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C%*t.-l'^3A*i 2s> aSiP**^5£fe«y^^ K^i'"i T)*'AMiMiiti'JllllHIIW>H>lWffl W<llt >>L<iiitlM Trifctai<l> The Price Of Liberty OR. A MIDNIGHT CALL CHAPTEU XXX VUl. Hi'll soemod to know by iiitiiitioii tlml Chris rmiuiied liiiii, or pei haps he t-aught a glimpse of her white dri'!-8 Iroiii the lerrace. Any way. lie Btrollod Ifisurely in lier diroclion. "yomcthiiig Ifas happenod?" ho whispered, as he came up. "Well, yes," Chris replied, "though I sliould lilto to know how you guo-ssod that. I had mo dillicul- ty ill getting Mr. Sterl on the tele- phone, Ijnt he would say notliitig direttly he heard that you were hero beyoind a pciL'Mii>tory request that you were to be told at onto that Van Sncck has gone." "Uone!" llcU ofhoo<l, blankly. "What do you mean by that?" "He has disappeared from the hospital at Jlrig-liton to-i!ay. Mr. Steel thinks Ihcy were extra busy, or something of that kind. /Vnyway, Van Sncsck got up and dressod liim- Bclf and left the hospital without being observed. It seems extraordin- Bi-y to mo." ".\nd yet quite possible," Uell' Baid, thougtitfuUy. "Van Sneck had praetically recovered from the flesh wounds; it was the injury to his hcaid that was the worst i)art. Ho resembled an inesjjon.-.ible luna- tic more than anything el.se. Steel wants mc, of course?" "He auggcsts that you .should go down to ll! ighlon without delay." "All right, I'll make some excuse to take the lii-st train in the morn- ing. We've got a flue start of Ilen- Bon, and ihufs a good thing. Ifi Van Sneck comes within his net we j Bhall have a deal of lroul)lo. I had I hoped to get permission to operate! on Van .Snock, and relied ujion him | to sohe the my.;tery. And now you I had better go back to your tele- ' phone." I Chi is hurried back again. A whis-| pried Word satisliod her that Steel wns still at the other end. | "l>r. H(dl starts as early a."i possi- j hie to-morrow," she said. "If you will listen carefully I will give ,vou j a brief outline of all that lias hap-j tjeiied since I have been here." i t-'hris proceeded to tell her story , Kucriiictly ami briefly. I''rom little! Boiiiuis and signs she could tell that Slei'l wns greatly interested. The' story of the niuii with the thumb fnscinated bim. It ai>|>ealed to his profesMtonnl instincts. "And what do you want to do with lilm?" Steel asked. "Well, you see 1 have in my pow- j er," Chris exiiluinod. "We can get; the other Henihraiuit any time we like now, but tliut is (juite a minoi Consideration. What I want is for Mcrritt to know that 1 can have him arrested at any time for steal- ing my star. Us lOnid'.T star, as a matter of fact; but that is a do- tail." "An important one, surely," Stoel'rt voice came thin and clear. "Supjiose that our dear friend, chances to recognise it? No, don't ring oil yet." I "I'm not. Oh, you are speaking to the Exchange people. Yes, yes; ! wo shall be a lung siiiie yet. Are' you there? Well, lleiison has never | swn the star. lOnid bought it jusC ^ before the great trouble came, and nflerwardc she never had the heart to wear it." "I understand. You want Merritt to know this?" "W.dl, I do and I I'lon't," < i.,!H exjilaiiiod. "I am anxious not to frighleii tbo mun. I want to get him in my power, and I want to prove to him that it would bo to his advantage for him to come over to my side. Suppose Ijiid );avc it out that the star bad biM-n stolen? And suppose that I could save him nt the critical moment? 1 shouldn't mind him thinking that I had stolen the star in the first i>lace. That is why f am asking you a.s a novelist to blip me." "Vou would have made an e.xccl- lf>nt novelist yourself," Havid saiil, admiringly. "(Jive me five minutes. Are you thtre? I fancy I have it. Can't you hear mc? That's better. I'll seo Mi.ss Gates the l'r.,1. thing in tlio morning and get her to go over to I..<>ngdean and see your Ulster. Confound it, don't cut us oil yet. What docs It matter ho long as the mesnagea are paid for? Nobody else war.ls the line. Well, I may for an hour more. Are you Ihoro? Very sorry; it's the fault of the Post Offlco people. Here is the plot in a nutrdiell. Your sister has lost a diomond star. She gives a minute rteficriptiiin of it to tlio police^ and drops a hint to the ef- fect that she believes it was taken away by nil.-itakeâ€" in other words, «as stolen â€" from her Ui I.onchni by a chanio aojuulntanco calknl OhrLsta- bel I/-C â€" " "Ah," Chris crlod, "how clever you are!" "I have loi^ .ispectod it." the thin voice went on. drily. "The lull description of the alar will be print- ed in the 'Police Cazotte,' n copy of which every rc8pe<^tablo pawn- broker always gets regularly. I sup- pose the people where the star was pawrtd "re rer.pcrtable?" . "Highly so. Thoy have <|uit« n Hond Street establishment attach- ed." "So much the bettor. They will j see the advertisement and they will I communicate with the police. The lleverend James Merritt will be ar- rested " "I don't quite like that," Chris suggested. "Oh. it's necessary. Ho will be arrostod at the castle. Knowing his antecedei.its, the polite will not stand upon any ceremony with him. Voii will be lillod with remorse. Y'ou have plung'cd back into a career of ciimo again a being who was slowly climbing into the r,traig-ht path once more. You take the blame upon yourself â€" it was at your instigation that Mcrritt pawnetl tho star." "Hut, really, Mr. Steel " "Oh, I know. Hut tho end justi- fies tho means. You .-.avo Mr. Mer- ritt, there is a bond of sympathy between .you, he' will regard you as a great light in his interesting pro- fession. Y'ou navod him because you had appropriated tho star your- .self." ".And go to gaol instead of Mr. Meiritt?" "Not a bit of it. The star you deemed to be yours. You had one very like it when you saw Miss Hen- son, when you were staying in Lon- don at the same hotel. Hy some means tho jewels got mixod. Vou are confident that an exchange ha.s j been made. Also you are confident ' that if Miss llciison will search her ' jewel-case she will liiid a valiiablo : star that does not belong to her. Miss Hen.son does so, .she is distross- | e<l beyond measure, she ofTeis nil i kinds of apologies. lO.xIl the police. \ \(>\i need not tell Merritt how jou get out of tl'.e ilill'iculty, and thus you increase lils respect for you. There, that would make a very in- genious and plausible nittga/iiic story. It should be more convinc- ing in real life." "Capital!" Chris niurniure I. "What an advantage it is to have a novel- ist to a<lvise one! Mimy, many ] thanks for all your kindness. Good- | ni^r-ht!" Chris rang olT with a certain souse of ri'licf. it wns some lime later 1 before she had a cluine of conveying to Hell what had happened, lie lis- : teiied gravely to all that Chris had | to soy. I "Just tho sort of fcalher-braiiied I idea that would ocurr to a novo- I list," he said. 'T''or my part. I ' should prefer to confront Merritt ! V. illi liis tlieft, and keel) the iqiper ! hand of him that way." j ".\nd ho would mistrust me and betray mo at the liist opportunity. I I'esides, in that case, be would know I at onco that I wanted to get to the bottom of his coiineclion with Kegin- uld llenson. Mr. ,Sl<><_-rs plan may bo bi/;aire, but it is sale." | "I novi'r thought of that," Hell admitted. "I begiii to im,:gine that you are more astute than I gave VoU credit for, wlilrh i.s saying a great deal." ('hris wns down early the follow- ing morning to lind Hell at break- fast with every sign of nia'-.iiig an early devartuie. He was very sorry, he explain(><l, gravely, to hi.s host and Chijs, but bis lei tors gave him no opiion. He would come back in a day or two if he mig-ht. A mo- nioiit later llenson came into the room, ostentatiously studying a Hradsliaw. ".\nd where are yon going?" Lit- tinier askod. "Why do you all aban- don me? lieginald, do you mean to say tiiat you are going to rcfn.sc me tlie light of your coiliil enaiiri!?" "Is Dr. liill going, too?" llenson asked, with just n suggvslion of un- easiness. "I meni.i-er " "Husine.ss." Hell said. "1 have here at great personal inconvenience, .And you?" "London." Hoi, son replied. ".\ meeting to-day tliiil I canint gel out of. A couplo of lelteis by this morning's post have decliled me." Chris said nothlni;; she apponrol to be (luite indiflerent until she had a chance to speak to Hell alone. She looked a little anxious. "He has found out nbout Van Sneck, -^^ she said. "Truly he is a marvellous man! And he had no letters this morningf I opcnoil the post-bag personally Hut I'm glad he's going, because J shall have Janiea Mcrritt all to myaelff" CIIAPTKU XXXTX. On tho whole Mr. .laines Merrill, ex-cotivict and now humanitarian. Was enjoying himself immensely. He iliil not sleep at tho fastle, for l,(U'd l.itlimer ilrew tho line tbeie, but he contrive<l to get most of his meals under that hospitable roof, aivlsiient a deal of time there. It was by no means the first time he had been "token up" by the oristocracy since his conversion, and his shyness was wearing off. Moreover. Hon<-on had given his hemhnmn strict insi ruc- tions to keep his eyes open with a view to getting nt the bottom of the Itembrnndt mystery. .'^lill, there is nlwa.NS a crum|de.l rose lenf somewhere, and Merritt had his. A few days after llenson de- parlo<l so liuirledly fioiii town the stolen WombrRiidt disnjMieared from Meriitt's rooms. Nobody know any- thing about it; tho thing had van- isl'od, leaving no truCe of the thief beliind. Perhaps Me' ritt would have been less easy In i/ittirner's society had he known that the missing print was securely lockoil away in t lie Int- tor's strong room. .Still, had Mer- ritt been acquainte<i with the clas- sics, carpe diem would like ns not have been his favorite motto. Ho declir.od to worry over tho matter until Ifonson's rotiirn. It was not for him to know, yet, that Chris had act unlly gone over to Moreton Wells and, during tho absence of Mcr- ritt'b landlady, calmly walked into the house and taken the picture awav. "Vou are going to see some fun presently," she said, coolly, to the astonished Littimer, as she laid the mis.sing picture t)eforo him. "No, I sliall hear the whole story when Heginald Honson stands in the i:il- lory before you. You know now that Henson was at tho bottom of the plot to destroy Dr. Boll's charac- ter?" "I always felt that our Reginald was a groat scoundrel," Littimer pnrrod over his cigarette. "And if you succeed in exposing him thor- oughly I shall watch the performance with the greatest possible pleasure. I am not curious, my dear young lady, but I would give sixpence to know who you are." "Keop your si.vpence," Chris laughed, "and you'll know all irj good time. All I ask is not to be ast»nished at anything that hai>- pons." Littimor avorrcd that he had long since lost the. ixiwer of astonishment There was a bri;jfhtness and restless nesa about Chris to-day that con siderably added to her charms. It was nearly a week now since Hell and Hensou hod departed, and in the meantime Chris had heard noth- ing from Ijongdean. Half an hour before a telegram had arrived to tho ollect that a gentleman ia a blue coat might be expect^>d at Littimer Castle at any moment. The police were coming and Merritt wa.". late to-day. It Merritt failed to turn up the whole situation would bo spoilt. It was with a feeling of unutterable relief that ("hris saw him coming up tho drive. "Come on the terrace," she sail. "I have sumething very .serious to say to you. Mr, Merritt, you l-.ave got us both into very serious trou- ble. Why did you do it?" ".Ain't <Ione nothing," Merritt said, doggedly. He repeated tho old formula, "What's up?" "Kr â€" it's about my diamond star" said Chris. "1 lost it a few days ago. If I bad known whal was go- ing to hapiieii I should have put up with my loss. Ibil I made i iquirii's through the police without .'â- â- . tying a word to anyliody. and now [ find tho star was jiawnod in Moreton Wells." "(Jh, lor," Merritt g-asped. "Y'ou don't mean to say tho police know that, miss?" 'Indeed I do. A'ou see. once I al- lowed matt el s to go out of my hands 1 was poworli'ss. The casi' now rests eiilirely with the police. And I am informed that they may come here and arrest you at any moment. I fear there ii: no escajie for you â€" you I>awned the thing yourself :n .vour own name. What a thousand pities you yielileil to sudden teinplatioii." "Hut T found it," Merritt whined. "I'll take my oath ns 1 found it under the terrace- T â€" I wns ramb- ling along thc> clilfs one day and I found it. And I didn't know il was yours. If I had known it was yours I'd never have gone and doiu! no such a thiiif;." (^hris shiKik her head sadly. "And just as .vou wore gvtting on so nicel.v." she said. (To bo Continviod.) ".Shadbidt," said Pinguss, "iwn you 1,'nd me a fiver this morning?" "No." ".lust as 1 expecteil." "Then why did you nsk me?" "no- cans."." Huid l'in,r;uss. viivdictivelv. "I wanted the sulisfnction of dis- provin;v that l.ving old proverb that 'it is the uiu'xpected that hiii>- pens ' " •Goodhoart â€" "I've got you down for a couple of tickets. We'ro got ling u|) a ralllo for a poor man of our neighborhood." Joakley â€" "None for me, tliunU you! 1 wouldn't know what to do vvith a poor man if I won him." Hoâ€" t can '.ever think of the right thing to Bny at tho right time! .She â€" Why ('on't you ti-y saving the right thing sometimes even if you gi't it in tho wrong pinco? A man alwa.vs han a lot more in- come aliead when he is trying to borrow than the man he wants to lend Id him. Mrs. P. â€" "An pi suiipo.se if wo have another war you'll stay nt home like a coward? " Mr. P.â€" "My dear, no one rould call me a coward if 1 ••cniBinocI at your side." I'rofissor (lecturing upon tho r'.iin ocei<ist â€" "1 must lug you to i;ivo me your Hiiiiiided nltention. It is alisolulely iiupi s'-ible that you (ai fornt a true idea of this hideows iin- imal unless you keo;i yotir eyes livel on mo." I'.lhelâ€" "Who was that iii,\n vou ooo<yo<xxxxyoooooooooo<x YOUNG I FOLKS I CKK>00CK><>0OO<>OO<><>OCK><K> O UF.W SICK. Wlion I am really sick abed It isn't ever any fun. I fe<d all achy in my head All' hate to tako my medisun. Th' sheets get stickyish uii' hot, Hut 1 am not allowed to kic\ 'Km off, er road, er tall; a lot WTien 1 am fick. I hate for all tho folks about To conio an' pat me on the fjce An' say, "I'oor child, you'll soon bo out," .An' tijitoe all around th' place. They go when I pretend to be -Asleeiiâ€" I do it for a trick; I don't like folks to pity m« When I am sick. My mother's diff'riint â€" I don't care If she sits by me once or twice An' says 'Poor boy,' an smoothes my hair. She ain't just tryin' to be nice. Tl oy bring warm squashy things to me For meals, an' make me eat 'em quick, I'm mis'ruble as I can be When I am sick. ' - ' TEDDY'S flHTS rOCK-ETS. "I want- pockets hi my new pants" said Toddy. "You arj too lillle," said mama. "Please, mama! " Teddy pleaded. "I'ockets go with jiaiits. All the big boys have them." "Well," mama replieil, "I suppose you must have them some in." "Non.sensol" exclaimed Aunt Em- ily. "Clara, you don't mean to let that baby have pockets? lie will have them full of rubli.sh and in a dreadful condition all the timo. He's too little for Irou.sers, to say noth- ii g of ])ockets." IVit mama put tho pockets in, and Ted was hapjiy. He went round with his hands in those little snOg- geries, feeling very proud and grown- up, and trying to whistle; and by and by he began to put things into them. "If 1 had tho darning cotton I wouM mend tho stockings," said grancliua. 'but it isn't in the bas- ket," "Here il is," said Teddy, taking a little black ball out of his right pocket. T found it bohind the door, grandma. I didn't know it was daru cotton; I thought it was just string." •You didn't happen to find my reiicil, did you?" asVed Sister Sue. "1 lost it yesterday, and I can't And it uiiyvv! ore." "Yos," said Teddy. "It was in It was a queer liltle tuneless Jg, Willi rests and "andantes " and "/or- ti'simos" pfaying tag through it, nrd .\ fa's and H shar; s stepping on each other's bezels. Then it stopped short. Mama held out her hand to Molly, and they stole to the musit-room door to- gether. No one there. I'oter Purr lay curled on the sota in a do/o, not looking at all as if he had just seen a ghost. So the queer little mys- sery stayed undiscovered uLtil. a day or two after, Molly suddenly sU'iiped right into tho middle of it. She was hurrv ing through the hall when she heard the piano "gciug" again in the funny way. "O, my!'' she thought. "There 'ti-i playing on itself again â€" why-ce! " For she had stopped at tho door, and there wns Peter Purr playing a tune all to himself! Peter PurrI Who ever would have thought? Molly stood and watched him do it. He leaped from tho piano-stool to tho keyboard, and whisked lightly bac'<t and forth, in great delight at his own music. His soft, padded toes s'ruck the notes g-enlly and made funny trills aid quavers. Over and over again the tune played under his feet, and then it came to a sudden end. Peter Purr leaped down to tho floor, and before Molly could un- screw the little round "Ol" of as- tonishment her lips made, ho was fast asleep on the sofa. PERSONAL POINTERS. Interesting Gossip About Prominent People. Soma 'Dr. Amelia Wilkes Lines, who loc- ently celebrated her eightieth birth- day, is the oldest practising woman doctor in the world. -S'he has iirac- Yes I will put I tised in New York City since 1854. Among Hie Polio's treasures is an egg which he received from an h'ng- liah lady one Faster. The shell is made of ivory, its lining is of white satin, and the .volk is a goldon caso containing a large ruby set in dia- niiouds: the whole is worth upwards of $10,000. Hrothors are seldom found in tho ranks of Ambas.-iadors simuUaneou.s- ly, yet the Cambon family can boast of having won this distinction. While M. Paul Canibou represents Franco at the Court of .St. .lames, his bro- ther acts in a similar capacity at Washington. Prince Charles of Denmark is an expert typist, while Princess Ohris- tian is also a clever uuxnipulat ir of the "keys." The latter's ina.-nino has German characters as well an Knglish, and she types most of Prince Christian's tJcrman corre- spondence for him. Another Hoyal typist is the Princess of Walos, who is extremely quick, and types some of her own letters in ci'iite n pro- fessional style. The .Sultan of Turkey, who is just the wiist,ohas'.>et. I j)ickod it out aivd | six ty-lwo, is pa.ssionatcly fond of put it ill my poc'i^et. I didn't know j musicâ€" not of "military bands to II was yours, Susio," he said, as ho drive away the slillne.ss of tho [lassecl il to. her. Inight." but of the pianoforte anj Pretty .soon mama could not find; the violin, of both of which he is a thimble "1 had it this inori she snid. "and all at caiiital judge Musicjaiis visiting , ., , once t i Constantinople with good iiitroduc- d It. I am sorry, for it wasifjo,,^ ^,^. ^.^^-^^^ admitted to play before tho -Sultan, who pays t!i«ii on a lavish scale. The Sultan also takes a groit interest in natural hi.s- tory. Like all Turks, he is fomi of aniiuiils. ''n'M-'ele <i' Anniinzio. the famous Italian poet and novelist, has a craze for idols. In his villa at ,Set- the o;(> you gave me. Emily." 'Ibr' it is. " said "ivddy. "I fo' nd it down in the pan.sy bed. T inc>aiil to give il to vol, but I for- go! " "It must have fallen olT the win- dow-sill," said mama. "I remember now; I was silling by tho garden IVillllilVV That afiornooii Si.it,-T Mary ag'e 1 ' ^''^S-'"'"'". "c-ar Ploronce. he has if anybody had seen a button, for siie had lo.-,t one off her blue die.ss; Tom inquliod If anybody had run ni ro.iis his jack-knife, which ho was iifing nt noon nnd misl:id; Johnny noeiiel a I'iece nt !-trirgi> in a hurry; and graiidjia could not find a liltle mil. All these things Teddy pro- diiced as they were wanted. "I take it all back, Ted," said Aunt F.mil.v, ln.tigl;ing. "Y'our pock- ets certainly are the most usetil ones in the family. You don't hap- pen to have u box of chocolates, do you?" "No," Teddy roi>lled, soberly, "but I have .'ionie inndy that isn't thoco- late. Mr. Smith g-avo it to me. It's lalTy " Aunt Elmily laughed again. "There, Clura." she said. "I told you so!" THE MYSTEUIOUS PLAVEU. "Molly," mama called, softly, ' ilon't de^r! baby's just beginning to got si opy." Tho .sharji little \ alter of trills and scales on the iduno kept on, un- diminislied. "Moi;.v. slop pla.ving nt oncol" Mama's voice hml the ring of com- .naml in it, hut the l.attor of notes ^and l,eau(lful teeth. Arouml hor rav still rontiiuied. She did not dare to jrst I o • cd to?" Poll. lor<"â€" "That ' was Hot S(»n. the g;ent c;imp;SiT." j Eihelâ€" '.\ roitJ! oser, did you sny?" ( l'<-neln;e -"Ho n;amifa li.re£ sooth- i move, for liatiy's eyes were narrow- ing drowsily to little blue slits, and they must not fly o):en again. When lit last the nokse sti<i'ped, tbay were shut, and baby had landed on Nod- dle's Island after a long trip on a â- choppy" sea. Molly tijiloed info the room. "Molly," mama said, gravely, "didn't you hear mo tell you to sti.p drunurir g on the piano? " "Why. I I'cver, mama!" whispere I Molly, suipri.sed. "I haven't been in • l:e mi'sie-room a tall!" 'Then it nii st l.avc> been Faith, but it c'idn't .miuuiI like her. .She ronll,v plays little tune.M." "Knithie's out in the hammock, mama." "Why!" n'a!i<o said. "And the the boys are gone. Who couldâ€" Hark! " larg-e room full of these "divinities," mostly Indian. Chinese, and Japon- i\';e. He pays any f;vlr sum for a good specimen of his favorite g-ovls. Ho is so much agalii.st anyone being admitted iiito his sanctuary whon ho is away that, befi.re leaving the vil- la, he always gives strict orders to his servants not to allow anybo ly in unler any [iret.'nce whatever. (in. on Alexandra scino time ago wrote a few of her likes aiid di.slikes In an album re^:el ved loi the pur- pose, hor favorite King being Rich- nrd Coi'ur do Lion; her CJueen. Dag- mar of IX-nniark; her hero. TVlarlbor- oiig-h: her poit. .Shakespeare; hor painter, Kubeiis; hor writer, Dickens; her color, sky-bluo; her flower, tho forgi l-me-not; her favorite nmme, Fd- waifl; her favorite di.^h, Yorkshire puddlifg; her f.tvorito »pol, Eng- land; and hor ambition, "Never to inlorl'ero with the business of other I'l oplo.'' Little Prince irumbrrt's new nur.so In now a conspicuous [n-rsonage in contoniiporary liiHiory. Tho wita of a gainekeoper In the Hoyal ser- vice, she i» twenly-lhree. nnd has a nvngniflccnt figure, suix-rb black hair. en tresses »l»o wc-ars an aurcolo at ribbon odornod with gold haiipins, nred her roatumo is th^at of a nucsa In tho well-to-do ndddle-class o( Uoino. This fortunate yoimg wo- man Is puld fiao a mo-nth for two years, anil is likely to have a pea- sion of $500 a year for th« rest of her life. Lor<l Howard do NValdon is aboui to start on u big-gamo hmntin'g cx- I>odlfli>n in East Africa, whoro h» has bought o.xleiislvo lands n«ir tho Victoria Nyiinza for tho puil>oso o< brooding zebras. This young peer Is one of the wealthiest iraen in Hngf- lon.'l. but \s Utile known in soalaty, s h H tastes nil lie in the direction of sport omi a country lite. HMs de- votion to ills mother, Lady Ludlow, is one of the most delightful trnltn Ing •yliip." ! Ii\ his rharaclec. and when ."Jho vvn* The patUT of thAck again, riuudng uiarried last year she had the soinv up and ilovrn the lceyb.)aril. Midly's what unusual oxperienr<» of •â- j^irit eyeii grew l.lg with a-loni.shmenl. givin away by her own .son