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.