Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, December 13, 1907, Image 1
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YORKYILLE ENQUIRER.
ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLY.
l. k oei8T's sons, pobUiheri. J % -Samilg Jleirspaper: Jfor $romotion of the political. Social. Agricultural and Commercial Interests of the {people. } TEg^L'K'^PVnvBcic !AXCi!'
ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKyiLLE, 8. C., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 19Q7. ! N~Q. IPO.
MGJ
By ETTA V
^ CHAPTER XL
( The Catastrophe.
k. "Basil, I have a favor to ask of you
this morning," purred Vera Hawkstone.
She was leaning over her husband's
table In the old library, the loose sleeves
of her violet silk gown falling away
k from her dimpled white arms, a feverrlsh
light In her lovely eyes.
"Ask on!" answered Hawkstone.
"I want a thousand dol ars, BasIL".
He drew out his checkbook, wrote the
necessary words, and passed the paper
to her across the table.
"Are you not going to Inquire what
1 mean 10 ao wiui ?: auc mugncu.
"All that I have Is yours," he answered.
simply. "I do not care In the
least how you spend the money. Vera."
Hawkstone was most generous with
his wife. Ever since their marriageday,
she had squandered his substance
recklessly,- and he had never uttered
protest or complaint.
m "It is now my turn to ask a faVor,
JP Vera," he said, gravely. "You have not
been yourself for the last few' days.
Something is troubling you. Tell me,
what is it? Have you been disturbed
L in any way? Has anything unpleasV
ant happened?"
A red spot leaped Into her cheek.
"No, no; certainly not, Basil. How
absurd of you to imagine such things!"
"But I insist that you are strangely
upset of late! Surely you are overdoing
this riding business. Vera. I wish
you would leave All in his stall. Then,
too, you go out at all houis unattendr
ed. I do not like that. A groom should
be with you always. The island has
swamps and morasses, in which a
stranger might easily come to grief."
She gave a short laugh. 'T do not
C' need an attendant. I am too thoroughly^
ly at home In the saddle for that. Ah,
here comes the child for her morning
visit."
A nursemaid entered, bearing the little
heiress of Hawkstone. Vera received
her daughter in an absent way,
responded absently to the pressure of
the wee baby arms. Where were her
thoughts at that moment? Not with
husband or child, surely! For some
4 moments Hawkstone, leaning on the
table, gazed In silent admiration at the
fair young mother clasping her little
one?that typical picture which has delighted
the world for centuries?then,
A prompted by some evil spirit, he be
gan, In a tender, coaxing voice:
"Supplement your beauty, Vera, with
such accomplishments as the girl of
the period is expected to possess, and
you will carry the fashionable world by
storm. Let me urge you, for my sake,
for little Bee's sake, to consent to be
improved, dear! You hate seclusion.
Well, then fit yourself for the society
into which you long to enter."
| Nothing could have been more unfortunate
than these words. Her blue
eyes flashed.
"Still harping on that subject, Basil?
Did I not say that you were
ashamed to present me to your friends?
?that you keep me imprisoned here
because you are afraid of their censure?"
He colored.
"As my wife, you are sure to be criticised,
of course. Ashamed of you I
am not, but I want to arm you cap-apie
before you are called to face the
critics. Cannot you see that love alone
I prompts me to do this?"
Her face whitened.
"I am done with love!" she hissed: I
am done with you?with everything
here!" and she flung the child sudden4
ly, violently from her.
Hawkstone sprang, but too late. With
? ' W-l/vl, /v# Ifirmr lltHo
a SUIlcn VI putu atiu wvitv*, ?.v
struck against the carved back of a
great antique chair, and then fell to
the floor, where she lay stunned and
motionless. Hawkstone snatched up
the limp little body.
"Vera, you have killed her!" he cried,
L In horror.
"I don't care?I don't care! I am no
longer accountable for anything that
/ happens here!" she answered, recklessly.
t The servants came rushing to the
k' scene. Mrs. Hawkstone was carried to
her room In violent hysterics, and a
messenger dispatched to the mainland
for a doctor. The man of medicine
came, examined little Bee, and grew
very grave.
"I fear," he said to Hawkstone, "that
your child has sustained some Injury
to the spine?In fact, she may be permanently
crippled by this unfortunate
accident."
Hawkstone staggered back against
^ the wall. Directly he left the nursery
^ where the child lay moaning In the
arms of her nurse, and crossed the corridor
to his wife's chamber. Celende,
the French maid, opened the door to
his knock.
"Mon Dteu!" she cried; "madame Is
too 111 to see monsieur. Her heart Is
broken. The little one leaped and madame
could not hold her?that Is the
truth of the matter. Clel! monsieur
cannot believe his wife would hurt her
own child, eh? If mademoiselle becomes
a cripple It will kill 'madame. A
m bad back Is beyond remedy. No. monctcnr
vnn r>nnnnt enter?madame for
btds?she Is too ill."
And the door was shut In his face.
In a towering passion he went downstairs.
The mall had Just arrived from
the mainland. Among its contents r. as
a letter from Vincent Hawkstone. and
a formidable array of unpaid bills.
"You promised to cancel them, you
know. Prince I..uclfer"?wrote the
young scapegrace?"and It's but fair
that you should do so, for you are rich
and I poor. Of course, all fellows In
college are guilty of some pranks.
k " 'Young blood must have Its course,
lad.
. And every dog his day.'
"You had your day, you know, so be
so good as to settle these little aca
counts, and send me something generous
besides?It is hard to maintain the
dignity of a Hawkstone on a purse as
thin as mine'"
Hawkstone's face darkened.
: #
r. PIERCE.
"The impudent scamp!" he muttered;
and., seizing a pen. he wrote, curtly;
"I have doubled your allowance.
Vincent; henceforth keep out of debt!"
Some business matters with the
overseer compelled Basil Hawkstone to
remain abroad on the Island till night
fell; at that time he parted with Harris
and started home afoot and alone,
over the beach.
The moon was rising above the
dreary sand-dunes and the low cliffs.
The lfttle waves curled softly up the
shingle. In the curve of the shore?a
inneiv unfrAouented soot?Hawkstone
suddenly heard the murmur of voice?.
He moved forward a few paces, and
saw two figures standing together In
the moonlight?a man and a tooman.
He stopped?stared. Yes, It was his
wife, disguised in a long wrap, with a
hood drawn over her fair head, talking
earnestly to a stranger?there, and
at that hour!
"You really must not come here
again," he heard her say. "My husband
is absolute ruler of the Island?
It Is Impossible to bribe any of his people.
You will surely be discovered."
The man gave a low, vexed laugh.
"I shall come, Zephyr, until I bring
you to your senses. It's plain that you
live a cat and dog's life with your
young nabob. You wasn't made to be
shut up in a place like this?your heart
Isn't here, my beauty?It's with me."
+mo Itori fc%t' nnthltHT IT)OTP.
narrno tvnc ?> utbvv> 4v? *?
The next moment he was standing: face
to face with the pair, his hand twisted
in the stranger'8 collar.
"Since you openly claim my wife's
heart, sir,, please do me the favor to
tell 'me who and what you are!" he
thundered.
Vera gave a shrill scream, and the
hood fell back from her fair face.
"Basil! don't you remember Jasper
Hatton, of Hatton's "Royal?' You saw
him in London at the time you married
me. Surely you might speak civilly
to my friends!"
Hawkstone's hand fell from the other's
windpipe.
"I may have met Mr. Hatton before,"
he answered, dryly; "I do not clearly
remember. Perhaps he will tell me
what it Is that brings him to Tempest
Island, and why he chooses this time
and place for an interview with my
wife."
Mr. Hatton had showed unmistakable
signs of perturbation, but now he
rallied smartly.
"It's a professional matter that brings,
me to America," he answered, "and being
here, I couldn't resist hunting up
Zephyr?beg pardon?Mrs. Hawkstone.
It wasn't in human nature for me to
forget her. She can tell you whether
pr not I was her friend, years before
she ever saw your face. Well, just now
we met by chance on the beach, and
naturally fell to talking of old times."
Hawkstone knew that he was lying.
He cast a contemptuous look over his
swarthy face and short, stout figure.
"It is impossible for Mrs. Hawkstone
to renew her former acquaintance with
vou, or any other person in your line
of business. You are a thing of the
past, Mr. Hatton. She can never, under
any circumstances, know you
again!"
Jasper Hatton shrugged his should
^rs.
"You're rather hard on your wife's
old friends, sir. I wanted to see with
my own eyes that you had made her
happy?as happy as she used to be
with us. I find you haven't! She's
deep in the doldrums here on your infernal
Island. It would have been a
thousand times better for her if she
had stayed with me. I tell you, there
was never but one Zephyr for us at
the 'Royal.' We all adored her?we
adore her still, let who will forbid!"
A sudden bitter fury surged over the
young husband. Here was a clown, a
ringmaster, or something as objectionable,
claiming an old Intimacy with his
wife, and stealing to his ancestral domain
for secret interviews with her!
"It is said that an Englishman's
house is his castle," he cried. "This island
is mine, and for you to intrude
here is simply unwarrantable impudence!
Be off, fellow, and, on your
peril, never attempt to set foot again
on my territory!"
In his magnificent young strength he
looked fully capable of enforcing his
own decrees.
Jasper Hatton prudently retreated
before him.
. " fon my suui, ne snwa-u, juu ?c
nothing to boast of in the way of hospitality!
You think you've added to
little Zephyr's value by marrying her,
eh? She is now of more account than
when she was just the star of the ring
?the neatest rider that ever went
through a paper balloon. Faugh! Well,
I'll go, and no thanks to you, my nabob."
A boat was beached a few yards
away. He started toward it with a jubilant
rather than crestfallen air.
"The best of friends must part," he
said; "but, as it sometimes happens,
they meet again. Good-night, Mrs.
Hawkstone, and remember the star of
the ring oughtn't to be put out like a
penny rushlight!"
He pushed the boat out into the water.
Hawkstone turned to his wife.
"Come home. Vera," he said, sternly. I
Without a word she walked away
with him. Immediately, his pent-up
wrath broke forth.
"You were too ill to see me." he
stormed, "but, as it appears, quite able
to leave the child you have injured so
cruelly, and come here to a tryst with
that ruffian! You. my wife, condescended
to meet a low jockey, groom,
or whatever he may be, alone on the
shore, to talk of a time in your life that
had far better be forgotten. Vera, I
forbid you to ever see or speak to the
fellow again."
She looked up and laughed in his
face.
"Surely the child does not need me,
Basil?you have hirelings enough to
watch her. When will you learn, you
absurd boy, that I must and shall do
exactly as I like?that you really have
no more authority over me than over
that sea yonder?"
He took this defiance with ill grace.
"Have I no authority over you? Do
you defy me to my face? Then, let me
tell you, Vera, you and I have no longer
a chance of happiness together."
She laughed -wildly.
" How you take one to task, Basil!
Are you Jealous of Jasper Hatton??
ha! ha! He came here for what purpose,
do you think? .To ask me to return
to Hatton's 'Royal,' and name my
own figures. I have been missed, it
seems?the public has not yet forgotten
me. Basil Hawkstone"?pausing in
the path, and drawing her breath curiously?"I
have a half-mind to go!"
He looked at her in her blaring white
beauty with horror and amaze.
"You understand you:- own capabilities,"
he answered, bitterly; "as a circus
rider you were a success?as a wife
and mother you are a failure! God
knows you have led me a life of it
since the day I married you. You fancied
you cared for me, Vera?on the
contrary,' you loved nothing but that
cursed, that disgusting business. Bah!
from my soul I am sick of this sort
of thing! If you go with Jasper Hatton?if
you return 10 the ring, I am for
ever done with you!" There was a
moment of tragic silence; then she
dashed back her wind-blown hair.
"So you force me to choose betwixt
you and my art, Basil; and should the
choice displease you, you would divorce
me, probably, after the fashion of
your father??I know something of the
family history, you see. Well, my
liege"?mockingly?"I will think the
matter over, and let you know my decision.
before your suspense becomes
too great for you!"
She darted on before him up the
beach. He did not attempt to overtake
her. Once she turned and looked,
her gold hair rippling, her small, girlish
figure outlined against the dusk.
She waved one white hand, and the
next moment was gone.
Hawkstone went home in an unenviable
frame of mind. The very air
seemed charged with calamity. Little
Be? still moaned in the nursery, watched
by the servants. Without making
any attempt to see his wife again, the
island lord retired to his chamber at
a late hour and slept ill. When he
descended to the breakfast room next
morning, Mrs. Otway, the housekeeper,
met him with an anxious face.
"Your wife left the house at daybreak,
sir, and has not yet returned,"
she said.
"She has gone on one of her mad gallons
doubtless" he answered* then
snatched up his hat, and hurried to the
stables. Yes, All's stall was empty. He
called to his groom: "Did I not tell
you Jim, to follow Mrs. Hawkstone
when she went out at unseasonablehours
?"
"You did, sir," stammered the man;
"but this morning she stole in here and
led All out herself. I was asleep in
the loft, and never heard a sound, sir.
Lord only knows what time it was!"
"Throw the saddle on Rupert!" thundered
Hawkstone, "and follow me!"
The groom obeyed. Master and man
set forth together.
' Down beyond the dreary sand-dunes,
down where the "Old Woman," In
stony silence, stood guarding the entrance
of Peg Patton's Inlet, Hawkstone
heard the impatient stamp of a
horse, and there, in the morning sunshine,
he found All tied to a blasted
tree, pawing the wet earth, and riderless.
Pinned to his saddle was a letter,
reading thus:
"My choice is made, I go! You will
teach little Bee to hate and despise her
mother. You will doubtless marry another
wife more to your taste; but I
shall take good care that vou never
quite forget me?and I will not forget
you. Vera."
He stood on that lonely beach, "his
household gods shattered around him,"
deserted, disgraced, the doom of his
race falling on him darkly, and tore the
letter to fragments, and tossed it into
the sea.
"Go!" he muttered, with white lips.
"Go! And God grant that I may nevnr
on this earth see your fair, false face
again!"
CHAPTER XII.
Jetta Ravenel Speaks.
July 1st.?School Is done. The rush
and worry, the fever and excitement of
the last few weeks are all over. Five
days have passed since the graduating
exercises at Madame Moreau's seminary,
and the girls are now gone. The
silent, deserted class-rooms, the forsaken
dormitories, fill me with loneliness.
I only am left here?a homeless,
solitary creature; whom madame insists
upon keeping till, in the words of
Mr. Micawber, something shall turn up.
Luckily, I have always been a favorite
at madame's school, both with pupils
and teachers. Invitations to spend the
summer in country houses, at mountain
resorts and by the sea, have been
freely extended to me by my classmates;
but, alas! these pleasures are
not for me. I am determined to face
the situation bravely?to accept no
KAnnftf hnwavor t Pfl -
I dered. Jetta Ravenel, you have nowcompleted
your eighteenth year,
Through the generosity of your late
friend. Mrs. Hawkstone, you have acquired
what is called a thorough education.
It now remains for you to turn
it to practical account.
This morning I "burned my ships behind
me"; that is to say, I wrote to
Basil's Hawkstone's lawyer, who has
promptly paid all my bills for the last
six years, and declined any further assistance
from my so-called guardian.
After posting this letter I sat down in
the empty music-room to ponder the
situation.
It was a sultry, breathless morning;
the sun beat pitilessly on the city roofs.
After the hurry and bustle of the last
few \i-eeks the silence and solitude of
the, school seemed insupportable. Presently
madame herself entered, with the
morning papers in her hand.
"How lonely you look, my dear
child," she said, in her kindly way. "I
see. Life besets you already with stern
problems. It is a pity that a girl like
you should be forced to earn her own
livelihood. Did that good Mrs. Hawkstone
provide you with means for an
education and nothing more, my dear?
nothing more?"
"Yes," I answered, dryly; "with my
husband, too; but, luckily, he was already
married when her choice fell upon
him. I have declined further as
slstance from the Hawkstones, madame.
Work I must find, and at once,
for, whatever happens, I am determined
to accept no more aid from that,
or any other quarter.".
She looked grave.
"My dear, your Independent spirit
does you credit. Do you know anything
about those Hawkstones? They
seem . have neglected you strangely?
yes, quite forgotten you, since you
came to the school."
"I know nothing of any of them," I
replied, Indifferently; "my bills, as you
are aware, have all been settled by the
I family lawyer. I have not heard a syl|
lable from any person on the Island
[since I left It. To tell the truth, I remember
the place only with aversion."
Madame shrugged her shoulders. . i
"It is sad to see a person so young i
and attractive left quite alone In the
world," she sighed. "My dear, let us
look over the columns of wants In these 1
papers?we may find the promise of i
something here." <
We did so. Half way down the print- 1
ed Dasre. mv eves fell upon this adver- <
tl8ement: I
"Wanted?A sroverness for a little
girl of six years. Salary liberal. Un- :
exceptionable references required. Address
Mrs. O., Windsor Hotel, stating i
where an Interview may be had." 1
I read the atfove aloud to madame. i
"Do you think I might do?" I asked, i
"Certainly," she answered, briskly; 1
"we can furnish the unexceptionable
references. 'Salary liberal*?that sounds ;
well. My deaf Jetta, I advise you to i
vfHte to Mrs. O. at once." 1
I wrote Immediately, stating name, '
age and qualifications. Then I prepar- ]
ed to possess my soul In patience till an :
answer should arrive from Mrs. O. My ]
purse is empty, but I am resolved to 1
accept no more money from the Hawk- i
stones. I .* retain but one pleasant <
memory of Tempest Island, and that Is I
?Mrs. Hawkstone herself, my father's 1
friend?my friend. I have always ]
counted her death as the greatest misfortune
of my life. " 1
July 2d.?A little before lunch-time
I was called down to the reception- <
room to meet Mrs. O. I
She was a small, quiet-looking per- i
son, dress in black silk. She had a !
placid face, deeply wrinkled, and Iron- 1
gray hair arranged in smooth bands. I ]
was startled by something strangely i
familiar In her appearance. As I entered,
she, arose with the air of a lady.
"Miss Ravenel!" she said, "yes. It Is I
you?changed, of course, but recogniza- i
ble. Do you remember me?" I
After vain attempts to fix her In my f
memorv. I was forced to answer "No."
"I am Mrs. Otway," she said, with a
smile, "the housekeeper at Tempest
Hall?you knew me well about six
years ago."
I felt as though I had received a cold
douche.
"And are you the person who advertised
for a governess?" I asked.
"Certainly," she answered; "I am
here In New York for the express purpose
of securing one for little Beatrice
Hawkstone. Of course, you are aware
of the troubles we have had at the Island
since you went away?"
"On the contrary," I replied, trying
to repress a smile, "I have heard nothing
concerning the Island, or anybody
upon It, from that date to the present.
My so-called guardian has never troubled
himself about me In any way. I
trust"?and I tried to speak politely?
"that Mr. Hawkstone and his family
are well."
"My dear," cried Mrs. Otway. In a
shocked voice, "Is It possible you do
not know that Basil Hawkstone has no
family now, save poor little Bee? Six
years ago his wife fled from him, and
later, the courts gave him a decree of
absolute divorce and the custody of the
child. My dear, the affair made great
scandal. All the newspapers were full
of It at the time."
"I did not happen to see It," I answered,
feeling quite stunned. "Madame '
never allows her jmplls to read scandals
of any kind." I
"Quite right. Since the divorce Ba- I
sll Hawkstone has been wandering
abroad?In Egypt, In the Soudan, In <
Asia Minor, In the uttermost parts of
the earth. He will probably never re- <
turn to his own land. His little daugh- ?
ter Is In my charge at Tempest Island, i
It Is now time for her to have a com- <
petent teacher. She has scarcely
learned her alphabet as yet, poor l
child!"
"And Basil Hawkstone is divorced," i
I echoed, bjankly, "from that pretty 1
young creature whom he seemed to :
adore?"
"Oh, my dear, she ran away from 1
him, and went back to the circus-ring
from which he had taken her. The
first thing that he heard she was in
Cuba, carrying everything by storm
with her riding. His life was wrecked i
?desolated, of course. It was dreadful.
I cannot speak of it. And now, i
Miss Ravenel, will you come down to '
Tempest Island as governess to our
motherless little Bee? You wish to i
teach, from which fact I Infer that you 1
no longer consider yourself the ward of
Basil Hawkstone."
I nodded coldly. 1
"Well, we should greatly rejoice to
have you at the island, my dear, instead
of some stranger, to whom the i
affairs of the family are unknown."
"Give me time to think," I gasped. >
"I have a strong antipathy to the island.
I had not wished to see it again."
"That is not strange," said Mrs. Ot- i
way, kindly, "for some unpleasant
things happened to you there. But remember,
all is now changed, and I am
at the head of domestic affairs at
Tempest Hall. I will give you till to- i
morrow to think of the matter, and
then call for your decision." I
She mentioned a salary far above I
my expectations, and departed. I flew
to Madame Moreau.
"I am young," I said, mournfully, 1
"and youth Is not* desirable in a governess.
I am totally without experience,
I am penniless, and, but for you,
friendless. Can I?dare I reject Mrs.
Utway8 oner;
"You cannot, you must not!" answered
madame, with decision. "The
remuneration is excellent: and then,
you are going among people that you
already know, and with whom you are
likely to find a good home and many
privileges."
I meditated a little, then answered.
"Very well, madame, I will do as
you advise: but something tells me I
ought never to trust myself on the
Tempest again."
"Nonsense!" said madame, lightly.
"You are out of spirits. Do not let an
Idle fancy rob you of your good fortune.
What harm can overtake you at
Tempest Island? This kind, motherly
Mrs. Otway?you can have no antipathy
to her, surely?"
"No?oh, no!" I answered. "I cannot
explain my forebodings, madame, nevertheless
they are real. But I shall go.
I shall accept Mrs. Otway's offer. I
cannot afford to do otherwise. Heaven
only knows when I may have another!
I will begin to pack my trunks at
once."
"You have decided wisely," said madame,
as she gave me a kiss of approval,
"and should you be homesick or
unhappy, Jetta, you are always free to
return to me."
July 3d.?I was summoned again to
the reception room?this time to meet
a gentleman, who had called to see
Miss RaveneL .
He was standing at a window as I
entered, his back toward me. I beheld
a graceful figure, not powerful, but
exceedingly well proportioned, and a
handsome young head, shining with
close curls of black hair. My heart
gave a great bound.
"Gabriel!" I cried out: "oh, can It be
you, Gabriel?"
He turned and caught me in his
arms. Yes. it was my stepbrother?
the only relative left me?my father's
namesake, Gabriel Ravenel. He held
my face in hly two hands and scrutinized
it with keen interest
"Good Heaven! Jetta, what a beauty
you have become!" he cried. "It was
ilways said that we-were very like?I
think we are!" with a vain little laugh.
'You know I have not seen you since
Mrs. Hawkstone carried you off, six
years or more ago. Of course, I was
prepared to find you grown to womanhood,
but I must say your good looks
imaze me. Let me see?you are now
eighteen, and I have reached the mature
age of twenty-two?we can no
longer be called boy and girl, I suppose."
I cluna around his neck in a trans
port of Joy.
What brings you to New York
Oabrlel?" I asked, laughing and crying
together. "The last I knew, you were
studying law In New Orleans, and your
letters never Intimated that you meant
to visit me. What a delightful surprise
Is this! Oh, my darling, tell me
ill about It? Have you come to stay?"
He was still absorbed In my looks.
"Allowing for the difference In sex,"
be said, airily,' "we are certainly as
similar as two peas, Jetta! Tes, I
bave come to stay. Sit down with me,
md let me tell you about it."
I noticed that he was faultlessly
dressed, and that his manner was full
pf suppressed excitement. A deep glow
filled his splendid southern eyes?he
had the bearing of a young prince, Gabriel
is my Idol?the only thing left in
the wide world for me to love.
"My dear Jetta," he continued, "a
month ago I was In New Orleans, deep
In law?by-the-way, I thoroughly detest
law, and all^ other professions?
when an odd thing befell me. I received
a letter from a gentleman named
Sutton, Inviting me to New York, to
become his private secretary, and,
3hould he find me a satisfactory person,
his heir, also. Our father, you
know, was twice married. Sutton,
though a stranger to me?I give you
my word, I had never before heard of
such a being?proved to be some cousin
of my mother, who died In my Infancy.
He claimed me as his only living
relative?hence his amazing offer.
Of course, I flung my law-books to the
logs and hurried to New York. It
seems that the old fellow had meant to
I? 1-1" <-> t-?nKll/> InnflfiitlnriS'
ICaVC Ills 1U1 IU1IC iw fr/uwrwv, ,
but recently a new whim seized him?
it best, he is but a bundle of whims?
so he burned his will, and hunted me
op, determined to bestow his millions
in his own kindred, of whom, luckily,
i alone remain. Now, my dear, you see
me no longer poor, proud, penniless,
with my own way to make in the
world. I have fallen Into the tallest
kind of clover?I am the prospective
beir of a millionaire, and I find myself
"tulte bewildered with this sudden
change of propects."
His pale Greek face, with Its Jetty
curls and dreamy southern eyes, reddened
with excitement as he told his
story. Betwixt Joy and amazement, I
could only gasp:
"Oh, Gabriel, how delightful! I am
jlad it was your mother, not mine, who
was a Sutton; glad that to you, not me,
this wonderful fortune falls! And you
have come to live permanently with
your kinsman? You are with him now?
Is he nice? Are you happy? Gabriel,
tell me everything."
"I have been at old Sutton's Fifth
Avenue palace for a week," he began.
I felt a sudden chill.
"A whole week, Gabriel, and you did
not let me know?"
"My dear Jetta, don't be exacting?
that glaring fault of girls in general.
? ' ' "..it? kin
I'o tell tne trutn, oia suuuu aim ma
plans for my future have absorbed me
so that I quite forgot you. You see. he
has already selected a heiress for me
to marry?a ward of his own. Verily,
I am having a streak of amazing luck!
Oh, yes, he's well enough. All his
friends greet him with one question,
'How's your liver?' He's a hypochondriac,
and his hopes and fears centre
principally on his digestion. Of
course, I'll have to accept the heiress
to please him."
I did not quite like Gabriel's tone
and manner.
"Do you love her?" I asked gravely.
"My unsophisticated child, I'm not required
to love her. It's enough for me
to bestow upon her my honorable name
and princely person," giving his mustache
an airy twist. "She's deuced far
gone on me already?quite a striking
girl, too?blonde?looks a fellow square
in the eye?courage enough for a Choctaw
squaw. A man does not care to
commit himself too soon, however. My
career of conquest Is but just begun."
"I do not like to hear you Jest like
this, Gabriel."
"Jest? 'Pon my soul, I'm In dead
earnest! Now, what have you to tell
me about yourself, Jetta? Still enJoying
Mrs. Hawkstone's bounty at this
fashionable seminary? Of course I
haven't worried about you In these last
five or six years, knowing that you
were In the care of the Hawkstones.
Besides, I have had all that I could do,
like many another southern gentleman,
to keep my own head above water."
"I do not doubt that," I answered,
sadly. "There was nothing for either
of us when poor papa died. You find
me still at this seminary, Gabriel, because
I have no other abiding place;
'A. JOHNSON.
"Of Governor Yon Yonson of Minnesota,"
says the Washington Herald,
"it cannot be said that 'distance lends
enchantment to the view."' On the
"contrary, the closer you get to him
the better he looks." Our contemporary
might have added very truthfully
that the better you know him the more
you like him, and the more you trust
him.
The Herald has adopted, as nearly as
It could, the Swedish spelling of the
name of the governor of Minnesota: In
English his name Is John A. Johnson,
and he is by long odds the most likely
man in the Democratic party today.
The other night he made a speech at
the dinner of the Gridiron Club In
Washington, and naturally he made
the best speech on the occasion and
compelled the sincere applause of his
Intellectual, but generally Irreverent,
hosts.
Mr. Johnson Is the Democratic governor
of the Republican state of Minnesota.
He was first elected In 1904.
In that year Mr. Roosevelt carried the
state of Minnesota by 161,464 plurality:
Johnson's plurality was 6,362. Last
year Johnson's plurality was 76,633.
That Is the sort of man Johnson Is.
The people know him and the people
trust him. If he should be nominated
for president by the Democratic party
he would carry, we believe, nearly every
state In the gTeat northwest and
would beat any candidate, not excepting
Mr. Roosevelt himself, the Republican
f party could name In opposition
to hlln, so strong Is the faith of the
people In the high personal character
of this man who has come up out of
the west.?News and Courier.
but my education Is now finished, and
I am done with the Hawkstone bounty.
To be frank with you, dear, I am going
out governesslng?going to earn my
own living." And then I told him of
Mrs. Otway's offer, and my determination
to accept It. He continued to
twirl his long mustache.
"You seem to be inextricably mixed
up with these Hawkstones, Jetta," he
grumbled. ".Evidently you cannot escape
them. So they've educated you to
be the teacher of their own brat, eh?
I don't half like It, remembering that
matter of our father and Philip Hawkstone.
Of course you know what I
nean?"
"No," I answered.
"Well, you were so young at the time
Mrs. Hawkstone carried you away, noVdy
thought It wise to tell you, I suppose.
Deuced disagreeable affair; anyvay.
My father and yours, one of the
ancient Louisiana Ravenels, was actually
suspected?yes, accused of killng
Philip Hawkstone. I've understood
there was a good deal of circumstantial
[ know not how long, with the odium
>f the murder upon him. He told me
something about It before he died. Mrs.
Hawkstone was .an old flame of his,
vou know; that's why he left you to
her care. I've a prejudice against the
whole Hawkstone race, because of the
treatment which my father received
it their hands a quarter of a century
ago."
He gave me such details of the old
affair as he remembered.
"Enough!" I said. "I will return to
my first resolution, Gabriel, and never
go near the Island again. Now that
vou are here In New York, with such
brilliant prospects, such high expectations,
I cannot feel anxious or needy
any more."
He looked alarmed.
"Nonsense, Jetta! I am not In a position
to do anything for you, as yet.
You'd better go down to the island?
' ' * * ? 1 fto nfinx oil I f 'a a
I e t Dj'gunes ue Ujguucj, cine an, .? ?, ?
comfortable sort of salary they offer
you. Yes, go by all means. By-and-by,
when old Hypochondriac dies, and I
take possession of his millions, I'll allow
you something handsome; but for
the present"?
"I must look out for myself," I finished,
meekly; "I am quite willing to
do so, Gabriel?I have youth and health
?not for worlds would I be a burden
upon you."
I saw only too plainly that he did
not mean to be troubled with me or
my affairs.
"Quite right, Jetta," he answered, rising
briskly. "Well, old Hypo Is going
to his Newport villa today, and I, of
course, must attend him. You can
write to me, if things go wrong, you
know."
And the next moment he had kissed
me hastily and pranced out, leaving me
pained, miserable and uncertain whether
to weep or rejoice over this very
unexpected visit.
Shortly after, a servant ushered In
Mrs. Otway, placid, motherly, expectant.
"Have you decided, my dear?" she
asked.
"Yes," I answered, with a smothered
sigh, "I accept your offer, Mrs. Otway
?I will go with you to Tempest Island."
To be Continued.
tv The smallest dog In the world Is
bred in Mexico.
JHisccUancous ^fading.
LITTLE WARS BOTHER JAPAN.
-ormou and Korea Decline to be Aaaimilated.
Tapan is finding' that the same trou'asome
by-products of benevolent as^"stl^n
that bother the white man
>'so irk the brown man. The Mikado
-">w has two little wars on his hands,
s^h of them as bothersome as any ex<vtltion
In the Sudan or punitive
-" "p-h In Pamar.
The .Tananese have been fighting the
""fives of Formosa ever since the trea"f
Ph'monosekl gave that peppery
siand Into their keening. While the
Oilnese owned'It they were content In
their hanpv go lucky way to snatch
" hat camnher. teak and sugar they
"onid from the soil between raids of
naked savages and to let well
nongh alone. But with the advent of
V?a Httlo hrAnrn anl^lora o alnw nflflr
~lng war of extermination against the
Thortvtneg waa Inaugurated and It Is
'till In progress.
The native of Formosa Is a Malay,
ry closely allied to the wilder peo?
"leu of the Philippines, and. like some
?f, America's brown wards there, his
*hlef pleasure Is hunting and preserv'ng
heads. The Interior of Formosa fs
a tropical Jungle, almost impenetrable.
There the natives lie low with occas'onal
forays Into the open and much
midnight sniping of Japanese with
'ong knives. The Japanese soldiers
have taken up the game with a relish,
and no Dyak hunting by the English
n Burma was ever carried on with
more vigor than tho rooting out of the
^ormrsans is now being pushed.
During the war with Russia the aboriginal
owner of the soil of Formosa
was allowed to do very much as he
oleased- because all the soldiers that
"ould be spared were sent Into Manchuria.
Only garrisons at Tal-pel.
Keelung and the other two seaports of
the Island remained, and these were
as alert against the possible arrival of
the Baltic fleet as Incursions of the
natives.
But since the war the Japanese war
office has sent about three regiments
to the island and the pursuit of the
elusive child of the forest, who Is after
all blood brother to the Japanese according
to some ethnologists, has begun
in earnest. Toklo papers recently
told of the plan of campaign mapped
out for the army In Formosa.
It comprised the regular cleaning out
of one section of the country after another
right through the centre of the
Island. Railroads are being built in
Formosa and others are to be built after
the Interior has been pacified so
the thorough extermination of the native
must go on apace.
The Japanese armies, not very large
but trained through past experience In
lungle fighting, have started from the
south end of the Island, and according
to plan, will go through to the north
shore "pacifying" the natives. Within
the next ten years or so the only
good Formosan will be In the category
of the good Indian.
Japan's little war In Korea has Just
begun, and the Journals of Japan voice
the opinion of the people when they
profess Ignorance as to when it win be
fnlshed. The little war began In the
-treets of Seoul last July when Japanese
soldiers shot down the rebellious
Torean troops who refused to give up
'heir arms at the command of the Japanese
commander In Korea, General
TTpsegawa.
Very much to the surprise of the
Tapanese, who have always underrated
'he Korean national spirit and the in'Ividual
bravery of the people, the
truggle that started In Seoul three
months ago has spread over all of
the peninsula, and It looks as if Formosan
persuasion would have to be
'ned. Excerpts at random from the
a test Toklo papers will show the na'ure
of the guerrilla warfare that the
Korean patriots have taken up with
"Vnatlcal energy.
"A telegram from Seoul, under date
f September 11," says the Nlchl Nlhcl
' 'himban, "says that overland transport
of mall from Seoul to Gensan has
been suspended temporarily, owing to
disturbance In localities between the
two places. Again, the insurgents at
Selyu, who escaped the Japanese forces
ind arrived at Chojo, have Increased
their number to a thousand, and are
now threatening to attack Seiyu in a
body. The Japanese at the latter place
have escaped to Kwoshu."
Another dispatch says that at Seoul,
Chemulpo and Fusan business is practically
at a standstill because of the
suspension of product shipments from
the troubled interior. Railroad service
on the Seoul-Fusan railroad has been
discontinued at several places because
the Insurgents have seized the railroad
stations and threatened the bridges.
Three miles outside of Taiku, the
principal town on the line of the railroad
between Seoul and Fusan, where
several hundred Japanese are living, a
band of Koreans descended on seventeen
Japanese and wiped them out entirely.
This is the way the Koreans
are fighting.
They are all disorganized, untrained
In the arts of warfare, badly equipped
and almost starving, but they are inspired
with a hatred of Japan that has
been rooted in the race for three hundred
years, and they seem ready to
fulfill the prophecy made here in New
York by Prince Yl some months ago
that his countrymen would resist Japanese
absorption until they were all
dead.
Until the Japanese shall have made
of the peninsula one great barrack
there seems little likelihood that they
will check the guerrilla warfare. Kola
ft enuntrv ribbed with mountain
chains along its whole length. Just
the one slender thread of railroad runring
from south to north offers access
to the Interior, and that railroad
stretches through the very middle of
the peninsula. There are miles of ragged
mountains on either side where
Japanese do not dare to go singly at
present.
At the close of the war the horde of
Japanese Immigrants that crossed over
to Korea followed the line of the Kelfu
railroad, and outside of every sprawling.
hideously filthy Korean town a
neat Japanese settlement sprang up.
Thus one main artery of Japanese
strength parses through the land at
Its centre, and there Is a cross current
of Japanese lodgment alpng the Yula
river at the extreme north and some
settlements along the coast.
Yet even connected by railroad and
sea traffic as they are, these settlements
have already been harried In reprisals
for Japanese . usurpation and
Japanese Insolence. Oen. Hasegawa,
the supreme commander of the Japanese
army In Korea, seems to have lost
his temper before the exhibition of a
Korean people finding themselves, for
In a Tokio paper of September 20,
there appears a manifesto from him to
the Korean people, which breathes
engeance uniquely.
"Those who are ignorant of the
march of events," says the irritated
general, "and who fall correctly to distinguish
loyalty from treason, have by
wild and baseless rumors Instigated
people's minds and caused rowdies In
various places to rise In insurrection.
"These in u*-?ents commit all sorts
of horrible crimes, such as murdering
neaceful folk, both native and foreign, '
robbing their property, burning official '
and private bulldtngs 1 and destroying
means of communication. These offences
are such as are not tolerated by '
heaven or earth. Unless they are
promptly suppressed the trouble may
a'ssumed calamitous proportions.
"I charge all of you law-abiding Koreans
to prosecute your respective
peaceful vocations and be troubled by
no fears; As for those who have joined
the Insurgents from mistaken motives,
If they honestly repent and
ponsible and ptmisMd with rlf^."
promptly surrender they will be par*
jloned their offender "Any
of you who mil seise lnsur- ?
genu or who will give Information concerning
their whereabouts will be
handsomely rewarded. Those who
wilfully Join the insurgents or afford
them refuge or conceal weapons shall
be severely punished. More than that,
the villages to which such offenders
belong shall be held collectively responsible."
CEMENT TELEGRAPH POLES.
A Possible Relief For the Demands of
Our Forests.
Telephone, telegraph and electric
railway managers and Investors will
be interested in a new concrete pole
invented by William M. Bailey, of
Richmond, Ind. In a general way the
poles are built on the plan of all
armored concrete work, though the
construction Is quite distinctive In
character. In the body of the pole
and near Its circumference, equally
spaced, are continuous rods of twisted
electro-carbon steel especially prepared
for the purpose. These rods are
tied together and held In position by
continuous spiral binding wires. These
form the skeleton work of the pole,
or the re-enforcement, which is then
Inclosed in a form into which cement
la poured. After a number of days
the form Is removed, and the result
lg a concrete pole.
Extreme climatic condition* of summer
and winter or heavy demands
upon the strength and elasticity of a
heavy pole line leave the poles made
by this process absolutely unImpair- ed.
One of the features of the poles
is their remarkable elasticity. A 80foot
pole will deflect thirty-one. inches
at the top without cracking the
concrete. The breaking strain of the
pole is figured at 5,000 pounds?three
time* the strength of the common
wooden pole.
Carefully calculated accounts of all
expenditures for labor and material
in the construction show that under
average conditions the first cost is
slightly more than that of cedar polea
While the average life of cedar poles is
atyout 12 years, that of a concrete
pole is practically unlimited. When a
cedar pole decays the labor cost of
removing it and attaching the wires
to a new pole is far greater than the
cost of the pole itself. Such cost is
by far the greatest item of depreciation
in both telephone and telegraph
properties. Indeed, this very item is
perhaps the only one that has made
telephone securities less desirable
than railroad stocks. With cement
poles this renewal cost is eliminated.
Our forests are disappearing rapidly,
and good cedar poles are almost
unobtainable, and the price of those
of even moderate quality is fast advancing.
It is estimated that there
are 40,000,000 poles in the ground in
the United States, worth $200,000,000.
These poles have an average life
of twelve years. More than 3,200,000
poles are required every year to replace
those decayed at a cost of from
$15,000,000 to $17,000,000 a year.
When it is considered that much of
this may be saved by the use of concrete
poles, their enormous value to
the public service corporations of the
country may be appreciated.?Scientific
American.
PANAMA CANAL.
Its Effect In Changing Trad* Routes
Will Be Enormous.
With the United States, Mexico,
Central America and many countries
of South America lining its eastern
shores, it may well be said that twothirds
or more of the population of our
globe are in the countries that are
washed by the waters of the Pacific,
says the New Orleans Picayune. The
possibilities of trade are tremendous,
and the opening of the Panama canal
will usher in the era that will make
that commerce of Incalculable volume
as well as value, and its effect in
changing trade routes will be enormous
and- doubtless startling.
When the commerce between Europe
and Asia was carried by caravan across
the valley of the Euphrates from India
and Persia to the shores of the
Mediterranean, Babylon was the greatest
commercial city of the earth, and
the wealth and power of Europe were
gathered along the shores of that interior
sea. Conditions remained with
more or less constancy heaping up the
wealth of the world among the nations
along the shores of the Mediterranean
until America was discovered, and the
sea route around the continent of
Africa to India was opened. Then the
nations of western Europe, such as
Spain, France, England and Holland,
erew into great commercial import
ance, which means also military power.
As the trade of the vast countries
that bound the greatest of the oceans
shall be developed the scepter of commercial
dominion Is going to be wrested
from cities that have long held It
and handed over to some that have
been comparatively unimportant hitherto.
It Is too early to forecast the
future, but the changes in trade routes
and trade marts are going to be so
complete and overwhelming that the
world will be startled.