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HHHB ! ?< t t lewis m. gbist, Proprietor, j A" Independent ^inili) Iteirapap'er i Jw the fromofion of the fjolttical, Social, Agricultural and Commercial.,Intercuts of the ^outh. jTERMS?$2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE. VOL. 85. YORKVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1889. YO 19. ANOTHER' y FROM THE DIARY OF MY JULIAN H Author of "The. Great Ba eau Peuii t , [Copyright by 0. M. Dunham, and publis American Press .Association with ('ai 1 1 CHAPTER L THE NOLENS. ' |1 FYOUcouldput * " If on the cap of ini! X*Ji M Ability and sit .11 for twenty-four see man7 strange ttA sights. Representatives of every grade of the jfj&WJjm/t ) community pass jiutgR through those mysterious p o r tals during the day. All sorts and conditions of men, from the depraved pickpocket to the cultured millionaire; all varieties of the daughters of Eve, from the poor vulgar trull to the refined and lovely queen of society. Here meet youth end age, virtue and vice, industry and idleness, wise and foolish, good and evil Strange events are there brought to light; life histories, fantastic, tragic, comic, pathetic, romantic, crimes startling or sordid; bumaii passions are there unfolded of every species?love, hate, revenge, avarice, self abnegation, ambition and despair, which is the death of all passion, good or bad. And what a gallery of faces follow one another, in endless succession, across the thresholdbeautiful, hideous, sorrowful, joyful, contented, wretched, cultivated, degraded, spiritual, bestial. And all who come have some story to tell, some-accusation to bring, some defense to oppose, some end to gain. Having said their say they disperse again?some to liberty, some to trial; some to death, some to victory; some to prisons, some to palaces. All the contrasts of human existence, all its lights and shadows, appear in the inspeci tor's room, and disappear again, while you look on in your cap of invisibility. And there, at his desk, sits the inspector, examining, weighing, deciding, investigating, advising, reproving, encouraging; cheerful or grave, as the case mr.y be, even tempered, firm, 6uave, stern, penetrating, impenetrable; the depository of all secrets, the reveal er of 4 none; the man who is never hurried, yet never behindhand; never idle, yet never weary; always patient, and always prompt No position tinder the municipal government requires more tact than his, more energy, more courage, more experience. He must be pliant, yet immovable; subtle, yet straightforward; keen, yet blunt He must know all the frailties of human nature, and yet be not too cynical to comprehend its goodness; ho must bo an advocate, and at the same time a judge. In short, he must be a chief of New York detectives; and, whatever else his office may be, it is certainly no sinecure. VI Of the countless dramas and episodes thai come to his knowledge, many cannot be told again; and many, if told, would not be credited, so different from the strangeness of tiction is the strangeness of real life. On the other hand, not a few of these tales can be repeated without indiscretion, and, in all substantial Irespocts, precisely as they actually came to pass. Such narratives have one advantage over the conceptions of the imagination, that they are a record of facts, not fancies, and carry the authority and impressiveness of fact. But they also labor under a disadvantage which, perhaps, more than balances the gain of | reality; for facts are stubborn, and acr commodate themselves but awkwardly to the rules of artistic construction and Bymmetry. Like rocks in a New England farm, they are continually cropping up where they are least wanted. And yet it will sometimes happen that nature so nearly accommodates herself to art that the story assumes a tolerable grace and proportion; and such a one is contained in the pages that follow. But, although the sequence and character of the events has been adhered to, the names of the persons are changed; for the affair took place but a short while since, and nearly all the actors in it are still alive, and several of them moving in the best society in New York. * t ? * * Mr. Bartemus Nolen was a representative of a good New York family, and was possessed of comfortable means; by profession he was a lawyer. He was a member of the Episcopalian church, and he married, at the outset of his career, a lady of the same persuasion, a woman of excellent education and gentle and benevolent disposition. The first twenty years of their married life passed hap< pily and prosperously; two sons were born to them, and a few years later a daughter, Pauline. Mr. Nolen achieved honor and eminence in his profession; the boys did well in school and afterward at college, and the daughter gave promise of singular intelligence and beauty?a promise which was afterward fulfilled. But at length the current of luck took a turn, and began to set against the honest lawyer. He was affected with a cataract in one of hi9 eyes, which had not proceeded far when the other also ' showed signs pf being affected; this misfortune was a serious drawback to his practice, and finally compelled him to \ abandon it almost entirely. Of course, practice meant money, and the cessation from It diminution of income. There was still enough left, however, to live upon with comfort, if not luxuriously; but unfortunately Mr. Nolen, being deprived of his customary mental employ mem, iook to minsing or otner uungs; and one of the subjects of his meditation was the feasibility of getting larger returns from his invested property. Among his acquaintance were many men whoso trade was finance, and Bartemus got in tho habit of counseling with them upon financial matters. No doubt they gave him the best advice at their disposal; but when one begins to buy stocks, advice is of little use; and Mr. Nolen, after several ups and downs, carno down with somewhat of a thump, to tho extent of about a third part of his total possessions. At this juncture he proved his exceptional good sense and self control; for he never risked another dollar in speculation. Neither did he reveal the fact of his losses, which was at least prudent But these virtues could not save him from being and feeling a good deal poorer than he was before. He owned the house he , lived in, and continued to live in it; but he curtailed his expenses, and by strict economy contrived to render them less than his income. His 6ons would soon be through college, and would then, it was to be supposed, take care of themselves. It was for his daughter that he was saving, and he hoped to leave her at least a decent fortune after his death. But other misfortunes were in store for him. His oldest 6on, Jerrold Nolen, had graduated from college, and came to New York to study medicine, living, meanwhile, at his father's house. He was a young fellow of ability and agreeable manners, and was popular among his fellows. His father was proud of htm, and treated him with partiality. It soon became apparent that Jerrold was rather inclined to dissipation; his sociable nature had its detrimental side. This was the more unfortunate, inasmuch 8 CRIME! INSPECTOR BYRNES. AWTIIORNKi ilk Robbery,*' 44An Anicritaii," Etc. bed, through spooial arrangement by the isell A Co., Now York and London.] as ho had a tendency to heart disease, and was of an excitable temperament As this matter will be dwelt on hereafter, it is enough to say here that Jerrold died under tragic circumstances in the second year of his * tTi- J J.-U medical studies. nis uettui, ucaiu? bringing bitter grief to his father and mother, led to legal proceedings againsfr a person supposed to have been instrumental in compassing his destructionproceedings which led to no good results, and involved a laige ompeuae.1 "Mr.1 Nolen never recovered from the shock and disappointment of his eldest son's sudden end; and in little more than a year afterwards the morning papers contained respectful but brief notices of his decease. His will was admitted to probate; it devised twenty thousand dollars to his son Percy Nolen when the latter should come of age; the remainder was settled upon Mrs. Nolen, with certain provisos in the event of Pauline's marrying with her mother's approval. Percy's bequest was intended to Btart him in business, he having shown a tendency to take up mining engineering as a pursuit. He too was an intelligent boy, and left college in good standing as to scholarship, but his character resembled Jerrold's in its lack of firmness and persistent energy; while, unlike Jerrold, he was of a selfish disposition. After graduating and coming into possession of his patrimony, he announced his intention of postponing for a while his professional studies and seeing a little of metropolitan life. This made his mother anxious, remembering the unhappy career of her older son, but she interpreted Percy's design in the manner most favorable to him, as simply a wish to become practically familiar with the ways and manners of good society. Percy's original purposes may, indeed, have contemplated no more than that; but that was far from being the limit of what he actually did. His advances towards the best society were neither considerable nor prolonged. For a few months ho went to dinners and recep tions and danced at balls, but it soon bocame evident that he was getting intimate with a class of people who, by no stretch of courtesy, could bo counted among the upper ten. These were chiefly young men who dressed well, had dash and assurance of manner and were commonly to bo met with on fashionable thoroughfares, in the corridors and billiard rooms of the best hotels, on baseball grounds and race tracks, and, towards the small hours of the night, at certain restaurants and other places of resort more remarkable for brilliance and liveliness than for respectability, in which the company ceased to be exclusively masculine and was yet not improved by the alteration. Percy had his choice, and this was the class with which he chose more and more to associate. They were, as a class, not wealthy; nevertheless to be with them was not necessarily to bo economical; neither did it involve regular habits or early hours. Before long Percy was convinced that the sort of life ho was leading was not compatible with making a home under his mother's roof; so he took bachelor rooms on the west 6ide of the city and went to bed and got up at what o'clock it best pleased him. He did not keep away from home altogether; he would drop in now and then, when nothing else was going on, sometimes to lunch, sometimes to dinner, sometimes to accompany hi" sister to the opera or theatre, but he had cut looso from his mother's apron strings and showed no present signs of meaning to como back to them. He was living a fast life, and not the best kind of fast life either. VyiiV7 VI tUD CACVUbViO 4&JL.A. UOib^mUO Nolen's will was Judge Odin Ketelle, a gentleman who had at one period been a partner of Nolen's, and had always remained on intimate and friendly terms with the family. He was a man of position and influence, and was quietly and steadily amassing a large fortune. Mrs. Nolen, in her anxiety about Percy, naturally turned to this friend for counsel; and probably she could not have done better if she were to do anything. The judge heard her timid and fond complaints, in which 6he tried to shield the son whoso misdeeds she was forced to expose.' When she had finished ho sat with Iris hands folded on the table and his eyes under their thick eyebrows fixed in thoughtful contemplation as he had been wont to sit on the bench when considering some point of law adva ced by counsel. "If a boy wants to be a fool ho mostly succeeds in his wish," he remarked after a while. "Percy has u good deal of untamed blood in his composition, and he will probably work it off in his own fashion. His father gave him his money without conditions or restrictions, hoping that the sense of responsibility would sober him; but it will need more than that He will spend it?that is, throw it into the gutter?and then we may look for the dawning of reason in him." "I am sure ho is a good boy," said his mother. "He is only full of life and thoughtless." "Thero is no reason to suppose him actually vicious," the judge replied, "and, that being the case, we may expect that the want of money will bring him to terms. 1 do not look to see his father's son commit any act that will bring him under tho cognizance of the law; he is, I take it, incapable of any dishonesty; consequently, when he becomes bankrupt, he must do one of three things: either he will sit down and starve like a gentleman, or he will find some employment that will givo him a living, or ho will come back to you, like his prodigal prototype in Holy Writ "Percy starve! Oh, judge!" faltered Mrs. Nolen. "Do not bo uneasy; Percy will not starve," returned he, with a slight flavor of irony in his tone. "Ho is not naturally disposed to asceticism, nor has he the kind of pride that would prompt him rather to die than betray signs of human weakness. On the other hand ho is clever and quick, and could easily pick up an honest livelihood in other ways than by pursuing hi3 project of mining should ho find it necessary to forego that. But my own anticipation is, my dear Mary, that he is too lazy, and that his habits of application, such as they were, havo become too much broken up to make that course likely. What I do expect is that ho will come back to you and ask you to provide for him." "That is all I ask!" Mrs, Nolen exclaimed. "I have no doubt cf it, my dear," answered the judge with a smile. "But in this connection there is something that I wish to impress upon you very strongly. Do not, as you value .his ultimate welfare, not to speak of your own, give him any money without firsi consulting me. If you fail to observe this'precaution, depend upon it you will get into trouble. I know what young men are, and how they regard their mothers?as just so much indulgent soft heartedness to bo taken advantage of! No, it isn't cynicism; it's the truth; and so you will find it. Now, what Percy needs is the conviction that thero is no choico for hira but to work. So long as he thinks that he can be supported without working ho will remain idle. It may be hard for you to refuso him, but unless you do you will only work him on ill turn. You are not a rich woman by any means. Bartemu8?it is as well you should know it now?lost a large part of his fortune by injudicious investments; and when you take out of that the sum secured to Pauline as her dower?a sum which, fortunately, neither you nor she can touch for three years to come?you will liavo left barely enough to live comfortably on. As for Percy's twenty thousand, we may look upon that as being as good as gone; it is only a question of time, and no very long time. Until it is gone it is no use attempting to influence him. So much for that! But now, my dear Mary," continued the judge, changing his tone, "I wish to speak to you on another matter of no small moment to you, to myself? and to Pauline!" CHAPTER n. SUITORS. f RS. NOLEN'S / \ ^ace? which had / Xj\ assumed an exl jKC/^f Pression P?n" ^ 6ive and brooding Jl I?vs sadness, b r i g h tPl daughter's name, an expectant air. "Paulino is now eighteen years observed. "As I 6eems impossible, but so it is. I remember her as an Infant lying in your arms; and it does not seem to me that I have changed much since then. And yet Pauline is a woman, and has more character and substance, too, than many a woman of twico her age. What miracles time works!" "She is the best girl in the world!" said the mother tenderly. "I am much inclined to agree with you," responded the judge. "She is so strong, so clear sighted, so faithful and upright," pursued Mrs. Nolen. "And yet there is nothing cold or unsympathetic about her. When her emotions are touched, she.seems all firo and spirit. I am sure no sister ever loved her brother, nor any daughter her mother, as Pauline loves Percy and me." "I can well believe it. And have you ever seen signs in her of another sort of love?not that of the daughter or tho sister?" "Oh, I am afraid to think of that!" returned Mrs. Nolen, pressing her white hands nervously together. "It is so easy for a girl to make a mistake; and for her a mistake would be fatall" "I think she has good sense enough not to fall into any serious error," said the judge, "though 1 am no less persuaded that, if she wed a man who in himself was worthy of her, she would allow no considerations of merely selfish prudence to prevent her union with him. But I was going to ask you," he added, with a certain subdued anxiety in his deep toned voice, "whether it has come to your knowledge?whether you have any reason to think that she has already mot any one who?whom she would be likely to prefer to any one else?" "I have not thought of it?it has not occurred to me!" said Mrs. Nolen, with an accent of apprehension, looking at tho judge with wide open eyes. "It is hardly too soon to take such a possibility into consideration." ho returned. "Pauline Ls mature for her age; and it is not too much to say that she is one of tho most beautiful young women in New York. You tuko her a good deal into society; she can hardly fail to meet with admiration." "Yes, yes, you are right," said the mother. "Now that you speak of it, I see that such a thing may happen. But she has 6poken to m'e of no one, and I am suro 6ho would have spoken if" "Do not trust too much to that," he interposed. "A young girl, with a mind oq onH miro no hnrta rirwvQ not readily ask herself if she be in love; she may become so before she is aware of it, and only the avowal of her lover will open her eyes. Till then you cannot expect her to speak of it to you. .And then, if sho have made up her mind, it would bo too late to speak." "But would you advise me to question her? Might it not suggest to her something which she otherwise would not have thought of?" "Tliat is not improbable. But why not approach the matter from the other side? Is there no one among the young men who know her who have shown signs of any particular interest in her?" "They all seem to admire her," said Mrs. Nolen. "But I can think of no one in particular?unless it be Percy's friend. Mr. Martin." "Valentino Martin?tho young Englishman?" "Yes. Percy sometimes brings him here. But his being a friend of Percy makes a difference between him and the others." "How so?" "In tho fact of his being hero oftener. I mean, if it were not for that I should think his visits had 6ome further significance." "I am not altogether convinced that his being a friend of Percy would deprivo liis visits of significance," said the judge. "It is conceivable, at any rate, that he might have made a friend of Percy in order to facilitate his access to Pauline." "Ho seemed a frank, straightforward young man, not one you would suspect of doing anything underhand." The judge laughed; a very low, pleasant laugh ho had, which mado those who heard it disposed at once to like him. "You are more Iiko a nun, in your unsuspiciousness and unworldliness, than like a married woman who goes in New York society," said he. "Let me assure you, my dear, that a man in love is not to bo held a criminal, or even a hypocrite, if ho uses some strategy to get near the object of his affection. I should forgive Mr. Martin even if ho went so far as to pretend a cordiality for Percy that he did not really feel, if so he might induco Percy to admit him to the intimacy of your household. No, if we are to take exceptions to him, it must be from another standpoint. What do you know about his personal history and his social standing in his own country?" "I suppose it must bo good," said Mrs. Nolen. "I think ho said that liis family owned a largo estato in Cumberland." "Is ho the eldest son?" "Tho next to tho eldest, I believe." "And what is his business in America?" "I don't know. But a great many English pcoplo como hero nowadays, you know. It is a part of their education." "Yes; but 6omo of them aro pretty well educated bcforo they get here," remarked the judge dryly, "and occasionally they manage to teach us something beforo they leave. There is in England the same difference between an eldest son and the other son9 that there is between a rich man and a pauper. By tho law of primogeniture tho estates, and generally tho bulk of tho money, goes to tho first born; tho other boys get positions, if they can, in tho army, tho civil servico or tho church. They are seldom fitted to enter tho learned professions, and it is not considered good form for a gentleman's sou to go into trade. Of course tho army and tho church don't afford accommodation for all applicants, and tho consequcnco is that every year a number of young Englishmen are thrown on tho world, who by training and inclination aro good for nothing but to bo idle and ornamental, and who nevertheless havo no means for honestly leading such a life. They form a class of gentleman adventurers. They aro men of agreeable manners and culture, talk well, look well, aro excellent at cards and billiards, and live no 0110 knows how. Some of them come over hero for reasons known only to themselves; they aro very pleasant acquaintances, but it is well not to trust them too far. They have no fixed place in tho world and no responsibility." "You don't mean that Mr. Martin is? an adventurer?" demanded Mrs. Nolen, in a voice of faint consternation. "So far as I know ho may bo the best fellow in England. But I know nothing about him one way or the other. How did Percy become acquainted with him?" "Ho met him somewhere?at some club, I imagine." "That may bo all right, or it may not. At all events, you will sec that you should proceed with 6omo circumspection. Tho rules that apply to our young men do not necessarily apply to foreigners. Mr. Martin may bo much better educated, and havo moro polished and quiet manners, than nine out of ten of your American acquaintances; and yet it might be better that Paulino should marry the l l. r\P lnfinr tlion Mr ' JLCUSU utua^uf v V* v?.w ?.... Martin." "I wish you would seo Iiim and find out whether ho is nice," said Mrs. Nolen, with anxious earnestness. "I would willingly do so, but for one reason," tlio judgo replied, "and that is that the peculiar circumstances might 1 disqualify mo from forming an unbiased opinion." "Oh, I am not afraid of that. My husband used to say that thero could bo no one more impartial and just than you." "Even assuming that judgment of his to have been impartial, I should nevertheless bo disqualified from presiding at a trial where, for instance, the prisoner was charged with the murder of some friend of my own." "I do not understand. Mr. Martin has surely not murdered any one?" "Bless me, no! I was only using an extreme illustration. But Mr. Martin might wish to obtain something which I she could not divinS*What rtwas. "I began life pretty early, as you know," continued he, after a pausa "Since the ago of 14, I believe, I have supported myself. Measuring my existence by that standard, I might be called an old man. But though, in the matter of years, I am not exactly a boy, yet I ow% Knf /1Q ronw! r\lH nnH VOll will Jtflniifc my dear, that men have been known to live a good deal longer than that." "I am sure you will live to he twice 43," put in Mrs. Nolen kindly. "Half that is all 1 would ask, if I might realize the happiness that I hope for," returned the judge, with a faint smile. "And is this happiness anything that I can help to insure you?" "I can hardly .say that. In fact, it is essential in one way that it should come, if come at all, as freely and spontaneously as the sunshine from heaven. Nevertheless, I am under obligation to speak to you of my hopes, that you may appreciate my position and understand my conduct" He stopped, and tho color mounted to his face. "I love Paulino," ho said, a 6trong emotion vibrating in his voice. "I hope to make her love me and to accept me for her husband." "Oh, judge!" exclaimed Mrs. Nolen, taken wholly by surprise. Sho looked at him intently for a few moments, and then the startled look in her faco softened, and sho began to 6iuile. She left her chair, and, coming to where ho gat, put a hand upon his shoulder; and as he looked up at her sho bent down and kissed him upon tho forehead. Sho was still smiling, but there were tears in her eyes. "Do you tliink mo absurd?" said the judge. "I think you are right," was her reply. "At first I could not believe?I had always looked up to you as to a sort of elder brother?I could not imagine you as tho husband of my little daughter? my own son-in-law. But I think you are right. Paulino is a little girl no longer; in almost everything but years sho is older than I; sho is fitted to be the wife of a man even 60 much older than 1 If VT-. nersen us yuu iuw. .liu uuu ui ut;i wvu ago would suit her as well." "Then you will not bo against me?" ho said, starting up. "Indeed, I will not. All that I do shall bo done for you." Sho put her hands in his, and ho grasped them warmly. "It is more than half selfishness in me," sho added. "It would givo mo some right to rely on you. I should not feel so lonely." 'However this may turn out, always know that you may rely on me," the judge returned, with deep feeling. "Our friendship began long ago, Mary, and doesn't need any other tie to bind it. If Pauline, when tho question is put beforo her, decides against me?and I am fully awaro how easily that may bo her verdict?I shall accept it like a man, and you will remember that, so far as I am concerned, it will involve not tho slightest change hi my devotion to you and yours. I shall leave no honorable means untried to win her; but, abovo all things, I desiro to avoid forcing her inclination, either by any act of my own, or through you. That you should approve of my purpose is all I ask. Leave tho rest to Providence, and to her." "I understand," said Mrs. Nolen, "and, indeed, if I wished to help you, I should not do it by singing your praises to her. You being what you arc, tho best thing to do is to leavo her to find you out for herself." "If Mr. Martin bo my rival," resumed tho judge, "let him have his chanco and defeat mo if ho can. If lie be tho better man it will appear; and God forbid that I should make her my wife knowing that she would liavo been happier with another. But if lovo go for anything, I love her well, and in all my lifosho is tho first and only woman I have loved." "You might havo rivals more danger ous than Mr. Martin," returned tho mother, with another smile, and so tho interview ramo to a close. CHAPTER III. MltS. CUTIIBERT TUNSTALL. VENTS were !|l shaping themflj smoothly enough. Percy N o 1 o n maintained his brilliant career, and attained a certain distinction among tho p o r s o n s with whom ho associated. Ho was a i hie. handsome youth, with broad slioul tiers and sturdy limbs, a clever boxer, a good whip, a fair billiard player; his spirits were exuberant, and ho had moro mental resources and ideas than aro vouchsafed to the generality of young gentlemen of his kind. Thus he assumed, to sonic extent, tho position of a leader among them; and, as he was uniformly good natured and yet not to bo imposed upon, ho was liked and not laughed at. But his favorito companion and friend was Valentino Martin. Tho two men were nearly tho same age, Martin being a little tho elder, and wero a good deal alike in sizo and personal appearance.! Martin, being English, wore side whiskers, and Percy, being American, wore a; mustache. Martin was inclined to bo' fair and Percy to bo dark; but they might have been taken to bo brothers. Tho Englishman, however, was of a somewhat gloomier temperament than tho American; moro retidtnt and moro. given to moods and inequalities of temper. IIo had brought with him several good letters of introduction and had duly> delivered them, but ho had availed him-' self but sparingly of tho social courtesies extended to him, seeming to prefer n less formal and regular life. He made no pretense cf largo wealth, but, on the other hand, ho never seemed to bo cramped for means, and no ono could be found from whom ho had borrowed money. If ho were a triflo mysterious, nobody was concerned to fathom his mystery, for it was no one's interest to do so. Valentine Martin had not come to America to speculate, to organize a company, to raiso capital, or to do any of those things that are apt to render engaging foreigners suspicious in our eyes. Ho had apparently come to amuse himself and mind his own affairs; and after a time ho was permitted to follow this innocent inclination. The upper ten, whom he neglected, ceased to take an active interest in him, and those with whom lie associated relinquished the vain effort to persuade him to reveal his secret, and came to the sensible conclusion that there was probably no secret to reveal. The acquaintance and subsequent friendship between Martin and Percy Nolen had sprung up spontaneously, without any formal introduction. They had tastes ancfedeas in^ommon, and they mutually pleasB^onejmother. Martin's warperhapser character, but Percy's was the more enterprising and lively; so that they were upon fairly even terras. One day the Englishman accepted an invitation to come and take afternoon tea at the Nolens'; ho met Pauline on that occasion, and it was not afterwards necessary to urge him to repeat his visit. Pauline was interested in him as an Englishman, and after discussing his native country with him admitted him to a certain degree of friendship, partly on her brother's recommendation, partly on his own account. He seemed gloomy at times, and she was sorry for him, without knowing or even caring to inquire what made her so. At other times ho conversed in a manner that interested her and stimulated her to talk in return; and, though Pauline was but a girl, she had a mind that was worth coming in contact with. The Englishman never mado any direct demand upon her sympathies or emotions, and probably he gained rather than lost by this forbearance. When a woman has insight she would rather exercise her intuitions than liave things explained to her. Matters went on in this manner for several months, and the year's vacation which Percy had allowed himself was more than up. He had as yet shown no sign of being bankrupt, unless a certain abstraction of manner at times, accompanied by a biting of his nails, and a drumming with his foot, might be construed as symptoms of approaching impecuniosity. But another affair, not connected with finance, was going on at this period which, unless put an end to betimes, might result in trouble. There was a young married woman in New York society named Mrs. Cuthbert TunstalL Her husband, also young, had inherited from his father an immense business in coal. Cuthbert Tunatall was fond of activity, and he plunged into his coal with hearty good will, intent upon creating a fortune twice as large as that which his father had left him. As a matter of course, and of necessity, he was absent all day at his office, and was often obliged to run down to the mines to overseo things thero in person. His wife was the daughter of an aristocratic Knickerbocker family; sho had been a reigning belle in her coming out year, and the year following- the match between her and Tuns tall had been made. She liked her husband, because he was a good fellow, because he-was in love with her and becauso ho was considered a big catch; but 6ho cared nothing for coal, and was jealous of his devotion to it. Sho wanted him to be devoted to her and to nobody else. Sho hated to think of him working?actually working?all day long. Ho came home to dinner, it was true; but he was not fond of dining out, and when dinner was over, he was tired, and liked to stay quietly at home and go to bed at half past 10. Such an existence as this was tho next thing to unendurable to a woman liko Sylvia TunstalL Forty years hence, perhaps, this Darby and Joan kind of life might bo practicable; but not now, in the flush of youth, variety and curiosity! Sho absolutely would not stand itl Tunstall was a manly, straightforward, sinclo hearted fellow, and at first he did not comprehend his wife's attitude. He had homely ideas of married life, and tho routine of social dissipation was without attractions for him. When at last ho learnt how matters stood, he thought it over, and came to the conclusion that his wife had much reason on her side. She was young, good looking and full of the wine of life, and it was only natural and proper in her to wish to see and to bo seen. So he began by attempting to "go out" with her; but he presently discovered that going to bed at 2 o'clock in the morning was not compatible with having breakfast at halfpast 7. He then tried giving dinners twice a week and a reception once a month; but Sylvia pointed out to him that the customs of good society demanded that they should accept invitations as well as give them; so that his second state bade fair to be even worse than Iris first. What was to be done? He would not consent to give up his business; on that point lie was firm. Sylvia was equally convinced that it was impossible to give up society. For a time there threatened to be a deadlock. Finally a compromise was effected. Sylvia had relations and particular friends who were in society, and of whose escort and countenance she could avail herself. Her husband could take her to nlacea and her relatives or friends could bring her homo again. By degrees it was found unnecessary to have him take her, and sho both went and returned without him. His anticipations of domestic felicity were disappointed; but Sylvia was enjoying herself, and he always looked forward to a time when sho would weary of gayety and return to him. Me loved her as much as ever, and was proud of her social popularity; lie had perfect faith in her truth 'and honor. He ate his dinner and went to bed alone, and when he rose in the morning ho was careful not to awaken hid* wife. That was the stylo of tho menage. ButCuthbert Tunstall was not a fool? a fact which his wife perhaps failed to fully appreciate. As long as her conduct was above reproach, according to tho somewhat vaguo standards of society, ho would not interfere with her pleasures; but ho was not the man to permit tho least step beyond this. Amd though ho was naturally unsuspicious, and slow to wrath, any one who understood men would have known that it would bo uncomfortable to arouse him. But Svlvia got the idea that she could do exactly as she pleased, and she did it. One day Tunstall got a hint from some precious friend of his?a very distant, indirect, ambiguous and innocent hint, but a hint all the same. He appeared not to understand it, and passed it over without comment; but the repressed emotion which it aroused was so strong that he cauio near fainting where ho stood. He attended to his business the same as usual, returned homo at his customary hour and sat down to his solitary dinner. His wifo was upstairs dressing. By and by she came down to say good-by to him for the evening. She was beautifully dressed and was lovely to look upon. Cuthbert looked at her in silence. "Good night, dear," sho said, drawing on her gloves. "I suppose you won't bo up when I couio home." "Not if you como at your usual time." "I wish you'd drop your horrid business and como with me." "I am moro useful as I am. Do you know a gentleman by tho namo of Percy Nolen?" "Percy Nolen* No?yes?I believe I do." These were her words, but her faco and tho tone of her voico betrayed her, and they both knew it. "Ho is an agreeable fellow, isn't he?" pursued tho husband, quietly. "I suppose he is liko tho rest; all men aro alike to me?except you, of course, dcarl But why do you ask?" "Some ono who knows him happened to mention him today. Well, and what is going on to-night?" "Dine at Mrs. Murray's, and then tho theatre." "Won't you want something to eat when you get home?" "Oh, no. Don't bother. I shan't bo hungry." "It might be better to brder something to be ready for you here than to take supper at Delmonico's," ho said slowly, looking her in tho eyes. She turned away her eyes after a mo ment, ostensibly to pun up ner cioaic. "I had no idea of going to Delmonico's," she said, in a slightly strained voice. "Of course not!" he repeated; and then ho turned to his evening paper, and she went out, with a cmilo on her lips and fear in her heart. Ilor husband had given her warning, and he hoped against hoped that it would bo sufficient. Ho would not take the next step unless she compelled him to it; but he was resolved (and she partly felt it) that the next step would bo final. How much he actually knew of her flirtation with Percy she could of course only conjecture. She had taken supper with him in a private room of a fashionable restaurant the night before. They had not been alone; there had also been present another young married woman, and a young man not married. But tho two couples had not been in each other's way; they had rather helped each other out. It was certainly not an affair which Sylvia would have wished to have generally known?least of all to be suspected by her husband. Did he know about it? or had his questions been only tho result of chance? She wished to believe the latter, but she could not. After all, she did not seriously care for Percy Nolen. It had been a mere flirtation for pastime. She had not supposed that her husband would care much, even if he knew. He had not of late betrayed any very passionate affection for her. If he loved her, why did ho not accompany her on her social rounds? It was ridiculous to say that he was obliged to attend to his business. They had plenty of . money without any business. There was nothing except his own obstinacy to prevent him from retiring to-morrow and never going near his offico again. But if he preferred his business to his wife, why could ho not allow his wife her preferences!" :t was unjust ana tyrannical. Nevertheless, if he was determined to be ugly about it, of course there must be no scandal. Sho would tell Percy, the next time 6ho saw him, that the acquaintance must cease. It was not worth while to run any risks on his account. Having mado up her mind to this, she was moro at ease. After the second act at the theatre, Percy Nolen camo into her box. She greeted him coldly, but ho sat down beside her, and began to make various propositions. She repulsed him, but not very vigorously. At last she whispered: "You must really bo more careful! People are beginning to observo us. If anything should happen, I would never forgive you!" "I will take every precaution, but?I love you!" ho replied in her ear. Ho had never said so much before, and she turned pale and gave him a look. The curtain went up on tho next act, showing how tho hero, by a combination of circumstances, was arrested and taken to police headquarters. TO UK CONTINUED NEXT WEEK. Weaving In Lyons. The working population of Lyons aro as a rule a thoughtful and intelligent set, but poor. TTCio majority are engaged in silk weaving, a great many carrying on tho business in their own homes. There aro 500 or COO silk mills and as many as 130,000 looms, while tho Arising of silk worms, tho cultivation of tho mulberry trees and tho winding of silk from tho cocoons employ a vast number of families. Many of the richest kinds of silk fabrics wcro invented here, as poplins and moiro antiques, while velvet was first woven in 1730. What a poor, thine: society must have been before* velvet was invented I The Jacquard loom dates only from 1802. Wo visited several of the abodes of these weavers, gloomy, lofty dwellings of the most unattractive appearance, constructed of gray stone, for neither wood nor brick is used in this part of the country, and their more lively colors are sadly missed. In the upper stories, where they can get the best light, the artisans live, their ponderous looms almost filling tlio small apartment, while wife and children pursue their own avocations as best they can around the edges of the room.?Cor. San Francisco Chronicle. Scenery In Central Africa. Day after day yo.u may wander through these forests with nothing except the climate to remind you where you are. Tho beasts, to bo sure, aro different, but unless you watch for them you will seldom see any; the birds are different, but you rarely hear them; and as for the rocks, they are our own familiar gneisses and granites, with honest basalt dikes boring through them, and leopard skin lichens suaning their weathered sides. Thousands ana thousands of miles, then, of vast thin forest, shadelcss, trackless, voteless?forest in mountain and forest in plain?this is east central Africa. Once a week you will see a palm; once in three months the monkey will cross your path; the llowers, on tho whole, aro few; the trees aro poor, and, to be honest, though tho endless forest clad mountains have a sublimity of their own. and though thoro aro tropical hits along some of tho mountain streams of exauisito beauty, nowhero is there anything in grace and sweetness and strength to eomparo with a Highland glen.?"Tropical Africa." French l'ca and C'ofloe. A noted French chef makes coffco by pouring boiling water on tho ground berries; after iiltcring, the water is again boiled and again poured on tho coffee; und so on for a third timo. lie does not boil tho eotfeo and water together, nor put tho coffco in cold water and let it conic to a boil. To mako good tea, lie says, you must pour boiling water on it and throw it out immediately. Then pour onethird of tho boiling water required, put tho pot over a steaming apparatus, and then add another third, and finally tho last third, repeating tho steaming, in order to lot it draw without boiling. This is what tho FrCnch cook of a well known millionaire does, and tho master of tho house looks as if ho was satisfied.?New York Mail and Express. Lovo Letters of tho Future. Lovers will soon carry on correspondence by phonograph, which, with a gross of wax cylinders and little boxes for mailing them, will becomo a conventional but useful accompaniment to tho engagement ring. "My darling," when written, I am told, does not adequately express the lover's fervor. But when reproduced with tho phonograph's mathematical exactness, there should bo very passionate words, or, at any rate, an in| dox of tho warmth of the speaker's passion.?"Worcester Spy. Writing with a Quill. Nearly everybody in England writes with a quill. You find tnem put for public use in courts, in banks, in tclograpli offices and postoflices?in fact, everywhere where peoplo must write. If a man prefers to use a pen or a pencil ho must carry it with him.?Tho Argonaut. The Londbn school board proposo fo drop the study of Latin and .substitute modern languages. The Great War Syndicate. i By FRANK B. STOCKTON, J Author of "Rudder Grange," "Amos KI1- j bright," "The Ree Man of Orn," "The f Christinas Wreck," "The Lady or the t Tiger," "The Late Sirs. Null," "The ? Hundredth Man," "The Casting Away ' of Mc. I.ecks and Mrs. Aleshinc," "The 1 DuKantcs," etc. ' [Copyrighted by P. F. Collier, of Collier's Once a Week, and published by special arrangement with him through the American Press Association. All rights reserved.) ' 1 For a minuto or two tho officers of tho Lenox could not comprehend what had . happened. It was first supposed that by mistake the engines had been slackened, but almost at the same moment that it 1 was found that this was not the case, the , discovery was made that the crab accompanying the repeller had laid hold of the stern post of the Ixmox, and with all the strength of her jiowerful engines was ! holding her back. Now burst forth in the Lenox a storm of frenziecl rage, such as was never seen perhaps upon any vessel since vessels were first built. From the commander to the stokers every heart was filled with fury at the insult which was put upon them. The commander roared through his trumpet that if that infernal sea beetle were not immediately loosed from his ship ho would first sink her and then the repeller. To theso remarks the director of tho syndicate's vessels paid no attention, but proceeded to state as briefly and forcibly as possible that the Lenox had been detained in order that he might have an opportunity of speaking with her commander, and of informing him that his action in coming out of the harbor for the purpose of attacking a British vessel, was in direct violation of tho contract between the United States and tho syndicate having charge of tho war, and that 6uch action could not bo allowed. Tho commander of tho Lenox paid no more attention to these words than the syndicate's director had given to those he had 6poken, but immediately commenced a violent attack upon tho crab. It was impossible to bring any of the largo guns to bear upon her, for 6ho was almost under the stern of the Lenox, but every means of offense which infuriated ingenuity could suggest was used against it. Machine guns were trained to fire almost perpendicularly, and shot after shot was poured upon that portion of its 1 U?~l. jji 1SI rmii^ UiVCii. ? IUULI appecil cu awvu the water. But as these projectiles seemed to have no effect upon the solid back of Crab H, two great anvils were hoisted at the end of the spanker boom and dropped, one after tho other, upon it. Tho shocks were tremendous, but the internal construction of the crabs .provided, by means of upright beams, against injury from attacks of this kind, and tho great masses of iron slid off into the sea without doing any damage. Finding it impossible to make any impression upon the mailed monster at his stem, the commander of tho LenoS hailed tho director of tho repeller, and swore to him through his trumpet that if ho did not immediately order the Lenox to bo sot free, her heaviest guns should bo brought to bear upon liia floating counting house, and that it should be sunk if it took all day to do it. It would have been a grim satisfaction to tho commander of tho Lenox to sink Repeller No. 0, for ho knew the vessel when she had belonged to the United States navy. Before she had been bought by the syndicate, and fitted out with spring ajjpior, ho had made two long cruises in her, and he bitterly hated her, from her keel up. Tho director of tho repeller agreed to release tho Lenox the instant her commander would consent to return to port. No answer was made to this proposition, but a dynamite gun on the Lenox was brought to bear upon the syndicate's vessel. Desiring to avoid any complications which might ensue from actions of this sort, tho repeller steamed ahead, while the director signaled Crab H to movo the stern of tho Lenox to tho windward, wliich, being quickly done, tho gun of the latter bore upon tho distant coast. It was now very plain to the syndicate director that his words could have no effect upon tho commander of the ! Lenox, and ho therefore signaled Crab H to tow the United States vessel into port. When tho commander of tho Lenox saw that his vessel was beginning to movo backward ho gave instant orders to put on all steqm. But this was found to be useless, for when the dynamite gun was about to bo fired the engines had been ordered stopped, and ' tho moment that the propeller blades ceased moving the nippers of tho crab had been released from their hold upon tho stern post, and tho propeller blades of tho Lenox were gently but firmly [ seized in a grasp which included tho rudder. It was therefore impossiblo for ' the engines of tho vessel to revolve the ' propeller, and, unresistingly, the Lenox was towed, stern foremost, to the breakwater. 1 The news of this incident created the wildest indignation in tho United States j navy, and throughout tho country tho | condemnation of what was considered the insulting action of the syndicate was general. In foreign countries tho affair was the subject of a good deal of com- ' ment, but it was also the occasion of much serious consideration, forit proved that one of tho syndicate's submerged ! vessels could, without firing a gun, and without fear of injury to itself, capture 1 a man-of-war and tow it whither it pleased. Tho authorities at Washington took , instant action on tho affair, and as it was quite evident that tho contract between tho United States and]'tho syndicate had been violated by tho Lenox, tho com- ' mander of that vessel was reprimanded j by tho secretary of tho navy, and enjoined that thero should bo no repetitions , of his offence. But as tho commander of ' tho Lenox knew that tho secretary of tho ' navy was as angry as ho was at what had happened, ho did not feel his rcpri- 1 mand to bo in any way a disgrace. It may bo stated that tho Stockbridge, ! which had steamed for tho open sea as soon as tho business which had detained her was completed, did not go outside ( the cape. When her officers perceived ' with their glasses that the Lenox was ' returning to port stern loreiuost they i opined what had happened, and desiring that their ship should do all her sailing ' in mo natural way, 1110 oiocammgi- .ia put about and steamed, bow foremost, to her anchorage behind the breakwater, tho commander thanking his stars that for once tho Lenox had got ahead of liira. Tho members of tho syndicate were very anxious to removo tho unfavorable impression regarding what was called in many quarters their attack upon a United States vessel, and a circular to the public was issued, in which they expressed their deep regret at being obliged | to interfere with so many brave officers I and men in a moment of patriotic en| thusiasm, and explaining how absolutely | necessary it was that the Lenox should ? bo removed from a position where a con- c llict with English lino of battle ships c would bo probable. There were many * thinking persons who saw tho weight of I tho syndicate's statements, hut tho elfect ? of tho circular upon the popular mind J was not great. 1 Tho syndicate was now hard at work a making preparations for the grand stroke ? which had been determined upon. In ^ the wiiolo country, thero was scarcely a c man whoso ability could bo made avail- y j able in their work, who was not engaged c | in their service; and everywhere, in ' J foundries, workshops and ship yards, the * | construction of their engines of war was c being carried on by day and by night. c No contracts were iiiado for the delivery c >f work at certain times; everything was lone under the direct supervision of the yndicato and its subordinates; find the vork went on with a definiteness and ' apidity hitherto unknown in naval construction. In the midst of the syndicate's labors i hero arrived off tho coast of Canada the irst result of Great Britain's preparaions for her war with tho American , iyndicatc, in the sliapo of tho Adamant, ho largest and finest ironclad which had iver 1 crossed the Atlantic, and which lad been sent to raise the blockade of ho Canadian port by tho syndicate's vessels. This great ship had been especially fitted out to engage in combat with re[>ellers and crabs. As far as was possible tho peculiar construction of the 6ynJicate's vessels had been carefully studied, and English specialists in tho lino of naval construction and ordnance had ;iven most earnest consideration to LIZGI/UVJUO KJk (XtLU^XV U11U. UCiUUdU IUUOK likely to succeed with these novel ships of war. The Adamant was the only vessel which it had been possible to send out in so short a time, and her cruise was somewhat of an experiment. If she should bo nuccessful in raising the blockade of the Canadian port, the British admiralty would have but little difficulty in dealing with tho American syndicate. The most important object was to provide a defense against the ftrew extracting and rudder breaking crabs; and to this end tho Adamant had been fitted with what was termed a "stern jacket." This was a great cage of heavy steel bars, which was attached to the stern of the vessel in such a way that it could bo raised high above tho water, so as to offer no impediment while under way, and which, in time of action, could be let down so as to surround and protect the rudder and screw propellers, of which the Adamant had two. This was considered an adequate defense against the nippers of a syndicate crab; but as a means of offense against these almost submerged vessels a novel contrivance had been adopted. From a great boom projecting over tho stern, a large ship's cannon was suspended perpendicularly, muzzle downward. This gun could be swung around to tho deck, hoisted into a horizontal position, loaded with a heavy oharge, a wooden plug keeping tho load in position when the gun hung perpendicularly. If a crab should copae under the stern this cannon could be fired directly downward upon her back, and it was not believed that anv vessel of the kind could stand many such tremendous Bhocks. It was not known exactly how ventilation was supplied to the submarine vessels of the syndicate, nor how the occupants were enabled to make the necessary observations during action. When under way the crabs sailed somewhat elevated above the water, but when engaged with an enemy only a small portion of their covering armor could bo seen. It was surmised that under and between some of the scales of this armor there was some arrangement of thick glasses, through which the necessary observation could be made; and it was believed that, even if the heavy perpendicular 6hots did not crush in the roof of a crab, these glasses would bo shattered by concussion. Although this might appear a matter of slight importance, it was thought among naval officers it would necessitate the withdrawal of a crab from action. In consequence of the idea that the crabs were vulnerable between their overlapping plates, some of tho Adamant's boats were fitted out with Gatling and machine guns, by which a shower of balls might be sent under tho scales, through tho glasses and into the body of tho crab. In addition to their guns, these boats would b5 supplied with other means of attack upon the crab. Of course it would be impossible to destroy these submerged, enemies by means of dynamite or torpedoes; for with two vessels in close proximity, the explosion of a torpedo would bo as dangerous to tho hull of one as to the other. Tho British admiralty would ,not allow even tho Adamant to explode torpedoes or dynamite bombs under her own stern. With regard to a repeller, or spring armored vessel, the Adamant would rely upon her exceptionally powertul armament and upon her great weight and i en *ii. i...: speed. one wua mieu wiui twin am e wa and engines of the highest power, and it was believed that she would bo able to overhaul, ram and crush tho largest vessel, armored or unarmored, which tho syndicate would bo able to bring' against her. Some of her guns were of immense caliber, firing shot weighing nearly 2,000j pounds and requiring half' a ton of powder for each charge. Besides these she carried an unusually Large number ot largo cannon and two dynamite guns. Sho was so heavily plated and armored as to be proof against any known artillery in the world. Sho was a floating fortress, with men enough to make up tho population of a town, and with stores, ammunition and coal sufficient to last for a long term of active service. Such was the mighty English battle ship which had come forward to raise the siege of tho Canadian port. The officers of the syndicate were well aware of the character of tho Adamant, lior armament and her delbnses, and had been informed by cable of her time of sailing and probable destination. They sent out Repeller No. 7, with Crabs J and K, to meet her off the Banks of Newfoundland. This repeller was the largest and strongest vessel that tho syndicate had ready for service. In addition to the spring armor with which theso vessels were supplied, this one was furnished with a secqnd coat of armor outsido the first, the eiastic steel ribs of which ran longitudinally and at right angles to those of tho inner set. Both coats were furnished with a great number of improved air buffers, and tho arrangement af spring armor extended fivo or six feet ocyond the massive steel plates with which the vessel was originally armored. ( she carried one motor cannon of largo size. One of tho crabs was of tho ordinary pattern, but Crab K was furnished with J i spring armor above tho heavy plates af her roof. This had been placed upon ( lier after tho news had been received by .ho syndicate that tho Adamant would iarry a perpendicular cannon over her ( stern, but thero had not been time mough to fit out another crab in the j same way. , When tho director in charge of repeller j So. 7 first caught sight of the Adamant, , ind scanned through his glass tho vast | jroportions of tho mighty ship which t ,vas rapidly steaming toward the coast, , 10 felt that a responsibility rested upon j lim heavier than any which had yet jeen borne by an officer of the syndicate, ( jut ho did not hesitate in tho duty which 10 had been sent to perform, and imrneliately ordered tho two crabs to advance 1 :o meet tho Adamant, and to proceed to 1 iction according to tho instructions vhich they had previously received. 3is own ship was kept, in pursuanco of irders, several miles distant from tho 1 3ritisli ship. 1 As 60011 as tho repeller had been | lighted from tho Adamant a strict look- ] >ut had been kept for the approach of , :rabs, and when tho small exposed por- < ions of tho backs of two of theso wcro i icrceived glistening in tho sunlight the ' ipced of tho great ship was slackened. j Cho ability of tho syndicate's submerged ; vessels to move suddenly and quickly in . my direction had been clearly demon- j itrated, and although a great ironclad i vith a ram could run down and sink a i :rab without feeling tho concussion, it < vas known that it would bo perfectly 1 lasy for tho smaller craft to keep out of * ho way of its bulky antagonist. There- ! oro tho Adamant did try to ram tho :rabs, nor to get away from them. Her ( lommandcr intended, if possible, to run j lown ono or both of them, but lio did 1 not propose to do this in the usual way. As tho crabs approached, the stern jacket of tho Adamant was let down and the engines were slowed. Tliis stern jacket, when protecting tho rudder and propellers, looked very much liko the cow catcher of a locomotive, and was capable of being put to a somewhat similar use. It was tho intention of the captain of tho Adamant, should the crabs attempt to attach themselves to his stern, to suddenly put on all steam, reverse his engines and .back upon them, the stern jacket answering as a ram. Tho commander of tho Adamant had no doubt tliat in this way he could run into a crab, roll it over in the water, and when it was lying bottom upward, like a floating cask, ho could move his ship to a distance and make a target of it So desirous was this bravo and somewhat facetious captain to try his new plan upon a crab that he foreboro to fire upon the two vessels of that class which were approaching him. Some of his guns were so mounted that their muzzles could be greatly depressed and aimed at an object in the water not far from the ship. But these were not discharged, and, indeed, the crabs, which were new ones of unusual swiftness, were alongside the Adamant in an incredibly short time and out of tho rango of these guns. Crab J was on tho starboard side of the Adamant, Crab K was on the port aide, and, simultaneously, the two laid hold of her. But they were not directly astern of the great vessel. Each liad its nippers fastened to one side of tho stern jacket, nea: tho hinge like bolts which held it to the vessel, and on which it was raised and lowered. In a moment the Adamant began to steam backward, but the only effect of this motion, which soon became rapid, was to swing the crabs around against her sides and carry them with her. As tho vessels were thus moving the great pincers of the crabs were twisted with tremendous force, the stern jacket on one side was broken from its bolt, and on the other the bolt itself was drawn out of tho side of the vessel. The nippers then opened, and the stern jacket fell from their grasp into the sea, snapping in its fall the chain by which it had been raised and lowered. This disaster occurred so quickly that few persons on board the Adamant knew what had happened. But the captain, who had seen everything, gave instant orders to go ahead at fell speed. The first thing to be done was to get at a distance from those crabs, keep well away from them, and pound them to pieces with his heavy guns. But the iron screw propellers had scarcely begun to move in the opposite direction before the two crabs, each now lying at right angles with the length of the ship, but neither of them directly astern of her, made a dash with open nippers, and Crab J fastened upon one propeller, while Crab K laid hold of the other. There was a din and crash of breaking metal, two shocks which were felt throughout the vessel, and the shattered, and crushed blades of the propellers of the great battle ship were powerless to move her. The captain of the Adamant, pallid with fury, stood upon the poop. In a moment the crabs would be at his rudder! The great gun, double shotted and ready to fire, was hanging from its boom over the stern. Crab K, whose roof had the additional protection of spring armor, now moved round so as to be directly astern of tho Adamant Before she could reach the rudder her forward part came under the suspended cannon, and two massive steel shot were driven down upon her with a force sufficient to send them through masses of solidTOck, but from the surface' of elastic steel springs and air buffers they bounced upward, one of them almost falling on the deck of tho Adamant The gunners of this piece had been well trained. In a moment the boom was swung around, the cannon reloaded, and when Crab K fixed her nippers on the rudder of the Adamant two more shot came down upon her. As in the first instance she dipped and rolled, but the ribs of her uninjured armor had scarcely sprung back into their places before her nippers turned and| the rudder of tho Adamant was broken in two and the upper portion dragged from its fastenings; then a quick backward jerk snapped its chains and it was dropped into the sea. A signal was no 7 sent from Crab J to Repeller No. 7, to the effect that tho Adamant had been rendered incapable of stenmingor sailing, and that she lay subject to order. Subject to order or not, the Adamant did not remain passive. Every gun on board which could be sufficiently depressed was made ready to fire upon the crabs should they attempt to get away. Four large boats, furnished with machine guns, grapnels, and with various appliances which might bo brought into use ? ot-ool iw\f irnrn IntPPTwl frflm vu U OlVVl ^UAbVvt " v? W -V .. ?? ? ,.. , their davits, and immediately began firing upon the exposed portions of the crabs. Their machine guns were loaded with small shells, and if these penetrated under the horizontal plates of a crab, and thVcugh the heavy glass which was supposed to bo in these interstices, the crew of the submerged craft would be soon destroyed The quick eye of the captain of the Adamant had observed through his glass, while the crafis were still at a considerable distance, their protruding air pipes, and he had instructed the officers in charge of the boats to mako an especial attack upon these. If the air pipes of a crab could bo rendered useless the crew must inevitably be smothered. But the bravo captain did not know that the condensed air chambers of the crabs would supply their inmates for an hour or moro without recourse to the outer air, and that the air pipes, furnished with valves at the top, were always withdrawal under water during action with an enemy. Nor did ho know that the glass blocks under the armor plates of the crabs, which were placed in rubber frames to protect them from concussion above, were also guarded by steel netting from injury by small balls. Valiantly the boats beset the crabs, keeping up a constant fusillade and endeavoring to throw grapnels over them. If 0110 of theso should catch under an overlapping armor plato it could bo connected with the steam windlass of the Adamant and a plate might bo ripped off or a crab overturned. But the crabs proved to be much more lively fish than their enemies had supposed. Turning, as if on a pivot, and darting from sido to side, they seemed to be playing with the boats, and not trying to get away from them. The spring armor of Crab K interfered sometvliat with its movements and also put it in danger from attacks by grapnels, and it therefore left most of the work to its eonsort. [TO UK CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.] [This story was commenced in No. 16. [lack numbers will be furnished on application.] Returned for Their Tails. Tho following story illustrates how much mice love their tails: In Norwich, Donn., tho other night a young lady set i mouse trap in her parlor?a trap that svas liko a diminutive railroad round [louse, with arched doorways, and with a lelicate littlo loop of steel under each loorsill to flv up and catch a mouse by the muzzle. The steel nooses snapped busily ill night, and next morning the lady found fivo mice clinging in flvo of the inhospitable doorways, and, what was rery mysterious to her, three long mouse mils hanging from the three other enhances. She puzzled her head long over he inscrutable problem. Why diathree mice visit her trap over night and deliberately leave their tails behind them? But there was no answer to it. A very aright idea, however, flashed into her mind, and she set her trap again. Verily, ho tlirpo tailless mice came back to recover their tails, and in the gray dawn if tho following day the young lady found tlireo tailless mice dangling from ho trap.?Pittsburg Dispatch.