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KAI WANG; •«#l !> '^iJ . A TALE OF SOUTHERN CHINA. aiAPTER IV. Lord Rockelt was eager to hear the particulars, and Avis soon gave a hasty sketch of tho trafiwly, as well as the bold exploit that led up to it. "By Jove ! Who but Dr. Jack would ever have dared enter thai holy tion regarding matters connected witli the case. Lord Rackett knew lOii Wang well. and had been in Ine weird shop of th« idol-maker of lata, althoiigli Larry was not aware of the fact. , The Englishman even confessed that '^' he had taken a shy tt fortune in the holies, and force an audience upon the ! shape of investing some of liis spare Emperor ? It fairly takes my breath i j^^ney in slmr-is of a grand pnijecletl away in admiration of tiis exploit. I' 4oubl if there lives another foreigner who has ever penetrated the defenses of ttie mysterious Forbidden City." Larry made an inarticulate sound. cntorprise which he had now every reason to believe was the very one Dr. Jack had carried to a successful end, tliouiih at such a fearful cost. Somehow lliis seemsd to be a bond and again beat hiiuseif proudly upon i connecting his fortunes with those of the thp chest. I others, and Larry's scruples were "Ah ! yes, you were with him, but ! rapidly taking Oiglil. then you are more mandarin than for-j After all, now that Plympton had eigner, Larry, my boy. What is the come to his senses and gained domin- maller with the little bantam?' he con-| ion over his baser passions, he was con- tinued, aside, to Avis; "you spoke if;siderable of a man, Larry concluded, his having been badly injured in the : shrewdly; there was a bluff manner melcc. I trust his voice is not gone; about him that soniebow inrpresswi one that would be a calamily we coukl ill i with his rugged honesly, and having â- fford," tie added, smiling. | settled this matter to his own satisfac- Thcn Avis tof the first time remem-| lion, tlie little man resolved to take tercd Larry's vow with regard to re- [things a.s they came; surely no great nianing dumb until she gave him the! harm could befall Avis while such a privilege to speak, and hastened to re- â-  wide-awake watchdog as himself n:ovc the embargo. hovered about. "It is fortunate you saved I he papers,! "Beware of Peloskcyâ€" when the itus- Larry, as they inaye tie of Inunen.se I sian Bear begins to suspect he has been value to poor Jack'? wife. I take it you ^ outgeneraled through .\nglo-Americau want advice concerning their disposi- ( pluck and business .sapacUy, Ihere vi-ill Uon, and the security this office of the i be a hot time in the old town. You Crown may aflotd." know he is hand-in-glove with ttw oTd Then Lord Rrckett proceeded in a i Empress," was the .solemn warning j colors, but he believed the time had ar- rived to throw aside the mu-sk and re- main at the side of Dr. Jack's widow. The little man scorned danger, being possessed of valor far in excess of his size, and snapped his fingers at tliii powers that be. which might be set down as the emissaries of 'he woman behind the throne, together with the powerful influence of the Russian "promoter." So he saw AvLs comfortably hou.s.-»d, and then entered his vehicle for the re- turn ride. Lucky for him the shadows had taken possession of the native qu;ir- NATIONS WERE RUINED COl^TRIES LOST THROlCn MAN'S CUtiXESo^NtisS. Caus: ol tlie Saiiara Desert â€" Is Becumint] a Deadly Swamp. VUu-lui ter, so that he was compelled to hire a There are some counlrios i;i t.'io world couple of Imkboys to run ahead of Uie '; ,1,^1 h^ve so much vit.thty that they jinrickshaw in order to light the way j .j^-m survive any nunib'^r of places, and do his pretended rank justice: had i j.res, famines, and Uie like, while it been broad daylight some sharp eyes ethers have been riuned by ins..f;U and oniinals. a.nd lost furever through mans carelessness. The criminal negligence of our iinccs- inrs causoj a beautiful forest, in w^hich Europe might be lost, to b*K:ouie a giant (N-.^rt of sanil. riiis desert i.-; ttie Sa- \ liiira. fn the days of the ('.arihagjnians , it was a forest, as all North A/rica was might have discovered liiat the auto cratic Utile mnndarin sported a pair of small side whiskers, the blond hue of which was hardly in keeping with what is considered good taste in a Chinese grendee. Fortune seems to extend a sheltering wing over some of its protegees, and Larry had on more than one occasion found reason to belie^e he was favored above the common run of men. It was a peculiar as well as ridicu- lous sensation, this being whisked along through the throngs of pig-tailed Celes- 1 tiws tials, and preced'il ty those Iwo run- ! When a fore it for hundreds and Utindreds â-  t miles back from the coast, the anci- ents niiodwl limber for buildins purp<js es, and for fuel, so they cut down the fcrest.s !inJ planh>d com in place of the the Romans came upon the wer.' lest tiefore the Government dt* teniptiid to slop its ravageo. Some tuna ngn they camu to thu conclusion that X nculd t>e wUe to inoculate the natives against the plague with Hatlkine soruni. Ihey prr)po.sed to inoculate the entire population of (he Pinjjoh. some six miJ- lion person.,, and hiid aside a sims of SiTO.iCO for Iho piirpo.se. If this hod not tf.cn done. India would have bfien deci- nialtnl t>y plague in the long run in much the same way as London was decimated. The oil-fly is ruining the oUve plan- tations of .Southern Italy. L'p to the present lime the loss to the countxy is roughly «:W.000,(ifiO. and the Italians are I'lone to blame for the appalling condl- linn of the olives. For years pitst they have shot and entrapped every kind of bird, largo and ^mall. with the re- sult that Southern It.nly i.s practically fire from members of the feathered Iribe, and the oil-fly, in consequence, in- crea-ses and flourishes imcheckefl. Now there is a .scheme on hand to hnport irto the country thousands of birds, from the wren UDwards. to decrease the toll tnken yearly by insects.â€" Pear- son's Weeklv. PETS OF BRITISU SOLDIEIW. scene, and extended th-'ir Empire ov.^r North Africa. Ihey cut and cut until the forests- almost disappeared. ,*)nd the Innd for miles around became a bar ren waste. .N'altire, finding herself -n ^odIy trcafed bv man. began to tunc ter revenge. The min fell in torrents One Reuiment Had Emu and Kanfjaroo, Another a Snake. No less tl.oa thirty regiments in the rstitish army have pet animals at- tached. The dogs of the "Fighting Fifth' an* "Jack," tlie relhever, of Ihe Twolftlv thoroughly business-like way to carry oul just what the consul would have done had he tieeii present. And Avis iiad the assurance that the papers Plympton gave. "Yes; we had 2ood reason to know it, by Jove," said ^f '>'• i"';':'^'!'f/«':v{*"'^ thing to do with this changr^the ad- then went on to narrate an «^;;,'^^^fj| vent of her charming personalit^y in tjie ners tiearing flambeaux; but Ihe effect was heigtu.'ned in Larry's mind by the ever-present tact that he was sailing under false colors, and that thtse fel- lows who got cut of the way of his lordship, and bowed so humbly as he pa.ssed, would have taken a (it could they have susi>ected the amazing truth. Kai Wang was evidently glud to again shelter such an iUiLstrious pcrsonaj^e undiT his humble roof. I-Jirry. who prided himself nn beinn a reader of human nature, and who had spent much of his spare lime while re- covering from his wounds in studying! the idol-maker, jumped at once to Uie i conclusion that it was more tlianj anxiety concerning his absence that ,. . , . , ,,.,.„ „„i,. 1 ... , ^ â€" i' .c caused Kai Wang to greet him so eflu- ^t-v«' to J^y. "J" "="« â„¢t 1 ?, J ih.^i '"'"/;? ^'**""«*' ?"'^ "i^ '="'^«! ^1** ""^^ 3j^.(,|„ *" "^ j able forests, and leave the land to the \ ot the r«?iment on his forehead. fhe .'s.-.mefhinc unusual had occurre-I i "'erey of winds and storins. If this j Queen's Own Hussars has aUo a goat, while he h-.dt^n cone v«^ Kai \ ^^^ "' If"-'"" ccnl.n.i.;s. malleis go con- a deer is the pet of the Seaforth Wan- w'lo had nervS of st^I and^*'''"!!.'' f'""'" ^^ ^ ^'«^- '"•'^- i" l^^^' lUghlandors. "Antony," a little donkey, had faced ln^''actSrs%Uht^e p^,-".- '^e -ap is disflgiu^ by another | .,„a..h^ n^self to the Twenty-.sixth verbial cuoiness of an iceberg, wns ac-; tually showing .signs of exfitement. j F'erhaps the comiPi» of AvLs had some- were sale under the, episode that had happenetl 10 â- â-  ' ' â-  ~ ! prospeciinji dispute, whereby they came precious papers wire siiiu uimci luc , epu-,oue uim ima .lai^pciir... .... '.V'*'""" I same nnci the nrnsnert of Dossible harm British nag, where all the machinations; and Dr. Jack, while P'ospeciing there- 1 Pame.^on.i me prospect or possible narm of the rival Russian .syndicate, or even j gion the scheming of the Chinese parly, head- 1 very near being overwhelmed by an ed by Ihe Dowager Empress, would be organized alt.ack. presumably from ban- unable to break the seal that bound dits and lawless thugs, but the sound of them. heavy riu.ssian oaths After a hot fusil- This finished, to even doubting lade had told them the real animus of Larry's satisfaction. Lord Rackett re- ihe assault, besides prcJuciiig a pl.^a.s- turncd to the desperate adventure with- in the sacred walls of Peking, and beg- ged ihe htlle man to describe it for him. Here nailery got in its fine work again lead had ing impression that their winged the rival schetner. "Doubtless he suspects something the of =":nra;";r;;;;.yi;;^i^^tng: UP- the n-.«^n under the impression that you hold the \ , for Larry could not resist the , papers, it wouldn't surprise me if he ' organized a scheme to secure posses- temptation to once more indulge in a l-i lanrlscapc. and the land b**jealh them is becoming a dfndly s-A'nnip. Tlie trees v.ere felUd man'-' years ago by lab-jHTS in the employ- of Ihe West err. T<;legmph Company, who had mad. uj- Iheir uiir.ds to run u wire fnim tli' ?lal.?s. IhrouBh .Ma.ska. atross Behrini <;| raits, and tb.en via Siberia to Europ*'. Tliou.sands of men were employeil \'- carry cut the .scheme, and they rut n wide avenue through open country anc' piimcval forests of some l.iXW miv* long. Three parts of the work had been coiiv r'i'le<l when Cvnis Field .'.ime norm th..- .scene with his nrniect for a leleeraph cr.ble under the Atlantic. This ruinfil temple that reared its pinnacle alojll (j,,. \v',^stprn Telecrnph Company's ide^ end worked Iho soil fr.jm the hills and I Lancers, march with their compuiucs cwAMPt-n TUF v\Tiry«s I when on active service, and tiave laker SWAMPED TUC \.\LLirk^. I _^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ,j.^. ^^^ Year after year, and centiiiy af t.-T I jk rse of the Scventli Hussarsâ€" present ceiilury. the whole of North Alricu suf-UiJ by the tale Queen Victoriaâ€" marches fered from terrible inundations, and j proudly at tlie head of Ihn mun, witii linally the Sahara, owing to the fact white tail and main flowing. Ihal th.jre were no forc-ts left to ab- "Uiiiy,- the goat of the Welsh Fusil- sorb thi^ moi.sture and .ilifw it to de- ii.'i-j,*is better known, and is a very scend gradifally into tlie sea, l)ecanie showy soldier indeed, as he struts along a .sun sci.irhed desert. ir. ail the glory of scarlet coal, with to Llol upon its surf.-ice. jDalf.jry while in India and became an Take .-XUujka as an example. Hun- established favonte. marehing. eating dreds of gi;mt trees lay stretched across | and drinking with the men. A pet bear Dr. Jack's widow, even as itj I had the valiant reprfseiita'ive ot the. ! great syndicateâ€" this would account in ! a measure for the trembUng hand and ^ troubled look with which Kai Wang- met hi.=? gtiest- but th^re was more. And Larry, who mail.; it a rule never! to allow any mystery to get the better' of him. immediately conciii'.rated the whole force of his powerful Inlellecl The establishment of Kai Wang was close ju.xtaposition to a pagoia or flight of oratory after his unusual en- forced abstinence. So he told it all. The EngU.ihman's eyes mention of the battle roya sion of them. nn<^ they are in this , . , . , safe, it would mean war for China and gci:''rii. the bombnrdmcTit of her pons by Uri- Hashed at j i!.sh ironclads if they should be tampered and his ; with. !f I can serve you. .Mrs. Evans, af:er the fashion of Chinese mosques in hand opened and shut willi the eager- ness a soldier experiences when hearing of lost opportunilies for gainLng glory. "You could not have .selected a more unfortunate time for tlie venture," lie declared; "for some monthsâ€" in fact, ever since Ihe Dowager Empress re- J and put full trust in me solved to again take up the i-eins of government in Chinaâ€" th-3re have been mysterious goings on, and it is daily a mooted queition among us foreigners down here in Cj»nton as to v.hether the Doubtless it wns very convenient for the pricsU to run in at the back door and replace any frail god that had suf- fered the fate of all idols made liy ^Slll^r hoi^ l^S.^'is'^y'!^:! human hands; t-^i-]-- - exti^rdinary gret for the wretched pasF. Meanwhile, occasions they could bon-ow Ihe more I shall perhaps be able to protect you in a measure. So. good-by. Larry, away with your last tinge of susi>icioa which bad given employment to thou- sands of men. and COST HL'GE SUMS OF .MONEY, and their telegraph trail has been aban- Somehow CILVPTER V. Avis felt belter after this Emperor is slill alive, or some userper t interview with the Canton con.sular Bits in his place. Chmcse politics arc , agent; she knew he represented the equal to a Chinese puzzle, and few ' whole armed power of Great Rritoui in understand them at all. Little the the Eastern seas, and that there could people care who rules. Co back a fev/ bo no stronger arm raised up in her hundred miles and intci-view the mas.ses ; behalf; cloned. IiLstoad of restoring the daiiia:r'^3 for- occasions they could Dorrow me more csts, -Xmerica allow.-d them to |.e left weighty deiliti Wang had in stock, and: huJt-denioiisbed with the felle<l trees thus malie a showing far beyond rival i .scattered in all directions. Unless some- tenipies • thing is dune lo remedy th.; evil, lime It so'mMimes nays to live in close! will unba'aimp Ala-ska. and the tot- t juxtaposUion with one who.se abilities 1 aaraagc will then be beyond any corn- run in the line of supplying the crying piUation. was the mascot of the Gloucester regi- m.^nf. but becoming ill tempered had I'j be shot. The Lancers of .New South Wales have an emu and a kangaroo. "Peter." 'lie goosp. became the pet of the Gr«na- 'liers while in Canada. The lame bird limped up to a .sentry on night and held 'ip a hurt foot for his inspection, fla 'ittendod to tlie woi;nd. and the bird iliereaf'T refused to leave Ihe camp, so 'he soldiers adopted it. When the Devonshire regiment was ;u India, a snake wa.s for many months ndopl/yl OS a pet. and. thou^'h poison- i^us. il never attempi."'d to hurl any member <^f the company. When the men relumed to England this uncanny pet was left ttehind. needs of an idol worsiiipmg comniun- Swet briar and gorse have turned j(y enormoiLS tracts of fine grazing in las- "Durin" his convale.'scence Urry had! n'ania^'nto .semi-sta.-'nant mai'shes. while made 8 studv of th..se thmgs. as vh^veilj Nw Zoa'and lost it, flnoj^t nvors by from behind'the curtains oF Kai Wangs; "llovvang wntercrosscs. planted years chambers, and as the windows weru al-fC" hy a too ^ 1 .^ ways or^n he had Ihe weird singing; sweep along Ihe banks unch.vked serviced the priests, and scented Iho r>i;>t! irretrievable rum the onward ru.sh of th-J | peculiar smoke of burning joss .sticks enterprising farmer, to ear- in its triin. â€"you will be surprised to learn that not , W'hUe Cjsir's legions was stayed by the more ihan one man in Cifty knows there | mailed hand England raised when slu- has been a war with Japan, and eunjsaid, "This far may you come, but no that benighted individual labors unuer further." the impression that (aiina wiped the Perhaps she might, if given her choice 'foreign devils,' as they call even the in the matter, have preferred a Japs, off the face of the earth." j stranger, but something within her "I am sorry to hear you say the For- \ hearl seemed lo wtiisper that Lord triddcn City is guarded to an unusual â-  Rackett was as sincere as a m.on could extent, as it makes my t^k the raoro ; be in his d-ssire to makg amends for the ditHciilt.'^ said Avis, slowly. j wrelched past, and that under such Milord looked at her curiously. circumstances it miglU prove an exceod- "Pardon me, I don'i quilc undersuind. ' ingly good thing their running across 'â-  With Iho papers safe tieyond ;ill chanc<?! one who had so deep an interest in their of seizure, your work is crriainly done. \ fortunes. What else have you in mind?" j At any rale Larry mentally thanked "I must see the spot where Jack fell. Heaven those papers were safe at last. Hundreds of thousands of Ihe finest not unlike the sweet odor of tuberoses.; ^^J^nrj^iSl^ l^T^ 1<^ ''" for- and assure awful truth. niy wretched htiart of the Nothing les5 will suflloe." "But, my dear lady-lh-d would lake have been ashamed to hj you inside the Sacred City, where no how many times he v/oke woman of your race <:vor yo.l pene- strong impression that s The possession of them had given him the nightn:nre for v/eeks, and he would have confessed up under the some Chinese trated I" he gasped. thie(~than whom there is no more "Then it is timo some one did. .\tj adroit rascal under the sunâ€" was in his least such a fact does not -daunt mc." frail bamboo apartment intent upon "Good heavens I This is dreadfulâ€" yoa ] purloining the documents, and how on will no doubt meet with the same sad each occa.sion he h.id. pistol in hand, fate that befell your brave husband., .crawled around in the dark, bent upon until he had grown to like il. Even now he could hear the stridontj voice of the black-roL->ed di.sciple of Con- : fucius as he harangued Ihe almond-; eved Celestials who proslraied them- selves b-ifore the great jo.ss of the te«n-| ^^ __^^_ _ _^^^ _^^_^ ^^^^_^^ _ _ pie; and this, with the pene mtmg odor i j,^,^ erowina lo n.Mrlv eight feel hiah ol incen.se that floated in through the, ,j ^^.^^ ,^^ ,^,^ ,^ 5.,^^ ^^^ rnvng-M of ever bv Kuroponn thi.sltix importcfl in- 1.1 the country in cheap vilient se.vl. The farmers (!• I not lake thi' trtnible lo pick the s<vd nver. but planf.-Kl it rs If nrrivrd. The n^sult was that l!ie wheatfickls became povctihI with thi.<- These Black Flogs and the Emperors bodyguard are sworn to show no mercy toward those whom a Talal curiosity tempts to cross the barrier surrounding the palace island." "While I do not allow myself to be- lieve such a fate i . in store, its con- templation cannot a'snn me." Such resolution astonished the con- BMlar agent. "By Jove ! I no longer wonder at the nupendous failure I made in my stupid attempt to win whnl belonged to Dr. Jack. You surely have imbibed his fear- Itss spirit. While I am forced to ad- mire, slill roy judgment condemns your Kherae as sheer madness, and I sin- cerely hope you will abandon it," he said, warmly. At the same time he knew she would «olâ€" such natures are not easily dls- HMiraged, and the influence brought to bear in order to change her plans would tavo to be r tore powerful than ht could (ust then. juslice upon .the -which never hap- cxecuting summary wretch when found- pened. of course. Tbeir stay in Ihe British consulate had been so prolonged that il was now growing dusk. Still the faithful coolies waited, and the man who divw the jinrickshaw stood near by; they obeyed orders to Ihe U'tler; and having been told to wait, Ihey w.iuld have been found there wh .11 the smiling lace of Phoebus oi-ofse again in the east, if not relieved before. Larry had mapped out his iinmediale plan. His ftrsl duty was to see his cousin safely to some caravansary, whore she could be made comfortable, and ome In contact with the families of foreign- ers whom business chamed lo Canton. Then he meant to return to fhe habi- tation of the illustrious Kai Wang, in order to arrange his affairs and prepai'e for departure. _ True, it would undoubtedly add to his M ttHV (eU Into a attural coDvers»- perils to appear once mora in his true back window, soemetl combination! enough to give the sitii.aiion all the romantic interest one could expect or desire. , . .. So inspired by this and the cunosity that in common with all Eve's children he inherited through woman. Lurry pro- ceeded to exert his powers upon the heathen, and discover why Kai Wangs face hod such an unu.siially length/ look, while a furiivo gleam appeared in his slanting eyes. (To be continued). A BAD Il.vniT. "Could yer give a poor man a quar- ter ter git" a bit to cat?" "See here, fellow, you're the same man I gave a quarter to yeslei-day." "Say, bo.ss, don't folks in your set eat dinner every duy'?" IN THE 0.\.ME. Mammaâ€" "Elhel, wlial do you mean by shouting in that disgraceful fashion? Look how quiet Willie isl" Elholâ€" "Of course, he's quiet; thnfs our game. He's pai a coming home late, and I'm you." AFTRR_THE SERVICE. The Ministerâ€"'That was a rather lonij: .sorinon I preached this morning, my door. Do you think if met with the .ip- pnnal of the congrepnlion?" His Wifeâ€" "I suppti.^ so. Abner. I noticed ihoy were nil nodding." DEAD SURE NOW. "The doctors have finally agit^il upon the cau.';»> ot Jenkin.s' illness." 'They've held another eonsullaiion, eh?" "No; a posl-moftom." the quick-crowing whkI. and the fields had lo be abandoned. To-day they nrc rothing h.^iler than impenelr.iMe thick- fSi harboring wild birds' and b«\asts of prey. ^fanâ- s carelessness has damaged Aiis- halin to an incredible extonl. Les.<5 than P.fty years ago a large numNr of In- riian-br<:>d ponie.; of Pitsgonia were importf^i into the eoim'ry. and THEIR CO.XTS CROUGHT RLLN. Steds of the now known Bathurst wood were carri*>il by them in their long hair from Patogonia to the .\ustrulian tleld.s. The scuds t.x)k root, and s[iread rapid- iilly. utterly ruining the pa.sture.s. Plag'ie lias alwyas threnleneiJ India with d.'stiuctioi). and mijlions of U\es ir«i.STE.\D OF A CROWN. Do Voo Know How the Shret of Fools- cap was Named? Everyone who has to do wilJi pcper recognizes foolscap as a sheet thirteen by sixteen inches. This is iLsed as a standard size all over, omcialiy and commercially. The paper derived its name in a curious manner. After the e.xecuMon of Charles I., Cromwell and his staff, in organizing the Commonwealth, made all possible effoi-ts to remove everything which had anything to do with the old monarWiy. The paper in ofllcial use up to that lime had, as a walermark. the king'.s crown; and. when Cromwell was a.ski!d what ha .should put in the place of this crown, to show his ovei-whelining dislike to every- thing concerning royally, he directed a fool's cap to be put in ilie place of the crown. This was done. and. when Charles IL ascended the throne of England, it was at first forgotten lo replace the cap by .something else, and then, loo lot.?. tliS king wQs afraid to do anything lo r* call things dangeroiis to touch, and so it was neglected, and the fool's cap may Le seen as a watermark on neiiriy oU official papers. TRUE IN HIS CASE. First Kid â€" When pa gives me a lick- in' il always hurts him worsc'n it hurts me. Second Kid â€" Aw, they jist .say that. First Kid â€" But my pa's got the rheuiiialism. SOCICTY GOT l.NTO HIM. "I hear you're gelling into society,* said the friend of the successful \wkv^. "No," repUcd the poor man. bru.^hing aside n pile of liis wife's bills. "Soci- ety isj-'eltingintomo/] SEEING niM OFT. ,.^'