[A BRIM, F
c
BY ELLA MI DDL
Author of "Tlio SmocKl?*",'
e
ALL RIGHTS
C
i Copyright. 1933- fcy J. B. LIPPIN"C<
I ??
CHAPTER II. 3 J
Continued.
"I knew it was all right from the
first," she said; "but slippers are
not comfortable for walking, and cabs
are not really improper. When you
ordered chocolate I realized how safe
you were to champion luckless damsels;
but when you did not tip the
waiter I understood the whole thing.
Poor fellow! He looked so surprised.
We must go back some day and make
It up to him. Only you ought to
have told me at first, and we could
have talked it over comfortably. Men
are so foolish."
Sheer surprise kept me silent, and
as she pushed back the lap-robe I
got out ana stooa at me aoor 01 ine
brougham, trying to think of something
effective to say that would not
convey too much to the listening Perkins.
As I stood there, the door of
the next house opened and the steps
were flooded with light. Three men
emerged, with the complacently prosperous
air of those who have dined
slowly and well, and I felt as thought
I were dreaming as I recognized Starr
vr and Ferguesson, with Casey bringing
Tip the rear. Also, I was unhappily
conscious that they saw and knew
,me, although they passed us without
a pause or glance.
V . "Do you live next to Mrs. SchuylerSmythe."
I managed to inquire, "and
do you know Miss Mildred Schuyler.
Smythe and her cousin Miss?" .
I paused, for Miss Nancy Welles'
; ( Hose was pointed skyward and she
stepped haughtily from her brougham
as she replied:
"Oh, those impossible people! I
; : s believe \I've heard my aunt mention
' them, but Of course we don't know
them."
They were all waiting for me
around the corner, as I knew they
would be, and I met the flre of questions
as well as I could. Starr and
' Randy were in higlr? spirits, but I
thought*Casey looked depressed, and
once or twice he smothered a yawn,
f*' ? "Well," said Randy, as we reached
z V our rooms, "It's "been a great night
for all of us, eh, Casey?"
"Speak for yourself." he returned..
"Maybe you enjoyed it; I didn't. I
inow what Mr. Schuyler - Smythe
died of and how long he was sick; I
know he never could take green turtle
soup without indigestion and always
would order it, and that he never
liked caviare. I know that Mildred
lad chicken-pox when she was five
. and measles when she was six. and
that she inherits her father's delicate
digestion. Sometimes she has trouble
with her liver?"
"Shut up!" interrupted Starr, but
Ferguesson took up the thread of
discourse.
"Old Casey was great," he said.
'You should have seen him making '
Urimpelf solid with mother. Honestly,
I didn't think he had it in him to be
~ , so diplomatic."
Casey grinned in rather a sickly
v': %' manner. 1
"Good TjOrd ! " hp said. "Snmphnrtv !
"had to talk to the old lady. You fel- !
lows hadn't time."
"She invited him tp dinner Thursday,"
said Starr. "I think myself the ;
thing is as good as settled already."
I felt much relieved to hear it, but 1
as I was going to bed Casey came into
my room anC lingered there, talking
, about nothing in particular.
"Billy," he said finally. "I got a '
look at your friend of the fire as we '
>passed the carriage to-night. She
looked all right. Take me around to 1
call, will you? You've done nothing 1
for me so far, and you are in honor 1
bound to help, you know."
I said nothing. At that moment T
disliked Casey intensely.
"You know?" he repeated sharply,
with a rising inflection.
"Yes," I said; "I know. It's silly
business."
4'XT/-** O* oil - ??- ?
nvi at an, Ddiu ViliC.v, J51tUJ)iy j
"business."
I said something about wishing to
"be left in peace to sleep when I was
sleepy.
"I expect you to do your part,"
eaid Casey. "I'm willing to make the
sacrifice, but it's up to you to help !
when you can. Remember your career."
(
"Confound my career!"
"Certainly," said Casey. "Good
night." i
CHAPTER III.
I got a card to Mrs. Joseph Robinson's
"At Home," and said nothing
about it. One minute I decided to
go, and the next I bitterly reflected
thflfr it WrtlllH ho Viot+or- fr\r mil +<->
keep out of the way of temptation.
I had not yet, however, discovered
the color of Miss Nancy Welles' eyes
jftnd felt I could not be satisfied until
I had done so. This point settled.
I should consider the incident closed.
So I went and it was indeed the
.beginning of the end. i
Just about that time Casey developed
an insistent personality that
proved most annoying. He became :
curious as to my engagements and
demanded detailed accounts of my :
movements every day. Then, too, 1
he suddenly conceived an interest in
my career and a desire for my so- i
ciety which might be flattering but <
were very inconvenient. Casey
bought new clothes, and whenever :
I purchased a cravat he borrowed it
before I had a chance to wear it. He i
wore a carnation in his buttonhole
anil the smile - that - won't - come-off
upon his lips. I had weakly consent- ;
ed to take him to call, and after that
he went to Mrs. Joseph Robinson's
whenever I did. as well as sometimes
,T?hen I didn't.
And Nancy liked him She said she
found him charmingly original and
awfully quaint and attractive, with
his old-school gallantry. He was so
different from the present-day young
OR CASE.Y.1
ETON TYBOUT, |
' "Poketown People,'' Eto.
RESERVED.
>
men that Aunt Josephine delighted
in him and had urged him to drop in
informally whenever he felt inclined.
In fact, Aunt Josephine quite yearned
to mother the dear boy. I quote verbatim
from Nancy.
I had never noticed any gallantry
about Casey, old-school or otherwise,
nor should I have described him as
quaint. Moreover, my own status
with Mrs. Robinson was so formal
as to be almost frosty, and she showed
no desire to enter into any relationship
with me, however remote. In
fact, Aunt Josephine's manner was
distinctly inimical, and I raged hotly
but impotently.
I mentioned the case to Starr one
day.
'You're talking perfect rot," he
said. "Casey is forever tagging after
me; I can't lost him."
Ferguesson corroborated this statement
with certain amendments, and
added:
"He is tame cat about the house
at Mrs. Schuyler-Smythe's. She's
perfectly daffy about him. I wonder
"
Starr and I wondered also, and
we all became thoughtful.
"I consider, remaritea Jtanay, ai.
last, "that Casey is as good as engaged."
"So do I," agreed Starr.
I felt immensely relieved, and
thought I must have misjudged him.
It is so easy to imagine things.
Starr walked down-town with me
that afternoon, and it was evident
that he was uneasy in his mind.
When he told me he had read and
admired my last magazine article I
suspected he wanted me to do something
for him, but when he added
that I had not been paid enough I
was sure of it.
I made a few tentative remarks regarding
the political situation and
other topics of general interest, but
they were not well received and conversation
languished.
'Billy," he began at last, "you're a
good old sort, after all."
I thanked him and waited further
developments.
"The fact is," he continued, 'I'm
in no end of a mess."
I immediately became apologetic.
"I'm awfully sorry, Starr, but I
have not a picayune just now."
"Oh, it isn't money; it's Aunt Harriet."
"Who?"
"Aunt Harriet. I wish she had
never been born, together with all
my othernumerousrelations. In fact,
I'm not at all sure they ever were
born, and that's the trouble. I'm
simply badgered to death about
them."
I began to have a glimmering of
light, and laughed unkindly.
"Well IRortie. what about Aunt
Harriet?"
"She is coming on for a visit; that's
all."
"When?"
"Next week. I'm to dine with them
the night she arrives, as surprise.
She'll be surprised all right, won't
she?"
"Oh." what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive,"
INSERT MIN
[ quoted maliciously, and then suggested
to owning up to a case of mistaken
identity.
"Mrs. Schuyler - Smythe would
never receive an impostor," objected
Starr, "and she's got to keep on receiving
me. She thinks I'm somebody
else, so I've got to be somebody
else. Goodness knows I'wish I were
somebody else. Besides, you forget
Casey."
I had forgotten momentarily, but
I realized at once the difference it
might make in his future. It seemed
a pity that so eminently suitable a
girl as Mildred should be withdrawn
from Casey's radius of action. It
narrowed competition, and that often
Droduces disastrous results. There
fore I felt a budding interest in Aunt
Harriet and a sympathy for Starr.
"You'll do what you can to help
me out, Billy?"
I rashly pledged myself to do anything
under the sun, and then hazarded
a question:
"You really think Casey will win
DUt?"
"Not a doubt of it."
It was delightful to hear the sincere
conviction in Starr's voice, and
I quite glowed with satisfaction.
"Well." I remarked, "old Casey
is all right. Miss Mildred SchuylerSmythe
might live longer and do
worse. And I hope they'll both be
happy."
"Look here," said Starr, "you don't i
know what you're talking about. A i
girl like Mildred wouldn't look at I
Casey."
"Wouldn't she?"
"Certainly not. Sometimes you
seem positively lacking in intelligence."
"Then"? I was slightly bewildered
?"then whom is Casey going to
marry?"
"Her cousin Julie, of course," said
Starr, "and it is a most suitable
thing. But Aunt Harriet may interfere,
and it's up to us :o do what we
?an. You want Casey nafcly married,
fon t you?"
I said I did, provided he got the
right girl.
"Yes." said Starr* "that's it. So
Jo I. and Julie is vf :y suitable. But
we've got to get busy before Aunt
Harriet comes. Somehow I've taken
a dislike to her."
"It is your guilty conscience," 1
suggested, bnt Starr was lost in
thought and did not respond at once.
Finally he spo'ie, as though simply
following out his own train of
thought and ''ot with any reference
to me. j
"I've thought of garroting, and of
kidnaping, f^nd of all those things,
L
but somehow I can't seem to dispose
of her. You see, ehe is Mildred's
aunt, too." ,
'Then, Bertie, are you and Mildred
cousins?"
"No. You see, it is a rather complicated
business. Mildred's mother
married twice; and the first one was t
named Schuyler. When she married 1
- . C
Mr. Smythe she clung to tie scnuy- ?
ler also, as being more aristocratic, ?
and joined them with a hyphen after ?
No. 2 died?many years ago."
"Then Aunt Harriet ?"
"Is the sister of Mrs. SchuylerSmythe's
first husband and no real
relation to Mildred, bue she is 'Br tie's'
mother's sister. See?"
"Don't," I begged. "It is alto
gether too complicated for me.
Who is 'Julie?' "
"Why, she is Julie Schuyler?niece
of No. 1 and also niece of Aunt Harriet.
She lives with the SchuylerSmythes,
and I wish she'd marry
Casey."
Just then we both looked at our
watches and simultaneously remembered
important engagements. So we
parted, but a little later, as I breathlessly
ascended Mrs. Joseph Robinson's
brownstone steps, I sighted
Starr coming around the corner.
Even as I entered one house, he
touched the electric button next door,
a curtain moved slightly, and I saw
a glint of golden hair at Mrs. Schuyler-Smythe's
window.
I found Nancy at the tea table, as
I had eipected, with Casey beside
her, which I had not expected. I
had left him luxuriously sprawled
on the couch in our living-room.
/?1
was ii lie Li Li j agiccauic, aiiu |
Nancy was responsive. I intended i s
to be dignified and distantly disap- s
proving, but fear I was merely sullen. I
I knew I sat and glowered like an t
angry boy, and the little imps of t
mischief that laughed at me through c
Nancy's eyes mocked unmercifully. t
I shall always feel grateful to c
Aunt Josephine, although I am quite t
sure nothing was further from her s
thoughts than obliging me. Never- t
theless, when she sailed impressively s
into the room, greeting Casey cor- d
dially and bestowing a slight nod S
on me, she did me an inestimable
service. For Casey was obliged to
go forward and respond politely, and h
while he was dong it Nancy turned ^
and looked at me. As she looked t]
the laughter faded from her 'eyes, 8
and I saw the dawning of another b
light. It was something greatly n
longed for, yet not really expected, c
and I watched it incredulous, trem- e
ulous, excited, and doubting if it o
could indeed be true. t!
"Nancy," I whispered. "Nancy." ti
She said nothing, and I bent closer, tl
oblivious to everything. t<
"I thought you didn't care." c
Red lips curved suddenly and dimpies
were in evidence. tl
'"Men are so foolish," said Nancy c
Welles. tl
I will not dwell upon the days that n
followed?days when I was entirely ?
too self-engrossed to remember Casey &
and his matrimonial prospects, or ^
anything else. The world contained if
two people, and I was one of them? t
that was quite enough for me. H
There were stolen interviews, long
walks in the winter twilight, anxious
consultations as to ways and means,
and finally a decision. We spoke of I
it in whispers even to each other.
It was a pity, for Nancy had always
wanted twelve bridesmaids and a A
white satin train three yards long, L
but there seemed no other way to p
circumvent Aunt Josephine. It was v
to be the Little Church Around the ?
Corner.
I admit to a creepy sensation about ?
my spine when I allowed myself to *
think calmly. I had heard that love 1
aiuue was uui euuugu iur me average
woman, and how else was I to support
a wife? But then I was not
going to marry the average woman;
I was going to marry Nancy, and t
that made all the difference in the
f
world. 1
"At dusk," said Nancy, "because v
Aunt Josephine always takes a nap ^
before dinner. It will be easiest
then." a
To be Continued. ! a
t:
Curfew Law.
The practical revival of the curfew \ v
law at Paragould, Ark., where it ia j *
now a fineable offense to be in the
streets after midnight, reminds U3 ?
that though its penalties have long e
since vanished the curfew bell may ?
still be heard in England, and even in
London. At Lincoln's Inn 9 o'clock
each evening hears the ringing of the
curfew from a bell which is said to
have been brought from Cadiz at the *
time of its capture by Essex and Ef- a
fingham in 1596. A list compiled in a
1897 mentions the preservation of 0
the custom in many towns, ranging
from Carnarvon to Newport, Isle of
Wight, and from Durham to Buckingham,
where the bell is rung every s
day between September 29 and March D
25. And Canterbury still rings the s
curfew from the cathedral, as Oxford P
rings it from Christ Church at 9 t:
o'clock.?London Chronicle. e
(
The Christmas Infidel. e
Miss Carey Thomas, the head of 1
Bryn Mawr College, said at a dinner 11
in Philadelphia tbat college girls ^
chose better and also wealthier husbands
than other girls.
Miss Carey Thomas, after instanc- **
ing a number of Brvn Mawr girls e
whose marriages had been in every c
way ideal, told a story of the son of ^
one cf these Bryn Mawr girls.
"He came home a few days before c
Christmas," she said, "from a visit to s
his cousin. 0
" 'Mother,' he cried, 'do you know e
that Fweddy is an infidel?' I 1
"His mother laughed. | v
" 'An infidel? Kcw an infidel, my a
son?' she asked. ^
" 'He doesn't heliev* in Santa >'
Clans,' was the shocked reply."? ?
Washington Star. c
Golf For Paupers.
| In some English workhouses paupers
have golf outfits given them and e
use of grounds for playing the game, a
?New York Press. 1
, r
Poison from infected or rotten P
cheese is not so very rare. The (ler- . a
man Government proved that soma
cheeses are deliciously ripened by
ways too nasty to tell. t
^8388311
Cork oak is to have a thorough
rial in the National forests. The bueau
of plant industry of the United
States Department of Agriculture has
issigneci two Lliuu&auu v/uc-jcai |
leedlings of cork oak, now at a nurs;ry
at CHico, Cal., to be used by the
orest service for experimental plantng.
An English inventor has devised a
lew speed meter for automobiles,
rMaced in front of the vehicle, the
:xact speed may be ascertained at any
ime either from the vehicle or from
he road. An excess of speed limit
s announced by a gong, which coninues
to sound until speed is reluced.
For night driving excess
peed is also indicated by the figures
>n the face of the instrument being
lluminated.
Theodore Imback, of the- State ex>eriment
station, has found a new
ise for abandoned mines. He has
iroduced in them mushrooms of the
test grade, his experiment showing
he abandoned mine to be an ideal
ilace for mushroom culture. He is
troducing mushrooms of the best
[uality in an abandoned mine near
he State farm here, having plants
hat yield from one mine from $8 to
;10 worth of mushrooms a day.? i
Jaltimore Sun.
G. A. Campbell recently conducted j
ome experiments to investigate the !
ubject of telephone intelligibility, j
n hJa ?wne>rirnents. usually only de- !
ached syllables were employed, so as
o give the listener no clue from the
ontext. The syllables easy to inerchange
are right in about half the
ases. Thus, while it is obvious that
he telephone seriously distorts
peech waves, nevertheless, even
hose consonants which nearly reemble
each other are not sufficiently
istorted to be indistinguishable.?
cientiCc American.
Ostriches lay the largest eggs of all
irds now extant, according to a
rriter in the Scientific American, but
he ostrich's egg would have appeared
mall beside that extinct Madagascar
ird, the epyornis, which measured
lore than thirty inches in its smallest
ircu:aiference. The smallest birds'
ggs are those of the minute species
f humming birds, which are smaller
ban the eggs of certain kinds of
ropical veetles. But the cuckoo lays
lie relatively smallest egg. That is I
a say, while the jackdaw and the
uckoo are about equal in size, the J
srmer's egg is five or six times larger
han the latter's. The fact that the
uckoo is wont to deposit its eggs in
he nests of birds which are usually
iuch smaller than itself doubtless acounts
for this. The relatively largst
egg is laid by the kiwi, a strange,
ringless New Zealand Dira. me egg
3 no less than Ave inches long, albough
the extreme length of the bird
Lself is only twenty-seven inches.
OXE MINUTE WIRELESS.
'nclc Sam's Trained Men Can Put Up
Portable Station in That Time.
"There is no other country with a
rained squad of men possessed of aparatus
which can be taken from a
ragon, set up and put in operation
apable of sending a wireless message
wenty-flve miles and occupying one
ainute and eight seconds only from
he time of command 'Halt, open station!'
to the first buzz of the wireless
^ave producing spark," says Popular
lechanics.
"There is more to opening a wireass
station than hauling the apparaua
from the wagon. It means erectng
a mast forty feet high, spreading
or 150 feet each four stranded wires
fhich perform the double purpose of
olding up the mast and of serving
nother smaller set of insulated wire
t the hase of the mast for a 'ground'
nd connecting the Instruments and
he source of power.
"When the first portable wireless
ras made in this country a few years
go a sixty-foot mast was required,
emanding a complicated system of
uys, a troublesome ground and sevral
hundred feet radium cf clear
pace for the erection of the station,
'he writer well remembers seeitg the
irst tests of erecting this mast at
'ort Myer, Virginia, and thinking
hat a hostile force would have little
rouble finding time to demolish such
n outfit during the three-quarters of
n hour it took to get it in working
rder."
What Shall We Do For Lobsters?
Approximately 20,000 people have
upper in or near the Tenderloin each
ight. Next year, when newer Lob- j
ter Lairs are built, the number is ex- |
ectea to increase 10 su,uuu. aeverai
bousand pounds of lobster, and sevral
thousand quarts of champagne
besides innumerable other things to
at and drink) are served by several
housand waiters every night. And
i the morning there are several thouand
empty pocketbooks and several
bou.sand aching heads.
You have doubtless heard Mr.
ames J. Hill's shrewd epigram to the
ffect that it is; not so much the high
ost of living which ails the United
Itates, as the cost of high living.
The cost of eating lobster must in- J
rease. The demand grows, but the ;
upply diminishes. Millions of pounds
f lobster are caught along our coasts j
ach season, but the Government sta- !
istics show that, despite the work of
arious fish commissions, the avail- j
ble supply has shrunk more than
l'ty per cent, within the past three
ears. In short, starvation stares tlie j
'enderloin directly in the double
h>n!?Everybody's Magazine.
Solving the Higli?I*rice ProblemIt
seems that in the year 1300 i
ight cents a day was lifgh wages for
n expert artisan We move to have J
h? scaie of prices of commodities |
educed to the 1300 standard, with
resent wages left untouched.?Philadelphia
Inquirer.
There are C300 electric lights on
he Mauretania.
.. .. . 9
iMiiiMii#eQaoiiiice?o?i?
ALASKA?LAND OF J
: VAST RICHES. I
??
Benjamin B. Hampton, editor of
Hampton's Magazine, considers the
??TCV.oil C\txtt\ Aloclra
i aUUJCtl U1 *Y 1JU IJUUJl vy MU.
Thfe Guggenheims or the People?" of
so much Importance that he himself
has prepared an article on the subject
for that periodical. A table of statistics
shows Alaska's wealth to be
anywhere from fifteen billion dollars
to a trillion and a half.
"No man can estimate accurately
the wealth of Alaska," cays Mr.
Hampton, "wealth that is to-day the
property of the people of the United
States, theirs just as surely as if they
were Stockholders in a corporation.
Nearly one quarter of Alaska has not
even been explored. An Alaskan said
recently that the only two persons
who really know anything about
Alaska are the Almighty and Alfred
H. Brooks. The latter Is a member
of the United States Geological Survey,
and we have wha: he knows
l about Alaska.
1 nmnts cavo that nnlv twenty
I *1X1 . vv"" *?* ? ** r " " " I
| per cent, of Alaska has been sur[
vej'ed at all. That is, only this much
has been passed over even in reconnoissance
surveys, which barely divide
vast stretches according to their
geological character. Survey in detail
has covered less than one per
j cent, of the territory. This affords
at least some basis for an estimate.
What is known of that one per cent.,
added to what is known of a patch
here and there, suggests the possibilities
for the rest.
"There is sound reason to .believe
there is $500,000,000 worth of placer
gold in Alaska. There may be a hundred
or a thousand times that
amount.
"As for lode gold mining, there is
I practically only one deep gold mine
being worked in Alaska, the Treadwell?the
Rothschilds are said to
control that?and it has produced so
far $30,000,000. There may be at
least $625,000,000 lode gold in
Alaska.
"As for copper, this one item alone
will some day make a big crop of
Alaskan millionaires. The Government
survey experts say, "it is impossible
to estimate the copper reserves."
Others say there is another Montana
there, another Arizona.
In coal, the official Government figures
can be definitely obtained. The
coal areas known at this time aggre
gate \'i3 8 square mixes, mree uiuea
the area of Pennsylvania's coal-bear!
ing fields?and much of Alaska's coal
! equals or betters Pennsylvania's in
I quality. In unsurveyed areas there
| are some fifty thousand square miles
i of coal-bearing lands. Mr. Brooks'
lowest estimate of Alaska's coal
reaches the stupendous total of 15,104,500,000
tons; and, he adds, it
would be conservative to multiply
this figure by ten, or even a hundred.
."There are thousands of tons of
1 other minerals: silver, quicksilver,
j tin, lead, iron. There is also petro\
leum. There may be vast quantities
I of oil under large areas. Of silver,
! 1,817,000 ounces have been taken
j out. Iron abounds.
"One great source of wealth?seal;
Ing?has been exhausted already,
j The total of this single item reaches
j the amazing figure of $125,000,000.
; The salmon industry produces a value
of $10,000,000 every year.
It is estimated that there are 17,000,000,000
feet of saw timber in
Alaska; probably there is twice that
miirh Thorp aro n e-rif.nltiiral and
grazing lands that may some day
j support a population of ten million."
j Where White People Originated.
j ' Professor Gustav Retzius says the
I result of an anthropological investigation
carried out in Sweden does not
! leave any possible doubt as to the
I Swedish nation being the fairest o?
! all investigated nations, unless the
j inhabitants of Norway and Denmark
i might compete with the Swedes for
i that distinction.
From the inquiry the conclusion
may be drawn that Sweden was inhabited
by the purest population of
the North European (Germanic or
Teutonic) race branch to be found remaining
in our time.
This result has served as a-support
I for the theory that proclaimed ScanJ
dinavia and the region adjacent to i
the southern part of the Baltic as the
original home of the Teutons (Germans),
in opposition to the dogma,
so long accepted as incontestable, of
their?or rather the Aryans?having
! originated in Asia, the Indo-Germanic
I theory of'the philologists.
I
A Statesman's Prophecy.
It is sixty-five years since the first
j telegraph line, built for commercial
I purposes, between Washington and
Baltimore was opened. After the
formal opening Professor Morse and
his associates offered to sell the in
venuon to tne unnea oiaies vjuvciument
for $100,000, but the price was
considered too high. The Government
had appropriated $30,000
toward the construction of the Washington-Ealtimore
line, but after a
short period of operation the Postmaster-General,
to whom President
Polk had referred the matter, wrote:
"Although the invention is an agent
vastly superior to any other devised
! by the genius of man, yet the operation
between Washington and Baltimore
has not satisfied me that under
any rate of postage that can be adopted
its revenues can be made to cover
its expenditures."?Washington Star.
Hard Luck, But?
Two young women went to the
matinee. They could not get seats together,
but were told at the bo: office
I that each could have an end seat, ceni
tre aisle, in adjoining rows, and
most likely somebody who came along
and had a chair next to one of them
would oblipinly change seats. Near
the close of the first act one of the
young women timidly whispered to a
heavy, middle-aged man at her side,
who had been sitting stiffly and looking
straight ahead:
"Are you alone, sir?"
The man buried one side of his
face in bis program and breathed:
"Sh! *Wii'e."?Everybody's Magazine.
' '
' ,. V . . r > ;u ;r
SPIDERS.
Some Odd Facts About the Web
Spinners and Their Habits.
(From the Saturday Review.)
The male of the well-known gardeD
spider is a tiny creature, unfamiliai
to the casual observer and very different
from the female both in form I
and habits. Although in early life
he can construct an exceedingly perfect
snare, he seems to lose the art.
or at any rate the ambition to exercise
it, upon reaching maturity, and
merely spins a few tangled threads,
intended, no doubt, as a position ol
vantage from which to approach his
lady love. His courtship is, as a rule,
an ignominious affair. He Is bullied,
pushed out of the web and, not infrequently,
trussed up and relegated
to the larder by his physically superior
spouse.
Zilla, a very common dusky colored
spider which frequents stone walls
and fences, has improved somewhat
upon the orb web of the garden
spider, inasmuch as Bhe leaves segment
devoid of the sticky cross
threads to facilitate her passage from
her hiding place to the hub of the
web. Hyptiotes seems, however, to
have reached the highest development
in the orb spinning art. The snare
is reduced to a mere triangle
stretched upon a firm, elastic thread,
and at the apex sits the obscure little
owner with a coil of thread firmly
held in such a manner that the whole
web is drawn forward under considerable
tension. No sooner does a fly
attempt to pass than the thread is
released and the web springs forward.
like a catapult upon its luckless victim.
Closely allied to the orb spinners
are those spiders which spin saucershaped
snares surmounted by a tangle
of threads into which flies blunder,
falling in their confusion into the
sheets of web beneath. In this group
are the smallest known spiders, some
of them measuring less than a millimetre
in total body length. Many of
them are aeronauts, traveling vast
distances by silken threads emitted
from their spinners. They seem able
to regulate their flight to some extent
by paying out more thread as they desire
to rise and rolling it up by means
of their legs when they wish to descend.
Often in suitable localities
and under favorable meteorological
conditions immense multitudes of
these tiny creatures simultaneously
ambark upon their strange journeys.
Trial threads, false starts and collisions
are inevitably frequent and the
accumulations of web descend as
delicate flakes of gossamer, to the
considerable surprise of the superstitious
rustic, who as a rule attribjtes
the phenomenon to the fairies or
Dccasionally implicates the Virgin
Mary.
molrAO O
, J. UK waiei syiuci , nui(,u ujan.tj u
silken bell beneath the surface of
ponds, fills it with air and within it
orings up its family, is well known to
ill readers of general works on natural
history. It may surprise some,
however, to learn that this species
Is very closely allied to our commonjst
house spiders. The male of the
water spider is larger.than his mate,
i most unusual thing among spiders.
The vagabond spiders include, besides
a number of little known
groups] three well marked sections
which we may broadly refer to as the
crab spiders, the wolf spiders and the
jumping spiders. Some of-the crab
spiders are exceedingly rapid, but
:he more typical species move very
deliberately and trust to cunning
rather than to speed for the capture
3f their victims. Often these spiders
are speckled and blotched so as to
resemble exactly the ground upon
which they rest, and one well-known
species, Misumena vatia, which is of
in almost uniform yellow or greenish
white tint,.hides in the centre of flowers
and seizes insects which approach
co gather honfey. Even bees are not
immune from the attacks of this ferocious
little creature, their stings
being awKwaraiy piacea iur uoc
against a foe who seizes them by the
head and drags them into a blossom.
The wolf spiders are dark creatures,
commonly of some shade of
brown, which run fearlessly upon
the ground in the open. They often
occur in enormous numbers in suitable
spots, giving one the impression
that they live in "packs." The eggs
when laid are enclosed'in a small
spherical or lenticular sac, which is
carried by the female attached to her
spinners. This sac she guards with
the greatest care, manifesting the
greatest concern and searching diligently
for it should she be deprived
nf the> nrprious nacket. Nevertheless
ehe will receive the sac of another female
with every indication of satisfaction,
and, in fact, a piece of pith
cut to approximately the same size
as the original sac is, as often as not,
accepted, and tenderly guarded.
A small section of the wolf spiders,
popularly known as the "pirates,"
frequents the herbage upon the sides
of ponds and streams. They chase
their prey upon the surface of the
water, often diving when threatened
by an enemy. An\ allied species actually
constructs a raft of dead leaves
and other debris, upon which it circumnavigates
ponds of considerable
magnitude, hiding beneath the raft
when danger threatens.
Probably, howeevr, the most curious
spiders as far as habits are. concerned,
are the salticids or jumping
spiders. These creatures have been
fairly extensively studied, especially
in the United States, and their life
histories would make a volume teeming
with interest. The antics of the
male during the courting period are
most extraordinary, especially when,
as often happens, several suitors as- j
pire to the hand of one lady. Dancing |
matches and wrestling bouts, in which
the spiders appear carefully to avoid
using their poison apparatus, are the
usual means of deciding the claim,
and. the female having made her
choice, the rejected c uitor departs,
little I he worse for ;he encounter.
Should, however, two females come
to blows (? <? result is very different.
Within a few moments the stroke c*f
a poison fang generally leaves one
of ibe combatants dead upon the
lie Id. I
- i i
With the Funny^
A Way to Fame. / >
Take heart, 0 bards, the way to taniv- - 1
Has now at last been brought to view.
For one at least has won a name
In form and manner wholly new!
i You must bo cold and starved and broke-*
That's nothing new, of course, to us? ,
That long has been a standing joke -I
In itema, "miscellaneous."
To make a hit a burglar's kit
Is quite en regie now to-day:
You've got to rob and get a job i
At breaking stone to "pave your way."';
You burglarize to advertise j
The fact that you are bo: to write;
And then a pardon comes w let
The world appease your appetite!
Take heart, 0 bards! our hour is here!
We bow the head and take it meekly.
One of our horde has found reward
In Century and Harper's Weekly.
?H. L. P., in Chicago Record-Herald. >
'' v
Necessary.
It has gotten so that order to?
keep up. every one must -ead while
be runs.?Dallas News. \
True
Generosity.
She (before a jeweler's window)?*
"Oh, Edgar, I haven't seen half*
enough yet!"
He?"Well, we'll stand here a little
longer, then." ? Fllegende Blaetter.
After Shakespeare?Some Time.
"Say, pa, who said the play's the- 'i
thing?"
"Some back number, my son..
Every one knows nowadays it's the
chorus."?Life. *. '
.. -V
Not Proper Conversation.
"What made that young lady novelist
say Bliggins is no gentleman
"He insisted on asking her to de^scribe
to him in detail the plot of heft
latest best seller."?Washington Star*. '
Between Issues.
* . :\
"I fear the hero of this magazine*
seriel will be bankrupt next month."
"Why so?"
"He leaves a taxicab waiting in the
last chapter." ? Louisville CourierJournal.
"!
A Dire Threat.
SX\
"'{ nless you take better care of / ,
yourself you may go blind."
"Well, I've seen everything, doc." j
"But you may also go deaf, an?
then you can't hear yourself talk."?*Louisville
Courier-Journal.
?? j
Delicacy.
"How old are you?".
"Twelve."
"A girl of twelve should tell her
mother everything."
"But ray mother is so innocent!]
Really, I haven't the heart!"?Puck..
A View to Discipline. * -.
"Did you pardon that convict because
he was a poet?" '
"Yes," replied the governor; "apenitentiary
is bad enough, withotft
encouraging temperamental people to
take refuge in it."?"tvashlngton Star,
.4'-$
Justified.
"Mr. Bliggins nays he is awfully
bored." ,
"After talking with him for flv* '
minutes and discovering what hethinks
about," replied Miss Cayenne,,
"you can't blame him."?Washington
Star.
Illness.
"You say you were away from tho
office^ yesterday because of illness?"
said the stern employer.
"Yes," replied the young man who
knew he was discovered. "Several of
the umpire's decisions made me sick.""
?Washington Star.
Sweet Revenge.
"I suppose you will be too rijh to
take in summer boarders this year?"
" Pomor fnpntna.
wen, aiuwcicu l uiwv> w.uw.
sel, "we'll take 'em jes' the. same.
Mandy an' the two gals want somebody
to show off their good clothesand
jewelry to."?Washington Star.
___ j
A Distant Prospect.
"And you say you love me?"
"Devotedly!" *
"With the cost of living as nign as
it is?"
"Indeed I do. and when the cost of
living is less I will prove my love
by making you my wife."?Houston
Post. i
Another Convert.
"Are you in favor of reforming the
calendar?"
"I am, by gosh! It would help
mightily with the plowing to take a
few weeks off winter and tack it onto
early spring."?Louisville CourierJournal.
A Household Ordeal.
"What makes you grin when everyh/iriv
tpils vou the lruit crop is a
failure?"
"Because," replied Mr. Crosslots.
"it makes me hope that maybe I'll
Siiss the fuss and worry that happen
livery time preserving time comes
'round."?Washington Star.
The Class in Literature.
"Who were the lake poets?"
"A coterie of bards who lived near
the English lakes, professor. Their
works were somewhat similar."
"Very good. Now state what you
know about the modern breakfastfood
school."?Louisville CourierTr\n
rr n 1
All the Details.
"I'J! bet the census for this locality
Is complete."
"Told the enumerator all about
yourself, eh?"
"Yes; and I also gave him a lot
of Inside information abnut the
neighbors."?Louisville Courier-Journal.
?'-A