ou the condition of the soil. It it is not well drained â€" so well tbat there is no danger of water standing on it â€" the planting bad better be deferred nntil spring. Generally in well drained soils, if mulching is attended to, it i) safe to plant nearly all of the small fruits iu the fall, aud itoften saves val- uable time in the spring, says W. H. Jenkins iu Ohio Farmer. Clover In 'Winter. "We are .'•ure that clover grows mora or less all through tho winter, " save Rural New Yorker. "Most of thie growth is below ground. The roots of orimsou clover in particular will make a very perceptible growth between No- vember aud March. Sod ground also re- tains and absorbs the nitrates which are formed in the soil during hot weather, aud left unused by the summer crops. A large part of the waste of nitrogen in drainage waters occurs during Octobei and November ou bare ground. On our own light soil, we would not plow a good clover sod in tbe full. The author- ities do not agree as to the limit to which clover will aconmulate nitrogen. The matter baa not been fully studied oat, but on ordinary soils we are not likely to overdo the matter of olowt â- eeding. " Coal is a storehouse of oolora^ tlnaa, parfamea and ezploaivaa. I •(^ -.^iSil-ji'^i^UiLtVir