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from thous- uldering joss-sticks. The th 'air, in good truth, was organized and ¢ cted upon a splendidly mag- nificent scale, and for some minutes combined colorful whole was be- ildering to the eye; detail was tem- porarily eclipsed by the general effect, dered aimlessly about trying SE en to my attention fre- 2 & tly diverted by the greetings of 7 ends and acquaintances. I did not know what _ ing likely to confront me here to- Melt, it included a mental picture of a aman accosting me, "me off mysteriously to a secluded cor- ner, ad after 1 had handed him the g an X, W sper at my ear the way to find Lois. The rest I left e air, Mystery and secrecy were so alien to this gay, glittering festival, how- ever, and the right faces of friends were so constantly rising before me upon every hand, that it was difficult to keep my purpose in mind as a grim reality and not as a sort of hideous nightmare. I early began to grow restless and impatient, responding to salutations only in an absent fashion while I hurried up and down the broad aisles between {| keenly scanning e face for some sig quest was ended. As time drew on and nothing hap- pared my impatience grew beyond all unds. Nine--ten--ten-thirty--elev- en o'clock came and went. I devoted a moment to wondering what had be- come of Struber, and what he would do when he returned to the city and learned of Lois's disappearance, Al- though I had no inkling of what had carried him off to the mountains, 1 could not but believe that he had been led away purposely--on a wildgoose chase, like my own here to-night. After all, when the signal came I was not looking for it; it' caught me wholly unawares. I was standing be- fore a booth where were displayed in- numerable specimens of carved ivory. There were tiny images of Buddha sitting cross-legged in his familiar at- titude of meditative devotion; ele- phante with howdas upon their backs; ideous, grotesque gods and god- desses; chessmen, and countless other fancies all exquisitely carved. In the midst of this heterogeneous welter of fantastic images and figures an old gray-haired Chinaman sat, his position very much like that of the diminutive Buddhas. In front of him was a low bench bearing tools and fragments of ivory--ivory chips and shavings--and a nearly finished con- ception upon which he manifestly had been engaged. The incident that brought me to a keen sense of my surroundings was eculiar. I must have been standing ere watching him in a preoccupied way for some minutes. People were constantly passing and now and then pausing to admire the ivory carver's wares, whose merits were exploited by a pretty girl in a fetching Chinese costume. All at once IT became aware that the old Chinaman was staring in my direction with a fixed intentness that had something uncanny about it. It was the sort of look that one feels, the sort that drags one up from the pro- foundest of reveries, to swing com- pass-like and meet the scrutinizing ayes. But his regard was not engag- ad by mine. Following its direction, my 'own dropped to my right hand-- to the death ring. It was the ring that had, apparently, hypnotized him. He seemed suddenly to divine that [ had detected his interest, for his eyes raised to mine sent me a warn- ing glance, Then deliberately he icked up a small cube-shaped bit of vory and affected to work upon it with one of his tools. e rows of booths, very dark foreign n or token that my Wing 2 ded feeling a ie signal at last. 1 I receiv: e 8 a took a swift step or two forward and legned toward the old man. : "Well," 1 ungdertoned, "I am here; I have been here all evening." ; Without d so much as a look at me or ceas n his employment, but with a swift glance toward the ; he returned: "policemen here, too. You no mind " to 'expect. Whatever else I had imagined as be- velly = Of course I was in no wise to blame if the police had extended their activ- ities to the bazaar; it gave me an of confidence in their ability that this possible source had | occurred to them. But I e: a quick feeling of alarm at the idea that I was to be held accountable for their presence here. "T told nobody about the message-- not a word," I uttered with fervent j earnestness. "If the police are here, it's not at my instigation--not 'be- cause I told them to come--under- stand?" ? The old man worked on in silence. After a long, anxious pause, and still without looking up, he said: "Velly well. You wait. Shut up by 'm by; I come for you." ; At this moment the pretty girl re- turned, her face wreathing in smiles when she caught the admiring look with which 1 was examining her ex- hibit, and before I could withdraw gracefully from the vicinity, I was obliged to purchase, at a terribly ex- travagant price, an image of Confu- cius, Another tormenting period of wait- ing now ensued; but already the crowd was beginning to thin perceptibly. I was: informed at one of the booths that midnight was closing-time, and as it was some minutes past eleven I curbed my impatience as best I could, and, having secured my hat and coat, kept a watchful eye upon the ivory carver's booth. Of a sudden I heard my name pro- nounced in a voice unmistakably fam- iliar. I looked round but encountered no face that 1 recognized. Then, right in front of me I espied a Chinese boy in a costume of dazzling yellow and blue silk covered all over with embroidered gilt storks and amazing flowers. He was grinning at me, and I identified him by a gap in his upper front row of teeth. It was Stub. "What are you doing here in this | masquerade ?" I demanded, "Gee! Isn't it great, boss?" he re- turned cheerfully. "I'm just picking up a little easy money on the side But, say, the kids wouldn't do a thing to me if they caught me on the street in the rags. Gaudy! Wow!" "Do you mean to tell me you're paid for making this spectacle of your- self 2" "Yep. I'm in the Chink village. I serve tea, chop suey, shark's fins, bird's-nest soup and all the delica- cies 0' the season. Most of 'em's | real Chinks, but a bunch o' us kids! pulls down four bits a night for bein' part o' the scenery. Dead easy." "And this is why you have been wanting to sleep all day this past week--I see. But don't forget that I have first claim upon your valu- able services, you imp. . . . Wait a minute." An idea had suddenly pop- ped into my mind, and I had only a short time to avail myself of this opportunity. "You seem to have an extended ac- quaintance among the police," 1 said: "I want you to give someone of them ----preferably a plain-clothes man--a note from me, and tell him to get it to the chief of police or to Struber . as quickly as he can." - The sauciness was erased from the boy's face by a look of frank curio- sity. "What's | | on, boss? The place's My \ youth to old age, are less ; Id and trust-worthy remedy-- JI J JC J J J JC OJ OJ J J a Your cares in comfort ing the aches and pains i ' | was drawn with a start to CERRO on "been lous: : One's beh i } with fly-cops 411 ev Lor Ton By Tight news talking with: him ; di Am obeying these directions liter- ay. Just received first sign from old Chinese ivoi carver at ivory booth, who doubtless is to conduct me somewhere. waiting for him. 11.40 p.m.--Ferris. I handed it to Stub. "Do you un- derstand what you are to do?" I wanted to make sure. "I get you, boss," he replied, a final wistful look betraying his eagerness to learn what this mysterious pro- ceeding portended. He darted away just as the pretty girl emerged from the ivory Pooth, her fantastic costume concealed by a motoring coat and veil. She bade the old artist a cheery good-night and joined a pleased-looking young chap | who was waiting for her. The two . went away, smiling happily into each | other's eyes. I felt a queer wrench at | my heart as I watched them disap- pear. Then shortly came the Chinaman. He advanced with such a pointed ig- noring of my presence that I on my Jan appeared to pay no attention to im As he passed he flung a short com- mand from a corner of his mouth: "You follow me," and pursued his way without further pause, I fell into his wake, and in a min- ute or such a matter we issued through a side door into an alley-way. A light above the door relieved the darkness of this restricted passage. My guide turned toward the rear. of the auditorium, and we presently came out upon a street densely shad- ed by pepper-trees. Hére a touring- car was waiting with a dim blur of a figure sitting motionless at the wheel, and the old man motioned me to en- ter. I held back. "Where are you tak- ing me?" I demanded sternly. He climbed deliberately in beside the silent chauffeur before vouchsaf- ing a reply. You "I no can tell, savvy?" Still T hesitated. . Was I deliberate- ly, with eyes open, being led into an- other trap? My guide stirred me. A "What's the matta you? You flaid 2" he asked in a perfectly indif- ferent tone. "You no come, I say good-by." Trap or no trap, I was in for it. I must take the risk. I opened the ton- neau door and stepped in. The old rogue: knew that I would come. The silent chauffeur instantly came to life. The electric headlights sud- denly blossomed, there was a click of the starter switch, and the machine gathered speed and went rushing away through the night. Was it taking me to Lois? I was filled with a miserable sense of being carried farther and farther away from her with every mile that unrolled so swiftly behind us, The automobile was a large seven- passenger touring-car, and I was a solitary figure on the back seat. We were well into the northern outskirts of (the city before I became aware that I was not the tonneau's sole oc- cupant--though possibly the only animate one. Ihad entered it in dark- ness; the top was up; the street lights we sped past did not go far toward illuminating the portions of the in- terior that were in shadow. It was not until my foot touched something soft and yielding that my attention a shap- I show you, less mass upon the floor. | 1 made out what appeared "Get another cow," was the slogan of the owner of the cream can; but and then spread out in a layer of from one-half to 1% inches deep on a fl have openings or holes or a three- sixteenths (3-16) ineh mesh wire bot- tom, so that the water drains freely. They may be stirred daily and sprink- led, or allowed to sprout without stir- ring, until ready for feeding. They are usually fed when the sprouts are from 1 to 13% inches long, although some poultrymen prefer to allow the sprouts to grow to 2 or 8 inches long. Oats need a moist and warm atmos- phere in which to sprout quickly, so that it is necessary to furnish heat or to keep them in a warm room during the winter, while they may be sprout- oor, | of in a tray or tier of flats, which! "the 1916 slogan is "Get a better cow." Then weigh your milk and use the tester. Scales are a neces- sity on every farm and the testing outfit is not expensive, neither is it 80 complex that it takes an educated' person to use it as many suppose. With scales and Babcock test no one need keep cows, the cows' will keep him. Don't guess; it pays to know. Weigh your cream--then if you ship 86 pounds when the check comes you will not be positive it was 88. A man may pay 25 cents to guess on the number of beans in a can and consider himself a sport. But he is not in it with the man who loses from one to two per cent. to as high as 80 | which has also been soaked in forma- ed out of doors during the rest of the per cent. of the butterfat for the year. It takes from 6 to 10 days to Privilege of guessing twice a day on sprout oats, depending on the tem- the speed of his separator. Why not perature of the room. Oats frequent- | buy a speed recorder, made especially ly become mouldy while sprouting, To to attach to any make of cream sepa- prevent this, they may be treated with |Tator, and quit guessing? "The com- formalin, using 1 pint of formalin to Mon error is turning the separator too led over and thoroughly mixed with 30 Per minute is the bowl running 600 bushels of oats. Cover the oats with to 700 revolutions too slow. This is a blanket for 24 hours; then stir until losing money by turning the cream they are dry. Keep them in a sack into skim-milk. : | Besides timing to give the cream lin. Oats thus treated and dried may can a square deal, wash the separator be held for a long time for sprouting, | every time it is used. If you do mot Where the double-yard system of do this, run some clean water through confining poultry is used, one of the | the separator after it has stood over yards is kept in green feed, into night; then taste the water from the which the hens are turned when the cream spout and you will know why it crop attains a height of 4 or b inches. should be washed. The machine rusts This method of alternately yarding after a time when not washed. Any poultry furnishes green feed for the one can afford to care properly for as birds and at the same time freshens high-priced a machine as the separa- the yard. Rape; wheat, rye, oats and tor, barley are usually sown for this pur- Have all cream the same tempera- pose, Rye is good for late fall and ,ture--as cold as possible when mixed. early spring feeding, as it will live Keep the cream stirred as a smooth, through the winter in most sections. | velvety cream is more accurately Oats, wheat and barley are used sampled; hence, it gives a better test througuout the spring, summer and than the hard, lumpy cream. Cover early fall. Several of these grains jcream with cheese cloth to avoid dust may be sown together to secure a and insects and to give the cream air; greater variety of green feed, and any | Don't bring your 'cream in the kitch. quick-growing grains may be used for len to sour it, thinking you will get a this purpose.--Canadign Farm. better test for sweet cream tests the - 30 gallons of 'water, which is sprink- Slow. The result of one or two turns | Pg Up or Down. First senior--I'm going to marry a poor girl and settle down. Second senior--Better marry a rich girkand settle up. Mean Cat. "Algernon called on me yesterday afternoon," "Yes; he told me he had some time to kill." [ x i Clear Profit. "H 1 could get someone to invest a thousand dollars in that scheme of | mine I could make some money." " "How much could you make?" "Why, a thousand dollars." s A Jinen shirt is 'much colder than a cotton one, linen drawing away more '| same as sour. The amount of butter- {most fat in cream is not affected by sour- ing. Don't ship a thin cream, for you simply donate the skim-milk to the creamery, make transportation high- er and besides a heavy cream keeps in better condition, The owner of the cream can has en- dorsed and adopted a system by which the old-time burdens have been re. moved, and the net results are great- er than before. When you sell butter: fat you are selling sunshine. Whe you sell grain you are selling the fer- tility of your farm. Can the farmer make a better investment than the cream can? : HE Backyard Environment. | A great part of the home life of families on farms is associated with the backyard, which, of all "places around the farm home, is usually the | neglected. The front yard may ended for the carried out with care and a view to permanency. Take time to plan the planting and decide once and for all where the shrubs will be most effect~ ive and attractive. : : The women usually have to take the initiative in work of this kind, and should be given every assistance pos- sible by the men. During the winter the subject should be discussed at Farmers' Clubs and plans made for an active campaign in the spring. Sever« al clubs in Quebec have organized competitions in this line of work with excellent results, These' improve- ments involve little or no expense and may be accomplished in the time that the busiest farmer and his family can easily find if they appreciate the im- portance of the work and are dispos- ed to undertake it. The farmer owes to his wife and to himself, but chief~ ly to his children, the best that he ang do towards increasing the attrac ness of his home. The improvement ° {often need not cost a cent.. The first jitem, greater neatness, costs only an effort. The second item of improve- ment, the plan, costs nothing but study. The third item . of improve- ment, the plants, can often be wholly. secured from the wild--F.C.N. in Conservation, =F It Pays to Paint. It pays to -paint all' 'permanent buildings that are 'made of planed lumber and properly finished. If tastily colored with paint properly ap- plied, it adds greatly to the appear- ance of the place. This is a source of delight to the owner and helps make - the family contented. A building that is 'kept well painted will last inde- finitely. A good grade of 'paint well applied keeps moisture from reaching the nails, the lack of which allows buildings 'to become = weatherworn, ; and its parts become loose, weak, rot- ten and misshapen. A well painted place is not only more desirable to keep, but is more readily sold, as buy- ers prefer a well kept place and - pay more for such. It pays to pain machinery because of the better : pearance, and because it will keep the bolts and other parts from rusting or rotting, causing expensive break- downs and making it difficult to re- pair. It is especially profitable to keep. waggans and buggies well paint. ted, for it keeps the wood from check- ing and the wheels from shrinking. Every time a tire is set it puts more dish into the wheel, which weakens it. For. 50 cents a year a vehicle can be kept. tight and be made to last almost as long as one will keep up the paint- ing. ----e ie 4 So far as is known the greatestage attained by an insect is Sor oe § by a queen ant which was nearly fif- teen years old when it died. A rhinoceros rolls in the m cause little insects get betw ids of its skin and worry