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CHAPTER XXIII. The~ expressmn on Henson’s usually benign countenance would have startled such of his friends and ad- mirers as regarded him as a shining light and great example. The smug satisfaction, the unctuous sweetness of the expansive blue eyes were gone; a murderous gleam shone there in- stead. His lips were set and rigid, the strong hand seemed to be strangâ€" ling the bedcloths. It wanted no ef- fort of imagination to picture Hen- son as the murderer stooping over his prey. The man had discarded his mask altogether. “Oh,” he said, between his teeth, “you are a clever fellow. You would have made an excellent detec- tive. And so you have found out where Van Sneck is?" “I have already told you so, Littimer said, doggedly. “How many days have you been hanging about Brighton?" Two or three. I came when I heard that Chris was ill. I didn’t dare to come near the house, at least not too near, for fear of being seen. But I pumped the doctor. Then he ‘told me that Chris was dead, and I risked it all to see the last of her.” “Yes, yes,” Henson said, testily; “but what has this to do with Van Sneck?” v ' "I was looking for Van Sneck. I found that he had been here. I discovered that he .had left his rooms and had not returned to them. Then it occurred to me to try the hospi- tal. I pretended that I was in search of some missing relative, and they showed me three cases of had acolâ€" dents, the victims of which had not been identified. 'And the third was Van Snack." - Littimer told his story with jus the suggestion of triumph in hi .voice. with the keenest possible interest. “Do you know how Van Sneck got there?" he asked. Littimer nodded. Evidently he had heard most of the story. Hen- son was silent for some little time. He was working out something in his mind. His smile was not a pleasant one; it was nothing like his bland platform smile. for instance. "Give me that black book," he said. “Do you know how to work a telephone?" “I daresay I could learn. not .look hard.” “Well, that is an extension tele- phone on the table yonder Worked in connection with the main instru- ment in the libary. I like to have my own telephone, as it is of the greatest assistance to me. Turn that handle two or three times and put that receiver to your ear. When the Exchange answers tell them to put. you on to 0,017 lerrard." Littimer obeyed mechanically, but fthoughhe rang and rang again no answer came. With a snarling curse Henson dragged himself out of bed and crossed the room, with limbs that shook under him. He twirled the handle round sionately. “You "always were a fool}.- he growled, “and you. always will be." Still no reply came. Henson whirl- ed angrily, but he could elicit no re- sponse. He kicked the instrument over and danced round it impotently. Littimer had never seen him in such a raging fury before. The language of the man was an outrage, filthy, revolting. profane. No yelling, drunken Hooligan could have been more fluent, more luridly diffuse. “Go on,” Littimer said, bitterly. WI like to hear you. I like. to hear the. smug, plausible l’harisce, the friend of the good and pious, going on like this, I’d give fiVe years of my life to have just a handful of your future constituents here for a. .moment. ' ’ Henson paused quested that Littimer him into bed. "I can afford to speak freely beâ€" fore you,” he said. “Say a Word against me and I’ll crush you. l’ut out 9 hand to injure me and I’ll wipe you oil‘ the face of the earth. 'It's absolutely imperative that I should send an important telephone message to London at once, and here the machine has broken down and no chance of its being repaired for a day or two. (.‘urse the telephone." lle lay back on his bed utterly ex- hausted by his fit of passion. One of the white bandages about his throat had‘ started, and a little thin It does pasâ€" suddenly and reâ€" should help stream of blood trickled down his chest. Littimer waited for the next move. He watched the crimson fluid trickle over Henson’s sleeping- jacket. He could have watched the big scoundrcl bleeding to death with the greatest possible pleasure. “What was Van Sneck doing here? 'The voice came clear and sharp from the bed. Littimer responded to it as a cowcd hound does to a sud- den yct not quite unexpected lash from u huntsnian's whip. l-Iis man- liness was of small account where Henson was concerned. For years he had come to heel like this. Yet the question startled him and took him entirely by surprise. l 11: Price of Liberty . OR. A MIDNIGHT CALL" u been! And why shOuld he come seek- }Ienson was watching him Pie "NRHIHHIM'I "He was looking for the 10st Remâ€" brandt." But Littimer's surprise was as nothing to Henson’s amazement. He lay flat on his back so that his face could be seen. From the expression of ‘it he had obtained a totally un- expected reply to his question. He was so amazed that he had no words for the moment. But his quick in- telligence and amazing cun- ning grasped the possibilities of the situation. Littimer was in possesâ€" sion of information to which he was a stranger. Except. in a vague way he had not the remotest idea what Littimer was talking about. But the younger man must not know that. “So Van Sneck told you so?" he asked. “What a fool he must have ing for the Rembrandt in Brighton?” “Because he knows it was here, I suppose.” “it isn’t here, because it doesn't exist. The thing was destroyed by accident by the police when they raided Van Sneck’s lodgings years ago.” “Van Sneck told me that he. had actually seen the picture in Bright- on.ll Henson chuckled. The noise was intended to convey amused Contempt, and it had that effect, so far as Littimer was concerned. It was well for Henson that the latter could not see the strained anxiety of his face. The man was alert and quivering with excitement in every limb. Still he chuckled again as if the whole thing merely amused him. “ ‘The Crimson Blind' is Van Sneck’s weak spot,” he said. “It is King Charles’s head to him. By good or bad luckâ€"â€"-it is in yourhands to t say whichâ€"you know all about the 3 way in which it became necessary to t I-Iatherly Bell on our side. All the same, the Rembrandtâ€"the other oneâ€"is destroyed,” “Van Sneck has seen the picture,” Littimer said, doggedly. “Oh, play the farce out to the end,” Henson laughed, goodâ€"humor- edly. "Where did he see it?” “He says he saw it at 218, Bruns‘ wick Square.” , Henson’s knees suddenly came up to his nose, then he lay quite flat again for a long time. His face had grown white once more, his lips ut- terly bloodless. Fear Was written all over him. A more astute man than Littimer would have seen the beads standing out on his forehead. It was some little time before he dared trust himself to speak again. “I know the house you mean,”_ he said. "It is next door to the temâ€" porary residence of my esteemed friend, Gilead Gates. 'At the present moment the place is voidâ€"" “And has been ever since your bogus ‘IIome’ broke up. Years ago, before you used your power to rob and oppress us as you do now, you had a Home there. You collected subscriptions right and left in the name of the Reverend Felix Crosbie, and you put the money into your pocket. 'A certain weekly journal exâ€" posed you, and you had to leave suddenly or you would have found yourself in the hands of the police. You skipped so suddenly that you had no time even to think of your personal effects, which you underâ€" stood were sold to defray expenses. But they were not sold, as nobody cared to throw good money after bad. Van Sneck got in with the agent under pretence of viewing the house, and he saw the picture there." ' “Why didn’t he take it with him?" Henson asked, with amused scorn. He was master of himself again and had his nerves Well under control. “Well, that was hardly like Van Sneck. Our friend is nothing if not diplomatic. But when he did manâ€" age to get into the house again the picture was gone.” I “Excellent!” Henson cried. "How dramatic! There is only one thing lraquired to make the story complete. The picture was taken away by ll’atherly llell. If you don’t bring that in as the dcnouement I shall be utterly disappointed.” “You. coolly. happen.” Henson chuckled again, quite a parody of a chuckle this time. He could detect the quiet suggestion of triumph in Littimer’s voice. "Did Van Sncck tell you all this?” he asked. ‘ needn’t be," Littimer said, "That is exactly what' did "Not the latter part of it," Lit- timcr replied, “seeing that he was in the hospital when it happened. But I know it is true because I saw Bell and David Steel, the novelist, come away from the house, and Bell had the picture under his arm. And that’s why Van Sneck’s agent couldn’t find it the second time he went. Check to you, my friend, at any rate. Bell will go to my father with Rembrandt number two and compare it with number one. then the fat will be in the fire.” Henson yawned affectedly. All the same he was terribly disturbed andl All he wanted now was to So far as shaken. nhe alone and to think. ’ bloodhounds here. And i met knew anything of the matter. starved, cowcd, broken- »m he could tell nobody besides Litti-lcmased ‘E ’And no -â€"â€"-â€"¢ business prosperity. The books at the old South church of Boston, which have carefully preservâ€" 'heart°d puppy was ever 0103“ under ted names of donors and the amount 0 the heel of his master than Littimer. lgiven by each for the last {my years He still hold all the cards; he still controlled the fortunes of two ill- starred houses. “You can leave me now,” he said. “I'm tired. I have had it trying day, and I need sleep; and the some or you are out of the house the betâ€" ter.‘ For your own sake, and for. the sake of those about you, you need not say Enid Henson." Littimer promised meekly enough. With those eyes blazing upon him he would have promised anything. We shall see presently what a stupenfi dous terror Henson had over the younger man, and in what way all the sweetness and savor of life was being crushed out of him. He closed the door behind him and immediately Henson sat up in bed. He reached for his handkerchief and wiped the big beads from his foreâ€" head. “So the danger has come at last," he muttered. “I am face to face with it, and I knew I should be. Hatherly Bell is not the man to quietly lie dOWn under a cloud like that. The man has brains, and patience, and indomitable courage. Now, does he suspect that I have any band in the business? I must see him when my nerves are. stronger and try and get at the truth. If he goes to Lord Littimer with that picture he shakes my power and my position perilously. What a fool I was not to get it away. But, then, I only escaped from the Brighton police in those days by the skin of my teeth. And they had followed me from Huddersfield like those cursed I won_derâ€"â€"" Ile paused, as the brilliant outline of some cunning scheme occurred to him. A thin, cruel smile crept own his lips. Never had he been in a tight place yet 'without discovering a loophole of escape almost before he had seen the trap. A fit of noiseless laughter him. ‘ " “Splendid,” he whispered. “Worthy of Machiavelli himself! Provided always that I can get there first. If I could only see Bell's face afterâ€" wards, hear Littimer ordering him of! the premises. The only question shook is,. am I up to seeing the thing through?" (To be Continued.) _.+_____. THE sun ruin HABIT GIVING OF TIT'I-IES INCREASES RICIâ€"IES. Prosperity in Increasing Measure to Those Who (I've Sys- tematically. A collection of printed matter on the subject of lll-llll‘y of an upâ€"to~date clergyman, offers a. new and practically unwrxlmd field to the disciple of “new thought.” ject from sides in which there is an element of interest to the business man. and to the speculative student, as well as to the religious devotee. For the business man there is a tabulated one word of this to, ivin‘r fo‘nd in the g by It touches upon the subâ€" record of results believed are also called in as evidence. World- ly prosperity is attested here by the w YOUR HEART AFFECTED? ‘â€"~â€"- More People Than Are Aware of It Have Heart Disease._ “If examination were made of everyone, people would be surprised at the number of persons walking. mi v l . . . nu “of many “ho began gnmg at about suflermg from heart disease."- {that early period who are still givâ€" ‘ing and whose sums have increased from year to year. The names of several of the largest givers are to be found on the list fifty years ago, iwhen they commenced giving small amounts. STOPS SPE-NDTHRIFT. Explanations of the practical effect 'of this system of giving offer an at- ,tractive field \of speculation to the ,stuxlents who explain governing causâ€" .es and effects scientifically. First, ‘it is pointed out the most emphatic direction ~is that it shall be systema- ltic. This not only does away with ifoolish and irrational giving, but of 'spending also, and can only result in the salvation of the spencdthrift. Secâ€" onfd, those who follow it are obliged !to keep a careful system of monetary lrecords. The business man who fol- glows it knows what he is doing from ;week to week and from month to ;month, so that he can never fail for }a large amount. His knowledge of ibis affairs, selfadenial, and systematic payments are bound to win success €for him. Third, it gives a strong 1motive for enthusiastic work for ithose who haven’t it for any other [cause Tithers, so it is stated, and .it appears not without reason, inâ€" variably bccome enth‘usiastic givers and so become enthusiastic workers. One of the cases found in the re- cords is the sworn statement of such an extravagant measure of success of a business house which tithe’d its proâ€" fits, aside from the giving of its per- sonal members, as could only open it to the suspicion of being a clever gdâ€" vertisement if printed in any way but the semiâ€"private character of these records. As it is, the 4-00 per cent. profits which were reached, were givâ€" en as “testim.ony"~to the direct fulâ€" fillinent of the challenge: "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse and prove me now wh-erewitliâ€"." It is also a significant fact that while this collection of literature comprises the whole gamutmof facts and maferial for what is known as modern methods of preaching, as well as "modern thought." out of deference to the spirit of altruism, it is only This startling statement was made by a doctor at a recent inquest at Yarmouth, Ene’and, and, according. to a, London heart specialist, is in a certain degree correct. “I should not like to say that heart disease is as common as this would imply," said the expert, “but I am sure. 'hat the number of per- s-ons'going about with weak hearts must be very large. But this is not disease of the heart, which, I believe is really uncommon. ' “Hundreds of people go about their daily work on the verge 0f death", and yet do not know it. It. is only when the shock comes that kills them that the unsuspected weakness of the heart is made apparent. “Many think their hearts are afâ€" fected, however, and have really no thing the matter with them at all. There are a‘ great many people who never fail. to go out without their name and address somewhere upon them and a phial of branldy read-y for emergencies, and yet they never need them. - "Some of these people will even carry written instructions in their pockets as to what is to be done 'with them when the expected seizure comes. v “One niiddloaged lady I know was so confident that her heart was liable to ’suzdlden failure that she never went anywhere without her brandy phial, and got her husband to tell everyâ€" body she knew what to do if an at- tac‘k came. “Curiously enough, it was the hus- band who died from sudden heart failu,re. The wife died years after- wards from another disease. “But undoubtedly heart weakness, not disease, is more prevalent now~ aâ€"days. I should think that the stress of living, the wear and rush. of modern business life-«particularly the five minutes’ meal followed by a rush for the trainâ€"have a lot to do with heart trouble. And I am sure that heart weakness caused by over- smoking is on the increase." r . â€"â€"â€"â€"+~â€"-â€" . A MARRIAGE TANGLE. .._._. selected from ad 'isedly :1an held as a MOther and Daughter were 30th source of reference rather than exhor- tation. _â€" ment of Husbands . If a wife wants to see her husband's- cheeks become rosy she is advised by a writer on diet to give him two heads of lettuce a. day, and to give him a portion of lettuce with poach- ed eg '9. every night for six weeks. The writer gives these hints on how to prepare this magic maker of roseâ€" ate tinted masculine cheeks:~â€" If you, break the heads, out the leaves from the lettuce heads and throw them for some time before serving into the water, for washing and cleansing, the best part will be lost.. The lettuce heads should be to have hinged upon the principle of washed whole and cut and prepared worldly prosperity accruing to the “tither.” In addition to the old apâ€" peal, given in the form of a complete collection of all scriptural commands, short];r before serving in order to reâ€" tain all nourishing substances. Variety in food does not necessarâ€" ily mean a great variety at any one promises, and instances upon the su’bâ€" meal, nor does it mean rich pastries ject, there is kept a record of modâ€" ern instances in has been prosperity. and indigestible stuffs. A meal of which the practice two or three articles is- rcally better coexistent with increasing than a great number, but each" meal Names of Well known should be different from the other. men of practical affairs respected by Bl‘Cflk‘faSt. dinner and supper should the business world are quoted as havâ€" consist of different articles of food, ing had increase of riches coincident and these be varied from day to day. with what is tural habit of giving." In known as the “scripâ€" A variety of wholesome fooads many cooked is needed. well The sensible house- cases the good fortune is attriliutedzlwifc is the 0110 Who (1008 not serve to by the beneficiary solely to the habit husband and children the things day and with others who are more Conâ€" after day until their appetites are servative and two are believed to be cloyed, and their stomachs go on a at least closely involved. GIVES 'l‘l’I‘lIlélS FROM FIRST. One of the examples quoted is of a millionaire soap manufacturer of world wide rej'mtation. He started to London upon his business career as a boy with sessions in a bundle, capital a‘ knowledge of soapmalcing. all his worldly posâ€" and his sole strike. The food should vary from season to season, from day to 'day, from meal to meal. Eat meat, eat fish, eat vegetables, cat fruits, eat cereals, but do not try to eat them all in one day. Reâ€" member your body is made up of many different elements, and it is best nourished by many different kinds of food. Because of an incident upon the way he became so profoundly impressed with a belief in the principles of titli- ing that with his first earnings he proceeded to carry it into effect. So far from abandoning the. practiceâ€"as is usually the caseâ€"when the business man achieves a large capital, the liaâ€" bit Was continued in increased ratio 'through all the ascending heights to irieh'es. which soap acconn‘ilished for lthis 1m1nu.factu.rer. which this incident is included treats lthe subject from the novel standâ€" point ihat it is a matter of indiffer- ence whether it Was mostly the tithes that ,‘I‘oved the royal road to riches. or the soap. That somewhere th "tween the two, it lay in a course from which the tithing system was never absent is the fact that is pointâ€" ed out. This, as well as other inâ€" cidents, is presented as coinciding with the scriptural promise rather *than fulfilling it. Records of an American league are also given in which each member not only gives his tenth but submits an annual report of his business prosâ€" ‘perity. The results, said to surprise xeven the most sanguine believers in ‘the worldly prosperity of tithers, Show only two or three out of thou- Tlie l i fora ture in _.__.._§‘ .___...._._ HER POWER NOT EFFECTIVE. In a most informing review of the war in Mancimria, Thomas F. Mil- lard speaks of the Siberianâ€"Manchur- ian Railway as “a vital factor~ in the Situation,” for it is the only feeder of the Russian army as long as Japan retains control of the sea. 'After an observation of three months he finds that the daily average cap- acity of this oneâ€"track railway for the transportation of troops is only a little more than four hundred men, with their equipments and supplies. On the basis of Mr. Millard's esti- mate, the capacity of this railway under its Russian atbninistration would be only 146,000 soldiers, with their equipments and supplies, in a whole year. Such an addition to to the fighting strength of the Rus- sian army in Manchuria, the siye of which at the opening of the war was vastly exaggerated in the public rev ports, would not. be suflicient to en- able the Russians to make an ag- gressive campaign against the Japâ€" anese. ' ' ._......___-.¢._ After an absence of 100 years, sharks have again made their ap- Vsan'ds who do not report largely in- pear-Luce in the Baltic. 331$. .." . ‘1) :“2- 'b‘. - , i * v \- --’ fl. ' ~ ,. ‘ -- ' -' ., v at“. " ...« 4.. A" i. ' ‘ Married to the Same Man. Rarely has more complicated ma- trimonial tangle come before the LETTUCE AND ROSY CHEEKS. courts than that which engaged the attention of the Aldershott County Hints to Wives for the Improve- Court judge the other day. A re- Vmankable feature of the case was that a woman and her daughter had gone ithrough the marriage ceremony with‘ the same man. The facts came out in an action brought by Mrs. A. G. Fitzgerald against George Knight, telegraphist at the headâ€"quarter office of the First Army Corps at Aldersliot, for. the recovery of £10 due to ‘her under a deed of separation. Mrs. Fitzgerald, it appeared, mar< ried Knight about twentyâ€"two years ago. She had then just returned from India with her two children. beâ€" lieving her first husband was dead. Knight was then in the army. Be fore the marriage took place Mrs Fitzgerald told him the story of her previous marriage: Some years later her daughter left‘ her. Recently Knight discovered by means of an advertisement that his wife’s former h'uslbanld was alive when he married her, and also by the same means discovered the whereabouts of. the missing daughter. The daughter was reimiite'cl to the family, and soon afterwards Knight ' caused Mrs. Fitzgerald to sign a, sepâ€" aration agreement, by which he was to pay her so much a week. Shortly afterwards her daughter and Knight left the house, and ‘she then discovâ€" ered that the former had had a child by Knight, and that he had married her. In the agreement, which Mrs. Fit-.7, gerald said she had not read, was a clause to the effect that if she inter- fered with Knight the allowance would cease. All she had done was to go to her daughter to induce her to come back to her. The judge, the Hon. Arthur Russell, characterized Knight's ac- tion as the most disgraceful thing a man could do, and told him that Mrs. Fitzgerald could molest him as much as she pleasml, as far as he was concerned. .l’i‘yl-gment Was given for Mrs. Fitz- ,gcrnld with costs, amid loud apâ€" plausc. _..._._+__..._ IT PAYS TO BE GOOD. Under the will of Mrs. Marianna A Ogden, who died at Lenox, Mass., on September 28th., nearly $600,000, bo- sides much real estate, is disposed of. The tesfatrix leaves $200,000 to lArnot Ogden Memorial Hospital, .31- miru, N. Y., and 535,000 to the Southern Tier Orphans’ Home, Elâ€" mira. The bulk of the property in. personal estate is bequeathed to her sister, Fannie A. Haven, and her Jureal estate is divided between her anld 'her brother, Matthias ll. Arnot. There'is also a bequest of $5,000 to a nephew on condition that he does not drink until he is 21, and an ad" nifionnl $5,000 should he abstain from drink and also from the use of tobacco until he is 25 years old. _____+ It is easier to start some men talkl‘ ing than it is to stop them. -' J‘J aw"; w’vi‘ J’Jv‘sleidUJQ‘wfi-‘EUZ-mfiafidl‘d’v .. .~.,a,.'.o..».~.w..c . a‘ 1‘" . w- u "A-AA“AA '