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v**** ' * "r<-*' BY PLAINDEAXEK, aTHENRT* £>*$ kUBfe f<i >•."•*&<' 1H" .. rar V^.,5 . : r . ...->A '•*••••*•. ;i ri.:-•..- ¥ 'iii*'. .A- >*•*' "'-Wt.'"".! George Barr M°Cutcheon co*>yrv&r7;f** er G£onc?1i*xA Anxvr&t&xr: cbrrAxwz/za 0/0000,Af£/tD s« cawwry* SYNOPSIS. WP'^& . " f c ? & ; IMS#:;, 0(<WiM .I* CtmlW* Wrtndall is found murdared ia ft road house near New York. Mrs. Wran- datl is summoned from the city and Iden­ tifies the body. A young woman who ac­ companied Wrandall to the Inn and sub­ sequently disappeared, Is suspected. Mi's. Wrandall starts back for New York In an auto during a blinding snow storm. On the way she meets a young woman tn the road who proves tc be the woman who killed Wrandall. Feeling that the girl had done her a service in ridding her of the man who though she loved him deeply, had caused her great sorrow. Mrs. Wrandall determines to shield her and takes her to her own home. Mrs. Wrandall hears the story of Hetty Cas- tleton's life, except *hat portion that re­ lates to Wrandall. This and the story of the tragedy sho forbids the girl ever to tell. She offers Hetty a home, friendship and security from peril cn account of the tragedy. Mrs. Sara Wrandall and Het,ty attend the funeral of Challis Wrandall at the home of his parents. Sara Wrandall and Hetty recurn to New York after an absence of a year tn Europe. Leslie Wrandall. brother of Challls. makes him­ self useful to Sara and becomes greatly Interested in Hetty. Sara sees in Lea- He's infatuation possibility for revenge on the Wrandalls And reparation for the wrongs she suffered at the hands of Ohallis Wrandall by marrying his mur­ deress into the family. Leslie, in com­ pany with his friend Brandon Booth, an artist, visits Sara at her country place. T^eslle confesses to Sara that he is mndlv In love with Hetty. Sara arranges with Booth to paint a picture of Hetty. Booth bis a haunting feeling that he has seen Hettv before Txoklng through a port- folk) of pictures by an unknown English Artist be finds one of Hetty. He speaks to her about It. Hetty declares it must he a picture of Hetty Glynn, an English actress, who resembles her very much. T^eslje Wrandall becomes Impatient and jealous over the picture painting and de­ clares he Is going to propoee to Hetty at the first opportunity. CHAPTER X.--Continued. Be looked as though he expected .nothing. He could only sit back and wonder why the deuce Sara meant by behaving like this. They returned at seven. Dinner unusually merry. Sara appeared to have recovered from her .indispo­ sition; there was color in her cheekB and life in her smile. He took it to be omen of good fortune, and was Immeasurably confident. The soft, xool breeses of the starlit night blew visions of impending happiness across his lively imagination; fanned his im­ patience with gentle ardor; filled him with suppressed sighs of contentment, and made him willing to forego the delight of conquest that he might live the longer Is serene anticipation of its thrills. . Ten o'ektelf came. He arose and stretched 'himself In a sort of ecstasy. It All, Sara! Shs #1 Turned Me Down!" •i? *** y*. ,1V". Never mind! I'll get it from the side­ board. I'm--I'm d d!" He 'dropped heavily Into a Chair at the end of the table and looked at her with glazed eyes. As she stared back at him she had the curiou£ feel­ ing that he had shrank perceptibly, that bis clothes hung rather limply on him. His face seemed to have lost all of its smart symmetry; there was a looseness about the mouth and chin that had never been there before. The saucy, arrogant mustache (doped de­ jectedly. "I fancy you must have gone about It very badly," she said, pursing her lips. "Badly?" he gasped. "Why--why, good heavens, Sara. I actually plead­ ed with her," he went on, quite pa­ thetically. "All but got down on my knees to her. D n me, if I can understand myself doing it either. I His heart was thumping loudly, his sefipes aijram. Walking to the veran­ dah rail he looked out across the moonlit sound, then down at the se­ lected nook over against the garden ^w(|ll---spot to be immortalized!--and fl^tiially shivered. In ten minutes' , tlibe, or even lees, she would be down <JtSre ta his 0brnu! Exquisite medita- tk)n«! x -* I.?1.'-;: ^He turned to her with 'in engaging in which she might have dis­ cerned a prophecy, and asked her to cOme with him for a stroll along the "Vtall. And so he cast the die. .Hetty sent a swift, appealing look a$ Sara's purposely averted face. Les- ,Ue observed the act, but misinterpret «d its meaning. /"Oh, It is quite warm," he said ftfclCkly. "You won't need a wrap," he added, and In spite of himself his TOice trembled. Of course s^ie wouldn't Jfteed a wrap! "I have a* few notes to write." said J^ara, rising. She deliberately avoid­ ed the look in Hetty's eyes. "Yon will nnd me in the library." , She stood in the doorway and J Watched them descend to the tcno-co, a sphinx-like smile on her lips. Hetty seemed very tall and erect, as ope go- .• tog to meet a soldier's fate. sf. 4 • Then Sara entered the honso and * *at down to wait >;, A long time after a door closed ^ (Stealthily in a distant part of the J»OUBe--sun-parlor door, she knew ;«y direction. yfe1] A few minutes Plater an upstairs * . 4°°r creaked on its hinges. Some one pud come in from the mellow night, jjnd some one had been left outside V m i n u t e s p a s s e d . S h e s a t * 1|*ere at her father's writing table Ytod walted for the other to come In ^•%']*' 14,1 «ulck. heayy footfalls sounded • Wed . floor outside and then fame swiftly down the hall toward " email, remote room In which she "a ^at- She looked up as he unceremo- biliously burst Into the room. f>%f- ' He came across and stood over her, expression of utter bewilderment .to his eyes. Then was a ghastly "$J. ^<i|uile on his lips. v J ! V " D D 1 1 a U - 8 a r a , * ! h e s a i d s h r i l l y *»he--she turned me down *'• v/-v' k He seemed incapable of 1 #lon. A • ' She was unmoved. Her eyes nar- bnt that was the only sign of ^ it ^motion. "l""1 can't Relieve--•" he began ^querulously. "Oh, whales the use? *£he won't have me. 'Gad! I'm trem- iJbling like a leaf. Where's Watson? >71W* hHW flOAisthlag t« drink. A comprehen- •yg- - l/I j,0-' must have lost my head completely. Begged like a love-Bick schoolboy! And she kept on saying no--no--no! And I, like a blithering ass, kept on telling her I couldn't live without her, that I'd make her hap»py, that she didn't know what she was saying, and-- But, good Lord, she kept on sajdng no! Nothing but no! Do--do you think she meant to say no? Could it have been hysteria? She said it so often, over and over again, that it might have been hysteria. I never thought of that. I--" "No, Leslie, it wasn't hysteria, you may be sure of that," she said de­ liberately. "She meant it, old fel­ low." ^ He eagged deeper In the chair. "I--I cant get il through my head," he muttered. "As I said before, yon did It badly," she said. "You took too much tor granted. Isn't that true?" "God knows I didn't expect her to refuse me," he exclaimed, glaring at her. "Would I have been such a fool as to ask her if I thought there was the remotest chance of being--" The very thought of the word caused it to stick in his throat. He swallowed hard. "You really love her?" she demand­ ed. "Love her?" There was a sob In his voice. 1 adore .her, Sara. I can't live without her. And the worst of It Is, I love her now more than I did before. Oh, it's appalling! it's horrible! What am I to do, Sara? What am I to do?" "Be a man fo( a little while, that's all," she said coolly. "Don't Joke with me." he groaned. "Go to bed, and when you see her In the morning tell her that you un­ derstand. Thank her for what she has done for you. Be--" "Thank her?" he almost shouted. '"Jfes; for destroying all that is de­ testable in you, Leslie--your self-con­ ceit, your arrogance, your false no­ tions concerning yourself--in & word, your egotism." He blinked incredulously. "Do you know what you're saying?" he gasped. She went on as if she hadn't heard him. "Assure her th|t she Is to feel no compunction for what she has done, that you are content to be her loyal, devoted friend to the end at your days." "But, hang It, Sara, I love her!" "Don't let her suspect that you are; humiliated. On the contrary, give her to understand that you are cleansed and glorified." "What utter tommy--" "Wait! Believe me. It Is your only chance. You will have to learn some time that you can't ride roughshod among angels. Think it over", old fel­ low. You have had a good lesson. Profit by it/* "You mean I'm to sit down and twirl my thumbs and let some other chap snap her up under my very nose? Well, I guess not!" "Not necessarily. If you It manfully she may discover a new In­ terest in you. Don't breathe a word of love to her. Go on as if nothing had happened. Don't forget that I told you in the beginning not to take no for an answer." He drooped once more, biting his lip. "I don't see how I can ever tell mother that she refused--" "Why tell her?" she Inquired, rising. His eyes brightened. "By love, I shan't," he exclaimed. "I am going up to the poor child now," she went on. "I dare say you have frightened her aluiuol to death. Naturally she is in great distic^3. I shall try to convince her that her de­ cision does not alter her position in this house. I depend on you to do your pert. Leslie. Make It easy for her to stay on with me." He mellowed to the verge of tears. "I can't keep on coming out here after this, as I've been doing, Sara." "Don't be silly! Of course you This will blow over." "Blow over?" he almost gasped. "I mean the first effects. Try being a martyr for a while. Leslie. It Isn't a bad plan, I can assure you. It may interest you to know that Challls pro­ posed to me three times before accepted him, and yet I--I loved htiq from the beginning." "By Jove!" he exclaimed, coming to his feet with a new light in his eyes. The hollows In his cheeks seemed to fill out perceptibly. "Good night!" "I say, Sara, dear, you'll--you'll help me a bit, won't you? I mean you'U talk it over with her and--" "My sympathy ie entirely with Miss Castleton," she said from the- doorway. His jaw propped. He was iBtlll ruminating over ^e callousness of the world in respebt to lovers when she mounted the ^stairs and lapped firmly on Hetty's door. « • • • • « • Hetty Castleton was standing In the middle of her room when 8ara entered. From her poeltion it was evident that she had stopped short fta her nervous, excited pacing of the floor. She was very pale, but there was a dogged, set expression about her mouth. "Come in, dear," she said, in a manner that showed she had been expecting the fill "Have yctu seen him?" Sara closed the door, and then Stood with her back against it, regarding her agitated friend with eerious, com­ passionate eyes. , ,. •> "Yes. He is terribly upset, lit'tiafl a blow to him, Hetty." "I am somr for him, Sara. He was so dreadfully in earnest. But, thank God, it is over!" She threw back her head and breathed deeply. "That horrible, horrible nightmare is ended. I suppose it had to be. But the mock­ ery of it--think of It, Sara!--the damnable mockery af it!" "Poor Leslie!" Blghed. the other. "Poor old Leslie." , , Hetty's eyee filled with'tears. "Oh, I am sorry for him. He didn't deserve It. God in heaven, if he really knew everything! If he knew why I could not listen to him, why I almost screamed when he held my hands in his and begged--actually begged me to--, Oh, it was ghastly, Sara!" She covered her face with her hands, and swayed as if about to fall. Sara came quickly to her side. Put­ ting an arm about the quivering shoulders, she led the girl to the broad window seat and threw open the blinda. "Dont speak of It, dearest--don't think of tjiat Sit here quietly In the air and pull yourself together. Let me talk to you. Let me tell you how deeply distressed I am, not only on your account, but his." < They were silent for a long time, the girl lying still and almost breath­ less against the other's shoulders. She was still wearing the delicate blue dinner gown, but in her fingers was the exquisite pearl nedklace Sara had given her for Christmas. She bad taken it off and had forgotten to-.drop it in her jewel box. "I suppose he will go up to the city early," she said monotonously. "Leslie is a better loser than you think, my dear," said Sara, looking out over the tops of the cedars. "He will not run away." Hetty looked up In alarm. "You mean he will persist in--in his atten­ tions," she cried. "Oh, no. I don't ^believe you will find him to be the bugbear you Imag­ ine. He can take defeat like a man. He Is devoted to you, he Is devoted to me. Your decision no doubt wrecks his fondest hopes in life, but it doesn't make a weakling 'ot him." "I don't quite understand--" "He ie sustained by the belief that he has paid you the highest honor .a man can pay to a woman. There 1b no reason jwhy he should turn his back on you, as a sulky boy might do. No, my dear, I think you may count on him as your best, most loyal friend from this night on. He has just said to me that his greatest pain lies in the fear that you may not be willing to accept him as a simple, honest, un- presuming friend since---" "Oh, Sara, if he will only he that and nothing more!".cried the girl won- deringly. Sara smiled confidently. "I fancy you haven't much to fear in that direc­ tion, my dear. It isn't in Leslie Wran- dall's make-up to court a second re­ pulse. He is all pride. *^he blow it suffered tonight can't be repeated--at least,* not by the same person." "I am so sorry it had to be Leslie," murmured Hetty. "Be nice to him, Hetty. He deserves that much of you, to say the least I should miss hiifi if he found it impos­ sible to come here on account of--" 'I Wouldn't have that happen for the world," cried the girl in distress. "He is your dearest friend. Send me away, Sara, if you must. Don't let anything stand in the way of your friendship for Leslie. You depend on; him for so much, dear. I can't bear the thought of--" "Hush, dearest! You are first In my* love. Better for me to lose all the others and still have you."' The girl looked at her In wonder for a long time. "Oh, I know you mean it, Sara, but--but how can it be true?" "Put yourself in my place," was all chat Sara said in reply, and her com­ panion had nd means of translating the sentence. She could only remain mute and wondering, her eyes fixed on that other mystery, the cameo face in the mocM that hung high above the som­ ber forest. "Poor Leslie," murmured Sara, a long time afterward, a dreamy note In her voice. "I can't put him out of my thoughts. He will never get over It. I ..have never seen one eo stricken and yet so brave. He would have been more than a husband to you, Hetty. It is in him to be a slave to the woman he loves. I know him well, poor boy." Hetty was silent, brooding. Sara resumed her thoughtful observations. "Why should you let what happened months ago stand in the way of--" She got no farther than that. With an exclamation of horror, the girl sprang away from her and glowered at her with dilated eyes. "My God, Sara!" she whispered hoarsely. "Are you mad?*' The other sighed. "I suppose you must think It of me," she said dis­ mally. "We are made differently, you and I. If I cared for a man, nothing in'all this world could stand between me and him." Hetty was still staring. "You don't mean to say you would have me marry ChalliB Wrandall's brother?" she-said, in a sort of stupefaction. Sara shook her head. "I mean this: vou would be justified in permitting Leslie to glorify that which his broth­ er desecrated; your. womanhood, my dear." t ^ ."My God, Sara!" again fell In a hoarse whisper frojn the girl's lips. "I simply voice my point of view," explained Sara calmly. "As I said before, we look at things differently." "I can't believe you mean what you said," cried Hetty. "Why--why, If I loved him with all my heart, soul and body I could not even think of-- Oh, I shudder Wthink of It!" "I love youy" continued Sara, fixing her mysterious eyes on those of the girl, "and yet y»u took from me some­ thing more than a brother. I love you, knowing -everything, and 1 am paying in full the debt he owes to you._ Leslie, knowing nothing, is no less your debtor. All this 1b paradox­ ical, I know, my dear, but we must remember that while other people may be indebted to us, we also owe something to ourselves. We ought to take pay from ourselves. Please do not conclude that I am urging or even advising you to look with favor upon Leslie Wrandall's honorable, sin­ cere proposal of marriage. I am mere­ ly trying to convince you that you are entitled tu all that any man can give you in this world of ours--we women all are, for that matter." "I was sure that you couldn't ask me to marry him. I couldn't believe---" "Forget what I have said, dearest. If it grieves you," cried Sara warmly. She arose and drew 'the girl close to her. "Kiss me, Hetty/' Their lips met. The girl's eyes.were closed, but Sara's were wide open and gleaming. "It is because 1 love you," she said Softly, but she did not complete the sentence that burned in her brain. To herself she repeated: "It is be­ cause I love you that I would scourge you with Wrandalls!" • • • • • • • •• •Dr ictCiOt inaf lDdDaacj 00 AUDREY EQUAL TO OCCASION Hard to Refrain Prom Admiring In­ genuity of This Uttls ..Wph, Ington OHrl ̂ ' * Audrey was thirteen, but & big girl for her age, according to the Washing­ ton Herald Yet she was Et.il: u cMld in her absorbing tantc for swcctr. Not far from her home the food show, which is held annually in /Washing­ ton, was going on, and the idea that there were pounds of cakes, jellies and chocolates all ready to be eaten occu­ pied lyar mind every morning as she wended her way to school past the building. This preoccupation of thought resulted in arithmetic in which four quarts equaled one yard, and Napoleon crossed the Rubicon on the ice in history lesson^. But Aud­ rey was a modern girl, and soon found a way out of her trouble. Saturday she decided to put hor plan into execution. Mother had gone to work at the treasury, and Audrey was monarch of all she surveyed literally. She could not get into the food show without being accompanied by an adult Now, adults In such cases bo* lng regarded as necessary evils, the girl determined to be one herself for the occasion. DdWn at the ten-cent store she bought a diamond ring and a smaller one of plain gold. Then she hied home, arrayed herself in her mother's best suit, put on a picture hat with a i>ig veil and went to the food show. The doorkeeper passed her in unnoticed In the crowd of others streaming in, for the figure b araod that of a short wom­ an. Inside, Audrey did her duty. There was not a bit of food in the bouse she did not sample, nor a oake nor candy of which she did not bring away speci- When «to wttt home she was one of the fullest and happiest chil­ dren In Washington. And yet men talk about woman's lack of Inventive power. Blueher Solved Problem. One hundred years ago the pleni­ potentiaries of the allied nations were conferring on the future of Europe after the overthrow of Napoleon* which now seemed inevitable. The In­ vasion of France, which was the first great task undertaken by the allies, had been accomplished, and there now remained only the march upon Paris. So far the coalition had accomplished its work well. But at this point the jealousies of the allied nations began to come to the surface. The most of the plenipotentiaries favored pushing on to Paris without delay. But the Austrians were not eager to hasten the advance of the armies and thus in­ sure the triumph of Russia and the passionate vengeance of the Prussians. At this juncture Marshal Blueher solved the problem by boldly continu- ing his advance on the French capital without waiting for the rl?"lrrimi ttaries to agree. .• "You are 'very food to me, %nr " sobbed Hetty. > ^ "You will be nice to Leslie?" • "Yes, yes! If h^ will only let me be his friend." "He asks no more than that. Now, you must go to bed." Suddenly, without warning^ she held the girl tightly In her arnis. Her breathing was quick, as of pne moved by some sharp sensation 6f ter­ ror. When Hetty, In no Jittle won­ der, opened her eyee Sara's face was turned away, and ehe was looking over her shoulder as1f ,cause for alarm had come from behind. "What Is it?" cried Hetty anxiously. She saw the look of dread in her companion's eyes, even as It began to fade. "I don't know," muttered Sara. "Something, I cant tell what, came over Ntne.. I thought some one was stealing up behind tne. How silly of me." "Ah," said Hetty, with an odd smile, "I can understand how you felt." "Hetty, will you take me in with you tonight?" whispered Sara nerv­ ously. "Let me sleep with you. I can't explain it, but I am afraid to Se alone tonight" The girl's answer was a glad . smile of acquiescence. "Come with me, then, to my bedroom while I change. I have the queerest feeling that some one Is In my room. I don't want to be alone. Are you afraid?" Hetty* held back, her face blanching. "No, I am not afraid," she cried at once, and started toward^he door. "There Is some on in this room," said Sara a few moments later, when they were in the big bedroom down the ball. "I--I wonder," murmured Hetty. And yet neither of them looked about in search for the intruder!, Far into the night Sara sat in the window of Hetty's dressing room,' her chin sunk low in her hands, staring moodily into the now opaque night, her eyes somber and unblinking, her body as motionless as death itself. The cooling wind caressed her and whispered warnings into her unheed­ ing ears, but she sat there unprotect­ ed , against its chill, her nightdress damp with the mist that crept up with sinister stealth from the #i»T' CHAPTER XI. Evil of feessip. Every man and woman will be en­ titled to think better of themselves and will have a stronger claim to the regard of others, if they cease to be on the lockout for something to find fault with, to treasure up and repeat and magnify every scandal, little and big, and to retail and spread every small item of tea table gossip, whioh carries with it ridicule or censure for some one. Suppose all that were drop­ ped, and really It IB unworthy of in- telllgent, well gaeaning people, aud the habit formed of only Bpeaking well of others. Would It, after all, be as stupid as some aeem to think?--Cin­ cinnati Enquire^ ;; There writ no mistaking the sincere ity of this rapt opinion. "Stunning," was his brief comment. She was silent for a long time, so long indeed that ha turned to look at her. "A thoroughly decent, fair minded chap Is Leslie Wrandall," he pro- nounced, for want of something bet­ ter to say. "'Still, I'm bound to say, I'm sorry he is oomlng home tomor­ row." The red crept- Into her cheekB again. "I thought you were such pals," she said nervously. * "I expect to be his beu*t man if he ever marries," said he, whacking a stpne at the roadeide with his walk­ ing stick. Then he looked up at her furtively and added, with a quisilcal smile: "Unless something happens." "What could happen?" "He might marry the girl I'm In love with, and, in that case, I'd have to be excused." "Where shall we walk to this morn­ ing?" she asked abruptly. He had drawn closer to her in the roadway. "Is it too far to the old stone mill? That's where I first saw you, if you remember."); . "Yes, let us go there," she said, hut her heart sank. She knew what was coming. Perhaps it were best to have it over with; to put it away with the things that were to always be her lost treasures. It would mean the end of their companionship, the end of a love dream. She would have to lie to "him: to tell him she did not love him. Coming to the jog In the broad mac­ adam, they were striking off into the narrow road that led to the quaint old mill, long since abandoned in the forest glade beyond, when their atten­ tion was- drawn to a motor car, which was slowing down, for the turn into Sara's domain. A cloud of dust swam in the air far behind the machine. A bare-headed man on the seat be­ side the driver waved his hand • to them, and two women in the tonneau bowed gravely. Both Hetty and Booth flushed uncomfortably, and hes­ itated in their progress up the forest road. The man was Leslie Wrandall. His mother and sister were in the back eeat of the touring car. "Why--why, it was LeeHe," cried -.vr'Yc'v In the 8hadow of the Mlll^^ The next day but one was overtsfrt On cloudy, bleak days Hetty Castle­ ton always felt depressed. Leslie was to return from the wilds on the following day. Early in the morning Booth had telephoned to in­ quire If she did not want to go for a tong walk with him before luncheon. The portrait was finished, but he could not afford to miss the morning hour with ber. He said as much to her in pressing his invitation. "Tomorrow Leslie will be here and I sha'n't see as inuch of you as I'd like," he explained, rather wistfully. Three Is' a crowd, you know. I've got'so used to having you ail to my­ self, it's hard to break off suddenly." I will be ready at eleven," sho said, and was instantly surprised to find that her voice rang with new life, new interest The grayness seemed to lift from the view that stretched beyond the window; she even looked for the sun in her eagerness. It was then that she knew why the world had been bleaker than usual, even In its cloak of gray. A little before eleven she- set out briskly to intercept him at the gates. Unknown to her, Sara eat in her window, and viewed her departure with gloomy eyes. The world also was gray for her. They came upon each other unex­ pectedly at a sharp turn in the ave­ nue. Hetty colored with a sudden rush of confusion, and had all she could do to meet his eager, happy eyes as he stood over her and pro­ claimed hip pleasure in jerky, awk­ ward sentences. Then they walked on together, a strange ehyness at­ tending them. She experienced the faintness of breath that comes when the heart is filled with pleasant alarms. As for Booth, his blood sang. He thrilled with the joy of being near her, of the feel of her all about him, of the delicious feminine appeal that made her so wonderful to him. He wanted to crush her in his arms, to keep her there forever, to exert all of bis brute phyeical strength so that she might never again be herself hut a part of him. They uttered commonplaces. The spell was on them. It would lift, but for the moment they were powerless to struggle against it. At length he saw the color fade from her cheeks; her eyes were, able to meet his with­ out the look in them that all men love. Then he seemed to get hie feet on the ground again, and a strange, ineffably sweet sense of calm took possession of him. "I must paint you all over again," he said, suddenly breaking in on one of her remarks. "Just as you are today--an outdoor girt, a glorious out­ door girl in--" "In muddy boots," she laughed, drawing her eklrt away to reveal a shapely foot In an American walking shoe. He smiled ana gave voice to a new thought. "By iove, how much better looking our American shoes are than the kind they wear In London!" "Sara insists on American shoes, so long as 1 am with her. I don't think our boots are so villainous, do you?" "Just the same, I'm going to pflnt you again, boots and all. You--" "Oh, how tlye^ yUl become pt me!" '•"'>* "Try me!" ^;'- "Besides, you ate to do Safe, at once. She has consented to sit to you. She will be wonderful, Mr. i/pootb, oh. bow ; t, r % 8he Made No Response. Booth, looking over his shoulder at the rapidly receding car. "Shall we turn back. Miss Castleton?" "No," she cried instantly, with some­ thing like Impatience in her voice. "And spoil our walk?" she added in the next breath, adding a nervous little laugh. , . "It seems rather--" he began dubi­ ously. "Oh, let ue' have our day," she cried sharply, and led the way into the by­ road. 1 They came. In the course of a quar­ ter of an hour, to the bridge over the mill race. Beyond, in the mossy shades, stood a dilapidated, centurion structure known as Rangely's mill, a landmark with a history that included incidents of the Revolutionary war, when eager patriots held secret meet­ ings inside its walls and plotted under the very noees of Tory adherents to the crown. ' Pausing for a few minutes on tha bridge, they leaned on the rail and looked down into the clear, mirror- like water Of the race. Their own eyes looked up at them; they smiled into their own faccs. And a fleccy white cloud passed over the glittering stream and swept through their faces, off to the bank, and was gone forever. Suddenly he looked up from the wa­ ter and fixed his eyes on her face. H» had seen her clear blue eyes flU with tears as he gaxed Into them from the rail above. "Oh, my dear!" he cried. "What is it?" •, . She put her handkerchief to her eyes as she quickly turned away. In another instant she was smiling up at him, a soft, pleading little smile tllat went straight to his heart. "Shall we start back?" she asked, a quaver In her voice. "No," he exclaimed. "I've, got to go on with It now, Hetty. .1 didn't intend to. but---come, let us go up and sit on thht familiar old log in the shade of the mllL You must, dear!" She suffered him to lead her up the steep bank beyond and through the rocks and rotten timbers to the great beam that protruded from the shattered foundations of ths mill. The rickety old wheel, weather-beaten and sad, rose above them and threat­ ened to topple over If they BO much as touched its flimsy supports. He did not release ber hand after drawing her up beside him. "You must know that I love you." he said simply. She made no response. Her lay limp in his. She was staring, straight before her. 4® o pa coamxndMKk ... NEWS OF ILLINOIS OOOOO Duquoin.--Philip Klamp, an express- • man of this city, died of lockjaw fol­ lowing injuries suffered in a runaway a week ago. One of Klamp's fingers amputated and tetanus developed. * Springfield.--Governor Dunne has | offered $200 reward for thfe arrest and i conviction of Henry Maples* alleged slajrer of Jess Ferguson of Meyer, Adams county, June 22. Shelbyvilie.--Roy Briney, twenty^ 1 five years old, was run over by a north-bound Chicago & Eastern Illinois freight train near Flndlay. He died * four hours later.. He was married. . Elgin.--Roy Colan, sixteen, con­ fessed to two attempts to poison his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. AUeq. Storm, and five children on their farm near Genoa. The hoy placed rat poi­ son in the butter. ; Springfield.--Wall scaling, tent 1 pitching and other military practises } are engrossing the First Infantry, Illi­ nois National Guard, at Camp Lincoln. ; To Inspire a new interest in the exi­ gencies of real warfare, the officers Of the regiment are offering trophies io the companies which, after a ' week's practise of the given competi­ tive stunts, establish the highest ; marks of efficiency. f j Springfield.--School teachers and educators will be appealed to' for sup­ port for the centennial celebration of Illinois statehod. This was decided upon at a meeting of the Illinois cen­ tennial cogamisrsion. A request win be ' ; inade of the: State Teachers' associa- • tion for a place on the program of that J body's state convention, next Decern-J ber for a representative of the centen­ nial commission to lay the commis­ sion's plans before the teachers. . < West Frankfort--Following the ex* ample of the Christopher women's jury which convicted a woman of bootlegging and sent her to jail, a Jury In West Frankfort found Mrs. ' James Furno and her fifteen-year-old daughter, , aud Mrs. L. Pellogrena guilty-,of the same charge. The first i two were fined $200 and the last named all of which was paid and the women released. West Frankfort recently went "dry" and with its large foreign population has experienced difficulty in enforcing the anti-saloon laws. Duquoin.--A skunk form Is being successfully managed by A. Wine- garner of Marion county, a farmer. Winegarner was prompted to engage in the business by the fancy priceii brought by skunk hides, and he has not been disappointed by the markets. He has 43 animals on his farm and nex^ summer hopes to increase, the number to 100. Winegarner has dia* covered that the solid black pelts com­ mand more fancy prices than others* and has adopted an electrical process by* which he expects to eliminate all white spots from the coats of the next crop. Bloomington.--Jerome Howe, one of Bloosaington's wealthy citizens, shot and killed himself at the home of his Inn in Wenona. Despondency over the recent failure of his private bank at that place was responsible for the deed. A report that he had used funds belonging to some of his children ilk 'his various enterprises is thought to have worked upon his mind. He owned a costly home In Bloomington and had placed this property at the disposition of his creditors. Liabilities of the bank are estimated at $700,000, with assets estimated at $600,000. was $10,000. t Springfield. -- Announcement iralk ~ made of the opening of the Farmers' bank of Bethalto, one of the Lorimei* Munday string of banks in Illinois* whose doors were closed after the crash of the LaSalle Street Trust 9t Savings bank in Chicago. It was stated that at no time were the affairs of the Behalto bank in bad shape, but as a precaution an examination into its af­ fairs was ordered. The old officers o{ the Bethalto bank included C. B. Mun­ day, president, and H. H. Starkey, cashier. It was officially said that C. B. Munday is no longer connected with the bank, and its backers now are all residents. Springfield.--All public warehouses of classes A, B and C, which store grain or other property for a compen­ sation, were declared by the state pub» lie utilities commission to be public utilities, and under the jurisdiction of > the commission. The order issued by the commission also demands that such warehouses Bhall file with the commission and keep open to pubMo Inspection schedules showing rates of charges, together with all rules, regu­ lations, etc., that in any manner affect the rates charged or to be charged. It is also provided that any warehouse man who was not engaged In tho busi­ ness of conducting a public warehouse of the A, B or C, at the time the law took effect, shall make application to the commission for a certificate of convenience and necessity before ht shall begin business. Joliet--Because Jessie Cline, a se»» enteen-year-old girl employed at the home of Henry Wheeler, a farmer liv­ ing seven mils west of Plainfield, de­ cided that she was too young to mar* ry him, Reed Cole, a farm hand em­ ployed by H. J. Wheelgr, a mile away, killed himself with a revolver The body was found. ' Joliet--Mistaking a pair of birds ; for chicken hawks, Alfred Hart man and Gilbert Tood, farmers living near here, shot two of the largest esgles ever seen in central Illinois. The birds each measure six feet from wing to wing and are 35 Inches long. Duquoin.--William Herald, eighty- five years old, a Civil war Vetera#® died. The body was taken to Blufecft for burial. ' Savanna.--Samuel Berry found & pearl in a Mississippi river clam that weighed 19 grains. He sold it to a- dealer for $196. RockTord.--Nurses of the Third Dis­ trict Illinois Graduate Nurses' assodar ; tion held their annual convention afc. tbe Talcott Memorial home. Chlllicothe.--James Lane, a mustta 1 seeker of Chilllcothe, found a pearl which weighed 82 grains. The valna 'v.'-'. • ^ Is estimated at flM ii&tj