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-i T" runrm rv •• r '"- - •• •> " 'W "PUP "i •»! 'f ,iyi|C'P'|'Fl"'ijry*w t^V King of the Khyber, Rifles A Romance of Adventure By TALBOT MUNDY Copyright by the Bobba-Merrill Company CHAPTER XXI--Continued. --13-- But oat of the corner of his eye, and ©nee or twice by looking back delib­ erately, King saw that Ismail was taking the members of his new band one by one and whispering to them. What he said wiffc a mystery, but as they talked rtfch man looked at King. And the more they talked the better pleased they Seemed. And as the day •wore on the more deferential- they grew. By midday if King wanted to dismount there were three at least to hold bis stirrup and ten to help him mount again. Four thousand men with women and children and baggage do not move so •wtffly as one man or a dozen, spe­ cially In the "Hills," where discipline fs reckoned beneath a proud man's honor. There were many miles to go before Khinjan when night fell and the mullah bade them camp. He bade them camp because they would have done It otherwise in any case. When the evening meal was eaten, and sentries had been set at every van- tage point, there came another order from the mullah. The women and children were to be left in camp next dawn, and to remain there un|il sent for. There was murmuring at that around the camp, and especially among King's contingent. But King laughed. "It is good!" he said. "Why? How so?" they asked him. "Bid your women make for the Khy­ ber soon after the mullah marches to­ morrow. Bid them travel down the Khyber until we and they meet!" "But--r" "Please yourselves, sahibs-!" The hakim's air was one of supremest in- ' difference. "As for me, I leave no women behind me in the mountains. I am content." They murmured a while, but they gave the orders to their women, and King watched the women nod. Even as Yasmlni had tested him and tried him before tempting him at last, she must be watching him now, for even the East repeats itself. She had sent Ismail for that purpose. It was likely that her course would depend on his. If he failed, she was done with him. If he succeeded in establishing a strong position of his own, she would yield. With or without Ismail's aid, with or without, his enmity, lie must control his eighty men and give the slip to the mullah, and he went at once about the best way to dd both. "We will go now," he said quietly. "That sentry Ifi yonder shadow has bis back turned. He has overeaten. We will rush him and put good running between as and the mullah." Surprised into obedience, and too de­ lighted at the prospect of action to wonder why they should obey a hakim so, they slung on their bandoliers and made ready. Ismail brought up King's horse and he mounted. And then at King's word all eighty made a sudden swoop on the drowsy sentry and took him unawares. They tossed him over the cliff, too startled to scream an alarm; and though sentries on either band heard them and shouted, they were gone like wind-blown ghosts of dead men before the mullah even knew what was happening. They did not halt until not one of them could ran another yard. King trusting to his horse to find a footing along the cliff-tops, and to the men to find the way. CHAPTER XXII. "Whither?* one whispered to King. "To Khinjan!" he answered; and that was enough. Each whispered to the other, and they all became fired with curiosity more potent than money bribes. When he halted at last and dis­ mounted and sat down and the strag glers caught up, panting, they held a council of war all together, with Is­ mail sitting at King's back and leaning a chin on his shoulder In order to hear better. Bone pressed on bone, and the place grew numb; King shook him off • dozen times; but each time Ismail set his chin hack on the same spot, as a dog will that listens to his master. Yet he Insisted he was her man, and not King's. "Now, ye mm of the Hills,'w said King. "listen to me who am political- offender - with - reward - for - capture- offered !** That was a gem of a title. It fired their imaginations. "I know things that no soldier would find out In a thousand years, and I' will tell |oo some of what I know." Now he had to be careful. If he were to Invent too much they might denounce him as a traitor to the "Hills" in general. If he were to tell them too little they would lose in­ terest and might very well desert him at the first pinch. He must feel for the middle way and upset no preju­ dices. "She has discovered that this mul­ ish Muhammad Anlm Is no true mus- Um, but an unbelieving dog bf a for­ eigner from Farangistan! She has discovered that he plans to make him­ self an emperor In these hills, and to •ell hillmen into slavery!" Might as well serve the mullah up hot while about it f Beyond any doubt not much more than a mile away the mullah was getting even by condemning the lot of them to death. "An eye for the risk Of an eye!" say the unforgiving "Hills." "If one of us should go back Into his camp now he would be tortured. Be sure of that." Breathing deeply in the darkness, .they nodded, as If the dark had eyes. Ximail's chin drove a fraction deeper Into his shoulder. "Now ye know--for all raeft know Mat the entrance Into Khinjan caves Is free to any man who can tell ii lie Without flinching. It is the way out j^fTn fchfttls mi Xwe. How many men do ye know thatr have entered and never returned?" The.v all nodded again. It was com­ mon knowledge that Khinjan was a very graveyard of the presumptuous. "She has set a trap for the mullah. She will let him And all his men enter and will never let them out again!" "How knowest thou?" This from two men, one on either hand. "Was I never in Khinjan caves?" he retorted. "Whence came I? I am her man, sent to help trap the mullah! I would have trapped all of you, but for being wearv of these 'Hills' and wish­ ful to go back to India and be par­ doned ! That is who I am! That is how I know!" Their breath came and went slbl- lantly, and the darkness was alive with the excitemcnt they thought them­ selves too warrior-like to utter. "But what will she do then?" asked somebody. King searched his memory, and in a moment there came back to him n picture of the hurrying jezulfchl lie had held up la the Khyber pass, and recollection of the man's words. "Know ye pot," he said, "that loag ago she gave leave to all who ate salt to be true to the salt? She gave the Khyber jezailchis leave to light against her. Be sure, whatever she does, she will stand between no man and his pardon!" But will she lead a jihad? We will not fight against her!" "Nay," said King, drawing his breath In. Ismail's chin felt like a knife against his Collar bone, and Ismail's irou fingers clutched his arm. It was time to give his hostage to Dame For­ tune. "She will go down into India and use her influence in the matter of the pardons!" I believe thou art a very great liar Indeed I" said the man who lacked part of his nose. "The Pathan went, and he did not come back. What proof have we?" Ye have me!" said King. "If 1 show you no proof, how can I escape you?" They all grunted agreement as to that. King used his elbow to bit Is­ mail In the ribs. He did not dare speak to him; but now was the time for Ismail to carry Information to her, supposing that to be his job. And after a minute Ismail rolled Into a shadow and was gone. King gave him twenty aiinutes' start, letting his men rest •heir legs and exercise their tongue* Now that he was out of the mullah's clutches--and he suspected Yasmini would know of It within an hour or two, and before dawn in any event-- he began to feel like a player in a game of chess who foresees his opponent mate iu so many moves. If Yasmlni were to let the mullah and his men Into the caves and to join forces with him In there, he would at least have time to hurry back to India with his eighty men and give warning. He might have time to call up the Khy­ ber Jezallchis and blockade the caves before the hive could swarm, and he chuckled to think of the hope of that. On the other hand, if there was to be a battle royal between Yasmini and the mullah, he would be there to watch it and to comfort India with the news. "Now we will go on again, in order to be close to Khinjan at break of day," he said, and they all got up and obeyed him as if his word had been law to them for years. Of all of them he was the only man In douht--he who seemed most confident of all. They swung along into the darkness under low-hung stars, trailing behind King's horse, with only half a dozen of them a hundred yards or so ahead as an advance guard, and alhof them ex­ pecting to see Khinjan loom above each next valley, for distances and darkness are deceptive In the "Hills," even to trained eyes Suddenly the advance guard halted, but did hot shoot. And as King caught up with them he saw they were talking with someone. He had to ride up close before he recognized the Orakzal Pathan. "Salaam!" said the fellow with a grin. "I bring one hundred and eleven!" As he spoke graveyard shadows rose out of the darkness around and leaned on rifles. "Be ye men all ex-soldiers of the raj?" King asked them. "Aye!" they growled In chorus. "Who gave you leave to come?" King asked. "None! He told ns of the pardons and we came!" "Aye!" said the Orakzal Pathan, drawing King aside. "But she gave me leave to seek them out and tempt them!" And what does she intend?" King asked hTm suddenly. She? ARk Allah, who put the sptrlt In her! How should I know?" We will march again, my brothers!" King shouted, and they streamed along behind him, now with no advance guard, but with the Orakzal Pathan striding beside King's horse, with a great hand on the saddle. Like the others, he seemed decided In his mind that the hakim jught not to be allowed much chance to escape. Just as the dnwn was tinting the surrounding peaks with softest rose they topped a ridge, and Khinjan lay below them across the mile-wide bone- dry valley. And while they • watched, and the Khinjan men were beginning to murmur (for they needed no last view of the place to satisfy any long­ ings!) qone else than Ismail rosf from behind a rock and came to King's stir­ rup. He tugged and King backed his horse until they stood together apart. "She sends this message," said Is­ mail. showing his teeth in the most peculiar grin that surely the "HUls" ever witnessed. "Many of her men, who have never been in the army, are none the less true to her, and will not leave tliem to the mullah's mercy. They will leave the caves in a" little while, and will come up here. They are to go down Into India and be made prisoners if the sirkar will not enlist then?. You are wait for them here." "Is that all her messageT* King asked him, , "Nay. That Is none of it 1 This is her message: THOU SHALT KNOW THIS DAY, THOU ENGLISHMAN, WHETHER OR NOT SHE TRULY LOVED THEE! -THfSRE SHALL BE PROOF SUCH AS EVEN THOU SHALT UNDERSTAND!" Ismail slipped aw^y and lost himself among the - men, and none of them seemed to notice that he had been away and had come again. It was a little more than an hour after dawn and the chilled rocks were beginning to grow warmer when the head of a pro­ cession came out of Khinjan gate and started toward them over the valley. In all more than five hundred men emerged and about a hundred women and children. Then: "Muhammad Anlm comes!" shouted a voice from a crag top. They snuggled Into better hiding, and there was no thought now of leav­ ing before the mullah should go by* It needed an effort to quiet (hem when the mullah rose Into view at last above the rise and paused for a minute to stare across at •Khinjan before lead­ ing his four thousand down and on­ ward. He was silent as an image, but his men roared like a river in flood and he made no effort to check them. He dismounted, for he had to, and tossed his reins to the nearest man with the air of au emperor. And he led the way down the cliffside without hesitation, striding like a mountaineer. His men followed him noisily. It was thirty minutes after the last of the mullah's men had vanished through the gate, and his own men in dozens and twenties were scattered along the cliff-top arguing against de­ lay with growing rancor, when a lone horseman galloped out of Khinjan gate and started across |Jie valley. He rode recklessly. He was either panic- stricken or else bolder than the devil.. In a minute King had recognized the mare, and so had the eyes of fifty men around him. No man with half an eye for a horse could have failed to recognize that black .mare, having ever seen her once. In another two minutes King had recognized the Han­ gar's silken turban. Most of the men were staring down­ ward at the Hangar's head as he urged the mare up the cliff path, when the explanation of Yasmini's message came. It was only King, urged by some intuition, who had his eyes fixed on Khinjan. There came a shock that actually swayed the hill they stood on. The mare on the path below missed her footing and fell a dozen feet, only to get up again and scramble as If a thoo- hand devils were behind her, the Ran­ gar riding her grimly, like a jockey in a race. Three more shocks followed. A great slice of Khinjan suddenly caved In with a roar, and smoke and dust burst upward through the tum­ bling crust. There was a pause after that, as if the waiting elements were gathering strength. For ten minutes they watched and scarcely breathed. Rewa Gunga gained the summit and, dismounting, stood by King with the reins over his arm. The mare was too blown »to do anything but stand and tremble. And King was too enthralled to do'anythlng but star£. "That Is what a woman can do for a map!" said Rewa Gunga grimly. "She £et a fuse and exploded all the dynamite. There were tons of it! The galleries must have fallen In, one on (he other! A thousand men digging for a thousand years could never get Into Khinjan now, and the only way out is down Earth's Drink! She bade me come and bid you goodby, sahib. I sheer upward, curved on Itself, aud fell in a mllllon-ton deluge on to Khinjan and into Khinjan valley, hissing and roaring and thundering. Earth's Drink had been blocked by the explosion and had found a new way over the barrier before plunging down again Into the bowels of the world. The one sky-flung leap it made a* its weight burst down a mountain wall was enough to blot out Khinjan for­ ever, and what had been a dry, mile- wide moat was a shallow lake with death's rack and rubbish floating on the surface. The earth rocked. King was tap on' his feet in a second and faced about. The Rangar laughed. ; "So ends the 'Heart of the Hills!'" he said. "Think kindly of her, sahib.! She thought well enough of you!" ' He laughed again and sprang on the black mare, and before King could speak or raise a hand to stop him he was off at wondrous speed along the precipice in* the. direction of the Khy­ ber pass and India. Two of the men who had come out of Khinjan mounted aiid spurred after him. I King collected his men and the wom­ en and children. It was easy, for they were numb from what they had wit­ nessed and dazed by fear. In.half ax* hour he had them mustered and marching. ' ; . "Thou 8hajt Know This Day, Thou Englishman, Whether or Not She Truly Lovee Thee." would have stayed in there, but she, commanded me. She said. Tell King sahib my love was true. Tell him 1 give him India and all Asia that were at my, mercy!'". While the Rangar spoke there came three more earth tremors In swift suc­ cession, and a thunder out of Khinjan as If the very "Hills" were coming to an end. The mare grew frantic and the Rangar summoned six men to hold her, Suddenly, right over tb,e top of Khln-' Jan's upper rim, where ohly tho eagles ever perched, there burst a column of water, Immeasurable, huge, that for a moment blotted out the sua. It rose CHAPTER XXIII. They reached the' Khyber famished and were fed at Ali Mnsjid fort, after King had given a certain password and had whispered to the officer command­ ing. But he did not change Into Eu­ ropean clothes yet. and none of his fol­ lowing suspected him of being an Eng­ lishman. "A Rangar on a black mare has gone down the pass ahead of you in a hur­ ry," they told him at Ali Masjid. "He had two men with him and food enough. Only stopped long enough to make his business known." "What did he say his business is?' asked King. "ne gave a sign and said a word that satisfied us on that point!" "Oh!" said King. "Can you signal down the pass?" "Surely." "Courtenay at Jamrud?" "Yes. In charge there and growing tired of doing nothing." "Signal down and ask him to have that bath ready for me thut I spoke about. Goodby." So he left All Masjid at the head of a motley procession that grew noisier and more confident every hour. Ismail began to grow more lively and to have a good many orders to fling to the rest. "You mourn like a dog," King told him. "Three howls and a whine and n little sulking--and then forgetful- ness!" Ismail looked nasty at that but did not answer, although he seemed to have a hot word ready. And thence­ forward he hung his head more, and at least tried to seem bereaved. But his manner was unconvincing none the less, and King found it food for thought. The ex-soldiers and would-be soldiers marched in four behind him, growing hourly more like drilled men, and talk­ ing, with each stride that brought - them nearer India, more as men do who have an interest in law and or­ der. Behind them tramped the wom­ en from Khinjan, carrying their ba­ bies and their husbands' loads; and behind them again were the other women, who had been told they would he overtaken In the Khyber, but who had actually had to run themselves raw-footed in order to catch np. Down the Khyber have come con­ querors, a dozen conquering kings, and as many beaten armies ; but surely no stranger host than this ever trudged between the echoing walls. The very eagles screamed at them. Signals pre­ ceded them, and Courtenay himself rode up the pass to greet them. At Jamrud they were given food and their rifles were taken away from them and a guard was set to watch them. But the guard only consisted of two men. both of whom were Pathans, and they assured them that, ridiculous though it sounded, the British were actually willing to forgive their enemies and to pardon all deserters who applied for pardon on condition of good faith in the future. That they prayed to Allah like little children lost and found. The women crooned love-songs to their babies over the clear fires and the men talked-- and talked--and talked until the stars grew big as moons to weary eyes and they slept at last, to dream of khaki uniforms and karnel sahibs who knew neither fear nor favor and who said things that were so. It Is a mad world to the Himalayan hlllman where men Ih authority tell truth unadorned with­ out shame and without consideration-- a mad, mad world, and perhaps too ex­ otic to be wholesome, but pleasant while the dream lasts. Over In the fort Courtenay placed a bath at King's disposal and lent him clean clothes and a razor. But he was not very cordial. "Tell me all the war news!" said King, splashing In the tub. And Cour­ tenay told him, passing him another cake of soap when the first was fin­ ished. After all, there was not much to tell--butchery in Belgium--Huns and guns--and the everlastingly glori­ ous stand that saved Paris and France and Europe. "According to the cables our men are going the records one better. I think that's all," said Courtenay. * "Then why the stiffness?" asked King. "Why am I talked to at the end of a tube, so to speak?" "You're under arrest!" said Courte- nay. "The deuce I am!" "I'm taking care of yon myself to obviate the necessity of putting a sen­ try on guard over you." "Good of you, I'm sure. What's It all about?" "I don't mind telling you, but I'd rather you'd wait. The minute you were sighted word was wired down to headquarters, and the general himself will be up here by train any minute." "Very well." said King. "Got a ci­ gar? Got a black one? Blacker the better!" He was out of his bath and remem­ bered that minute that he had not smoked a cigar since leaving India. Naked, shaved, with some of the stain removed, he did not look like a man in trouble as he filled his longs with the sultpeterish Mgtoke of a fat Trictslno- poll. • , . . ' And then the generhl came and did not wnit for King to get dressed but burst into the bathroom and shook hands with him while he was stll! naked and asked ten questions (like a gatllng gun) while King was getting on his trousers, divining each answer after the third word and waving the rest aside. , "And why am I arrested, sir?" asked King the moment he could slip the question In edgewise. "Oh, yes, of course. Try the case here as well as anywhere. What does this mean?" Out of his pocket the general pro­ duced a letter that smelt strongly of a scent King recognized. He .spread it out on a table, and King read. It was Yasmini's letter that she had sent down the Khyber to make India too hot to hold him. "Too bad about your brother," said the, general. "The body is burled. How much is true about the head?" King told him. "Where's she?" asked the general. King did not answer. The general waited. "I don't know, sir." ^ "Ask the Rangar,"* Courtenay sug­ gested. • • "Where Is he?" asked King. "Caught him coming down the Khy­ ber on his black mare and arrested PeAL He Said He Was Nearly Sure He Heard Weeping. him. He's In the next room! I hope he's to be hanged. So that I can buy the mare," he added cheerfully. King whistled softly to himself, and the general looked at him through half-closed eyes. "Go In and talk to him, King. Let me know the result." He had picked King to go up the Khyber on that errand not for noth­ ing. He knew King and he knew the. symptoms. Without answering him King obeyed. He went out of the room into a dark corridor and rapped on the door of the next„ room to the right. There was a itiuffled answer from within. Courtenay shouted some­ thing to the sentry outside the door and he called another man, who fitted a key in the lock. King walked into a room in which one lamp was burn­ ing and the door slammed shut be­ hind him. He was in there an hour, and it never did transpire just what passed, for he can hold his tongue on any sub­ ject like a clam, and the general, if anything, can go him one better. Cour­ tenay' was placed under orders not to talk, so those who say they know ex­ actly what happened In the room be­ tween the time when the door was shut on King and the time when he knocked to have it opened and called for the general, are not telling the truth. What is known is that finally the general hurried through the door and ejaculated, "Well, I'm d d!" be­ fore he could close It again. The sen­ try (Punjabi Mussulman) has sworn to that over a dozen campfires since the day. And it Is known, too, for the sentry has taken oath on it and has told the story so many times without much variation that no one who knows the man's record doubts any longer--it is known that when the door opened again King and the general walked out with the Rangar between them. And the Hangar had no turban on, but carried it unwound in his hand. And his golden hair fell nearly to his knees and changed his whole appear­ ance. ' And he was weeping. And he was not a Rangar at all, but She, and how anybody can ever have mistaken her for a man, even in man's clothes and with her skin darkened, was be­ yond the sentry's power to guess. He for one, etc. . . * . But nobody be­ lieved that part of his tale. As Yussuf bin All said over the campfire up the Khyber later on, "When she sets out to disguise her­ self, she Is what she will be, and he who says he thinks otherwise has two tongues and no conscience!" What Is surely true Is that the four of them--Yasmini, the general, Cour­ tenay and King--sat up all night Inj® room in the fort, talking together, while a succession of sentries over­ strained their ears endeavoring to hear through keyholes. And the sentries heard nothing and Invented very much. But Partan Singh, the Sikh, who carried In bread and cocoa to them at about five the next morning, and found them still talking, heard King say. "So, in my opinion, sir, there'll be no jihad in these pqrts. There'll be sporadic raids, of course, but nothing a brigade can't deal with. The heart of the holy war's torn out^and thrown away." "Very well," said the general. "Yon can go up the Khyber again and join your regiment." But by that time the Rangar's tur­ ban was on again and the tears were dry, and it was Partan Singh who threw most doubt on the sentry's tale about the golden hair. But, as the sentry said, no doubt Partan Singh was jealous. „ There Is no doubt whatever that the general went back to Pe»-'hawur in the train at eight o'clock and that the Rangar went with him in a separate compartment with about a dozen hill- men chosen from among those who had I come down with King. I And it is certain that before they went King had a talk with the Rangar In a room alone, of which conversa­ tion, however, the sentry reported aft­ erward that he did not overhear one word; and he had to go to tho doctor with a cold In Ills ear at that. He sale he was hearly jure he heard weeping But on the other hand, thoee who saw both of them come oat were certain that both were smiling. It is quite certain that Athelstan King went np the Khyber again, for the official records say so, and they never He, especially In time of war. He rode a coal-black mare, and Courtenajr called him "Chlkkl"--a "lifter." Some say the Rangar went to Delhi. Some say Yasmini Is In Delhi. Some say no. But it is quite certain that be­ fore he started up the Khyber King showed Courtenay a great gold brace­ let that he had under his sleeve. Five men saw him do It. And if that was really Rewa Gunga In the general's train, why was the general so painfully polite to him? And why did Ismail Insist on riding In the train. Instead of accepting King's offer to go np the Khyber with him? One thing is very certain. King was right about the jihad. There has been none in spite of all Turkey's and Ger­ many's efforts. There have been spo­ radic raids, much as usual, but nothing one brigade could not easily deal with, the press to the contrary notwithstand­ ing. King 6f the Khyber rifles Is now a major, for you can see that by turning the army list. But If you wish to know just what transpired in the room in Jamrud Fort while the general and Courtenay wait­ ed, you must ask King*--if you dare; for only he knows, and one other. It is not likely you can find the other. But it Js likely that you may hear from both of them, again, for "A wom­ an and intrigue are one!" as India says. The war seems long, and the world Is large, and the chances for in­ trigues are almost Infinite, given such combination as King and Yasmlni and a love affair. And as King says on occasion: "JCuch dar nahin hal! There is no such tning as fear!" Another one might say, "The roof's the limit!" And bear In mind, for this Is Impor­ tant: King wrote to Yasmlni a letter, In Urdu from the mullah's cave, in which he as good as gave her his word of honor to be her "loyal servant", should she choose to return to her alle­ giance. He is no splitter of hairs, no quibhler. His word is good on the darkest night or wherever he casts a shadow in the sun. "A man and his promise--a woman and intrigue--are one!" (THE END.) WHY JENNIE HATES FLOWERS They Mean to Her the Very Opposite of Green Fields, Pleasant Odors, Birds and Bees. "I hate flowers," said Jennie, a lit­ tle Italian girl of 9, as she bent over the pile of white daisy petals on the kitchen table. She was busily pick­ ing up the "peps," first dipping each stem in paste smeared on a piece of board, slipping a petal up each stem and inserting it in one of the green tubes on the wreath. Flowers to her did not spell green fields, pleasant odors or something soft and agreeable to feel and handle. To this little girl living in the crowded Italian district on the lower west side of New York city, flowers meant piles of hideously colored petals of cambric, stiff with starch and dye and smelling strongly of alcohol, glue and paste. These she had to fetch from the fac­ tory every day after school. Before school the next morning the family had to "manufacture" them Into flowers. Everyone worked, all except the father, who declared that it was not "a man's work," and an older son, who was driver on a wagon truck. Even the baby, 18 months old, could help by picking apart the petals. Maggie, 4 years old, was too young to go to school, but she could work the greater part of the day. Nardo, aged 6, was an expert hand, although his mother complnined that he wanted to piny. Besides Jennie there was little Ange­ lina, a hunchback of 11 years, who was really the, forewoman of the group, seeing to it that each day's quota was faithfully done. The account-book showed that six dozens of wreaths, with 89 flowers, were finished every night. The but­ tercup wreaths brought 8 cents a dozen and the daisies 10 cents. For this work the family received $2.88 or $3.60 a week, according to whether they worked on buttercups or daisies. --Louise C. Odencrantz, in World Out­ look. Eyes Made of Rubber. Everybody knows that eyes were made to rubber. Very few know that eyes are now being made of rubber. This is one of the million results of the war, notes a correspondent. Glass eyes are always more or less uncomfortable, and frequently unsight­ ly, and it is interesting, therefore when the deformities of war are so serious a subject of consideration, to learn that two French workers, Mine. Lemaltre and Teuillieres, have evolved an entirely new method of replacing a lost eye. By the,use of a combination of a hard and soft rubber substance they have achieved their aim and are producing an eye that looks well and feels -well. "Light of the Moon.1* The phrase "the light of the moon" is an indefinite one, not used by sci­ entists and used by others in a mistak­ en and misleading sense. The moon has no light of its own, and the only light that comes from it is the reflected light of the sun, without any warmth or life-giving quality or any effect on vegetation. As loosely used by many! persons, the expression "light of the moon" means a few nights in eachl month preceding and a few nights fol­ lowing full moon. Many persons think this "light of the moon" period has an important bearing on seed germination and plant growth, but that la a mis­ take. Invented Cherokee Alphabet. Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee alphabet, was one of the great met of the Indian race. He was a half- breed, whose English name wa< George Guess. His father was a whlM man and his mother a full-blood lt> TWO DOLLAR tm jm* Will HW* For Years. A well advised commercial authority gives it as his opinion, "as a alow descent may be counted on In the prices for grain when the war ends-- it may take several years to restore the world's stock of foodstuffs to nor- mal there is good ground for confi­ dence in the outlook for rapid devel­ opment in agriculture." If this be correct. It follows that the profession of farming will mate­ rially Increase Its radts in the next few years. Today, the price of wheat Is set by the United States government at $2.20 per bushel, and In Canada the price has been set at $2.21. This, of course, is less freight and handling charges which brings the average to the farm­ ers at about $2.00 per bushel. This price w'ifl pfiy so long tas land, mate­ rial and labor can be secured at rea­ sonable prices. It remains for the would-be producer to ascertain where he can secure these at prices that will make the production of gr'ain profit­ able. He will estimate what price he can afford to pay for land thnt will give • him a yield of wheat which when sold nt $2.00 per bushel, will return him a fair profit. Local and social condi­ tions will also enter Into the considera­ tion. Finding what he wants he would be wise to make his purchase now. Land prices in some portions of the country are low, certainly as low as they will ever be. City property and town property will fluctuate, but fajrm property will hold Its own. The price of grain Is as low as it will be for some, years. Therefore It would be well to look about, and find what can be done. There are doubtless many opportu­ nities In the United States, especially In the Western States, to purchase good agricultural lands, that will pro­ duce well, at reasonable prices. If the would-be buyer has the time to Inves­ tigate, and that is needed, for these lands do not exist In any considerable area, he would be well repaid. Not only will his land certainly Increase In value--the unearned Increment would be an asset--while under cultivation he can find nothing that will give better results. He will at the same time be performing a patriotic act. a needful act, one that would meet with the food controller's plea to Increase agricul­ tural production and assist In reducing the deficit of 75 million bushels of wheat reported by the controller. In addition to the vacant lands in the United States which should be brought under cultivation, Western Canada offers today the greatest area of just the land that Is required, and at low prices--prices that cannot last long. Even now land prices are In­ creasing, as their value Is dally becom­ ing more apparent, and their location desirable. As to the intrinsic value of land In Western Canada, hundreds of con­ crete cases could be cited, which go to prove that at fifty and sixty dollars per acre--figures tluft have recently been paid for improved fai is--the crops grown on them gave a profit of from twenty to thirty per cent and even higher, on such an investment. One instance, is that of a young Eng­ lishman, unaccustomed to farming be­ fore he took his seat on the sulky plow with which he does most of his work, after allowing himself $1,000 for his own wages last year, made a profit of $2,200 on a $20,000 Investment. Hie total sales amounted to $5,700 and his expense, which Included the $1,000 wages for himself, was $3,500. The Interest was 11% per cent. To the man who does not care to buy or who has not the means to pur­ chase, but possesses wealth in his own hardihood, his muscle, and determina­ tion, there are the thousands of free homesteads of which he may have the pick on paying an entry fee of ten dollars. These are high class lands and adapted to all kinds of farming. Send to your nearest Canadian Gov­ ernment Agent for literature, descrip­ tive of the splendid opportunities that are still open in Western Canada. Adv. War Saves Teeth? That "national decay" had set In for many years before the war is undeni- ible, says an authority on national life. Nationally, our teeth, our hair, our eyes, were "going.'* We were becom­ ing a toothless, baldheaded, bespectac­ led race. War bread will, owing to the great­ er mastication that Its ingredients and Its staleness require, save the teeth of thousands of the younger generation. Richard Grady of the United States Waval academy, in a lecture at For- sythe Infirmary in Boston, said: "Without good teeth there cannot be thorough mastication. "Without thorough mastication, di­ gestion, there cannot be proper assimi­ lation. "Without proper assimilation there cannot be nutrition. "Without nutrition there cannot be health. "Without health what Is life? "Hence the paramount importance of the teeth." Aunty All Upset. Aunt fSIvira rushed into the house, hysterical. "I've lost my hearing!" she shouted. "You have?" her frightened sister shouted back. "How do you knowT* "See that man out there playing that hand-organ? Well, I can't hear a single note!" And Aunt Elvira wript afresh. 'j ' "That's a moving-picture photogra­ pher at work!" snapped her sister- New York Evening Post. ' t Reaehed Limit ef Endurance. * • Provoked to an Impatience that waa little less than monumental because e< the ceaseless reports of unimportant news of the enemy's doings, an Eng> fish army officer recently could re- strain himself no longer. "The enemy s continuing to fortify the coast, sir,'* aid the .subaltern. "I don't care II hey fiftify it," roared the officer; "it'll uake no difference." She--"I am Just crazy about smrf * thing," He--"A dipsomaniac, then !*• -The Lamb.