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\ : o i fi THE STEWARD'S SON if»^«>»H-0+«-f«+»*«+»+«>0-*-0+0+<H-«>-0>0^Ha4«40^0f«* CHAPTER XXXVI. "Where is your wife?' CiTil's arms, which had boen held oul to take tier to hui heart, dropped to his side. "Whereâ€" isâ€" myâ€" what?" he exclaimed, gazing in profound amazement at the lovely face, wliich, though Hushed with hidignalion, still conveyed a hidden and suppressed tenderness. "Your wife," Norah repealed, her lips quivering; "where is Becca? Oh, how can you " she meant, "offer to t!il<e me in your arms," but said, instead, "how can you come to me?" "Becca! Do you mean Becca South?" said Cyril, more and more amazed. "How on earth should I know? What have I to do with Becca South, or Becca any one else?" Norah's breath come fast, and her eyes dilated. "Oh, how can you answer me so?" she said, piteously. "I know everything! It is useless to try and deceive me. It is wicked â€" cruel and wicked. Why have you come here?" and the lovely eyes grew dangerously limpid. Cyril put his hand to his head. No doubt at that moment he fancied he was dreaming, and that it was only a vision of Norah which stood before him, ask ing the most extraordinary of conun- drums. "Norah," he said, desperately, "Norah, I don't know what you mean. I'm in a whirl. What are you doing here? Why I've not seen her since the night of tliat confounded ball at Fcrndaleâ€" â€" " He slopped suddenly, for Norah had sway^il slightly, and with a low cry, sank into the chair. He sprang to her, but she put her hand out to keep him off. He called upon her name in a frenzy, and as her eyes closed, he looked around for the bell. Not seeing it, he did, per- haps, the wisest thing he could do â€" flung up the window and seizing a shell which "ornamented" the table. Hung it at the window opposite. Jack's head appeared promptly, wilh every expression of wralh upon his faco. "Come over at once!" stiouled Cyril, and tjefore Norah had succeeded in fight- ing off the fainting fit, Jack Wesley was in t!ie room, looking amazedly from one to the other. "Well," he said, 'Svhat has happened? Lady Norah, are you ill? Cyril, are you mad? What have you been saying 'o her?" "It's what she has boen saying to me!" retorted Cyril, half doiiienled. Jack Wesley pushed him aside, and brought a glass of water and gave it to her, and she opened hur eyes und fixed them on him penitently, and then on Cyril, wilh an expression dilllcult to de- scribe, but full of tenderness and hope, and a half-fearful joy. "Are you better. Lady Norali?" said Jack. "Don't pay any allenlion to him, please. Keep away, Cyril. Now, tell me what is the matter." Then Norah opened her lips and struggled for words. "Ask him to tell me the- tlic truth," she said, brokenly. "I can bear aiiylliin;,' but this uncertainly. Ask him to tell me if it is true that he is married to Becca South." "There!" exclaimed Cyril; "Ihal 's what she asked me before you came in. Tell her. Jack " "Hold your tongue." said Jack Wes- ley, whose acute bruin was beginning to get the drift of things. ".\re you married to the young person mentioned?" "Am I? Oh, great goodness. I shall go mad," said Cyril. "Married to her! You know; she must know, that 1 am not; that I would not marry any one but â€"but one woman, if my life depended on iir* If there had not been that nwful tra- gedy behind it, the situation would have been almost farcical. But it was vei'y serious to two of thcni, and Norah hid her face in her hands and began to cry. "Oh, what shall 1 do?' she moaned, but with a cadence of joy and IhTmks- giving. "Oh, howâ€" how wicked I have been I" This brought Cpril on his knees beside her instantly, and he dragged lior hands tenderly from her face and looked up at her, all his soul in his eyes. "Norah, my darling, my darling!" ho murmured, and a long .^liing of piis- sionate endearments. "What dots it all mean? Why have you treated me so- so cruelly? Why did you not answer my letters? Why did you tell Jiick"â€" Jack had discreetly gone to examine a pic- ture on the wall, and kept his back turned upon the pai>â€" "why diti you tell lack that you were no friend of mine, andâ€" and let me believe Ihal you wished lo sec no more of me? Oh. liiy darling, you have nearly broken niy heart!" "Mine isâ€" is quite broken.' whimpeied Norah, her hands grasping hi.s anu wilh little spasmodic pressures. "Oh, Cyril, 1 thought, I believed, that you had de- scried me; thai you were married." "Deserted youl Married!" he repeated. "But whyâ€" whyâ€" why? " "Because you went away with herâ€" wilh Becca," said Norah. in a low voice. "I went off with Beccaâ€" poor little B»K:ca South!" he echoed. "Groat Hea- ven! what made you think so?' "They told me so at the station,' .said Norah, faintly; "andâ€" you were with her Uial night of the ball, and I saw youâ€" ah, I saw you give her the ring '-" (iyril uttered a groan of desperation. "1 know! Yes, I gave her the ring. I once gave a child a stick of tafiee, and Becca was no more than a child, aâ€" a nothing to me. 1 gave her '.liat ring be- cause she had found it. and she was un- happy about that, among oilier things. and I thought it would console her ' "Andâ€" and then you wenl away willi- oul a word " "Without a word? Why, Norah, I wrote lo you; I sent you a Iftter by her; 1 couldn't help going. 1 wrole and ex- plained il ail. 1 begged and prayed you in send mo a word â€" just one word. But you didn't. Nor did you when I wrole from Brittany, imploring you In lell me why you had cui, me at the ball. Why didn't you write?" "I never got the letters, either i^f them!" said Nornh. the tears running slowly down her face, "and 1 thoughtâ€" oh, Cyril, how could I help it'?â€" tliatâ€" that you wished to break off, that you had thought better of it, and " He puts his arms round hor and strained hor in him, and cut short her broken ntlempts at explanation. "Thank God! Thank God!" he ex- claimed. "And that is all! Vow are no! angry wilh me for anything? Vou â€" you love me still. Norah?" "I have always loved you!" she panlid. under her breath. Jack had transferred his attentions lo another picture, and the lovers had for- gotten him. "And you did not know why I had gone to Britlnny?" "I didn't know you had gone there. I never received either letter," said Norah. "Then â€" ihen wherf are lluy?'' tlo- manded Cyril, of no one in particular. Norah shook her head. Po.ssibly she did not care very niiudi. She had got her lover again and all in a moment joy had come back lo her heart with him. She held him with that clinging gni.sp which only a woman knows the secret of, as if she feared some one wouM come and take him from hor again; and her lovely eyes, full of subtle worship and tenderness, looked into his eager ones. "Where are (hey? And why did the people at the station tell you Why, by George! they must have mistaken the emigi-ant girl whose ticket 1 look for Becca," and in rapid sentences he told her of the incident. "Oh, that was so like you, dear!" she murmured. "Buiâ€" but il was cruel thai you should be punished; I mean I " "Say both." "That both should be punished becnu.'ii; you were kind lo a poor, lonely girl." "Yes," he responded, with something of his own bright, light-hearted smile, "but il will be a le.sson lo me. I'll ncvc help any woman under lilty again. But Norah, dearest, lell moâ€" the letters â€"what became of them?" Noi'uh shook her head. "I do not know; I cannot " guess she was going lo say, then stopped, a.'- Guildford. Berlon cros.sed hor mind. And â€" and what are you douig here? Are you alone?" asked Cyril, in the tone of one who has so many qiio.stions lo ask that he doesn't know Wliich lo put lirst. "Not alone, doorest? There is someone wilh you'/" lie touched her black dross. "I have hoard ofâ€" of your less, dear. II I had only been with you! 1 oin so sorry, Norah. I only heard of il five- ten niiii- ules ago, from Jack hero â€" â€" " Norah's eyos grow moist ag'iin, but she swept the tears away. "Yes, Iâ€" I am alone," she said, looking down, and with a sudden sort of enibai- rassiiienl, and she gonlly began to draw hor hands away from him, roluctanlly. clingingly. "What is llio mailer?" he a.sked, quick to porcoivo llial something was wrong. "What is il, doarcst?" At this juncture Jiickod looked round. "1 think 1 have intruded long enough,' he .said; "I'll lake myself off. You can call if you want me. Don't brouk another window, Cyril." Noi'uh held out her hand to him. "Will yuu not say Ihal you forgive mo, Mr. Wesley, fur my rudeness to you that nighl.'" she said, her big eyes turned on him so pleadingly Ihal Jack's heart, which was of the very softest, mellod in a moment. "I'd forgive you more than llial. Lady Norah," he said; "and I understand now that Iho sling was meant for our ynung friend here rather Ihnn for mo; and ho got it. It you had seen him when I told him But there," he said, quickly, •*'all thai is part of the past misunder- slimding. Lady Norah." Noruh looked up at him gravely. "Y'ou arc as good as Cyril said," she murmured, soflly. "Butâ€" but you must not cull me Lady Norah." Jack stared at her. "1 â€" I bog your ladyship's pardon; Lady AiTowdulc, 1 suppose I ought to have said." "No," said Norah, "I am not Lady Any- thing, I am simply Norah Woodfern.' It was a day of surprises, but this stalomenl, dolivored in hor calm, .sweet voice, starlled the two inon prolly con- siderably. Cyril got hold of her hands again, and looked up at her almost in a fright. Goddesses do not lose their senses, or else ho might have thought- Jack was the lirst to speak. "What do you say. Lady Noruh?" he said, gravely, for ho saw that some- thing was coming. "It is true," she replied, looking from one to the oUier. "I am not Lady Norah, the daughter of the Eail ol Arrowdale, but the daughter of the countess' com- panion, Catherine." Her lips trembled, and she lowered her eyes. "I'llâ€" I'll iry and 1(11 you," she went on, bravely. "Youâ€" you must neither of you speak until 1 have linished, for my head," and she put her beautiful hand to her fore- head, "is whirling." Cyril holding her hand, and Jack Kati- ing against the window with his arms folded, she told the story and produced ihe certificates. Cyril could scarcely keep silent unlil she had concluded, then he broke out : "II is false. Norah! It is a pure inven- tion concocted to .suit some purpo.sc .f Guildford Berlon's. He is a scoundrel." "He is a scoundrel, wilhout doubt, said the grave \oice of Jack Wesley. "But 1 think liii? slory is true." "I don't believe " broke in Cyril. "In the first place," wenl on Jack, very (juii'lly and gonlly. "he wi.uld nul lia\o dared to concoct it, much loss to forge those copios. He is loo clover for that ! You see, a lawyer's clerk could salisf.i' himself as to their genuineness by just taking a journey to Plymouth and those oilier places, and examining the regis- ters " "Which may have lii-en lamperel with," said Cyril. Jack Wesley smiled. "1 am .sorry lo dispel a dehi.sion which has been of vast service to novelists ; you can't tamper wilh registers nowa- days. Thoy kaep a correct copy at Soinerset House." Cyril's face tell. "No! The story is true, and ns Ladyâ€" I mean Mi.ss Woodfern says, she is no longer '' "Which doesn't matter in the slighl- estl" exclaimed Cyril, his face flushing. ".\s il happens, I have a slory to tell " He stopped suildonl/ to utior an exclamation of surprise and pain, for Jack had administered lo him a de- cidedly sharp kick upon the ankle. "Eh? What';" Then, catching the expression of warning in Jack's eyes, he colored still more furiously, and rhangod tho direction of his wards. "But I won't trouble you wilh that now, dearest. What if it is true, thisâ€" this revelation? It doesn't matter to you â€" nor me, Nor- ah'?" "To meâ€" no!" she smiled, through h>.r lear.s. ".\nd as for men, I'mâ€" yes. don't be angry, d.'arest!- 1 am glad! Do you ro- meiiiber our talk in the woods? Do you runombor my saying thai I wished you weren't a jieer's daughter " "I reuKMiiber every word." she answer- oil, shyly, her eyos dwelling upon liiiii Willi lus much of worship in them as a woman ever itermits her eyes to rcvca!. "Well, then, I am happy now!' he said, brightly. "You sec," and ho laughed, "I'm so confoundedly proud " Jack Wesley, wilh his back turned in I hem, grinned. ",\nd I might now and then ha\e thought that you had thrown yoursoil away, and that you regretted il, bu; now " "You can both revel in poverty toge- ther," remarked Jack, blandly. "Ex-exaclly," retorted Cyril, but willi ralher a guilty air; "we can face the world hand in hand, and " "Bo h.appy ever afterwards," said Jack. "Don't mind him, dearest." said Cyril. "11 is only his way; you'll get used to if. .Vnd now for a bit of good news. Wo shan't be .so very fioor, after all. Thanks to Jack. hire, who pretends to be a bear, but is really as soil â€" as soft " "As an imbecile," put in Jack, in a low voice. "I've got enough work to last for- far " "Your life," growled Jack, knowing: liov.' very liltle more work would le done. Cyril laughed. "1 cnn't get a word in." he .said. "Bu' tio mailer. And now. dearest " "And now whal about Lady â€" I br.L- pardonâ€" Miss Norah's dinner?" put in Jack. "Would it he very wicked if I suggest that Ihe coiniiiiUco adjourn lo Cyril's favorite restaurant?" Cyril laughed. "Jack is always thinking of his din nor." he .said. "Because he has nothing bettor lo think of. and no one lo think for him.' .said Jack, with a touch of gravity and- could it be?â€" envy. Norah smiled at thorn bolli. "I will do anything you wish," she said, so sweetly that c:yril had hard work lo keep from kissing her straight before Jack. When she left them to put on her out- door things, Cyril exclaimed in a whis- per: "Vou slopped iiic ill lime, Jack! I was just going to tell her!" "Vou were. And would have upset the whole bag of tricks just as they wort arranging Ihernsolvo's nicely." "Oulâ€" but 1 shall have to lell her!" said Cyril, wilh a troubled frown. Jack thrusl his hands in his pockets, niid .sorowod up his mouth. "If you will liilie my advice, ju.st for mice, you will keep that bit of informa- tion untilâ€" well, unlil after you are iiior- ried," he .said. "Blurl oul lo hor that you are the Earl of .Vrrowdale. andâ€" well, you'll see what happens. Mi.ss Norah 's iis sweetâ€"â€" Look here, lad; for some iiiscrulnble rea.son Providence has seen 111 lo bcslow upon you an angel in the guise of a woman â€" hold on a minute!â€" but angels have some pride, and if you tell hor who and whal you are, her pride may take alarm. Keep quiet for a liltle while longer, and thank heaven for its goodness lo a young cub who doesn't deserve half such luck as to man-y the best woman I have ever met!" Cyril grasped his hand in silent con- sent ns Norah entered the room. They wenl to the restaurant, and Cyril being, as Jack remarked, quite incapable of ordering a decent dinner under the circumstances, undertook the selection. They were happy, these three, two o( them ecstatically so, and the third- who read the paper a great deal, and pre- tended he could not hear their soft mur. morsâ€" happy in their joy; and U came lo Cyril as a sudden shock when, abrupt- ly lowenng tho paper. Jack said, in a tone of earnest gravity, almost ap- proaching solemnity: "But where is this girl, Becca .South?" Cyril stared at him thoughtfully. (To be continued). PROGRESS OF CREM.VI'ION'. According to the British Medical Jour- nal, the total number of cremations in Great Britain during the year 1905 wa;; OfM), as against 5(i6 in 1!»64 and 475 in r.'-oa. Whereas, however, in HWi there wore only nine crematories at work, in 1005 there were twelve. The cremations wero dstribuled among these as follows: Giilders Groen, IIamp.slead, 252; Woking '.•5; Manchester, KX); Liverpool, :)5; Glas- ;.'ow, :!5; Hull (.Municipal), 15; Darling- ton. •'»; Leicocter (Corporation). 16; Bir- mingham, 22: Leeds (Municipal), 16; II- ford (City of London), 9; Bradford (Cor- [orationS I, The toLil muiiber of cre- mations carried oul at Woking from the (late of its opening twenty years ago, lo the end of 1905, is 2.7.'hS; those per- formed at Golder's Green number 635. POPLLAR HEARSES. IIear.3e.s as equipages are used in Min- nesola not only to carry people to the church, but to take thorn home again. The chief at the Yellow Medicine In- dian Reserve goes to church every Sun- day, proud as n peacock, lying in a hoarse, looking oul and bowing to his friends. The chief bought the hearse al •I great price from a livery -stable man, nho was glad lo gel the aged white ele- phant off his hands. EARN CASH In Your Leisure Time If you could start at once in a busi- ness whicb would add a good round sura to your present earning^s â€" WITH- OUT INVBSTING A DOLLAK â€" Wouldn't you do it? Well, we are willing to start you in a proiitable business and vr« don't ask you tu put up any kind of a dollar. Our proposition is tills : We will ship you the Chatham Incubator and Brooder, freight prepaid, and You Pay No Cash Until After 1906 Harvest. Poultry raising pi^y*- People who tell you that Uiere is no money in raising chicks may bavo tried to make money in the business by using setting hens as hatchers, and they might as well have tried to locate a gold mine in the cabbage patch. The bus'mess of a hen is â€" to lay eggs. As a batcher and brooder she is out- classed. That's the business of the Chatham Incubator and Brooder, and they do it perfectly and successfully. The poultry business, properly con- ducted, p.'iys far better than any other business for the amount of time and money invested. Thousands of poultry-raisersâ€" men and women all over Canada and the United States â€" have proved to their satisfaction that it is profitable to raise chicks with the 120 Eggi 240 Eggi CHATHAM INCUBATOR AND BROODER. "Yours 1b tho first incubatorl have ii9«d, and I wisli to state I had 53 chicks out of /a esres. This was my first lot; truly a, l(Kt per cent, hatch. I am well ploii-sol with my iiicubalor and broodor. Xlius, McNauuuton, Chllllwack, B.C." "Jly first batch cnnio o(R I got; 170 lino ohiuks from laUe.'jK'!. '\\no can beat that for tho flret trial, and so curly in the nprini;;. I aui wall pleajicd wilh incubator, and if I could not tret aiiolhor money could not buy it from me. Every farmer should have a No, H Chatham Incu- bator.â€" K. W. Kamsay, Dunnvillo, Onu" "Tho incubator you fumiHhodiiio works o.xcoodiiiRly well. It is caBuy operated* and only needs about U) rainutefl attentitfn every day. B, MoQuKKiB, MoosB Jaw, Asoo." TheChath.im Incubator and Brooder is honestly constructed. There is no humbug about it. Every inch of material is thoroughly tested, the ni.icliine is built on right principles, the insulation is perfect, thermometer reliable, and the workmanship the best. The Chatham Incubator and Brooder ia simple as well as sdentiKc in con- struction â€" a woman or girl can operate the machine in their leisure moments. 'You pay us no cash until after 1906 harvest. Send us your name and addrcs on a post card to-day. We can supply you quickly from our distribulinff w.ir«houKefl at Cnlfrury. llran- don, Roglna, AV'innipoi;, New W obtuiinolcr, B.C.. Montreal. Halifax, t'hathaui. .\ddre.s8 all correipoDdeDce to Clialham. 311 ^* Manson Campbell Co., Limited DepL 3S, CHATHAM. CAIMADA Factorin at Cbatbam, O.vt., and Detroit. Let ua quote you prices on a i,ood Fanaln{( Mill - or ({ood Farm Scale. IN MERRY OLD ENGLAND NGWS BY MAIL ABOUT JOQN BVIX A.ND Ills PEOPLE. Occurrences in Ihe Land That Reigns Supreme in (he Commercial World. It is said of King Edward that he has a clearer voice thuii any member ol th« Mouse of Cnmiiioiis. One of Ihe rare eggs of the Great Auk wa.s sold by auction in London on the nih insl. for 200 guinea.s. In the United Kingdom there are about 30,000,000 Proleslanls, 6,.t00.000 Roman Catholics, 10,000 Jews and 50,000 un- classified. During 1905 the Bnyal Mint issued i;G,500,0()0 in sovereigns and half-sov- ereigns, .£510,191 in silver coins, and i;i70,:i25 in bronze. The accumulation of gold is some- Ihing marvellous. To-day Ihe stock if gold alone in the banl;s of Britain and l'"rnnce is about f l.')0,000,000. II has been proposed by the municipal council in Livorpiwl lo inllict a fine ol Iwo pounds on couples found kissing each oilier in a public place. Lord Windsor will take the title of ninth F.arl of Plyinoiilh, that Earldom, which has been in abeyance since 1843, having been formerly held by his fam- ily- -Mr. W. W. .\stor, the millionaire, U building a Tudor village and Italian garden, and constructing a fifty acre lake at Hever Caslle, his residence in Kent. This Clirislnias holly and mistletoe will be heavily loaded wilh berries, conse- qucnlly an unu.siially large demand may be expected 10 arise for both Uiesa favoriles. It is now certain that the selection of Queen \'ictoria'.s correspondence from is:i7 to 1801 will run to Ihree volumes. They may be expected about this time ne.\t year. The oilier day a poor woman com- plained lo a London magistrate of thd conduct ot her husband In refusing u» a<lvanco her the money with which to summon him. Some men are so un- reasonable. .An appeal is made to Americans for funds lo restore the lower of Purleigh cliureli. and hang a peal of bells in it. This is Uic church of which the Rev. Lawrtiicc Washington, ancestor of rieorge Washington, was rector from 16.12 lo IM3. .Sir W. 0. Arin.slrong, Whitworth k Co.. ICI.swick-on-Tyne, have, since 1858, liiiiiiched 113 war vessels, 402 passenger and cargo .steamers. 83 pelroleura steamers, 82 ice-bi-eakers, dredges, etc., and 93 iiaddle steamersâ€" a total of 77S vessels of 1,145.390 Ions and 1,205,M5 horse-power. The late Mr. ,Iohn Feeney, proprietor of the Birmingham Daily Post, beiiueattv ed sums nmounling lo ,£89.000 lowar* \arioiis inslilulions and objecis cot^- mooted wilh Biriiiintilwim and dislrict. .\ Slim of £50,(100 is left lo Birmingham Alt Gallery, and ,£20,000 to the Univoi^ sily of Hiniiiiigliani.. •Sir Henry Ciinipbell-Bannerman ba- ronies Prime Minister al an age exeeed- eil only by one preinior of modern limesâ€" Lonl Palinersloii. who wiis 71 \vlH!n he nllained Ihe leading place in the Goveniiiienl. Disraeli conies iie.xt. lie was W when he became Prime Min- ister for Hie first time. Gladstone was .59. Lord .Salisbury 55. Mr. Balfour 54, and Lord Hosebery 46. WOIILD'.S LMttiE-ST LI.NER. ^'o^v Lnder Conslruclion at Quceri'B â- .••land, Belfast. .\nollier shipping record is bc/iiig es- lalilished by Messrs. Ilarland & Wolff, of Belfast. The White Star liner .Adriatic., now under construction at tht> Queen's Island, will Imve a tonniige . f 25,000 and a lenKlh of 710^ feet, a breadth of 75 feel, and a depth ot .50 feel. She will be Ihe largest vessel in the world. Tho record was previously held by the Rallic, al.so built for the White Star I.iiio by .Messrs. Ilarl.'iiul & Wolff. She lias a tonimgc of 23.S7ti. 1,124 tons li.-s Ihan the new vessel, which .she cxcei'ils in liiiglli, however, by 15 feet. The iiciirest .â- ipin-oach in size lo those vessels is the .\iiierik^â€" 23,(XH) tons, belonging In the llumljiii'g-AiiKrican, but with llieir new xessel the While .'^lar will again be well ahead ot all rivals. The following table gives the tonnage of the world's largest vessels:â€" Ton.s. Adiinlic (While Shir) building .. 25.000 Uallic (While .Slar) ". ... 23.S76 AmiTilm (Geniianl i^Am Cedvic AV'hite Star) 21 .00.) Gellic (While Slar) CO.'KM Minnesota (L'niled .Slates) 20.718 Canu.iiiia fCuimnl) 20.000 Kaiser Wilhi liii II. (Gcnniiny) .. 20,ft00 f'aroniii (Ciiriiird) 19.594 Oa-iuiic (Wliile Slar) 17,274 DouLscliland (Germany) IC...502 La Provence (I'Yanco) 15,000 Kronprinz Wilhclm {Germany) ,. 14.800 rampanin (Cunnrd) 12.950 When the young husisuid mioijed home he opened the parcel lie was curry- ing and displayed a minibcr of plaeard.s, some of which read. "Kor .Show.' and others, "I'or Use.'' "Thorel" he c\claim- cd, tiiumphantly. "I Jlatler <iiysolf that I hove at lasl .solved I In? problem." ".Solved the problem!' his wife repentoj; 'what in the world do you inloiiW to I'o Willi Ihose cards?" "I am going lo civ« them lo you," ho replied-, "so lh:il you can put them nn the various sofi cis!^ ions about the house."