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V"-*- name, Mi Peak ptwtfcs yter f>4v- §sfe ma mi fii-' ip&ttf '• i ••:•• p««* Itbocl _ ^ _ Jht* quoth (Hiahsd, _ __ M pte KO- bud I flbrL.,laoatr dMtfcLsnce'ot arise '• "*• hi* vizor o'er toi-» eyiff-- •. I0e was tfarav hot! * . -"iJ •'.A'? *1*0 pter ctled he. "And m** agf* Aiifl tfaen he itruie to vhcfj the Mr lied ont from OMWOOt i f ATEMIftE FU6HT. • v ---- . i- *• * 1 WW.*. <k,« *T««! wl» fired the shot? «%hat we want to know!" '$< An eager and threatening crowd sur- Jlouoded Jacob Farley. He was the fcearer of bad news. Charles Hamp­ ton, the benevolent and much-loved £oprietor of a large Western ranch, d been found dead at the Blue spring, 200 yards from his dwelling. Dead, with ft hole through his brain this friend of justice, law and work­ women's rights, dead, almost In his honeymoon! £ix months ago he had wedded a wife from the far Eastern States--a fortiOalftss but beautiful girl, Annabel Farnwell by name. •V' He had been seen last at bedtime, by -liis 'wife. A • . > It was his custom to go down to this ring as soon as ha rose in the morning, was singular, however, that no one bad seen him go there on this particu­ lar morniug, and yet there he lay, a ghastly, bloody corpse! "Had any noise been heard as of one getting up to go out during the night?" No; his wife testified that she had «een him in their chamber disrobing :SiWior bed, and that she had dropped to / (jleep while this was going on. . "A powerfully sleepy-headed bride," <11 - & growled one of the graziers. "She ^ Could dance all night last winter. Now ' ber husband can get up and go ont at *•*« iS ,. Aight, and she never heard a sound." Vs Mrs. Charles Hampton was not pop- " " h i j l a r a t t h e r a n c h . • She was a line Eastern lady, and had already imported one or two "swell* , gents and ladies from the great Eastern metropolis. "All this at the boss's •barges," said an eoomomically-diapoBed sheep-tender. "By the way, what's become of that •well European chap the mistress had %ith her last week?" said one of a group of ranchmen who were discuss­ ing matters pretty moodily, just before Jacob Farley, the Superintendent of il* Wieli, came up. "Blasted if 1 know," responded a ' KSRIJ MOT, -who leaned up against the latce and kicked his cowhide boots against one another. "Why! haven't von (wen him here, . Vtery day?" said a third, as if surprised at the question. "To be sure/ he's around here some- ^t^there," said another. i >•; ;> Just then Farley, the Superintend- •" ant, had come up, and, as if by accla­ mation, the ranchmen began clamor­ ing for explanations of this horrible tragedy. j "Who fired the shot, Superintend- - «nt? That's what we want to know! itjNog alongj^he man, , and we'll get our ^ femes ready !n Then followed a perfect tempest of rnahouts and curses. These men were r... -desperate over the loss of their "boss, jf' ' i s # i a good boss he had been to them! |v" '* * His name * was a proverb 'in l . that country for fair • 1 ' dealing, and kind, generous treatment r ;<> those under him. Some said the kv>- > * ;.,POss pever had been the same man since marriage. At times there seemed v ii-Viti < . /to be a clond over his spirits.* And * • i\;then he was not quite as free and live- with his ranchmen as he used to be. f i jChe "madam" was a swell--no doubt :«|f it. *.«•» • . She had silks--actually silks at a •' t' 'tanch! Jewelry, all sorts of fancy doings. It seemed ns if she was de- ^Jermined to make ducks and drakes :̂ fe r,#ut of the boss's hard-earned pile. What did he ever fetch such a woman ' " ^ut to the Territories for? She held Jier head clear up above such common •folks as ranchmen, and wouldn't even A apeak to one of their wives. . The boss was everything that a gen­ tleman ought to be, but they couldn't «pay as much for his lady. l -.»4l Meanwhile the excitement at th« ttanch was becoming something fearfuL » t;<- -It was evident that a victim was de- -t • l^manded. r f m Who should it bei?' ,.*1 1 j îe Superintendent vainly endeav- »»• •* ^bred to quiet tbem. ' s "Now, my men--," began he. « ' T'*ti "Never mind you soft words, Cap* • tain," said a ferocious-lookiDg fellow, \<\ ; -lull BIS feet ami of a vast '.rame. "We'll k J , -.l^6 our vengeance out first and then down afterwards. Just trot out , V'̂ H *^our snake in the grass, and we'll lift , vw*'!"t ^ihim up so his heels won't pizen Colo- m ^srado." ..{r A'*'* * " "Maybe he wants the widdy," a Jt mi»4^jgrim-looking Irish horse-dnver, who looked as if he "could chew up a swell |? 1 , „ |and spit him out." if•*«t 'ivThl8 r0U8ed the Superintendent to a , I , v^llast remonstrance. ' ;t Now, gentlemen!" said h^ 'MM1 ! -.4 *:'«• - •s.*w >! 4 cousin, perhapal you or I! One of the living instauoes of Charley Hampton's kind, indulgent natpra. This insufferable {raspy has been fair tening at his etpvam tor wedu. Everyday he and Belle--lbs. Gharlerf Hampton -ha^ been out riding, heaven knows where, while the nsnny-1 proprietor of this ranch Was ta Krovide pleasures tind a home for eautiful toy of his. Yes, a toy! A butterfly! That i* aU. What did he ever marry her for ? What do many other sensible men act as foolishly for in this most impor­ tant matter? She was a fascinating--a dangerously fascinating woman! Her oharms were of the highest physical order. An ignoramus with her face and figure would have set Sir Isaac Neyton wild. She had married Charley Hampton out of hand. He happened to be in New York on business, met her at a boarding-house, and laid his heart and his ranch at her feet. She accepted the ranch and allowed the heart to palpitate as much as it Every palpitation of that sort was wotth bank-notes, dresses or jewelery to her. Some men's hearts seem a per­ petual bank-credit on which beauty may draw carte blanche! perhaps with a plainer, but more loving woman, Charles Hampton's wild Western home would have been as sweetly attractive. Certainly his finances would have stood a better chance. The fair Sybarite takes widowhood coolly. The bloody corpse of her husband lies in state in an adjoining room. In her gossamer-like, summer-evening gown, before a full-length mirror, she seems to be studying the perfection of form. She certainly boasts of that rich, golden hair which falls far below her waist in a shower of beauty; a dainty nez-retrousse, large, bright, blue eyes, a heavenly forehead, cheeks of the peach's soft bloom, red, pouting, coquettish lips, which, half-opened, show a pearly set of teeth--all natural. She is only 18. Her husband was 40 or more. Her figure would be a study for the artist. Its outlines are delicate yet full--the bust is perfect, like a Oreek statue, the arms soft and white as alabaster, and the tiuy feet peeping from under the coquettish dressing- gown are as fair and exquisitely moulded as those of a marble Yenus. She is an exceptionally-lovely woman. With her face she has won her fortune. We are now behind the scenes. She stands there like the fabled boy over the stream, in love with her own image! There is a voluptuous languor in her pose as she stands fhere, which is in strange mockery of her terrible situa­ tion. The shutters are securely down. Finally she goes to her trunk and begins taking out her richest arflotes of dress, and her superb jewelry. It is too hard to give up all this lux­ ury of her home, and slink ont like a fugitive at dead of night. "Yet, oh Clarence! Clarence! bad as you are I cannot give you up! No, we are in the same boat now. He is my master and has but to command. Yet, oh! what A master**- „ one , "word about the lady. : "Well!" said one of the most turbu- ^ J ;jlent spirits, "perhaps as you're on that *# |!,;tack theileast said the soonest mended." •;« «SV There was a low murmur of appro- - .tiJkation running through the crowd. ; > - - '"^flt was evident that the was 2T Jassociated in their minds with this * •' catastrophe. V!*5* - , Well! Colorado was the land for rj*)ang'"g horse-thieves and murderers of • 'i men--but they didn't keep a & ' ̂ private graveyard for womenfolks. r.' ° 'They'd have to trust to the good Lord tl -, v- • ' Jto judge them. But just then Belle ^ .^^Hianpton's stock was at a pretty con- - «iderable discount. .. -iJSi * ' • . >*-' •••' * • . i» Meanwhile how fares it with the lady " In question? i She is locked up in her own room and a resolutely refuses to see a soul. *'1! * Thw "was bad policy. These were * - « - Vftncbmen's wives enough willing to for- J, "., " 8^ grudges, and come to her help ' in this awful hour. Why not avail her­ self of them ? This might create a rev- It is now the dead hour of nignf, and all is quiet around the ranch. But a band of determined men are out among those wild hills and forests with arms at their -sides and murder in their hearts. The "European swell" has disap­ peared. Of course he is suspected. The rumor of his disappearance had not gotten fairly into circulation before nightfall. Rumor was enough for their wild, fierce spirits. He had murdered the bom for the love of the boss' wife. Fortunately for Belle Hampton, they did not yet connect her with Clarence Montfort, as an accessory. They could not believe that she, a refined la­ dy, could be so utterly vile. Therefore, they did not watoh her very closely. In public, that is, before the servants, Bhe had appeared to be plunged in the deepest sorrow. They felt a kind of scornful pity for her. Churence Montfort was another altogether. This "swell" from the States had been hanging around the ranch in a way not calculated to enhance the reputation of Charles Hampton's wife. He had not been seen since the murder. Where was he? If in the farthest limits of Colorado,, those ranchmen were going to <l»m it ont. The nearest railroad station was forty- fire miles distant. At 8 o'clock in the evening a special posse, armed «nd mounted, started to intercept him there, or else telegraph for his arrest. All they wanted was to get hold of him. Hopes were ready. * * * * * The strangest part of the affair, per­ haps, was that,beyond the first rush to the scene of the assassination, in the forenoon, the Blue spring itself had been deserted. Their idol had been basely murdered --that was all. They felt no special curiosity about the fatal spot. It never seemed to occur to them that the mur­ derer might yet be skulking in the thick tangle of vines and woodland growth which half hid this beautiful fountain. It was, in truth, deeply eml>owered in virgin shade. The spring itself was about six feet in diameter, and down a mossy rock at its base it flowed off in a sort of mild cataract, forming a most romantic and beautiful sight. What more alien to all this loveliness and woodland repose than the foul tread of a cowardly assassin? / jss, °h*tioE of feeling in he*r favor. W. - >Sf -fa, ^4$ .. f, If" *|1:< i V »• • ?- h $•>•>'> y ; "Jf:" ' , ' - f t I , No! in a light evening wrapper which barely conceals the exquisite contour of her form, and peeping out from it pair of dainty feet such as a Princess might envy, this daughter of affliction is--trying on finery i Was there ever such consummate madness? The people without are clamoring for the blood of her husband's murderer; If caught he or she stands a fine «bance of swinging to the nearest limb! The "law's delays" are not known in jrnrt of Colorado. - - * A handsome swell, Olarenoe Mont- It was now 12 o'clock at night. The Blue spring gives no sign of being ten­ anted by spirits, good or bad. But it is weird and ghostly. The rain patters feebly for a while upon the solemn oaks and dusty undergrowth; then there is a lull. What noise is that? Just the light­ est, stealthiest tread; nevertheless It is some one coming! It is a woman, deeply hid in cloak and veil, but the height of the figure and the swaying, tremulous walk pro­ claim the sex. She has reached the spring and pauses, looking around fear- fully. Her every nerve quivers with a horrible fear. Was ever guilty passion as bold yet as racked with the last bor rors of remorse and fear as this ? _ "A murderer! and yet I must await him, for 1 love him! oh, I love him! Oh God! oh God." She sat on a stone by the spring. Carelessly she chanced to rest her hand on it, when she recoiled with a shriek and fainted. It was the gore of her husband's life bipod. She lies .there in. • de*d swoon. it Im anas; X«vt«ae and as ahe does, a of pain and horror oon- •OhfOitf̂ , is ft you?" "YeSf Bella, it is ! Now quiokl Not a moment! I heard your aeream. For God's •agte don't be fainting and Mreim- ing!--faugh!" said he, reooUing half in horror, as he smelled the blood on her hand. "Wash it off and be still for your life! Nojr oome, or shall I take you Sh my jurme^" "Dome where?" she faintly said, as if half pretending not to know the object of this meeting. "Where?" whispered he, hoarsely, with a shade of menace in his voioe usually so soft and honeyed toward her. "Behind me on horseback this instant! If we are not thirty miles from here before daybreak, you are a dead woman and I a dead man!" "I a dead woman?" began she in ab­ solute horror. Yea! Come, hurry! No use in minc­ ing matters. They've got bloodhounds out for me. Now, Belle, cr never! I have thrown away the world for your sake, my love, and you are not going to play me false and give me up to those cut-throats. Come quick! in five minutes it will be too late!" So saying, he literally Aung her on tho horse's back, and jumping on himself with a master's ease was soon scouring a wide reach of meadow land, away from all roads with the fair, frail half-fainting .burden of beauty and guilty passion behind him. The horse was a powerful animal. Clarence Montfort, though tall and sinewy, was lightly made. Like Cnsar he carried au his goods with him--ambition, wealth; nothing seemed for the moment a farth­ ing's worth compared with this woman for whose possession he would have thrown away 10,000 worlds. Enjoy­ ment may soon satiate it--now it is a fearful fascination, a pursuit compared with which a thousand gambling-dens are as nothing. This woman! He seem3 astonished at his own sublime daring, at his utter recklessness. He can soarce realize that it is he, Clarence Montfort, known as a listless, fashionable frequenter of pleasure places in New York, London and Paris. Clarence Montfort had seen life. He had seen it as a man of fash­ ion and then as a man of shady reputa­ tion. In his own circle at home he had contrived to stand tolerably well until lately. But, as soon as it became known that he had followed a married woman to the far West, his best friends looked dubious. Perhaps he Was inti­ mate with Hampton. If Hampton and Clarence Montfort could mix, then Bkmpton must be a much livelier, more pleasure- loving, sort of a man than he seemed to be when he came on East for his bride. His friends, even his best and most intimate friends, had no idea of what his life had been on the Conti­ nent. If they had, Charles Hampton would certainly have been warned, anonymously or otherwise, as to the risk he ran m harboring a mini whose .conception of hospitality and its obliga­ tions tras so lOooe. Unfortunate for Charles Hampton, he was too brave and honorable himself even to imagine that his guest could be such a snake in the grass. He could not blind his eyes, however, to the fact that his wife, the wife of his bosom, was perilously food of other men's at­ tentions. To a high, loving, generous nature this was a death-blow. His heart was broken before the assassin's bullet had pierced his brain! Yet he was slow to believe in the ter­ rible fact of his own dishonor. He had this man Clarence Montfort at his mercy. One whisper from him, and these ranchmen would have torn him .limb from limb! Yet this man was his gupst; or rather his wife's guest. A man of Clarence Montfort's style never would have gained an opportunity at intimacy with Charles Hampton. To the latter the fashionable New York gentleman seemed a harmless sort of butterfly. Harmless, that is, as the word obtains among rough, toiling, adventurous men. They look down upon the kid-gloved gentry. To them brawn and muscle are everything. Sometimes, however, it happens that the kid glova hides a mailed hand. I Mr. Clarence Montfort had chosen to play the effeminate carpet knight for purposes of Ms own. His was a deeper and fiercer nature than these rough, simple-hearted tenders of sheep and horses ever could have supposed. His valise looked as peaceful an J "ladylike" an affair as could be imagined. The washer-woman marveled at the immac­ ulate purity as well as elegance of his linen. "He wears Bilk stockings for a truth," her husband, one of the ranchmen, had exclaimed in profound disgust. Beneath the delicate surface of $4 shirts and silk stockings and lace hand­ kerchiefs were a brace of as murderous- looking revolvers as were ever slung at the belt of a Western greaser. These, however, gentle Clarence did not keep for idle show. There was one thing, however, which had increased their estimation of h™ He was grand horseman! This they could not help noticing and admiring. With eye-glass, and side-whiskers, and richlv-hued stockings, this impor­ tation from the East would have ap peared absolutely contemptible but for that one fact. His horse was a thor­ ough bred^ fiery and fleet, but he sat him like a stone pillar. Where did that swell ever learn to ride so?" was the question on every lip, If Clarence Montfort had thougnt proper to enlighten these wild Western folks as to some features of his past life, they would have opened their eyes. on toriak itt lfl^ a iiMjf»/ : The tfcia ' - and her society bsfoM he self to such: a Iwunndoua resolution. There was yat a deosot show for him among a ne»ti|». set in fee East, but the wRchery of pello Hampton's eyes, Mid tils power of his terrible pas­ sion had overcome every consideration of safety and eimt of ostensible honor. The die was oast; it had been oast since the hour of dawn, w^hen he crouched in thOM bushes dose to his unsuspecting victim! He was not the man to turn back and save himself. For a foolish and wicked woman ha had thrown every prospect to the winds, and now he would resign his prise only With his life! Of the horrors of that night to his guilty conwanion who shall tell? There was little chance for conversa­ tion, and if in her occasional excite­ ment, Belle Hampton raised her voice she was sternly interiupted. "We must be quiet," said he. "The pursuers might be on our track, and would certainly be in a few hours at best." "Do you love me at all, Belle?" said he at length, rather more gently. "Oh, Clarence!" What need to ask that question when she had left her home, her husband's dead body, her name, her purity, her last hopes for time and eternity, to share his guilty companionship! Did ever a woman follow a false, wicked, muderous love more blindly? She was the bird charmed by the terri­ ble fascination of the serpent. /She was as clay in his fearful hands! * * * * * * * At last the awful hours of night were past, and the red streaks were gather­ ing in the eastern sky. They were now far up a singularly wild and desolate ravine. The ground was hard a.nd rooky, and the faithful steed gave visible tokens of weariness, if not exhaustion. Filially they stopped. Clarence Montfort alighted first and took Belle down in his arms. The next thing was to screen themselves as securely as pos­ sible. The horse was first tied in a thick clump of boshes. Then to his fair companion's horror and consternation, Montfort took out a bottle of laudanum and literally forced it down his horse's throat. The animal soon gave evident tokens of coma. "Oh! Clarence, what are you doing. You have poisoned him, and now what will become of us ?", Do you want him to be neighing all day and betraying our whereabouts? No! he will get a good sleep, and I guess" added he, with a careless yawn, "that we shall find the benefit of a nap ourselves also!" Thogr were now more truly alone than ever they had been before. Miles lay between them and the nearest settle­ ment. Tall overhanging mountain oaks, rion vines and flowers of every hue. Mdgispowfbcli with here ana there the silver glitif bf a tiny mountain cas­ cade. Yes! they were dead to the World own. Then, as if by electric flash, a sense of her awful situation burst upon this guilty woman. What if the man she loved and for whom she hid defied heaven and earth, should basely desert her here to die? She never yet had realised before this the full extent of a woman's help­ lessness. She was utterly at his mercy. As soon as his.horse was sufficiently rested, he could be off at a moment's notice. Their supply of provisions was in his satchel, and he might leave her here to starve! Even if she should chance to be rescued, what was left for her on earth ? Nothing but a vile inheritance of shame aud ruin, if not an ignominious death. Truly the wages of sin is hard! An accessory to her husband's murder. The--no! she could not name the word the cast-off companion of the mur­ derer ! This would be the world's verdict. And yet, before Heaven, she was no such accessory. The deed had been done without ner connivance. It was all so swift and horrible. Yet, she knew well whose habd had aimed that fatal shot. She thought she could conjecture well the word of her's, which had im­ pelled her favorite to this fiendish act. She had said to him not forty-eight hours before: "You must go, Clarence^ I fear my husband half suspects the truth. If he ever, by any possibility, gains evidence of it, your life will not be worth a moment's purchase. He would follow you to the farthest ends of the world for his revenge." "Why could I not love this noble, generous man?" she had continued, half in soliloquy. "He has done everything for me that heart could wish, and yet how have I repaid him? And you, Clarence, his guest! What would he say? Oh God!" she added with a shudder," what would he not do?" Then Clarence Montfort straightened himself up haughtily on his horse, and looked her squarely in Jhe face. "What would he not do?" said he. "I tell you, Belle, what he would not da He will never get the first shot at me! That I promise you. He married you in your teens for a toy. I love you, and would'think the world well lost to claim flrou as my wife!" "Your wife!" said Belle Hampton, with a deep flush. "Oh, Clarence, would you have me now?" "Are you a fool, Belle?" said Clar­ ence Montfort, in an irritable tone. "Have I ever treated you coarsely? If I hud met vou a year ago you would now be my lawful wife instead of that not have assisted him in the prosecu­ tion of his present object, and Clarence Montfort was a man who generally managed the particular affair which hie had on hand with coolness and pru­ dence. A terrible passion had lately possessed him. But even in this crisis of his fate he laid his plan of escape arid triumph over his pursuers with all his usual forethought and coolness. He had not neglected to provide means of thorough disguise. No one who looked at him as he galloped over the plain with his guilty burden cling­ ing to him in an agony of terror, would ever have taken him for a New York fashraajtile. The disguise * was complete. Beard close shaven, rough, soiled, laboring clothes, heavy cowhide boots, and a general air of rustic rudeness about him. He looked at least ten years older, as it was. It is scarcely neces­ sary to add that he had a iHir of dusty, tobacco-stained false whiskers and out- •fashioned goggles, ready to don at a This, however, would most assuredly man's slave!" and he looked moodily ... * it? • *, and with a muttered curse toward the smiling Western homestead, where the good proprietor was busying himself with liis many concerns for the day. That was a sort of revelation to Belle Hampton. This man really loved her! In his hour of triumph over her wom­ an's weakness he still did not scorn her. And she? well, it was strange that she and Clarence Montfort were not brought together before this fatal mar­ riage, which now chained her. She would then have been a guiltless wom­ an, for she could have loved him purely as a wife. Now it was a strange, guilty fascina­ tion. And this mian but yesterday morn­ ing had murdered her iiusband. And, as soon as the first shock of the terrible tidings was over, she hud accepted it in the spirit in which the deed, however damnable, was done. Yes; it was the chain ton if she had known , believed so.' She was sleeping' calmly when they brought the bloody corpse of her husband to hia homs, which he had left only a few minutes before. * * * * * But we are now with these guilty fugitives in the da?k ravine. It is a lovely June morning. The birds are enlivening the branches over­ head} everything is bright and beauti­ ful. To an innocent, honoraWy-wed- mau and woman, this would haire been a true Garden of Eden. Alas! the serpent is there. Nay, the sword of flame hangs over them. So young, so graoeful and elegant!-- so apparently fitted for each other! And yet a vile, abandoned covple of guilty wretches, fleeing from righteous wrath. "At any rate," thought Belle Hamp­ ton, with a shudder, "I hare a right to be his wife. A right horribly gained. God knows I oould not have seen poor Charley weltering them, and then have gone off with Clarence. He wAn't tell me. He says he didn't do it, that it must have been suicide. No one at the ranch ever saw him carry pistols in day­ light. And certainly this iB not one of his--the one that killed him!" Meanwhile, Clarence Montfort has washed his face and hands, aad now disengaging himself of his coarse fus­ tian coat has seated hitpnulf beside Belle Hampton on the green sward. His arm is around her waist--he has clasped her to his bosom! Then for the first time they threw all reserve in their words of love and tenderness. He now addresses her as "my wife." Why cannot the bloody corpse of that pure and noble man rise to confront this wicked pair? Will they after all baffle vengeance and live to smile at raschmen's wrath? The day wears by, and to her shame be it confessed it seems to Belle Hampton a happy one. She tries to forget what this man has done, what she has done, in dishonor of the noble dead! She only knows that she is Clarence Montfort's plighted wife. That thought is a kind of intoxi- aation to her. Guilty dreamer! Is there no fringes of doom on the wall? At last as the afternoon begins to wane and the sun threatens soon to leave them in this cool retreat, Clar­ ence Montfort rises from this languor of sweet companionship, and begins to stir himself for the night's travel. Thefe is a far-off look in his eyes, as that of a man who has reached some lofty height and sees the abyss at his feet. Belle Hampton notices his expression, and clings to him nervously. As she does, she oomes in contact with a revolver whion rests in his side- pocket. She Btsrts back. Oh, Clarence! you don't think youll have occasion to use that again, do you?" asks she, cowering before his eagle eye. * "Again?" murmured he, fiercely. "And Who said that I -- Hark! I hear a sound--a trampling! Belle, my love, get ready!" Just then a shot whizzes through tha undergrowth, and a loud, ranchman's voice is heard : "Halt, you ---- mur­ derer, halt!" • • It is all Up.t®fPJT~-:- -. •<*:--rrr Belle HamptOii sinks <in a dead swoon at his feet. They have tracked him successfully. Fool that he was to have wasted this precious daiy in turning over a new page of gu lty passion! But now it is all over. They come on, yelling like demons! A sudden resolution, born of despair, seems to come over the young mur­ derer. He will sell his life dear. In an instant, with Belle Hampton's in­ animate form at his feet, he has whipped out his pistols and drawn a bead on two of the foremost. The men start back in astonishment. He is no longer the polished, effemi­ nate swell, but a wild, fierce dare-devil at bay, foaming at the mouth in his rage, and uttering taunts of blasphem­ ous defiance. They stand fascinated by that mur­ derous gaze. But he does not notice that one of their number has dissp- peared. His back is against a tree round which is a thick undergrowth. All of a sudden he feels himself drawn back­ ward by a violent jerk. He has been lassoed from behind! In a moment he has discharged one barrel of his pistol, but in vain. They have him now, bound hand and foot. "Say your prayers, Mr. Nobby," said the tallest of the throng, sneering- ly, as they led him to the tree. " your souls!" was all this dying wretch deigned in reply. Thoy have planted him on his own horse, under the limb, a stout rope around liis neck. He casts one loolc on the setting sim, the trees, the flowers and then on the senseless form of her he loved. "Save her, gentlemen!" he said in a husky voice, half-choked already by the rope. "God grant she may not have long to suffer the taunts of this oruel world! But remember! she is not Charles Hammond's murderess! She knew nothing of it till the deed was done. And tell her that I hope she won't forget me!" Crack went the whips, and forward plunged the steed under the sharp sting. Clarence Montfort writhes in tha agonies of death. . When Belle Hamilton recovered it was all over. Then she clenched her little hand upon her pursuers. "Yes, I loved him! yes! hang me!" And then she flung herself upon the corpse still warm and covered it with sobs and kisses. "Yes! I did love you, oh, Clarence! oh, Clarence! oh, my heart's beloved! oh, God I what a wretch I am! Oh, God have mercy!" As a man soweth so shall he also reap!" - BROWN paper is very useful in house­ hold decoration. Pretty screens of coarse grocer's papers, painted in oils, are often used. An old wooden mantel­ piece may be covered with this coarse paper and painted roughly, but most effectively, with pink and white fox­ gloves and leaves or with red poppies. Paper can be only a temporary decora­ tion, but in country villages occasions often arrive--sueh as impromptu fes­ tivities, churoh sociables and weddings --when a speedy decoration is moat valuable. pira in rending of a chain of which she had A UTXIK ohloride of lime dissolved m long wearied. And yet it was ruin and I warm water, or left in a lamp or can disgrace. And to crown all, she must I which has held kerosene, i|itl deodorize | meet him. Yea, his last words at part** it Very soon. It to SBilMikme aad business oocupatons orHTwK™ yonng msn may ba snddsn# elevated to a prominent position by, as it would se«n, a m«re chance, but, unless he evinces energy, "*irity. tftfitty in- dustry, he will not hold the poaitkm by mem chance, or throuah any otharm^ dinm of favor, but will he summarily bounced. It matters not whether it be tha boy who, "by chance," secured employment in a grocery store, where his duties are only to wrestle with 8U«aT Wd barrels, sort out *nfl deliver potatoes or weigh codfish, or the boy who suddenly drops into a seat in a lawyer's ofltoe, whet& he can, between running errands and sweeping out the offioe, pack away in his mem­ ory's store-hous?, chunks of "Black- stone," and intricate masses of legal problems, the boy, in both instances, must show up a reasonable amount of intelligence, courtesy and industry, or some kind of an accident will as sud­ denly oust him as the "chance" placed him in the position. In the case men­ tioned above, Mr. Reid was a young man when he grappled with the duties and responsibilities of his position, not as young, perhaps, as the boy who steps into a workshop to learn a trade, bat young enough so that he oould, had he not kept his eyes wide open, and his brain and hands busy, made which would not have passed as acci­ dents, but which would have slid him into obscurity so unceremoniously as to surprise him. The boy who steps be­ hind a grocery-store counter, or into the workshop, and obtains a position, as the boys of the town would say, "by accident,* can, if he sits around with his hands in his pockets, for hours at a time, or idles away minutes and hours of his employer's time, lose the position by a greater accident than the one that secured for him the place. This coun­ try is full of young men who have been favored at times by "chance," or, what looks very much like it, luck, some call it, but none of the great, thinking, in­ dustrious, "self-made" men. are great by aocident. Every town and city on earth, to-day, possesses one or more young men who have suddenly dropped into fine, fat situations, but unless they have the requsite ability to perform the duties of the situation, something more serious than an accident deprives them of the chance of their lives, and unless they reform they will soon be found with the idlers of tne town, sitting on/the fence chewing a stick, throughout the live­ long day. Occaaionally one meets a young man who is loafing about the corner grocery or the saloon, who can tell of a time in his life When he "accidentally" got into a fine paying position, and as he tells vou of tne circumstance, he invarably leaves out the faot regarding how he came to lose the place, and attributes that to an accident, also, when ten ohanoes to one, the facts were that he had a strata of laziness in his composi­ tion, or did not possess the ability and industry to hold the place. It does not take the business men of the present day. or the companies who employ help, long to ascertain how many of their hired hands fell into the positions by acoident, and whether they are competent to fill the positions or not, aad it is seldom, if ever, that a young man holds a position in these days unless he is competent to fill the plaoe assigned him. The chance or ac­ cident business, among the practical business men of the world, is played out, and whether it is the case of Mr. Reid, or the boy weeding the onion" beds for some farmer at 25 cents a day, both hold their respective positions in life through attention to business and ability to perform the labor set before them.--Peck's Sun. Vicarious Benevolence. An editorial in the Century clfis in­ tention to the abuse of asking outsiders to do your own charity giving. It says: "It is beautiful to see how quickly the promptings of this new kind of charity spring into the mind when any human need arises. The first thought of most men seems to be not 'How much can we do toward relieving this need ?' but rather 'How much can we get other people to do?! Each man begins to think of other men who can be induced to contribute; each neighborhood looka, at once, beyond its own borders to other neighborhoods upon which it may con­ fer the blessedness of bearing its burdens. Mr. Hale's motto,, 'Look out and not in,' finds in this habit at mind one of its most striking illustrations; for when there are contributions to be made the modern philanthropist begins at once to look out for contributors, and not to look into his own pocket' at all. If there is a churoh debt to pay, a hospital to build, an orpfcaaage to found, immediately the thought* of those who stand nearest to the project, and who are to be most deeply benefited by it, are turned to distant places, in­ quiring how thpy may obtam this good tiling at the smallest possible cost to themselves. Those benevoiea^ gentle­ men who have had large experience in the work of raising church debts testify that the people who have contracted these debts and are responsible foi their payment are almost always well content to sit and wait, in the expecta­ tion that other people, somewhere and somehow, will lift their burden for them." . Spanish Brigands. Brigandage has vanished from Spain* ve in remote districts, and a traveler can go where he will in perfect safety. This is due to the Civil Guards. For many years the ooontry was oursed with organized bands of »V>beJrs who were the terror of whole districts. At last the Government organized a band of ad m irably-disciplined and well-armed men, and stationed them on the princi pal routes as escorts and patrola, under the name of National Civil Guards. They are composed of 20,000 foot and 5,000 horse guards. They are dressed in a dark-blue uniform and armed w»h rifles. These guards are stationed in couples in every town and village* and along every publio highway. They are the police of Spain, and perform their duties with efficiency. Two (rf them meet every train at every station, pro­ tect tourists from imposition, exert themselves to assist everyone in trouble or perplexity, and jstiftck all disturb­ ances and disorders. TThey have special powers given them^tad exercise sum­ mary punishment t>n those who resist their authority. OK® way t4>*5lean the. inside of pots and pans fs to fill them with water in which njtbw ounces of washing soda i i dissol^d, and set them on the fire. Let the water boil until the inside Of tin looks olean. / aniiu li •••••p As of liis own: frkatthe quilting "bee" when you" hear th* stfugwig remark. Pnmm«8or ftuunr are to t*found in* a frame of mind.---17ie Drummer. A KXLI.OW drammer--A well-soaked < < tipster. --Baltimore Every Sons mans vas alvays like der key- hole on dm back of aolook. Dhey vas befiint time.--Carl PreUel. A MAW paid his dentist $6 for pulling , 'J out only two of his teeth, and on his way home he met a friend and got on the wrong side of an argument wHSh A him, and he kindly knocked out the v balance of them for nothing.--Carl I Pretzel's Weekly. SBVBBAL fashionable churohee in J Northern cities announced that they:;:' 4 are dosed for the'season. Fashionabla , \ religion cannot stand hot weather. * I What it is going to do hereafter, in its unacclimated state, only heaven knows. -V' j --Texas Siftings. ~ HINT for liars about tha weather: "I 1 never remember anything like this sa^f; ; 1 sou for dryness. Three months with-. * ^ out any nun." "Bah! That's nothing. . Now, in 1&46,1 remember, we didn't have a drop of rain for eighteen months."--French. As A matter of faot George Washing-^ ton sat down in the boat and held on to:' the seat when he crossed tha Dektmura^l but Such a position would not %• striking tableau, and so the harp of tha, terry passed intopictorial history stand-' ing.--New Orleans Picayune. A CAT has nine lives. But even that ioesn't enable you to oomprehend how you can hear her, or him, u the case may be, spit and squall and yell in fifteen different places on the four shed roofs and two fences at the same tima, Alas! how weak a thing is soienoe, after all! PBOV. HUXLEY holds that an acre of good fishing ground will yield mora food in a week than an acre of the best land will produce in a year. Huxley evidently never tried catching fisn him­ self. If he had he ' would know that one fish to each square mile of water it about the average nowadays. • Two PHILADELPHIA lawyers got wnto a street fighk Each swore if he had a Sistol he'a kill the other. At once a ozen were offered to each by specta­ tors. When they found how anxious the populace was to get rid of each they swore friendship, and vowed to live forever, to spite tne town. LADT--•-"But, Professor, how cam* you to offend Mrs. Smith?" Professor --"Ah, I vill tell you. Mme. Smit she oome to me and she say I do vant my daughter to sing so high as Mees Brown, and she fly in one rage and say as dereis nosing low in her fa-mily,ven I say Mees Smit shehaf a low voice." "No AUNT," said young Folkestone, "I don't get on well at all with Clara. And, by the way, there's one tiling I don't like. I'm afraid she puts chalk on her face." "Oh, that's nothing," replied Aunt Goodwin, laughing, "• nice soldier you would make, now, wouldn't you? If you cant face powder, George, how oan you expect ever to get into an engagement?" TOURISTS and other victims of dys­ pepsia, take the advice of an old tar and never go to sea, but buy a guide­ book, stay at home and commit enough of its beautiful 30 cents a liV puffb ot bed-ridden hotels, and regale year friends with it upon their return from some sequestered spot with their arnia- b'e country relations. - Chicago Cheek. Hi AKD OUT or OFFICE. "Oh, llstm to the witter-whoel tbrongh all tha livelong day; Tour salary will atop about the time you lesa your pay. The fellow at the ladder's top, to all glocy soea. And tne fellow at the bottom is the fellow n» one knows. No good are all the *had beens,' for In country aad In town. Nobody am how high yon have been, when onoe yoa have come down. When onoe yoti have been President, and ar» President no more, Yoa may ran » farm, or teach a sohool, or keep a country store, No one will ask a boat yoa, yoa nerer will bo missed, The mill will oafty grind for yon. while yoa supply tho grist."--tturlington Hawkcye. HE was on his knees before her, and with a voice tremulous with passion he said: "Nothing shall separate us ever­ more, my darting! For your sake I will beard tha 1km in his den--I will face death on the battle-field! 1 will skim the seaa! I will endure all hard­ ships* all sofferiag, all misery!" He? paused aad looked eagerly at her, with his whole aodk quivering in his eyesw "Will you do all this for the sake of my love?" said she, gazing earnestly at. him. "Yes* yea--a thousand times, yes!" "And if we get married" (here she blushed slurhitly) "will you get up< first, ind light tha fire?" With a shriek of despair he fledL Why tha Coareatisn Was Csilfeit- A.Licm who had long reigned with supreme power over the Forest* one flay called a convention «t all the beasts aad awaounced his intention of abdicating^ "I am growing old and fiMftlek and I must aooa pass away," he aagued. "All things considered it is better that my successor be nominated audi installed while I as* living to give husu the bene­ fits of my experience and! advice," There was general jojr among the Beasts* for the Lion had Usrdied it after liis own fashion. The Elephant was squinting around, the Bluhwoeros was. pushing his nose into the-esesrd, and the Giraffe was doing a heap of thinking; way down his throat wlisu the Lion con­ tinued: "After serious refieotiiaaand solemn consideration I have decided that mp own son shall succeed use. The oflioe will not only be keptt ha the family,, but the family will be kapfc in offioe. There being no further hasiness before' tha meeting we will adflanrn." "But why the need of this conven­ tion ?* protested the Rhinoscer«s. "Well, there wasnt any particular need of it," replied the Lion,, "but it in customary to call one in ord«r to col­ lect the expenses of rumination* Brother Giraflbt, pass the hat!" Moral: "Attend the piimariealN* Detroit Frm Press. PAPEBK® walls are cleaned by wiped down with a flannel cloth tie over a broom or brush. Then cut oft a thick piece of stale bread with tha crust op, and nib tbem down with this. Begin at the top and go straight down. THE German strawberry was intro­ duced into Kaffirland less than fifty years ago. Now in their season miles of prairie land are covered with tha ! luscious red fruit. J A MONTANA Chinaman bought a Piegaai i wife for two saoks of musty flour, Star pappoose was thrown in. _ .x .«*/-1*..> if?-taaU x. . / - J" } *4. • J * ' t * '*'1 it <g.si j JrL