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‘7 "V'VVVVYVVVV‘VV'Vvvv "vv :_.. Q‘gwitg. i,‘.~.-..:-:.- r mrwwwwemww My Rlval’s E" Finger=Ring v ‘Wwwr~ww~ “Then you positively reinse to stand up against me? The match is .void?” . "Exactly; I’ll pay the forfeit,” I replied, after a moment’s pause .of hesitation. Conscious of staring, in- cred‘ulous eyes, I was not going to allow anyone to grasp how keen was the mental struggle. Hardest of all to bear was the broadening sneer of Jago I’onson, this swaggering wrest- ler from Southern America, who had haunted my public performances and been so eager to make a match for three bouts, choice of styles to be mine. “Very curious! Then these repre- sentatives of the public are to under- stand that, after accepting my chalâ€" lenge, you think it wisest to withâ€" draw? You will not wrestle with me under any terms whatever? Ra- ther a pity you did not save these gentlemen the trouble of advertising their purse of £500. Not precisely a sum to be snapped up every dayâ€"ex- cept by men in the first flight; and I understand you, are comparatively fresh from the Dales, while I ameer -what- you call over here an unâ€" known quantity. Well, gentlemen, all is over!" The huge, sneering, swar- thy fellow. turned with a theatrical wave of his beringed hand} “Mr. Jim Lockyer prefers to elbow me out of his sensational rush to the world’s championship!” “Quite right; for once I take a pleasure in breaking my Wor .” I said it between set teeth, threw ’down the pen finally, and was upon my feet. A moment of stupefied Silence, bro- ken by the rather icy voice of the chief sporting editor, in Whose sanc- tum We faced each other. “H'm! Mn Lockyer is fully en- titled to 'his decision, even though exâ€" pressed in a manner scarcely compli- mentary to the'newspaper and pro- prietors I represent. There is a mystery, but not one for us to probe. At the same time the public is exâ€" ceptionally interested, and some exâ€" planation of the fiasco will assuredly be expected. Shall we be believed if we say that Mr. Jim Lockyer, no- toriously modest as capable, hardly realizes his market .value, and is dis- trusting his own powers in the preâ€" sent case?” Ordinarily cool, I felt- my neck flame as -J ago Ponson's deepâ€"throated laugh followed that sarcastic pause. The truth of it, the inner meaning of my dramatic refusal that day, surged up, and then on the wall opâ€" posite seemedto flash tWo vivid pics tures: the poster that Was to an- nounce my match with the giant from Southern America, and that had seemed likely to crown my fame, and beside it the pale, imploring face of a womanâ€"Kitty’s face. No! I Would keep my silence. I could not expect them, as men of the world, to credit a single syllable. I pointed to Jago Ponson. My voice sounded thick and unreal. “I shall contradict nothing that this man chooses to say outside. I have a reason, but not one for the public ear. Some other dayâ€"not far distant, perhapsâ€"I may take up his challenge.” A minute later I had stepped from the handsome building. Five hunâ€" dred pounds and a side stake-â€" thrown away! Was I mad? I could throw him. I had felt sure from the first, despite the vague talk of his toadying supporters. I had disliked the man instinctively, especially as he avoided coming to direct grips with other 1.:rformers of proved ability anxious, to test him; but I wanted money. I wanted Kitty! No one knew; not even her father, who watched so jealously to prevent his daughter losing her heart to any man not approved‘by himself ;.but I meant to marry Kitty. I was mariaâ€"yes! 1n the rush - and roar of the street I paused. I heard the echo of ,Jago Ponson’s laugh still; the crowd seemed to stare with contemptuous curiosity. Go back and sign the contractâ€"yes! Crush him, and lay the cheque for £500 at Kitty’s feet! And then I felt my fingers close upon that slip of paper in my pocket. With a thrill I strode away, only to pause again in the first quiet doorway and realize again the strange Words Kitty had penned. Just in time they had reached me. "Jim, darling, if you love me, do notâ€"” A big shadow fell past me. I swerved, to meet the sinister eyes of ‘Jago I’onson. Had he followed me to drive home his taunts with a purâ€" pose? Ills swarthy face leercd close. “Something good there? Ha, ha! So we are to meet againâ€"even if not on the boards to a crowded house!” “We may yet, if your claims are not proved spurious in the meantime. Good-day!” I I went to stride on. Next instant, if that crushing grip on my shoulder went for anything, I realized at least that the man possessed brute strength of a rare order. Ilis hot breath was puffed in my face. "You're a cur! a cow-art]! The news shall stir up more excitement than the match Would have done â€" trust me!" My arm had swung up, but he was IE PM¥§"*"M fear of discovery. lhour I was paths . had drawn her back into the Woman’ 3 you possibly know, of him? people pausing to strolling away, ‘ glance back at his breadth of limb. Pooh! The fellow was typical of a bullying, blustering class, that would soon be discredited by the wrestling. fraternity. What was it that old Mathieson, Kitty’s father, had' seen in the man to tolerate anid even ap- preciate? It seemed only a few months since I had seen Mr. Mathieâ€" son, an old athlete himself, intro-duc- ed to this loudâ€"voiced exponent; and on the spot I had somehow doubted the bone-fidesâ€" Kitty’s mysterious note! could it mean? “Jim, darling, if you love me, do not sign to wrestle with Jago Pon- son. I dare not say more, even if I could. Let the match go I entreat you. If you hesitate, think of the Woman who loves you for yourself, and not for fame or moneyâ€"Kitty.” I crushed up the scrap of paper. I Would know at once. She would be crossing the park on a daily eranld just about duskâ€"«the only time I could be sure of seeing her Without In less than an there, watching breathâ€" every figure on the gravel There she came at last, her lAnd now I sha- dows of some trees and gripped her What lessly face pale and troubled. little hands, and was searching the startled brown eyes. "Don’t ask me,” she whispered at once. “I wuld not tell you why I Wrote that. Some day you will un- derstand. To-day you must trust a instinct. Thank Heaven, you have done so!” ' "Butâ€"but Why bar the man I fear least of any I ever met? What can reports of triumphs are nothing. You can only have heard your father or myself refer to him casually as an uncracked nut. Surely I may know?” , “Trust me,” she repeated, strangeâ€" ly quiet. “Don’t match yourself against that man, Whatever hap- pens. Promise!” And a, sudden deâ€" termined impulse took me. “I’ll promise,” I said, “if you will break through your fear of a stern refusal and let me ask your father’s consent to our being married. Why not? You loathe this secrecy; Why should he object, if I can support you honorably? *Why should I not speak out, Kitty?” "You don’t know him asâ€"as I do,” she whispered. "He would step beâ€" tween us instantly. Heâ€"heâ€"” It trailed off. It was one more bit of misery, maddening to a man who wished to prove himself worthy of her. “Nonsense!” I laughed. "How can we judge him if he does not dream of the truth yet? I say yeslâ€"I’ll go straight back with you, and speak to him as a man. Then we shall know how~ to act. I have a perfect right to ask; I claim itâ€"now!” She was awed, silenced. It was just dark as we reached the house, and my own heart wasbeating heav- ily at the thought that toâ€"night might decide all. A light had just blazed out in the upper sittingâ€"room. Kitty’s hand shook upon mine. “He has come home. The $012.1ill} is out, but I can let you in, ifâ€"if you must. Go straight up’the stairs and knock at' the door facing you. No; I will wait out here. Think twice, Jim, before you say a word that cannot be recalled!” Just 'the'touch' of her lips on my cheek, and then the key had turned. I went up the stairs without a moâ€" ment’s pause, merely noting vaguely that the appointments of the house seemed strangely meagre and shabby. And then of a sudden I stood stone- s-till. Mr. Mathieson was not alone in that room. A hum of voices came through; and oneâ€"could I be dream- ing it?â€"~was the slow, significant voice of the man I had faced but two hours ago. It Was Jago Ponson, the seventeenâ€"stone wrestler, who claimed to have thrown nine-tenths of the Western Hemisphere’s picked men. Here! _ _ “And so there it stands,”~ came his deep sneer. ."I’m still hoping to get the match on, by pricking-his pride in public. I’m a man of mygwordâ€" and you’re a man buried in debts. I’ve no ready-money here, as I told you, although I have property on the other side that will make your girl a rich woman 'some day. That stake of £500â€"and more, if possibleâ€" I hand over to you if I can marry your girl. And I’m Square, but deadly when balked.” “She wouldn’t listen, quiet and lovable as you see her," came old Mathieson’s dull, hopeless voice â€"- the voice of the tempted man. “I owe far more than that, but she would:1’tâ€"-â€"” “She would! I liked her at sight, and she knows it; only your influence is wanted. I imagine it’s a fair and good business offer. Why, your little financial crash means her misery into the bargain. Doesn’t want much re- flection!” . “But why must it be with Jim Lockyer? There are scores of Wrest- lcrsâ€"â€"-" The deep, sneering laugh broke in. "Quite so. That’s another little affair altogether. I could get ’on’ with plenty, but that Was the only good purse going just now that suitâ€" ed me. You see, the critics fancy him, and defeat would be rather a good leadâ€"off for Jago Ponson. Why? This Lockyer-’5 a, coming man, don’t forget, and there’ll be a startling 'gate.’ Something more, if you care to hear it. You’ve been blind; my eyes peeled almost the moment I llan'ded hern- antl saw your girl. He’s after her. Exactlyâ€"this same Lock- Foreign , yer. For that and other reasons he’s the man I want to bring down. He meets her in secret. Suppose he ran off with her? That means another blow for you, doesn’t it? I don’t do things like that. I’m square!" A spell of eloquent silence. Craning there, I could picture old Mathieson staringinto the swarthy face, hesita- ting to ally himself and his daughter to a. man whose Scheme seemed unâ€" fathomable, and then came his husky voice:â€" “You’re sure of what you say? I suspected it. Five hundred for my promise, you say? Butâ€"but how if you lost the match? What possible guaranteeâ€"” “I shall not lose,” were the last strange, slow words I caught. “You won’t understand; you needn’t try; leave it to me. I shall win the first two falls. Put every farthing you can raise upon Jago Ponson for that match!" And then I was creeping back down the stairs, perfectly cool and calm now. Kitty stood out there, watch- ing the lighted window. I spoke just the few quiet words. "I have not seen him, dearest. Say nothing; be surprised at nothing. Trust me, as I was willing to trust you!” An hour later I- had sent tWO tele- grams, one to the office of the "Sporting Tribune:’ and another to J ago Ponson at his club, challenging View to business only._ . ,. , . He came. Satisfied that he Was serenly delighted, I said nothing exâ€" cept that reflection and a glance at the evening papers had changed my mind, if the purse wasstill offered.It_ was. When I’onson carelessly inâ€" quired if I had chose to back my chance for 9, private stake of £200 a side, I appeared to hesitate uneasily, and then closed with the suggestion in a seeming spasm of bravado. Next morning all the newspapers announcâ€" ed that, after preliminary hitches, Jim Lockyer from the Dales had been formally matched against J ago Pon- son for the best of a. threeâ€"bout con- test under Cumberland rules. What the public did not know was that it was to be a wrestle for a wife! A fortnight to go. The days passâ€" ed in seeming quiet, but the struggle was already in progress secretly. Day and night my rooms were watched and my movements tracked, but I was forewarned and gave no chance. What it all meant, the inner truth of the scheme, did not reveal itself until the night before the contest. I was alone, when there came a ring at the bell. Ponson hims'elf, with his seconds, came to confer upâ€" on some trivial point. Balkod so far, had he hoped, as a last re- source, to introduce some drug into my food? I watched narrowly. N0; go. I saw the giant’s sinster face go yellow. He had gripped my hand and held it for a moment. A strange thrill of prescience ran through me as I felt" that tiny prick as ‘of a'necd- leâ€"point. By a. mighty effort I kept my countenance, and the'door closed upon them. I stared at my hand, but could see nothing. Yet I was certain. There was a doctor living close by. I sprang outâ€"just in time. A swift examination through a mag- nifyingâ€"glass, and then his lancet had cut from the flesh one microscopic 'drop of a subtle Chilian poison, the effect of which would have been to (leaded my volition for a space of at least fortyâ€"eight hours. I was saved by a margin of seconds. The tiny needle-point in Ponson's ring had done it. Coincidentally, too, next morning's papers stated that the odds against my Winning were lengthening inexplicably, and that Ponson’s party were wagering immense sums upon their man. I could afford to smile; my own seconds were quietly absorbing those same odds on my behalf. Yes! I kissed Kitty’s pale lips that night with a supreme conviction that our love need not be kept a secret much lon- . ger! it n ' a I . 40' I- No need to describe in detail all the excitement concentratedV-that night of nights into the space of a few minâ€" utes. Almost everyone knOWs What happened and how fatefully certain it seemed to the vast audience that I had met .1in Waterloo in Ponson, "The Western Terror.” I-Ilad not the rumors of my breakdown been circu- lating all that day? Did not Pon- son, as he strode on to the carpet, look the incarnation of contemptuous triumph; while it was marked that my appearance Went to justify the rumors that I feared the result? Yes, up to the very crucial mo- ment. And thenâ€"what a transforma- tiOn electrified the- audience! As the whistle thrilled out and we shook hands, I looked once into Jago Ponâ€" son’s face. He was smiling. Then, in the utter silence, he played alâ€" most carelessly for the neck-lockâ€" played as a cat might do with a mouse. He had got it already; a twist of his huge trunk and I was down. He half paused, turning with a smile as that gasp went up from the crowd. And then-- t'hen, in a flash of time, as the papers said, the tables were turned. I was on my feet as by a miracle,'and had my opponent’s vast bulk swaying sideâ€" ways across my hip. Ile struggled desperately, horribly, seeming to rea- lize his mistake; the merest instant -would do it. I thought of Kittyâ€"pf the fellow’s vile machinations to win her by tempting her father; I thought of ,the prize at stake. And then, with an effort that I could never equal him to meet me at the office, with a ' WM again‘, I had swung him high in space and dashed him down to the mat. He fell face uppermost with, a crash. Both shoulders had touched and were pinned down; but that did not signi- fy. He lay quite still, white, dazed, incredulous. When at length the whistle sounded his seconds were seen to be whispering wildly. A minute micro, and it was announced that J a- go Ponson refused to Contest the re- maining boutsâ€"and Jim LOckyer 'had won. The mad shout that went upâ€" may I never forget it! But what was all that to. the moâ€" ment when my dream was realized and I stood face to face with Kitty’s fa- ther, and placed in his trembling hands the chequeâ€"~most concrete proof that my love for his daughter was equal to a sacrifice? He stared stammored; he could not believe; but a few words and a silent handâ€"grip showed him how‘ near he had been to giving up his girl to a scoundrel in veneer. Yes, we were doubly happy that night. For it was like the real 'dawn of our love after long darkness. And so 1 wrestled for my wife. And so I won her!â€"London Tit-Bits. -â€"â€"â€"-+-â€"â€"â€"â€"e- EVICTED BY A GHOST. ' Liverpool Excited Over Manifesta- tions in a Haunted House. restrial fame, a. Imodest ghost, Whose Weird pranks ‘have created a. sensa- tion in the neighborhood ofIsling- ton, Liverpool, England, has mysteriâ€" ‘ously vanished. The ".spook” evidently made its arrival a few days after four girls, three of Whom are named Moran, left their mother’s house and took up their residence at 99 Field street, off Carver street, Islington, about five Weeks ago. . The house is situated in the middle of a row of tall threeâ€" storied dwellings, each of which is only one room deep except on the ground floor, where there is a back scullery. Winding stairs lead from one floor to another. The maidenly quartette left their habitation each morning at six o’clock to go to work in the neigh- borhood, returning to dinner and to tea. Two days after taking the house they were greatly perplexch on returning home at midâ€"day to find a large mirror, which had been left on ing face downwards on the kitchen the wall in one of the bedrooms, ly- floor. It was replaced, but at noon next day the girls trembled to see the lookingâ€"glass again hiding its face on the hearthrug. Then other familiar objects in the house became possessed with evil spirits. When the door. was opened some unseen influence closed it. some- times slowly, sometimes witli an elastic-like spring, “frightening ‘the girls terribly. The ghost began to manifest itself in nocturnal visitations; -'l)rea.dful rumblings. kept. the . girls awake through the long dismal night. At such times shadows flitted over the ceilings, and the girls hid their white faces under the blankets. TWO of the girls Were sitting readâ€" ing just over a week ago when the apparition presented itself to one of them. The next door neighbor, a working man, declares that not a pedestrian was within a hundred yards of the house, but the girls sprang out of the doorway with alarmed faces, shrieking “The ghost!” One of the girls swore that the phantom had passed in front of her; another states that she was scrub- bing the stairs when a flat iron sans handle, which was last placed in the kitchen fire-grate, came tumbling inâ€" explicably down upon her from above. It was folIOWed by the shuf- fling of feet. » At last the terrorized quartette removed their goods and chattels at midnight, and went to live with a. relative. Thousands of people went nightly to'see the haunted house, and stones were hurled through the winâ€" dows, but it was not even then be- lieved that the ghost had been laid. At last, a ~Wager I was made by a man named Hugh Morgan that he .would enter the place and tackle the hobgoblin. By this time the agents, Messrs. Sykes, of Brunswick road, had boarded up the iront‘windows, but Morgan went behind and forced an entrance by smashing another pane. His investigations were not complete when a policeman ap- peared on the scene and arrested him. He is still in gaol. The scare has not yet subsided, and many visitors go nightly to inspect the house. ___+_____. HELPED BY NATURE. It was in the for West. “I-Iow’s times?” asked the tourist. "Pretty tolerable, stranger,” r4:- spon'ded the old man, who was sitâ€" ting on a stump. “I had some trees to. cut down, but the cyclone level-led them and saved ’me the trouble.” “Th-at Was geot.” - “Yes; and then the lightning set fire to We bluish pile and saved me the trouble of burning it.” "Remarkable! But what doing now?" “Waiting for an earthquake to come along and shake the potatoes out of the ground”- are you Sheâ€"“A clock is different from a man.” Heâ€"“In what respect?” She â€"â€"“Wheu it strikes it keeps on workâ€" inn'.’L Not being able to support. its ter; King. - PEUPLE WA_L_K UN GULll SUN-PARCHED DESERT BASIN. IN CALIFORNIA. The Most Valuable Low-grade Gold “Mine” Known to Geologists. Leave the Southern Pacific Railway at Yumaâ€"a town in Atizonaâ€"follow. the Waggonâ€"road sixty miles north, and you will at last emerge from mountain passes into a great natural basin in Southern California. This is the Piccacho Basinâ€"the only place in the world where people literally walk on gold. For here, exposed on the sands, in quantities incalculable, is the greatâ€" est thing on earth, bar health and love. Here Mother Earth is spotted on the surface with that metal of yellow glint for which nations war, for which men fight as if for life. On the sands of this dreary, sunâ€" parched desert-basin is the gleaming goal of Gainâ€"gold, all gold, under foot wherever you step, in a moun- tainâ€"rimmed place six miles in cir- cumference. IIere, indeed, is the largest and most valuable lowâ€"grade gold "mine" known to geologists. But as the gold is right on the surface, why does not someone go there and pick it up? Because, first of all, the owner of that basin is the only person who has a right to pick"- it up; second, because, after one has picked up some ten'tons or so of sand, he has picked up with it only about four cents worth of gold. And to separate that four cents Worth of gold from the ten tons of sand costs MORE THAN FOUR CENTS. Hence the gold is safe from the “pickings’: of the stray “miner.” Any thief is welcome to all the gold he can steal in that El Dorado. Afâ€" ter such a robber had- picked up ten tons of sand, having brought ten carts for the purpose, he would have to haul the leads a distance of six- ty miles to the nearest oreemill, in order to get the goldâ€"all for the sake, as has been said, of four cents. Meantime, any one of his ten mules hitched to his ten carts would have eaten, in a single meal, more than four cents worth of hay or oats. Still the gold is there, dotting the surface with millions of glinting, specks, all as plain to the eye as the millions of dancing points of sun- light on the surface of the sea on a calm day. upon wealth with every step, exas- perated by the thought of gold, gold everywhere, and not a farthing avail- able. The most extraordinary fact about this gold “mine” is that it is owned by one maulâ€"a Californian named He has attempted to “mine” his gold on a small scale by every known mining method; but each ex- periment cost a sum of money great- ly in excess amount . of gold. obtained. In the least costly of his trials be secured twelve cents worth of gold FOR EVERY $5 EXPENDED. All Mr. King’s hopes now lie with a scientist in Washington, who is developing a wonderful "mining- pipe,” through which sand is poured, the pipe itself being lined with a chemical preparation which attracts every particle of gold contained in the sand. rapidly through the pipe in a. thin sheet, the golden particles fly out from the sand and ahhere to the lin- ing of the pipe, attracted thereto just as particles of steel would be attracted if the sand contained steel instead of gold, and if the pipe had magnetized lining. ' ' A further remarkable fact about- this place, is that Mr. King obstinâ€" ately and persistently refuses to sell his claim. and still richer syndicates have of- fered him fabulous sums for his basin of gold. But, being a rich man him- self, Mr. King feels that he can af- ford to decline, as .he has, even the most alluring offers to purchase. He says: “Some day I will myself find a. Way to win that gold. Or, if I fail, my son will continue the experiments 'â€"until_ some member. of my family will finally awake to find himself the richest man on earth." ___+____ EMPEROR’S SAUSAGE MAKER. Feeding the German Emperor is no light‘ task. Despite all that is said about the Kaiser’s Spartan habits, there are few monarchs who keep more elaborate tables. He has no less than four chefs-â€" Schliedenstucker, a German; Harding, an Englishman; an Italian and a. Frenchmanâ€"so that he can have his meals for the day served in the style of whatever nation he may happen to fancy. Eeach of these chefs has his staff of a'sisfants; While, in a'lditio-i, them is an individual who may safely be described as “sausage maker 'to the Kaiser.” , His Majesty is very fond of U110 huge wh'fite frankfurter sausage, and has a supply of them made fresh every day in his'own kitchen. When engaged in manoeuvring his army on a; big field day these frankfmfters and bread washed down with lager beer invariably form the Kaiser's lunch. In addition to all these cooks there is a special staff to prepare meals for the younger of the princes and the princess, who are not allowed to partake of the rich dishes the elder members of the family indulge in, Who treads there treads . Thus, as the sand drops - 'of the value of the" Millionaire miningâ€"men ' ‘ MVJJ‘. A.“fX‘X:‘vam§rc=flfi:bPflâ€"JLL"7‘ r M: ~ t .2 airmen-7: ; . - 3:; sex-vs w, :c AAA 7 ‘3‘Vfii'n:‘::f}ffia‘fifii ‘43.: