The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

an vince--found 8 (od west In It. Evervthiug be said gently cidiculed. That he should love with her was apparently the ost ridiculous thing of all. She re ed to, Lis word "choose" and léd up all his blorting explain. "Men are all egolsts," she sald cruelly, nd the contempt iy have for us is thing, If you have the least miscon~ ception of that Kad about me the soon er you get rid of it the better." "You refer doubtless to these news- paper accounts?" inquired the strang®e. Matt nodded. "Yes, all that rot," he said. "I'm familiar with them," observed the stranger, drawing up close to the bed. "Perhaps I'm also more familias with the actual facts than you will credit. Circumstances have forced me | to acgraint myself with them--to sep- | bendingly. arate the wheat from the chaff, from a vast deal of chaff," be added un- "Well, well, now to busi ness." With that he produced from his pocket a small, flat object wrapped In tissue paper. Divestiog it of its covering. he passed a little ivory minia- ture to Matt "Do you happen to pec ognize that'person?" he asked Matt took it with surprise, for It was rimmed with dlamonds and backed with gold like an unwieldy brooch | with a surprise that changed to cons | ble face of John Mort. | younger by twenty sternation as be beheld the nnmistaka- It was a face years than the | John Mort he had known, smoother | much and wore rounded and with the hale altogether black; a flattering picture, too pink and prettified' and youthfully handsome for even the orig: inal at the age it represented him," | But it was John Mort just the same. He could bave picked it out of a room- ful of miniatures, a whole gallery-- John Mort, staring up at him from a circlet of dlamonds, with an fmperions | air that somehow had been caught nd lity--pow, has 'wehemently protested that she lots of both--till he was eb- tly cut short. 0, To," she said. "To you I'm just 'ebarming little drawing room orna- | f, sparkling in the firelight--just a ir little noodle that you'd like to put | a crate aud take home with you-- | you're horribly miserable because can't end somebody else may-- having po voice in the matter "Bt all, only rather hoping that the Write will be padded with pink siik-- 'that being the limit of ber poor little | podie intell ce. The last thing to | 10 y¢ hat I'm a woman, with | head of my own a heart of my | Si odle flushiug and overcome. | 's. what I meant when 1 sald musta't go," she added piteously. 't you see?" tt wus less backward than stun- He must have misunderstood; aid not believe it. It was only n her bands went to ber face and bead bowed In an estremity of g that comprebension really flash- g him. He pulled away her hands, gs sll, yet mad with joy-- them away and kissed her on , her burning, averted Npe-- ind again and again; Insatiable young beauty, and fuflamed by nge that was no resistance at 'the panting, shaking and al- ed surrender of a woman to loved. d you to It," he whispered. *1 £9 every word you said 1 and you love me, and nothing while all the rest was falsified by the obsequious artist. Chills ran down Matt's back. It was as though he were detected in a crime He was thankful for the poor light that must have screened his expression of dismay, for all Mort's warnings were now upon him il a torrent--and bis own promises, his own pledged word. Here was what John Mort bad 4 feared~---"the wolves" be hall 0 them--Iin a voice he had lowered | there, apprehensive still on that lost any bright LIt of color--we shall accept It as a sign that you have--er--changed your mind. Don't forget that, will you? It Is quite conceivable that the sum might be increased if we were assured of your active co-operation, bet it would be superfluous to go into that at this stage. Just a little flag at your window, and within six hours 1 shall he promptly at your service." Matt burst out laughing. "Is that your usual method of communication?" "But why not a skyrocket he asked. tae {ai hovskrd doers lose." wn tot to] 86 INVESTOR OPP HARD TO DI ag ot known a crop reef, in those lost and lonely seas | While you are about it. or a blue light, The heavy lidded eyes took on a pew | and masks, of course--and a pass failure. In addition r ve the Company is also | and ominous significance as Matt felt | their glance on him. What evil weére they meditating? What was thelr sin- ister purpose in seeking him out to be- tray his friend? He returned the miniature, speaking os he did so with his pipe in his mouth--a subterfuge he had fonnd use- ful before, especially when under fire-- real fire--bullets. It is the mouth that tells secrets, and that in other ways than words. A pipe is a help It hides agitation and suggests uncon cern. "Well, what about ft?" said Matt through his teeth. "I asked if you recognized him? "Seen this person before, do you mean? No, I don't know who be ts | Why, do you expect me to? The stranger was not at all noopius- ed. It was disconcerting how coolly be took the announcement. He care fully replaced the miniature in his pocket, remarking that it was "a pity." "I've something here that may fresh. en your recollection," be went on, pro- ducing a and a thick roll of notes. touched it, he began to spread: green- backs on the coveriet as en- gaged in a singular game of patience. A row of six, another row of six a third row of six, and Matt, amazed, perceived {hat they were in denomina- tions of $1,000 each. "My God" he cried you--a mint?" The stranger, with a gleam of yellow teeth and the first smotle he bad per mitted himself, completed s fourth row from a packet that was yet far from exhausted. Then be stopped and sald: "No, not'a mint. Merely a per son who seeks 'a Jittle information: and Is very willing %o pay for it": "What are Boilie, J onis | word. Ill say 'Walter,' and you an- | ewer 'Jones,' or perhaps a single mys- | terious word, like 'gurgle' Gurgle's rather good. How do you like gurgle?™ | "The otbers face darkened at this | derision. When be spoke it was with perceptible humiliation and embarrass | ment. "I'm only an agent," be mur- 'mured. "Such theatrics are none of my making, though in this affair they seem unavoidable. Laugh all you like, | Mr. Broughton. A man who has thrown away a fortune for a whim is [| entittea to, though some day when | you're older aud learn bow hard a world this is It may seem cousiderably less humorons (food night," be con- | tinued, bolding ont his hand. "Permit me to apologize for my persistence, | and tv thank you for your good nature | under the infliction. Yon will let me hear from you. will you not? And re member that the amount might be ma- terially increased. Good night, good night?" S + [To B= comTiNUED.] 2 Answerél. | Tho professor. of economic was | dlacoursing eloquently on the need | of leadership in all things, and from | the greatness of the leader he plung- | ed into a discussion of the essen! to leadership. "And what," he ex- claimed, "is the great characteristio | of all born leaders, the first great | essential 'to successful leadership?" | He paused that the guestion and its import migh® be fully appreciated. "V/hat is it7" he asked again. A small voice, coming from the rear cf the room, answered cheerfuls ly, "Ready ability to satisfactorily: | explain what tha other fellow says | sbout youl « acquiring a large; acreag 4 ricultural land immediately surrounding the grove This land has a record of a dolla oduction ona single crop, and bear in mind that lity of soil produces three hops per annum. i This is prove about it. There is no guesswork The Company was other and independent nl pany's project: They] corporation management y Ontario men, who have sin the vicinity of the Com- "its possibilities 'under The Company will 'b No waiting for long draw preseut crop on the trees lividend basis from the start . development work. - The fe carg/of dividends. : ; Only sufficient stoc! 'ments of the Com i it "NURSING THE CALF. Poor Practice to Let Youngsters Suck i Dairy Cows. | As a rule, it is not a good practice to permit calves to nurse. It is quite common to let calves nurse two or three times and then separate them from their mothers and feed Whole Ti ist £ i fh; ie gfs Esd BE shred Ti 1h Zed ai! : the | thelr fellows ol in the trenches and took possession ' of the interdicted food Holes were sometimes made Iu the bot toms of these ditches, one every two or three feet, Into which the worms fell and were then killed by the farm- ers going over the flelds and plonging bars or sticks of wood futo these holes, It seems, however, that Only a few farmers were able to save enough corp for seed the following year. Just eleven years afterward. In 1781, the same pest 1s again recorded. It seemy also to have reappeared in 1790, Trap ping by means of ditches and holes W used in present day methods of com trol, but the worms are killed by pous - lng kerosene Into the holes, Not only Ix the Amegiran farmer now fruits and truck crops are also recely- ing attention. That the United States in the From experience on the national for est ranges last year the department states that, lnmibe from bedded cup - . bands were fire pounds heavier on sn average at the end of the season than those which were tralled to and from established bed grounds and that 'the range.can carry from 10°to 25 per cent more sheep than when so much in trampled out In traveling 'buck and forth. 'The disadvantages of the old sys tem. according to the departinent. were twofold. those to the forage and those - to the sheep. The forage suffered by being trampled badly and being actual ly destroyed. at and wear the bed grounds: the sheep lost weight In golng to and from the camps, und in dry weather suffered not a ttle from doit and from crowding. ngs b r ays; then apbly a Httle lard FIRE BLIGHT RAVAGES. * Wisconsin. Orchards "Are Buffering From an Epidemio. ~~ . One of the worst epidemics of fire blight that ever visifed Wisconsin is. gaining beadway throughout mauy sections of the state this season, mos to J. G. Moore. horticulturists University of Wisconsin College re. <2 3 presence of the didense is first ted" by the 'dying back of the leaves, which turn reddish or dark brown, while the bark ls shrunken and