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hat 1 had seen in the Pf : A Florerios B those erp j embered days when 1 looked upon the "5 world, and it 'had 'given me such plea- "Your words are very puzling" I said Ee "Tell me what it is that you would have me do." Sl "It 1s 'not diMoult," she answered, *yel the curious character of my Te: mise fo "obey. without oo either mot! thoi sonore be made plain' to' you, not: urself unnec- "on, ny a art and "thus ; know with fwhom I am dealing." id ; h ; { {nol more. than twenty-one or £0, and 'certaltly. handsome ¢- countenance, and Won | ganice quite unusual. was 3 Ferls and tecwoids, cblaining & fresh p on with each movement, bad ission 10 da this," 1 3 18 10. be mutual trust us it 19 only fair that 1 should ween know whether you She hesitated. I felt her hand tremb- 1m, . A omerter cannot see you," I went temennter, | By touch J can convey. to my. of "the eantour of - "Very well," she said at last. "You have my > Tort Then eagerly, with both my hands, 'touched her face, while she stood rig- d. ales 'as a statue. I could feel i: contraction ¢f the muscles that action "of mine mused her; and that she was laughing. on Her skin was solt as velvet, her Jash- Ios long, her fealures regular and finely out, like those of some old cameo. Her | I Be Shoe pp he "ahou rs a large cape © Fich fur sable I believed if to be, There Was no doubt she was young, perhaps 8he Was very of ! dressed with an: ele: her chin FT which spoke of 'heallh ] and happiness. As I carefully passed my hands back. {do | "IT you knew the truth are young or old," | 58 n air of 'bitter reproach." "No" 1 answered, very bluntly; *1 "You gre at least plain end outspok- en," she responded. "But as our inter- "-| ests are mutual, I surely may presume. 10 advise: you 10 acoept the conditions. Life is belter than death, even though one mdy' be blind." 7 "And you bold = back from me" the ch fo escape from this slow: but in- he | OviiaDle fate unless I conform to your | teres do. . pd "Such action" a8' yours 'cannot 6 "Thepire Ir fidence." "I am impelled by circumstances be- yond. my 0 HSwened with a tary. touch of sadness. you certainly would not hesitate." Ln - "Will\you not fell me your mame?" "No. Ibis useless." fi "Al Jeast, you can so far confide in me Bla tell me your Chrislian name," 1 "Edna." "And: you refuse your surname?" "l' do so under compulsion." The water had by this time risen rap- idly. ~My. legs had become benumbed, for it now reached neafly to my knees. "Why do you longer hesitate?" she went on, "Give me your word that you will render the assistance I require, and we will at once escape. Lef us: lose no time. All this seems strange fo you, 1 know; but some day, when you learn the real reason; you will thafik me ra- ther than think ill of my present ac- tions." Fon Her determination was, I saw plainly, the outcome of some ferror which held her feftered, and I knew that, in order lo 'save myself, I must give her the promise she had so persistently desired 4) extract from me. "Therefore, with sudden determination, prompted mcre by the natural instinot of self-preservation than: by any des've to assist her, I gave her my bond of "Again she sighed deeply, es though A in| leased of some oppressive' weight by. 'my. words. Then our haa'ls ¢lasved in mutual trust, and without further word she led me fo the oppasita side 'of the Fioisome cellar into which my enemics cast me. © "You shall never regret this dceis- bon," 'she assured "me 1in:a siruined Yolce, tremblivg with emotion --"never, never!" And with a sudden movement she raised my hand and touchel it lightly With her dry, fevered lips. CHAPTER VI, This impulsive action of hers was as though she wepe deeply indebted to me | stood motionless in wonderment. "Fos | + Bul only for an instant. She left my side for 4 moment, and from the sound that esceped her lips. appeared to be | struggling to open some means of egress | "Remain where you are," she said, I will return. to you in a moment. ther, difficult, and I ¢ {he drawing of a bolt and clang of iron, then. she. climbed gain to where 1 anxiously her. The river flood had risen , and was still 'entering rap- Ais "hat you receive you will obey without wn. control," she answered, | ou." Her, ' + | myth, was certainly only a local flood, a on [118 hat : nthe Biblia! record as "earth," is in * | more than forty other places in Scrip. » tendered " 1st 'absolute 'obedience and | with a view to I' heard thé approaching jingle of a cable-bell, and 'the vehicle, at her de mand, pulled up at the kerb. "We must now part," she said, in a low, earnest voice. "Remember that In this remarkable affair our inlerests are absolutely identical. Any order 'Seeking to discover the why or where- fore, and above all, silence to the | police." ' "I have promised," I answered, for Avant of something other to say, | "And whatever may occur in the fu- ture, recollect that I_am still your pro- tectross, as I have been to«day. I have forced you. to your promise, but fer that 1 ask your forgiveness, because il ia essential, if~----" and she paused. 3 whety? 1 inquired, with quick in- "If the mystery is ever to be solved." = "Ave you, -l60, seeking the truth?' "Yes." she responded. "But we must not talk e. The condition of our clothes is attracting attention." "I shall think always of the mystoni- ous Edna who refuses all information," 1 laughed. i. "And I, too, ghall nat easily forget you--and all | Jue fo you; Farewell." Her soft hand grasped mine for aa instant, that same cool hand that jad soothed my brow. Afterwards she as- sisted me into the cab. (To be Continued.) -------- THE EXCELSIOR LIFE INSURANCE CO. 1907 a Prosperous Year. © The annual. statement of The Excel sior Life Insurance Company issued re- cently, indicates a year of increased business. The total income was $427 430. That the Excelsion Life Insurance Company is inently a policyhold- ers Company, may be judged from the fact that for three successive quinquen. fial periods it hes paid very satisfac- tory profits to its policyholders, and further its record and present position is unexcelled as regards those features of the business which policyholders are particularly interested in--security-- Interest earnings the highest in Canada ~-economy in manegement--an un. paralleled low death rate, The popularity of the "Excelsior Life" may be judged from the fact that new insurance applied for during the year amounted to $2,711,000. The total smount of insurance now fin force reaches almost eleven and one-half mil lion_dollars. The assets of this Com- pany amount fo 81,411,330, It has a Reserve Fund largely In excess of Gov- ernment * requirements. Although ft has been only eighteen years in ox. istence The Excelsior Life is one of the strong Canadian Companies, ils success is indicative of shrewd and capable management. On its Board of Directors are 10 be found the names of gentlemen Mistingiiished for their Integrity &nd 'business capacity, it is largely owing 1o their executive ability that the Excel- Sior 'Life occupies the high position that it. amongst insurance com- panies, Any one thinking of insuring their lives would do well to have fhe Excelsior fi on the propesition. Fullest information may be obtained on application to the Head Office in To- tonto. The Company want good active agents. in. every. place where it is not represented. 1 ---- en THE FOUNTAINS OFTHE DEEP, (By A. Banker.) Until: the last century the question of the universality of the. great flood was never. raised, and for more than four thousand . years the whole world--sci- enlists, savages, literates, men of tHe world; everybody--Dbelieved without any quiestion that the entire globe was sub- merged. Of late, however, it has be- {me the fashion with many fo affect :Deleve that the Deluge, 1f not a but a limited region. Although {he word erefs, translated ture endered as ," or some sy- mous word, yet the fact that "there ree hd Sonsiderablo ra of 'wi re. does not ex- pong dorm. the fradition of a which destroyed the whole Ji. and also. ¥ histories 'of the" flood, 'and others, pre. men 'number from Si WE . The Siate Is Invaded by Hordes of 0% "Caterpillars -- Commission . Appointed. 'A moth plague which has 'cost mil: lions of dollars 'is 'being fought'in the 85, | Slates, This gipsy and brown-lail moth Lest is proving to be one of the great- - J esl plagues of any age sinte the locusts flew over Egypt. The gipsy moth plague is due to the cdrelesspess of a scientist who lived in' Massachusetts some years ago. The finey is a silk-spinner, and the scien- ist had an idea that by crossing him with the ordinary silkworm he could obtain a caterpillar hardy enough to withstand the cold winters. Accordingly he imported a great their native European haunts, and then, unfortunately, allow- ed several caterpillars to escape. When they got acclimatized to the east winds ol Massachuselts the mischiel began, It was a case of 500 caterpillars to each female moth. ) COMMISSION APPOINTED. Soon a commission had to be ap pointed, which expended a million and a half dollars in ten years in a vain effort to exterminate the plague. What the result would have been had not the Legislature in a mistaken fit of economy suspended the work is a matter of speculation, Last year indignant public opinion and the openly expressed alarm of ex- pers in the neighboring States brought about the appointment of another com- mission. The brown-lail had mean- while been imporled on some rose bushes from Holland. It is a conservative estimate that over $1,000,000 will be expended in Massa- chusells during the next lwo years in fighting moths, The increased seriousness of the situ- ation is roughly indicated by the in- creased expenditure under the new commission as compared with the old-- 81,500,000 in ten years, as against over $1,000,000 in two years. The only method so far successful in controlling the plague is that of direct {ree-to-tree work. Hundreds of men are going fram tree to tree deslroying the moths wherever found. Certain habits of the insects aid in this herculean task. The brown-tail calerpillar hatches in the late summer, and as soon as the weather becomes cold weaves a nest of leaves and silken thread at the end of a bough, into which he crawls and HIBERNATES ALL WINTER. These nests are cut off and burnt. During the winter also the eggs of the gipsy, laid In clusters on the trunks cl Llrees, can be killed by painting with a thick coat of crude coal-tar creosote, The brown-tail caterpillar is an enemy Gc! man. It sheds ils minute, wiry hairs, and these, floating in the air, come in 'contact with human flesh, producing a painful, iiching irritation of the skin. Cases have been reported so serious that the victims, with their faces swol- ler out of recognition and their eyes closed, were obliged to go to the hos- pital. The most helpful remedy scems fo be any cooling lotion, or, best of all, an abundant use of common vaseline. An overwhelming number of moths have settled down upon eastern Mas- sachusetls since the plague began. In the infected districts of the sub- urbs the stench from the caterpillars which have dropped dead from leaves palsoned by arsenical spraying has fre- uently been so great as lo necessitate disintecti with lime before the bodies could be shovelled up and carted 'away by the wheelbarrow!ul. -- fe HISTORICAL WORK. Father--"What is thal book you are reading. my son!" Son--"It's 8 story of a wan who in- vested his money in a Western gold mine and lost every cent of il." "Oh, that's all right, my boy! 1 was afraid you'd get hold of some work of fiction," lowlands are mighty raging torrenis carrying everything before them, and sweeping off, cursing crowds of men, women and children. And (as we ga- {her from one of the ancient records) great. earthquakes add fo the horrors of the scene; houses, , everything overturned into the wild watery con- fusion, And now, to add. to the lerror, the fountains of the great deep are broken up; & {remendous upheaval of the floor of the ocean impels the frenzied waters in wild and tumultuous chaos from their ancient beds, apd wilh maddened roar overwhelm the cardh in a watery ruin. But the good 'ship weathers the a ful storms, and they who were con 1 obey ihe voice of the Creator float on unharmed and soon have the whole earth and all that is thérein as their who, like the antédiluyt- ~,conlemn - the Divine bo' ) ald | And so it will bo at. the "end of the | try 5 | world." Those | be sprayed GRADING CREAM: "During the past season, we at Shell-: mouth have practised grading. ~~ The cream was delivered to the creamery, by haulers. The cream was collected twice a week on four roules, and once only onthe other four. Individual cans are. used. - The hauler simply brings Ir. the cream--the weighing and samp. ling is done by the buttermaker. We, did 'not seek 10 impose an impossible, slandard, We did nol insist that the cream should be sweet, for No. 1 grade. That would be well-nigh impossible, If it was mildly sour, of good flavor, and would run freely through a wire strainer, provided it {ested 30 per cent.' fat, it was No. 1. That is not a severe, standard. 'Any farmer who has a geod scparator can produce 80 per cent.' cream, and keep it from three to five, days in condition, to grade No. 1, un-| der the test I have mebtioned. This in- sistence upon 30 per cent. fat for No.! 1 grade caused a good deal of criticism, ond some dissalisfaction. It is hard on the average farmer fo realize the {mportance of skimming a heavier cream ~over 30 per cenf.--and the benefits, accruing to himself thereby. During the past season the proportion of No; 2 grade testing over 30 per cent., was only 3 per cent. We received 36 per cent. No. 1 grade. If cream grading is to be used as a method of improving the cream re- ceipts, some kind of grade-cand is de- sirable. Such a card should have patron's name, date and pounds of cream! delivered, grade, also the fat test, il the card is mailed. The card might have printed upon it, in separate numbered' paragraphs, the common faults of cream, and the remedies to be applied.' A space can be left for additional re- marks, and atlention can bo called lo any paragraph, which applies to the, Individual delivery of cream noted upon th: grade card. The grade card would form also a receipt to the patron for his delivery of cream. The sooner the patron knows how many pounds of cream he is credited with, and what his grade and test is, the belter will he be satisfled. These are a few first year experi. ences in grading cream. It is perhaps loo soon to say whether the system is an entire success or not. We may lose a few patrons. If we do, they are knockers, and -the creamery is better. without them. The result is on the whole encouraging. We are up against a great deal of helpless (almost haope. less) ignorence, on the part of many patrons. Crading cream fs not a pan-, acea for all the ills that cream 18 heir, lo. It is, however, an advance step in an effort to make better butter and more of it. By its use, and by "patient! conlinuance in well-doing," it will have its reward --Mr. Geo. Matheson, in ad.' dress to Manitoba dairymen, LIVE STOCK NOTES. Timothy is not good forage for dairy' cows and not a profitable crop to grow.' Early cut, nicely cured corn fodder is valuable as affording variety, and is, relished by the cows. A grealer number of eggs arc pro- duced when half the daily rations for the hens consists of tolled cracked corn and vegelables, made stiff with an equal quantity of wheat bran and shorts, us- Ing sweet milk or the Liquor in which meat has been boiled for mixing. All soft food should be seasoned with salt, red pepper now and then, and fed quite stiff, and when the wealher is cool, rather warm. , Colts fed to fatness are like pigs fed cn grain; it produces too much fat and not enough muscle. Feed your. colts! clover hay, early-made, and they wil get the bone and muscle needed, and! will have plenty of 'strength, life and spirit. Notice the "heavy grain-fed horses and see how many are -blind, foundered and shorl-lived. In the West where grain feeding is lavish: you wil} find blindness, etc., in proportion. Chilled lambs -may be restdred, '# taken up in time; by being immediately placed in a-bath of waler, made 0s hot' ay the hand will bear. As as i revives and gels lively, it should be rub-' bed thoroughly. dry. "If il' will then' suck the dani, the 'risk Is over; but should it appear weak, a small dase 'of spirils--say - a teaspoonful of whiskey mixed with some warm milk--should be given, by pouring down ils throat. Then wrap the lamb in an old blankel, and keep it In a room comlortably warm ti 1 14 recovers. Lambs can be restored - by these means when so far gone: that they appear almost dead. : | USE WHITEWASH. . There 15 nothing like a good. cout of A whitewash for the interior of the pole Bo house, re Pdless of he a bout the: poultry house, and' 0¢' house 100k light and leas. Tt every crac the nest x are made oF - inlo