Pittston Gazette

              ESTABMSIIED1850. » VOL. XLV. NO. .IH ) Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE CO., PA., FRIDAY. APRIL 26, 1895. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. j,,S?3?iiSSm TIE SIGR OF TIE EM. but his stump instantly sanK its wnoie length into the sodden soil. In vain be struggled and writhed. Not one step could he possibly take either forward or backward. He yelled in impotent rage and kicked frantically Into the mud with his other foot, but his struggles only bored his woodon pin the deeper into the sticky bank. When wo brought our launch alongside, he was so firmly auct ored that it was only by throwing the end of a rope over his shoulders that wo were able to haul him out and to drag him, like some uvll flsh, over our sida material, with a little touch of scarh't at the neck and wnist. The soft light of a shaded lamp fell upon her as she leaned back in the basket chair, playing over her sweet, grave face and tinting with a dull nietallio sparkle the rich coils of her luxuriant hair, one white arm and hand drooped over the side of the chair, and her whole pose and figure spoke of an absorbing melancholy. At tho sound of footfall she sprang to her feet, however, and a bright flush of surprisoand pleasure colored her pale cheeks. Dlttcn ny mosquitoes, racKeci witn ague, bullied by every cursed black faced policeman who loved to tako it out of a white man. Thut was how I earned the Agra treasure, and you talk to me of justice beoause I cannot boar to feel that I have paid this price only that another may enjoy it! I would rather swing a scoro of times, or havo one of Tonga's darts in my hide, than live in a convict's cell and feel that another man is at his ease in a palace with the money that should lie mine." gmall had dropped IiIh mask of stoicism, ana an tnis came ouiD in a wuu wniri 01 words, while his eyes blazed, and the handcuffs clanked together with the impassioned movement of his hands. I could understand, as I saw the fury and tho passion of the man, that it was no groundless or unnatural terror which had possessed Major Sholto when ho first learned that tho injured convict was upon his track. though now and again a party with torches might go exploring. of gold moidoros I had, therefore, already made up my mind AlKlullah Khan, how ever, thinking that 1 hesitated, pressed the matter mure closely the way, tnese last naa neen taKcn out 01 the chest and were not there when I reuovered it. BILL NYE ON NICOTINE uo i asu tne canmoai to oreaic ott tne ubo of missionaries who have a brimstone flavor, so that I can have cannibal pie or heathen chops to suit me? "The river washes along the front of the old fort, and so protects it, but011 the sides and behind there are many doors, and these had to bo guarded, of course, in the old quarter as well as in that which was actually held by our troops. We were short handed, with hardly men enough to man the angles of the building and to serve tho guns. It was Impossible for us, therefore, to station a strong guard at every one of the Innumerable gates. What wo did was to organize a central guardhouse in the middle of the fort and to leave each gato under the chargo of one white man and two or throe natives. I was aoloctod to tako chargo during certain hours of tho night of a small Isolated door upon the southwest side of tho building. Two Sikh troopers were placed under my command, and 1 was instructed if anything went wrong to fire my musket, when I might rely upon help coming at onoe from tho central guard. As the guard was a good 200 paces away, however, and as the spoco botv 011 was cut up into a labyrinth of passages and corridors, I had great doubts as to whether they could arrive In timo to be of any use in case of an actual attack. "After we had counted our treasures we put them buck into the chest and carried them to the gateway to 6how them to Mohammed Singh. Then wo solemnly renewed our oath to stjind by each other and be f"ne to our secret. We aureed to conceal onr loot in a safe place until the country should be at peace again, and then to divide it equally among ourselves. There was no use of dividing it at present, for if gems of such value were found upon us it would cause suspicion, and there was no privacy in tho fort nor any place where we could keep them. Wo carried the box, therefore, into the same hall where we had burled the body, and there, under certain bricks in the best preserved wall, we made a hollow and put our treasure. We made careful note of the pi we. and next day I " "Consider, sahib, said he, 'that if this man is taken by tho commandant he will be hung or shot, and bis jewels taken by tiio government, so that 110 man will be a rupee tho lietter for them Now, since wo do the taking of him, why should wo not do tho rest as well? The jewels will bo as well with us as in the company's coiTors There will bo enough to make every one of us rich men and great chiefs. No one can know about tho matter, for here we aro cut off from all men. What could bo better for the purpose? Say again, sahib, whether you aro with us, or if we must look upon you as an enemy.' SOME ADVICE TO THOSE WHO USE No, a thousand times not BY A CONAN DOYLE, THE SEDUCTIVE WEED. Let the cannibal flavor his sirloin to suit himself. I'd like it, of course, if ho would subsist more on anarchists and less on human beings, but he must suit his own taste Hi those matters. | CONTINUED J He Doe* Not Think MIssionarles Should "Suppose we go down stream a short way and lie in wait for them," said Jones eagerly. We were all euger by this time, even the policemen and stokers, who had a very vague idea of what was goiug forward.Stop Smoking Just to Please Some EpIenrean Cannibals— Katlier Let Them In- dulge. My own idea would be to send to those people a class of men with the good tidings in one hand and a plug of navy in the other, so full of their theme and nicotine that this great Caucasian chowder would cause Such weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and such regret and remorse and repentenoe and such gastrio upheavals that it would be as unsafe to eat a missionary as it wonld to eat a dish of phrlanthropioal ice cream made for the children of the poor. "I heard a cab drive up," she said. "I thought that Mrs. Forrester had come back very early, but I never dreamed that It might be you. What news have you brought mo?" The two Smiths, father and son, sat sullenly in their launch, but came aboard meekly enough when commanded. The Aurora herself we hauled off and made fast to our stern. A solid iron chest of Indian workmanship stood ujion tho deck. This, there could be no question, was the same that had contained the ill omened treasure of the Slioltos. There was no key, but it was of considerable weight, so we transferred it carefully to our own little cabin. As we steamed slowly up stream again wo flashed our searchlight in every direction, but there was no sign of the islander. Somewhere in the dark oozo at the bottom of tho Thames lie the boues of that strange visitor to our shores. "Died.—Yesterday at his residence on Montgomery avenue, Shake Rag, N. C., after a lingering illness, brought on by tho excessive use of tobacco, Cicero Ledbetter, husband of Mary Ellen Ledbetter, 184C, Ella Margaret Ledbetter, 1851, Viola Hope Ledbetter, 1858, Realization Ledbetter, 1805, and Pomme d'Terre Ledbetter, 1871, agod 109 years, 6 months and 11 days. Funeral private. Relatives of his late wives are cordially invited. [Copyright, 1885, by Edgar W. Nye.] "We have no right to take anything for granted," Holmes answered. "It is certainly ten to one that they go down stream, but we cannot be certain. From this point vre can see*tho entrance to tho yard, and they can hardly see us. It will be a clear night and plenty of light. We must stay where we are. See how the folk swariu over yonder In the gaslight." "I have brought something better than news," said I, putting down tho liox upon the table and speaking jovially and boisterously, though my heart was heavy within me. "I have brought yon something which Is worth all the news in tho world. I have brought you a fortuno." " 'I am with you heart and soul,' said 1. " 'It is well,' he answered, handing me back my firelock ' Vou soe that we trust you, for your word, llko ours, is not to be brokon. We have now only to wait for my brother and the merchant.' "You forget that wo know nothing of all this," said Holmes quietly. "We have not heard your story, and wo cannot toll how far justice may originally have been on your side." drew four plans, one for cach of us, and put tho sign of the four of us at the bottom, for we had sworn that we should each always act for all, so that none might tako advantage. That Is an oath that I can put my hand to my heart and swear that I have never broken. "They aro coming from work In the yard." She glanced at tho Iron box. "Is that the treasure, then?" she asked, coolly enough. •' 'Does your brother know, then, of what you will do?' 1 asked. "Dirty looking rascals, butlsuppose every one has some little immortal spark ooncealed about him. You would not think It to look at them. There is no a priori probability about it. A strange enigma is muni" "Yes, this ia the great Agra treasure. Half of it is yours, and half is Thaddeus Sholto'a. You will have a oouple of hundred thousand each. Think of that! An annuity of £10,000. There will be few richer young lodlos in England. Is it not glorious?" "Well, sir, yon have been very fair spoken to me, though I can see that I have you to thank that I havo these bracelets u[Kin my wrists. Still I bear no grudge for that. It is all fair and above lioard. If you want to hear my story, 1 havo no wish to hold, it back. What I say to you is God's truth, every word of it. Thank you! You can put the glass ln-side 1110 here, and I'll put my lips to it if 1 am dry." " 'The plan la his. Ho haa devised It. We will go to the gate and6hare the watch with Mohammed Singh.' "Well, tbero's no use my telling yon, gentlemen, what camo of the Indian mutiny. After Wilson took Delhi and Sir Colin relieved Lucknow, tho back of the business was broken. Fresh troops came pouring In, and Nana Sahib made himself scarce ever the frontier. A flying column under Colonel Greathed came round to Agra and cleared the Pandles awoy from it. Peace soenied to lie settling upon the country, and we four were beginning to hope that tho timo was at hand when we might safely go off with our shares of tho plunder. In a moment, however, our hopes were shattered by our being arrested as the murderers of Achmot. "Has our husband went away After such a lengthy stay? Yes, he's found the land ho sought, And he knoweth what is what, For, no matter what he did, Now he knoweth quid est quid." "Tho rain was still falling steadily, for it was just tho beginning of the wet season. Brown, heavy clouds were drifting across the sky, and It was hard to see more than a stone cast. A deep moat lay In front of our door, but the water was in places nearly dried up, and It could easily be crossed. It was strange to me to be standing there with those two wild Punjabees waiting for the man who was 00ming to his death. "Soe here," said Holmes, pointing to the wooden hatchway. "We were hardly quick enough with our pistols." "Well, I was pretty proud at having this small command given lue, since I was a raw recruit, and a gumo legged one at that. For two nights I kept the watch with my Punjuboes. Th#y were tall, fierce looking chaps, Mohammed SiBgb and Abdullah Khan by name, both old fighting men who had borne arms against us at Chilianwalluh. They could talk English pretty well, but I could get little out of them They preferred to stand together and jabtmr all night in their queer Sikh lingo. For myself, I used to stand outside the gateway, looking down on the broad, winding river and on the twinkling lights of the great city. The boating of drums, the rattle of tomtoms and the yolls and howls of the rebels, drunk with opium and with bang, were enough to remind us all night of our dangerous neighbors across the stream. Kvery two hours the officers of the night used to come round to all the posts to mako sure that all was welL PRODUCING PEARLS. ''Some one calls him a soul concealed In an animal," I suggested. Mow Mm Helps the Oyster to Lead a Tiuff There, sure enough, just behind where wo had been standing, stuck one of those murderous darts which we know 60 well, it must have whizzed between us at the instant we fired. Holmes smllod at it and Mo ehnnlrtpi* Ip Mo fn«h-lot), out I confess that it turneC! mo sick to think ot tho horrible death whloh had passed so close to us that night. The above notice tells its own sad tala Such truths as these' come home to us with orusbing force. They say in language which cannot be misunderstood, Beware" of tobacco, tea, coffee, chooalate, etc., or some day you will be a corpse. 1 table Existence. "Winwood Rcade is good upon tbe subject," 6aid Holmes. "He remark* that, while the individual man is an insoluble puzzle, in the aggregate bo becomes a mathematical certainty. You can, for exaniplo, never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what aii average number will be up to. Individuals vary, but percentages remain constant. So says tho statistician. But do I see a handkerchief? Surely there is a white flutter over yonder." I think that I must have been rather or«R0l*gg my delight, and that she detected a hollow ring in my congratulations, for I saw her eyebrowa Tiso a little, and she glanced at me ourlously. Peeling pearls la a little trick which Parisian jewelers have reduced to a science. They will take a pearl which ia apparently so imperfect that it is scarcely marketable, aDd with a stjill bordering on the marvelous will peel rat the outer layer and develop a lovely gem. •'I am a Worcestershire man myself— born near Pershore. 1 dnro say you will find a heap of Smalls living there now if you were to look. I have often thought of taking a look round there, hut the truth is that I was never much of a credit to the family, and I doubt if they would be so very glad to sec 1110. They were all steady, chapel going folk, small farmers, well known and respected over the country side, while I was always a bit of a rover. At last, however, when I was about 18, I gavo them no more trouble, for 1 got into a mess over a i?irl and couljl only get out of It again by taking the queen's shilling and joining the Third Hulls, which was just starting for India. "If I have it," said sho, "I owe it to yon." "Suddenly my eyo caught the glint of a shaded lantern at the other side of tbe moat. It vanished among the mound heaps, and then appeared again coming slowly In our direction. "No, no," I answered, "not to me, but to my friend Sherlock Holmes. With all the will in the world I could never hnvo followed up a clew whloh has taxed even his analytical genius. As it was, we very nearly lost it at the last moment " I am glad to notice on the part of the friends of humanity a strong effort to encourage those who ■wish to quit the use of tobacco. To break oil the use of this weed is one of the most agreeable methods of relaxation. I have tried it a great many times, and I can safely say that it has afforded me the deepest joy. To violently reform and cast away the weed and at the end of a week to find a good oigar unexpectedly in the quiet, unostentatious pocket of an old vest affords the most intense and delirious delight. A pearl la made up of layers of "naore" and animal tissue. The nacre is that beautiful Iridescent substance which gives to mother of pearl and the lining of soashella their chief beauty, and it is especially attractive in the pearl oyster. The layers of nacre and animal tissue alternate, so that the skilled Jeweler oan peel an ugly, discolored pearl and make of It quite another Jewel. The tools employed area sharp knife, extremely delicate fllos, soft leather and pearl powder. The layer of nacre Is hard and difficult to out, but the pear] renovator chips It off bit by bit, feeling his way with the edge of his knife, for the layer is too thin to be seen by the unaided eye. CHAPTER XL Our captive sat in tho cabin opposite to the iron box which ho had done so much and waited so long to gain. He was a sunburned, reckless eyed fellow, with a network of lines and wrinkles all over bis mahogany features, which told of a bard, open air life. There was a sin gular prominence about his bearded chin which marked a man who wf!s not to be easily turned from his purpose. Ilis age may have been 60 or thereabouts, for his black, curly hair was thickly shot with gray. Ilis face In repose was not an unpleasing one, though his heavy brows and aggressive chin gave him, as I had lately seen, a terrible expression when moved to anger. He sat now with his handcuffed hands upon his lap and his head sunk upon his breast, while he looked witli his keen, twinkling eyes at the box which hod lieen the cause of his ill doings. It seemed to mo that there was more 6orrow than anger in his rigid and contained countenance. Once he looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in bis eyes. ''It came about In this way. When the rajah put his jewels into the hands of Achmet, he did it because ho knew that he was a trusty man. They are suspicious folk in the east, however, so what does this rajah do but take a socond oven more trusty servant and set him to play the spy upon the first. This second ij)an was ordered never to let Achmet out of his sight, and he followed him like his shadow. He went after him that night and saw him pass through the doorway. Of course he thought he had taken refuge In the fort and applied for admission there himself next day, but could find no trace of Aohmct. This seemed to him so strango that he spoke about it to a sergeant of guides, who brought it to the ears of the commandant. A thorough search was quickly made, and tho body was discovered. Thus at the very moment that we thought that all was safe we were all four seized and brought to trial on a charge of murder, threo of us because we had held the gate that night and tho fourth becauso he was known to have been In company of the murdered man. Not a word about the jewels came out at tho trial, for tho rajah had been deposed and driven out of India, so no one had any particular Interest in them. The murder, hoover, was clearly made out, and it was certain that we must all havo boon concerned in it. Tho three Sikhs got penal servitude for life, and I was condemned to death, though my sentence was afterward commuted Into the same as the others. "Yes, it is your boy," I cried. "I oan see him plainly." " 'You will challenge him, sahib, as usual,' whispered Abdullah. 'Give him no cause for fear. Send us in with him, and we shall do the rest while you stay here on guard. Have the lantern ready to uncover, that we may be sure that it is Indeed the man.' " 'Here they are!' I exclaimed. "Pray, sit down and tell me all about it, Dr. Watson," said she. "And there is the Aurora," exclaimed Holmes, "and going like the dovill Full speed ahead, engineer. Make after that launch with tho yellow light. By heaven, I shall never forgive mysolf If she proves to havo the heels of us!" I narrated briefly what had occurred since I had seen her last—Holmes' now method of search, tho discovery of tho Aurora, tbe appearance of Athelney Jones, our expedition in the evening and the wild chase down the Thames. She listened with parted lips and shining eyes to my recital of our adventures. When I spoke of the dart which had so narrowly missed us, she turned so white that I feared she was about to faint. She had slipped unseen through the yard entranoo and passed behind two or three small craft, so that she had fairly got her speed up before we saw her. Now she was Hying down tho stream, near in to the shore, going at a tremendous rate. Jones looked gravely at her and shook his head. "I wasn't destined to do much soldier ing, however. I had just got past tho goose step and learned how to handle my musket, when 1 was fool enough to go swiminifig in the Ganges. Luckily for me my company sergeant, John Holder, was In the water at the same time, and he was one of tho linest swimmers in tho service. A crocodile tCiok me, just as I was half way arross, and nipped off my right leg as clean as a surgeon could have done it, just above tho knee. What with the shock and the loss of blood, I fainted and should have been drowned if Holder had not caught hold of me and paddled for the bank. 1 was five months in hospital over it, and when at last I was able to limp out of it with this timlDer toe strapped to my stump I found myself invalided out of the armj and unfitted for any active occupation. "The third night of my watch was dark and dirty, with a small, driving rain. It was dreary work standing in the gateway hour after hour In such weather. I tried again and again to make my Sikhs talk, but without much success. At 5J in the morning the rounds passed and broke for a moment the weariness of the night. Finding that my companions would not bo led into conversation, I took out my pipe and laid down my musket to strike a match. In an Instant the two Sikhs were upon me. One of them snatched my fire lock up and leveled it at my head, while the other held a great knife to my throat and swore between his teeth that he would plungo it into me if 1 moved a step. "The light had flickered onward, now stopping and now advancing, until I could see two dark figures upon the other side of the moat I let them scramble down the sloping bank, splash through the mire and climb half way up to the gate before 1 "lialUminid thptn Scientists tell us that a single drop of the concentrated oil of tobacco on the tongue of an adult dog is fatal. I have no doubt about the truth or cohesive power of this statement, and for that reason I have always been opposed to the general use of tobacco or esoterio research among dogs. Dogs should shun the concentrated oil of tobacco, especially if longevity bo any object to them. Neithor would I advise a man with canine tendencies to use the concentrated oil of tobacco as a sozodont. To those who may feel that way about tobacco I would say shun it by all moans, shun it as you would the deadly upas tree or the still more deadly whiftletree of the tropics. In one of the workshops of Chicago la a man who is specially devoted to pearls. He claims that a perfect pearl is the most beautiful of gems and says that the time is coming when pearls will be fashionable again. Heexhlblts with some pride a large pink pearl and said that it had been artl* flcially started. This brought out the fact that in Chinft and Japan pearl oysters are not only cultivated, but are forced to produce pearls. "It is nothing," she said as I hastened to pour her out some water. "1 am all right again. It was a shock to me to hear that I had placed my friends in such horrible peril." " 'Who goes there?' said I In a subdued "She is very fast," ho said. "I doubt if we shall catch her." " "Fr1C nds,' came the answer. I uncovered rnt lantern anil threw a flood of light upon them. The lirst was an enormCTUs Sikh, with a black beard which swept nearly down to his cummerbund. Outside nf a show I have never seen so tall a man. The other was a little, fat, round fellow, with a great yellow turban and a bundle in his hand, done up in a shawl. He seemed to lDe all In a quiver with fear, for his hands twitched as if he had the ague, and his head kept turning to left and right, with two bright little twinkling ryes, like a mouse when he ventures out from his hole. It gave me the chills to think of killing him, but I thought of the treasure, and my heart set as hard as a flint within mo. When ho saw my whito face, he gavo a little chirrup of joy and came running up toward me. voire. "Wo must catch her!" cried Holmes between bis teeth. "Heap it on, stokers! Make her do all sho can! If we burn the boat, we must have them!" "That is all over," I answered. "It was nothing. I will tell you no more gloomy details. Let us turn to something brighter. There is tho treasure. What could be brighter than that? I got leave to bring it with me, thinking that it would interest you to be tho first to seo it." We were fairly after them now. The furnaces roared, and the powerful engines whizzed and clanked, liko a great metallic heart. Her sharp, steep prow cut through tho still river water and sent two rolling waves to right and to left of us. With every throb of tho engines we sprang and quivered like a living thing. One great yellow lantern In our bows threw a long, flickerino funnel of lleht In front of us Right Ahead a dark blur upon the water showed where the Aurora lay, and the swirl of white foajn behind her spoke of the pace at which sho was going. We flashed past barges, steamers, merchant vessels, in and out, behind this one and round the other. Voices hailed us out of the darkness, but still the Aurora thundered on, and still we followed close upon her track. A pearl is the result of an oyster's efforts to remove a source of irritation. If a grain of sand or some other bard substance finds its way into the shell, the oyster begins coating it with nacre, which gives the Irritating intruder a smooth exterior. The oyster deposits naore over the offending objoct as long as It remains a source of irritation, and the Chinese have taken advantage of this peculiarity of the solitary mollusk. They make little pellets of earth which has been dried and powdered with the juice of camphor seeds, and during May and June plant these in the oyster. The shell is opened with a mother of pearl knife, care being taken not to injure the oyster, and the earth pills are laid under the oyster's beard. The treated mollusks are then placed in canals and pools and left undisturbed until November, when they are dredged up, opened and the naore oovered pellets reinoved with sharp knives. The pellets are usually found fastened tightly to the Inner surface of the shells. "Well, Jonathan Small," said Holmes, lighting a cigar, *'I am sorry that it has come to tills." "My lirst thought was that these fellows were in league with the rebels, and that this was tho lieginnlng of an assault If our door were in tho hands of the sepoys, the place must fall and the women and children be treated as they were in Cawn pur. Maybe you gentlemen think that I am just making out a case for myself, but I give you my word that when I thought of that, though I felt the point of the knifo at my throat, I opened my mouth with the Intention of giving a scream. If it was my last one, which might alarm the main guard. The man who held me seemed to know my thoughts, for even as I braced myself to it he whispered: 'Don't make a noise. Tho fort Is safe enough. There are no rebel dogs on this side of the river.' There was the ring of truth in what he said, and I knew that if I raised my voice I was a dead man. I eoukl read it in tho fellow's brown eyes. I waited, therefore, in silence to see what it was that they wanted from me. "And so am I, nir," ho answered frankly. "I don't believe that 1 can swing over the job. I give my word on the book that I never raised my hand against Mr. Sholto. It was that little hell hound Tonga who shot one of his cursed darts Into him. I had no part in it, sir. I was as grieved as if it had been my blood relation. I welted the little devil with the slack end of the rope for it, but it was done, and I could not undo it again." "It would be of the greatest interest to me," sho said. There was no eagerness in her voice, however. It struck her doubtless that it might seem ungracious upon her part to be indifferent to a prize which had cost so much to win. "I was,'as you can imagine, pretty dowj on my luck at this time, for I was a use less crlpplo, though not yet in my twen tieth year. However, my misfortune soon proved to be a blessing in disguise. A man named Abelwhite, who had come out there as an indigo planter, wanted an overseer to look after his coolies and keep them up to their work. He happened to be a friend of our colonel's, who had taken an interest in me since the accident. To make a long story short, the colonel ree ommended me strongly for the post, ami as the work was mostly to be done on horseback my leg was no great obstacle, for I had enough knee left to keep a good grip on the saddlu. What I had to do was to ride over the plantation to keep an eye on the men as they worked and to reinirt the idlers. The pay was fair, 1 had com fortablo and altogether I was content to spend the remainder of my life in indigo planting Mr. Abelwhite was a kind man, and he would often drop into my little shanty and smoke a pipe with me, for white folk out there feel their hearts warm to each other as they never do hero at home. In what I may say under this head please bear in mind that I do not refer to the cigarette. I am now confining my remarks entirely to the subjoct of tobacco."What a pretty box!" she said, stooping over it "This is Indian work, 1 suppose?""Yes, it is Benares metal work." "It was rathor a queer position that we found ourselves in then. There wo were all four tied by the leg and with precious little chance of ever getting out again, while wo each held a secret which might have put each of us In a palace if we could only have mado use of it. It was enough to make a man eat his heart out to have to stand the kick and the cuff of every petty jack in office, to have rice to eat and water to drink, when that gorgeous fortune was ready for him outsido, just waiting to be picked up. It might have driven me mad, but I was always a pretty stubborn one, so I just held on and bided my time. "And so heavy!" she exclaimed, trying to raise it. "The box alone must be of some value. Where is the key?" " 'Your protection, sahib,' ho panted, yemr protection for the unhappy merchant Achmet. I have traveled across Kajpootanu that I might seek the shelter of the fort at Agra. I havo been robbod and lDcaten and abusod lieeause I have boon the friend of tho company. It is a blessed night this when I am onco more in safety, I and my poor possessions.' The use of the cigarette is, in fact, beneficial in some ways, and no pesthouse should try to get along without it. It is said that it is very popular in the orient, especially in the lazar houses, where otherwise life would become very monotonous. Most all the lepers in the orient, especially social lepers, use the cigarette. "Have a cigar," said Holmes, "and you had best take a pull out of my flask, for you are very wet. How could you expect bo small and weak a man as this black fellow to overpower Mr. Sholto and hold him while you wore climbing tho rope?" "Small threw it into the Thames," I answered. "I must borrow Mrs. Forrester's poker." There was in the front a thick and broad hasp, wought in the image of a sitting Buddha. Under this 1 thrust tho end of the poker and twisted it outward as a lever. The hasp sprang open with a loud snap. With trembling fingers I flung back the lid. We both stood gazing in astonishment The box was empty! "Pile it on, men, pile it on!" cried Holmes, looking down into tho engine room, while tho fierce glow from below boat upon his eager, aquiline face. "Get every pound of steam you can." "You seem to know as much about it as if you were there, sir. The truth is that I hoped to find tho room clear. I knew the habits of the house pretty well, and it was the time when Mr Sholto usually went down to his supper. I shall make no secret of the business. The best defense that I can make is just tho sim pie truth. Now, if it had been the old major, I would have swung fur him with a light heart. 1 would have thought no more of knifing him than of smoking this cigar But it's cursed hard that I should be lagged over this young Sholto, with whom I hod no quarrel whatever." " 'What have you in the bundle?' I asked. "I think we gain a little," said Jones, with his eyes on the Aurora. " 'An Iron Ikix,' he answered, 'which contains one or two little family matters which are of no value to others, but which I should l)o sorry to lose. Yet 1 am not a beggar, and I shall reward you, young sahib, and your governor also, If he will give mo the shelter I ask.' Scientists who have been unable to successfully use tobacco, and who therefore have given their whole lives and the use of their microscopes to the investigation of its horrors, say that cannibals will not eat the flesh of tobaoco using human beings. The Chinese .pfearl farmer then turns Jeweler. He drills a Utle hole into the pearl at the place where it was fastened to the shell and removes the dirt. The cavity is filled with yellow rosin and the opening sealed neatly with a tiny bit of mother of pearl. " 'Listen tome, sahib,' said the taller and fiercer of the pair, the oue whom they called Abdullah Khan. 'You must either be with us now, or you must be silenced forever The thing Is too vreat a one for as to hesitate. Either your heart and soul with us on your oath on the cross of the Christians, or your body this night shall be thrown into the ditch, and we shall pass over to our brothers in the rebel army. There is no middle way. Which is it to be, death or life? We can only give you. three minutes to decide, for the time is passing, and all must bodone before the rounds come again.' "I am sure of it," said I. "Wo shall be up with her in a very few minutes." No wonder that it was heavy. The Iron work was two-thirds of an inoh thick all round. It was massive, well made and ■olid, like a chest constructed to carry things of great price, but not one shred or orumb of metal or jewelry lay within It It wos absolutely and completely empty. At that moment, however, as our evil fate would havo It, a tug with three barges in tow blundered in between us. It was only by putting oift helm hard down that we avoided a collision, and before we could round them and recover our way the Aurora had gained a good 200 yards. She was still, however, well in view, and tho murky, uncertain twilight was settling into a clear starlit night Our boilers were strained to their utmost, and tbe frail shell vibrated and oreaked with the fleroo energy whioh was driving us along. We had shot through the Pool, past the West India docks, down the long Deptford reach and up again after rounding the islo of Dogs. The dull blur in front of us resolved itself now clearly enough Into the dainty Aurora. Jones turned our searchlight upon her, so that we could plainly see the figures upon her fleck. One man sat by the stern, with •omethlng black between bis knoes, over which he stooped. Beside him lay a dark mass which looked like a Newfoundland flog. "At last it seemed to me to have come. I was changed from Agra to Madras, and from there to Blair island, in the Andamana. There are very fow white convicts at this settlement, and as I had behaved well from tho first I soon found myself a sort of privileged person. I was given a hut in Hope Town, which is a small place on tho slopes of Mount Harriet, and I was loft pretty much to myself. It is a dreary, fever stricken place, and all beyond our little clearings was Infested with wild cannibal natives, who were ready enough to blow a poisoned dart at us if they saw a chance. There was digging and ditching and yam planting and a dozen other things to bo done, so wo wore busy enough all day, though in the evening we had a little time to ourselves. Among other things, I learned to dispenso drugs for the surgeon and picked up a smattering of his knowledge. All the time I was on the lookout for a chance of escape, but it is hundreds of miles from any other land, and there is little or no wind in those seas, so It was a terribly difficult job to get away. "I could not trust myself to speak longer with the man. The more I looked at his fat, frightened face the harder did it soem that we should slay him in cold blood. It was best to get i'£Cver. " 'Tako him to the main guard,' said I. Tho two Sikhs closed In upon him on each side, and tho giant walked behind, while they marched in through tho dark gateway. Never was a man so compassed round with death. I remained in the gateway with tho lantern. But a Frenchman has Improved on tbla method. He found that the Chinese killed many oysters by forcing the shell open to deposit the earth pellets. The Ingenious Frenchman bored holes in the shells of pearl oysters with a small drill and then introduced through the opening little globules of glass. He plugged the holes with corks and left the oysters alone to manufacture pearls. In six months tha glass nuoleus was covered with a pearl/ deposit, and the Frenohman reaped a beautiful harvest of pearls. He did not have to boro holes in the pearls to remove the center, and his product brought higher prices than the pearls made by the Chinese.And yet we say to our missionaries, "No man can be a Christian and use tobacco." "The treasure is lost," said Miss Morstan calmly. "Well, I was never In luck's woy. Slid denly, without a noto of warning, the great mutiny broke upon us. One month India lay us still and peaceful, to all appearance, as Surrey or Kent. The next there were 200,000 black devils lot loose, and the country was a perfect helL Of oourso you know nil abo'lt it, gentlemen— a deal more than I do, very like, since reading Is jiot in my lino. I only know what I saw with my own eyes. Our plan tation was at a place called Muttra, near the border of the northwest provinces. Nightafter night the whole sky was alight with the burning bungalows, and day after day wo had small companies of Euro peans passing through our estate, with their wives and children, on their way to Agra, where were the nearest troops. I say, and I say it, too, with all that depth of feeling which has always characterized my earnest utterances, that in this we are committing a great error. ''You are under the charge of Mr. Ath elney Jones of Scotland Yard. He is going to bring you up to my rooms, and I shall usk you for a true account of the matter. You must make a clean breast of it, for if you do I hope that I may bo of use to you I think I can prove that tne poison acts so quicciy tnut tno man was dead before you ever reached the room." As I listened to the words and realized what they meant a great shadow seemed to pass from my soul. I did not know how this Agra treasure had weighed me down until now that it was finally removed. It was selfish, no doubt, disloyal, wrong, but I could realize nothing save that the golden barrier was gone from between us. "Thank God!" I ejaculated from my very heart What have the cannibals ever done for us as a people that we should avoid the use of tobacco in order that we may sit well on their ungodly stomachs? In what way have they sought to ameliorate our condition in life that we should strive even in death to. tickle their palates? " 'How can I decide?' said I. 'You have not told me what you want of mo. Hut I toll you now that If It is anything against the safety of the will havo no truck with it, so you ca.w.rlve home your knifo and welcome.' "I could hear the measured tramp of tholr footsteps sounding through the lonely corridors. Suddenly It ceasod, and I heard voices and a scuffle, with the sound of blows. A moment luter there came, to my horror, a rush of footsteps coming In my direction, with the loud breathing of a running man. I turned my lantern down the long, straight passage, and there was the fat man, running like the wind, with a smear of blood across his face, and close to his heels, bounding llko n tiger, the great black bearded Sikh, with a knife (lashing In his hand. I have never seen a man run so fast as that little merchant. Ho was gaining on the Sikh, and I could see that If he once passed me and got to the open air ho would save himself yet. My heart softened to him, but again tho thought of his treasure turned mo hard and bitter. I cast my firelock between his legs as he raced past, and he rolled twice over like a shot rabbit. Kre he could stagger to his feet tho Sikh was upon him and buried his knife twice in his side. The man never uttered moan nor moved muscle, but lay where he had fallen. I think myself that he may havo broken his neck with the fall. You see, gentlemen, that I am koeping my promise. I am telling you uvery word of tho business just exactly as it happened, whether it Is In my favor or not." "That he was, sir. I never got such a turn in my life as when I saw hiin grinning at tne with his head on his shoulder as I climbed through the window. It fairly shook nie, sir. I'd have half killed Tonga for it if ho had not scrambled off. That was how he came to leave his club and some of his darts, too, as he tells me, which, I dare say, helped to put you on our track, though how you kept on it Is more than I can t-ell I don't feel no mulice against you for It. But it does seem a queer thing," he added, with a bitter smile, '"that I, who have a fair claim to nigh upon half a million of money, should spend the first half of my life building a breakwater in the Andamans and am like to spend the other half diggin drains at Dartmoor. It was an evil day for mo when first I clapped eyes upon the merchant Achmet and had to do with the Agra treasure, which never brought anything but a curse yet upon the man who owned It. To him it brought mur der, to Major Sholto it brought fear and ■ruilt: to me it has meant slavery for life.' At this moment Athelncy Jones thrust his broad face and heavy shoulders Into the tiny cabin. "Quite a family party," he remarked. "I think I shall have a pull at that flask, Holmes. Well, 1 think we may all congratulate each other. Pity we didn't take the other alive, but there was no choice. I say, Holmes, you must confess that yon cut it rather fine. It was all we could do to overhaul her." . She looked at me with a quick, questioning smile. "Why do you say that?" she asked. " 'It Is nothing against tho fort,' said he. 'Wo only ask you to do that which your countrymen come to this land for We ask you to lie rich. If you will be one of us this nidht. we will swear to vou upon the naked knife and by the tnreeioid oath, which no Sikh was ever known to break, that you shall have your fair share of tho loot. A quarter of the treasure shall bo yours. We can say no fairer.' "Because you are within my reach again," I said, taking her hand. She did not withdraw it. " Because I love you, Mary, as truly as ever a man loved a woman. Because this treasure, these riches, sealed my lips. Now that they are gone I can tell you how I love you. That is why I said, Thank Godl' " Look at the history of the cannibal for past ages. Read carefully his record, and you will soe that it has been the his- These artificial pearls have muob of the luster and beauty of the real gems, but are sold at a much lower rate by honest Jewelers. Experts can color pearls black, pink, gray and other colors by the use of chemicals. For instance, a pearl put In nitrate of silver turns black. But pearl raisers know a trick worth two of that. Certain kinds of fresh water mussels bear pin if pearls, and pearl oysters produce different colored pearls, according to the part of the oyster which is irr'tated by the foreign substance. .The artificial pearl pro* ducer knows this and plants his seed accordingly. In Washington is an artificial pink pearl as large as a pigeon's egg, and Its heart is a bit of beeswax. •'Mr. Abelwhlte was an obstinate man. He had it in his head that the affair had been exaggerated, and that it would blow over as suddenly as It ftad sprung up. There he sat on his veranda, drinking whisky pegs and smoking cheroots, while the country was in a blaze about him. Of oourse we stuck by him, I and Dawson, who, with his wife, used to do tho book work and the managing. Well, one fine day the crash came. I had been away on a distant plantation and was riding slowly home In the evening, when my eye fell upon something* all huddled together at the bottom of a steep nullah. I rode down to see what it was, and tho cold struck through my heart when I found it was Dawson's wlfo, all out into ribbons and half eaten by jackals and nativo dogs. A little farther up tho road Dawson himself was lying on his face, quite dead, with an empty revolver in his hand and four sepoys lying across each other in front of him. I reined up my horse wondering which way I should turn, but at that moment I saw thick curling up from Abelwhlte's ml the flnijios be ginning to burst through the roof. I knew then that I could do my employer no good, hut would only throw my n life away If I meddled in the matter hi where I stood I could see hundreds 01 tho black fiends, with their red coats still on their daneinv and howlinir round the burning bouse. Some of them pointed at me, and a couple of bullets sang past my head, so 1 broke away across the paddy fields and found myself lato at night sufe within tho walls of Agra. The boy held the tiller, while against the red glare of the furnaoe I could see old Smith, stripped to the waist and shoveling coals for dear life. They may have bad some doubts at first as to whether we were really pursuing them, but now as we followed every winding and turning which they took there could no longer be any question about it. At Greenwioh we were tbout 300 paces behind them. At Blackwall we could not have been more than 250. I have ooursed many creatures in many Dountries during my oheckered career, but aever did sport give me such a wild thrill m this mad, flying man hunt down the Thames. Steadily we drew in upon them, pard by yard. la the silence of the night we could hear the panting and clanking at their machinery. The man in the stern ■till crouched upon the deck, and his arms were moving as tnougn ne were ousy, while every now and then he would look op and measure with a glance the distance which still separated us. Nearer we tame and nearer. Jones yelled to them to stop. We were not more than four boats' lengths behind them, both boats Hying at a tremendous pace. It was a clear reach of the river, with Barking level upon one sldo and the melancholy Plums tea C1 marshes upon the other. At Dur hall the man In the stern sprang up from the deck and shook his two clinched Qsts at us, cursing the while in a high, Bracked voice. He was a good sized, powerful man, and as he stood poising himtelf, with legs astride, I could see that from the thigh downward there was but a wooden stump upon the right Bide. At the sound of his strident, angry cries there was movement in the huddled bundle upon the deck. It straightened Itself Into a little black man—the smallest 1 bave ever seen—with a great, misshapen head and a shock of tangled, disheveled hair. Holmes had already drawn his revolver, and I whipped out mine at the light of this savage, distorted creature. He was wrapped in some sort of dark ulster or blanket which left only his faoe exposed, but that face was enough to give • man a sleepless night. Never have I ieen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. His small eyes glowed and burned with a somber light, and his thick lips were writhed back from his teeth, which grinned and chattered at us with a half animal fury. "Thosurgeon, Dr. Somerton, was a fast sporting young chap, and the other young officers would meet In his room of an evening and play cards. The surgery, whore I used to make up my drugs, was next to his sitting room, with a small wii»- dow between us. Often, If I felt lonesome, I used to turn out the lamp In the surgery, and then, standing there, I could bear their talk and watch their play. I am fond of a hand at cards myself, and it was almost as good as having one to watch the others. There was Major Sholto, Captain Mors tan and Lieutenant Bromley Brown, who were In command of the native troops, and there was tho surgeon himself and two or three prison officials—orafty old hands—who played a nice, sly, safe game. A very snug little party they used to make. ''Then I say Thank Godl* too," she whispered as I drew her to my side. Whoever had lost a treasure, I knew that night that I had gained one. " 'But what Is tho troasuro, then?' 1 asked. 'I am as ready to be rich as you can be, If you will but show me how it can bo dono.' " 'Yon swear, then,' said he, 'by the bones of your father, by the honor of your mother, by the cross of your faith, to raise no hand and siieak no word against us, either now or afterward?' CHAPTER XIL A very patient man was the inspector In the oab, for it was a weary time before 1 rejoined him. His faoe clouded over when I showed him the empty box. Perfectly round pearls which weigh over 85 grains each are scarce and command large prices, but such pearls are natural. Artificial pearls are usually flat on one side.—Chioago Record. " 'I will swear it,' I answorod, 'provid ed that the fort is not endangered.' "There goes the reward!" said he gloomily. "Where there 1b no money there is no pay. This night's work would have been worth a tenner each to Sam Brown and Die if the treasuro had been there." " 'Then my comrade and I shall swear that you shall havo a quarter of the treas ure, which shall be equally divided among tho four of us.' " 'Thero aro but three,' said I. A Doc Who Was Not to Be Dared. "Mr. Thaddeus Sholto is a rich man," I said. "He will see that you are rewarded, treasure or no." " 'No; Dost Akbar must have his share. We can tell tho tale to you while wo await them. Do yon stand at the gate, Mohammed Singh,and give notice of thoir coming. The thing stands thus, sahib, and I tell It to you because I know that an oath is binding upon a Foringhoe, and that we may trust you. Had you been a lying Hindoo, though you had sworn by all the gods in their falso temples, your blood would have been upon the knife, and your body in the water, but the Sikh knows the Englishman, and tho Englishman knows the Sikh. Hearken, then, to what I have to say: A dog story has come to the writer's ears, which, though not within his personal knowledge, Is vouched for to him in an •ntlrely trustworthy way. A oertaln dog, Which was growing old, was In a barn ons fay with his master. The two were upoa a haymow from whloh a sloping ladder led down to the barn floor. The master walked down the ladder, but the dog went around by another Way. When the dog reached the barn floor, his master began to say to him somewhat tauntingly: "Poor old fellow I Daren't walk down the ladder any more! Daren't walk down the ladderl" Whereupon the dog, with a quiok glance at his master, walked clear up the ladder to the top and then turned around and walked down it again. The proceeding looked very much like a deliberate demonstration on the dog *8 part, to his master, that he was still capable of walking up and down a slanting ladder. Did the dog understand the taunt, or did he merely catch the words "down the ladder" and take the utterance for a command, whloh be dutifully proceeded to oboyf No one will ever know probably, slnon the dog himself oan give noacoount of the matter. —Boston Transcript. The Inspector shook his head despondently, however. "It's a bad job," he repeated, "and so Mr. Athelney Jones will think." [TO BE CONTINUED.] -• He stopped and held out his manacled hands for the whisky and water which Holmes had brewed for him. For myself, I confess that I had now conceived the utmost horror of the man, not only for this cold bloodod business In which he had been concerned, but even more for tho somewhat flippant and careless way in which he narrated it. Whatever punishment was in store for him, I felt that he might expect no sympathy from me. Sherlock Holmes and Jones sat with their bands upon their knees, deeply interested in the story, but with the same disgust written upon tholr faces. He may have obsorved it, for there was a touch of defiance in his voice and mannor as he proceeded.About the Way of It. The two girls were walking along Woodward avenue talking about their beet young mon, of course—at least one of thorn was. "All is woll that ends well," said Holmes. "But I certainly did not know that the Aurora was such a clipper." "Smith says she is one of the fastest launches on the river, and that if he had had another man to help him with the engines wo should never have caught her. He swears he knew nothing of this Nor wood business." . His forecast proved to be correct, for the detective looked blank enough when I got to Baker street and showed him the empty box. They had only just arrived, Holmes, the prisoner and he, for they hud changed their plans bo far as to report themselves at a station upon the way. My companion lounged in his armchair with his usual listless expression, while Small Bat stolidly opposite tohiui with his wooden leg cocked over his sound one. As I exhibited the empty box he leanod back in hischair and laughed aloud. "Charlie was up to see me last night," she said, with a twitter. "That's twice in a week, isn't it?" inquired the other. FINDING A GOOD CIGAR. " 'There is a rajah in the northern provinces who hus much woalth, though his lands are small. Muoh has come to him from his futher, and more still he has set by himself, for ho is of a low nature and hoards his gold rather than spend it. When tho troubles broke out, he would be friends both with the lion and the tiger, with the sepoy and with the oompany's raj. Soon, however, it seemed to him that tho white men's day was come, for through all the land he could hear of nothing but of their death and their overthrow. Yet being a careful man bo made suoh plans that, come what might, half at least of his troasuro should bo left to him. That which was in gold and silver ho kept by him In the vaults of his palace, but the most precious stones and the oholcost pearls that he had he put in an iron box and sent It by a trusty servant who, under tho guise of a merchant, should take It to the fort at Agra, there to lie until the land is at peace. Thus, If the robols won, ho would havo his money, but If tho com puuy conquered his jewels would be saved to him. Having thus divided his hoard he threw himself into the cause of the sepoys, since they were throng upon his borders By his doing this, mark you, sahib, his property becomes tho due of those who have been true to their salt. "Yes,"and she blushed and giggled. "I suppose he'll come throe times in the next week?" tory of a selfish race. Cast your eye back over your shoulder for a century, and what do you fiud to be the condition of the oannibalist? "Neither he did," cried our prisoner, 'not a word. I chose his launoh because I heard that she was a flier. We told him nothing, but we paid him well, and he was to get something handsome if we reached our vessel—the Ksmeralda—at Gravesend, outward bound for the Bra ills." "I suppose so." "This is your doing, Small," said Athelney Jones angrily. *As it proved, howevor, there was no great safety there either. The whole country was up like a swarm of bees. Wherever the English could collect in little hands they held just the ground that their guns commanded. Everywhere elso they were helpless fugitives. It was a fight of the millions against the hundreds, and the cruelest part of It was that these men that we fought against, foot, horso and gunners, wero our own picked troops, whom wo had taught and trained, handling our own weapons and blowing our own buule calls. At Agra there were the Third Ijengal Fusiliers, some Sikhs, two troops of horso and a battery of artillery. A volunteer corps of clerks and merchants had been formed, and this I joined, wooden leg and all. We went out to meet tho rebels at Shahgungo early in July, and we beat them back for a time, but our powder gave out, and we had to fall back upon tho city. Nothing but tho worse news came to us from every side, which is not to bo wondered at, for If you look at the map you will see that we were right in the heart of it. Lucknow Is rather better than 100 miles to the east and Cawnpur about as far to tho south. From every point on the compass thero was nothing but torture and murder and outrage. "And four times the next?" "That's what brother says." "And five times the next?" "That's what sister says." "And six times the next?" "That's what aunty says." "And seven times the next?" "That's what papa says." "And then what?" A new missionary has landed a few weeks previous perhaps. A little group has gathered about on the beach beneath a tropical tree. Representative cannibals from adjoining islands are present. The odor of sanctity pervades thfl air. "Yog, I have put It away where you •hall never lay hand upon It," he cried exultantly. "It is my treasure, and If I can't have the loot I'll take darned good care that no one else does. I tell you that no living man has any right to It unless it is tlirue men who are in the Andaman convict barracks and myself. I know now that I cannot have tho use of It, and I know that they cannot. I have acted all through for them as much as for myself. It's been the sign of four with us always. Well I know that they would have had me 4o just what I have dono and throw the treasure into the Thames rutlier than let It go to kith or kin of Sholto or of Mor-6tan. It was not to make them rich that we did for Achmet. Y ou'll llnd tho treasure where the key Is end whore little Tonga is. When I saw that your launch must catch us, I put the lCxDt in a safe place. There aro no rupees for you this journey." "It was all very bad no doubt," snld he. "I should like to know'how many fellows In my shoes would have refused a share of this loot when they know that they would havo their throats cut for tlielr pains. Besides It was my life or his when once he was in tho fort. If he had got out, tho whole business would have come to light, and I should have been court martlaled and shot as likely as not, for peoplo wore not very lenient at a time like that." "Well, if he has done no wrong, we shall see that no wrong oomes to him. If we are pretty quick in catching our men, we are not so uick in condemning them." The chief sits beneath a new umbrella looking at the pictures in a large Dore Bible. A good plug hat is hanging on a tree near by. An empty bottle marked "Pectoral" is lying at hisfeet. Tuming to Chauncey M. Too Loo, who sits on his right, the ohief asks if he will have some of the light or some of the dark. It was amusing to notice how the consequential Jones was already beginning to give himself airs on the strength of the 3apturo. From the slight smilo which played over Sherlock Holmes' faC« I could we thut the speech had not l»een lost upon him. "Then we'll get married; that's what everybody says." Where Ignorance Is Really Bliss. "And then what?" A correspondent from China writes: "I asked an innkeeper In the town of Kotan- Tish if he knew what country it was that bad dared to go to war against China, and be dreamily rejflied that it was a foreign country somewhere near England. As • matter of faot, there are thousands of Interior towns and villages whose people may never hear of the existing troubles until some years fience, when some Itinerant missionary may 6peak of the war in conversation." "Goon with your story," said Holmes ihortly. "Then I won't see liim nny more of an evening; that's what mamma says." —Detroit Free Press. "We will be at Vauxhall bridge pres ently," said Jones, "and shall land you, Dr. Watson, with the treasure box. 1 need hardly tell you that I am taking a very grave responsibility upon myself in doing this. It is most irregular, but of course an agreement is an agreement. I must, however, as a matter of duty, send an inspector with you, since you have so valuable a charge. You will drive, no doubt?" "Well, wo carried him In, Abdullah, Akbar alnd I. A lino weight ho was, too, for all that he was so short. Mohammed singh was left to guard tho door. We took him to a place which the Sikhs had already prepared. It was some distance Dfif, where a winding passage loads to a great empty hall, the brick walls of which wore all crumbling to pieoes. Tho oartb Qoor had sunk In at ono place, making a uatural grave, so we left Aohmet tho merchant there, having first covered him over with loose bricks. This dono, wo all wont back to the treasure. *r kr'iateaySn E.ngiana tno paper contains the following personal: Guying "Old Frob." "Old Prob" is made fun of even in London, though there, as here, he gives valuable service. An English paper tells this funny story of the London "Prob:" "Wanted.—A young mon to go as missionary to fill vacancy in one of the cannibal isles. He must fully understand the appetites and tastes of his parish, must be able to reach their inner natures at once, must seek to agree with them and must not use tobacoo. One of theso islands has been depopulated by the use of a missionary who used tobacco. Communicate by letter or in person at once, as the cannibals have been out of a missionary for tlireo weeks and subsisting on huckleberries and old people." "Fire If he raises his hand," said Holmes quietly. We wore within a boat's length by this time and almost within touch of our quarry. I can see tho two of them now as they stood, the white man, with his legs far apart, shrieking out curses, and the unhallowed dwarf, with his hideous faco and his strong yellow teeth gnashing at us In the light of our lantern. An old man entered the meteorological service office and said abruptly, "This 'ere's where yon give out weathor predictions, ain't it?" "You are deceiving us, Hmall," said Athelney Jones sternly. "If you liad wished to throw tho treasure into the Thames, it would have been easier for you to havo thrown box and ail." Indianapolis, We Salute Thee. Mayor Denny of Indianapolis was asked by the mayor of Wilmington, Del., to participate In a convention of mayors, but replied that he did not care to atteod, as Indianapolis had tho best city government on earth; that there was nothing to be learned by a convention, and that other cities hart the privilege of investigating tho city's charter and profiting accordingly —Philadelphia Press. "Yes, I shall drive." The olerk nodded, "It is a pity there Is no key, that we may make an inventory first You will have to break it open Where is the key, iny man?" " 'This pretended merchant, who travels under the name of Achmot, is now in the city of Agra and desires to gain his way Into the fort. Ho has with him as travel ing companion my foster brother Dost Ak bar, who knows his secret. Dost Akbar has promised this night to lead him to a sido postern of tho fort and has chosen this ono for his purpose. Here ho will come presently, and hero ho will find Mo hammed Singh and myself awaiting him. Tho placo is lonely, and none shall know of his coming. The world shall know of the merchant Achmot no more, but the great treasure of the rajah will be divided among us. What say you to it, sahib?' "Well," continued the old man, "I thought as how I would come up and give you some tips. " It was well that wo had so clear a view of him. Kven as we looked ho plucked out from under his covering a short, round piece of wood, like a school ruler, and clapped it to his lips. Our pistols rang out together. He whirled round, threw up his arms, and with a kind of chokhig cough fell sideways into the stream 1 caught one glimpse of his venomous, men sclng eyes amid the white swirl of the waters. At the same moment the wooden legged man threw himself upon the rud der and put it hard down, so that his boat made straight in for the southern tank, while we shot past her stern, only clearing her by a few feet. Wo were round after her In an instant, but she was already nearly at the bank. It was a wild and desolate plaoe where the moon glimmered upon a wide expanse of marsh land, with pools of stagnant water and beds of decaying vegetation. The launch, with a dull thud, ran up upon the mud bank, with ber bow in the air and her stern flush with the water. The fugitive sprang out, "Easier for me to throw and easier for you to recover," ho answered, with a shrewd, sidelong look. "The man that was clever enough to hunt ino down is clever enough to pick an iron box from the bottom of a river. Now that they are scattered over flvo miles or so It may be a harder job. It went to my heart to do it, though. I was half mad when you camo up with us. However, there's no good grieving over It. I've hnd ups in my life, and I've had downs, but I've learned not to cry over spilled milk." "It lay where he had dropped It when he was first attacks. The box was the same which now lies open upon your table. A key was hung by a silken cord to that carved handle upon the* top. We opened it, and tho light of tho lantern gleamed upon a collection of gems such as I have read of and thought about when I was a little lad at I'ershore. It was blinding to look upon them. When we had feasted our eyes, we took them all out and tnado a list of them. There were 143 diamonds of the llrst water, Including ono which has boon called, I believo, "The Great Mogul' and is said to bo tho second largest 9tone in exlstenoe. Then there wero 97 very fine emeralds and 170 rubles, some of which, howevor, wero small. Thero were 40 carbuncles, 210 sapphires, 61 agates and a great quantity of beryls, onyxes, catseyes, turquoises ind other stones, tho very names of which I did not know at tho tlmo, though I have become more familiar with them since. Beside* this there were nearly 800 very fine pearls, 18 of which were set In a gold coronet. By "Tho city of Agra Is a groat place, swarming with fanatics and flerco devil worshipers of all sorts. Our handful of men wero lost among the narrow, winding streets. Our loader moved across tho river therefore and took up his position in tho old fort of Agra. I don't know if any of you gentlemen have evor road or heard anything of that old fort. It Is a very queer placo—the queerest that ever I was in, and I have been In some rum corners too. First of all, it is enormous in size. I should think that tho lnclosure must he acres and acn-s. Thero Is a modern part, which took all our garrison, women, children, stores and everything elso, with plenty of room over. Hut the modern part Is nothing liko the size of the old quarter, where nobody goes and which is given jver to the scorpions and tho centipeds. It Is all full of great deserted halls and winding passages and long corridors, twisting In and out, so that it is easy enough for folks to get lost in It. For this reason It was seldom that any one went Into It, "At the bottom of the river," said Small shortly "Yes?" said the clerk politely. 'Yes. I've figured on it a little, an I find that ye ain't always right" Is it strange that under these circumstances those who have recently gone there to aid in tho spread of the gospel have sought to accustom themselves to a peouliarly pungent and searching brand of tobacco? "Huml There was no uso your giving this unnecessary trouble. We have had work enough already through you How ever, doctor, 1 need not warn you to lie careful. Hring the box back with you to the Baker stn*t rooms. You will find us thorn nn niir »-»v tei th« atiillnn " An nignc. Miss Manchester—Mamma, I was awfully afraid papa would forbid me to marry Sam when he found out that he played poker. Try Again. Mrs. Plankington—I sewed the buttons on your trousers, so you can go away easy in your mind. They landed me at Vauxhall, with my heavy iron box and with a bluff, genial Inspector as my companion. A quarter of an hour's drive brought us to Mrs. Cecil Forrester's. The servant seemed surprised at so late a visitor.' Mrs. Cecil Forrester was out for the evening, she explained, and likely to be out very lato. Miss Morstan, however, was in the drawing room, so to the drawing loom I went, box in hand, leaving the obliging Inspector in the cab. Mrs. Manchester—Well, yonr papa mado a good many inquiries about Sam and found that he nearly always wins. —Pittsburg Chronicle-Telegraph. I wot not. Plankington—You had better sew them on over again, my dear. I am going to bo away a day longer than I expected.—Clothier and Furnisher. "This is a very serious matter, Small," said tho detective. "If you had helped justice, instead of thwarting It In this way, you would have had a better chance at your trial." To me the statement that tobacco tainted human flesh is offensive to the cannibal does not come like a deluge of Sad. "In Worcestershire the llfo of a man Roems a groat and a sacred thing, but It is very different when there is fire and blood all round you and you have been used to meeting death at every turn. Whether Achinet tho merchant lived or died was a thing as light as air to mo, but at the talk about the treasure my heart turned to It, and 1 thought of what I might do in the old country with it, and how my folk would staro when they saw their ne'er do weel eomiuir back with bin jooketa full Their Escape. Perhaps I am not so fond of my fellow man a# the cannibal brother is. I know that I am selfish in this regard, and I use tobacco some, so the cannibal brother, if he should wish to polish off my wishbone while I am engaged in spreading the gospel, must tako me as ha finds me. Extreme Treatment. "Justice!" snarled tho ox-conviot. "A pretty justice! Whose loot is this if It Is notours? Where is the justice that I should givo it up to those who have never earned it? Look how I have earned It! Twenty long years in that fever ridden swamp, all day at work under tho mangrove trees, all plght chained up in the filthy convict huts, As a Knox county man and his wife were passing tho schoolhouse, a flying snowball hit tho wife of ljis bosom. Ho was enraged and justly, and turning to the schoolboys, shaking his fist in anger, he cried, "It's lucky for you, yon young rasoals, that you didn't hit me." Mrs. McSwat—If your head aches, dear, you'd better soak your feet Mr. McSwat—What good do you suppose that will do, Lobelia? When there's anything the matter with my feet I don't go and soak my head, do I?-* Chicago Tribune.  She was seated by the open window, dressed In Rome sort of white dlaphanoui