The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

pgaii THE Mej ILt* BMPl'MBWiilllillil'l'i!l»"^jijPi^U"1 WWW HFinujuim iijffPPH.1111 .. ' i.ifii'i iiiiii'UM'i1 mil ii i'i"i --•* • s\ *• v • .os .•• ' .. ' ., ... ,'v . "-vL^ • ** *?--- - CHAPTER XVI :• ,v^;" ' Warrlaae. • ipi'Vttrtd Into her NnMl WW*" •ant to marry with a firm determlnattoo to like It It was, she thought, the beet thing she could do; she was touch ingly ready to be happy; she was only too willing to view her lover with bemused eyes. At first this was made eaay by the fervent congratulations of every one she saw; she Ihed. for a white. In an atmosphere of adulation, for when the announcement was printed In the papers, the future Con toss a Avezznna became, all at once, an Important ^person. Enthusiastic acquaintances stopped her on the street to assure tier of the good looks of her count, and of the romantic nature of her engagement, tt was romantic, she told herself a hundred times a day, and she delighted in Guldo's dark §eauty. When she was not-with him, s'he thought of him with a fair similitude of ardor. Their interviews, however, were not •o satisfactory; the girl found them strangely baffling. Avezzana brought to them a sensuous atmosphere. It is •rue, of which Ann was tlnglingly conscious. but which served only to make more barren the fact that she really knew nothing about this person she was to marry. Hitherto her erotic experiences hfcd all been of an exploratory nature, but this man defeated all her tentative efforts to pry Into the closed shell of his inner personality. In the beginning his careful formalityamused the American girl; she liked to tease him into impulsive betrayals of It, but as the days raii on she had less Inclination to do so. Their talk was of so trivial a nature that she. too, grew formal, but with the important difference that hers was a response to an Inner recoil rather than # complicated convention. She made, one day, an unfortunate attempt to establish companionship. "Quldo, I should like to take you over to the hospital. I haven't been there since we became engaged--I am almost ashamed to go--but I want you to see where I've.been working." "You will pardon me. carlsslma mlo, bat I prefer to forget those hospitals. . . . Here. In these so charming surroundings, ypu are all a young girl must be. , . B&utiful--without experience. •. . No." He reached oat and took Iter haac In his as carefully as though it tvere made of fragile stuff. "My Ann, I have this to suggest--that you do not speak to my mother of those hospitals. . . . She would not understand." "But--there, was nothing wrong Ih my working there. I'm proud of having done it; It was my share of the war." "81, carlsslma, bat now all Is different.** He kissed ber finger tips, one by one, with an air of savoring them, adding, "Work Is for men--non e •«o?" Ann looked at him curiously. She found his life amazingly difficult to understand; he was like an unsuccessful bas-relief; she could not imagine him In the round. "What work do you do, when you are at homer* she asked definitely. " "I am an officer," Avezzana straight-' •Bed importantly. "But you hope soon to have peace, lo Italy." "Che e intelllgente t Peace--yea, bat tb«re remain much dutlea." , •What kind of duties?" ^Drills--reviews--bat why riwoM JMB understandT". *Why shouldn't IT" • fYou are a woman." < -What of itr Avezzana smiled deeply upon he1, "•©me day you will know," he mur- UNtred. In spite of the fact that he evidently considered the matter closed, Ann persisted. "Haven't yoa any work to do, outside the army?**' "But yes--there is always politics. "Shall yoa run for something? How By Janet A. Fairbank * Coprrtjfrt by The Bobba-Merrill bo. whatever £ /•fifcitingr ••R-r-run?" „ *Yes. For congress--or have, in Italy." Avezzana laughed at that, but Ann CODld see that he was affronted, too. "No, I shall not--what yon say?--'run' toe political position. . . . You would better leave all this to me, carlsslma mlo. It is not for yoa." "fehe found It impossible to think beyejnd the reunion with ber guardian in Paris. The fact that she was to spend the rest of her life In Italy was unbelievable, and she let it go at that. She •imply could not take In anything so Incredible. She wondered If any other girl was ever married In this way, almost without her own volition, but she was too tired and to dejected to protest. Instead, she tried to do exactly what was expected of her every day, Mid every day a swift current swept her nearer the vortex. The wedding invitations were ordered, addressed •lid sent off by hand with extraordinary efficiency and haste. Ann was dazed by the speed which this machine *f her own making attained. > Guido was a Catholic, and be exilained casually to Ann that It would necessary for her to Join his church. She had no objections to doing so. and Mr. Renneslyer's facetious remark that he was afraid she would not enjoy confession won only a faint smile from her. Her father must have been a Catholic, she supposed. The marriage was to be celebrated lu the Catholic cathedral, and she went up to look it over, late one afternoon. The distant altar swam in the tremulous Hgbt of the candles, and boys In robe* were moving mysteriously about. Guido belonged there, she thought, a part of all this traditional beauty, but she felt like1 a rude intruder, ghe up; she would tell him, and possibly he inight dispel this unnatural dejection. She found him waiting when she reached home. "Where have yoa been, jnlo BeU*JT he demanded, gayly. , -- As Ann looked at his rlidlat'* happiness, a perverse desire to shatter It arose within her. "I've been to take a look at your church.** she said, coldly. v My church? Per Bacco--our church, earisslmo--Is tt not? In nine days we share all things." "Shall we? Shall we, really, Guido?" "You ask me that!" ft Is devastation at her doubt was thorough, but theatrical. ^ v Ann persisted, In spite of him. "We don't share anything at all, now. '. There are things I cannot even talk to you about. ... It makes me very unhappy." She broke off. In a panic lest tears should make berproteat Ineffective. What things?" " Well--that night at Gettysburg, for Instance." No, yon arej/right, not that." But why rrbt? It Is where you fetf in love with me. You told me that morning, before you left Dont you remember? It is a part of us--that night. . . . It Is ridiculous to act as if It hadn't happened! When two people love each other they should be natural. We are never natural, when we are together." . ~ < -i "Nature? She Is for the peoplenot for you. and me." "But I am of the people. Guldo^ . . . You never seem to understand that! I wasn't born to all this luxury. When I was a child I used to be poor; I peeled $he potatoes, and brought the cow in at night, and in winter I cleaned away the snow. . . . You don't like me to talk about that, do you?" (Jnldo'a dark face flushed. "No. For the Contessa Avezzana It Is not necessary to go quite so far back. In my country no one will question where I find you. It will be enough that you have become--my wife." "It will never be enough for me!" Ann burst out: "Guldo--can't you see that I am all wrong for you? Can't you understand that I can never make you happy?" She was horrified at lier words as she said them, but she did not withdraw them. Instead she waited, breathless, to hear what Avezzana would say. To her amazement, he patted her hand with complete calm and murmured: "You are nervous, my Ann. ... Do not distress yourself; you have only to leave all to me." It was too much; the girl's nerves, to which he had so soothingly referred, suddenly snapped. She poured a torrent of appeal upon him; she found herself saying things of which she never had any premonition; she begged him to let her go--to forget her. It was after this climax that she felt the Italian's cold eyes upon ber; they brought her up sharp. Go? No--never," be said frigidly. "You are a child to speak to me so! This is what comes of unbridled talk. You see, my way U better." "But, Guido--I don't love you. I never entirely realised It before--but I don't. "Why should you. before we marry? It is enough that you do not dislike me. . . . After, you may' leave tt to me." "But suppose I shouldn't grow to care for you?" Avezzana smiled superbly, "f the chance," be said. "Doesn't It make any difference to you, knowing how I feel?" "It puts me on my mettle, mlo Bella." And that was the end of that: Ann realized quite clearly that she tt-as, this time, well caught. In1 a moment Mrs. William came bustling into the room with a foreign package In her bands, which Avezzana Identified as addressed in his mother's fine handwriting. The two of rc&m opened it expeditiously, while Ann stood apart, watching them with sullen eyes. There was beautiful old Venetian lace In the package, and a necklace of diamonds which sent Mrs. Cortlandt Into an ecstasy. She insisted on trying It around the bride's slim throat, In spite of Ann's Indifference. ... Avezzana stood looking on with shining eyes, and the girl realized that he consld-< ered her apathetic attitude a becoming one for the future Contessa Avezzana. . . . She escaped as soon as she could, on the plea of being very tired. When she had gained her room, she shut t!;e behitiu her, and stood for some moments with her back against It. She was breathing hard and her eyes were wild. ... He was merciless. She looked about ber at her pleasant, familiar room. . . . She would be In strange places, too. . . . There was no one to whom she might talk freely, "if only her guardian were at home! She flung herself across her bed. In a passion of tears. After a long time her sobs lessened, and she lay for a while, listening to the homely aounds that drifted in from the square. . . . She was, now, more melancholy than desperate. ... She wondered if she might get Fanny to advise her, but a memory of her friend's aloofness since she had broken with Hendricks made ber give that up with a sobbing sigh. The aunts were worse than useless, nnd she had no confidence In Mr. Renneslyer's good* sense. . . . Peter 1 How stupid she had been not to have thought Of him before I There was "P. 8.<--I hope yon are quite well again. t shatl always remember that you saved my life. A. B." After that she wBs happier, although she cftuld not have said why. It was less than a week before the wedding, when very early one morning old Joseph brought a note up to her. "A little boy, he brung lt,:' he said. "They is no answer. Miss Ann." The girl opened It listlessly, entirely'uninterested in its contents. She read: "Annie, you must come out and talk to me. There Is no use In my coming to the house; I'd have no chance with you, with Mrs. Cortlandt and all that lot. Bring a key to th£ gate with you, and we will sit In the square where we won't be disturbed. 1 have to see you alone. It Is a matter of life or death. Peter." "Peter!" Ann's heart softened at his sprawling signature. Of course she would go to him. "Good old Peter!" she.said aloud, putting any hat at all on her head, regardless of the way shelooked. Feter was walling for Uer by Awfully Glad to 8«e You, iPaJsr," She Cried. tttg' gate. He looked very well, she thought, as she ran toward him; not beautiful, like Avezznna--commonplace, perhaps--but strong and plain and comfortable. His rugged face was white, and she wondered if he were not yet entirely well. Anfiie," was all he said, as she gave him her hand, and she fancied there was reproach In his tone. I am awfully glad to see you, Peter," she cried, gallantly opposing his depression. „ . They hurried Into the Square and shut the iron gate behind them, with the air of conspirators. Ann wondered what Avezzana would think If he could see her running along with a strange man's hand on her arm, but she did not care, she was so glad to see Peter! Good old comfortable Peter! Nothing alien about Peter, nothing mysterious, nothing restrained! They found a bench where the shade lay thick. There Peter spoke. Annie," be said, "you are not going to marry that Italian !*•'" Ann looked at him open-mouthed; It would have been Impossible for her to have been more surprised. Peter's eyes were fierce, and the bony structure of his jaw was suddenly noticeable to an extraordinary extent "You must be mad," the girl said at length. Her feelings were divided between indignation and amazement "I am not half so mad as yon are," Peter snorted Indignantly, "marrying a foreigner like that! How do you know he will make you happy? Going off to'a strange country, too--to Italy--with blm! What would yeu do If you didn't like It, away off there alone?" % Ann shivered a little, for suddenly the castle In Piedmont, where they were to' go on their arrival in Italy, seemed like a prison to her. "You haven't any right to talk to me like this, Peter," she cried fiercely. "1 em unhappy enough, as it Is." * ~Y Peter's eptire face lit up at tnis Incautious betrayal. He pounced upon it at once. ^Unhappy, are your' he asked. "That makes It simpler." He faced her mockingly. "I bet yon're half scared,*' he Bald, "lind wishing you didn't have to go through with it." ••There's something you don't knowf Peter." She could feel, her cheeks burn, under his eager eyes. "I^-have to marry Guido4 We--wa were together all night,"at Gettysburg." "What of It?" Radiant relief flashed into Ann's face. "Qh, that Is what I tried to make them see! We were trying to get away from the battle, Peter, and we couldn't find the Sanitary commission, and I was too tired to go on, and we, found an empty house--" "You can tell me the story of your life some other time, Annie. The thing to do now Is to make up your mind to throw over this Italian." Oh, Peter, you know what I did to Hendricks? I have to marry Count Avezzana, now I said I would. Do you know what everybody would call me if I didn't?--A Jilt! And I don't see how; I could go on living with fhe Cortlandts if I did a thing like that, now they're so pleased with the match!" She began to cry, softly and hopelessly. . You don't have t© live with the Cortlandts," Peter said roughly. He leaned over and put an urgent hand on her arm. "You're coming to Chicago to live with me." Ann was too startled to feply. Sh® looked at him In wide-eyed Astonishment, her last tears- trembling on her cheeks. Peter answered the interrogation In her look. "You don't think I came here Just to talk, do you?" he demanded. **I came to take you back with me,-and I am going to do It. Do you know what this Is?" He produced a stiff official-looking paper from his coat pocket. Ann shook her head, sjieechless. "It's a marriage license, that's what it Is! I've got It all fixed up with a minister at the Unitarian church, to marry us this mornlrfg." "But, Peter," Ann expostulated feebly, "I never heard anything so ridiculous In my life! I am going to marry Count Avezzana next Wednesday, at eight o'clock, in tho Ca^ioU? cathedral." 'r "Are you a Catholic?" ' "Not yet, but I will be, l&MMiitf." "Well, you can go attend and be a Catholic, If you want to, but the wedding Is off! Understand that?" "Why, Peter, I'll have to go through with it--^o late, like this." Peter frowned at her fiercely. "You have to. do nothing of the sort," he stormed. Suddenly hf let go his grasp on her a cm to take hold oif her shoulders and pull her toward him with a pleasant roughness. Then he kissed her. "How about It?" he demanded boyishly, holding her away from him and laughing Into her perturbed face. "Oh, Peter, I don't know. I've%ot my trousseau and everything, and Guido has given me a lot of things-- rings and brooches--and I have had a present from his mother, and a letter from uncle. 1 think he wishes me to marry Count Avezzana--I've been such a trial to hlm.v I couldn't disappoint him again." \ Peter's mouth set In a straight severe line. "This has^nothlng to do with any one in the world except you and me," he said sternly. "I guess you know; I love you, all right. I didn't say anything before because I am so d--d poor. I thought I'd go hack to Chicago and work like the devil and make some money before I tried to tie you up, but you have rushed me. Yru belong to me, Annie, don't you know that T* A delightful peace settled down on Anm "I never knew It before this minute." she sighed happily. "It will be hard work at first, but you won't mind that, will you? You're strong, and you weren't born to all this luxury. We'll do something out there before we're through, and we'll do It together. Partners! I've got a little money. Before I get through I'll make a rich woman uf you. But Juat at first, Annie, If It is hard work, you won't mind?" "Peter, I'd love to Work," Ann assured him expansively. "I bate being, a fine lady. But do you think It would be possible for me to marry you. and just go off? Leave all this behind me?" Peter laughed and kissed her "Possible?" he said. "It's happening. You will be my wife In half sn hour." They came out of the little square with fin even more conspiratal air thaa that with which they hnd gone In. It was almost noon and the streets were deserted. Peter would not allow Ann out of his sight even long enough to go home for ber gloves, but hurrted her off to the horse cars, where she sat silent while he talked to her steadily of the new life she was about to qndertake. He gave her no time for thought, no empty moments In which she might change her mind. The minister was waiting for them. He seemed extraordinarily unclerlcal to Ann. used to Episcopal robes and ritual, but his church was convincingly righteous, and she was forced to believe that the brief ceremony which they went through was entirely legal. The ..minister shook hands with them both, and it was over. Out on the street Ann wondered if horror were the feeling that overpowered her, but when she stole a jrlance at Peter's determined face, she knew that it was not. Secure in his strength site could no longer fear the future, no matter how long it might be. It was he 'who told her Just what she should do. She was 'to go home to Washington Square, put" Into ner new trunks all her old clothes, and such parts of her trousseau as might be useful in the extremely plain life which confronted her. She was then to leave a tag on the tfhnk with directions to forward It to s hotel In Chicago. The Adams house is pretty grand for us," Peter said, laughing, "but I guess we can stand a few days of it until we find a place of our own to live in. After all, a man doesn't take a honeymoon every day." He waited outside ifi the square while Ann went home to do her packing. She wondered, as she climbed the familiar high steps, if this were the last time hpr feet would ever pass that friendly -threshold, and as the shadow of the house fell over her she thought, too lafe, of her guardian's possible reaction to her mad behavior. She slipped In and up the stairs without meeting any one. Her room was already In a pandemonium of packing; three trunks stood about with their great mouths gaping for the fine new clothes of her trousseau. She chose the larger one, and hastily put into It the plainest dresses she had, a part of her linen, and her undefPtothes, but she left all the finer things behind her. Avezzana's Jewelry she tied up in a little box; she struggled for some moments to write him a note to accompany it, but found that she was quite unable to do so. Instead she scrawled across a piece of paper, "I am sorry. Ann," and folded It away with the diamonds. Peter's wide gold wedding ring looked very plain and sensible on her hand, in place of Avezzana's gorgeous token. There remained only the necessity of writing to Mrs. William, and this she accomplished with ease. "I am married to Peter Smith," she said briefly, "and I am going to Chicago with him today. I know there Is no use trying to make you understand how I came to do It, but please believe I am sorry to pain all of you, and Count Avezzana. Tell him for me that I am ashamed of myself, but that I cannot help It." She addressed the note to Mrs. Cortlandt and then for the first time w^ote her new name upon a piece of paper, "Mrs. Peter Smith, Adams house, Chicago. Please forward." She stuck the label on the top of the trunk, cast one sorrowful look about the room which had given her sweet shelter for so long, and stole off down the stairs and along the square to where Peter waa walt^g. •' •HAPTeft xytt ~" r ' . ,V!: honeymooning / *"V Ann lttria Peter spent the flrtfinflgtit of their journey In Albany, arriving there In the early dusk. Peter had talked #jery little, but he aat close to Ann, and when the train rocked on <-X«X*Z*X*X*X*X*X<»X<'X*X<>X*X*X*X4>X*X*X+X*X*X*X*X*X<>X*X* "Skinning^ a Monster Python J- could not Imagine sweeping her white V > . satin skirts up the long aisle. She walked home, in the arid late September heat, with a curiously slnk- ' ing bo*rt. She could never remember being so spiritless; it frightened her ,1 to realize it. Guido was happy enough; livl.'5 She would have hated it had he been as depressed as she was. Perhaps, r she thought she owed It to him to tell him how lacking In enthusiasm sh ?> -' iwi Captive Reptile Exhibited Remarkable Patience and Fortitude Under , the Operation. - "As wise as a serpent" signifies the height of #1sdom ; we use the phrase In that sense every day. But are serpents wise? Mr. William T. Hornaday of the Bronx zoo thinks not. Most snakes--so we learn from his book, "The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals" -- although good-natured, patient and peaceful, are not notflbly Intelligent. Nevertheless, ' a big reticulated python, 22 feet long, once guve Its anxious keepers at the zoo an example of a different sort of patience, one neither lethargic nor merely easygoing, but distinctly intelligent The great creature had Just arrived and Was In bad condition, for It had been many weeks without a bath, and that at skin-changing time; so that the old skin, instead of being naturally and properly shed, had dried upon Its body. If the snake were to survive, the dead epidermis must be removed without delay. The python, fully colled, was taken from Its box,* gently ipmyed with warm water and placed upon a graveled* floor In the snake house.' Five at last, some one to whom she could | keepers provided with sponges, fortalk with absolute freedom! She ~ " sprang up. and wrote to him at once. "Dear Peter: "I am to be married next week to Count Guido Avezzana.. He Is an Ita* ian/and 1 do want to see you, very much. My uncle Is still away, and I feel very lonely. If you are at' Milton Center I wish you would come un to New York. "Yours sincerely, "AaaBjiwk'^ ceps and pails of w;arm water gathered round it. A stream of cold water, says Mr. Hornaday, was then suddenly shot In a deluge upon the python's head, and while it was disconcerted and blinded by the flood It was seized close behind the head. Immediately the waiting keepers grasped it by the body from neck to tail and straightened it out to prevent its colling. Strong hands subdued ite struggles and without any j eighteen to twenty-flvfc mtr violence stretched the writhing wild monster upon the floor. Then began the sponging and peeling process. The frightened snake writhed and resisted, probably feeling sure that its last hcur hnd come. With the lapee of time the serpent became aware that it was not to be harmed; for tt became quiet and lay still. At the same time, we^all dreaded the crisis that we thought would come when we reached the Jaws and the head. By the time the head was reached the snake lay perfectly passive. Beyond all doubt it understood the game that was being played. Now, the epidermis of a snake covers the entire head Including the eyes! And what would that snake do when we came to remove the scales from Its eyes and lips? x it continued to- lie perfectly still! When the pulling off of the old skin hurt the new skin underneath the head flinched slightly just as any hurt flesh will flinch by reflex action, but that was all. For a long hour or piore and even when the mer. pulled the scales from the eyes and lips that strange creature made no resistance or protest. I have seen many people fight tbelr doctors for less! That wild, newly cairght jungle snake had quickly recognized the situation and acted Its part wtth a degree of sense and appreciation that was astounding. I do not know of any adult wild mammal that would have shown that kind and degree of wisdom in similar Youth's Companion. "Mnl Peter 8mith, Adams House, Chicago. Plsasa Forward." the rough road bed, or swung around a curve, be swayed llngeringly against her; she could feel his reluctance as he drew away. "When 1 think that Pre, got you, in spite of everything, I think I must b« mad, and having hallucinations!" he confided to fier, and she laughed, tangible Imd desirable, into his ardent face. Albany was In the throes of a great Sanitary commission benefit which all of upper New York ufas, apparently, attending. The bride and groom went from hotel to hoteT^In vain; every one was full. The best thing they could do was to prevail upon a kindly, middle-aged woman to allow Ann to share her room, while Peter bunked on two chairs In the office. The young people bade each other a rueful farewell at the foot of the He Knew. stairs, but they laafhed, too, for it Professor--"What are known as the I was a funny way to spend a weddldg Dark Ages, Egbert ?" Bgbert-j"From | night. '1 Tbm irert several swpiclovHittifc ing young pairs standing aoont the station when they arrived, and Ann, and Peter lost something .of their hot; rid self-consciousness, in suspecting them. They drove up to the hotel in the bus that had met the train, in the company of two other blushing couples. "If you look at them long enough,** Ann whispered to Peter, you can make them think we are old married people!" But Peter whispered back, *Tss glad we're not! Aren't you?" Early the next morning, after a gay and sparkling breakfast, they contin ued their Journey. Ann had never seen Niagara Falls, and when Peter voiced her secret desire to visit this paradise of honeymooners, and suggested they break their Journey there, she acquiesced with shining eyes. The hotel seemed most magnificent, as they approached it over the curving drive that led to its Elgh front steps. Peter delayed for some time a* the desk, talking prices with a superclllj ous clerk. Their room, when they finally reached It was very small-- Aun had never lodged so humbly b«F fore--but Its window opened on u garden in the rear of the hotel, and there was, after all. a place for the bags. It was the first time that the bride and groom had been left alone. They stood rooted to the violently flowered carpet. More than anything else, after ber dusty journey, Ann had wanted to wash, but in ber suspense" as to what Peter would now do, she 'forgot all about it. She forgot all about everything except Peter, and she looked at him slyly, under her lashes. He stood quite still for a moment, stocky and rather lowering, because of his selfconsciousness. Feeling Ann's eyes on him he threw her an elaborately casual glance, and crossed the room to the window, which he lifted, with great pains and care, exactly two inches. Ann smiled, suddenly mistrese of the situation, now that she knew- Peter wt^as nervous as she. "You'll want to freshen up," he suggested with specious ease, "and rest a bit, before supper. I'll go out and take a look around. Yob can get a good sleep." Ann flashed a radiant look s! him. 'I am tired," she admitted. "Weil, then--goodby.*' Peter tn^de toward the door, and paused. Ann's heart missed a beat, as he came slowly toward her. "Don't forget me," he said, and took her in his arms, gently enough, but closely. Ann's startled eyes fell before the ardent look In his, and he kissed her lids, laughing softly as he did so. They stood for an stant, smiling vaguely, and then Peter's grasp tightened, and for the first time he sought ber lips. She abandoned herself to his kiss, clinging weakly to him, without definite thought; sins was In a whirl of emotion. It seemed a long time before Peter drew back. "I'm off," he said thickly, and was gone without another look. Ann bathed, and lay down on the bed; she thought that she -could not .sleep. . . . Peter. . . How strange that she should have married him. . . . Peter. . . . , He was not handsome, but he had a look of strength. >, . . He Juld a sudden smile, too."... Peter, . . . She awoke in s panic lest he should have returned. She put on a brown silk dre3s that she had brought in -her bag. It went very well with her red hair, she decided, as she fastened the crisp white collar wtth a cameo brooch Mr. Cortlandt bad given her on her eighteenth birthday. She was a smart and appealing figure, as she descended the wide stairway that led to ,the office ; when Peter saw her a light leapt into his eyes. They went in to supper at once, half .starved after their Journey, and a luncheon snatched while the train waited at a station eating-house. They laughed often, as they ate, and their eyes were very bright and shining. After supper they walked over to the Falls, ft was rather dark on the path, and Peter held her hand very tight but when they came out on the platform beside the Falls the air was all a filmy whiteness, reflected from the foam. Very ndar tliem, only a few yards awajz, NiagaraL tumble^ headlong. V ' Ann looked at It with terror; she wondered what would happen to her If she were flung on that resistless torrent. As though he had read her thought, Peter sttpped hlslfrtn through hers. Don't go too near," be cautioned quietly. Ann abandoned herself to that safe clasp. . . . Peter. . . . Good old Peter. . . . . She smiled at bin) mistily In the' wan light of the foam. They stood "'there for some time, linked by the clasp of Peter's hand; they told each other that they felt. very small ahd unimportant, but they each knew better. Niagara -rolled on majestically before them, but they, too, had something majestic In tbelr lives. . After a while they did not speak at all; they only stood and listened, and felt the world tremble; they, too, trembled, sensitively. Then, after a silence, Ann had a feeling that Peter wanted her to suggest going back to the hotel; therefore she did so, although she felt herself flushing. In the night On the dark paths he was distant with her; he was very gentle, very reassuring, and hack in the blazing hotel office, he smiled at her, the sudden quick smile that she liked. He sent her upstairs alone, murmuring that he would follow her in a few moments. She undressed with lightning quickness, and soon she was arrayed in her thick cambric nightgown, with its prim ruffle of French embroidery about the slim column of her throat She braided her hair In two shining plaits. The bed was ready; »he crept into it and lay along the far side, against the wall. It seemed a long time that she waited, but at last she heard footsteps coming down the halt. She could make out the slightly uneven sound of Peter's gait There came a little knock at the door, tremulous and apologetic, and all unbidden, a thought flashed through Ann's mind. "It couldn't have been Hendricks 1 It never could have been Avezzana 1" She called out in a clear full voices "la that vou, Peter? Come lal" , ax CONTIKU*** CHARACTER TELLS THE ST0EY1 • People throughout this country sri « giving more thought to hygiene and to V ' the purity of remedies on the market, but no one doubts the purity of Doctor ? , Pierce's vegetable medicines, for they have been so favorably known for over »• fifty years that everyone knows they ara ft r' -' ?' just what they are claimed to be. These medicines arc the result of long-research ^ ^ by & well-known phy sician, R. V. Pierce, % ^ " Zt "* M. D., who compounded them from ^ health-giving herbs and roots long used = ' 4s ' tee for the purity of nplradld tonle and blood medicine, tbfl OoWUn Medical a-'4. Discovery, and the equally flue nerve ;/L' ; tonic and system JniUder for VMMi'i s ailments, Dr. Pierce'* IkmltoYNMtB* tlon.' Send 10c. for trial fkft • tMi to JLl , 'J " Dr. Piaroe's Invalid" Hotel, Bttft .to, V,Y. When, I JTAlright Chips ofp Hffe OM Block MtJOTIom UtileMN One-third tha regular dose. Made of same ingradienta, then candy coated. For children and adalta. BY TOW MtUOQttTam m Anxious Sambo--Look here. Yuh ain't even payln' me Interest on dat five doilahs yuh owos me. Rastus--Ah knows It, man. Bat Ah am worryin' "bout It "DANDELION BUTTER COLOR" A harmless vegetable butter color1' used by millions for 50 years. Drugstores and general stores sell bottles Of "Dandelion" for 35 cents.--Adv. I*** Unfair . at is "uflfStr that a dumb creature like a cat should have fine Uvea, while an Intelligent pedestrian has only one. v' Only after her fcwsflitity is gone doe#S^, ^ the vain woman discover that brain*-;'.,. are useful. --• • tA r Hall's Catarrl* Medicine •f*#. will do claim for It-- rid your system of Catarrh oe DaafnasC earned by Catarrh. SMh jfcrT#S|--» P. J. ,CHENEY & CO„ Toledo, Ohkk 5 * #!;• Greea's Jbgost FImw The remedy with a record «f fifty-seven years of aaipasiiag exceBeace. All who •after with aerieas djip«psia,e--r mm ack.coasdpatioa, iadigeatioa. torpid liver, ilwisiM, Injsdsclws, comteg-ap of feed, wind M tNsskash. palpitetioa sad other ladleathms of dfceiiivt dfaorder,wgflad Cuni Aoocrr Vtowm an effective sal effisieat resMdy.Vor fifty-eeveayean this tedtelae has beea saccessMy ased iamfiUonsof hoasehelds all over the chrfl- Isedworid. BecameafitssMffcaadpopaUrky CuKirs AUGUST FLOWIR caa be foaad today whuMtiidhiBes are sold. 36 aad 9t ceat bottles. PI *Sore^Biwatm Alihovgh more powerfal la the pe'saT.., ... ^ ... ence of aaiiva than pore CarboHc Ad#, '- * Zonite can he freely used as a gargle f' { or throat spray at sufficient strength to destroy all disease germs with which - ^ It comes In contact. '*t: The promptness with which Zonite relieves most throat affections has beea ^ • revelation to tens of theasaada of W j. of this new form of antiseptic. * ^ •* toratUs loetMi !».