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jr' THE HOUSEInI 5T RETT \ li "'O II dear!*' uttered a sweet, S=ii __ li=?.' distressed voice, so srdg S Ueniy aiul so distinctly that Hay Braddcu reined ||ijl|S| in iiis horse with a muttered exclamation of surprise, l'or he had believed, himself to be quite alone in the dusty highway. What he saw on turning his head a little to one side was a demure little creature, with big, baby-blue eyes, red, ripe, strawberry lips, rippling ^ vi J. i r _ _ ^ i 1:1... juionae mur. :uiu a cuwp:ux.:uii jmc jrax. She was half sitting, half reclining on a mossy bank in the shade of some hazel bushes, and it needed but that first startled glance to assure the young man that she was in trouble of some sort. In an instant ho had leaped to the ground, rushed to her side, and was asking anxiously: "What is the matter, miss? Are! Ik* you hurt?" } Her big frightened eyes scanned his face earnestly for a few fateful seconds as he bent over her. and then she cried, with a half repressed moan of pain: "Oh, my.ankle! I'm afraid it's StfcS" *>roken " Her head dropped back, her eyes closed, and she looked so white and lay so motionless, that Bay felt sure she had fainted. "You must think me very silly, sir," and a flickering smile parted the tempting lips. "But I'm not used to pain, and such an arrant coward "Pray, don't speak of it," Ray interrupted, more earnestly than he was aware. "But if you will tell me what I can do to serve you I shall be much obliged." "My friends will be dreadfully Sp?: frightened." "Shall I find them and send them to Brefe you?" fl . "And leave me here alone until they t 'can be brought!" she cried in a dis- j ^ mayed voice. "Oh, no, no!" Observ- , ing his wondering stare, she added: "I must have lain here an hour already. I slipped on some rocks just beyond this hazel hedge, but managed to crawl through it to the roadside. Oh. MP. you don't know how dreadful it is? the loneliness and the?the?pain, I mean! I was getting more nervous and hysterical every minute." "Never mind. I won't leave you," he 1 l|v'! said, reassuringly. "But I suppose 1 something must be done. If you could ' only ride my horse, now?" ' "How good you are!" she exrv v claimed, lifting a face in which smiles rc- were already chasing away the tears. 1 I "Yes, I'm sure l can rifle, ana tnen g . you need not leave me " The rose-red flush that crept up to .the softly-flowing hair aided the sen tence more eloquently than .words 1 could have done it. ] jp&> } "Are you strong enough?" % ' "It isn't far, and I would suffer any- J thing rather than remain here." ! Ray said no more, but raised her " ; slender figure in his arms as gently as \ he could, and, after several awkward attempts (for even a little woman of < eighteen is not a burden to be de- < spised?in any sense of the term!) he ; managed to lift her into the saddle, ; Where she easily supported herself by clinging to the pommel. ' "This is so nice," she said, quite gleefully. "I begin to feel like myself j*again." 5 "Does your ankle still pain you?" "A little, but it is easier. I hope it j| Is only sprained, after all." > Ray was gazing straight into her pretty face, and had unclosed his lips to make some reply, when he paused, startled by the ashen pallor that had suddenly overspread her piquant features. She was looking down the road with L lilglllCUCU 1JU X\J ? L/uiv. ^ eyes. Turning in that direction to as^ certain the cause of her alarm, Ray saw only a very pretty, stylish-looking young lady in a uark-grcen riding habit, mounted on a gray mare. I;-' yrho was slowly approaching. "Do you know that lady?" Ray p|' asked. "Shall I appeal to her for assistance?" "Oh. no. no, no. Not for the world." Her alarm was genuine. Ray saw that very readily, so he only bowed in reply, and stepped a little to one ^ side for the newcomer to pass: though he did feel greatly surprised at his protege's reluctance to have aught to do with the lovely stranger. As the latter drew nearer she appeared to look sharply at the little tableau in the shadow of the hazel bushes Ehf-.y and a contemptuous smile curled ? her lip. It vanished instantly, however, when she had obtained an unobstructed view of Ray's face. and. stopping short, she cried out, breathlessly: "T?ov Rv-jfldnn " rr ? The name seemed to have escaped her lips involuntarily. As soon as it i was uttered a flush of annoyance mounted to her forehead. "Do you know me?" exclaimed the young man with dilating eyes. "I?I?have seen your picture," the lady stammered in reply. A good deal startled, Ray was about - to question her further, when a low moan from his protege called him to her side. She was reeling in the saddle and could scarcely maintain her position. p. , "I'm faint!" she gasped. "Support : ^ me." Thus commanded he could do no less than offer his shoulder for lior to lean against and slip one arm about her Waist. . She seemed to recover rapidly. 'HE CORNFIELD. ? VIN WOOD. " They had not occupied this position many consecutive seconds ere, relieving herself, she again assumed an upright posture. "Thanks!" she murmured. "I'm afraid you find me very troublesome." "Not in the least." he srallantlv re sponded. Being once more at liberty to devote some attention to the other young lady, lie was about to address her when he discovered that she had ridden on and was already some yards distant. ' I'm glad she is gone," said his comr panion, in a tone of relief. "How extraordinary that she should have seen my picture!" exclaimed Ray. "I was never in this part of the country before, and I'm sure her face was strange to me." "Heaven grant you may never know more of her than at present." "What do you mean?" he asked, startled by her earnestness. "I know that creature by sight." Her voice fell. "They call her Wild Kate here. That is all I am willing A 1% All 41 ll At* " IU IC1J Jf U U UUVUl uu "Ah-h!" uttered Kay, and involuntarily he sighed, for the young lady's face had greatly pleased and attracted him. "What -was the name by .which she called you?" "Ray Braddon." "Then my ears do not deceive me. I am very glad to see you," and she held out her hand, smiling sweetly. "I am Blanche Gordon." The young man was surprised and delighted. Ke could scarcely believe the evidence of his senses. It was a mission to Blanche Gordon that had taken him into this unknown country ?a very odd mission, by the way. A mutual friend?an eccentric old man?had died only the week before, leaving ten thousand dollars in available cash to Blanche, and he, Ray, had undertaken to convey the money to her and deliver it in person. "This is a surprise!" he ejaculated, raising her hand to his lips. "I hope we will be all the better friends for the circumstances under ?? -1- ? if? ~i" which our iuu^ ?>iuv.c. "It will not be my fault if we are lot," he said, warmly, adding, after n slight pause, "I suppose you received my letter announcing Mr. Graham's death and the bequest he had made in your favor?" "Oh, yes. Ten thousand dollars was the amount, I believe?" "Yes. I have the money, and shall be happy to resign it to you at the earliest practicable moment." She turned away her face?perhaps to conceal the strange glitter that came Into her velvety eyes. "You don't mean to tell me that you have the whole amount with you?" she asked, very low. "It seems a large sum to early about." "True. But I took care that no one chrmM ir>nrn the fact save the cashier of the bank wlio paid me the money. I bad written to you beforehand to announce my intention, and. as you will remember, cautioned you to say nothing about it." "Yes." "It was Mr. Graham's dying request that I should bring you the money." "You are very good to undertake such a responsibility for a stranger," she murmured, her lips strangely white. "I'm glad I did undertake it." The glance that accompanied these words was expressive enough to recall the crimson to Blanche Gordon's lively cheeks. "I can see the hand of Providence In all this," she faltered. "So can I." Ray responded, driven beside himself by her beauty and winning ways. "Mr. Graham was my friend as well as yours, and I know he cherished an ardent hope that we might be mutually attracted when we made each other's acquaintance, and Providence seems to be furthering his wisnes.' "It was a foolish speech, and Blanche's cheeks Hushed redder than ever at all it implied. "Come," she said, rather nervously, "why are we lingering here? You are to take me home, you know." "Certainly." "My home is poor and forlorn," she said, with a smile that seemed constrained. "But I shall soon change it for a better one, now that my ship has come in." Ray made no reply. Just at that Instant he caught a glimpse of a stylishlooking young lady in the green habit halting at a bend in the road and looking back at them very earnestly. There was something in her behavior that struck the young man as being very peculiar. Blanche had not seen her, however, and as the overhanging shrubbery shut her from view almost immediately. he did not speak of her. The way seemed lonelier and wilder as they proceeded. After the lapse of about fifteen minutes they emerged from a thin grove of maples and came suddenly upon a cornfield of about two acres in extent, in the middle of which r.tood a two-story, unpainted house, whose broken windows, dismantled shutters anil ruinous chimneys presented anything but an inviting aspect. 'Yonder is my home," said Blanche. "A God-forsaken place, isn't it?" 1 Ray was too polite to utter his real sentiments, so he answered: "It has not the appearance of being inhabited at all." "Oh, the best rooms are in the rear of the house, and we occupy those." To be sure, it did strike him as singular that Blanche should remain in so secluded a spot; but Mr. Graham had told him nothing about her, save only that she was poor and an orphan; so he speedily dismissed the perplexing subject with the mental decision ! that necessity, and not choice, com- j pelled her to abide here. As he led the horse up to the house along a very narrow path through the corn, he could not help remarking the deathlike stillness that reigned every where. "The house is deserted!" he exclaimed. "Oh, no. I will soon prove to you the fallacy of such a conclusion." Very shyly she put out two beautiful rounded arms, and Ray. yielding again to the subtle spell with which she seemed to have enthralled him. 1'fted her from the saddle and bore her to the stout oaken door. Producing a key from the pocket Gf her dress she let him into a dark, dismal-looking passage, along which he carried her, kicking open a door at tlic other end with his boots. lie found himself in a large, square apartment, very rudely furnished with a lounge, a table and a few dilapidated chairs. A grizzled, unprepossessing man of fifty sat near one of the high windows smoking a dirty black pipe. Ray scarcely looked at him until he had carried his burden to the lounge and left her there. Then he turned to him with a muttered apology for his abrupt entrance. "I hope you will pardon the seeming rudeness " "Never mind, youngster," interrupt eu me limn m a. guuuim a-?v harm done. We don't stand on ceremony in these parts." "This is my uncle, John Gordon," said Blanche, in her most dulcet accents. "He has been like a father to me all my life. I love him dearly." The last was uttered half in depreciation, as if she was aware of Ray's distrust and found it necessary to give a reason for having a protector so manifestly uncongenial. "Ah, yes, to be sure." "Uncle John." she added, in the next breath, "I was unlucky enough to sprain my ankle while rambling in the woods. But I ought not to term it an unlucky accident after all, for it was the means of making me acquainted with this kind gentleman, who brought me home. I'm sure you will be as much surprised as I was to learn that he is Mr. Braddon." "Mr. Braddor.!" ejaculated John Gordon. "Well, I declare, if this ain't a curious circumstance! I am delighted to see vou. sir. delighted!" Out went liis horny hand, which Ray was compelled to take, and the grip of those muscular fingers could only be compared to a vise. "Mr. Braddon has brought the money that eccentric Mr. Graham left me," said Blanche. "All of it?" questioned her uncle, an evil glitter in his wicked black eyes. "Every penny," answered Ray. "Hum! Ten thousand dollars is a snug little fortune. Won't you shine, Blanche, when you have so much money to spend? You'll buy no end of silks and laces and ribbons, I suppose?" "As if you needed any such furbelows to enhance your beauty," murmured Ray, close to her seashell ear. She lifted a coquettish glance to bis face. "Am I beautiful, Mr. Braddon?" "Incomparable." "I'm afraid you are a sad flatterer. That is wrong to feed a simple girl's vanity." And she shook her head reprovingly. "You should not do it." "How can I help telling you what must be palpable to every observer?" " Rnf T'm r>nt npf-nstomed to compli ments." "That is strange." Nearly an hour wore on. and presently John Gordon seemed to wax uneasy for some reason or other. He rose from his chair and began to walk the floor with hurried, impatient strides. At last he paused right before Ray and said, more roughly than he had yet spoken: "Where's the plunder, young man?' Ray's eyes dilated a little, seeing which, Blanche hastened to explain. "He means the money so generously bequeathed by Mr. Graham. I tlynk he finds some difficulty in believing in its reality before lie has seen it." "Humph!" She raised a warning glance into the frowning face bending over her. It was necessary; Ray remained as unsuspicious as a child. "I beg your pardon. I was in danger of forgetting my errand entirely." Rising as he spoke from the seat he occupied at Blanche's side, he stepped to the table and produced a large roll of bank bills from an inner pocket, which he spread out on the rough deal board. "Here is the money. It is in one hundred dollar notes. If you will be good enough to count it " At this moment, hearing a rustling movement just behind him, he turned his head a little and saw Blanche not more than three feet distant, standing as firmly on her feet as he stood on his. The human mind is such a mystery! Somehow the recollection of the pretended sprain came back to Kay's then like a flash, and with a torrent of the wildest suspicions. "You!" he gasped. "Why how " He got no further in what he was about to say. There came a whizzing sound in the air, and a heavy blow, dealt from behind with bludgeon wielded by John Gordon's muscular arms felled him, stunned and bleed-1 lng; to the floor, but not before he] heard voices and a scurrying of footsteps in the passage that led to the outer room. When Ray's senses returned he was lying on the couc-b, and the young woman in the green riding habit sat beside him, deluging bis face and temples with water. "Where am IV" he asked faintly, realizing nothing at first. "Hush! I will tell you all you wish to know when you are fully recovered." Glancing past her. his attention was arrested by a group at the other end of the room, and he beheld "John Gordon" and "Blanche" sitting on the floor, with tlieir arms secured behind them, looking very fierce and crestfallen. while several men stood near, as if to guard them. "What does this me:.n?" he demanded, with a man's eager impatience. He was soon put in possession of a few startling facts. It was the real Blauc-he Gordon who sat beside him, and the other was Wild Kate, who, with an unprincipled associate, had laid a deliberate plot to rob and murder him, making the house in the cornfield the scene of the meditated exploit. It came out afterward that the mails had b *en robbed, and Ray's letter to Blanche had never reached her. but had fallen into the hands of Wild Kate, who, of course, at once gathered all the particulars concerning Mr. Graham's bequest that she was able, with a view of retaining the ten thousand dollars for her own benefit. When the real Blanche met Ray in the highway, she was not aware of her benefactor's death, but she recognized the young man from a photograph of him which Mr. Graham had sent her a few months previously. Wild Kate she knew by sight, and, suspecting foul play when she saw the two take the path leading to the house in the cornfield, sne naa instantly summoned help and followed them. Need I add that married Blanche? Scarcely. My fcory would be incomplete without this ending. They are happy, and Bay wonders how he could ever have thought any other woman half so charming.?Good Literature. A Statuette 6500 Years Old. In his. article on the "Ten Temples of Abydos" in Harper's Magazine, Professor Flinders Petrie tells of his discovery of a statuette of ivory more than GoOO years old, and how he managed to preserve it. 'Groping in the thick brown organic mud of this rubbish hole," says Professor Petrie, "I lifted out one by one the priceless examples of glazed work and ivory of this earliest age of great art? an art of which we had never understood the excellence from the traces % ' ' * * - 1 mu ? AMII ?TTft o e?o 1TT nunerio Known, xue ivuijr nao ouuij rotted, and could scarcely be lifted without dropping asunder in flakes. So when I found that I had touched a piece it was left alone, and other parts were cleared, until at last a patch of ground was left where several pieces cf ivory had been observed. Cutting deep around this I detached the whole block of sixty or eighty pounds of earth, and had it removed on a tray to my storeroom. There it dried gradually for two or three weeks, and then with a camel's hair paint brush I began to gently dissect it and to trace the ivory figures. Not a single piece was broken or spoilt by thus working it out, and noble figures of lions, a bear, a large ape and several boys came gradually to light. Suddenly a patterned robe and then a marvellous face appeared in the dust, and there came forth from his COOO-year sleep one of the finest portrait figures that have ever been seen. A single photograph can give but little idea of the subtlety of the face and the expression, which changes with every fr?sh light in which it is seen. Wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, and clad in his thick embroidered robe, tiiis old king, wily yet feeble with the weight of years, stands for the diplomacy and statecraft of the oldest civilized kingdom that we know. No later artist of Egypt, no Roman portraitmaker, no Renaissance Italian has outdone the truth and expression of this oldest royal portrait, coming from the first dynasty of Egypt." Ten Layers of History. For the first time the whole history of one of the great national sites of Egypt has been opened before us; dating from the beginning of the kingdom and ending with almost the last of its native kings?from Mena. about 4700 B. C? to Nekht-hor-heb, 370 B. C. History is here laid out before us in .strata, from which the past can be read as we lift them away one from another. In order to read, howeter, one must know the alphabet of the subject, and that has lately been learnt, from the pottery, the flints, the beads, which [ show, cac-h. the age to which they belong. Excavation on a site with a long history is more destruction if each stratum is not read and interpreted intelligibly as it is opened: unfortunately. this has never been done beforo on any suen sue. uu im; ramwi. na: cred site of Abydos, the first capital of I Egypt, temples had been piled one on j the ruins of another until ten ages of I building stood tacked together in i about twenty feet depth of ruins. Each | temple had become partly ruined after a few centuries, and then at last wa.s pulled down, leaving a foot or two of the walls and foundations, and a new temple of a different plan was then erected on the ground. America is not old enough for tills to be done even or.ee, but London stands on a mound of cvir twenty feet of ruins, from which its past will some day he read as we now read that of Egypt.?Professor Flinders Petrie, in Harpers | Magazine. 1. t, t --t. .t- -t.-t.tn ,t- Jirhrt' ~f' 4trT- f!ir'- ArT^r'irtt I TTTTTTTTTTjti irVTTTi Iri ^ytt | THE NEWS OF A WEEK * | IN SOUTH CAROLINA. | Dead Body Found in Woods. The dead body of Garvin Hamby, 16 \ years old, and an operator in Mills' mill, at Greenville, with a gunshot wound in his head, was found a few days ago in the woods near the mill. An inquest was held, but as yet the j manner in which the boy met death is I still a mystery. Tdrther investigation j will be made. It is believed that he j was led off into the woods and foully j murdered. j * * Greenville Citizen Missing. i Oliver A. Schlosser, 20 years old, | ' proprietor of the Millsdale nursery and | an expert landscape gardener, has j AwtniinlTr rl nnAOm/I ft?Am Tt 1 C I Ill J 3Ltl IVUOiJ 11 uiii uiu home in Greenville, and all efforts to locate him have proven futile. ! He left on December i5, promising i to return in three days to meet his j business associates, but nothing has i I been heard of him since that time. I His friends are unable to solve the i mystery and some of them fear that j ho has met with foul play. He came i south from Chicopee, Mass., but tele. grams to that city have not been an| swered. i j His business was apparently in exi cellent shape, which only adds to the ' puzzle his friends are trying to solve, j i * 0 Will Charge Open Fraud. The Olympia cotton mills case was ! j called for a hearing in the # United J I States circuit court at Charleston the j ! past week, Judges (J. H. Simonton and j i W. H. Brawley being on the bench. I It was made manifest that the com- j ! plainants mean to push their charges that the actions of the omcers and directors of the Olympia were premeditatively fraudulent. *' * Elks' Christmas Tree. The Elks' Christmas tree at the opera house in Spartanburg, was a very successful affair in every respect. The addresses by Dr. John S. Watkins, j pastor of the First Presbyterian church, and Mr. jj. Mcurwen, president of the street railway company, and a prominent member of the Elks, were much enjoyed. The poor children of the city were remembered in a substantial way and many hearts were made glad by the benevolent order. * * * I Sky Rocket Kills Negro. In the midst of the Christmas merrymaking at Columbia, Sam Agnew, a j negro about sixteen years of age, was j struck by a missile from a sky rocket j and killed almost instantly. The accident occurred on Main street. The negro was standing on the sidewalk. The occurrence practically' put a stop to the shooting of fireworks. t * * Tragedy at School Entertainment. At Kleins, a station on the SoSuthern, an awful tragedy was enacted when the livesi of two of the best known men of that section?J. T. Hogg and Ben Jenkins?were snuffed out. It seems that there had been bad blood between the two men because of a suit involving certain lands owned by the latter, and at a school entertainment at Kleins, when the two met, hot words were pas&ed, when the later drew his pistol and shot the former four times, when in turn the latter was fired upon with a shotgun and instantly killed, whether by the former or by others cannot be now learned. Mr. Hogg only lived a short time. The family of Jenkins have retained Hon. G. Duncan Bellinger. Trouble for Wild Cat Fighters. An Augusta, Ga., news item sajs: The fight over the river from Augusta, in South Carolina, between a bull dog J and a wild cat promises to" resoilt in j considerable trouble for the partici-, j pants. Secretary H. C. Casin, of the Georgia | Cruelty to Animals Society, has been called upon to take action. He says the fight was out of his jurisdiction, but he has taken the matter up with i nnvernor Hevward. of South Carolina. ! He will furnish the names of those ! j who were principals a-sd witnesses at the fight. Cock fighting is a violation of the Carolina law, but how a wild cat fight may be reached is somewhat of a problem since the statute does not reacn ' it specially. The Cruelty to Animals Society has declared that the violation is under their iaws. 0 * 0 Woman's Brave Jump. Unaware of any danger, the occu-: pants of the home of E. H. Wyman. of Aiken, slept peacefully one morning j the past week until awakened by the | [ roof of the house falling in and the glare of the big blaze, me nre gamtru such headway it was impossible to! save anything, and the occupants rushed out partially clad. Those on the lower floor, with one ; exception, escaped without injury. Mrs. I E. R. Reid, of New York, wintering in [ Aiken, appeared at the second floor window in her night robe while the flames played about her. As the stairI case had been burned down there seemed no way for her to escape. ! When the volunteer firemen shouted _ v .... .. / ^??? ?????wmmmam?? t oher to jump to save her life, ahe calmly mounted the window sill and made a spring, landing on the ground. She was partially sustained by several men and the force of the fall broken. One ankle was severely sprained, and it is feared she sustained internal injuries. The house was completely destroyed. * * * Family Narrowly Escapes Flames. Camden has again been visited by a. destructive fire. Last Monday morning at 4 o'clock the large asd handsome residence of Paul T. Viliepigue, on Lyt- L tleton street was burned to .the ground. Mr. Viliepigue and family, aroused from sleep, had time only to get out of the burning "building and saved little of the ccstents of their home. The loss is between *7,000 and $10,000, a little more than half covered by insurance. TTtn ~ iyii. vnicpigutj is a. pruuimcui uusiness man of Camden, and he and his popular family have the sympathy of the whole community in their misfortune. _ j TOWN FIRED BY A MOB. Lynched Negro in Calaboose at Pine Apple, Ala., and Applied the Torch. Flames Spread to Other Buildings. ' Fire broke out in the town of Pine Apple, Ala, at 5 o'clock Saturday morning and destroyed eight stores, <wo warehouses^ the postoffice -and other property in the business portion, of the town. The loss is estimated at ?. $35,000, with insurance of less than one-third. Evidence seems to show that Arthur Stewart, a colored prisoner, confined in the calaboose, had been lynched and the structure set on fire to hide I.IXC Citizens are highly excited, and have- ? deposited $1,000 reward with a local hank for the arrest and prosecution of any member of the mob. The citizens in mass meeting passed. . a resolution requiring the immediate presence of Solicitor Quarles and a special term of court to try members of the mob to be arrested. A committee went to Selma Saturday night and had a consultation with Colonel Quarles. It is learned that on Wednesday, December 23d, P. Melton, a young white man, had a quarrel with some negroes and one of them snot him. Christmas day a negro, said to be nis accom- / plice, was arrested and placed in jail, and the friends of Melton, it ie alleged, swore vengeance. Saturday morning at 4 o'clock a mob broke in the calaboose and after knocking tne negro is the head, poured kerosene over his body and set it afire. The flames quick- * ly spread to adjoining buildings. TO HOLD "KEY-NOTE" MEETING. . Democrats of New York City are Making Plans for Notable Dinner. Democrats of New York city -are making plans for a dinner in that city January 4 in honor of Mayor McClol- ' lan, who will take office on the first day of the year. It is the hope of the committee haying charge of the affair to make the occasion for sounding the keynote of the national campaign. They already have waited on ex-President Cleveland and have received hia assurance that he will attend and make a speech. For several days the members of the committee, which has for its chair- ? man W. Bourke Cochran, have been communicating with democrats of prominence in national affairs, and ithas been ascertained that the men to whom Invitations are being sent and from whom acceptance? are practically assured include Chief Judge Parker, of the state court of appeals; Senator A. P. Gorman, ex-United States Senator David B. Hill, Congressman John p"-- ?- Taztrtcxr r\f thp T\3Xt. V ouarijo vuwauio, w- ? in tho house of representatives; William C. Whitney, and others. The committee in charge of arrangements for the dinner include August Belmont, ex-Secretary of the Treasury John G. Carlisle John D. Crimmlna, Ashley Fitch, Hugh J. Grant and J. Edward Simmons;. BALK AT WOOD CONTRACT. Cuban House Turns Down Payment of Rent In City of Havana. By a vote of forty to eight, and after prolonged discussion, the Cuban house of representatives finally passed a resolution to suspend the payment of the rentals of church buildings occupied l)y the government under the contract entered into in 1902 by General Wood, the intervention governor, and Monsignor Sabaretti. formerly bishQp of Havana, pending an investigation as to the propriety of the contract. oorooffnonf tha dim cJt UUU^l LUIO agl WLUV'AJlb LUV OU4U W? $190,000 was to be paid annually for five years as the rental of several buildings occupied by the government in Havana and elsewhere. TO EXCLUDE ZION CHILDREN. Chicago Public Schools Will Be Closed to Dowie Followers. Ail children of Dowieites will be excluded from the public schools of Chicago January 4. by order of the health department. The general overseer of Zion has made his followers believe that vaccination does not prevent smallpox. The Chicago health departmeat has decided that all children shall be vaccinated or be debarred from the public schools. vy . - sums