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Greed Jor Gold Or, The Sign of the Arrow MM* CHAPTER I. Tho profession of fortune-telling was not yielding large profits. Horoscopes were drugs in the market. T/hore was not a frantic desire on ■the part of the villagers to cou-Wilt the oracle. Crosising a hand •with silver was as rare an event as the casting of a nativity. In plain words, things were not going well jjrith that camping ■ i No Man': As the years roll on, and school-board teaching soaks in, the Romany is losing uhat halo of romance which used to be so profitable a portion of the stock-in-trade. Housemaids, are not so open-eared to the area-stops Hibl, and when a gipsy etaylaee-seller hat to depend for her living on what she seil^. the life is mot. very well worth living. There Is more profit in one prophecy than In a shop full of corset-stringjs. Tha decision ol the gipsies to seek frefch woods and pMUures new hod fceen arrived at after mature delib-er«,tioii. The council was held after dinner1--a dinner of stolen chickens and, literally, poached eggs. A henroost is usually presided over by the farmer's wife, whose household duties keep her away from it; the farmer thinks it too trifling a matter to be worthy his consideration. The gipsy was over a pickor-up of unconsidered trifles. In the direction of the next town the camp was to move. The younger men were searching around for the strayed caravan-horses, the women were packing and cursing their luck--or want of it. They • wero freely assisted in the latter by the men, for the average gipsy is fluent of speech, and can blend adjectives in such a picturesque way fcs to make the ordinary user of leiul language silent from sheor envy. The packing was left ontiro-ly to the women; the soul of th* mnle gipsy bankers not after labor. Three of the men counselled together--an evil-looking trinity. They were leaving the place, and leaving ail things behind. That was vory unusual. It grated on their bumps of acquisitiveness with the irritation of sandpaper. But it was a poor-little town they were near, and, beyond poultry, there was little they _could lay their hands on. There "was, too, a" cruel suspicion regnant In the breasts of the cottagers*-- they never even left their linen on lines al'tw dark. Bo the g.ji-i.»< • shaking- jthe dust of the place ;hcir feet in disgust. "If it hadn't been for Rube's rot-;n silliness, we'd a-been prancing j with a purse and a gold chain nd watch to the good now." "Or prancing about the lock-up," lid Reuben, the gipsy referred 1- appeara jvidenced the need of "ophthalmic treatment, don't believe in tackling am thoy fight too much for me." ( was not. without the signs and sc of battle. He bore the masks the vanquished.) "There was o dy "Two to one's decent odds," replied tho other, as he sucked a black clay pipe and fouled the at- road^s good Enough for me. There ain't many cyclers as can standi--or ri do--against that there. "Three's bettor," said the cautious Reuben. He looked on discretion with a kindlier eye than he cast on valour. He had invested heavily in experience, and his remarks showed signs of the fruit thereof. "Well, we let the bloke pass, though I could see the sun a-gleam-ing on a gold cable he'd got stretched across his waistcoat. That meant a ticker." "More fools you !" interposed tha third man, who had not been pre- Se"\Vell, don't howl over spilt milk," said Reuben. "We're three now. Let's get down to the road with this clothes-line, strotich it. from side to side, and wait. Wo shall be away before any alarm can bo raised." "You talk as if the road was sprinkled every fow yards with cyclers out of a watering-pot," said1 the man who had first spoken, con-teaapbuously. "In a side road like the one below, hours and hours go by without a soul passing." "IWhv did you propose the idea, then ?" "Because I know something. Do you remember why we had to strike camp so hurriedly Graynewood Then it dawned on the other two men the third one's meaning. There was silence for a few moments. "Three of 'em you said?" "Y«*-but all women." "The old woman wears a lot ol rings," interposed Reuben. * "I savi 'em sparkling that day we were caugjht in tho yard." "Well, is it a go ?" Aral both men answered that it was. They walked away from the em-ttmpmont, taking the coil of rope with them. From the top of a Sim-all hill they could see tie road along which the women were pected to come--a road winding way down to the valley beneath '"^here's the place, rust by t sharp turn. Trees both sides the road along which the woj wore expected to come- a road wi ing its way down to the valley be- "There's the place, just by that sharp turn. Trees both sides tiie road will bide us." "And coming down hill they' sure to be running fast." And they wont. The line was laid across the highway; broken bi-anches of a tree enabled them swislh dust over it, and tiie cord was conceded. A man won't into the ditch side of the road with a hand c cord, and another on the opposite side of the road crouched by barred gate. The third conspirator stood balancing himself on the top of the gate. "I'll watch here, and give you the office when they are coming. From here I can see t'other side of Meadow Hill before they start mounting it. Pull taut Just as they reach you, keep taut, and before they put ou brakes we'll haw» 'am three rolling on the ground." "Don't let's maks any mistake. Rube, yon take old 'un, I'll take tho red-haired one, and you the Sirl." "If thoy show fi«lrt ? "Fight bacto-they're on'.- vome Plant well between the eye»--thi knocks 'em sen«eles,s quicker than anything. Rube, you haven't turned your coat inside out; do, and rub a bit more black over that side your faice. As it is they'd recognise you if ever they saw you again. That's better. So they waited, A faint whistle reached them. R was from the factory in a distant village--wori wa.s being knocJeeel off for the day. "S't's gone half-past five." . "Hist ! Ready, boys; they're com- He jumtped off the gate and crouched by his mate. Presently thi sound of women's voices came te "Top of Meadow Hill thank goodness ! We ar from home now. Let this." And with foet up they came down the hill--three women. And a litth wav down crouched three men-three men and a strong cord. That cord made the odds strong (To be continued.) last. i?ith Sir /°°tne Grayne, Grayne Hall mags. Dicln't like ha» died "Yes. Reimenibor his wife ?---- Ah, so do I. A tartar if ever there was one, curse her ! If she'd had her way, some of us would have faced Sir George on the bench instead of having the row over in "Well, what's all this raking over "This morning I saw three women going by on bicycles : Sir George's wife, his daughter, and that red-haired woman that lives with them --companion-governess, or sottne- "Yes ?" "They stopped close to the hedge, where I was laying a snare, to screw something up on one of their bicy- "Well ?" "I heajrd 'em say that they had to b« back by six o'clock, as some one was touting to dinner." "Wull T' "Tkjtf ain't been by yet." FEOM BOMJS SCOTLAND NOTES OF INTEREST FROM HER BANKS AND BRAES. What Is Going on in the Highlands and Lowlands of Auld Scotia. Miss Jamieson, an Edinburgh lady, has recently been appointed professor of English language in Grenoble Un- A granite cross is about to be erected on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle and another in Johannesburg in memory of thoso members of tho Scottish Horse who fell during tho South African war. In a coiupetition open to the United Kingdom for handwriting ti boys and girls under 11 years o age, John B. Beveridge, son of Mr Thomas Beveridge, of Buckhaven was successful in getting first prise. A marriage which united two o nost historic of Scottish fami-took place in St. Michael's, Chester square, London, the contracting parties being Arthur Geo Matile Ramsey, Earl of Dalhousie, and Lady Mary Adelaide Heathcpte-Drumr.iond-Willoughby. The func- A singular aeccident occurred in Stockwell street, Glasgow. The Glasgow and South-Western Railway Company was engaged raising the overhead railway bridge which crosses that thoroughfare, when, under the weight of three hydraulic jacks employed, the street subsided to the depth of six inches over distance of twelve yards. The i water pipe in the street was bi and before the water could be turned off a number of shops in the iimmediate neighborhood wero flooded and considerable damage was done. Tho subsidence carried with it a portit of the tramway rails, and traffic north going care was stopped. The Ayr District Comjm.ittee of the County Council have decided to t a new infectious diseases hospital for the district. The site, at Ch erhill, about three miles easTt of A-is two acres in extent, and is also in the neighborhood of the smallpox hospital at present being erected by the Corporation of Ayr. The infectious diseases hospital will have accommodation for twenty patients. There is also an administrative block containing accommodation for doctor, matron, nurses, and vants, and a laundry block and porter's lodge. The total. cost of the buildings, exclusive of furnishings, ' estimate at £7,000. k somewhat extraordinary mishap occurred a few days ago In the chief ' of Carlisle, owing to carelessness of a smoker. A after he had lighted his pipe, ' the burning match away, and it alighted on the head of a lady, "er hat, of foshionablo millinery, iddonly burst into •flames and caused her considerable alarm. A jroung rushed to the rescue, and tried :ar the hat away, but it was veil secured by pins through her Eventually the fragments of lat were torn away before the was much singed. The lady efficient presence of mind prevent her appearing ridiculous going along the street with no hat. She dodged into tho nearest millin-shop and secured a "teady-made" to tide her over the emergency. The meeting of the Glasgow Highland Society a couple of weeks ago was an event which carries one back in memory to the early days Highland benevolent endeavor. The society was formed in 1727 by seventeen Highland gentlemen in Glasgow, and no loss than twelvo of these were Campbells. The society is now one of tho wealthiest ■connected with the Highlands, thanks pretty much to judicious property investontersts. Rather a curious story attaches to its less prosperous days. About 1757, when George Whitefield, tho preacher, was visf ing Glasgow he was asked by# t directors of the society to preach sermon on its behalf. Whitefield consented, and preached the In the High Churchyard, and a lection was taken as the people dispersed. The amount receivod was a record one, and was of great assistance to the directors in purchasing the property which was afterwards known as the Black Bull Hotel. Thus was the society lifted into financial prosperity. The alterations at Balmoral which are being carried out in view of the visit of the King and Court to Dee-side in the early autumn are now rapidly approaching completion. Last week Bailie Taggart dispatched a number of finely-carved stones, which will be erected in conspicuous positions on various parts Cattle. On one a crown ed in bold relief, all the projecting parts being beautifully relieved and finely executed. On the others the. royal monogram in various design; have been executed with much skill and caro. The carved work has been executed from architect1 signs, and these Bailie Taggart has succeeded in reproducing in granit in a highly creditable fashion, tb work being executed in finely-axed Kemtiay granite The alterations in the * King's Highland residence, which have "been suggested by His Majesty himself, include an addition of fourteen bedrooms, together with improvements in the means of access to "the ball-room and in the culinary equipment of the Castfe. Slight tera'tions have also been effected the royal gardens. Bar-moral Cas-and the ' thufc*' the unusual activity, but it is expew that all the alterations will be fully completed in affile time for the royal visit in autunjg. NOTES ON PAINTING. Nothing will detract from tho appearance of a farm so much as old. weather-beaten barns and sheds, and farm-machinery, etc., which look shabby for the want of paint. You can, however, make the old barns and .sheds look well at small cos for paint by using a water-pain which can be put on by a cheap hand, writes Mr. V. B. Grinnell. I give the following formula : making a cheap paint : Take se\ pounds of sifted Portland cement, one gallon of skim-milk and pom I of t fling- Break up the and whiting to a stiff paste with some of the skim-milk, having previously added to" it. one half pound of fresh-slaked lime, Dissolve one half of seed-oil, and st into the paint, thick. of : th one pint the mixture well If the pa: add more whiting. Sti whole through cheese-cloth, You can color the paint buff by adding yellow ocher; drab by adding burnt umber; olive by a mijxture of the two, olive-green by a. mixture of green and yellow oohor; leaf-green to sage-green by adding a little umber, or light gray by addng lampblack. TO PREPARE THE COLORS, take whichever dry color you want to use, and rub it to a paste in a little of the paint. When made to a paste, put it in cup and mix thin with some more the paint, then pour a little at time into the paint until you g a board, and dry it. If it is t light when dry add more color, a: test again until you get what y want. Lampblack is so light that it is impossible to mix it with water color until it has been cut with beirzin or gasolene. You can put this paint on with a whitewash-brush with a long handle, and save yourself a lot of climbing. If the paint is colored, it will take about two coats: if white, old, weather-beaten work will take three To prepare tarm machinery painting, sarjdpaper it to take off the old paint, if there is any left on in loose patches. If the paint ll sound, and has any gloss left, sandpaper just sufficient to take off the gloss; then mix one and one half pounds of Venetian red to one quart of boiled oil, two ounces of turpentine, and tho same of japan. Give the work a coat of this. When dry, make the same mixture of oil, turpentine and japan, and put in two end one half pounds of Venetian red; then give the work a coat of this mixture. This should bo a fairly nds < , add r if l vit.h a GEMS OF THOUGHT, Man is unjust, but God is just; and finally justice triumphs.--Longfellow. Unless above himself he can erect elf, how poor a thing is man.-- Dani t thing i this Id . dire Holm.... I have always observed the thread of life to be like other threads skeins of silk--full of snarls encumbrances.--George Herbert. Little do ye know your own blessedness, for to 'travel hopefully is a better thing than to arriv the t labo: --Stev- To tell a man tc study and yet bid him under heavy penalties to come to the same conclusion with those who have not studied is to mock him.--Andrew D. White. You need God in the very things that seem to separate you from him. You must seek him in the very places where the misery of life seems to be that ho is not. You must question the stoniest paths for streams of water.--Phillips Brooks. We are often poor, mean, low; but there is in the soul an ideal of something better than we. In the midst of our folly and fault there stands befoi* us the pure image oi ^ serene goodness, PUT ON ANOTHER COAT. Paint the ironwork black with the following mixture : One half pound of asphaltum, one ounce of gum benzin and one quart of turpentine. Mix in n jug or can, set in a warm place, and shake often. When the gums are dissolved, aeld one half pound of drop-black ground in and four ounces of boiled Ilnseed-oil. Take off all rust from the iron with sandpaper and kerosene. If th< paint works too thick, add turpentine; if two thin, use more drop-black. Have the gums powdered, then they will dissolve quicker. This paint should dry with a gloss. When painting machinery, use | double-thick chiseled flat brush and ore-half inches wide. The above described is good for farm-wagons, is an excellent paint, f barns, and looks especially well wh trimmed with white. QUALITY AND QUANTITY. ed. 'Phis i God.--Select- Little self-denials, little honesties, little passing words of sympathy, little nameless acts of kindness, little silent victories over favorite temptations--these are the silent threads of gold which wihen woven together gleam out brightly in the pat ter n of life.--Canon Farrar. We know not precisely what is best for us. We know not wV.at will make us truly happy. We know not what will help us best in our struggle against temptations. And if we were to try to make a distinction between our mere passing wishes and that which our souls really needed, we should utterly fail. But we need not try. Let us take all oor wishes, all our longings, all the promptings of our consciences, to the feet of our Father. He will hear and he will do. He will hear all we say. He will know what parts of our prayer are best for us to have, and what are not. And he will give us what his fatherly love will choose. And there/ore to all our prayers we will add, "Thy will bo done in earth, as it is in heaven."--Frederick Temple. "Bridget," said Mrs. Hyflyte, "your lady friend musn't stay so late hereafter. Her uproarious laughter woke me up at one o'clock this morning." "Yes, mum; I was tellin' her about how you tuod to make a cake wan day." It is not always the cow that gives the richest milk that fills the pocketbook. A homely farmer put this truth to me the other day in blight if homely words says Mr. E, L. Vincent. In answer to the statement that a certain lot of cows gave milk so rich that it would make a pound of butter, he said, "Yes, and it would take teen of thorn to make the pounc The fact is, quality is not tho only thing we must seek in the cow. There must be quantity as well. Suppose we figure on this a little. Here is a cow that gives milk, sixteen pounds of which will make a pound of butter. In a day we will say she gives the sixteen pound's. This butter is sold at say twenty-five cents a pound. This the cow does three hundred days in the year. At the end of the season she has to hor credit, if site can maintain this record and the price remains tl same, throe hundred pounds of bu ter, worth seventy-five dollars. He is another cow that gives milk r; quiring twenty pounds for a pound of butter. Every day for the* three hundred days she gives ti pounds of milk, making one-fourth pounds of butter. When the season ends she has three hundred and seventy-five pounds of but ter. worth ninety-three dollars ant seventy-five cents, to show for hei work. Which is the better cow ? But do not decide What about the cos this milk' in both ce know that ? If you can intelligently ans tion which f producin Do yc irefulh-the ^the qucs to choose. And ths termining this is t( re out the feed givei This we need not dt for the entire season. We ma; weigh the feed given for a week, ant then by keeping the ratten just about so. estimate very closely remainder of the season. It reasonable to suppose that the which gives the greater quantit; milk will require a larger ra daily than the one which gives smaller mess. Let us roughly nate that the expense of maintain-ng the large cow is fifteen cents a lay, while that of the othe*' is welve cents. Three hundred days rives us a total of expense of forty-ivo dollars for the cow giving the most milk, against thirty-six dol-ars for the other. Deducting the ost of production from the total eceipts, we have forty-eight dollars end seventy-five cents left for the ow-test cow, as against thirty-nine hollars for the high-test cow--a mar-fin of nine dollars and seventy-five cents in favor of the former. So it is evident that we cannot base a fair estimate of the value of a cow upon the richness of her milk. More than that must be taken into consideration. When we all get so that we will have the patience to watch our cows, not a single day. but all the year through, and keep accurate records of all we do for ffie cow and all sho does for us, we may be better prepared to say which of our cows is really the best. HORSE TALK. Afber tho work horses have had their night feed turn them in a small field near the barn where they can rest on the cool ground. Remove all the dried perspiration from the hair with a stiff brush before turning them out. Bring them in early for their morning's feed and brush them again. Just notice how much work a team will do cartvl for in this way and how well they will look. Hot weather is very trying for If possible, give the road horse a cool, airy box stall at night, during the hot weather at least. Clean all the stalls every morning and put the bedding out to dry and air. Sprinkle land plaster over the wet places in the stall. A stable can bo kept sweet arid free from odor in this way. A stable filled with the fumes of ammonia is bad for the horses' and not good for the general health. Various mixtures are sold to keep the stable sweet and dry. They are tinted and scented, but plain land plaster is the base and just as good at much less cost. If a horse sSiifts from one foot to the other, there is pain somewhere. The shoes do not fit or his feet fna««ft Uf/M~ I p r * I CHAPTER XX VIII. Concluded. At last Mrs. Wylie raised i ) her con i fac i of the ivelopo bearing foreign hispered. That letter," trembling with dow "Yes," answered Brenda, with the same sickening- conep-c -sure. "It is Then she took it and turned away to the window. Witthout exactly knowing what .sua was doing, Mrs. Wylie sat down again in the chair s.ne had vacated, on the advent of the post-bag. Her MtaB moved as the stared stupidly at the work tossed aside on the table. "0 God !" she was whispering, 'give her strength !" It seemed hours that sjie sat there without daring to raise her eyes She heard Brenda break ovjen tho envelope and uafold the paper, which crackled loudly. Then there oame no sound at all except at times a suppressed rustle as a page was turned. At last the girl moved, turning and coming toward her companion. "There!-->--" she said gently, "you may as well road it." She laid the closely writ/ten sheets upon the table, for Mrs. Wylie did not hold out her hand, and turned again toward the window, where she stood looking out upon tho gleaming snow. After a space, Mrs. Wylie took up the letter and read it dreamily, without comprehending its full meaning--without realizing that, the hand which had directed the clear, firm Md. it r mid n 3 follows other has ups-ot r hB.pt?. be tl so plucky « Be that --going to break through a hard and dry and feverish and ache, resolution to which I have held ever Find the cause and remedy it or a since r took to the warpatili. It good horse*may be ruined. was my intention fcp »-r>it until the Every stable should have a foot- ' cnd of this ca.ii.paig'; before telling tub, and during the dry time parti- vo„ xttgil j tiaxe always loved you-- cularly every horse should stand in ; that I have always looked up to you if. if only for five minutes every j ^ mv ideal of a brav\ true woman day. Let them : cleu like i love trong. Put fine wire netting over 1 windows and make a wire door keep the flies and mosquitoes out the stable. Use a gauze blanket on the ho s in tie stable to keep the flies off a the dust out of the. hair. j fit in reality, as all t e j my life have been. If I had loved ° j you less, I could have asked you to 'f be the wife of a war-correspondent I (and one whose reputation was stuch * j that he could not afford to be found background.) This, Brenda, t I.e. WISH FOR FEATHERSES. Sultanas Are Poor Writers, b Stick to Their Subject. The ladies of the Levant are n afflicted with cacoethes scribent They do not worry the book revic er. They seldom write a letter, r.i if the-y do tie style is naive, a thoy regard technique--spelling, i •Xample--as a purely private enu left illega--e v uuifl. 1 nee I followed tion which led ;he battlefield. If I have ss iuis'i.uke, you and Mtrs. iu can. ;I leave my casa little hands, darling. But I that I am right. Wo g-eis, Brenda, but have AS I ha' ' 11?!.' that defies evei tor. It is frc l sultana 1 he ci .':,;.-sioner. "Constantinople--My noble friend : Here are the featfherses sent. My I soul, my noble friend, are there no other fe'atherses leaved in the shop; Derides these featherses 1 And these! featherses remains, and these feath-! erses are sikly. They are dear. | Who buys dheses ? And, my noble friend, we want a noat from your-: self. Those you !,rnl last tint were beautiful. We had searched. My soul, I want featherses. Again of j those featherses. In Kalada there is plenty of feather. Whatevc ml.y ' ut if feathers Though frank, the lady KNOWLEDGE IN PLANTS. Said to Have Traits Found Human Beings. That plants have intelligence maintained by Prof. Shaler of Hi vard university. After discusfci the automata, he says in a thesis "We may i that higher lll;f-.i: but the il.'ui nature, and extend it by the observation that intelligence is normally unconscious, and appears as conscious only after infancy, in our waking hours, and not always > he t ; follow- , half unfolded 3&t grade of the ived fro in no condition to say ititellige- ■<: cannot exist among them. In fact, all we can discern supports the view that throughout the organic realm the intelligence that finds its fullest expression in man is everywhere at work." Superintendent (of gas-works): "What do you know about laying gas-pipes in the street ?" Applicant (for place as foreman) : "I know they hadn't ough'tei- be laid until the street lues jusjt been repaved." (He got the place.), man--the lord of all the earth--has these ! (The End). His chest heaved convulsively, and the veins stood out upon his forehead. 1'n his anger he advanced towards the other with outstretched fist. But by a strenuous effoit he controlled himself. "No matter !" he muttered, savagely, "the day will come !" Sure enough, at dawn the next morning faint streaks of grey pencilled the East. Later, at its accustomed hour, the sun arose. Thus was the prophecy fulfilh*cT.