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"4.... Ww'tumdwv-.m. . ...-, ; i l ‘3 it beau-4‘. . , mu. . . m *. .1‘...?...... .;v‘( ‘. :26. ‘ ’L'Ln-Z-y‘. 3.94;," . . v. .. wâ€" A... ( . . . .__....... ..........-...-_ ...._._.. .._.. . .. a .3" in}; ‘ .,,:;i p; 'fwhich revel in crime? in mwmmmm CHAPTER [ILâ€"(Continued. ,l at last found the entrain-c to the udioining room, but the door was closed.’ I tried the handle. it was locked. _ Tins sudden check to my investiga- tions causrd me to pausc. That a wo- man had been first. struck down by a cowardly blow appeared evident, but of heridcntity I had no knowledge. .The loud agonizcd shrin which had itzriianaicd from that inner room was. i felt cm'ivinccd,‘ that of the tender, sweet-voict'd woman who had adminâ€" istered. to my wants. It seemed, now that I recollect-rd, as though she had been seated at the piano when the fatal blow was struck. The scream and the cessation of the music had occurred simultaneously. Yet so confused had been the sounds of that extraordinary tragedy that I stood perplexed, utterly at a loss how to act. , The thcory impressed itself upon me that a woman was responsible for both crimes. There was no disguising the fact that it was a woman who had stood panting near me, who had-noise- .llssly tested me to ascertain whether .I could distinguish objects about mo, «and who had afterwards left the house. My blindness had, no doubt, saved my life. Before leaving she had for some un- known reason locked the communicat- ing door and taken the key. But upon the air, after she had. gone, there ling- cred the subtle fragrance of pcau d' tsp-agile. the same perfume used by the woman whose cool palm had sooth- ed my brow. Nevertheless, it seemed . Impossible that a woman could thus crmmit a double crime so swiftly and .with such force as to drive a knife to the heart. of a man and fling him back upon inc-mil in silence. without the utterance of one single word. It seemed absolutely incredible. \Vith my eyes only a void of blackness, this mystery was bewildering, and read- ered the more tantalizing by my inabil- lily to gaze about me. . I had been prt- scnt at the enactment. of a terrible drama, but had not witnessed it, and could not, therefore, recognize either culprit or victims. , Again I searched the great handsome goom, in order to rivet. all its details Upon my memory. t had three long Windows opening down to the floor, Ivh‘lch showed that it was situated in be back of the house, otherwise they must have opened upon the street. In «one corner was a pedestal, whereon stood .a, marble bust of a dancing wo- man, like those I had seen in the sculp- tor's-fat Pisa before the days of my darkness. There were tables, too, with glass tops wherein, I supposed, were burl-cs and brIc-a-brac, and before the rcat fireplace was stretched a tiger- 'kin, with the paws preserved. While groping there, however. my hand came into Contact with something which I found was a narrow, three- cdgcd knife, so sharp that I cut. my finger while feeling it. It had a cross- hilt, and the blade was thin and tri- angular, tapering to a point. The shape I knew to be Italian, one of those Flor- entine stilettos used long :ago in the Middle Ages, a wound from which was almost certain to be fatal. have long ago brought the use of the knife to a fine art, and even to-day. murders by stabbing are the most usual occurrences reported In their newspa- pers. The blade of this antique wea- lpon was about nine inches long, and the handle velvet-covered and bound With wire, probably either gold or sil- ver. The point'was sharp as a needle. My flrstimpulse was to take posses- Sion of it; but. on reflection, i saw that if I did so grave suspicion might pos. sib‘ly fall upon 'me. I might even be charng with the murder, especially as I had already in my pocket the dead man‘s stud and pencil-case. This thought caused me to throw down the stiletto, and, continuing my search, I at length found the door which gave egress to the place. I opened it an;‘ stood in the ball to iistcn. Thch wa . no sound. The still- ness of the nigh,..g.rcmainr-d quitc un- broken. and I l‘jilficvcd myself alone with the dead. By coughing. the echo of my voice showed that the hall and staircase were wide and spacious. Then it struck me that I had no stick. with- out which I fcarcd to walkrbut. grop- ing ab-iut, I found an umbrella stand. and took therefrom a stout thorn, the handle of which seemed sn‘ioolh-worn by long usage. What. was my best course? Should I go forth secretly, return home and “await the discovery of the terrible afâ€" ifair, which would no doubt be fully re- ported in those evening nrwspapers Or should I. do out and inform the first constable i met The latter, I saw, was my duty, and even though I had no desire to mix myself up in such a mysterious and sensational affair, fresolvcd to go at 8009 and. ntate all that I heard. I suspiciously. The Italians. ifi+fi+fi+fi+fi+§m+§+fitfi+fl +m+m+n+n+m+mmn+n i A lipase 0f Mystery on, THE GIRL IN BLUE fi+£€+33t+3$t§£fit +fi+§+fi+3fi+fi+fi+fi+fi+fi+fi+fi . Whither the street door was situated to r'giit or left I knew not, but trying the right first, I found that the door was at that. cnd 0f the hall. Opening it. I passed out, and having closed it again noiiselcssly wentdown the five wide steps into the desert-ed street. There were iron railings in front of the house, and before the door was a big stone portion. My hands told be both thee-c details. i turned to the left, and after walk- ing some little distance crossed a road and kept on down a long road winch, filillollgh it did not. appear to be a main lliomughfare, seemed to run straight as an arrow. For fully a quar- ter of an hour I walked on‘ without affecting a soul. The only noise that broke the quiet was the dismal bowl of a dog, and now and then the dlfitfll‘lt shriek and low roar of trains. Sudden- l" I.fuuhd myself in quite a labyrinth of crooked streets, and after several turns emerged into what I presumed to lie one of the great. arteries of London. I St'TOd listening. The air was fresh. and it seemed to me that dawn was spreading. Afar I could hear the men,- :suredf'l-cavy tread of a police constable, Iand hum-led in his direction. As l‘did s“ I put out. my stick and it .strucksomc iron railings. A few minutes later. in hot haste, I overtook the man of heavy tread. and addressing him, said:â€" “Tell me, p’ease, are you a constable?" “Well, ‘I believe I can,” answered a rough voice, pleasantly 'withal. “But can’t you lace?" . “No. unfortunately I can’t," I replied. “Vt/here am I?" , '_ “Ou‘sde the h-Itlscum." I “The British itfusetun?" I inquired in surprise. - “No. The South Kcnsington. Where do you want to go?” “I want you to come with me," I said. “With you. What‘s up?" “I’ve been present at a terrible trag- cdy," I blurtcd forth. “’l‘wo people .have been murdered.“ “Two people?" exclaimed the voice. quickly interested. "Where?" “Inâ€"in a house,” I tailored. for not. until that instant did the appalling truth occur to me. I had wandered away from the place, and had no idea ,of its outward appearance, or in what road it was situated! “Well, double murders don’t. often take place in the street, sonny. Rutâ€"” and the voice hesitated. “Why, there's blood on your clothes, I 500! Tell me all about it. Where's the house?" “I confess that i‘ve been frolishly stupid, for I’ve left. it, and I could never find my way back again. I'm blind. you see, and I‘ve no idea of its exterior appdarancc." “At any rate you've ‘bcen near enough to the affair to get yourself in a prelt y mess," the rough voice said, s‘-mcwhal “Surely you have some Idea of where the affair took place?” The situation was certainly the most curious In which any man could be placed, flor with only one thought in my mind, namely to raise the alarm, I hlzd gone. fort from the house of mystery and failed to mark it. This negligence of mine might, l reflected, result in the :affair being hushed up for over. London is a big place in which to search for the scene of a murder upon. which my eyes had never gazed, and the details of which I only know by my sense of touch. How many thousands of houses there are in the \Vcst .End, each with its smokc~black- encd portico land little piece of area railing. ' “No,” I responded to the officer’s in- quiry. “I was so licn‘t upon giving in- formation that I forgot to place any mark upon the house by which to know it again.” ' “\\’cll, I've ’card a good many funny stories while i've been on night~duty in these eighteen years, but your yarn is about the rummcst of the lot,” he said b‘lunlly. “I only know that the house is a large our. very well furnitvhcd, land has 'a port.ch and railings in fronted double house, with ball in the centre, and rooms on either side." “That don't ’clp us very much. son~ ny,” the voice. observed. “What’s the good 0' running,T after me with a varn like this if you can’t. take me to. the spot? To judge from the slate of ,vour cluthrs. though. you've been in some scrape or another. If your coat was not covered with blood 'as it is, I’d be inclined to put you down as a chap with a .‘scrcw loose." “l’m not. demented. i .tell you,” I cried warmly. “'l"hcro's a terrible crime been cummittcd, and l have sought. your as- sistance.” - “And I'd go and have a look fat. the premises with you, if you could only tell me where they are. But as you can’tâ€"well, what are we to do, sonny?" CHAPTER IV. “Take me at once to the police-stic- Icver they were. tion,“ I said- firmly. “I must make a statement to your inspector on duty.’ “Not much ,good is it, if you can’t tell us Wiere the affair took place?" queried the man, impertinentiy. “It is 'my duty to make the report, and .the duty of the police to investi- gate it," I answered, annoyed, for it seem-ed as though be doubled me. “That's a dusty cut on yourhand.“ hc remarked. “How did you get it?” “I out myself 'by accident with the knife." “What knife?" “The knife with which the murders were bommitted." “And what were you doing with it?" inquired the constablegutterly regard- less of the strict police regulation which forbids an officer to put any such ques- tions. “I found it,” I replied. “\Vhere?" I “On the floor of the room, while I was searching about.” The man granted dubiously. I was well aware of the {suspicion which must fell upon me, for I knew there wbs blood upon my clothes, and that. my story possessed a distinct air of ‘i‘mprobability. ‘ “Who injured your head like that?" he asked. In response, I told him how. in cross- ing a road. lvhad been knocked down and rendered insensible by a cab, and how, on regaining consciousness, I had found myself under the care of some woman unknmvn. He gave vent to a short harsh laugh, as though cliscrcditing my statements. “You don't believe me,” I bluricd forth hastily. “Take me be your inspector. \\"o anust lose no time." “Well, you know," observrd the man, “your story, you’ll admit, is a, very ex- traordinary one. You say that a ter- rible affair has happened. in ‘a 'hou'sc smncwherc about hcrc,_yot you can't. direct us to it. The whole story is so curious that i‘m af‘aid you'll have a difficulty in persuading anybody to be- ltevc you." “if you don't, somebody else will," I snapped. “Come, take me to the police- stattion." , Thus ordered, the man. rather relucl- ;_ antly took my arm, and dressing the wide main-road, we traversed Ia num- ftcr of short crook-rd thoroughfares . “You don't seem a. very good walker, mister," the constable observed pres- ently. “I see a cab in the distance. \Voulil you like to. take it?" “Yes. Call it," I said, for I felt very weak and ill after my terrible night's adventure. A few minutes later we were sitting trgcthor in the hansmu. drinving to- wards the address be pad given, namely, College l’lacc Police Station. (In the way’ I explained to him the whole of the facts as far as I could recollqt them. He listened attentively to my curious narrative until I had concluded, then said:â€" “Wl-ll. sir, it’s Certainly a most. 1ny-“ stcrlous affair, and the only fear I Have is that everybody will look upon it with disbelief. I know what I should to if I were a gentleman in your place.‘ “What. would you do?" “Well, I should keep my knowledge to myself, say ,nolhing about it, and leave the revelation of the crime to chance." ‘ “'1 am (Olll1)(‘.lth to make .a report of it, because i \v‘as present at. the trag- edy,” i «said. “It in my duty, in the intrrelsts of justic/r." “(If course, that‘s all vcry well. I quite agree that your duty as a, citizen is to make a statement to .my inspec- tor, but if I may be permitted to say gr), my private opinion is, that to .pre- serve a discreet silence is better than making a fool of one’s self.” “Y-aiu’re certainly plinth-spoken." I said, smiling. “Oh. well. you‘ll cxruise me, sir." the man said, half api‘ilogetically. “1 menu , no offence, you know. I only tell you how I myself would act. Now. if you Could give any ieul infomnatim -: [ villa: lo the tlrlictves, there \vuuld to some reasni for making the statement, but a". you can’t, well y< u‘ll only give your- self no end .of bother for nothing.’ “But surely, man, you don‘t. think that. with the knowledge of this terrible affair in my mind I'm going to preserve silence and allow the assassin "to es- cape. do you?” “Vs-"ell, it SI‘OIll'S that. the assassin has escaped already, in any case,” the man laughed. “You take it from me that they were a cute lot. in that house, who. The wonder is that they didn’t kill you.” An exactly similar thought. had cross- c.l my mind. The drive 8chqu a long one, but at length the cab stopped, and we alightetl. I heard the conveyance turn and go off. as together we ascended the steps of the station. One thing struck be as curious, namely, that the air was filled with a strong odor of turpentine. “The station is a long way frOm your beat," I remarked. “Yrs. A fail-ish way, but we’re used to it, and don’t notice the disianbefi' “And this is College Placeâ€"is it?” “Yes,” he responded, conducting me down a long passage. The length of the corridor surprised me, iand I ha. morously remarked:â€" “You’rc not going to put me in the cells, I hope?” “Scarc-ely,” he laughed. “But if we did the darkness wouldn’t. trouble you very much, I fear. Blindness must be an awful affliction." He had scarcely uttered these words ere we ascended a couple of steps and entered what. seemed to ‘be‘ a spacious place, the charge-room of the police station. ’ » There was the sound of heavy t:a.mp- , ring over bare boards, and {suddenly a rather gruff voice inquired:â€" tragedy. He's blind. sir.” “Bring him a chair," said the inspec- tor’s voice. author;tat;vcly. (To be continued.) . â€"â€"â€">I<â€"â€"~â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"- rom'rs our MILK rsau. U S. Surgeon-General Submits Start- lfing Report to Congress. A “Report you milk in its relation to public health,” was submitted to Suc- rclary of the Treasury tiortelvou. by Surgeon-General Waller \\'yman of the Public Ilcallh States, The report is the result of an investi- gation ordered by President Roosevelt and conducted by ii‘ed-eral exports under the direction of Prof.~ Ni. .l. liosenau, Of the Hygienic Laboratory. It, is one oi the mast thori‘iugh studies of the. milk problem yet produced. Dr. Wynmn declares that the ideal milk, drawn from a cow with a healthy udder and i'ii'oservcd from contaminw lion. is not. the milk of commerce, and he. cites the fact that samples of mar~ k-ct milk in New York shorted 35,200,â€" 0sz bacteria to the cubic centimetre, London, 31,888,000; Washington, '22.- 134.000, and he calls. attention to the evidence presented in the report which is given as proof that 503 epidemics of typhoid fever, sicarlct fever and diph- theria were caused by infected milk. He also refers to the evidence adduced ti-nt ft per cent. of the samples of Washington milk contained tubercle germs. Past Assistant- Surgcon-Gcncral John W Trask has tabulated the data of five hundred epidemics that were de- finitely traced to the milk supplies, in: cluding 317 typhoid epidemics. 1‘23 scar- let fever, 317 dipthcria and seven 0f psmtrio-diphtheria, or epidemic sore- throat. Dr. ’l‘rask gives figures to show the amazing rapidity with which typhoid and diphtheria germs increase in milk. Seventy-eight. typhoid germs in a cubic centimetre of milk increased in seven days to 440,000,“)0. In the same time thirty-nine diphtheria germs increased to 10,000.000. ' Quoting Health Commissioner Dar. linglon's statement. that, the milk sum: piyof New York t".in is «bi-rived from 35,000 farms and shipped from 700 rrnmnerics situated in six States. Dr. [Aims-den says: “It is easy to appreciate how diffi- cult. and expensive it. would be to keep up a sufficiently thorough sinwrviuion of the multiple sources of the city's Service on the United ~- milk supply." .__â€"â€",x‘.â€"â€"â€"â€" THE JAPANESE “KAY. _â€"-_‘ Rules for a Mass Meeting to Protest Against Higher Tnxc. . The Japanese governing idea has sometimes a directnvss of application which is only equalled by its simpli- city. 'I‘hc same spirit which prompts “Well, four-six-eighl? What. is it?" “Gentleman, sirâ€"wants to report 'a 1 TEST YOUR Slilil‘). If you buy seed of the seal man, deâ€" mand a guarantee from bun of its quaâ€" lilv; then test the seed yourself, and find out. if he is telling you the truth. Reliable secdsmen will guarantee their seeds, and If they do not do so, clout buy. of guaranteed seed. , One of the simplest and best methods of testing tho germinating power of seed, is as follows: Secure a piece _Of blotting paper, or flannel cloth, mots. ten and fold together, after placmg a counted number, say 100, of the seed between the folds. Put the blotter or cloth on a plate, and. cover with an- other inverted plate. and place m a warm room. From 10 to :28 or 30 days should be allowed for the test. dcmndc ing upon the kind of seed. The geruum riled seed should be counted and re- n’iovod from day to day and at. the end of the tA‘St. the percentage of good seed may easily be computed. Seed may be tested in soil, but the germinations are likely to be from it) to if) DOP-CC-llt. lowâ€" er than by the foregoing plan. The cloth or blotter plan is simple, and can be carried on during the cold wca~ thCI', and before the busy season opens. As to the germinating power of good seed, it should not be lower than 75 01‘ 5d per cent... for the leading grain crops. The United States Department of Agri- culture places the standard of germin- ation for clean seed. harvested and pro. served under favorable conditions, and not over one your old, for a number of vezctables and grains, as follows: Beans, Elf) per cent; beets, 142 plants from 10.0 seed balls; cabbage, 90 per cent.: carrots, 80; cauliflower, 80; cel- cry, 60; corn, (fluit and sugar) 87; cu- cumber, 87; lettuce. 8:3; musk mellon, 87; onion,8fl; parsleyflfl; parsnip,70; peas, U3; pumpkin. 87; radish, 90; spinach, 84; squas“, 87; tomatoes, 85; turnips, 90. and water melons, 87 per cent. 'l‘hcs'o figures arc based upon results secured in a sun testing apparatus, where the conditions of moisture and temperature could be. controlled. Under ordinary methods the percentage obtained. might not. run as high, but would run suffi- ciently near it to give a good idea of the vitality of the seed. 'i‘csting your seed is advisable, whe- ther you buy your seed or grow it your- self. Unless the germinating power of tim’sced known, it‘is impossible to tell .how much seed to sow to the acre. If one is cumpcllcd, because of a bad. crop, to fall back upou seed that. is over a your old, the testing process is nece-«ary. Some recent. French tests have shown that. two year old carrot seed gives less leafy plants. and more highly colored roots than fresh seed. With pmupkins, squashes, melons and ghcrkins, seed luv» and three years old, proved most satisfactory. In a general way. there- fore, it may be stated that while fresh a Japanese citizen to build. the front 500d give“. “,0 best results, Mme are do”? Of his 110"“ 5‘3 low that a DO"? tsomu exceptions," more particularly in siblc burglar could not get. Ihi‘ifligh it with a bundle of plunder on his back leads the Japanese official to specify in an emergency just what shall con- stitute. a crime, so that. the unruly may know when he tl'ilnsgrches. A short. time ago a new holiday, (Ion- stituticn Day, was decreed in Japan, with the idea that the common people Could go along all together to some park and .hold cxurcisos in glorification {If the. event which made Japan nom- inally a free government. But the rest- less politicians of 'l‘okio, ever on the inert to stir up trouble. plannei a mon- ster mass meeting in lithfya Park to protest against the alarming increase in taxation. instead of to give banzais for the constitution. The police authorities N'iiiembcred the three days of street fighting that fol- lowed the announcement of the Ports. mouth peace treaty in the {all of 1905. On that occasion all the uproar was started by the barring of the gates to Iliblyu Park by police order, and with- in three hours the house of the. Home Minister, across the street, was burned, and people were being cut down in tho broad avenue facing the park by the swords‘of the mounted gendarmes. With all these circumstances in mind the police authorities posted the follow- ing notice in prominent places about the city on the day that the mass meet- ing was to be held: No arms shall be carried by those who attend the meeting. No kerosene oil or matches shall be carried. No electric car shall be burnt. The Diet buildings shall not be de- stroyed. by fire. No members. of the Diet who support- or! the tax increase bills. shall be as- saulted. ' Happily the police prohibitions speci- fying what should constitute something more than a nuisance. had their effect There was no riot. 4...... FILLING. Seedy Willie (to bar-keepcrlâ€"“Your refusal. sir. to trust me to a paltry drink of whiskey fills me with astonish- ment. and indignatimi.” Barâ€"keepurâ€"“All right. sir; you can fill yourself up with asttmishmcnt and indignation, and it don't cost you a C41[\}J(‘i', but if you want to fill yourself with whiskey you will have to ,pay cash." the case of vegetables. icncrally ;.-p.;ak- lng, it. may be stated that fresh seed should be used, when it is desired to produce a plant with a strong lcaf growth, while for plants which it is desired should head or fruit well, like cabbage, melon, cucumber, etc., it. is preferable to use two or three years' C seed . TREATMENT FOR SMU'I‘. The only way that smut can be ora- dicated, or lessened, in the grain crop, is to treat the seed before sowing. The two treatmean most generally in use- for this purpose are the formalin and bluestone methods. The former is gra~ dually replacing the latter method. For smut in oats put four ounces of formalin into 12 gallons of water. Put the cats in a pile and sprinkle the liquid over them, turning the grain so that all are well \vetted; lot the cats lie for a short time, and then spread out. to dry. This quantity of fluid should be sufficient for treating bushels of seed, This treatment is simple and very effec- tive. Care should be taken to see that all the grain. is thoroughly moistened by the .-olution, and that the seed is well dried afterwards. Some recent tests made by Prof. Shaft, of the Central Experimental Farm, would indicate that the formalin or formaldehyde solution, should not be prepared until just t)f:t-Jl'0 it is to be used. If the solution is made and ex- posed to the air for sevcral’days the water in the solution evaporates much more quickly than the formaldehyde, thus leaving it stronger than intended, and more liable to injure the grain. Another treatment, lxrside ‘lllC. blue- stonc, is the hot. water treatn'icnt. But this is more difficult to manage, on- tails more labor, and is hardly as of- fectivq as the others. The formalin treatment is now considered the simp- lest. and most reliable, and can be handled by any farmer with little dim- icully. Where smut is bad, no seed slimld be sown without being treated, and. to be on the safe side, all needs should be so treated. ' .p THE METHOD. “He loves me" or “He loves me not,‘ The question great to settle ’I‘hc maiden takes a daisy fair And amputatcs each pcfal. [mumps her mind is set. at rest And is no longer hazy. But all observers will agrre it's tough upon the daisv. Also don’t grumble at the P1400 '-.( «’4‘» - ' l i l