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^ ISSUED SKMI'WEKKLY ^ l. m. grist s sons, Publishers. | % <JfaimIg Dttragagtr: ^or the promotion of the political, ^oqial Agricultural and fljommtrcial Interests of the jOeople. ^ { TERs^oLE coFVFVvECE^VANC,i' % ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE, 8. O., FRIDAY, J.MSTUA.KY 10, 1908. ISTO. 3. Ltro 13 v ETTA \ k -i r CHAPTER XXI. Jetta Speaks Again. "So this clashed, trumpery tea didn't * lure you to the beach, Jetta?" he began. "It seems that you care little for all the infernal nonsense going on about the house of late. 'Pon my soul, you look as pale as a spirit! Something is troubling you; but your handsome eyes begin to hash! You hate me too much to accept my sympathy." ^ His voice trembled like a schoolgirl's. The sight of me had brought a passion of delight into his turbulent face. Who else in the wide world cared for my forlorn self like this? "I c?> not hate you. Vincent," I began. ^ "You simply regard me with profound Indifference. Is that it?" "That ts it." I assented, sadly, "and I do not want any sympathy, thank you ?I need none. It's odd that you are not with the tea-party on the shore." "Is it?" he answered, grimly. "I . found you were not among them, and that was enough for me. You have PV spoiled me for the society of other woI men. Great God!"?and a spasm of pain contracted his young face?"you have spoiled me for everything. Jetta? C yes, for life itself." "How absurdly you talk!" I said. "It is time you were cured of your folly, Vincent. By what perversity do you still hold to it? I am ashamed of you!" He came nearer to me, breathing hard. "Cured of my folly? That will never be! Prince Lucifer, if he likes, can drive me from the island, so I bridle ^ my tongue that I may be allowed to remain near you. You may need me? who knows? Your brother"? He stopped and bit his lip. I sprang to my feet. "What do you mean?" I cried. "What do you know of my brother?" "More than I like to tell." he answered. with an unpleasant smile. "Show me a little kindness. Jetta. and I will serve both you and Gabriel, for, mark you, I know his present straits and his need of help. Why cannot you love me? Am I old? am I ugly? It is said r that love begets love, but were that true, you would have returned my pasI sion long ago. Open your cold heart to me, Jetta! I will forgive all past rebuffs, if only you can be persuaded to extend me a little mercy now." " He was down on his knees In the grass, his distracted face raised to mine, his hands striving to clutch and hold me as I recoiled from him. all my softened feelings giving place, in an instant. to renewed aversion. "Do not touch me!" I commanded; "do not speak to me any more, if you ' have only this to say. Of one thing be assured, Vincent Hawkstone?I shall never buy any knowledge or service of you at the price you mention." He grew furious. "You may be giaa to ao so ueiure I many days, Jetta! I perceive that some spell is at work on this island. Othpr women find Prince Lucifer irresistible?do you? Other women regard him as a lawful and desirable catch in the matrimonial field?do you? He has the art of dazzling your sex. of carrying all before him?do you recognize his power? Is it so? Come, you shall speak?I will know the whole truth?is a it so?" He made an attempt to take me in his arms. I gave an involuntary cry. The next instant a hand seized Vincent Hawkstone by the shoulder, and whirl^ ed him round like a top. The lord of V the island stepped betwixt me and my unwelcome suitor. "Vincent, this is going a trifle too far, is it not?" he said, sternly. "You vowed to me that you would not torment Miss Ravenel further. Now that you have broken your word, and outraged my forbearance, there's but one thing more for you to do?go, and nev- 1 er set foot on Tempest Island again. ^ without my permission." Vincent faced his cousin with a white, sinister look. He was cast out, and that by one more powerful than himself. "Very well," he sneered; "I go. my I dear cousin, but some day I shall return. and then I. not you, will be the master of Tempest Island." With this evil prophecy on his lips he departed through the horseshoe gate. I stood alone with Hawkstone. How much he had heard of my conversation with Vincent I do not know. "It was fortunate that I was sent back to the house for extra wraps," he began, "otherwise that foolish boy ? * # might have given you serious uuuuir. He is incurable, it appears, and I must pity even while I condemn him." His hand closed suddenly upon mine. "I remember your high courage years ago. Miss Ravenel?it cannot have deserted you, I am sure. Allow no person to alarm you, listen to no tales, and should you be in need of counsel and assistance, come to me?for my stepmother's sake, come to me!" His back was toward the gate. Before I could answer I was aware of a stealthy movement in that direction. f?ver me flashed a premonition of evil. ? I flung myself instinctively before Hawkstone. None too soon. There was a flash, a report?something whistled by my ear. I felt his arm around me? I heard him cry out: "Great God. are you hurt?" I "I am not." I answered, and put my hand to my face, to find it wet with blood. The bullet had grazed my cheek, and neatly cut away a long lock of my hair. Hawkstone put me down on the garden seat without another word, and dashed out of the gate. After a little space, however, he reappeared, emptyhanded. 1 "My Cousin Vincent could not leave me without a parting token of his regard." he said, dryly. "Permit me to keep this hair as a souvenir." He carefully gathered up the severed tress, and put it in his pocketbook; he * wiped the blood from my cheek with his own handkerchief, then, darting in the house, he returned immediately IF IE V. PIERCE. with a glass of wine, which he pressed to my lips. "Drink it!" he pleaded, as I tried to turn away. "Your white looks frighten me. Brave, noble child! I know not how to thank you! Undoubtedly, your promptness saved my life. I shall call Mrs. Otway, and tell her that you have mbt with an accident. We need not explain its nature?I do not care to proclaim Vincent an assassin?a coward who shoots in the dark." -1 fled to my own room. The gypsy party came back from the shore, and Bee called aloud, as she passed my door: "Good-night, dear Miss Ravenel. Mrs. Otway says you are not quite well, and must not be disturbed. I am very sorry. It was dull on the rocks without you." Then I crept to my bed, and dreamed of Vincent Hawkstone trying to dip his [hands in the blood of one who had been to him as a brother: and of Gabriel, under a cloud?in disgrace with Mr. Sutton?all his bright prospects Hung away, because of his entanglement with the woman who was once Basil Hawkstone's wife. Saturday. ? This morning Basil Hawkstone sent up to the schoolroom a wicker basket tied with satin ribbons, and crowded with orchids, heliotrope and roses. Sarah, the nursempid, was badly frightened last night by the apparition of a woman wandering in the garden shrubbery. "A creature like a corpse, Miss Ravenel," said Sarah to me; "all in white, with hair like the clouds we call mares' tails, blown about her dead face! She made my flesh creep?she did!" "It was some guest of the house," I suggested. "No, indeed, miss!" protested Sarah; "it was the island ghost, and it never came from any place nearer than the churchyard. Plenty of folks have seen it since Mr. Philip Hawkstone's murder." But Mrs. Otway had a different communication to make to me. "Everything belonging to Vincent Hawkstone has been sent to Whlthaven." she announced, "and word delivered to all of us that he is not to be received on the island again. I, for one, am not sorry." Monday.?Everybody went yachting today, and Tempest Hall was left silent and deserted. Mr. Hawkstone carried Bee with him, and I, thankful for a return, however brief, of the old solitude and quiet, went down to the porch, and seated myself under its reddening autumn vines with a bit of needlework. Presently Doris Rokewood appeared in the hall-door. She wore a foulard dress, the color of cornflowers. A velvet chatelaine bag, with antique silver clasps, was suspended at her side from velvet ribbons. Her silk stockings matched her dress, and silver buckles ornamented her French shoes. Altogether. she looked picturesque and charming. I "You did not go with the yachting party?" I said, in surprise. She shook her flaxen head. "No; I have been reading to my guardian. He has now fallen asleep." She sat down in the porcl. and called the dogs around her. We talked of everything but Gabriel. His name she studiously avoided, and I had not the courage to mention it. In the midst of our conversation a suaiiRer came through the gate, and lifted his hat to my companion. "Don't let me alarm you, Miss Rokewood." he said, in a well-bred voice; "I have business with Mr. Sutton." Alarmed she certainly was. Utter consternation appeared in her face. She started up with an involuntary look toward me. "My guardian is asleep. Mr. Rannor," she faltered; "he had a bad night. Is your business important?" "Nothing less would bring me from Whithaven." he answered, with a disagreeable smile. Then he fixed a pair of sharp eyes on me, and said: "I perceive that this young lady is Miss Ravenel. Her resemblance to her brother is very marked." Miss Rokewood answered nothing. 1 too, remained silent. Unabashed, Mr. Radnor began to tell me that he was a friend of Clabriel. and that he desired crejitlv to see him on a matter that closely concerned them both. He asked if I had resided long at the island, and did my brother visit me, did he write to me, did I know his present address? All these questions were put in a polite, cautious way. I answered ir monosyllables. Miss Rokewood. as I could see. was very uneasy. She turned <>n tlie man. at last, with an offended air. "I will bid Parker wake Mr. Sutton." she said, sharply. "You had better go up to him at once." As our visitor disappeared in the hall. Doris Rokewood caught me b\ the arm. "Come!" she cried; "we must hide somewhere till that man leaves the island!" I flew with her out of the gate. Before I realized what I was about, we were in the green solitude of the churchyard?certainly beyond the oh ?: s.c "\f ?, Dn/lnnr VillU'II ui 1*11. iiaviiioi. "I did not wish hiin to see or speal to you again!" gasped Miss Rokewood "I did not wish him to annoy you further." "Is lie a detective." I said, laughing at our absurd flight, "that he shouli ply tne with so many questions?" For answer. Miss Rokewood leanet suddenly against a tree, and burst intr such a passion of weeping as I hat never witnessed before?weeping tha shook her from head to foot, and was all the more distressing to me becaus< I could perceive no cause for it. "Do not mind me." she said, at last trying to smile: "we all have our weal moments, you know. This spot com mands a view of the landing-place T.et us stay here till we see Mr. Rad nor's boat leave for Whithaven." ( Si) we remained silent among the old graves till the boat departed, then we went back to Tempest Hall, I secretly wondering what all this mystery could mean. CHAPTER XXII. Jetta Speaks On. Another week is over. For days the house has been ringing with notes of preparation for a great event?a fancy ball at Tempest Hall. Like a splendid, feverish dream the whole affair seems to me. as I recall it?the gayly decorl ated yachts in the roadstead, the island in gala dress and full of festive comI rrtvi noAnln thrnnfrlntr flip I I I IU 1 It'll, llic f^lClIIK J'CV'JUV kin VllQltlQ wav house, and last night?the ball! ' As soon as the sun set, headlands and beaches began to blaze with bonfires, and the entire garden, down to the old seawall, was hung with hundreds of colored lamps. Mrs. Otway begged me to go downstairs with Bee, and to please the child I consented. Palms and ferns, and orange trees in full bloom, lined the wainscoted hall and the oaken stairways. India silks of every hue, brought by Hawkstone from abroad, stuffs from Persian looms, brocades, massive with peacock's eyes, draped the two long drawing-rooms, now thrown into one. From a temporary balcony, hidden in flowers, an orchestra from Whithaven discoursed sweet music. The waxed floors glittered like mirrors; silver candelabra, as old as Oeoi-ge III., held aloft clusters of lights. I found a shelter for Bee and myself in a recessed window of the ballroom. Hawkstone, in the dress of Rochambeau, was dancing a minuet with Miss Rokewood?the latter attired as a colonial belle. Violet Van Dorn flashed by in an Eastern dress of red velvet and gold brocade, with rows of golden sequins in her black hair. Watteau shepherdesses wandered about in pink and blue gowns, with Marie Antoinette fichus, and crooks ornamented with natural flowers. In the wake of these damsels followed a patre, in pale green jacket and lilac satin small-clothes. Ruffs and rapiers were there, ermine and velvets and jeweled girdles; trains of gold brocade, bordered with yellow feathers; diamonds and old iriemisn laces; costly odors, radiant eyes, gay voices. "It's like something out of my fairybooks," said Bee. as she sat beside me in her white frock of quaint Kate Greenaway pattern. "Yes, dear," I answered. The orchestra struck up Ghys's "Air do Louis XIII." Eight couples, in court costume, with Hawkstone and Miss Hokewood at their Tiead, began the gavotte?that charming French dance which carries one's thoughts back two centuries, at least. As I sat watching the powdered and bejeweled ladies gliding under the uplifted rapiers of their gallants, Colonel Latimer, in the dress of a Turkish bey, entered my retreat. He held out to me an enormous bouquet of tuberoses. "Sweets to the sweetest of all the world!" he murmured, in a voice too impassioned to be agreeable. "By Jove! it's a pity the handsomest woman in the room should be hiding behind a curtain, while her plainer sisters have their fling." Pretending not to hear, I smelled the flowers and said to Bee. in a prim, governess fashion: "My dear, in tho gardens of Versailles there was once an alley, where King Ix>uis' courtiers?those fine people who originally danced the gavotte ?could not walk after nightfall, because of the overpowering odor of tuberoses." "Don't keep them," said Bee, turning up her small nose. "I like better the Parma violets that papa gave you at dinner." "Here?take them. Colonel Latimer!" I exclaimed. "It is not strange that the French courtiers found such sickening sweetness unbearable." With a disappointed air, he tossed the whole waxy, honeyed mass out of the open window. "Since you reject them"?he sighed ?"let them die." I wished him a thousand miles distant at that moment. He leaned confidingly on the high back of my chair and looked out into the ballroom. His Turkish fez hid the bald spot on his crown, but brought into undue prominence his high Roman nose. "Deuced good display, eh?" he remarked. "Hawkstone looks well in that court get-up. Pity men of his mold couldn't wear gold lace and sidearms nowadays. So picturesque!" "Yes," I assented, rather vaguely. "Yonder comes a death's-head at the feast." pursued our Turk, as Mr. Sutton appeared under a neighboring portiere. supported by his valet. "Wonder what he can find to amuse him here? He's a dyspeptic of the Thomas Carlyle stamp: dancing isn't in his line." "He seems very ill." I remarked. I "Of course. He was recently robbed I and assaulted in his Newport home, ! you know, and being an invalid anyway. the affair nearly finished him." "Robbed! assaulted!" I echoed, hori rifled. t To my surprise, the colonel grew red I as a lobster. I "By Jove! I oughtn't to have mentioned it!" he stammered. "Hawkstone begged us all never to speak of the matter here. My head is quite giddy tonight. Miss Ravenel." And his eyes ' beamed upon me all too kindly. "Won't ' you send this ever-present child away for a few moments, and let me speak f to you alone?" ' "I could not think of such a thing!" I answered. "Say nothing to me, Col one! Latimer, that Ree. or anybody in s the room may not hear." "Ah!" he groaned; "you. then, for bid me to hope?" "Most certainly." ' He heaved a prodigious sigh, and went out of the recess to come back no more. By-and-by, Mr. Sutton, on the arm ' of Parker, approached our window. I 1 drew back to avoid observation, but he stopped directly before me, and to ' - !?? nut r.r?? dplicate hand. 1 my sui |pi i.t iivivi ..?? i "I must beg to be pardoned, Miss 1 Ravenel, for my rudeness ?o you in the t garden, when you were doing your best * to serve me." he said, in an amiable i voice. "I am a very unreasonable and disagreeable person?yes, a brute," as , the tears leaped involuntarily to my i eyes. "Doris Rokewood insists that I - shall be friends with you, and I offer . this apology very humbly." I imit my hand on his outstretched palm. "Thank you. child." he said, kindly. "You have a heai-t above malice, I see." And he went on, and was lost In the crowd. Tableaux vlvants followed the dancing. Only two of these Interested me. One was Hero in her tower at Sestos, watching for Leander. Miss Rokewood, splendidly attired, as became a priestess "of Venus, made an impressive Hero. Her robe of dull-blue velvet was clasped about the waist with a girdle of wrought silver. All her fair hair innoo nn hor ctinnlders. The pilCatllCU \ >| 1 tivt Isadness, the pale apprehension in herl face, as she watched for her lost lover, seemed more real than feigned. The second group that remained fixed in my memory was Hawkstone as Edward III. and Violet Van Dorn as Countess of Salisbury?he kneeling before her in the historic garter scene, and looking "every inch a king," in his velvet court dress and cloth of gold mantle. At last Bee began to tire of so much splendor, so, after one peep at the supper-room, with all its crystal and Sevres and old plate, we stole out of the crowd and up to the nursery and Sarah. On the stair, under the pfLlms and orange-trees, I met a monk in a black [robe, with a cowl drawn over his head. He flashed me one look from under the hood. | "Le boil temps vlendra." he muttered, and I knew the. voice of Vincent Hawkstone?he was there, disguised, among his cousin's guests. "For God's sake, don't betray me!" he whispered. "I came only to see you!" I fled to the night nursery with Bee, who, luckily, had not recognized the monk. Sarah undressed the child, and she said her prayers in drowsy Jerks, and straightway fell asleep. Then I retreated to my own chamber, but not to slumber. The rencontre on the stair disturbed me. "Le bon temps viendra"?the good time will come. What did he mean by that? I leaned my face against the cool window. Nearly all Hawkstone's guests were to pass the night on the island, and sounds of revelry still echoed in the rooms below. The bonfires on the headlands still reddened the outer gloom. Another hour passed. The lamp went out. and left the chamber in darkness. My eyelids were growing heavy, when, of a sudden, I heard a queer scratching sound in the vines of the porch. As I looked. I saw a human head rise cautiously out of the leaves only a few feet from my window. A long, dark body followed it. The figure of a man stood for an Instant erect on the roof of the porch, as if taking observations, then vanished round an angle in the wall. Was it a burglar? I remembered the display of jewels in the ballroom, the old plate on the supper-tables, and my heart gave a painful leap. I ran -out into the passage to alarm the house, then, moved by some inexplicable impulse, turned back and rushed to Bee's nursery. A man was leaning over the child's bed. pressing something down on her sleeping face. The sickening smell of chloroform greeted my nostrils. "Help, Sarah!" I screamed, and threw myself on Bee just as the ir.an attempted to raise her. The night-lamp showed me that hfs face was masked. With an oath he tried to hurl me off. "Let go, curse you!" he cried; but I clung the closer to the child, and screamed again. "Sarah, Sarah! Oh, help!" Out of the adjoining closet burst Sarah, in her night-clothes, bewildered, but courageous. "Thieves! Robbers! Murder!" she shrieked. The masked man struck me savagely, but I held Bee fast, and Sarah threw herself upon him with all her might. He shook her off, and sprang for the window. His legs were just disappearing over the sill when Hawkstone, still in his velvet-and-gold court-dress, sprang into the nursery. "The child!? The child!" cried Sarah. "A man has been trying to carry little miss away, sir." "She is safe. Mr. Hawkstone." I gasped, "quite safe!" and having Hung the cloth from her face. I laid Bee hack on the bed. At a single stride Hawkstone was at the window?out of it?following in the wake of the masked fugitive! Some presentiment of the truth flashed upon me. I flew down the stair?out into the garden?to the old dials. There was the culprit, prone on the grass, with Hawkstone's knee on his breast. As I reached the two the island lord snatched the mask from the face of the fallen man. "Give an account of yourself!" he commanded. "Did you come here of your own will, or were you sent by another?" A lamp left from the revel, swung from a bough overhead, shone on the faces of both men. "Gabriel!" I cried. "Oh, Mr. Hawkstone it is mv brother Gabriel!" Hawks tone arose from his prisoner ?suffered Gabriel to rise, also. "I see," he said, in a cold, hard voice; "Mademoiselle Zephyr's lover!" Pale, haggard, disordered, changed almost beyond recognition, Gabriel stood there by the old dials, face to face with both Hawkstone and myself, but dumb as stone, I ran to the island lord, crying wildly: "Let him go; oh, let him go! That woman has driven him mad!" Something strange went over Hawkstone's face. "Go, then," he said to Gabriel?and his voice was very grave?"and do not come here again, for I have guests in this house that you would not like to meet?I mean George Sutton and his ward. Poor foolish boy, God knows I have no wish to detain you. For your sister's sake go while there is yet time!" At the mention of Sutton's name Gabriel reeled back, as though he had received a blow. "Oh, my dear, my dear!" I cried, throwing my arms around him; "how ill and wretched you look!?how strange! What dreadful thing has happened to you? Do you need me? Shall I go with you, Gabriel? Speak the word, and I will follow you to the ends of the earth. Who have we but each other?" He thrust me away, and answered, hoa rsely: "You! Good Heaven, no! I do not want you! Keep off, meddlesome little jade! But for you I might have carried the child away tonight." Then, In furious excitement, he shook his clinched hand at Hawkstone. "I ask no favors of you," he cried; "I don't wish any, thank you. Now and always, I am your enemy, and Vera shall have her daughter yet!" He turned toward the gate. I put myself before him. He had a white, hunted look that frightened me. "Oh, Gabriel, where are you going?" I cried, In an agony of apprehension. "You are in trouble?let me help you!" "In trouble?" he laughed, wildly. "Yes, in black seas of It? Can I rely on you In a crisis, Jetta?" "Yes, oh, yes!" I sobbed. "Remember that promise!" he cried, and vanished through the gate, and into the darkness beyond. Hawkstone and I were left by the old dials alone. I felt sick and stunned. Never had my brother's character apnea ned to me in such an unlovelv light ?never had I pitied him so much. I leaned involuntarily against an old tree by jfhe dials. A chilly, sullen light, fa in fly gray, was in the sky. I forgot Hawkstone's presence till lie called my name. "Jetta!" As he towered above me in his splendid dress, In his cold, insolent strength, an unreasoning wrath arose in my heart. "Strange," I cried, "that the Ravenels, both my father and his children, ; should be pursued by the same fate? i disastrous entanglement with the i Hawkstones! Better for all of us if ] we had never looked on one of your | name! I have lost my brother?he Is Gabriel no more?and all because of? of'-}- ( He finished the sentence for me. ( "The woman who was once my wife, i Yes, It is true. The Hawkstones have i brought evil to your family?God help i me! I know this even better than you, i and knowing It, I find it very hard to speak the words that can no longer be t kept back, Jetta." ] He bent and looked in my face by the i faint light. t "Oh, child!" he groaned, "be gener- i ous now and show mercy to a Hawkstone!?give .me the right to console and p-otect you, In place of Gabriel, i With all my soul I long to make you i my own?with all the strength that is ] In ino T I.wo vnil T lovp vou! Lonsr I ago, my mother chose you for me?my | very heart of hearts chooses you now!" j The world seemed heaving around . me; the supreme moment of life had ] come. I knew that my master calltMl ?that I was no longer my own, but t another's. I could not withhold my { hands from his hands, my pale face \ from his eager, searching gaze, my llpg from the rain of his kisses. "Speak!" he Implored. "Has your j hea"t no answer to make to mine, Jet- j ta?., My life has been full of ills?in ] you alone can I find recompense for the i past. Come to me, darling!?I need ] you immeasurably!" He opened his arms. A rosy flush ] was now mantling the east, the sea | murmured softly under the dawn. ( Somewhere above our heads a bird | broke into faint, sweet twittering. I "Come!" he called again, and I made i a step toward him?I fell on his breast, , and he held me there, as though he would never, never let me go again! CHAPTER XXIII. Jetta Still Speak*. I am Basil Hawkstone's promised | wife! How strange and unreal it all , seems! I can scarcely believe my own 4 1 ? i ? ~Ua "<111 hovo nn QP gTt*Hl Mil {jpiIlC.T*. lie nui iimv ... --- < crecy about our love. By the time the , late breakfast was over at Tempest ( Hall, everybody?the revelers of last , night, and the household servants also j ?knew that the island lord was en- , gaged to that very Insignificant and ] unexpected person?his daughter's governess. I Some of the ladies wished me joy. in a cold and constrained way. Violet , Van Dorn looked unutterably indig- , nant. Miss Rokewood was the only , one who congratulated me heartily. | Colonel Latimer grew very pale and , drew out his watch. "I've an engagement in Whithaven . at noon," he stammered: "sorry to say 1 good-bye so abruptly." . Bee was radiant. "And you are going to be my mam- ( ma!" she cried. "Oh, I am so glad? , I will love you so much." And she clasped me close in her little arms. , Mrs. Otway received the news with a grave face. "My dear child," she sighed, "I wish | you joy, but don't look for it as Basil Hawkstone's wife!" I felt a creeping chill. "Why do you say that, Mrs. Otway?" "Are you so ignorant of the history of the family, that you should ask? The fate that has overtaken them all will ? """ " THo toaro rolled down IIUl S|)O.I C JUU. xnu kvuio her wrinkled cheeks. "How can you hope for peace or happiness. Miss Ravenel, while she?that other woman? ( lives? You have heard of the tragedy ( that happened here in your- father's ( time? How much happiness did the second bride of Philip Hawkstone ever know ?" We were together in the housekeeper's room, where Mrs. Otway was sorting household linen. The windows opened on great beds of autumn asters and geraniums, lifting shining faces to a cloudless sun; the sails of the windmills turned lazily in a soft breeze; the distant bleat of sheep came from the island moors. Al! was security and peace, and "the light that never was on land nor sea" filled my happy eyes. How could one talk of trouble on such a morning, and at such a time? Mrs. " ' - * o../1/lanlv nhnut Uiway pui ner cti ma aui>v.v...^ me. "You are surrounded by foes," she said; "I fear for you?I fear for you"? A shadow appeared at the window, and Basil Hawkstone looked in upon us. He had heard part of the conversation, at least. "Mrs. Otway," he said, gravely, "don't attempt to frighten Jetta. I know she is making a bad bargain, but we must not tell her so"?smiling. "Love Is stronger than hate, and rest assured"?with a flash of his grand, gray eyes?"I shall be able to protect my wife from all enemies!" "I hope you may, sir," said Mrs. Otway, sadly; "yet I cannot help thinking that you will not succeed." "Because I know that you have her ' ^&00T' welfare and mine at heart, I forgive four dismal prophecies, Mrs. Oiway," le said, lightly. "But do not seek to jart us now?only death can do that!" **** Already the guests are departing. 1 lannot but think that some of the lalies seem indifferent to a longer visit io\v that they have heard of Hawkitone's engagement. Of course, those vho go to Whithaven will carry the lews with them. The yachts vanish in the blue dis:ance, the house grows still. Miss Etokewood and her guardian alone renain. The latter has had a relapse, ind Hawkstone will not permit him to eave the Hall until he is stronger. ** ** It Is all arranged?I am to be mar led In this little Islund church, one nonth from date, and sail at once for Europe. He will go back to Egypt? :o a winter on the Nile, according to lis original plans, nnd I am to share lis wanderings in the land of the lotus ?I am to see Cairo and Thebes and Luxor with him. "All this seems very hasty," I tried :o say. when he had thus taken possession of my future; but he silenced me vith a passionate embrace. "Why should we wait?" he cried. 'You have no friends to consult?I lave none. Moreover, delays are dangerous. I dare not dally long with happiness?I have found her too fickle, :oo uncertain?I must seize and make per my own at once!" Why should I not bring a little Joy into his life? Why should I not help lim forget his past? There can be but me supreme evil before me now?to :ose Basil Hawkstone, and one supreme jood?to share his future, whatever it may be. "Oh, let the solid ground Not fail beneath my feet. Before my life has found What some have found so sweet. Then let come what come may, What matter if I go mad. I shall have had my day." The morning mail brought me two letters. The first, from Vincent Hawkdone, contained these words: "You are on the brink of a precipice, Jetta. You must not, you shall not, marry Prince Lucifer! I wish to Heaven that I had killed him that night in the garden! If you persist in your present folly, you will bring destruction upon yourself, as well as upon him. Be warned in time." The second letter was from my poor brother, anu ran as ronow.s: "I am in great peril, Jetta?I need your help. Tonight at sunset, meet me at Peg Patton's Inlet House. I am now a fugitive from justice, so, in the name of our dead father, come alone to your unhappy Gabriel." A fugitive from justice?terrible words! My heart leaped into my throat. A black cloud seemed to fall on ill my new-found happiness. I gave Vincent's letter to Hawkstone, but concealed Gabriel's in my handkerchief, and smiled when my lordly lover asked me the cause of my sudden pallor. After lunch Miss Rokewood went over to the lighthouse, on an extreme point of the island, and took Bee with her in the pony-cart. It is a long, lonesome ride, and the roads are rough. I charged her to he very cureful of Bee. "You will make a model stepmamina, Miss Ravenel," she answered, gayl.v. "I pledge you my word that I will return the child to you unharmed." I saw them go off together, Bee shaking the lines over the fat backs of the ponies?Miss Rokewood's kind arm thrown firmly around her, and a halfdozen dogs barking at the wheels of the cart. Some business matter had called Hawkstone to Whithaven?he would nro return till dark. The invalid, Mr. Sutton, was a prisoner in his room. So I found the coast quite clear, and a little before .sunset I started alone for Peg's Inlet. Somehow the walk across the dunes had never seemed so lonely as on this night. The chill of autumn was in the air. How would Tempest Island look. I wondered, in a shroud of snow? Ah, before the falling of the white flakes, I should be far away with my lover, in a summer land! I reached the beach where I had once before met Gabriel, and turned up the forest path to the Inlet House. Dead leaves rustled under my feet. Here and there a red tree stood up, like a torch, in the gloom. I heard ?"the water lapping on the crag. ? ?f 1 In tha And the long rippie \vn3i..i.s ... ...~ reeds." In nervous haste I went on till I came in sight of the house. In the doorway sat Peg Patton. with her brown hands clasped around her knees, and a cob pipe between her lips. She arose as I approached. "Is any one waiting for me here, Peggy?" I asked, my heart beating fast. "Yes, miss," she answered, and motioned me to enter. "You will find the person inside." I stepped across the threshold into Peg's living-room. The light was fading fast, and at Hist I could discern no object clearly In the low, dark place, but as I stood gazing around It In vague alarm, a figure started out of an obscure corner, and advanced toward me with a catlike tread?not Gabriel?not my unfortunate brother,' but Mademoiselle, the former wife of Basil Hawkstone. To be Continued. &U$fcUanrou$ iUaditt^. SACRED CATTLE IN TEXAS. Great Hopes Entertained For Them by Ranchmen. The herd of Burmese sacred cattle which "Tom" O'Connor, a prominent stockman of this region, imported direct from India about two years ugo, has done so well that these cattle will soon be found upon many of the ranches of southwest Texas, says the Goliad correspondent of the New York Tribune. They were brought to Texas with the special idea that they could be used to advantage in improving the breads of the native cattle. A. P. Borden of Pierce, Tex., and other representative cattlemen of the Gulf coast region, made a personal Investigation of the Burmese sacred cattle In India before the experiment of bringing them over here was tried. A shipload of the odd-looking animals was brought over, and when they were unloaded at the ranch of Mr. O,Connor, near here, they attracted the widest attention among cattlemen. They are still the objects of much curiosity, and cattlemen come long distances to see them and to make personal Inquiry as to the success of the experiment. Mr. O'Connor is more than satisfied with his efforts at raising the Burmese sacred cattle. They seem to be particularly well suited to the Texas coast region and they have thrived much better than the average stock imported from other states or even from the remote parts of Texas. It is said to have been fully demonstrated that these cattle are Immune from the "tick" fever. This fact Is of itself a Doint sufficiently strong to rec ommend the adoption of the cattle upon all of the ranches where the peculiar malady is encountered. The claim Is made that not only are the native Burmese cattle immune from this fever. but that they transmit the immunity to their offspring and that it is found In the half-breeds as well as the thoroughbreds. There is a hardiness about the Burmese sacred cattle that is said to fit them peculiarly for range life. It is believed that they will be able to withstand the severest kind of weather without serious losses, and that they are well fitted for the ranches of the more northern portions of the state, and even of Oklahoma and Kansas. The terrific heat of the summer and the various pests of the Gulf coast region do not seem to affect them adversely. Their skins are lough and' are apparently impervious to all Insect pests, such as ticks, mosquitoes and flies. As a beef animal the claim is made that the Burmese are the equal of any of the breeds of cattle commonly found upon the ranches. They fatten easily and their flesh is particularly well flavored. When crossed with other breeds the mixture Is an improved animal both as to standard of weight and other important qualities, it is claimed. The Burmese cattle are docile and domestic in nature. Their chief characteristic in the matter of personal appearance is a large hump which is situated just above their shoulder blades upon the front part of their backs. MYSTERY OF THE TIDES. Queer Reasons That Were Assigned For Their Ebb and Flow. The tides, those mysterious pulsations of the sea, have been the theme of curious speculation ever since man began to ask the reason of what he saw around him. Many sages and clever brains in the ages of the past tried to explain away the periodical ebb and flow of the ocean, and many plausible if erroneous ideas were seized upon and used to solve the problem, and some of the curious notions of these old world philosophers are worthy of Interest. Aristotle, who tried to find a logical reason for everything In nature, thought that tides were caused by the sun, which moves and whistles the "'inHs ohmit sn that thev fall with srreat violence on the Atlantic, the only great ocean known to the Greeks, which thus swells and causes the tide. Plato accounted for them as being caused by an animhl living in a cavern, which, by means of a huge orifice, created the ebb and flow. The ancient Arabs believed that tides were caused by the moon heating the waters and causing them to swell, while others averred that they were caused by the alternate decomposition of the sea by the air and of the air by the sea, thus causing an ebb and flow. A writer as late as the thirteenth century coolly remarks that tides are caused by the efTorts of the earth to breathe. Saintly St. Jerome explained the mystery by means of caves, and Bede stated that the ebb and flow were caused by an enormous serpent, who swallows and vomits the water. Another old sage thought that they were caused by the melting of the ice at the poles. In Russia, dwellers by the seashore popularly believe that the tides are governed by the water king's daughter. The Shetlanders used to believe that periodical tides were caused by a monster living in the sea, or, to quote from an old Shetland worthy, "a monstrous sea serpent tnai iook six nuuis iu uia>< in his breath and about six to let it out again." The Chinese believe that supernatural beings, weird and wonderful. cause the tides, while the Malays aver that they are caused by the movements of a huge crab. Some of these old thinkers have been very near the solution of the problem, while some of their crude notions are only fantastic. ?Scottish Nights. Our present form of ice cream Is a development of "fromages glaces," a frozen combination of strawberries and apricots, introduced into France from Italy in 1660. They did not contain a drop of cream but later, cream and milk were added to give consistency, and then, gradually, the present form of ice cream was evolved. A PLAINS EPISODE. How Custer's Dog Came Back to the Camp. It was a fine, clear, bracing morning in the last week of September when our shooting party broke camp on a fork of the Republican river to go in search of meat for the troop. The past week had been rainy and wet, and supplies of flesh food were running low. They generally do when you have to get enough fresh meat for 100 men, and when the base of supplies is about 100 miles away from camp. We had plenty of pork, potatoes, beans, etc., but we needed fresh meat. The men were In the saddle about six hours a day. covering twenty to twenty-five miles on the move to a new camp. Above them was the same eternal sky, and about them the changeless prairie, and the monotony of both grow on one day after day. It Is no wonder that we used to And ourselves doring off while in the saddle. When camp was reached a buffalo steak or a little tenderloin of elk used to come in very handy. Farley the guide and the men selected as detail had got the mule wagon In commission, and we were moving n ft ti'Vian n crroifK Aiirt<) noma Knuri/1 I T"i VU, TV tic; AI U 51 XJJ 1IVUIIU VttlllC MVU(lva??*0 toward us from the troop camp. He was big in bone and muscle, with plenty of flesh and his tawny coat striped with black. He showed form and quality in every movement, and well he might, for he was one of a pair sent as a present to Gen. Custer by Queen Victoria. I do not care much for greyhounds, but this dog was the special pet of all the men in the troop. He had followed us when we left Harker. Farley the guide had recqjved instructions to look after the dog during Gen. Custer's absence in the east, and how Farley had the nerve to allow the dog to come with us for a month's scout I cannot tell. Nevertheless the dog had followed us, and it was Farley's lookout to return him safely to Harker. On our second day out the hunting party was passing over a small, low range of hills, when from our crest we sighted ten antelope, grazing on the crisp buffalo grass about half a mile away. After approaching as near as we could without disturbing them, we left the wagonaand men, and Farley and I dropped down into a little gulch, thinking we could make a stalk of a few hundred yards to within shooting distance. Crawling through red clay mud and over some of the hastiest small, round and Jagged . . stones my hands and Knees ever came In contact with, we had worked our way some distance toward the antelope, when, on raising my head to take a peep at them, I turned it, and saw the dog following us, crawling on his stomach, with eyes dilated and every fibre in his tawny body quivering with excitement By this time Farley had seen the antelope about 244 yards k away and had raised his rifle prepared to shoot when I gave the word. Just as I raised my rifle the dog rushed between us full tilt after the antelope. I took in the situation at a glance and called; "Farley! Farley! for God's sake, don't shoot; you'll hit the dog!" It was too late. In the excitement he must have pressed the trigger, and the rifle cracked. I saw the dog suddenly wilt down, stop, turn and then walk directly back toward us. The poor hound came slowly up to Farley with such a look of wonder and love In his eyes as I have never been able to get out of my memory. Farley seemed to be stunned. "My God! what shall I do? I shall shot the general's dog. The men will never forgive me. Take your revolver and put him out of his misery. I can't shoot him. I never can face the general again." The ball had entered the dog at the root of the tail and passed clear through him, coming out under the right shoulder. I could no more shoot that animal than I could pull on a human being in cold blood. We made a soft bed of grass on some flat stones beside a little running brook, carried the dog there, and placed him on it as comfortably as we could. Then we left him. and with tears in our hearts if not in our eyes slowly returned to the camp. Nearly two weeks had passed when about midnight the camp was all astir; men running here and thefe , with lanterns and guns. It seemed as if every coyote on the plains had collected about the camp. What was our surprise and delight as we came to the edge of the camp to see the old hound coming toward us. He was tottering in his tracks, but still had life enough in him to show his gums drawn back from thoje sharp cutting fangs from which more than one coyote had suffered on the homeward march of the brave old hero. Through miles of pathless prairies he had come back to a home where all welcomed him.?Forest and Stream. ORIGIN OF POTATO BUGS. Where the Creatures Were First Observed, and Where They Went. The original potato-bug lived somewhere in the- highlands of Central America, says Lesslle's Weekly. From him descended the great-grandfather of the insect in question?the striped black-and-white creature which inhabits the coast of the Caribbean sea. This insect never saw a potato plant; it lived on the wild sand-bur. This plant is distantly related to our potato; but until comparatively lately (as such terms are understood in discussions of evolution) no "potato-bug has been anything but a sand-bur bug. When the Spaniards invaded Mexico in 1519 thev introduced horses, and as the conquerors went north the sand-bur beetle followed them. From these migratory beetles descended the present Colorado beetle, which was first recognized as a new species in the seventeenth or eighteenth century; but even up to 1823 It still lived on the wild sand-bur, and was not abundant or troublesome. With the western movement of civilization, however, the sand-bur beetle and Irish potatoes were brought in contact, and it was not long before the beetle decided in favor of the potato-stalks as against the fare furnished by the sand-bur He began to be a potato-bug, and so rapidly did he thrive upon his new nourishment that inside of forty years he was known and execrated everywhere in the United States.