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«p fc^^" mmmm r The Price Of Liberty CHATTKU V. Steal swuIIduxmI a ha«ty hicakfaHt anil hurried oil townwards. Ho ha*i £j,00<) packed a»iiy in his'tigarcaso, and lliu sooner he was free from Hockxti'in the Ijeltor he would be pleased. Ut; ciiiiie ut length to the ofllces of Mer.fir.s. Mossa and Mack, whose brafis-plutc bore the legend that the gentry in ciiieslion were soli- citors, and that they niso had a bu&- Inese in London. As David strode jnto the ofllcfs of the senior partner . that individual looked up with a shade of anxiety in his deep, Orien- tal oj'es. "If you hu\« come to olTer tflrms," he said, nusully, "I um sorry By the way, where was the cigar- caseV On the whole it would bo just ns well to lock the case away till he could discover some reasonable ex- cuse for its f)osseHsion. His mother would be pretty sure to ask where It camp from, an<l David could not prevaricate .so far as she was con- cerned, But the cigar-case was not to be found, and David was forcrj<l to the conclusion that he had left it in Mossa's offlce. A little annoyed with himself he i took up the evening 'Argus.' Thei'e was haJf a column devoled to the ... i^„„„,, . , , ^j , , strange case at Downend Terrace, ^^hat'eg^"" *>."" ^f" added to the over it a late advertise stock ^ qu.te recently-a taken. From inforaiatinn giviw me last night I Imve been miikin^f inr quirieb about the ciKar-cu.s«- You took it to Mr. Mossa's, and frtJin it you produced notet to the vatue of nearly £1 .(lOO to pay off u debt. Within eight-and-forty hiiurw yoti hud no morv prospect of |iuyin({ that debt than 1 have al tliis inoment. Of course, you will h.- able to account for those notes. Von can, of course'? "- Marle.v looknl eagerly at his visi- tor. A cold chill was pla.ying and down Steel's spine. Not save his life couUI he account those notes. "We will discuKs IxroiXT time comes," fine indifference. "As you please, sir mation also received I took the case to Walen's, in West Street and asked Mr. Walen if he had s-een the cas; before. Pre.ssed to idtintify it. he handod me a glass and asked me to find the figures (say) '1717]. x. 3,' in tiny character.s on the edge.- 1 did «o by the aid of the glass, an:i Mr. Walen further proci"<.><led to show me an entry in his purchasing ledger which proved that a cigiu--cuse in up to lor that when the he said, with From infor- und just over it a ment to the effect that a gun-metal "To hear that I have come to pay j cigar case had been found and was in in full," David said, grimly; "£974 the har»:ls of the police awaiting an 16s. 4d. up to yesterday, which I I owner, understand is* everv o»»iinv' vrt\t rttn I few weeks ago, in fact.' "Well, what of that?" fMvid ask- ed, impatiently. "For all I know, the case might have come from every penny vou can I David slipped from the house a.,d ' ^^'^'f "'•â- '• .' «"/' '\ '•"'"" 'â- â€¢<"» rightfully claim. Here it is. Count caught a 'bus in St. (Jeorge's Hoad. | fj'^^^l'^ "â- *^'' '"'"*' """"* "<•' "amele.ss H." At the jxilice-station he learnt i , „„;„„ , , ,u . u; i He opened the cigar-ca.se and took that Inspector Marley was still on i ".°' ^°'"^ ^" ''«"> ^^""^ ^^'^•''" the notes therefrom. Mr. Mossa 1 the premises. Marloy came forward counted them very carefully indeed. ! gravely. He had a few (juestions to The shade of disapjjointnieiit wasja.sk, but nothing to tell, still upon his n(|Uiline features. He "And now" perhaps you can give me had hoped to put in e.\ecution to-day some iirformation?" David said, and sell David up. In lliat way "you are advertising in to-night's quite £'200 might lu.ve been added | 'Argus' a gun-metal cigar-case ^t -I ^J^.j::^'^':^:.,'^''' "X:.^"^}'" to his legitimate eariiiiigs. "It appeaTs to be all correct inossa said, (lismall^', < vou i^eu o.s aii\Liiio^ tiuoui, n.- i-. ., ,,:--» 'f «u^ t, i i., â- <- to the jfist of the whole matter. Y:ou saw Dr. Cross hand me a mass of pa|)ers, etc., taken from the person of the gentleman who was nearly killed in your hou.se?" David nodded. His breath was coming a little faster. His quick mind had run on ahead; he saw the gulf looming before him. "Go on." said he, hoarijcly. "go "And fell amongst thieves! You i .set with diamonds, and 1 .««>: a sim- ""• ^°" '"^''" '° '"^^' ^'^^^ dare to call me a thief You dare â€" " i ilar article is noted ac found b.y the "I didn't," Daivid said, drily. I jiolice. 1 lost it this morning, and I "That fine, dir,rriiniiuit ing mind of j shrewdly suspect that 1 loft it be- yours .saved me the trouble. I have i hind me at the oflice of Mr. Mossa." met .some tolt^iably slimy scoundrels! "The case wa.-, sent Here by Mr. in my time, but never any one of, Mossa, himself," Marley tvdmitted. them more (h'spicable than yourself. ' "Then, of course, it is mine. I had Faugh! the mere sight of you sickens | to give Mr. Mossa my opinion of me. Lot me get out of the place him this morning and by way of so that I can Ijreathe." ' spiling me he sent that ca.se hero, David strode out of the oflice with i hoping, perhaps, that I should not tho remains of his .small fortune ' recover it. ' VqiP know the cafcJe. rammed into his pocket. In the Marle.v â€" it^.vvas lyiiig^on the floor of my conservatorj- last night." "I did notice a gun-metal cast; lliere, " Mailey said, cautiously.. " .\s a matter of fact,-yon called liiv al lent ion lo it uiid, asked if it "So 1 Jiiiaj<inocl. .sir. You will be so good as to iadoisi- (,)ie receipt on the back of the writ. Of cour.-.e you are delighted In (iiid that 1 am not putting you to painful e.Ktromi- ties. Aqj other firm of sftjlicitors rvices equally nameless. 1 am was right "I have not quite finished," Mar- ley said, quietly. "Pressed as to when the case had been sold, Mr. Walen, without hesitation, saJ-d:"Vcs- terday, for £72 l.'is.' The purchas- o I ... ,. ,. ,, jis prepared to identify. Asked if a ^^"Ah'''''"Mai-l:y said, eagerly, "can I ^--'bTtt' h. d"" Td ^^^i ^^'"•^ ^ ,, ... V, V * :.o" I said that it had. And now I come 'you tell UK anything about it? ' I" ".Vothing beyond the fact that I hope to satisfy you that the case is mine." Marle.v stared open-mouthed at David for a moment, and then re- lapsed into his saple.'is official man- would have given me time to pay j ner. He might have been a detective this. But I am like the man who ' cross-examining a .suspected criminaL Journe.vod from Jericho to .Jerusa- "Why this mystery?" David asked. J*Ei " i "1 iiave lost a gun-metal cigar-case you should mention Hr. Bell's name, .teeing that he w«« here so recently as this afternoon." "Stayintpt in Brighton?" Steel ask- ed, eagerly. "What \n his addrees?" "No. 219, Brunswick Square." It took all the nerve that Da^id posse.<iKed to crush the cry that ro.sc to his UJ>b. It wun more than strange that the man he wkmI desir- ed to s*»e at this juncture should be Rta.ving In the very house where the novelist had his great adventure. And in the mere fact might be the key to the problem to the cigar-case. "I'll certainly se<- Bell," he mut- tered, "do on, Marley. "Yes, sir. We now proc<'ed to the cigar-case that lies before you. It was also lying on the floor of your conservatory on the night in ques- tion. I suggested that here we might have found a clue, taking the pre- caution at the ."Same time to ask if tho article in question was your pro- perty. You looked at the case as one docs who examines an object for the first time, proceeded to declare that it was rot .vours. 1 am quite prepared to admit that you instant- ly corrected yourself. But I ask, is it a usual thing for a man to forget the ownership of a £70 cigar-ease?" "A nice point, and I congratulate you upon it," David said. I "Then we will take tlae matter a I little farther. A day or two ago ] .vou were in dire need of .something like £1.000. Temporarily, at any rate, you were practically at the end of your resources. H tJiis mon- ey were not forthcoming in a few hours you were a ruined man. In vulgar parlance, you would have tieen sold up. Mossa and Mack had you in their grip, and they were deter- mined to make all they could out of ,vou. The morning following the outrage at your house you call upon Mr. Mos&'a and produce the cigat^oace I.virvg on the table before vtna. From that case you produce notes strfRcient to discharge your debt â€" Bank of Eng- land notes, the numbers of which. I need hardly .'?ay, are in my posseesiori The money is produced from the case yonder, which case we know was sold to the injured man by Mr. Walen." Marley made a long and significant pause. Steel nodded. (To be Continued.) "That amongst the papers found in the pocket of the unfortunate stran- ger was a receipted bill for the very cigar-case that lies here on the table before you!" CHAPTEH VI. THE RETIRED BURGLAR. loirace with his latch- i "xNot strange, KVeiiig that I sera t- ! asked. wild, unreasoning rage that came over him lie had forgotten his cigar- ca.s-e. An<l it was some little t inie before Mr. Mossa was culm enough lo see the cliaiiionds winking at him. '. "Our friend is in funds," lie mut- ' tered. "Well, he sliall have a <lance j for his ciKiir-ca.'A'. I'll .semi it up | lo the police-sl.alioa and say that,' Bome gentleiiiaii oj .itliKi- Ifft it here' by acciileiil .\n(l if that StiN'l comes' back we can .suv that there is no cigat-r-a.w here. Anil if Sleel docs not se.) the police aihortisemcnt he j will losi) Ins i>relty toy. and serve him ri^:ht. â- >i'(..h. that is the way to Kelâ- \â- (^ him out." Mr. ;\Iosva liroceetkx! fo put, his sclieme into e.xeciilinn whilst David was strolling along the sea front. ! He was too excited foi v\ork. though ' he loll easier in his mind than he ' had (loiw for iiionlhs. He turned | mechanically on to the I'alacp I'ier, ut tiie lieail of wliicli an F.asthoiirne | steamer was blaring aid panting. ] Tlie trip appealed lo David in bis '. present frame of mind. Like most of his class, h." Was u'iveii to acting on (he spur of i he inoment. It was gelling (lark as llavid I,. I himself in- [ to DuHueiid 'â- ' â- -' '• ... key. ^ How (rood it Was to be back again! The e,\e of the arlisi rested fondly upon the beiiulii'ul lliini;s aromiii. And but for the siiort ,,f chaiue, the whim of tale, these had all passed from him by this lime. It was good lo look across tlu; (lining-table over Venetian glass, to see the pools of light cast by the shaded ele<tric, to note the feathi^ry fall of flowers, ai»l to Bee that placid, gentle face in its frame of white hair opposite him. Mrs. Steel's simple, uimnectcd pride in hor son was not the learft gratify- ing pari of David's success. "Vou have mil sullered from the shock, inollieiv" he asked. "Well, no," Mrs. Steel confessed, placidly. "Vou see." I never luul what peo|)le lall nerves, my dear. And, after all. 1 saw nothing." Still 1 am very, very Sony for that poor younj? man, and 1 haVe sent to in- quire after him several tiine.>?." "He in no Wor.se or 1 should have heard of it." "No. and and no better. And In- spector Marle.v has been heie to see you Iwici! to-diiv." David pitied himself ns much as a man could |>i1y himself consideiing his surroundings. it was ralher anno.ying that this should have hai>- pcned at a lime when he was so l)Usy. And Marley would have all •orts of quest iims to ask at all sorts of inconvenient seasons. Stool pas.'iefl into his study eently and li^rhtod n cigurette. De- epite his delerminution to put the event^^ of yesterday from his mini, he found himself coiistanll.v reluru. <ng to Itieiii. Whal a splendid dra- matic story tlid.\ would make! And what a faHdnnting myster.\- could be â- woven round that gun-metal cigar- •t Steel dropped into a chair and gazed at In.s-pector Marley with mild surprise. At the stvme time he was not in the least alarmed. Xot that he failed to recognise the gravity of the situation, only it appealed in the first instance to the professional side of his character. "Walen is quite sure?" he asked. "No jio.ssible doubt about that, eh?" "Not in the least. Y'ou see. he re- was mine. ' | cognised his private mark at once, â- 'And you said at first that it and Brighton is not .-a> prosperous a wasn't, sir." , | jilace that a innn could sell a £70 "Well, you must make allowances i tigar-case and forget all about itâ€" for my then frame of inind." David ' that is, a sccoimI case, 1 mean. It's laughed. "V ralher gather from most extraordinary." \our manner that somebody elsvj lias' "Hather! Make a magnificent story been after the case; if that is so, youMarlev." are right to be retict'nt. Still, it is in .vour hands to settle the matter on the spot. All you have to do is to open the case, and if you fail to find my initials, D. S., scratchetl in tile left-hand top corner, then L have lost my pro|)erty and the other fellow has found his." In the siiiiie reticent fashion Mar- •â- \ery." Marle,v respopdied. drily. "It would take all ,vour well-known ingiMiuity to get your hero out of this trouble." Steel nodded gravely. This per- sonal twist broucht him to the earth again. He could clearly see the trap into which he had placed him- self. 'J'here before him la.v the cigar- ley proceeded to unlock a safe in the case which he had positively identi- corner, anil from thence he produced | lied as hi.-, own; in.side, his initials what appeared fo be "the identical bore testimony to the fact. .\nd yet caii.se ol all Jlhis talk. He pulled i the same case had been identified be- tlie electric table lamp over to Him yond (picstion as oii« .sold by a high- and |iroceede»l to examine the inside I ]y respectable local tradesniaii to the cai'efiill.v. 'Yod are quite right," he said, length. â- â- \oiir initials are here. at mysterious individual now lying in the Sussex County Hospital. 'Mav I smoke a cigarette?" l>avid ched them there last night," r.aid David, dril.v. "When? Oh, it was after you left my lioii.se last night." ".\nd it has been some time in .^â- our jios.session. .s'ir?" "\'ou may smoke a score if they will be of any a.-fsistance to you, sir" Marley replied, "1 don't want to a.sk you any iiuestions and I don't want vou â€" well, to commit yourself "Oh, confound It. no- It was â€" well j Hut reallv. sir. vou must admit- )t \va.-. a present from a friend for little service tendered. So far as luulersland. it Was purcha.sed at l.ockhart's, in North Street. No, I'll be lianged if 1 answer aii.v more of .\onr (piestioas, iMurley. I'll be your .'\unt .Sally so lai- as you are oflicial- I ly c(mcerned. But as to yonder j jnir that a murder has been commit I case, your queries are distinctly im- I ie<| there; we tinil a stranger almost I pertinent." i „( |,js |j,tjt gasp in your conservatory i Marley shook his bend gravely, as with (^vcry signs of a struggle ha\ing one might over a promising and 'taken place. Vou tell us that the a j The iiispe<tor paused sigiiiticantly. I I David iitidded again. j "Pray proceed," lie said; "speak j from tlie brief you have before you.'" I "Well, you see it's this way." Mar- ! ley said, not without hesitalit>n. "You call us up to your h(iu.s«>, .say headstrong bov . injured man is a stranger to you; "Do 1 understand that you decline | you go on to sav that he must have 1 ,,:„.,,, ^ ,,,, .„, Corrects Some Very Erroneous Impressions. "It's a coiiuiion idea, I know," j said the retired burglar, "that the 1 burglary business must be tremen- I dously profitable because whatever I you make in it is all clear gain; but there couldn't bo a greater mistake. "It ain't tho percentage of profit j that counts so much, my soa; it's I the volume of bti.'+iness you do. You might have a business that was all j profit and .vet lose money al it. Let me illustrate. "I knew a man once that was dead stuck on the drn-^ store bu.siiiess. He wasn't a drug man himselt, but he had the some idea about the drug business that many j>eopl* have about the liquor bus-iness^that you can't fail to make money in it. He said to himself ; " 'Why, here, there's 90 per cent, profit on drugs; it's pooty nmeh all prolit. Vou pay 10 cents a pound for stuff and sell it for :iO c«its an ounce; and if 1 can gather in two or three amall drug stores, why, I've got easy money.' "And he did buv one drug store, and he got his 90 per cent, profit, all ripht; but hre onl.v sold atK>ut two dollars ami a half's worth of sttiff a du.\-; and the total receipts wasn't enough to pay the store rent, to say nothing of U<«ving aii.vlhiug for hini; and he could and never bought' any more. "it takes something more than a big percentage of profit in any ousi- ness, you see, m.v .son, to make a business pay. .\s I was .saying a iiiindte ago. a bu.'riness may be all profit aim ,vet not he prolitable: and that's the way it is in the burgjiiry* business. ".Ml is not gold that flitters bi'<'n into house's th»t l.ioked promising and found 'ii i o»\\ I'd: aiKl I've been inii [)lpnt\ houses where the.v had the stulf put awa.v in such shape thai I coul.tni get at it; and then I've been into Ident.v of hou.ses where what I got reall.v wouldn't luiv mv e.xpeuiAs for the day. "And consider the dayj-.. or the I nights, rather, when you can't do any business at all; bright mooii- i light iiigjils. for instance, when you can't go abroad. Some n:en on such LIFE IN A JAPAN PRKM THE SYSTEM IS MO»i: HU- MANE THAU OURS. Ordinary Food is Rice â€" Horse Flesh is Given for Good Behaviour. In Public 0<)inion is foun<l a pic- ture of the Japanese priBon which seems to be far in advance of any- thing we have in this country. In place of foT-tiid<ling walls you see a larf>e country house with a aeries of Jfuiaq Jiost! uoB(jd aqi 'sSaipiinq^no completely open, while the woodeiB bars ut the windows have aothias of the forbiddit>g aspect ol our iroa gratings. The food given the prisoners is in proportion to their conduct and in- dustry, tlie prisoners who do not conduct themselves as they should re- ceaving a cake of rice which UHiat last for seven daye, while in the case of the orderly prisoners the sama cake lasts for only four days. The prisoners who conduct IhemsolveB properly receive also a little horse meat, with potato or pea saoce with their meals. The labor in the greatest of tlje Japanese at Itchigoi. is forced, but the buildings in which the work is performed, are clean and perfectly I ventilated, and, in fact, are model ; workmen would appear all that could 'possibly be desired. Some prisonors are eniplo.ved in hard wopk. such as the threshing of rice in- primitive mills, but only the most robust are I ma>de to perform such .service^ I HOUnS OF LABOR. The hours for the hard labor are from seven to eight per day, the lesa strong inmates of the penitentiary I being employed in weaving clothing' I for the prisoners out of a coai"se, I rose colored linen, while old peopl« ' and the sick are seen on all .titles I calmly sorting out various kiiMls of paper. All of the prisoners teceive j a Jiortion of the proht deriv ed from their labor, although tliis to a k>ur- opeiui would not bo much. Tho discipline which has beem o»- tablished in "the various prisons is entirely military, and it should b« stated that a prisoner is not con^d- ered a fallen creature o<" o«e to- be exclizded from society because of tbe I fact that he has served his time. From a mortal and material stand- point there is no difference between a pri-soner and a free man, and in ' the prisons every etVort is made to elevate the irumates, all of the youths less than nineteen years of age pass- ing two hours per dav at school. RETAINED AFTER SENTENCE. In many cases prisoaers when, they have finished their sentences, reaiaia , in the prisons as domestics; there is also a curious legal provision whlcli states that they can only leave the jirison when surety is provided by [ parents or friends. Thus it may happen that a student of twenty- three years of age condemned to the prison for si.xty da.vs for the theft of a book, because of the fact that he has no one to go his security and thus be respoiii^i-ble for his release, remains buri*d for life in the prison I'he idea of tlie law is mot unjust, however, much it raeiy appear so, t^e purpose of th^ re,gtilation being to assure the i>rlsoner of a solid base nil* which to re-enter society. In order to remedy this condition little by little there hii^ e been formed socie- ties which tafce in hand the casea of un;irotected prisoners. Ive IMOSt olat- of to account for the case?" he asked. "Certainl.v I do. It is connect(>d with .some friends of mine to whom 1 rendeii^d a service a little time back. The whole thing is ami must remain an ab.wolute .secret." I "You are placing yourself in a very i delicate position, Mr. Steel." David startiHl at the gravity of the tone. That soinething was radicall.v wrong came iijion him like a shock. Ami he could see pretty clearly that. without bet raving confidence, he could not lonically account I'or tho : possession ol the cigarcase. In nn.v lease it was loo much to exi?uct that ! the Ktoli<l ptdice otlicer would listen i to HO extravagant a tale for a mo- pre- I ment. ' , "Whiil nil earth do you moan, : man?" ho cried. ; "Well, it's this way. sir." Mnrlc.v I proceede<J to explain. "When I ; pointed out tho case to you lying on !the floor of your constn'V atniv last night you snid it wasn't yours. Yon I looked at it with tl«' eves of a stran- j ger, and then .veil said you were mis- found his way into your house dur- ing a nocturnal ramble of yours. Well, that sounds like common sense on the face of it. The criminal has studied .vour habits and has taken advantage of them. Then I ask ii you are in the habit of taking the.se midnight strolls, and with some signs of hesilalioii you sa.v that you have never done snich a thing hiyfore. Char- les Dii kens was very fond of that kind of thing, and I naturally imag- ined that .\iai had' tho same fancy. But you hail never done it before. And, the onl,\ time, a man is nearly murilered in .vniir house." "IVri'ert !.v correct," Havid mur- mured. "Oaborinu could not have pill it better. You might have been a pupil of my remarl<uble acquain- tance Hathetly Hell." "I nm a iiu|>il of Mr. Hell's." Mar- ley said, quietly. "Seven venrs ago he induced me to leave the' Hudder.s- lielil police to ero into his ollice. where I stayed until Mr. Bell gave uji husim-fis. when X applied for and gained in^- present position. Curious to pieces where the I buildings are close toKcther and I where the.v can keep in tlie shadow, jand so k(>ep hus.V; but there's more 'men that lo.>;e by the moiai a certain j number of nights o\ i ry monlb. when 'their exuense.s. of C(iur> •. are going I oil just the same, but with nothing j whatever coming In. ".\o. sir. The popular notion about the biirglui.v' bii.ineHs i.s all wrong. To begin with, it's' c)nl.v the men of real aliiVit.v in it. lust as it is in iiiiv other, that reall.v make any- thing al it. aii.vwa.v; thi' -nen of judg- ment aixl energv an<l persistence: the capable and hard and itead.v work- ers. The root of "pni. like the ma- jority of men in aii.v line of business barelv make a living at it. if they do thai. â-  Trul.v. whatever a mon does got. if ho gets anvthing. i.s' all clean pro- fit: but the profits ai-e no good un- ItjBS .vou get enough ofthem. It's like the drug business; tlie proSts are all right, but vou'vo got to do a bubineSK to make it pa^'." HOW IT HAPPENED. He was in doubt. On tJiis particular ewniiig he made up his mi-tid that he would reach the- I point where doubt ends or know the ' i-cason wiiy. Thus it happened that he got a little closer to her than usual when he found that the.v were .'fitting side by side on the sofa. I "Do you ever think about marri- age?" he askocl. "No," .she rep'ied. Of course, tluit was a fib. Of course, he knew jpiat it was a ftb and she knew that itti knew it. Conse- iipientl.v .she wishetl that s-he hand't nnsweretl so hastil.v. but that is so customarv iu a woman that it .shouhl attract no attention. i "If I were a woman like vou," he j.said, repro.ichfuU.v. "I woald think of it." "Would .vou?" she inquired, care- le.ssly •'Yes, I would." ho asserted, ag- gres.sively. "Perhaps," she .siig.gestod. t«ntnlir- ingly. "you wouldn't min<l telling me jii.st what cour.se .vour thoughts wouW take â€" if .vou were a woman like nie. ' "I don't know that I can give the exact course of reasoning." he an- swered, fearful that he might lie get- tin;^ be.voiHl his deftli, "but if T I were a woman like you I feel pretty |reasonflbl.v sure that I would marr.v la m>in like â€" i?r â€" like me.'' j "You do?" she said, coloriog n. j little, hut ^tlll speaking in the same I tantali'/ing tone. j "Yes, I do," ho returned . doggwl- ly. I '"Well, if 1 were a man like .vou." .she «sts«>rlei. "I wouldn't expect a I woman like me to de anything of the sort until a man like you had asked hfr to." U. is no tric'k at all to hold to Mio course of true love after the mariner once gets his hearings so long aa the signal liirlUs continue to burn, and thus i-t har>P'>npd that their btircyto sped merrily ua ita way.