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Bed f.-freTTts <cof*y*/0jfr ##33 &- * MStrjnt m 8YNOP3I8. At a private view of the Cbatworth per­ sonal estate, to be sold at auction, the Cliatworth ring mysteriously disappears. Harry Cressy, who was present, describes the ring to his fiancee. Flora Gilsey, and her chaperon, Mrs. uiara Britton, as be­ ing like a heathen god, with a beautiful sapphire set In th6 'hftftd. Flora cUscov- ers*an unfamiliar mood in Harry, espe­ cially when the ring is discussed. She attends "ladles' night" at the club and meets Mr. Kerr, an Englishman. It comes out that the missing ring has been known as the Crew idol. Its disappearance re­ calls the exploits of Farrell Wand, an English thief. Flora has a fancy that Harry and Kerr are concerned in the mystery. CHAPTER IV. Flowers by the Way. Flora liked this funny little dining room with walls as frail as box-boards, low-ceiled and flooded with sun. It recalled surroundings she had known later than the mining camp, but long before the great red house. It seemed to her that She fitted here better than the Purdies. She looked across at Kerr, sitting opposite, to see if per­ haps he fitted too. But he was for­ eign, decidedly. He kept about him still the hint of delicate masquerade that she had noticed the night before. Out of doors, alone with her, he had lost it. For a moment he had been absolutely off his guard. She rose from the table with the feeling that in an hour all three of them had become quite old friends of his, though without knowing anything further about him. "We must do this again," Mrs. Pur- die said, as they parted from her 1b the garden. "Surely we will," Kerr answered her. But Flora had the feeling that they never, never would. For him it had been a chance touching on a strange shore. But at least they were going away together. They would walk together as far as the little car, whose terminal was the edge of the parade-ground. But just outside of the gate he stopped. "Do you especially like board .walks?" he asked. It was an instant before she took his meaning. Then she laughed. "No. I like green paths." He waved with his cane. ^"There is a path yonder, that goes over a bridge, and beyond that a hill." "And at the top of that another car," Flora reminded hira. "Ah, well," he said, "there are flow­ ers on the way, at least." He looked at her whimsically. "There are three purple irises under the bridge. I no­ ticed them as I came down." She was pleasetf that he had no­ ticed that for himself--pleased, too, that he had suggested the longer way. The narrow path that they had chosen branched out upon the main path, broad and yellow, which dipped downward into the hollow. From there came the murmur of water. Green showed through the white grass of last summer. Sauntering between plantations of young eucalyptus, they came to the arched stone bridge. They leaned on the parapet, looking down at the marshy stream beneath and at the three Irises Kerr l^ad remarked, knee-deep in swamp ground. "Now that I see them I suppose I want them," Flora remarked.. "Of course," he assented. "Then hold all these." He put into her hands the loose bunch of syringa and rose plucked for her in the Purdies' garden, laid his hat and gloves on the parapet; then, with an eye for the better bahk, walked to the end of the bridge. She watched him descending the steep bank and issuing into the broad shallow basin of the stream's way. The sun was still high enough to fill the hollows with warm light and mel­ low the doubles of trees and grafts in the stream. In this landscape of green and pale gold he looked black and tall and angular. The wind blew longish locks of hair across his fore­ head, and she had a moment's pleased and timorous reflection that he looked like Satan coming into the Garden. He advanced from tussock to tus­ sock. He came to tha brink of the marsh. The lilies waved what seemed but a hand's breadth from him. But he stooped, he reached-- Oh, could anything so foolish happen as that he could not get them! Or, more fool­ ish still, plunge in to the knees! He straightened from bis fruitless efTort, drew back, but before she could think what he was about he had leaned for­ ward again, flashed out his cane, and with three quick, cutting slashes the lilies were mown. It was deftly, del­ icately, astonishingly done, but it gave her a singular shock, as if she had seen a hawk strike its prey. He drew them cleverly toward him in the crook of his cane, took them up. daintily in his fingers, and returned to her across the shallow valley. She waited him with mixed emotions. "Oh, how could you!" she mur­ mured, as he put them into her hand. He looked at her in amused as­ tonishment. "Why, aren't they right?" They were as "Igar clipped off and as perfect as if the daintiest hand had plucked them. "Oh, yes," she admitted, "they're lovely, but I don't like the way you got them." "I took the means I had," he ob­ jected. "I don't think I like It." His wnole face was sparkling with Interest and amusement. "Is that so? Why not?" "Y9u're too--too"--she cast about for tne word--"too terribly resource- full" "I see," he said. If she had feared he would laugh, it showed how llttfe she had gauged the limits of his laughter. He only looked at her rath­ er more intently than he had before. "But, my good child, resourceful­ ness is % very natural instinct. I am afraid you read more into it than is there. You wanted the flowers, I had a stick, and m my youth I was taught to strike clean and straight. I am really a very simple fellow." Looking him in the eyes, which were of a clear, candid gray, she was ready to believe it. li seemed « he had let her look for a moment through his manner, his ironies, his armor of indifference, to the frank foundations of his nature. » "But, you see,, the trouble is you don't in the least look it," she ar­ gued. "So you think because I have a long face and wild hair that I am a sinister person? My dear Miss Gilsey, the most desperate character I ever knew was five feet high and wore mutton- chop whiskers. It is an uncertain business judging men by their ap­ pearance." As soon silence feel between them she saw that wave of preoccupa­ tion which had submerged him during their walk from the parade-ground to the Purdies' rising over him again and floating him away from her. He no longer even looked at her. His eyes were on the ground, and it was not until they had' crossed the open expanse of the shallow valley and were climbing toward the avenue of cypress that she found courage to put her question. "Have you and Mr. Cressy met be­ fore?" He raised his head with a Jerk and looked at her a moment in astonish­ ment. "Do you mind if I answer your home. Clara wanted to know rather austerely what she intended to do about the dinner. This was dreadful! Flora had forgotten it completely. Nothing to be done but go, and leave a message for Harry--apology, and assurance that she would be home early. She wouuei eu il she were los­ ing her memory. She appeared to be changing alto­ gether, for the dinner--a merry one --bored her. What she wanted was to get away from it as soon as pos­ sible for that interesting evening. When she had made the appointment with Harry she had been excited by the thought that he might tell her wether he had learned anything from the major that morning in the matter of the ring. But now she was more engrossed with the idea of asking about Kerr--whether Harry had real­ ly met him--if so. where; and, final­ ly, why did not Harry want fcer to ^mention that embassy ball? Primed with these questions, she left immediately after coffee, arriving at her own red stone portal at ten. But coming in, all a-flutter with the idea of having kept him waiting when she had so much to ask, she found her note as she had left it. She question­ ed Shima. There had been no mes­ sage from Mr. Cressy. Her first an­ noyance was lost in wonder. What could be the matter? . She went into the drawing room-- a dull-plnk. stupendous chamber-- knelt a moment before the flashing wood fire, then rose, and crossing to the window, looked anxiously out. She Q mm§ w ?-wmf £'< ̂ He Drew Them Cleverly Toward Him In the Crook of His Cane. tion American fashion by asking an­ other?" he said presently. "What put it into your head that we may have met before?" "The way you looked at each other at the club, and again this morning." Kerr shook his head. "You are an observant young person! The fact is, I've never met him--of that I'm cer­ tain, but I believe I've seen him be­ fore, and for the life of me, I can't think where. At the moment you spoke I was trying to remember." "Was it in this country?" Flora prompted, hopeful of fishing some- thine definite out o? this vagueness. "No. it was years ago. It must have been in England." He looked at her inquiringly, as if he expected her to help him. "Oh, Harry's been in England," she said quickly; and then, with a flash­ ing thought, came to her the one scene Harry had mentioned in his English experience. Was it at a ball? The question came to her lips, but she checked it there. She remembered how Harry had stopped her the night before with a nod, with a look, from mentioning that very thing. "So you're not going to tell me?" Kerr remarked, and she came back to a sudden consciousness of how her face must have reflected her thought. "No--not this time!" she said, smil­ ing, though somewhat flushed. He knitted his brows at her. They had reached the arched gate, and the car that would carry her home was approaching. "Ah, then, I am afraid it will be never," he said. Was it .possible this was their last meeting? Did he mean he was going away? The question formed in her mind, but there was no time for words. He had stopped the car with a'flick of his agile cane, and handed her in as if be had handed her into a car­ riage; and not a word as to whether they would see each other again, though she hoped and hesitated to the last moment. ' CHAPTER V. On Guard He had so disturbed her, his pres­ ence had so obliterated other pres­ ences and annihilated time, that it took an encounter with Clara to remind her of her arrangement for the evening. The dance ? No, she had given that up. She had promised Harry to be at had a flight of fancy towards acci­ dents, but in that case she would cer­ tainly have heard. The French clock on the mantel rang half-past ten. The sound had hardly died in the great spaces before she heard the fine snarl of the electric bell. She restrained an impulse to dart into the hall, and stood impatient in the middle of the room. He came In. hastily, his lips all ready with words which hesitated at sight of her. v "Why, you're going out!" he said. She had forgotten the cloak that still huQg from her shoulders. "No, I've just come in, and all my fine apologies for being out are wasted. How long do you think Clara'll let you stop at this hour?" "Clara Isn't here," he said. "Well, then your time is all the shorter." She was nettled that he should be oblivious of his lapse. "I'm sorry," he said, arriving at last at his apology. "I couldn't help be­ ing late. I've had a day of it." He drew his hand across his forehead, and she noticed that he was in his morning clothes and looked as rum­ pled and flurried as a man just from the office. She relented. "Poor dear! You do look tired! Don't take that chair. It's more Louis Qulnze than comfortable. Come into the library. And remem­ ber," she added, when Shima had set the decanter and glasses beside him, "you are to stay Just 20 minutes." He took a sip of his drink and looked at her over the top of his glass. "I may have to stay longer if you want to hear about it." "Oh, Harry, you really know some­ thing? All the evening I've heard nothing but the wildest rumors. Some say Maj. Purdle couldn't speak be­ cause some one 'way up knows more than she should about It. And some­ body else said it wasn't the real ring at all that was taken, only a paste copy, and that is why they're not do­ ing more about getting it back." "Not doing more about getting it back?" Harry laughed. "Is that the idea that generally prevails? Why, Flora--" He stopped, waited a mo­ ment while she leaned forward ex­ pectant. "Flora,'* he began again, "are you mumf She nodded, breathless. ,sNot a word to Clara?" "Oh, of course not," "Well--" He twisted around in his eaaii' the better to face her. "To-mor­ row there will be published a reward of $20,000 for the return of the Crew Idol, and no questions asked." "Oh!" she said. And again, "Oh, is that all!" She was disappointed. "I don't see why you and the major should have been so mysterious about that" "You don't, eh? Suppose you had taken the ring--wouldn't it make a dif­ ference to you if you knew 24 hours ahead that a reward of $20,000 would be published? Wouldn't you expect every man's hand to be against you at that price? If you had a pal, wouldn't you be afraid he'd sell you up?" Flora leaned forward with knitted brows. "Yes, I can see that, but still, just among ourselves, this mWning--" Harry smiled. "You've lost sight of the fact that it is just among our­ selves the thing has happened." "Oh, ch! Now you're ridiculous!" "I might be, if the thing had hap­ pened any where but in this town; but think a moment. How much do we know of the people we meet, where they were, who they were, be­ fore they fame here? There's a case in point. It was not quite 'among our­ selves' this morning." "Harry, how horrid of you!" She was on the point of declaring that she knew Kerr very well indeed; but she remembered this might not be the thing to say to Harry. "My dear girl, I'm not saying any­ thing against him. I only remarked that we did not know him." "Don't you, Harry?" He gave her a quick look. "Why, what put that into your head?" "I--I don't know. I thought you looked at him very hard last night in the picture gallery. And afterward, at supper, don't you remember, you did not want*me to mention your con­ nection with something or other he was talking about?" "Something or other he was talking about?" Harry inquired with a frown­ ing smile. "1 think it was about that embassy ball--" "I didn't want you to mention the embassy ball?" he repeated, and now he was only smiling. "My dear child, surely you are dreaming." She looked at him with the bewild­ ered feeling that he was flatly con­ tradicting himself. And yet she could remember he had not shaken his head at her. He had only nodded. Could it be that her cherished imagination had played her a trick at last? But the next moment it occurred to her that somehow she had been led away from her first question. "Then have you seen him, Harry?" she insisted. utes," she said, "and Clara scandalized. "Now, really, you must go home," she urged, trying to rise. "But look here," he protested, still on the arm of her chair, "there's an other thing I want to ask you about." And by the tip of one finger he iifted j her left hand shining with rings. "You will have have another one of these, you know. It's been on my mind for a week. Is there any sort you haven't already?" She held up her hand to the light and fluttered its glitter. "Any one that you gave me would be different from the others, wouldn't it?" she asked prettily. "Oh, that's very nice of you, Flora, but. I want to find you something new. When shall we look for it? To­ morrow, In the morning?" "Yes, I should love it," she an­ swered, but with no particular en­ thusiasm, for the idea of shopping with Harry, and shopping at Shrove's, did not present a wide field of possi­ bility. "But I have a luncheon to-mor­ row," she added, "so we must make it as early as ten." "Oh, you two!" At Clara's mildly reproving voice so close beside them both started like conspirators. They had not heard her come in, yet there she was, just in­ side the doorway, still wrapped in her cloak. But there was none of the Impetus of arrested motion in her at­ titude. She stood at repose as if she might have waited not to interrupt them. "Don't scold Flora," said Harry, rising. "It's my fault. She sent nte away half an hour ago. But it is so comfortable here!" Flora couldn't tell whether he was simply natural, or whether he was giv­ ing this domestic color to their inter­ view on purpose. She rather thought it was the latter. "To-morrow at ten, then!" he said cheerfully to Flora. The stiff curtains rustled behind him and the two wom­ en were left together. The Wretchedness CHAPTER VI. Black Magic. The memory of Clara's incredulous glance remained with her as some­ thing curious, and she was not unpre­ pared to be challenged when, the next morning, she hurried down the hall, drawing on her gloves. Clara's door did open, but the lady herself, yawn­ ing lightly on the threshold, had this time no questions for her. "Remem­ ber the luncheon," she advised, "and by the way, Ella wants us to sl( ip their box to-night. Don't forget to tell Harry." Flora threw back a gay "All right," but she was in danger of forgetting 'Harry, How You Do Dislike Him!" "No!" He jerked it out so sharply that it startled her, but she stuck to her subject "And you wouldn't have minded "toy telling him you had been at that ball?" There was a pause while Harry looked at the fire. Then-- "Look here," he burst out, "did he ask you about it?" "Oh, no," she protested. "I only just happened to wonder." He stared at her as if he would have liked to shake her. But then he rose from his frowning attitude be­ fore the fire, came oven to her, sat on the arm of her chair, and, with the tip of one finger under her chin, lifted her face; but she did not lift her eyes. She heard only his voice, very low. with a caressing note that she hardly knew as Harry's. "It Isn't that I care what you say to him. The fact is, Flora, I suppose I was a little jealous, but I naturally don't like the suggestion that you would discuss me with a stranger." She raised her eyes. "Certainly I shall not discuss you with him.** •la that a promise?" "Harry, how you uo dislike him!" "Well, suppose I do?" he shrugged. "You'v« used up twice your 20 mln- even the object of their errand, once she and Harry were out in the bright glare of the street. The wind, keen and resinous from the wet Presidio woods, blew at their back $own the short block of pavement, and buffeted them broadside as they waited on the corner for the slow-cfawling little car. It was a continuous progress back ward toward the old, the original town. There was no stately nucleus. This town was a succession of widen­ ing ripples of progress, each newer, more polished than the last, but not different in quality from the old cen­ ter that still teemed--a region of frail wooden rookeries full of foreign con­ tending interests, haunted with the adventures of its feverish past. It had built itself on the hopes of a mo­ ment. and what spread from it still was the spell of the new, the chang­ ing, and the reckless. And now, as they slipped down the long decline in'x) the foreign quarter the pungent oriental breath of China­ town was blown up to them. She breathed it in readily. It was pleas­ ant because it was strange, outland­ ish, suggesting a wide web of life be­ yond her own knowledge. She won­ dered what Harry was thinking of it, as he sat with his passive profile turned from her to the heathen street ahead. She guessed, by the curl ot his nostril, that it was only present to him as an unpleasant odor to b6 got through as quickly as possible; but she was wrong. He had another thought This time, oddly enough, a thought for her. He gave it to her presently, abrupt, matter-of-fact, material. "That Chi­ nese goldsmith down there has good stuff now and then. How'd you like to look in there before we go on to wbat-you-call-'em s -- the regular place?" "You mean for a ring?" She was doubtful only of his being in earnest "You have so many of the Shrove kind," he explained. "I thought you might like it, Flora; you're so ro­ mantic!" he laughed. "Like it!" she cried, too touched at his thought for her to resent the Im­ putation. "I should love it! But I didn't know they had such things." "Now and then--though it is a rare chance." "But that will be Just the fun of it," she hastened, half afraid lest Harry should change his mind, "to see if we can possibly find one that will be dif­ ferent from all these others." She kept this little feeling of explo­ ration close about her, as they left the car, a block above the green trees oi the plaza, and entered one of tha nar­ row streets, that was not even a cross- street, but an alley, running to a bag's end, with balconies, green railings and narcissi taking the sun. A slant-eyed baby In a mauve blouse stared after them; and a white face so poisoned in its badness that it gave Flora a start, peered at them from across the street. It made her shrink a little behind Harry's broad shoulder and take hold of his arm. The mere touch of that .arm was security. His big presence, moving agilely beside her, seemed to fill the street with its strength, as if, by merely flinging out his arms, Samson-like, he could burst the dark walls asunder. (TO BE CONTINUED.) of IrtlOfl fee ove&csst S»V CARTER'S LITTLE yitv? i»u 15, I5 urc!» vcgelciJffi' Somh Pvk*J mka BigOatOP© W. L. NDhsEW HKFF St-JO, i •gpoiWTT' j • *n BffY ft > -»v0< most popnUranA best shoe** k# The? ore t&e lenders emy wbaiib because ffeey holt their stogm. it better,, look Bstta? mi west lo »r than ether mate They a» certainly € most seenomittA* sfieesfrr * fiy i Doot?* •! w stamped tia the bottom^ --value TAKE we ©tl®#TirtJTg S If ymt SW& oat^ ftojsptf fob write fer Stall Order Catalog, HTM 1 WOULD WAIT LONG FOR LOAN WW fir % / • Good If Somewhat Irreverent Story Told at a Gathering of State Bankers. George E. Roberts, president of $|»e Commercial National bank of Chicago, who made a speech before the state bankers In convention at Louisville the other day, mentioned resourceful­ ness as the quality of the ideal banker. In explaining the possibilities of the resourceful man Mr. Roberts told a story which some of those present said they had heard before. However, it seemed to make a hit with the bank­ ers, so the Cpurier-Journal repeated It. According to Mr. Robert's version^ an Irishman, who was, of course, named Pat, went to heaven and was met at the door by St. Peter. Pat passed the time of day and commented upon the grandeur of everything around him, and then St. Peter said: "Yes, this is a great place. With us a million years are just like a min­ ute and a million dollars like a cent" "Is thot so?" inquired Pat, medita­ tively. Then, "Say, would ye inoind linding me a cint?" "Yes," returned St. Peter, "in a min­ ute." i Muring Doesn DtnreMs Mwrfc# lye UwH. IS«» Hn Maria** Ei* Sal-re, to. Asaptlo Taboo, life ]£Y"R POAKTSS IM* - Ifx-' Tough Luck. "I thought you said this young chicken." remarked Newed. M he sawed away at a portion of bird. "And I thought, it was." rejatiww! his better half. "I looked in Its wjoutli and It showed no Indication of having cut a single tooth yet. The dealer must hare Imposed upon me." "Did he tell you it was • yssns chicken?" queried her husband. "No." replied Mrs. Newed. "But Fa sure he must have extracted Its tsetll before offering It for sale." % Politics In British Army. Col. John Jennison, of the British army, recently on a visit in this coun­ try, said: "The army and the navy In the old country are at the mercy of politicians and it seems to be the case also In America. Very poor material is forced into the service by politicians. For example, the nephew of an earl was a candidate for parliament He needed the aid of a rich .tradesman, and in order to get it he promised to secure for the tradesman's son a position as sergeant of artillery. The law, however, required six years of previous experience. When his lord­ ship reported this to the tradesman, he said: " 'There is no law against appoint­ ing my son a lieutenant.' "And. so the son was appointed a lieutenant, because he was not fit to be a sergeant."--Sunday Magazine of the Los Angeles Herald. A Wise Old Owl. In her trim little bathing suit dm sat on the white sand. "I adore Intelligence,'* she cried. "So do I." said he. "All the same, though, beauty and intellect sever |0 together." "And do you think me lntellectualf she faltered. "No," he confessed, frankly. With a faint blush she munmsrtfc "Flatterer!" -- "" ' Lemons Cure Malaria. «. Lemons are said to be an Infallible . cure for malaria. This Is the method of preparation: Take one lemon, wash, thoroughly with a brush and hot wa­ ter till all germs are gone, cut In very small pieces, using skin, seeds : and all; cook in three glasses of wa­ ter till reduced to one, and take this } while fasting. • cure is generally effected within a week. > " A Diplomat. "And how old should you say I amf* giggled the golden-haired spbtftWV with a coy glance at Bjones. "Ah, Miss Smiley," replied BJooM* with a low bow, "I do not think fM are old at all. Ask rather how youatf do I take you to be." And she was so pleased she Cor cot to.--Harper's Weekly. Located. Old Gentleman (to waiter) Cs* you tell me if my wife is here? Walter--Yes, sir, eight hats to tiMI left--Fliegende Blatter. LACK OF MONEY Was a Godsend In This The Pattern Husband. An English paper commenting on the recent news item in regard to the prize given in Chicago for a pattern finds that all the good men's qualities may be summed up as follows: "The perfect husband is thus the possessor of an equable temperament and a good appetite. He must be a cook, a flat­ terer, an occasional teller of an agree­ able falsehood, and something of an ass. We are not told how Mrs. Van- ( nostran behaves at breakfast, how she speeds her husband's money, whether she can manage a frying pan, or whether she admires her husband's | looks. But that does not matter at i all. America is the paradise of wo> me-i." I •i Held Makers of Taxicab. In a recent case in Paris where a driver of a taxicab was charged with homicide and the representative of the company with responsibility toward the victim's family the court meted out a lenient sentence to the former and ordered the company to pay to the victim's widow a life annuity of 600f. and to each of her children 600f. a year until they reach the age of 18. Examination of the car had disclosed the fact that the metal work was of bad quality and that it was badly worn, rendering its control difficult The Reason Why. "Can you tell me why singers an> actresses make farewell tours?" "That's the reason--that they may fare well." It Is not always that a lack tf money Is a benefit A lady of Green Forest, Ark., owe* 7 her health to the fact that she could , not pay in advance the fee dent and* ' ed by a specialist to treat her tor - stomach trouble. In telling of hex case she says: "I had been treated by four dlffls^ ent physicians during 10 yean ot stomach trouble. Lately I called on 's another who told me he could not cure me; that I had neuralgia Ot the ston* ach. Then I went to a specialist whq told me I had catarrh of the stomach and said he could cure me In louij months but would have to have his money down. I could not raise the r necessary sum and in my extremity I was led to quit ixiftee and try Posttttt* "So I stopped coffee and gave Post- am a thorough trial and the results have been magical. I now sleep well at night, something I had not done for a long time; the pain In my stom­ ach is gone and I am a different woman. "I dreaded to quit coffee, because every time I had tried to stop It I suf­ fered from severe headscJbss, so I con­ tinued to drink it although I had re* •on to believe It was injurious to me, and was the cause of my stomach trouble and extreme nervousness. But wben I had Postom to shift to It wa» different. "To my surprise I did not mlss W- toe whan I began to drtck Postom. "Coffee had been steadily and sure- |y killing me and I didn't fully realise what was doing It unto I end changed to Postum." ywr tha ahave A. I*. •') If*