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/ * * ' * * • . * / * > '• / :<w '?em,, * i 8YNOP3IS. DEATH LURE IN NIAGARA PERILS fe *• i •? S Baraka. a Tartar Rirl, became enamored mt a golden bearded- «trang«r- who was prospecting and studying herbs In the vicinity of her home in central Asia, and revealed to him the locafton of a mine Of rubies hoping that the stranger would love her in return for her disclosure. They were followed to the cave by the girl's relatives, who blocked up the en­ trance, and drew off the water supply, leaving the couple t© die. Baraka's cousin Saad, her betrothed, attempted to climb down a cliff overlooking the mine; but the traveler shot him. The stranger was revived from a water gourd Saad car­ ried. dug his way out of the tunnel, aim departed, deserting the girl and carrying bag of rubies. Baraka gathered all the ments when he felt a new charm he had never known before. "Why da you laugh?" Baraka asked, ~a little disturbed. "I would give you a good ruby. A king may receive a good riby as a gift and not despise it Why do you laugh at me? There came two German merchants to me in Pari^'to see my rubies, and when they had lobked, they bought a good one, but not better than the one I would give you, and Spiro heard them say to each other in their own language that it was for their king, for Spiro understands all tongues. Then do E.r r°» fat their kl„g would not have been glad if I had given him the ruby as a gift? You cannot mock Margaret Cordova), a famous prima donna, became engaged in London to Konstantin Lo­ gotheti, a wealthy Greek financier. Her intimate friend was Countess L£vert, known as Lady Maud, whose husband had been killed by a bomb in St. Peters­ burg; and Lady Maud's most intimate friend was Rufus Van Torp, an Ameri­ can, who had become one of the cfehest men in the world. Van Torp was in love with Margaret, and rushed to London as Boon as he heard of her betrothal. He offered Lady Maud *5,000,090 for her pet charity if she would aid him in winning the singer from Logothett. Baraka ap­ proached Logotheti at Versailles with rubies to sell. He presented a ruby to. Margaret. Van Torp bought a yacht and sent It to Venice. He was visited by Baraka In male attire. She gave him a ruby after the American had told her of having seen in the United States a man answering the description of the one she loved. The American followed Margaret to the Bayreuth "Parsifal" festival. Mar­ garet took a liking to Van Torp. who pre­ sented her with the ruby Baraka had liven him. Count Kralinsky. a Russian, arrived at Bayreuth. Van Torp believed him to be the one Baraka was pursuing. Baraka was arrested in London on the charge of stealing from Finney, a jew­ eler, the ruby she had sold to Logotheti. Two strangers were the t'lieves. Lady Maud believed that Logot^ieti's associa­ tions with Baraka were open to suspi­ cion, and so Informed Margaret. Van Torp believed that Kralinsky was the cowboy he had known in his young man­ hood. Logotheti secured Baraka's re­ lease, and then, with her as his guest, went to sea on his yacht Erinna. Baraka explains her plans for revenge on the man who had deserted her and left her to die. Logotheti succeeds in moderating her rage. Lady Maud arrived in Bay­ reuth. Margaret and Van Torp entered into an agreement to build a tremendous opera house in New York. The thief who stole the ruby from Mr. Pinney was ar­ rested in New York anc) the stone recov­ ered. Lady Maud confided to Van Torp that she believed Kralinsky to be the husband she had believed dead. Van Torp promised his help to unravel the mystery. The party gathered on Van Torp's yacht and Lady3taud discovered that Kralinsky is he" misband. He of­ fered to rejoin and be true to her. She refused. , Logotheti took Baraka ashore at Naples to procure her a proper outfit. CHAPTER XIV.--Continued. "He was alive this morning," Logo­ theti answered, "and he is a strong man. But the strong die sometimes suddenly, by accident if not of a fever." "It is emptiness^' said Baraka, still looking at him. "He will not die be­ fore I see him." "Allah forbid! But If, such a thing happened, should you wish to go back to your own people? Or would you learn to speak the Fraak and live in Europe?" "If he were dead, which may Allah av»rt," Baraka answered calmly, "I think I would ask you to find me a husband." "Ah!" Logotheti could not repress the little exclamation of surprise. "Yes. It is a shame for a woman Sot to be married. Am I an evil sight, ,or poor, that I should go down to the grave childless? Or is there any re­ proach upon me? Therefore I would ask you for a husband, because I hare no other friend but only you among the Feringhis. But if you would not, I would go to Constanti­ nople again, and to the Persian mer- 1 chant's house, and I would say to his | wife: 'Get me a husband, for I am t; not a cripple, nor a monster, nor is there any reproach upon me, and why | should I be childless?' Moreover I f would say to the merchant's wife: ' "Behold, I have great wealth, and I : will hare a rich husband, and one who Is young and pleasing to- me, and who will not take another wife; and if you bring me such a man, for whatsoever his riches may be, I will pay you five BafTika. Baraka knows what rubies are worth", and has some still." "I do not mock you," Logotheti an­ swered, with perfect gravity. "I laugh at my own thoughts: I said in my heart: 'If Baraka asks me for a husband, what will she say if 1 an swer. 'Behold, I am the man, if you are satisfied!' This was my thought." « She was appeased at once, for she saw nothing extraordinary in his sug gestion. She looked at him quietly and smiled, for she saw her chance. "It is emptiness," she said. "I will have a man who has no other wife." "Precisely," Logotheti answered, smiling. "I never had one." "Now you are indeed mocking me!" she said, bending her sharp-drawn eyebrows. "No. Every one knows it who knows me. In Europe, men 'do not always marry very young. It is not a fixed custom " "I have heard so," Baraka an­ swered, her ajiger subsiding, "but it is very strange. If it be so, and if all things should happen as we said, which Allah avert, and if you dqsired me for your wife. I would marry you without doubt. You are a great man, .and rich, and you are good to look at, as Saad was. Also you are kind, but Saad would probably have beaten me, for he beat every one, every day, and I should have gone back to my fa* ther's house. Truly," she added. In a thoughtful tone, "you would make a desirable husband for Baraka. But the man I seek must marry me if I find him alive, for I gave him the riches of the1 earth and he gave me nothing and departed, leaving me to die. I have told you, and you under­ stand. Therefore let us not jest about these things any more. What will be, will be, and if he must die, it is his portion, and mine also, though it is a pity." Thereupon the noble little features became very grave, and she leaned back in her chair and folded her hands in ber lap, looking out at the Violet light on the distant volcano. After that, .at dinner and in the .evening, they talked pleasantly. She told him tates of her own land, and of her childhood, with legends of the Altai, of genii and enchanted princesses; and he, in return, told her about the great world in which halved; but of the two, she talked tie pore, no doubt because he was n^speaking his own language. YetVthere was a bond of sympathy between them more natural and instinctive than any that had ever drawn him and Margaret to­ gether. i When the sun was up the next morning and Logotheti came on deck to drink his coffee alone, he saw the magic straits not many miles ahead, in an opalescent haze that sent up a vapor of pure golu to the p&le blue enamel of the sky. He had been just where he was now more than once be­ fore, and few sights of nature had ever given him keener delight On the left, the beautiful outline of the Calabrian hills descended softly into the, still sea, on the right the moun­ tains of Sicily reared their lofty crests; and far above.them all, twice as high as the highest, and nobler in per cent.'" Having made this remarkable state-1 form than the greatest, Etna tow- ment of her intentions, Baraka was •Uent, expecting L,ogotheti to say something. What struck him was not the concluding sentence, for Asiatic match-makers and peace-makers are generally paid on some such basis, and the slim Tartar girl had proved- long ago that she was a woman of business. What impressed Logotheti much more was what seemed the cool cynicism of her point of view. It was evidently not a romantic passion for Kralinsky that had brought her from beyond Turkestan to London and Paris; her view had been simpler and more practical; she had seen the man who suited her, she had told him so, and had given him the secret of great wealth, and in return she expected him to marry her, if she found him alive. But if not, Bhe would imme­ diately take steps to obtain another to fill his place and be her husband, apd tiie was willing to pay a high price to any one who could find one for her. * Logotheti had half expected some jmch thing, but was net prepared for her extreme directness; still less had fce'thought of becoming the matri­ monial agent who was to find a match worthy of her hand and fortune. She was sitting beside him in a little ready-made French dress, open at the throat, fcffd only a bit of veil twisted round lver :hair, as any European Woman might wear it; possibly it was her dress that made what she said flound strangely in his ears, though it would have struck him as natural enough if she had been mufiled in a X yashmak and ferajeh, on the deck of a Bosphorus ferry boat. %'• He said nothing in «nsa»r, and sat <* thinking the matter over.' , ? ' ; "I could not offer to tf&y' Vou Ave $er cent," 8he said after a time, "be- | - v alius q you are a king, but I could giv%, you one of the fine rubies I have left, and you would look at it sometimes \ *, v|Ufc4: rejoice because you had found iSaraka a good husband." ; Logotheti laughed low. She amused " i him exceedingly, and there were mo- ered to the very sky, and a vast cloud of smoke rose from the summit that streamed westward as far as the eye could reach. "Let her go half speed, captain," said Logotheti, as his sailing-master came up to bid him good-morning. "I should like- my guest to see the straits." "Very good, sir. We shall not go through very fast in any case, for the tide is just turning against us." "Never mind," Logotheti answered. "The slower the better to-day, till we have Etna well astern." TWa K f m 3yT. MAbipn Crawtomj '«S& AUTHOR Of "MRACJNESeA" "ARUfHJM"i7TM JLLUSTfitffW/tSJW a.W&U WYRJGHT WOT BY nJVAJUOSt OXAWFO/ta *** V,;\v MANY HAVE TAKEN LIBERTItt WiTHR AGING TORRENTS IN RECENT YEAR8. SOME. ESCAPE, OTHERS DIE Captain Brown Got Information About the Erinna. CHAPTER xy. It was eight o'clock in the moving when the Lancashire Lass steamed slowly into Messina and dropped an­ chor out in the middle of the harbor to js'ait while Capt. Brown got Infor­ mation about the Erinna, if there were any to be had at the harbor-master's office. It would have been folly to run out of the straits without at least looking in to see if she were there, ly­ ing quietly moored behind the fortress of San Salvatore and the very jhlgh mole. She was not there, and had not been heard of, but a Paris Herald was' procured in which it was stated that the Erinna had' arrived in Naples, "Owner and party on board." "Well," said I/IT, Van Torp, "let's get to Naples, quick. How lonf will it take, captain?" "About'eight hours, sir, counting our getting under weigh and out of this crowded water, which won't take long, for the tide will soon turn." "Go ahead," said Mr. Van Torp. ~. Capt. Brown prepared to get under weigh again as quickly as possible. The entrance to Messina harbor 1« narrow, and it was natural that, as he was ,ln a hurry, a huge Italian "Iman-of- war should enter the harbor at that very moment, with the solemn and safe deliberation which the move­ ments of lioe-of-battle ships require .when going in and out of port. There was nothing to be done but to wait patiently till the fairway was clear. It was not more than a quarter of an hour, but Capt. Brown was in a hur­ ry, and as there was a fresh morning breeze blowing across the harbor he could not even get his anchor up with safety before he was ready to start. The result of all these delays was that at about nine o'clock he saw the Erinna right ahead, bows on and only half a mile away, just between Scylla and Faro, where the whirlpool is still a danger to sailing vessels and slow steamers, and just as the tide was turning against her and in his own favor. He did not like to leave the bridge, even fpr a moment, and sent the second mate with an urgent mes­ sage requesting Mr. Van Torp to come up as soon as he could. Five minutes earlier the owner had sat down to breakfast opposite Lady Maud, who was very pale and had dark shadows under her eyes for the first time since he had known her. As soon as the steward left them alone, she spoke. "It is Leven," she skid, "and he wants me to take him back." Mr. Van Torp set down his tea un- tasted and stared at her. He was not often completely taken by surprise, but for once he was almost speech­ less. His lips did not even move si­ lently. "I was sure it was he," Lady Maud said, "but I did not expect that." "Well," said Mr. Van Torp, finding his voice, "he shan't. That's all." "No. I told him so. If I had been dressed I would have asked you to put me ashore at Messina. I thought you were going to stop there--the stew­ ardess told me where we were, but she knew nothing else--and now we're off again." "i can't help It, Maud," said Van Torp, almost In a whisper, "I don't be­ lieve it. I don't believe in impossi­ bilities like that beard of his. It may sourd ridiculous in the face of your recognizing your own husband, but it's a solid fact, and you can't get over it. I wish I could catch the Erin­ na a£d show him to that Tartar girl. She'd know In a minute. He can't be her man and Leven, too. There's only one tiling to be dpne that I can see." "What?" asked Lady Maud sadly and incredulously. "Te*'l him you'll take him back on condition that he'll shave." Mr. Van Torp, who was In dead earnest, had just given his best friend this p^ce of sound practical advice when I he door opened, though he had not rung, and the steward announced that the second mate had a message for Mr. Van Torp. He was admitted, and he delivered it. The owner sprang to his feet "By thunder, we've caught 'em!" he cried, afl he rushed out of the deck sa­ loon. Lady Maud leaned back and stared at his empty chair, wondering what was going to happen next. This w*s what happened. The Lan­ cashire Lass reversed her starboard engine with full speed astern, put her helm harrl over to port, and turned back low&rds the straits in the small­ est space possible for her, passing less than a cable's length from the Scylla rock, and nearly running down half a dozen fishing boats that pulled like mad to get out of her way; for they supposed that the steering-gear had broken down, unless bar captain had gone raving mad. While this was going on, Capt. Brown himself, with the international signal code in his hand, was calling out letters of the alphabet to a quar termaGter, and before bis ship bad made half a circle the flags ran up the single stick the yacht carried. "My o*uer has urgent business with your owner," was what the flags meant in plain English. The Erinna was going slow, for Ba­ raka; was only Just ready to eome oa deck, haste being in her opinion, an invention of Shaitan's. Logotheti, who wished her to see the straits, was just inside the door of the deck sa­ loon, waiting for her to come out of her cabin. The officer of the watch read off the signals of the other yacht, ran up the answering pennant, and sent for the sailing-master, but could of course do nothing else without or­ ders. So the Erinna continued to go slow. All this took some minutes, for tlie officer had naturally been obliged to look up the signal in the code be­ fore answering that he understood it; and in that time Van Torp's yacht had completed her turn and was nearly alongside. The Lancashire Lass slowed down <. to the Erinna's speed, and the two captains aimed their meg­ aphones accurately at each other from their respective bridges for a little pleasant conversation. Capt. Brown, instructed by Mr. Van Torp at his elbow, repeated what his signals had meant. The other sailing-master an­ swered that he had already informed his owner, who was coming to the bridge directly. At that moment Logotheti appeared. There was not much more than a cable's length between the two yachts, which in land-talk means 200 yards. Van Torp also saw a slim young lady in blue serge, with a veil tied over her hair, leaning on the rail of the promenade deck and looking towards him. With his glasses he recognized the features of Baraka. "Got 'em!" he ejaculated in a low but audible tone of intense satisfac­ tion. Logotheti had also seen Van Torp, and waved his hand In a friendly manner. "Ask the gentleman If he'll come aboard, captain," said the American. "I can't talk through your cornopean anyway. I suppose we can send the naphtha launch for him if we stop, can't we?" 'Can't stop here," answered Capt. Brown. "The currents might jam us Into each other, and we should most likely get aground in any case. This is not even a safe place for going slow, when the tide is running." "Well, you know your business, and I don't. Tell him we don't want to in­ terfere with any arrangements he's made, and that If he'll kindly set the pace he likes we'll trot along behind him till we get to a nice pla<je, some­ where where we can stop. I suppose he can't run away from us now, can her Capt Brown smiled the smile of a man who commands a 23-knot boat, and proceeded to deliver the message in a more concise form. Logotheti heard every word, and the answer was that he was in no hurry and was quite at Mr. Van Torp's disposal. He would be glad to know whom the latter had on board with him. "Lady Maud Leven, Miss Margaret Donne, Mrs. Rushmore and Count Kra­ linsky," answered Capt. Brown, prompted by Van Torp. The latter was watching the Greek through a pair of deer-stalking glasses and saw distinctly the expression of surprise that came into his face when he heard the last of the names." "Tell the gentleman," said Van Torp, "that if he'll bring his party with him when we stop, I'll be very glad to have them all take lunch with me." Capt Brown delivered the message. At such a short distance he did not even have to raise hi* voice to be beard through the sIx-for.«t megaphone. To Van Torp's surprise, Logotheti nodded with alacrity, and the answer came that he would bring his party with pleasure, but thought that his visit would be over long before lunch­ eon time. "All right, good-bysaid Van Torp, as if he were at the telephone. "Ring off, captain. That's all. Just let him give us a lead now and we'll follow him through this creek again, since you say you can't atop her** As he went off the bridge to return to his, breakfast he passed close to the chief mate, who had turned again, though it was his watch below. "I say, Mr. Johnson," he asked, "have we got a barber shop on board this ship/' "No, sir," answered the mate, who knew better than, to be surprised at anything "It's no matter," said Mr. Van Torp, "I was only asking." ' He went back to his breakfast with an improved appetite. When he re-en- tered the saloon Lady Maud was still leaning back in her chair, staring at his empty place. "Well," he said, "they're both com­ ing on board as soon as we get to a place where we can stop." "Have you really seen the girl?" Lady Maud sat up, as if she were waking from sleep. "Oh, yes! There she waa, looking over the rail, as neat as a pin, in a blue serge dress, with a white veil tied over her hair, watching me. We've got 'em right enough, and that's going to be the end of this mystery!" "Did you see any one else on the yacht?" "Logo. That's all. He and I talked. At least, our captains talked for us. They do know how to yell, those men! If the girl's the party, Logo beats the band for brass, that's all I can say!" "It Is rather cool," said Lady Maud thoughtfully. "If he's alone with her, it will be all up with his engagement." They talked a few minutes longer, agreeing that she Bhould toll Margaret what was going to happen; but that Mrs. Rushmore and Kralinsky should be kept In Ignorance of the plan, the American lady because she might pos­ sibly yield to temptation! and tell the count, and the latter forjobvious rea­ sons. It was not likely that any of them would be on deck much before Logotheti came on board. There is good anchorage out of the tidal current at Scaletta, some few miles below Messina, on the Sicilian side, and towards this well-known wa­ ter the Erinna led the way, followed at a short distance by the Lancashire Lass. Logotheti and Baraka watched her, 'the girl recognizing Van Torp on the bridge of his yacht, without even using glasses, for she had eyes like an eagle's, and the American millionaire stood alone at one end of th^ bridge looking towards her. / Logotheti had told her that Kralin­ sky was on board, and that she should see him as soon as both yachts could anchor. He explained that it was an unforeseen coincidence, and that Mr. Van Torp must have taken him on board somewhere on the previ­ ous day. To the Greek's surprise, Ba­ raka showed no outward sign of emo­ tion. He had promised to take her to the man, and had said that he was near at hand; that the meeting should take place sooner than had been in­ tended hardly surprised her, because she had been so perfectly sure that it was near. Her only preoccupation now was about her appearance in her ready-made serge and blouse, when she had meant to show herself to Kra­ linsky in the glory of a beautiful and expensive Ferlnghi dress. But Logotheti explained that eVen the richest Feringhi ladies often wore little blue serge frocks on yachts, and told her to watch the Lancashire Lass with her glasses, as there were three very great Feringhi ladies on board, and she might see one, and be reas­ sured; and presently she saw Lady Maud walking alone on the prom­ enade deck, In clothes very* like her own, excepting that they were black instead of dark blue. So Baraka was satisfied, but she never took her eyes from the' following yacht, for she hoped that Kralinsky -would come out and show, himself. All at once he was there, taking off his white cap to Lady Maud, and they stood still facing each other, and talk­ ing. "I see him," Baraka said In a low voice, without lowering her glassefe. "It is he." Logotheti, who had been much ab­ sorbed in thinking about his coming interview with Margaret, raised his glasses, too, for he was curious to see the man at last He had known Leven for years, though never inti­ mately, as he knew a vast number of people in London, and he was struck at once by the resemblance in -size, build and complexion. "He is fatter than he was, and paler," Baraka said quietly, "but it is he. He is speaking earnestly with the beautiful woman in black. I can see well. He likes her, but she does not like him. I think she is telling him so. I am so glad. But she is more beautiful than Baraka, even in those clothes. When he sees me, he will deny me, because he likes the beauti­ ful woman In black. I will tell Spiro to be ready. It is a pity, but I see there will be no other way. It is his portion and mine. It is a great pity, for I have been happy with you." Instead of any look of anger, Logo­ theti now saw an expression of pro­ found resignation in her lovely young features. If he had been less anxious about his own affairs, he would have smiled at her simplicity. "When we are on that ship you will let me talk with him a little apart from the rest, and Spiro shall go be­ hind him and wait, looking at me. If he denies me, I will make a sign, and Spiro shall shoot him, and then kill me. It will be very easy and quick." "And what will become of Spiro?" inquired Logotheti gravely. I do not. know " Bnr»ka said Quiet­ ly. "Perhaps he will lose his head. How can 1 tell? But he Is a good serv­ ant and will obey me. Afterwards it will not matter, for he is really a Mussulman, and will go at once to paradise if he dies, because he has > killed a Christian." ^ ' iit "But you are a Mussufman, and hi la to kill you also. What about that?" "I am only a woman," answered Ba­ raka with supremo indifference. "Now I will call Spiro and tell him what he is to do. He has a good revolver." . Logdtheli let her clap her hands and send the steward for her man, and she rose when he appeared and made him follow her a little way along the deck. The interview did not last long. She handed him her glasses and made him look carefully at the intended victim; then she apparently repeated her brief instructions again, pointing here and there to the deck at her feet, to show him how they were to stand; after which she turned quietly, came back to Logotheti's side and sat down again. "He understands," she said, "It will be quite easy." But Logotheti, looking past her as she came forward, had met Spiro's eyes; and he felt not even the slight­ est anxiety for Krallnsky's safety, nor for Baraka's. He was still wondering what he should say to Margaret. At a distance, Logotheti had sup­ posed that he could somehow account to the diva for the position in which he had foolishly placed himself, be- cause he had done nothing and said nothing that he would have been ashamed of before her, if she knew the whole truth; and he fancied that even if they quarreled she would make up with him before long, and marry him in the end. He had a good opinion of himself as a desirable hus­ band; and with reason, since he had been persecuted for years with offers of excellent marriages from mothers of high degree who had daughters to dispose of. And beneath that convic­ tion there lurked, in spite of him, the less worthy thought, that singers and actresses were generally less squeam­ ish than women of the world about the little entanglements of their in­ tended husbands. (TO BE CONTINUED.) ORIGIN OF BRITISH SQUARE Battle Formation First Used by Scotch Troops at the Battle of Bannockburn. ' The greatest of all Scotch anniver­ saries is that of Bannocburn, fought on midsummer day in the year 1314. Apart from its bearing on the inde­ pendence of Scotland, the battle will always have an exceptional interest from the military point of view, as Bannockburn may be said to have been the birthplace of the British square. "Proud Edward's" army mainly consisted of cavalry, while that of the Scots, on the other hand, was almost exclusively composed of foot-folk, armed with the spear, and these Bruce threw into "schlltroms," or oblong squares--a formation bor­ rowed by Wallace from the Flemings, who had employed it with success at Courtray--to resust the charge of the English cavalry. Hitherto the mounted ' mail-clad knight had carried everything before him, but Courtray and Bannockburn proved that he was powerless ta break resolute, spear-armed infantrj drawn up In "schiltrom" or hedge-hog formation, and the#e two battles revo­ lutionized the tactics of the continent and of our own island. Profiting by the lesson which had been taught them at Bannockburn the English .ap­ plied the tactics of the Scots with brilliant success at Crecy, and still more at A gin court. As it was the Scots who may be said to have orig­ inated the British square at Bannock­ burn, so it was they again who at Balaclava were the first to discard it with "their thin red line," and flow, owing to our changed condition# Qi warfare, it is discarded altogether. INkI llae# New Planned In Defiance :if Danger by Fifteen Adventur-" era Who Seek Prize v «f *1,000. a Too Tough a Morsel. "Tenderfoots" are not necessarily fools, as the guide of whom a writeT in the New York Herald tells discov­ ered. He was recounting some of his early experiences with the brethren of the wild, for the benefit of his open-mouthed audience of easterners. "Yes. sir." he said, " it was my first grizzly, and I don't deny I was proud of having killed him in a hand-to-hand strv«gle. We began fighting about sunrise, and when he finally rolled over, done for, the sun was going down." He paused. No one said anything, snd so he added alowly, "for the sec ond time." "Do you mean that it took you two days to kill a grizzly?" asked the Eng­ lish tourist. "Two whole days and one night" replied the guide. "He died mighty hard.!' "Choked to death?" asked the tour 1st. "Yes, sir," the guide said, calmly. "Well, well! What did you «tr» to get him to swallow?" He Would Resign. The story is told of an Englisk army examiner who once had before blm a stupid candidate. The candi date being apparently unable to an swer the simplest questions, the ex­ aminer finally grew most impatient and in a burst of sarcasm demanded: "Let it' be supposed, sir, that you were a captain in command of in­ fantry; that in your rear -was/an im­ passable abyss; that on both sidee of you there rose perpendicular rocks of tremendous height; that in front ol you lay the enemy outnumbering you ten to one. What, sir, in such an emergency would you 6ot" "Sir," re sponded the applicant tor military dis­ tinction. "! should lesion." • • Right|in Papa's Line. •*\Tbatevtr became of ihat yqimi sport who. used to c«dl on you?" "Well, you see. papa is great on out doer sports, so one night he thro* Mm out"---Kansas City ItavvaL Buffalo. N. Y.--Persona with prac­ tical minds seem bent on stripping the cataract of Niagara, Its rapids and the whirlpool of some of the attributes they have had. There always will be people who will regard as fact the story of the maiden's sacrifice; who will persist in believing that it was a yearly custom of the Indian triboa living in the vicinity of the falls to sacrifice the prettiest maidens ot their tribes to the god that was Niagara. But within the last ten or fifteen yesrs many things have oc­ curred at Niagara to dissipate the romance of the cataract Something of a shock was felt when the engineers got busy and drove part of the river into factories to turn \yheels. People had said it could qot be done, and when it was done the awe Niagara inspired was a bit less­ ened. Bossy Slmms was a mere cow, • Durham to judge by ber picture. Her owner was superintendent of the in­ clined railway in Prospect park bet- fore the days of free Niagara add lived within reach of the spray from the falls. Bossy came to the park as a calf. Untrammeled with the prejudices of ordinary visitors she went to the river as to a trout stream. Frequently in summer time she went to wade in the river from near Prorpect point with no thought of danger and to slake her thirst, great* ly" to the amazement of people that gathered in the park. This waa about 1860. But she had an imitator In the per­ son of Amos Schweitzer, shoemaker of Toronto, Ont.» who on June 6. 1906, made a perfect show of the cataract For fully forty-five minutes he stood in the stream, some twenty feet from the brink and thirty-five feet out from Prospect point, his hat cocked over his ear and* a cane in his bands, this between 1:30 and 2:15 a. m., with the. tremendous beauty of Niagara set forth under a dazzling moon. Then there was Mrs. Anna Edson Taylor, who successfully made a trip over the Horseshoe fall in a barrel. Pretty much the same liberties have been taken with the rapids and the whirlpool. Doubtless many Indians attempted the rapids trip in canoes and doubtless all went to their death Many Indians Attempted the Rapids. in the journey. So there came from their people extravagant tales of lta terrors. But in 1861 the romances received a severe jolt when the Maid of the Mist, a tub of a Vessel, went careen­ ing down the stream from the foot of the falls to Lake Ontario with Joel Robinson at the wheel, to escape levy, suffering no Injury except the . loss of her smokestack, which was kicked off by a wave. Some ten years after the first bar­ rel fleet had sailed through a second fleet came down the liver. Of the score that entered for tftnors, only one was killed, a woman who waa suffocated in her barrel in the whirl­ pool through slow work on the pait of her supporters on shore. The coming summer promises un­ usual things in Niagara feats. There has been offered a purge of $1,000 and a $500 trophy for a motor boat race through the rapids, the whirlpool and down to Lewiston, where the river broadens to a calm commercial stream. Fifteen adventurers have an­ nounced their intention of trying for fame and fortune in the race. "There won't' be anything left to do pretty soon but swim up the falls," said old Tom Dillon, the dean of hack* men, when told of the projected race. Accounted For. The Tillage cornetist, who made hla living as a barber, was massaging a patron's face. "That's a peculiar way of massaging the nose," remarked the man in the chair. "Some New York method?" "That? Oh, no. I was Just practicing the fingering of the Second Hungarian Rhapsody."--Puck. Improve T-Sqmare, Two Tennessee draftsmen have patented a magnetic T-square, which is held against the iron bound edge of a drawing board by an electro magnet in its head. A switch cuts 08 the cturjre&t and aUowa U to be movaA,