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* CHAPTER XVHIL-(Cont'd). _ "Now," he demanded sharply, "be good enough to tell me what this means." : "Aren't you going to ask me to sit down?" The woman spokeé with an | enticing smile. s %"No, I have no intention of csking you to stay so long." Zilla Paget laughed and sank lan- guidly into a chair beside the fire- place, "I would suggest that you sit down," she said suavely. Enoch shook his head. "You may get tired before I am through talking. It will take some time to discuss this affair." » "What affair?" Wentworth turned on her with quiet scorn. "Don't be foolish enough to try blackmail. Any- thing like," he paused for a moment as if trying to find a suitable word, "like sentiment, for instance--or call it what you wish--died a natural death one afternoon when I tried to explain things to you. The minute a woman lets herself go and shows the devil in her makeup at white heat, sentiment can die--die 2 very sud- den death, Besides, I have nothing on my' conscience. I treated you as generously as any man would have done under the circumstances," Miss Paget threw back her head and laughed. "Sit down," she advis- ed. "This is a different affair en- tirely. . Do not flatter yourself; there is not a ghost of sentiment in this." Enoch walked to the mantel, leaned his elbow upon it, and stared down at her. "I'll give you exactly ten min- utes to explain what you want. If it is about your child, I am quite as anxious to get him out of 'my house as you are." "My child ! I will relieve your mind on that point immediately. It is not my child I want. If your sister wants to play foster-mother, she is quite welcome to him, When I think of it," she began slowly to draw off her gloves, "Miss Wentworth has really done me a great favor." "Oblige me then," Enoch's voice was full of cold indifference, "by getting down to business as quickly as pos- sible. You must be gone before my sister comes in," "Indeed." The actress looked up into his face with an insolent smile. "Why should we hurry? I want to ask you a few questions. I understand you are writing a new play." She turned to glance at the litter of manu- script on his deck. "Is there a part in it for me?" "I have not begun to place parts yet." "Ah!" She watched him with calm scrutiny, "How is it coming along? Will it be as big a go as "The House' has been?" "Is it any of your business?" "Probably not; still, I am interest- 1 have been wondering," she spoke slowly, as if thinking aloud, "if it can possibly come up to the expecta- tions of the public. A second play is * often such a--rotber." "What in thunder are you driving at?" asked Enoch fiercely. She sprang. to her feet and faced him. There was a malevolent sneer in her face. "My opinion is that anything you could do would be a rotter." "Why 1" Zilla Paget drew one hand from her muff and pulled out a few sheets of crumpled paper. = She, laid them on the table, smoothing them carefully with the blank side up. Suddenly she turned them over and placed both her hands firmly on the paper. Enoch took a few steps forward and peered down through his glasses. His gait grew unsteady and his fingers gripped at the edge of the table. A purplish flush swept over his cheeks, then he became ghastly pale. His very lips 'grew white. There were gray hollows about his eyes'like the shad- ows which creep into, a face after death. His mouth moved, but he did not utter a word, because his tongue | touched dry lips. " "I knew you would understand," "murmured the woman. Wentworth's 'hands sprang at her wrists like the grip of a wild beast tehing at its prey. Don't," entreated the actress. "You| ury terribly. You do not know how h, horribly foolish, If is, it is nothing but 'are hundreds of much less than it is worth. 'been matried here. Also that his wife the bloodthirsty tive man, © i Zilla Paget lifted a lorgnette which | hung at her wrist by a jeweled chain. She clicked it open, raised it to her eyes--and laughed, "1 wonder," she murmured, "if you realize how ridiculous You look. You are too white-livered to do such a thing as that. Besides," she glanced | about the sunlit room, "where could you hide the body 7" Enoch tossed the: blade upon desk and began to walk up and down the floor. He rolled his handkerchief into a hard ball and dabbed with it continually at his moist forehead. The woman sat perfectly still. she turned to fold the sheets of paper, then she laid one hand upon them and lay back gracefully in her chair. - Wentworth turned on her with a sudden question. "How much do you want for--Exhibit A and the rest of the evidence 7" " She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no intention of selling it." "Then what's your price?" Enoch's question snapped like a pistol shot. She looked up at him with a deri- sive smile. "My price is ridiculously small, I am merely coming here--to live." "You are coming here--to live? Here--in the house--with my sister?" "Here--in the house--with your sis- ter," she repeated mockingly. "Exact- ly. I have taken a fancy to this part of the cty, It is rather attractive for New York. I think I shall enjoy the society of your sister, You will not find me a troublesome guest. 1 can fit in happily to your home circle, Part of my luggage is there in the hall, you know. The rest is down- sbairs." A wave of scarlet swept over Enoch's face. "To think of Merry squaring up through--you. It's the most infernal scheme 'ever concocted." "That's a bally bad guess of yours. Merry does not come into this at all." "Where did you get these?" Enoch spoke fiercely and pointed to the sheets of paper that lay under her hand. "It's rather an unusual story, Sit down and I'll tell it to you. If you are searching for a plot for that new play of yours, you might find this worth while." . Wentworth threw himself into the chair in front of his desk and wiped beads of perspiration from his fore- head. "Did you ever hear Volk?" asked Miss Paget. Enoch's forehead corrugated into a puzzled frown, "I met him in London seven years ago," she continued, "and I was such % bally fool I married him. In those days he was a heroic looking figure. If you saw him as he is to-day you might say I had showed poor taste." Wentworth sat staring at her with sullen curiosity. "I have found out that he is in Néw York and that ten years ago he had of George and child are alive." Interesting sit- uation, isn't it? Bigamy releoses a woman, though T had not felt terribly fettered. . I have George Volk to thank for bringing that brat across, It was one of his masterly little schemes of revenge. Then, in a curious way, I learned that Volk's wife is the woman you call Alice Bourne. He laid a scheme to get money out of her yes- terday. I got a detective and planned to face him when he reached his wife." ' "What the devil kas Volk and your matrimonial affairs to do with that?" Wentworth pointed to the sheets of paper beside her on the table. "Don't be in such a blooming hurry, I tell you the situation is dramatic. 1 went to the house where Alice Volk lives in Harlem--oh, I was disguised, I tell' you; you would never have known me, The detective got in first and opened the area door. I slipped in and waited. He was to give me a signal when Volk arrived. A servant came clumping down the cellar stairs after coal. I hid in a closet where they store trash and--waste paper." h's eye narrowed and a yellow pallor crept over his face. "Curse it 1" He spoke in a hoarse whisper. "Yes, curse it!" repeated Zi with an amused laughed. mus "My word! it was a blooming queer closed the d 1 accident! I passions of the primi. | 1 Zilla Paget | latch caught and avery line stands almost as it was Ind AH Enoch suddenly leaned forward: in his chair. / "You think you've got the strangle hold on me?" bi Miss Paget laughed triumphantly. "The strangle hold! = You Americans have such jolly strong words; That's great--the strange hold." Ho She rose and' folded the pages of manuscript, put them in her bag, then she drew off her coat and hung it on the chair behind her. She lifted a gold case from the pocket, picked out a cigarette, and scratching a match lit it, blowing a delicate ring of smoke across the room. It flitted into Wer worth's face. "I always know," she bent over to drop a fleck of ashes on a tray be- side her, "or rather I have guessed for a long time, that you did not write "The House of Esberbrook.'". "What gave you that impression?" "For one thing, everybody tells how you and Merry were friends once-- Castor and Pollux sort of guys, don't you know. = You hate each other now, An owl could see that with its eyes shut," wi Hi ! "If you ever left the stage you could maké big money. in the detective busi- ness." Enoch laughed harshly, "Perhaps," she acceded. "Then 1 have rehearsed too many plays not to know the author when I bump into him. I knew months ago that Merry wrote 'The House', but I could not prove it. You haven't: got it in you to do that sort of work." "Thank you." Enoch laughed un- steadily. (To be continued). nab -- i ---- THE VICTORIA CROSS AWARD. The Coveted Honor Is Never Con- ferred Conspicuously. It is a pathetic circumstance that two of the three Victoria Crosses be- stowed in the award to men of the fleet, as an outcome of the Jutland battle, pass to the families of men who did not live to receive: the decor. ation in person. What gives the Vie- toria Cross its peculiar distinction among military honors.is that nothing short of an absolute disregard of the risk of life establishes a title to it. It is never conferred promi ly, and it runs no risk of being exhibited for sale with cheap jewelry in a shop win- dow. The only. price is sacrifice, and with most of the men who have won the coveted distinction it is scarcely possible that in the hour of glorious performance they gave a single thought to the reward. Nelson's hero- ism is hardly the less sublime if he exclaimed "Westminster Abbey or a victory!" on the eve of a battle. But there is a type of man with whom the thought of glory and the instant im- pulse to obey the voice of Duty are strangers to each other. The vast majority of the roster of heroes who have worn the emblem of Crimean cannan-metal, with its royal crest, crowned lion, and the words "For Valour!" have incontestably belonged to the order of "the noble living and the noble dead." --------ai-- To Help Restore Louvain. A committee of leading Russian scholars and professors has been es- tablished to assist the French com- mission to restore the world-renown- ed library of Louvain, in Belgium, which was burned by the Germans in the early days of the war. The Grand Duke Nicolas Miohajlovich is chair- man of the committee. Heartless Dad. "You shall not marry the cub, and that settles it." "But he loves me father. Vows he would die for me." = ; "I have no objection to that. Tell him to insure his life in your favor] and go ahead." -- | animals simply bring on | milker, long before her alle 1 4 | obtained, mk shan When the cream j larger q Barely Jay for ho the. ay : _Prove a profit" time to 100 yx) r up. such a gormand is almost sure +t which 'will render her useless as 'time, and thus still another loss to her credit. pt The severity of wintr:- weather effect on some cows than others. They appear unable do withstand the rigors soon as the 'severe weather sets in,' that they just about pay for their feed and keep. = Don't allow the thoughts of a profuse flow of milk for a few weeks during the summer to in- fluence you in retaining such unpro- fitable members in the dairy herd. Weed them out, at once! i cows that we cannot afford to keep, around us, The cow that has short teats, or the one that is so difficult to! milk, had just as well be in the mar- ket-place, when you can secure equally as profitable, with goo easily milked teats." And these easy milkers are no more costly than. the ones you fool away so much time and strength with at milking-time. The' kicker, and the breachy cow also, come under this came class, for, while, they may give a goodly quantity of milk, the' various points of undesir- | ability are none the less prasent---loss of time during the milking-hours; dan- ger; damage to fences, crops, and the animals themselves. But the greatest of ali reasons for weeding out the irable merstiars) of the dairy herd, is the influence these | would exert on the future of the en- tire herd, since they are at least al part of the foundation en which we shall build. No 'sane man can ex- pect that the offspring of the above mentioned cows will show sufficient improvements to warrant one in keep- ing them as milkers. Indted, there is a far greater possibility that there will be more of a retrograding in the strain, and that, within a few years', time, the herd will not only fail to prove a source of profit, but actually will return less dairy products to the farmer than the cost of their feed and the amount of time and labor expend- ed in caring for them, while, with con- servative weeding out of the undesir- 'able mempbers;-and a judicious selec- tion of the icest spring . as breeding - stock, the standard of the herd will be materially advanced--not only above the "average", but above those which rank as first class, 1 i Why We Built a Steel Barn, Our barn had become so delapidat- | it would soon fall down and the prices of building material were so high we did not know what kind to buy. Wooden siding sheathing and shingles had been steadily going up in price year after year, until they had reach- ed the point that we almost feared we Id not afford to buy them, The it, when we new hole building. | One gvening did do it, so got quotadions Zi ww) ides, seems to have a more deteriorating, of winter, and fall off in both flesh and + milk production to such an 'extent as } | { Then, there are other types of dairy, | animal vitality to warm up a cow rise v 1 it will. 3 ed that it was necessary to fix it or} - old barn had to be fixed, however, and| to make a complete job of| ~ siding and.' shingles for the| 'about the time we were| | Nudges in the Right Direction. Have an understanding with the company that insures your buildings before you get a gasoline engine. 'It may save a lot of trouble. f If you have not basins for your cows to drink out of in the barn, you can get a small heater for the watering trough outside, This will take the chill off so that the cattle will come! back feeling comfortable and good in- side. ? - 'Have seen cows stand for a long time at the watering trough in cold weather; as if dreading to take in the ice-cold drink set before them. Have seen those cows, too, go away from the trough all humped up and shiver- ing with the cold. It takes alot of after she has been chilled that yay 5 "Clean out yolir stables three or four times a day. Begin the first thing in the morning. = Do the work before milking. Then again about the time you let your cows out to drink, Fol- low this up still latef before milking at night. Care in this particular may mean health and safety to your herd and to those who use your farm pro- duct. Worth while, isn't it? Moving away to some other part of the country never gave a man neighbors. To have good neighbors, one must himself be a good neighbor. * Your wife measures your love for her by the little things you do. She can't help it. No use talking love and then letting her dig the wood out of the snowbank.~ Kindlings in the oven will burn all right, and often they burn the house up with them before morning, Don't put them there. Hogs are not fools. They know when they are warm, dry and comfort- able. They will put on fat faster if you see to it that they have all these things on their side. If you have a farm so poor that it will not raise white beans, make it so You can do it. ~The soil is not * to blame, neither are the beans. It is your part to build the old farm up and make it blossom like the rose. Two really good sheep will soon stock a whole farm. A thousand poor ones never will do it as it ought to be done. : If you wént- good lambs in the Spring, keep the ewes well in the win. ¥ ; / 4 good | would abide by. The best sheep in the world may bel : spoiled by a poor fence. fev. oh TL Holes in the fen lot mean a tired mi Spraying he houses is not all is to keeping them clean, Scrape ex the droppings before you do the spray-! ing. - That counts. ; The boy that tickles the Colt i Two. brothers inherited a farm' quarrelled violently as to its division! Now there lived in their village a cer- tain shrewd and wise old man, noted for the soundness of his advice, Him the brothers determined to | arbitrator. Whatever he said' They laid the ma ter before him. For a long while he thought, then delivered . judgment! "You," said he, pointing t6 the elder, "shall: divide the farm as you think fair, And you," he continued, point-' ing to the younger "shall have the first . choice." : A 'Wish. I wish I was a landlord gay, My life would be content, For no one knows an easier way To go and raise the rent. Cleared Out. : "Dubbleigh claims to have an open mind." . oN i; "Ah, that explains his lack of ideas; they have all escaped." : wo Ra i The River Orinoco, in South Amer. ica, is over three miles broad for nearly half its course, while during floods the width, even at places far from the sea, is often a hundred miles, HE man who puts clothing to the hard- L test usually selects nmans when it comes est