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- A 5TORY Of HY5TCRY. INVOLVING STARTUNC C0HPUCATION5 &? ADVCNTU by ANNA KATttCRlHt GRCI ^ %<r AUTHCIC ?** 11 UKAVUMX?llt CAlMrJ AKHtMO CUOS CHAPTER V. j la Corridor aad in Room. quartan of an hour lat* ar Mr. Raaaom and Oerridge IHM flood la close conference ? before tha laat mentioned The ford er was peremptory it ho had to tay *1 aiiesat a particle of confidence ta this aewapaper ttory." ho declared. ~l ha runt much coafldaace la her lot* ho?. It la this man who It working m Ho baa a hold on her aad had liar this cock aad ball story to it sister! A twin ?Itter come to litor fifteen rears of supposed ??t I ted the circumstance en > loo romantic. Nor dees an ex on of this nature fit the con ?ho was happy before aho aim la the church. Bho lta't bar alster 1 tall you the game la a aad aha is the sufferer. Her betray more tiiaa a disturbed they betray a llsturbed brain. la the causo and I mean to als secret from him You art anw* of hit being sUll la the house?" I "He was oar!y thin morning. Ho Mm ttrod a r*ry quiet lifo those laat tew days, the Ufa of one waiting. Ho mas not tren had visitors, after that mm hstorrtow ho hold with your w fe. 1 hart kept tartful watch on aim. a tnapected character, ho hat tuaplclout while l'v* my eye. If yon want him In hit room, you shall." Into time the detective counted it hin hott Mr. Portor waa not an ait room bat la one of tht hallt. Ykary to countered him at they left who elevator. Ho waa standing read tec a newspaper. The disfigured Jaw not ho mittahea They ttoppad they ware and looked at him. waa Intent, absorbed. Aa they they taw hit handt clote ejttjTuiaivtly on the sheet ha was walla hla Hps mattered worda that made the detective hard at hit companion. yon hoar?** ho cautiously la aa Mr. Ransom stood hesitat aot knowing whether to address or not ?No; what did he say? Do you ho It rending that para i?" "I haven't a doubt of It; and hit were. 'Here't a damned lie!'? inch like your own. sir." -Ransom drew the detective a tear steps dowa the corridor. -Ho said that?" ?fTea. I heard him distinctly." mTThen my theory it all wrong. Thlt aaaa didn't provide her with thlt imag? inary twin tlster." "Evidently not" "And to at lurpiised aa we are." "Aad about as much put out Look tat him? Nothing yellow there* We aamll have to go easy with him." i Mr. Raaaom looked and felt a recoil than ordinary dislike for the The latter had put the paper la pocket aad waa coming tbelr way. i face, oaco pottlbly handsome, for eye* aad forehead were cons pic u flne. thowod a distortion quit* from that given by hit physical iremsnt. He waa not simply aa hut la a mental and moral rag*, at tt made him n or* than hideous; mad* him appalling. Yet he said and moved along very quietly, Ing. to all appearance, for hi* Would he notlc* them a* h* it by? It did not teem likely. In* atlactlvely they had stepped to on* and Mr. Ransom't face was la thadow. To both It had teemed not to acost him while he waa this mood. They would see him ?Bu* this wat not to be. Some in ^ act. mad* him turn, and Mr. Ran? som, recognizing hit opportunity, stepped forward and addrested him Vy tie name under wl Ich he had In? troduced himself at the reception; that of hit wife's family, Hazen. Tht effect wat ttartllng. Instead of Increasing hit anger at the detective had naturally expected. It appeared to aar* th* contrary effect, for every eeettce of passion Immediately dis? appeared from hit lace, leaving only Its natural disfigurement -to plead dint him. He t.pproached them. Ransom, at lea-it. was consciout of a revulsion of feeling In his favor, then wat tuch restraint and yet tuch loubted power In bit strange tnd liar personality "You know me?" said he, darting ae?n and compretenslve look from to o the oth*r. "We should like a few word* with ?a," ventured Oerridg*. "Thlt gen* tin thlnkt you ran give him very ?aluubl* Information about a perton fas hi greatly Interested In." i "He Is mlstaksta." Th* words' sasno quick and decisive In a not un*' aaoledlou* voice. "I am a stranger la J**w York; a stranger In thlt coun? try- I haes few. If aay. acqualnt **You bar* on*." sanft waa now Mr. Ransom's turn. V* * man with no aequalntanc** doea mat attend w*ddlngt; certainly not wedding receptions. I have seen yon at on*, my own. Do you not recog d*. Mr. Hasan ?" A twitch of surprise, not even Ran? som could call It alarm, drew his mouth still further towards his ear; but his manner hardly altered and It was In ths same affable tone that ha replied: sj| ??You must pardon my shoit-slghtecP nsas. I did not recognize you, Mr. Ransom.'* "Did not want to/' muttered Oer ridge. satisfied in his own mind that this man was only deterred by his marked and unmistakable physiogno? my from denying the acquaintance skip Just advanced "Your congratulations did not pro? duce the desired effect," continued Mr. Ransom. "My happiness was short lived. Perhaps you knew Its uncertain tenure when you wished me joy. I remember that your tone lack? ed sincerity." It was a direct attack. Whether a wise one or not remained to be seen. Gerrldffe watched the unfolding drama with Intsrest ^ "I have reason to think." proceeded1 Mr. Ransom, "that the unhappy termi? nation of that day's felicities were In a measure due to you. You seem to know my bride very well; much too well for her happiness or mine.** "We will argue that question in my room,** was ths unmoved reply. 'The open hsll Is quits unsulted to a con? versation of this nature. Now,** sr'd he, turning upon them when they ware in ths privacy of his small but not uncomfortable apartment, "you will be kind enough to rspsat what you just said. 1 wish to thoroughly understand you." "You have ths right," returned Mr. Ransom, controlling himself under the detective's eye. "I said that your presence at this wedding seemed to disturb my wife, which fact, consider? ing the after occurrences of the day, strikes me as important enough for discussion. Are you willing to discuss It affably and fairly?" "May I ask who your companion Is?" inquired the other, with a slight Inclination towards Gerridge. "A friend; one who Is in my confi? dence." "Then I will answer you without any further hesitation. My presence may have disturbed your wife, it very likely did, but I was not to blame for that No man is to blame for the bad effects of an unfortunate accident" "Oh, I dont mean that," Mr. Ran? som hastened to protest "The cause of her very evident agitation was not personal. It had a deeper root than that. It led, or so I believe, to her flight from a love shs cherished, at a mo? ment when our mutual life seemed about to begin." The lmps8sive. I might almost sag set features of this man of violent pas? sions but remarkable self-restraint failed to relax or give any token of the feelings with which he listened to this attack. "Then the news given of your wife in the papers to-night Is false," was his quiet retort It professes to give a distinct, if somewhat fantastic, rea? son for her flight. A won totally different from the one you suggest." "A reason you don't believe in?" "Certainly not It Is too bizarre." ~ "1 share your Incredulity. That Is why I seek the truth from you rather than from the columns of a news? paper. And you owe me this truth. You have broken up my life." "I? That's a strange accusation you make. Mr. Ransom." "Possibly. But it's one which strikes hard on your conscience, for all that. This Is evident enough even to a stranger like myself. I am con? vinced that if you had not come into her life she would have been at my side to-day. Now, who are you? She told me you were a relative." "She told you the truth; I am. Her nearest relative. The story in the paper has a certain amount of truth in it. Her brother, not her sister, has come back from the grave. I am that brother. She was once devoted to me." "You are-" "Yea. Oh. there'll be no difficulty in my proving this relationship. I have evidence upon evidence of the fact right In this room with me; evi? dence much more convincing and far leas disputable than this surprisng twin can bring forward If her Identi? ty is questioned. Georgian had a twin sister, but she was buried years ago. I was never buried. 1 simply did not return from a well-known and dangerous vojago. The struggle I had for life y m cannot want the de? tails now- hau left Its indelible Im? press In the scar which has turned me from a personable man into what some people might call a monstrosity. And It is this acar which has kept me so long from home and country. It has taken me four yeara to make up my mind to face again my family and friends. And now that I have, I find that It wo ild have been better for j us all if I had stayed away. Georgian saw me and her mind wavered. In no other way can I account for her wild behavior since that hour. That Is all I have to say, dr. I think I am almost as much an object of pity as yourself." And for a moment he appeared to be so. not or ly to Oerrldge, but to r?zzzzz?-S "I wanted money." Mr. Raniom himself. Then some? thing in the man?his unnatural cold? ness, the purpose which made itself felt through all his self-restraint?re? awakened Mr. Ransom's distrust and led him to say: "Tour complaint is natural. If you are Mrs. Ransom's brother, there should be sympathy between us and not antagonism. But I feel only an? tagonism. Why is this?" A shrug, followed by an odd smile. "You should be able to account for that on very reasonable grounds," said he. "I do not expect much mercy from strangers. It Is hard to make your good Intentions felt through such a distorted medium as my ex? pression has now become." "Mrs. Ransom has been here," Ran? som suddenly launched forth. "With? in two hours of your encounter under Mr. Fulton's roof, she was talking with you In this hotel. I hpve proof positive of that, sir." "I have Tio wish to deny the fact," was the Meady answer. "She did come hern and we had a talk; it was necessary; I wanted money." The last phrase was uttered with such grim determination that the ex? clamation which had risen to Mr. Hansom's lips died in a conflict of feel? ing which forbade any rejoinder that savored of sarcasm. Hazen, however, must have noted his first look, for he added with an air of haughty apology: "I repeat that we were once very fond of each other." Ransom felt his perplexities grow? ing with every moment he talked with this man. He remembered the money which both he and Gerridge had seen in her bag,?an amount too large for her to have retained very much on her person,?and following the in? stinct of the moment, he remarked: "Mrs. Ransom is not the woman to hesitate when a person she loves makes an appeal for money. She handed you Immediately a large sum, I have no doubt" "She wrote me out a check," was the simple but cold answer. Mr. Ransom felt the failure of his attempt and stole a glance at Ger? ridge. The doubtful smile he received was not very encouraging. The same thought had evidently struck both. The money in the bag was a blind she had car ' d her check-book with her and so could draw on her account for whatever she wished. But under what name? Her maiden one or his? Ransom determined to find out. "1 do not begrudge you the money," said he, "but Mrs. Ransom's signature bad changed a few hours previous to her making out this check. Did she rwcuher this?" "She oifeueU her married name, promising to notify the bank at once." "And you cashed the check?" "No, sir; I am not in such immedi etc need of money as that. I have it still, but I shall endeavor to cash it tomorrow. Some question may come up as to her sanity, and I do not OhoOSS to lose the only money she has ever been in a position to give me." "Mr. llnren. you harp on the irre? sponsible condition of her mind. Did you see any tokens of this In the in? terview you had together?*' "No; she seemed sane enough then; a little shocked and troubled, but quite sane " "You knew that she had stolen away from me?that she had resorted to a most unworthy subterfuge in or? der to hold this conversation with you ?' ' No; I had asked her to come, and on that very afternoon if possible, but I never knew what means she took for doing bo; I didn't ask and she didn't say." "But she talked of her marriage? She must have said something about an event which is usually Considered the greatest in a woman's life." "Yes she spoke of it." "And of me?" "Yes. she spoke of you." "And in what terms? 1 cannot re? frain from asking you, Mr. Hazen, I am in such ignorance as to her real attitude towards me; her conduct is so mysterious; the reasons she gives for it is so puerile." "She said nothing against you or her marriage. She mentioned both, but not in a manner that would add to your or my knowledge of her inten? tions. My sister disappointed me, sir. She was much less open ihan i wish? ed. All that I could make out of her manner and conversation was the overpowering shock she felt at seeing me again and seeing me so changed. She didn't even tell me when and where we might meet again. When she left, she was as much loet to me aa she was to you, and I am no less interested in finding her than you are yourself. I had no idea she did not , mean to return to you when she went i away from this hotel." Mr. Ransom sprang upright in an imitation the other may have shared, .?ut of which he gave no token. "Do you mean to say," he asked, "that you cannot tell me where th*. Woman you call your sister is now? ' "No more than you can give me the same necessary information in re? gard to your wife. I am waiting like yourself to hear from her?and wait? ing with aa little hope." "But this is not like my wife," pro? tested Ransom, hesitating to accuse the other of falsehood, yet evidently doubting him from the bottom of his heart. "Why deceive us both? She was never a disingenuous woman." "I have candidly answered all your questions, whether agreeable! or oth? er-wise," observed Hazen, "and the fact that I am as much shocked as yourself by these mad and totally in? credible statements of hers about a newly recovered sister should prove to you tha-: she is not following any lead of mine in this dissemination of a barefaced falsehood." There was truth In this which both Mr. Ransom and Gerridge felt obliged to own. Yet they were not satisfied, even after Mr. Hazen, almost against Mr. Ransom's will, had established his claims to the relationship he pro? fessed, by various well-attested docu? ments he had at hand. "The maze is at its thickest," Ran? som remarked as he left a few min? utes later with the perplexed Ger? ridge. CHAPTER VI. The Lawyer. Hunt up her man of business," sug? gested Gerridge, "and see what he can do for you. She cannot get along without money; nor could that state? ment of hers have got into the papers without somebody's assistance. Since she did not get it from' the fellow we have just left, she must have had It from the only other person she would dare confide in." Ransom answered by immediately hailing a down-town car. The interview which followed was certainly a remarkable one. At first Lawyer Harper would say nothing, declaring that his relations with Mrs. Ransom were of a purely business and confidential nature. But by de? grees, moved by the persuasive influ? ence of Mr. Ransom's candor and his indubitable right to consideration, he allowed h! mself to admit that he had seen Mrs. Ransom during the last three days and that he had every reason to believe that there was a twin sister In the case, and that all Mrs. Ran? som's eccentric conduct was attributa? ble to this fact and the overpowering sense of responsibility which it seem? ed to have brought to her?a result which would not appear strange to those who knew the sensitiveness of her nature and the delicate balance of her mind. Mr. Ransom recalled the tenor of her strange letter on this subject, but was not convinced. He inquired of Mr. Harper if he had heard her say anything about the equally astound? ing fact of a returned brother, and when he found that this was mere Jargon to Mr. Harper, he related what he knew of Hazen and left the lawyer to draw his own inferences. (To Be Continued.) The Deserter. "Do you desire to have it under? stood?" asked the Judge, addressing the lady who wanted the divorce, "that your husband deserted you?" "Yes, "sir." "Please tell the court as concisely as you can how he,deserted you." "Two months after we had com? pleted our wedding trip he scolded me because he thought I was extra? vagant in the matter of getting clothes, and I went home to my peo? ple."' "Yes. Proceed." "Well, I waited and waited and waited for him to come and beg me to retrn to him, and he never did." ?Chicago Record-Herald. Knew of One. Traveler (delayed In Drearyhurst by washout)?"Are there any objects of curiosity In this village?" Uncle Welby Gosh?"Well. I reck? on I've got as much curiosity as an> Objlck you'll find. Where are yol goln' mister, and what do you foliar fur a living'?"?Chicago Tribune. DEAFNESS CANNOT HE CURED by local applications, as they canno reach the diseased portion of the ear There is only one way to cure deaf neat, and that is by constitutiona remedies. Deafness is caused by an Inflamed condition of the mucous lin ing of the Buttachlan Tube. Who this tube Is inflamed you have rumbling sound or Imperfect hearing and when it is entirely closed, Deaf neat is the result, and unless the in fiammatlon can be taken out and th) tube restored to its normal condition heating will be destroyed forevei nine cases out of ten are caused h Catarrh, which is nothing but an in ilamed condtion of the mucous sui faces. 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Q. -Dealer In Pure Drugs and Medicines, CHOICE PERFUMES ;AND FINE TOILET ARTICLES, COMBS AND BRUSHES, PATENT MEDICINES AND DRUGGISTS' SUNDRIES, A FULL LINE OF CIGARS AND TOBACCO. :: :: :: :: :: OUR MOTTO: PURE AND RELIABLE 600DS. Our stock is complete and we cheerfully solicit your patronage. :: :: :: new cotton picker. Asserted by Many Tliat it Will Revo? lutionize Cotton (fathering. Jackson's Bridge Builder. Harry E. Fourcher's cotton picker has heen given semi-public tests dur? ing the past two or three days. An exhibition was given yesterday to a number of gentlemen. There is the general conviction that the picker is a sucoss. The appliance, In its present form, works wonderfully well. It has won the attention of all Augustans. The general verdict is that Mr. Fourcher has won fame and his fortune. The inventor is reticent. Yet he H absolutely confident. He is as sure that he has "hit if as he is confident "Stonewall Jackson," said a Vir? ginia veteran, "used to tell a story about a bridge builder. This bridge builder was called Old Miles. He was very necessary to Jackson, because the flimsy bridges on the line of march were continually being swept away by the floods or destroyed by the enemy, and in these contingencies Miles was a regular jewel. He could run you up a bridge in the time it would take another man to make the measurements. One day the Union troops burned a bridge across the Shenandoah. Stonewall Jackson call? ed Old Miles to him said: 'You must put all your men to work. If lien, and you must keep them at it all nighL for I've got to have a bridge across that night will follow day. But he would prefer to await an illustration i this stream by morning. My engineer by a perfectly manufactured ma-! will draw up the plans for you' Well, chine before going to \ho public. His ! early the next morning Jacksoq, very apparatus, at present, is of his own much worried, met Old Miles. 'See make, the model. In certain particu- here ' he said, dubiously, 'how about I Ism it is cumbersome. In others that bridge? Did the engineer give crude. | you the plan?' Old Miles took the ci But, however all that, it does the J gar from his mouth and flicked the werk. The test yesterday showed that It took the cotton from the boll ? thoroughly and cleanly?and drop? ped It in a sack, working with mar? velous rapidity. Mr. Fourcher says it picks the cotton three or four times fester than it could be picked by hand. Others present said ten t<? twenty times faster. It appeared to newspaper men that it was gotten oul fifty times faster.? Orageburg Times and Democrat, July l.r>. r.sh off with a sneer. '(leneial.' he said, 'the brills is done. I dunno whether the plcter is or not.' "?Kan? sas City star. A Strong Pull. "You want a speedy car, of course?" "You bet." How about a hill climber?" "Oh 1 don't keer to go after pedestrians to that ?ten?. Just gimme a machine that will ^?-t 'em on tin' ftaL" PltUburg Tost. TWO men were having an argu? ment as to their respective strengths. "Why." said the first, "evcr> morn? ing before breakfast I get a bucket and pull up ninety gallons from the well." "That s nothing,'1 retorted the oth? er. "1 get a boat every morning and pull up the river." When a woman expresses a wish her husband generally has to pay the expreasage. "Maria, do you remember that fine dinner you got up ail by yourself <>n the day I asked you to be mine?" "Yes, Indeed, Qeorge!" "Everything Wai splendid." "I am sure it was." "Ah, I wish your mother was living] A joke is always a joke when it is with us now, Maria!"?Puck. | On the other fellow. Twenty years after a girl wouldn't marry a man be feels like apologlz Ing to his grandmother about it.