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'i»iiip^^it<'i'Tif'innTi7-,iji^i[i;tr>tii*ttiiiii^jIi The Price of Liberty OR, A MIDNIGHT CALU CHAPTKU XI. "I'Scforc wc go nny farther," BoU 8ni<l, ii/lcr a lonjf puuse, "I should like to KCQicli llu» houM' /rom top to botto);;. I've got a pretty sound theory in uiy hciid, but 1 don't like to li'iivo an;.thing to chunve. We Bhnll bo pretty certain to find some- thing." "1 am entirely in your hands," llavid said, wearily. "So far as I iim capable of IhinkinR out anything it Kocnis to lue that we have to find the woman." "Cherchcz la fenime Is a fairly Bniiivd premise in a case like this, but whrn we have found tlie woman we shuU have to find the man who is at the botti.m of the plot. I mean the man who is not only thwarting the woman, but giving jou a prelty Ke\erc lesson as to the advi.sabifity of minding your own i business for the future." j "Then you don't think I am being | made the victim of a vile conspir- acy?" "Xot by the woman, certainly. You are the victim of some fiendish coun- terjvlot by the man, who has not ([uito mastered what the woman is driving at. lly placini; you in dire peril he comiiols the woman to speak to save you, and thus to expose her hand." "Then in that case I propose to sit light," David said grimly. "I ami bound to b« prosecuted for robbery and attempted murder in due courffe. ] II my man dies I am iu a tight place." I "And if ho recovois your antagon- ist may be in a tighter," Hell chuck- led. "And if the man gels well and that brain injury proves iieriiianont â€" 1 mean if the man is rendered imbe- cile â€" why, wc are onl.y at the veiy tlueshold of the myt'lcry. It seems | a callous thing to Say, but this is the prettiest problem I have had under u\y hands." "M.nl<c the most of it," Ilavid," said, sardonically. "1 daresay I Bliould see the matter in u more ra- tional light if I were not so directly concerned. Hut, if wo are going to make a searcli of the premises, the Booner we start the better." Upstairs there was nothing beyond certain lumber. There were dust and dirt everywhere, save in the hall and front dining-room, which, as Ikll sa|)ientl,\- jiointed out, had otj- viously been cleared to make ready for Steel's Ktrojnge rccei)tion. Down in the housekceiK'r's room was a large coUoctian of du.sty furniture, and n number of picture's nr.d en- gravings piled with their faces to the wall. Bell began idly to turn the Iftttw- over. "I nm ft maniac on the subject of old prints," he explained. "I never FCC a pile without a wild longing to exaniino thcui. And, by Jove, there nrc some good things here. Unless 1 am greatly mistakenr-hcre, Stei.'l, pull up the iilinds ! Good heavens, is it possible?" "Found n Sisline Madonna or a Btray Angclo?" David asked. "Or a phocl? What is the matter? Is it another jiliaso of the mystery?" "The Hembrandt," Bell gasjicd. /'Look at it, man!" Steel bent eagerly over the engrav- ing. An old i>rint, an old piece of china, an anticiue jewel, always ex- ercised a churni over the novelist. He had an unerring tye for that kind of thing. "Kx(|uisite," he cried. "A Rem- brandt, of course, but I don't recol- lect the picture." "The picture was destroyed by ac- -cident after Rembrandt had engraved it with his own hand." Bell pro- rooded to explain. He was <|Uite co- herent now, but he breathed fast and' loud. "I shall proceed to give you the history of th<' jiicture i>resonlly, and more ospccially a history of the ongraviiig." "Has it njiy particular name 1" Havid asked, "Vob, we found that out. It was called 'The Crimson Blind! ' " "No getting away from the criin- â- on blind," David murmured. "Still, I can quite imagine that to have tieen the name of the picture. That shut- ter or blind might have had a sott- ing Bun behind it. which would ac- count for lh<) tender warmth of the Iritehcn foreground and the deep gloom where the lovers are seated. Hy Jove, Hell, it is a innp^nlliront piece of work. I've a special fancy lor Hembrondt engravings, liut I never BOW one equal to that." "And you never will," Bell replied, "•ovo in one instance. The picture tf8i*lf WAS painted in Reiubrandt's maitfX bjdging in the Kci/rrskroon Tavern after tlio forced sale of his paintings ut that hotel in the year JfloS. At liiat time Hembrandt wus pniiJully poor, as his recorded tav- ern bills show. The same bills also ilisdofc tlic fact that 'The ('rimwin Blin-r waB painted for a private cus- toinnr with a coixlifion that the Buli- Je<t »*Oiil<l lie enpraviid aS well. Aft«r one impression had b<'en l«kcn off the plate the picture was df»troyc<l by a AaraUfiiL servant. Jn a atidrti'n tit of rage. Itepibrnndt dcStro.re<l the plate, having^ tll"<^' soy, only taken one ItDpyoffiion from it." "Then there is only .one of these en- gravings in the world? What a find!" "Tliere is one other, as I know to my cost," Boll said, signilicantly. "l-ntil n few days ago I never enter- tained the idea that there were two. Kteol. you arc tho victim of a vile conspiracy, but It is nothing to the conspiracy which has darkened my life. "Sooner or later I alwa.vs felt that 1 should get to the bottom of tho niystci'y, and now I am certain of it. And, strange as it may seem, I vorily believe that you and I are hunting the same man down â€" that tho one man is at the bottom of the two evils. But you shall hear my story i)ro«!ntly. What we have to find out now is who was the lust tenant and who is the present owner of the House. Ah, this has been a great day for me!" Boll sjiokc exultingly, a great light shining In his eyes. And.Davicl .sa- piontly asked no further questions for tho present. All that ho wanted to know would come in time. The next move, of course, was to visit tho agent of tho property. A smart, dapper little man, look- ing absurdly out of place in an ex- ceedingly spacious oflicc, was quite ready to give every information. It was certainly tri»« 218. Brunswick Square, was to be let at an exceed- ingly low rent on a repairing lease, and that the owner had a lot more jiropcrty in lirigton to be let on tho same tornis. The lady was exceed- ingly rich ait:I eccentric; indeed, by asking such low rents she was doing her best Ksi seriously diminish her income. "Do you know tho lady at all?" Bel! as'ke.l "Not personally," the agent oid- mitted. "So far as 1 can tell, tho proiierly came into the present own- er's hands some years ago by inher- itance. Tho property also included a very old hou.se, called Longdcan Grunge, not far from Uoltingdoan, where tho lady, Mrs. Henson, lives at present. Nobody ever goes there, nobody ever visits there, and to keep the place free from prying visitor^ a large number of savage dogs are allowed to prowl about tlio grounds. Bell listened eagerly. Watching him, David could sec that his eyes glinted like points of steel. There was something subtle behind all this coninion-|)hico that touched the imug- iiuition of tho novelist. "Has 218 been let during tho occu- pation of the present owner?" Bell a.slccd. "No," the agent replied. "But the present owner â€" as heir to the pro- jierty â€" I am told, was inlcrcstc<l in both 218 and 21S), which used to be a kind of high-class convalescent home for i)oor clergy and the widows and daughters of poor clerg.y in want of a holi.lny. The one house was for the men and the other for tho women, and both 'xvro. furnished ex- actly alike; in fact, Mr. (iatcs's land- lord, tho tenant of 219, bought tl'.o furniture exactly as it stands when tho scheme fell through." Steel lookod up swiftl.v. A sud- den inspiration came to him. "Ill that case what became of the precisely similar furniture in 218?" ho n.sked. "That I cannot tell you," tho agent .s'aid. "That house was let as it stood to some sham philanthropist whoso name I forgot. 'ITie whole thing wus a Ii'aud, and tho swindler only avoided arrest by leaving the country. I'rohubly tho goods were stored somowhe'o or Jicrhaps sei/ed by some creditor. B<it I reall.v can't say definitely without looking tho mutter up. There arc some "books and prints now left in the house out of tho wreck. Wo sliall probably put them in a sale, only they have been ovierlooked. Tho whole lot will not fetch £5." "Would you take £5 for them?" Bell nsked. "tilo(ll.v. Even if only to get them carted away." Bell gravely produced a £5 note, for which he asked and received a re- ceipt. Then ho and Steel repaired to 218 onco more, whence they riK!over- (id the Rembrandt, and subsequently returned the keys of tho houwe to the agent. There was an air of repre.ss- ed excitement about Ikdl which was not without its eftect upon his com- imnion. The cold, hard lines seemed to have faded from Bell's face; there wn.« a brightnoSB about him that add- ed to his already fine physical beau- ty. "And now, perhaps, you will be good enough lo explain," David sug- gested. "My dear fellow, it would lake too long," Bell cried. Presently I am Ifoing to tell you the i«ory of the tragedy of iriy life, A'ou have doiibt- loKR wondered, as others have won- dered, why I drop|)cd out of the road when the K<>al wus in sight. W'cli, your curiosity, is about to be grati- Ked. I am going to help .you, and in rctuvn .vou are going to help me to romo back into tho race again. I'y way of a start, you are going to uskc me to come and dine with you to- MCht. ' "At half-past seven, then. Noth- ing will give me greater pleasure." "8j[>okon like a man and a brother. Wo will dine, and I will tell you my story after the house is quiet. And If I ask you to accompany me on a midnight adventure you will not Bay mo nay?" "Not in my present mood, at any rate. Advoiituro, with a dash of danger in it, suits my [iroscnt mood exnctl.v. And if there IM to be phy- sical violence, so much tho better. My diplomacy may be weak, but phy- sical l.v I am not to bo despised "in a row." "Well, we'll try and avoid the lat- ter if possible." Bell laughed. "Still, for your Batisfaction, I may suy there is just the chance of a scrim- mage. And now I really must go, bocaufio I have any amount of work to do for dates. Till half-past seven au rovoir." Steel lighted a cigarette and stroll- ed thoughtfully homewards along tlio front. The more ho thought over tho mystery the more tangled it be- came. And yet ho felt perfectly sure that he was on the right track. The discovery that both those houses had liccn furnialicd exactly alike at one time Was a most important one. And DavitI no longer believed that he hud been to No. 219 on the night of the great adventure. Then he founel him- self thinking about Kuth Gates's gen- tle face and lovely eyes, until ho looked up and saw the girl before him. "Youâ€" you wanted to speak to me?" l',e staimnei-ed. "I followed you on purpose," the girl said, quietly. "I can't tell you everything, because it is not my sec- ret to tell. But believe me every- thing will come out right in the end. Don't tliink badly of me, don't be hard and bitter because " "Because 1 am nothing of the kind," David smiled. It is imjios- siblo to look into a face like yours and doubt you. And I am certain that you are acting loyally and faithfully for the sake of others who "Yes, yes, and for your sake, too. Bray try uiid remember that. For your Siuke, loo. Oh, if you only know how I udmiie and esteem you! If only " Sho iiausod with a deep blush crim- .stoning her face. David caught her hand, and it seemed to him for a moment that sho returned the pres- sure. "I^ct mo help you," ho whispered. "Only be my iriond and I will for- give everything." She gave huii a long look of her deep, velvety eyes, sho flashed him a litllo smile, and was gone. CHADTEll XII. Hatherly lloU turned up at Down- end Terrncu gay and debonair as if ho hud not a single trouble in tho world. His evening dress was of the sniarlest and ho had a rose in his buttonhole. From hia cab ho took a Hiiunrc brown paper parcel, which he depo.'-.ited in David's study with piuticulnr care. lie made no allusion whatever to tho sterner busino.vs of the evening: he wa.s gay and lighthearted us a child, .so that Mrs, Steel sat up quite an hour later than her usual time, absolutely unconscious of the fact that sho had broken a rigid rule of ten jears' standing. "Now let us go 'into the study and smoke a cignr," David suggested. Bell dragged a long deck-chair into tho con.servatory and lighted a Mus- Ba. Steel's olTeJ' of whisky and soda was declined. "An ideal place for a novelist who hns a keen eve for the beautiful," ho said. "'JTieie you hu\e .voiir books | and pictures, your wtuincd glass nnd I china, and when you turn your eyes' this way they are gladdened by green foliage and lovely Uowers. It's hard to connect such a room with a trag- edy." "And yet tho trnged.y was worked out close by where you are sitting. But never miivj that. Come to your story, and let mo see if we can fit it into mine." Bell took a fresh pull at his cigar and plunged into his subject. ".\bout seven years ago professional business took nio to .\nisterdam; a brilliant .vovuik medical genius who was drinking himself iireniaturely in- to his grave had some wonderful dis- coveries relating to brain nnd jisy- chology generally, so I decided to Icnrn what I could liofore it was too late. I found tho young doctor to bo an excoodingly gixxl fellow, onl.v too ready to epouk of his discoveries, and there I stayoti for a year. My word! what do I not owo to that mi.'^guided mind ! And what a ♦evolution he would have made in medicine and surgery had ho onl.v lived! "Well, in Amotou-dam I got to know nveryhody who was worth knnwinK â€" nipcjicnl. artislie, social. And amongst the rest was an ling- lishmnn railed Lord l.ittimor, his son, and an exceedingly clever nc(v hew of hts, Henson b.v name, who was tho son's tutor. l.ittimer wus a savaiit, a scholor, and a fine con- noisseur us legnrdeil pictures. He \vai> popularly suppnse<i to have tho finest collection of old prints in Kng- lund. Ho would trave' nnywhoro in search of something freSh, and the rumor of some apocryphal treasure in Amsterdam had brought him Ihithor. He ami I were friends from tho first, as, indeed, were tho son and myself. Henson the npjihew was more quiet and reserved, but fond, as I discover- ed, ot a little serret dissripatinn. "In those days I was not averse to little life myself. I was passion- ately for<l of all KAuns of cards, an.1 1 am afraid that I Was in the habit of gambling to a gr«ater extent than I could afford. I don't gamble now and I don't play cards; in fact, I shall never touch a card again as long as I live. Why, you shall hear all In good time. "We wore all getting on very well together at that time when Lord Llttimcr's sister paid us a visit. She came accompanied by a daughter called Enid. I will not describe her, because no words of mine could do her justice. In a word, I fell over head and ears in love with Enid, and in that slate I have remained over since. Of all tho crosses that I have to bear tho knowledge that I love Knid and that she loves â€" and des- pises â€" me, is by far the heaviest. But I don't want to dwell upon that. "We were a very happy party there until 'Van Sncck and Von Gulden turned up. Enid and I had come to on understanding, and, though we kept our secret, we were not going to do so for long. From the very first Von Gulden admired her. He was a handsome swaggering soldier, a good-looking, wealthy man, who had a great reputation for gallantry, and eomething worse. Perhaps the fol- low guessed how thing.v lay, for he never troubled to conceal his dislike and contempt for mo. It is no fault of mine that I am extremely seneitive as to my personal appear- ance, but Von Gulden played upon it until he drove me nearly mad. He challenged me, sneeringly to certain sports wherin he knew I could not shine; ho challeuged me to ecarte, where I fancied I was his master. "Was I ? Well, we had been dining that night, and perhaps too freely, for I entirely lost my head before I began the game in earnest. Tliose covert sneers had nearly driven me m'ad. To make a long story short, when I got up from the table that night I owed my opponent nearly £80O, without the faintest prospect of paying a tenth" part of it. I was only a poor, ambitious young man then, with my way to make in the world. Aad if that were not forth- coming in the next few days I was utterly ruined. (To be Continued.! , k-^- MODEL WORKING VILLAGE. Methods Used in Financing and Managing It. A village of workers on the Bir- minghnm acquaduct is attracting niuch attention in England. It hns its hospital for accidents, its mis- sion and s;'hoc!room, its pu,blic hall and io;-reation room, balh-house and fire-brigade depot. It has also its canteen, which jiays out of its pro- fits the whole of the expenses of the other institutions. Here lies tho so- lution of a problem that may siiow tho way to I ho whole country. The canteen is a municipal public- house based upon the modification of the Gothenburg system. Tho man- ager is jiaid a li.xcd salary, uii<I has consequentty no interest in pushing tho sale of intoxicating liquors. Tho beverages dispensed are thoroughly ' wliolesonio beer an'd aerated waters. Only registered inhabilautg are al- lowed to use the building, and none of these mii.st bo under eighteeir years of njie. Women must r.ot en- ter the bar, and ever.v night at nine o'clock tho house is closed. Fi om the Jiiofit arising out of tho canteen the cost of tho day-school beyond the amounts provided by the Goveinnient grants nnd tho local rates is del'rayed, as well a.s that of the mission-room and recreation- room, tho gymciasiujn, free library, recreation grovnids and bathroom. Thus the results of this experiment are that, while the sum total of al- colVolic diink conHumption has un- doubtedly been reduced, the little coniTOiinily has been able lo derive advniitr.ges that could not oiliorwiso have been obtainable. The dwelling-houses thomselw?s and tho manner in which they ere con- ducted are also very much out of tho common. Built of wooil. diffor- "nt tyTies of huts have been j^rovided for the various classes of work- Peopli-, and regulations .ire wnforcwl to prevent overcrow\ling and over- charging on the part of the 'hut- keeper.s. As a rule, there are 1,700 men re- siding in tho village or adjacent to it. There have been in various .stages of tho works as many as 2,- ROO. MHS. CARNEGIE'S CHARITY. Wife of Steel Millionaire a Most Retiring Woman, of Quiet Habits. 1'ho wife of the fomoii.s million.iire di:^tribivtor cf libTOries is a lady who ull her lifo has been devoted to good V, oi k. Iloi'ore her marriage, when Mi.>;s I.oui.so Whitfield', member of a well- known New York family, she Sfniit mnpy hours of every day of her life helping the i)oor and ntnxly of the city in which she live<f. Air. Carnegie was already a mid- dle-aged man when he had the good fortune to win Miss Whitfield as his wife. After some .years of marriage their happiness was crownod by a little dauphier. Margaret, who is brought up in na simple nnd healthy a munner as if sho w<ire the dnnsfhter of a Well-to-do ScoltiJ-h farmer i«- Iher than that of the cosimnpolitan owner of millions. flifted with an exceptionally re- tiring personality. Mrs. CamcKie does not easily allow hcrRi>lf to be opfiroacherl by the interviewer, and sho is aUsoIutelv ovotbc to e\-»r talking about her own gonrt dc«ls, though these alone miietit have niade h«r known, oven if she had rot been tho wife of one of the weaHhiesl nuin In the world. SHOT TIGER AND L£>OPARD,. An Experience With Big Game ML an India Jungle. Corporal Iv. D. Curti.s.s of th"af Royal Horse Artillery, Umballa,' gives nn mtcresting account of a re;-ent Shikor expedition by hirasolf and a conirado in the IXin. where- they obtained a tiger 10 foot Hi inthes limg:, "properly rueasurotf,"' before aliiiming, and the larger of ther two leopards 7 feet 11 inches. We got ".'.tripes," he writes, at Ruiwala, in the Dun, and the head forest guard there said that he had never hoard of a longer one, but. the bro- ther of liajah Rumber Sinsh had shot one 10 feet lOf inches. » •» • « .Several oflicera who have inspected the .skin say tbey have never seen its equal. It has not a .scratch, and the claws and whiskers ;«re ull in- tact. Wjhile wailing at Patri, near Lh'ak- sar, four of us went to .Shah Mah- omed's tomb, some twelve miles off, for a few days' bivouac. The sec- ond morning, about daybreak. w« "thought we heard a frtag calling close to where we were sleeping. So S and I nipped out after him. I had kicked olT my boots after a fen momoiils, as I was making too much noise. On turning around tlie end oi a big lump of currant bush I met a kopard on the some path about thirty I'eet off. Sâ€" was on the far side of another patch of atutl, anid- the leopard was watching him, for he never li«ird or saw me till I shot. It Was tlie chance of a lifetime, and I let him have it in the shoulder. 5 rushed over to see what 1 had tired at, but I stopped him with "irdnd that leopard." Tho latten- was stone dead, however. Later I went up to Dchra Dun ana got a ap'orial permit to kill camivora there. We got into Raiwalla on June 19. On the 24th S was up a tree on the riverbed, near the edge of the foro-st, about three-fourths of a mile from the station. He saw a big pair of feet, legs and then the head push out of the bush. Ho bang- ed at it and knocked "Stripes" down. Tlio tiger picked himsejf up nnd siprang, but missed, and 'went off into tlie jungle. 8 got down and found plenty ot blood and a piece of bone as big as the end ol one's tliunib. W'o did not follow th» tiger, ns it was near G p.m., but started after him the next morning early, fiivcling plenty of blood and traces where he had rested during the night. Fir^ally wc lost the blood and had' to crawl most of tho time, so two of us covered .S and the forest guard who were doing ihe tracking. I left S marking tho lost blood' nnd throw a circle round to tha rijrht toward where I coii.Id hear a monkey chattering in a tree. 1 found a small nullah about 10 foot wide and 7 feet (!e:'p. Following liiis up there wjs "Stripes" lying bead oir in dear view some fitly feet away, loo!ving over his rfhoulder and snarl- ing quietly at my dot;, lie saw u* (I had the head guard with me) at! the same in-^tant that we saw him.^ nnd pulled him.'-elf togel'her; but I was lucky enough to hit him betw^oeif the e.ves .nnd knocked him down (.500 express expanding bullet). He wa» dead in tan minutes. The bullet of the night before had stnicV over the left eye an.l blowit the pie?c of bone from the skull out of the ear. Ho could not possibly ha\e lived till simset. but t thought when I turned him up that I wa.9 justified in .'hooting, as he looked so- very much utivc. I am afraid it) too!< the edge oft S 's pleasure a bit, but he took it very nicely and he has the skin. We found the tiger not more «hnn two hundred yaixl» from where lie was .shot first. by SFNTENCE SERMONS Kxtrnclion is not givinc. Greatness comes only by growth. Mak-Ing money unmake."* many men. Gloom is never dispersed by growl- ing. (3ood cHocr goes farther than cold cash. He cannot teach who will not b» taueht. Life's great oj)portunilics arc netfcr labeled. There la no profit in prayer for profit alone. Facing both ways is always ileclDg one wa.v. Iteligion is never ."strengthened relaxation. ITiere is notbinsf Satan hates like hn^-'pines"!. lyong ([i.-ilnncc charity never reach- es the heart. Tht» nmn who is indisipensablo re-er Viiows it. A white lie may bo as hard to wipe out ns a black ore. One leison of life is learning (o love where wo do not like. Love ii too busy enroui-aging to have any time to critici-,re. The eosi'ol of Rucce.'s is simply the worsVp of the god of self. The color of the World ilepernls on the jdgmt«nt behlrKi the eyes. It's no use trying to shine if you won't take lime lo fill your lamp. "There is n "train of Radne!« about weddiiig-ftK-lls." said the cyni- cal bachelor. "They bIwo.vs aflcct me like the moan of tito tied." "He's sll'l cmjilo.VvXl by that big wh.ilcsnle house. Isn't he?" "Ko: 1 thltiV. he's i". business for him.^elf row. H(i i;.sed to toko rn, hon»» 'or li:n; h, nnd now he onl.v takes a Mtre flv« niln«it«r^ â- ^:'