r. Statis Ticks had forgotten his wife and seven children; but this was no unusual circumstance. The a

gol-darned thi

id Swift,

bared his head befo

smitten by its servant. It means that man has outstripped his knowledge of this mysterious fluid, and has ignorantly converted through millions of inadequate conductors and faultily insulated wires the terrible, the unfathomed power of electricity into light and heat and force; that Russell was gradually becoming a gigantic storage batt

en to Boston?" cried t

ork?" ask

e had revived and was looking about her in a

ew of a scientific sub

hilated city. He spread his two hands out, palms to the ground,

no obstruction to the view. Russell, to the last splinter of iron or of wood, to the last chip of brick or stone, to t

ofessor hazarded this humane suggestion, feeling t

ir was nothing to

the heat that men were ashes and the city was molten before nerves could convey sensation to th

ks broke the silence. He laid his hand p

erritory. The wooden boat, the inverted glasses saved you. You only had a normal amount of electricity

it candidate for an idiot asylum!" blurted out

esolated grade a mile away. This grave of a

eir way cautiously. Russell was like an extinct volcano. She was yet hot. But she did not smoke, as one might hav

e one square yard was to see the whole. The appalling thing about the effect was the cause. Civilization, ever ready w

utomatic motion

h to the Planet in time for the evening edit

r. "We can foot it to the nearest

isn't a minute to lose!" It was then that Mr. Statis Ticks, realizing, whether from calculation or from sympathy, that Miss Magnet could make no such forced march, and seeing that the girl o

t was therefore arranged, much to Mr. Ticks' disappointment (for he had hoped to add to his copious stock of mental notes by further

ft supporting Miss Magnet on the one side and Mr.

astes of it," sa

of water and there will be detected the same fl

and its curious uses. The baby carriages, she said, took their helpless occupants on an unaided turn around a large oval track in the park. They went by storage battery. One electrician could take the place of twenty nurses and control the power. Once in a whil

. One or two thought it a hardship to be aroused from bed whether one would or no, to be washed and summarily dressed by an implacable powe

l it sheet, rather wax cylinder-just started, and the din made by those loquacious i

or it was an easy matter to ring your acquaintance up and see her in her drawing-room while you talked to her. Women made an elaborate toilet for such interviews. It was soon expected that conversation

pon the plot; the delicate instrument would reco

amos made it possible for men in Russell to dispense utterly with work. You went so far as to put five cents in the slot at any one of a hundred street corners, and your shoes were electrically polished to a patent leather shine. There was n

electricity than elec

d nodded her head emphatically in

for the lost rails. Then he awoke from his occupation with a sudden start as if rudely shaken from a dream. Swift was used to his colleague's idiosyncrasies. B

if not-" Professor Ariel's manners had become decadent in proportion to

tmosphere that enveloped this section. What was in it to kill? Its effect on me was unlike any othe

n dollars in laying wires in the ground throughout the whole country, on the theory that these voltaic currents applied to grain and fruit and vegetables would excite such crops to quicker verdure and maturity. The

Mr. Ticks' eyes glis

w electrical discovery? Was this deadly phenomenon a hitherto unknown property of the electrical fluid? For to walk within the dead line was like walking into a saturated Leyden jar. Its effect must have also been to devitalize the oxygen and nitrogen of the atmosphere. The victim was electrified and suffocated to death at the same instant. At last I understand the complexity of my astonishing symptoms. The vibratory storm that we so narrowly escaped was not due to barometric depression, but came as a re

hat the subdued p

oward the lost city for the news that the unaccountable and malignant power had hitherto denied them. The four needed courage to meet this unrestrained and desperate mob. Who were these in the van? What pallid faces, what haggard eye

the manner of an inspired prophet, and there and then uttered the following impassi

cent men on broken wires; that surprise your victims in the counting-house, the home, the street, with destructive bolts! Woe unto you that undermine

subsided into apathetic silence. His hands dropped heavily at his sid

r these? Who could tell the terrible truth? The professor paled and walked behind Swift. Mr. Ticks

the girl. "Go!

re her. Eyes, sleepless with weeping and waiting, riveted themselves upon eyes that were still haunted with a

that! Oh, you poor peo

unto her. It was the advance guard of the Red Cross Society, led

back. But Swift, who had recognized Dubbs driving two powerful horses and unreeling two telegraph wires, one for the special use of the Associated Pr

nd we can only give the

l is n

killed by one unparalle

he whole city into one ind

e of one lady. T

the Planet reporters

off an over-charged storage battery with a

that was impas

eople race towar

hed of her ow

s new and for

e church bells tolled eight the organ pealed forth the wedding march. It was noticed with much comment that the vast audience-roo

a diversion happened that arrested the newly wedded couple. But this was not construed into an ill-omen. A diminutive messenger boy, with

. Wires burned out. Gue

on (which he ingenuously called Reciprocity), supplied to him by the always generous Planet, and fully elated by his present position, answered with a broad wink. Mr. Swift, unconscious of the thousands that were standing in their

thousand a year. Report after t

IBLE E

im. He never appeared after six o'clock without it: for it set off his long blond mustache, his fine artificially curled, blond hair, and his pale regular features to their best advantage. Seen from the front there were times when he was considered positively handsome, after the same fashion that an aristocratic French doll is admired. When he turned his profile, then there appeared certain hard

ose all of his self-respect. His classmates noted in him a certain quality of strength or reserve that was supposed to emanate from himself rather t

ced the dance of St. Vitus. He had terrible nightmares, and awoke with parched mouth and with disagreeable ey

't do. Its-playing the devil with you. Come now, knock off for a bit. I'll

d Slack wo

d the bet before three hours were up. T

then-" He whistled The Dead March in Saul, and the fellows

oul. Yet he was very seldom drunk. He paused at that excessively polite stage which was

hat go to the devil so fast: it's the fellows that take a

usually lasted from ten in the morning till one in the morning, and which might aptly

not to r

but to l

but to ta

ou sometime

o the repleted, the unqualified ability to borrow, or rather, in this instance, to steal, led to a pall. Unlock every safe, unbar every vault, open up every store to pillage, and the robber, glutted with desire, will disappear. On the same pri

inanely at the man behind the desk, and then, despairing of entertainment, began to spin a trade-dollar on the polished table. The café was nearly empty, and he was to all purposes alone. This was a state which he dreaded above all others.

significant initials; as if that reduced the horror of the fact. But he feared it: he feared it greatly. The possibility of delirium tremens unmanned him. Then he sweat drops of

grated door after he had immured himself within. He glared at the whiskey, and his thoughts cursed it; then he smiled and took another swallow. Even as he drank his min

off, and looked around, expecting his companion. The

st. Black eyes from under the brim of a silk hat compelled attention by reason of an imperious steadiness that indicated the possession of unusual self-control. The waiters jumped to serve this man. Harland was annoyed at this obsequiousness which he had never received. He tried t

Why, I haven't seen you since Class

n granting this man an unusual supply of brains, and had then packed them in until the pressure had distended the frontal lobes. His brow was an overhanging arch, massive, high, compelling. This was so m

ndo

o you live i

course. Sit

ris a while ago, and have taken an office. I was telephoned suddenly t

an offer to drink, and noticed with professional intelligence Harland's demand for some more whiskey and the tremulous way

t more than he felt it. The college student who did not room in "Beck," and who was not a member of the Hasty Pudding Club, who had no time for society and theatricals, who was never seen at Carl's, who was suspecte

anly frame had shrunken. On the other hand, Alaric's features had e

lph?" asked Harland with a good-natured l

his eyes twinkled over his classmate

and studied with Pasteur, and have raised scores of colonies of bacilli. Lately I h

in breeding beagles. That takes lots of time you know. My fa

he vowel sound. Then taking the opportunity while Harla

hat do you say to spending the evening with me? I am lonely and want to t

rably astonished by the inv

ment in my life, you know," wavered Harland un

I'll leave word at t

he inebriate's sodden difficulty. Slack insisted upon adding that he would still meet his friend between ten and eleven o'clock. Randolph smil

o accept a cigarette in his college days. He could not understand the reason for what he considered th

in Boston than in New York, whose construction is at once singu

rved Harland Slack, glancing at

Randolph urbanely, paying no attent

h? The dog-kennel assumes an area of nearly half an acre. There may be large rooms, almost a spacious salon in one of these in

sofa, and languidly watche

olph looked at the speaker, whose wavering eye vainly strove to elude his. The Do

stare at him that way. My beagles wouldn't treat me so. I'm burning up with thirst. Just a little. That's hospitab

hall have it. But I would rather give you some cordial of mine fir

uid flamed yellow in the gaslight. It seemed to have concentrated in its ebullient elements the exhilaration of life. Now, the yellow cordial, even as the inebriate looked upon it, glo

laborious years abroad. This is the theriaca against all vital poi

s as much impressed by his friend's sincerity as by the singular appearance of this elixir vi

all, and put the priceless flask gently upon a high bookcase. It was on a level with his face. The liquid shot bubbles of animation to the surface; and before Slack's eyes, as if gather

wish to note its changes. It differs under variable conditions. Tell me about it. Do not touch it. W

did not take his gaze from the flask, nor did he touch it. It now shot forth colors of the ruby. Along the rim played the fires of the spinel. These gave way to the glow of the garnet; which in turn vanished before gleams whose indescribable radiance is only likened to the blood of the pigeon. Harland was eager not to lose the lightest stage of this marvellous metamorphosis. With every new hue

The strains sounded louder as he approached. There seemed to be a castanet, and a harp, and singing. In surprise he touched the door. It opened lightly. His curiosity proved stronger then the power of the elixir to restrain him, and he turned. A lo

h a new intoxication. He wondered how so narrow a house could contain such a superb apartment. Then he perceived, or he fancied that two or m

hing he had read about the celebrated dancers of the Maharajah of Mysore. This beautiful girl, with a bewitching effort at unconsciousness, arose and whirled down the long hall towards the young man, waving her bare arms to the accompaniment of stringed instruments and the measured drone of the players

uty and her insolence since he had forsworn her. There flashed his sapphire bracelet on her slender arm, and the Alexandrite for which he had sent to Russia, took to itself at her white throat alternate virulent moods of red and green. She was entrancing, and he loved her. She was his evil genius, and he feared her. She had flattered and despised him, and he h

Why would they trap him?-weak, sodden

he had so often trembled. She did not look up at him, but threw herself back further on the couch and motioned to a servant for some wine. Something about her super-human grace revolted him. The music redoubled. The Indian dancer fanned him as she sped past. He did not

u h

ck, and ears flushed and then became deadly pale.

r felt the shadow of resentment. He had been accustomed to laugh feebly and to turn the unpleasant personality away as well as he could. But now, he became aware of the contumely for the first time. He clenched his fists; he breathed hea

iend of the great Doctor," she chirped i

am not! He i

last few minutes, had dominated his nature. He could only express it. What was this ho

answered the woman with a p

exhaustion to her rug. The room was stifling. The air was heavy with the perfume of roses, and attar, and wine. Yet the young man's head was poised, his eyes were sane, his s

u are always drunk. Bah!" She made as if to draw herself from beyond his touch

e said met

be, ignoring his person, she looked through him, a

through the banquet-hall. The dancing-girl tried to distract the man of stone. He looked at that little black patch. Its wearer shrugged her shoulders significantly; t

d to him to question whether this were his old friend at all. Then who? Then what? Was the woman an embodiment of all the past evil of his own soul? By some horrible law of metempsychosis had his old spirit passed int

compelled him. His eyes brightened before he did the deed. With a sweep, he shattered the hand that held the sle

sic stopped with a frightened crash. The dancing-girl fled with a shriek; but Harland stood immovable, exultant, holding his hands ready to strangle if t

rse was spent, he turned and walked triumphantly back throug

mplished a great deed. Without looking back he closed the door and sought for his

ggled at the window and the door. Both were impervious. He dared not go back. How could he look at her? Escape was cut off. His head became clotted with the old sensations. Fe

turmoil by an overwhelming power, he felt himself gently laid upon a couch. There was a moment when the brain, recovering its equilibrium, swam and spun. Then suddenly he found consciousness and emerged through the mist of pain. He tried to use his

ome one was be

ere was nothing hid from this intense gaze. Then a commanding voice s

verberated throughout his nature, and burst upon him like the rattle of thunder. "Harland Slack, you have had a terrible lesson.

off the numbness from his body, the incubus from hi

ndolph holding his hand and lo

committed a murder. He knew not how, or why, or where. With a tremulous look a

r. Randolph led the criminal to a

ome out of it all straight. I'll see you through. Tru

d and wrung it. Harland sat still a long while with closed eyes. The

d bring you a demitasse. It

n terror, "don't leave me

to the n

assented wearily. When the coffee

a ghastly cheerfulness, "this will get you up entirely. When you finish it, I am g

rehensively at the outer door as if expecting a policeman. "Don't you

She deserved it. I'll take all the blame. Now brace up and be a man. Don't be n

dementia and moral nausea. What manner of man was this

e admitted: "I will take a

of the kind he had made for years. Randolph handed the water to him and watched him narrowly. Harland held up the gl

w swear that you will save me. Don't give me up. Hi

concern," said t

that I've murdered somebody? It was a woman. I've

do you good to walk there. Trust me. Don't worry over it. Let me feel your hand. It's moist and sof

his hat and coat, put a cane into his

lub as usual. As a physician I order

arted; so, perhaps, criminal and accomplice are wont to part in the extremity of

not stop to consider, his crime dropped from his memory like the burden from Christian's back. He handed his outer garments to the liveried boy, and, as was his wont, turned to

? Here, boy, bring the sa

balls clicked, the smoke mounted, the liquors

is appointment

ed a nerve restorer. You haven't been idiot enough t

The Club seemed different to him. It was not as entrancing or as necessary as usual. The odor of stale liquor and of

canter from the boy and poured out the brown liquid into the delicate glass

to put it to his lips. It would not go. He tried again. His arm refused him service. But the fumes of this familiar liquor mounted to his nostrils, which dilated with horror. What was this terrible

rang with passion. "I loathe it! I cannot stand it. L

nd held him. They thought

e nearest expert," sa

s dipsomania was interpreted darkly, wi

id his companion, "but I kne

no further evidence of insanity. His case became a seven days'

into law, and succeeded. It is well known that he does not drink. The c

year afterward before a close medic

e himself is still ignorant of the facts. I have no fear of a relapse. He has forgotten that he ever believed himself to have murdered a woman who never existed. But he has not forgotten that he no longer drinks. This cas

C

to my soul. I found myself near enough even to throw something into the water. The longing to communicate with this new friend, dreamed of for so many inland years, overpowered me. A box of buttons was all I had, and I leaned far out into the air, pungent with a mixture of fish and kelp, and cast into the deep these feminine necessities, one by one. Now a tiny disk of mother-of-pearl would glance on the float and bounce off into a gray ripple; and then a bit of jet would clatter on the

! Wha'che got

ty-six little 'uns, an'

ats made fast to some black corks that formed a huge rectangle in the water, and two men began pulling in a net. The one in the other boat, who answered to the name of Scud, stopped rowing for a moment, excha

barr'l. I guess thar's

as if the life of a fisherman were a dream without a care or a struggle. But Scud and his queer, green boat disap

om? I hope that the fishermen

ap. Now, although I was hitherto ignorant of this delicious fish with its paradoxical cognomen, I felt that Scud and I were already friends; and gravely

e was one nervous boarder here. She threatened to have him arrested

sked, apprehensively. "He must be a very energetic p

hen the the whole family burst into furthe

hole coast. He makes the surest and perhaps the best living of any of the fishermen around here. If he didn't get u

bel (she is my cousin's wife), "with his dozen childre

are of that petticoat; Betty can use it;' or, 'That dress can be turned and made over nicely for the twins.' I declare I don't get a new dress but the whole Scud family troop over and inspect it, an

" observed her mother, in

about sixteen, out fishing; while I eagerly accompanied Mabel across the rocks and fields to Scud's hous

over us, delicate and fleecy as the feathers of the marabou, and white and curly as the feathers of the ostrich. They radiated from a centre in translucent films, and shot out monstrous ciliated fingers like a fan. Such a sky was never seen in my part of the country, and I attributed this ravishing cloud phe

Within the gate four children were playing with twice as many cats and kittens. They were all fighting like animals between themselves for a plateful of scraps of fried fish. A baby would grab a

th a stick!" This maternal sentiment, spoken in a loud

u a little something, and a frien

n entirely different tone. "Ain't I glad you've come! Step right in and s

ing infants at my feet, none of whom looked

n.' These are the two sets, just a year apart. The baby was born a month ago. Th

essie." She wiped her hands on her apron, and thrust one of them out through a rent in the mosquito-netted door. "

She was not yet middle-aged, and her hair had turned prematurely gray. Her hands were bony, nerv

here?" I asked, not k

unt ye." It was a pitiful sight to see these five plump, rosy

e only nine,

said the eldest girl; "he'

round the cove with what they k

a slight choke in my throat as I spoke. The mother cast a quick look

ere's that boy Jim, he took to swearing this spring. I declare it was jess awful to hear him go on. I spanked him, and Scud he switched him, but it wa'n't to no use. That boy talked jess scand'lous, till your cousin here, miss, she heerd him one mornin', an' took a white powder an' put a little on his tongue

d, nodding with inimitable ease to his v

od nature. Indeed, Scud's good nature went so far at times as to be incomparably inadequate to the demands of existence. If he happened to go for weeks without catching so much as a sculpin in his net, and the starvation of his youngsters stared him in the face, he showed none of the common symptoms of discouragement, such as swearing, dr

a-runnin' to see the fish swim in. If they were fool 'nough to go in the trap, they could stay there till he underrun an' bailed 'em out." His methods of gaining a livelihood were unique on the coast; yet it was Scud who "stocked" eight hundred and fifty dollars that summer clean, two hundred dollars above any one else in the harbor. It was the saying among some of the jealous fishermen in the cove, who were not blessed with two pairs of twins, that "nobody 'arned so easy a livin' as Scud without doin' no work." But these indistinct murmurs never stimulated Scud nor impaired his good nature. Indeed, Scud

he jollier, the more companionable; and as it succeeded so well, why not? Summer boarders were appr

n's pocket of money; and the summer boarders were mostly women-married women, with husb

een relics of a posing artist. The cap was a yachtsman's gift, and the neckties came as a matter of course. Yet Scud never begged. And once when he caught one of his four-year-old boys insinuating to a summer boarder, with out

uch a crisis.) "Thank ye, ma'am. Ain't them showy?

. Scud looked somewhat gratified with the prefix to his name, and regarded me with interest. To ta

to sailin'." He jerked his head to the westward. "Salt is a makin' the dory

was ever sketched blacker. It had come up as stealthily as a Zulu warrior. It was the hue of unpolished iron. It had a faint reddish tint. Its outline was as clear cut as a cameo. It sent ahead here and there jagged tentacles, broad at the base and fine at the

nly she pulled herself together, and whispered: "It is horrible! It is awful!" Then, as if seized with the full import of the scene, she crie

d fine. It was part of the Eastern culture towards the education of the Western girl. But see

. Is it so bad? Wo

eed in these parts, miss. I'll do wh

at a moderate walk. Scud never ran. Would

e ahead, like fluttering standards of warning. And now the sun was gored to death. The black bank advanced in one wide line. Blackness had fallen everywhere. Anx

ry pause enables each to collect his nerves to meet the summons of the shock. Nature was now commanding "the still"; but the order came through the eyes. No sound was as yet heard. The sea, the air, sentient life, all souls, held their breath before the shock that must

f them were over sixteen. But the lad who sailed the little boat was a fisherman's son. He was considered very expert, and had broad experience from his babyhood up. But this fact did not soothe the mother. Appalled by the color and the swiftness of the clouds, and the ominou

th bare poles; it was evident that they had anticipated a formidable blow. We stood on a bend in the shore, and the broad bay lay between us and the rising storm. The rocky coast stood forth in a long, broken outline opposite to us, far down towards Great Brabant. The open Atlantic spr

houted Scud. "Here it c

struck us in the face simultaneously with the wind. The white squall had burst upon us. I dragged my poor cousin with me to the piazza, into th

t why. Pretty soon we saw him trying to pull the tend

green and white. Two coasters and a large yacht were running in for shelter

boat? See! Way out there beyond th

ll what this situation meant. No one could have undeceived her, and no one tried. She stood for a moment staring straight ahead, stretched out her arms, swayed, and fell. She was one of the fainting kind, and there was nothing to be done about it. We carried her in and laid her down.

orotund voice upon me as if he were

at the ill-fated boat from the roc

!" The voices struck me like a volley of bullets, bu

ed. "Help! Sa

d in my ear. "No one can't. Yo

The boy made wild rushes to the mast. Then the boat would rock and fly around. To save her the lad darted back to the helm just in time. This sickening struggle against a knot was repeated several

't last no longer if that-He'll be dru

mmenting in an apathetic way upon th

ty which falls upon the shore in face of danger upon the sea, I stood

ople looked into each other's e

I pleaded with another

done, or I

apsize, an' I guess they'l

An expression of rare gravity was on his joyous face.

Scud!" The Western girl shook him by the arm. Her very ignorance gave a force to her appeal that intelligence could not ha

k in water, righted, and careened with every riotous puff. A hundred times men turned their faces away a

The man who came down to see the boat capsize followed with his hands in his pockets.

above the tempest. "They're drift

every surge. To strike the trap meant instant overturn. To become entangled

shove the dingy off." So

eakers made sport of Scud, and spat at him with their white t

, the wind caught his cap and dashed it on the

ompanion significantly

m oars. Don't ye see I'm g

n shoved off. The light tender was twisted about and all bu

es, each onslaught of the squall, each hurried stroke of the oars. Scud rowed warily, lest he be over-turned and buried between the trough and the height of the waves. The wind howled at him. The bay showered upon him. The gale clutched him and turned him about. How now! Whence came the

mosity of which only the Atlantic Ocean is capable, it rose upon Scud and well-nigh bore him under. Hope

er fish him up ter-night. Plucky fellow! Brave deed! T

gent Scud, rowed on sturdily straight out into that hell. Could he ever overtake the boat? How was it possible? If he did the ex

he take his dory?

haulin'-line an' git in from the roc

tured an expert, "but w

net to the right, in order t

gainst the leader of the net. It swung broadside to the wind, that forced it over and und

this pathetic group. What could one do? What word could one say? The storm swayed Betty here and there. Her hair waved in the hurricane. She had long, pretty hair. Spray drenched her. She did not cry out. She stood like the Niobe of the sea. She looked like one expecting the fate that had been only delayed. An average o

der it was super-human. The two girls clinging to the wreck were lifted bodily into the boat. Scud was quick but cool, and imparted perfect confidence to the water-sodden children. A

ishermen, hardened to perils of the sea, had been fascinated by this

dashed madly to

t of these rocks, and the spume swirled in dirty froth upon the pebbly beach. Scud made for the opening. The gale drove him wildly along. A few men now ran to the beach and the outlying rocks, ready to do the possible at any emergency. Would Scud pass the reef or not? There was not time to answer the question. The boat r

ow, forming a line, and pass one to shore. Saved! And then another. Thank God! Here come

ed to chilling water and fierce waves. The helpless childre

ed to look at the widow and the orphans, an

r baby only one month old-Betty! She caught the sinking hand, the drowning head-she never knew how. A dozen men plunged in now. Spectators who had not wet their feet during all that horrible scene swa

d laid upon the piazza. An ugl

e deluge and shielded her husband automatically. The children, most of

e speak to me? Dearie, dearie Scud. I save

"Leave Scud to us awhile." For in truth not a m

hen fire," said Betty, qui

trembling lip far down the coast

h, and Salt was with him, doing the rowing. We left word that they should come to the house as soon as they had put up their dory. A peremptory message was sent to Betty to come over immediately to do some work. A few

he passing of a grand storm upon the hearts of either? Scud's sluggish blood had been "up" for one fiery hour. For one great day he had been the hero of the coast-the peer of all its heroes. Then the fire went out, and Scud became as he was. Perhaps Scud w

rubber boots! We rushed upon the piazza and greeted Scud and Salt, dressed in their

I'll go home and change my clothes. Couldn't get here soon

ubber boots and wiping them as best he might. White scales of fish glitt

ing a prince. Scud looked from one to the other uncomfortably. He blushed a deep russet red, and stared, and then laughed in a vacant way. Betty now appeare

ead. You have been a hero. To us you are always a hero, and our love and gratitude will last as long as our days. I have the privilege of presenting to you the highest tribute Massachusetts pays to her brave men-the gold medal of her great Humane Society, one hundred years o

ake." She flashed it from its plush case, and placed the solemn emblem, w

pron over her face, and Scud's eyes ran dripping

ut in her delicate hand forty silver dollars, the gift of the Humane Society to Betty herself. "You are a woman

up in her scrubbing dre

from nobody for savin' of my husband. I'm just as much obleeged to ye." Almost every child in her

g nonplussed, "how would it do

r plunging into the water and saving their father's life. This was an illegal procedure. I grant it. And if the Society no

l, and had a dazed look. Midway of the bay he stopped pulling, lifted and cros

. My throat felt kinder queer an' dry. But I'm mightily obliged to yer. It migh

NCE OF A

ourt S

ass., Nov

Ellesworth, U

on,

irst-class. As this is the only S. C. mortgage that has slipped up so far on our hands, I should advise you to be patient a few more days. Perhaps you had better give the party leeway up to Dec. 1, if necessary, as

truly

ph T

e, and pulled out from his breast pocket a notebook which he consulted. After a few moments he seemed to s

g-room of the new University Club. Francis Ellesworth sprawled listlessly in the deep chair by the window, and vaguely congratulated himself that he did not have to earn his supper. It was lucky that he did not have to, for any tyro

nly a fair compensation for this insult that three years ago he had fallen heir to seventy-five thousand dollars, which he had su

o much, did not swear, and was not the kind of a fellow who compromises a woman by his attentions. He was neither clever nor stupid. T

ly to blame for not trying to make his mark; for he was not so strong as other men, as I said before, and had, besid

financial affair that this first of October passed without producing sixty dollars from Benson. He didn't know who Benson was; nor did he care. How many a capitalist in the East knows the sturdy settler whose hard-earned home he holds in his relentless safe! The drought comes, the crops wither away; the cyclone sweeps the land; the only horse that does the ploughing dies; the mother is sick and the father tends the babies instead of t

Ellesworth on some blue club-paper, "an

Carolina interest. Francis Ellesworth was

ote for him. The letter came the other day. But

orth f

flower bill. Halvin has sent me three confoundedly gentlemanly bills. That's the worst of

he's got fifty acres and one half cleared, the other half is heavy yellow pine. The timber is worth the whole amount, my correspon

ll victory. Of course they talked late and Elles

ird, having just delivered an original paper on the subject, suggested brain grippe. In only one respect the three wise men agreed-their patient must spend the winter in the South. Oddly enough, they recommended Sunshine, South Carolina; and as Sunshine is a fashionable resort, with plenty of hotels an

y memory. Therefore the further announcement from Todd that Benson could not pay at the date agreed upon came to him as a new shock. Todd had written a formal letter to his classmate, merely stating the fac

close at once. My attorneys, Squeeze & Claw, will give you the Benson tr

lief, and lighted a ci

aordinary matrix; and that the public, tired to suffocation of its own commonplaces, has a right to expect something out of the usual run. If such a dictum were final Franc

you can go horseback. It's only eight miles by road through

al thing, without even looking into the circumstances, to order a man's home sold over his head, because he had failed to pay interest for the first time. If Benson's farm were only eight miles away why did he not see him before he sent the command to foreclose? There was an atonement owing, and this feeling, rising like a mist in the mind of the young man, who knew much of pleasure and little of

pardonable sin-for five cents! How the fellows shivered as they stamped the snow off in the club vestibule! The wonder that New England is not depopulated when there is such an Eden in which to spend the devastating winter! So Ellesworth thought as he jogged along the uneven, sandy road, congratulating himself with every deep breath, and sitting straight and straighter in the saddle. He had never felt so happy and so free as he did this December morning. Passing slowly by a deserted orchard, he could see the yellow

stletoe with its white berries recalled scenes that he had read about. Ellesworth had played too lightly with life to have ever been seriously in love. The flirtation of a few weeks or months and the solemn tenderness of devoted love are not allied. The one passes into the other as seldom as silicon passes into the cells of a fallen tree. Ellesworth had never gone beyond conventional devotion: and this he had so far discreetly given to married women. This emblem of Christmas troth actually growing before his eyes, and seen by him in its native state for the first time, produced a vague longing upon the young New Englander. He remembered a precise and beautiful Bost

ried along in vague discomfort over the little slope (the natives called it a hill) and up to the st

he wrinkled white woman sitting in the d

ng at Ellesworth as if he had cast an aspersion upon a city. "Ye kin ride down the road a right smart bit until ye

illiam Benson lives, whom I under

ld woman got up and, supported by her stick, to

Bill Benson? Air y

rth, taken aback. "I only w

ways to find Bill Benson," r

d. Ellesworth, wondering whether his creditor had "s

nd then proceeded with a tone of awe caught f

ant of the longitude and lat

. "Elder Jones buried Bill in Tantallon buryin' ground, fou

on the horseman. The red handkerchief, tied over her head and under her chin, had falle

. Why had Ellesworth not known this before? He reddened with self-reproach. This was the first tragedy w

e die?" he

ght smart onto two weeks," she answered after much calculation. Then she

esworth hesitated, and t

ving at-eh

ace l

Charleston. Ye look li

oman's manner was now totally different, and she approached him confidentiall

ther's second cousin, and he says thet thet dum Yankee hed better not show up 'round these parts, for he'd get plugged if he tries to take Bill's place away from Georgy, poor, innercent thing that she is." The old woman's cr

he asked after a pause, which she

he first plantation ye come to. I reckon ye'll see Georgy a dusti

an dreamily and rode in the di

s not known. He made up his mind that he should not be. Benson's daughter was undoubtedly a sallow, withered young girl, with a hot temper and a deep sense of injury; and, if she found out his identity would probably call the country to arms against him.

bush covered one whole side of the house, while in the garden and on the veranda red and white japonicas were in flower. Flanking the walk from the gate to the house, high azalea bushes were pushing forth their buds for the spring blooming, and little borders of box protected with wooden boards, and bunches of holly intersected the little garden. It was more than a home-like looking place: it was fascinatingly cozy, with its roses and camellias and azaleas and a single pr

ight-William Benson was n

ever seen. She was tall, almost to his own height, and with a proportional figure. Dressed without ornament, without ruffle, or frill or white at the throat, in plain black, her face revealed itself on the green background as if it were upon a canvas by Bastien Lepage. It was a face in which there seemed to be many n

n refinement in his carriage that looked as much out of place in Cherokee Garden as the face of the girl before him, he was not an unattractive fellow. Now, as the tw

lost your

than a thief. And now that her father had died, she seriously considered him in the light of a murderer. She thought of his agent as his "minion," whom it was clearly due her dignity to resist. The case had been the talk of the scraggly village, and the judge of the district, who was reputed to know t

last. She clutched the gate an

sworth halted, remembering that his debtor was no more, and

-for insult with it. How the stranger gloated over the fact that the place was not her father's! She drew herself to

s his place, and I think,

waited to let that sentiment fr

ope so," ventu

a feeble attempt at

sir? Do you come fro

or whom at first sight he felt a greater admiration than he had ever bestowed elsewhere, should be so antagonistic to him

m a total stranger here. I am-eh-merely looking

face, and a slight touch of spontaneous sympathy, too, at hi

have heard so much about Southern hospitality, would it be asking too mu

utterly fagged out as he noticed

u were a lawyer or a sheriff, or perhaps a man from-Boston." She could

all," he answered, laughing. "I told you that

as a reply to all her doubts,

e said, as prettily as a woman could. "I'll ask Aunt McCor

languid air, which he could hardly maintain, so boisterously the blood s

order at Halvin's for that chilly Boston girl he tried to love and couldn't. The red camellia had more of this splendid Southern creature's color, but that too, with its waxen, expres

ht of the middle-aged and elderly Boston dames with their strong profiles and keen eyes and decisive opinions of reforms and literature and charity. Any one of them might have put out her arms

irl came out of the house at this moment and sat down on the verand

all right if I am careful of my se

ss and death had touched her so lately and so cruelly tha

He hurried on: "You see, I'm looking for a quiet place to board in." He made a diplomatic pause. "The Sunshine Hotel is too noisy, wh

"But we never took boarders," with a stately drawi

orth's glass, and beckoned to the girl to follow her. Evidently the two poor ladies whispered together in the hall, consulting upon the awful problem suddenly presented to the

s conscience slipped behind the camellias and made no protest. A very irreligious baby, black in the face from howling, had been

," he pleaded, turning to the girl beside him

d are powerful partners, and they worked together for Elle

ar round. The mystery of the maintenance of their existence is not solved outside the walls of their own homes. Proud, refined an

Bigelows of Charleston?" a

nother branch," repli

ushing, "just what they would charge me at the

Bigelow?" inquired Mrs.

ive dolla

enough for a month," said the girl, turn

ng less," he insisted. Sti

igh, "we might take you, sir, seeing that

uickly, looking straight at Georgiell

will you?" he added, as he mounted a

ead, as he looked do

n full of my trouble. I have dreamed about i

re. And when you come, sir, perha

hat would the following week, and t

t might have come from the Delphian

Georgiella sang that afternoon as she walked

sank into the cushioned rocking-chair with a long breath of content, that it might have been Georgiella's. It was in the dreamy part of the day. The sun was dipping under the high branches of the pines. Then the luxury of leaning out of the window in December! He could not help but think of it as his sun, and his garden and his trees. And now Georgiella came out, bareheaded, and swept the pine needles and leaves from the narro

e dizzy-"I love her! I love her!" And then visions of work and strength and success, and ambitions that had been stifled, began t

most necessary furniture that its few ornaments had a startling conspicuousness. He noticed a fat Chinese vase set up like an idol in an old escritoire. Over the mantel was a glass-case religiously protecting some coins and ancient papers. A rusty sword hung on the wall. Biographies of Lee and Jackson, flanki

. "I understand there isn't another like it i

not familiar with the Ming dynasty,

s a real Mi

ons. That is a coin of George II.; those are Pine-tree shillings; those yellow papers are

treasures gravely. He d

he murmured. "How S

se they would bring a great deal if sold," she added, wistfully. "But we don

ng people breakfast and dine together with a vague chaperone. A tropical garden, soft evenings an

not as a disgrace, but as an inconvenience. Foreclosure proceedings were under way, and it never occurred to the two women to stop them with even a part of the fifty dollars which Ellesworth paid for his board in advance. When Ellesworth found out that this trait was not a paup

e drove over to Sunshine and re

ent from me, wouldn't you?" he a

paper," h

comfortably, for she felt

ink you will like," replied

her bereavement, and of the fact that she was sure the sheriff would attach the house that day of all others, she

om to hang up stock

Ming vase," Georgiella explained, "and

hurry all of the time. The young man himself took the situation out in looking at his watch. It seemed to

ught home a barrelful of it. He thought how he had bought it at twenty-five cents a spray on Washington street. He held a great bra

nch to which he had fastened his present, and which he had set into the vase to look like a little Christmas tree, lay tossed beneath her feet. The pearly white berries were scattered on the floor. The mortgage was in her hand-trust

r, does t

n to tell her in her p

I love you," said El

thought that she was going to tear them up. To gain time, for he dared not approach her, he stooped and picked up the disda

you

, or robbed her father's grave, she could not have regarded him with a m

sted humbly. "It is mine no longer. It

ake valuable presents from-Boston-g

er look, and melted out of the room. But he not

ng he threw himself upon t

he said; "I want t

"If a Northerner does act like a gentleman, the least a Southern gir

in silence, looking like an offended goddess, dressed in an old b

Corkle and Aunt Betsey went into the kitchen. She walked up

a business-like tone. "I will keep the mortgage-thank you, sir. It is my hom

t!" gasped

e two Revolutionary papers, and the coin of George the Second and the rest-" Sh

t, torn between astonishment, pity, amusement and love; but

d the Revolutionary papers, and the

lla. Suddenly she began to droop and tr

everything-the whole-no other claims to come in from any quarter of the universe.

thought it was the Northern wa

ranch from the Ming vase and held it ove

of dismay. She had heard no sound, and had come

eed," he whispered humbly, "tha

hine for his next mail he found t

ourt S

ass., Dec

cis B. E

on's foreclosure at this time of day? It makes a peck of trou

to enclose their little bill. M

s tr

ph T

EL OD

REPUBLIC WITHOU

ied the best detective service of modern times; he was rich beyond his dizziest dreams; he could aspire to any position; he would be an eastern prince perhaps, and drowsy-looking girls should

ays before, he was of all men, the most alert, the most ingenious, the most courageous, the most ambitious; while now, he lived in dreams, which he evoked as persistently as the witch of Endor evoked the ghost of Saul. His natu

in with shame. He saw his father transformed from a virile into a sleek man. He himself had changed during the few days of his knowledge of the secret from a pliant boy int

aced the deck, he filled his lungs with the pure, salt air, and allowed them to expand without stint. There was nothing contracted on his horizon. True, he had lost his country-but he had gained wealth. He felt sure of ad

tion? Or did it come from the fact that his authority seemed to be impaired? There was no insubordination nor mutiny among the sailors. It had not gone so far as that, wi

piracy had entered their veins. They firmly believed that Colonel Odminton would soon cast off his

till obeyed readily, but with an air of abandon that puzzled their commander. But Colonel Odminton did not suspect the

ng the salt water into fresh; but no electrodes were there, to reduce wood to sugar or coal to beef. The Colonel felt his cheek sting with the excitement of coming to land. At the same time he felt a reluctance to do so. He d

r the long-delayed chance to spend their high wages in vice and drink. If nations would conspire to pass an international law

hook his head as the "Lightn

tion. He pined for freedom and gradually wasted away. With feverish eyes he watched for the English coas

. The Colonel had no thought of converting her into the "Mary Jane" again. No flight, no concealment was

beheld the graceful monster mysteriously undulating in, with no help of sails or steam, they called to each other, they uttered direful exclamations, and they assembled i

ointed to the stranger, and

chor, the whole population of Penzance wa

e pictur'. Them's the di-mensions given. Blast t

. We'll send 'em buzzin' to Davy Jone

re was no opportunity to fly a signal at her head, or the Union Jack at her peak. After

, we need no flags," exp

n Jack, then?" asked C

lor. "Fly?" he snarled

d the confusion on the shor

Even their stupendous speed could not outstride the sensitive plate that can catch a perfect likeness in one two-th

roadcast to every port; and that these contained a reproduced picture of Colonel Odminton's venture, with a description of himself; calling upon the nations to do

ghtning's" appearance. For once, there were no sentimental women waiting to cosset the bandit. He

om the world; and even the most abandoned nations sprang to the a

o stood together facing the enraged town. Already the coast guards were drawn up, awaiting the launch.

hand of every inhabitant had grasped a stone, ready to hurl. Hate distorted the fac

at the launch. "My orders are to fire upon every one of you who attempts

e vessel, until the Colonel easily understood their import. But neither he nor his, as yet, knew that the sight of this beautiful

o were cursing civilization. With the pale skin cramped upon his face, with trembl

rilled with the excitement of the novel sport, while Colonel Odminton sat in his cabin alone, bereft of his com

ander's door for orders. The Captain was a cautious man, and was the only one on

his head moodily, and

th you!" he

istian respectfully, "but we

ad found rest in the harbor of Brest. Her side lights were quickly extinguished, and a white light at her bow as she swung to the tide, told curious eyes, if ther

lacker than the night. The Mediterranean squadron of France had but made port the day before, and were due in Cherbourg

the curtains from his son's bed, and was regarding him with conflicting expressions. The lad slept restlessly, and under his father's eyes began to toss and mutter

ul criminal; he was the bandit at bay. He was distrustful, suspicious, ready for revenge. If he had only had Gatling guns aboard, he would have taught the inhabitants of

d of Napoleon, could not be otherwise than liberal to him. Colonel Odminton did not exactly expect a reception by the President of the Repub

ch comes to those who find themselves detested for good reasons, and thrust out, gave way

ith disdain, snapped his finger at all the world,

m, by the clanking revolutions of the machinery that hoisted the anchor, and then, before he had mastered his laggard senses, by imperative knocks at

h, "we are to be blown up in ten minutes!" His jaws ch

n deck. He had not time to put on his cap, and as he emerged in the rosy light of the break

formidable than anything the vaunted navy of the U

ble" had discerned the stranger, and had reported th

Colonel and his yacht. But yesterday, copies had been delivered into the hands of the officers of the squadron with orders to kee

enthusiastically obeyed. A fleet of launch

" Such exclamations mixed with oaths were exchanged by th

e!" cried

Colonel's pay made no answer. H

. Va t'en! Sacre Nom de Dieu, if you ever app

d of them, within less than a biscuit's throw of the most eminent malefacto

been slapped in the face. Carbines were levelled at him threateningly; but t

done by electricity, still the men worked furiously. These embryon

was its origin? Was it a chance indignation that had fomented in England, and had

l the hair turn white. An arch traitor may lose his own country, and get a footing in a foreign land, however contemptible his position may be: but Colonel Odmin

of the men in the launch stood up, wadded a piece of paper in his hands and flung it at the Colonel. It struck the malefactor full in the

out of the harbor. The men upon its decks shook their fi

mechanically turned at the companionway and picked up the wad of paper that had rolled to the sill. It was a co

opposite each other, talking in low tones. The

aid the Captain slowly; "there is no hope for us,

el nodded

go three thousand knots at ten knots an hour. The men are murmuring

egnant pause, "that none of the men picked up thi

ade paler, but he did not say anything. The sma

had he sprun

ir," began the Captain ag

shook his he

the gold, abandon her here, and land

rously. He was ready to give up

we will go. We cannot stay to be starved and tossed upo

entered from his own room, and sto

t his son: back at his C

of the coast. The launch will carry us easily. Will you give us a hundred th

ed a secret safe, took out a heavy weight of gold and

nd held out his hand as he arose. He was honest after his kind, though a masterful man; but the Proclamation

ts and men. There was a counting of gold, and a commanding and warning voice. Finally there was a splash, as the p

but the rest kept a silence. They kn

ecame a speck aga

ther?" asked R

looked his son straight between the eyes. Both faces were furrowed,

ome," said the

er!" crie

if you care to,

was a disgrace to the Great Republic. Jingoism had done the deed, and the

mac. Old, disabled monitors were galvanized into the delusion of life: g

England to furnish vessels of war on hire, which she politely re

ng happened to increase the confusion

pedo boat was seen to ricochet up the river, passing by hidden torpedoes as if she were inspired, and

e after she had destroyed. The fact that she carried no flag, no masts, nothing but a bare hull, made her alarming in the extreme. It was an apparition of death. The Amer

emed to touch a button, and the anchor rattled to its length. Captain and gunners breathed relief. By this ti

boat to board her. Twenty men manne

belong?" demanded the offic

nt of the United States," answe

s this? Let dow

from the hold of the my

replied the boy. "Please let me take

the officer leaped on bo

name?" he a

name her. She was called the 'L

n," cried the officer. "W

he letter tells, s

his head up straight. He faced the officer who had ordered th

p? Did he long to "up the anchor," and give the signal to fly ahead? Did he regret freed

most execrated malefactor. His voice was not harsh, for he divined how the boy's loy

his hand to

r the letter to the Pres

so. The Presid

ter of distinction. "He is aboard there.

his courage deserted him, and h

had gathered about the Pres

man to man. Even the officer could not c

tatively. With a marine glass he had watched the

e way there! Let

in its midst, and Rupert stood alone with him in it,

distinctly, after a long searching gaze. "Yo

ter. This the President took, and opened and read. Then he did what the people will not soon forget. He drew the son of h

what secret safe in the vessel is preserved the gold that I stole from the Treasury. It belongs to the Country. There lack a hundred and twenty thousand dollars. I hereby bequeath the boat to the United States in payment for the balance I o

ompts you, to offer me pardon, that my bones may rest upon the soil I love. My son will guide such a messe

MIN

oice of great feeling. "Mr. President, I suggest that the p

ent smiled

l we accept the yacht? I think the Treasury will find room for t

Secretary of the

gster as middy aboard of her; he understands her better than any one else. With your per

ry bowed de

avy?" The great head of the nation bent t

ried Rupert, broken by prid

rdon to-morrow," said

it," whispered Rupert timidly. Then the b

rather put his arm about a palmetto, and his cheek against its rough surface, than b

er! F

ble cut the l

behind the hidd

ficer searched has

woods. Oh, y

shades surrounded him. Warm breaths and new odors caressed him. Almost lif

Before the officer knew it, he was upon a fi

e has forgiven you

upon the penitent's head. It was warm. The dead man's arms were outstretched upon the great

that he dared not to touch the soil

ied, they could not tell-for his strong limbs were set; the swarming Southern ants had not desec

e-sickness of the true Southerner, he had crawled ba

rstand his own emotion. But the weeping lad followed slowly. He heard a cade

E