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; ri 'the ity, bi jan unc} e.] vel col he late Jol hael had sought all hurch treasure. His choice had p intensely selected, but not even 'litt'e known room at the Louvre have more. exqu ipgeimens of a lost and inspired art. Pliver Macmichael had been awed | byithe sense of his own ignorance be- fore his superb inheritance, But the all had soon fallen upon. him, blgtd of thé collector ram in his veins. Hg would learn to discriminate what He zady loved. ¥ Hunt i, i James Fenwick, curator of the mtingdom house museum; old Lord Oxshotl, who possessed the finest col- leeticn of intaglio rings in Europe, and that sirart young expert, Julius Vane, who ren private picture deals and in- telligently valued other people's pos- sessions, decided knotty 'points, and was, in fine, & sort of superlative art agent, and made a very good business out of.it,' as his charming house on Campden Hill, with its Italian court, testified--these were the guests whom Oliver Macmichael had conven- ed round his old mahogany that day in late Sestember, and from whose lips he hoped to gather those words of wisdom which would illuminate his rich way. : bit of luck" he said presently. "I have found an"admirable secretary, who ist making a new catalogue for me. And 'pan honor, she knows----" | The nch walked, which seemed . 1 toward the glass case at the other of the room: >q y oy "Keeps the keys, does she?" whis- pered Julins Vane behind his hand to taries. a Ps drew forth the little work of art," which was so singularly almost the. replica of the one still in her trunk. the ivory ange! hidden in the; top hat and locked away in the room over the flower shop which was mow her dwelling place. RT . Julius Vane put out his hands for it. Estella' reliquished it to him, and with the air of one retiring to fit ob- scurity, went back to her writing table and absorbed herself again in the interrupted work. > 3 She did not seem to be listening, to, the animated, discussion which apsse on the very subject of her own 'sug- gestions, and when presently Oliver, palé and stammering with excitement and pleasure, conducted the company round his treasures she paid no nore "ve Yd the most extraordinary attention to them. than if they had,' been ied buzzing in the sunshine. of, eo gallery. After a while the party broke up. | Lord Oxshott and Sir James bowed to (out "She?" interrupted Julius Vane, Estella from the threshold as they who was a smooth-faced man with a|Went out, but her white lids were cast smooth manner, a sweet smile, and down; the courtesy was lost upon her.' fine, intelligent eyes. He had a soft, | Julius, after lingering 'a moment, Tather caressing voice, and an easy, bland to affectionateness in his cop-| habit of the world, Duchesses loved Bratulations to his host, walked u him and he had shown too many|t0 the table and held out his han t royalties over exhibitions not She could not avcid the laying of her to be quite sure of himself in what-;in his grasp. ever society he might be. Neverthe-| "Good-bye, Miss Vanderdeek; Jess, humbly as Oliver Masmichuel SEISe Mb Joa. Senay not Ferman, admi : A ledge, 01 nt to Ge a $ Superior knowledge; he statuctte, Macmicheel, I know some' » 8 invariably jarred on that youth. "She?" Vane interrupted. with his|ome who would run to £5,000--yes, yes © smooth laugh. Oliver colored hotly. |--#5,000 or more! More " he went on, "Yes--a she and, as a matter of Warming, "since it's unique." fact, remarkably good. looking," 'he| Estella lifted her strange, inscrut- blurted out. "But she's--oh, well|&ble gaze upon him and folded her a baby! A most wonderful girl. | lips a trifle closer. She did not utter Sen found out a lot of mistakes in{& word, and"in a minute or two she my old uncle's catalogue already. She | Was alone, 3 > knows." Oliver wagged his hed. "She! -Presently Oliver came back, friend- was born to it, I may say. She was 1¥, boyish guileless. Even she, veiled old Vanderdeek's daughter." about with reserves as she was, could The three men exclaimed at the mot b name: "Old Vanderdeek!" "Strange old chap that was." © t ut unwrap in such company. say. isn't this jolly?" A faint smile flickered like a reflec. tion upon water over her gravity. "He was an' honest old fellow," Sir| [What do you find so charming?' James Fenwick pronounced. "Never{ "Oh, everything! All this loveli- sold you a fake so long as he was up 16ss and the good felfows who come and about the place, but when he got'to see it and the fun of making the ill there was 'a chap of whom I catalogue, and--and--and having you wouldn't say as much." to make it! I say, Miss Vanderdeek, | ", ' | } i "» ¥ 1 fluzh, 5 is iy Tn | "On Friday night," said Benjamin, Oliver, who' feigned not to heat in the 'agony. lest the. ently rsshotl] "have reached the ears of" Pearl quark ard 'm awfully sorry appointment. "1. really s cup to-day. The art dealer put i and gla ced over his 'shoulder that 1 ou a) a yer Baw Sith wonder ATG sei the bag and drew object wrapped in a' faded red bandanna. =~ PRE "Pray, Mr. Macn ? said he: in-@ horrid whisper, swiftly untwisting the folds of the handkerchief, "do you recognize this?" ~~ ze The next moment he was holding up before Oliver's staring eyeballs the i statuette: 5 ot Oa heavens!" 'exclaimed the young man, clutching the arms of his] chair, "where did you get that?" Benjamin Bell rs the ivory angel cavefully on the' table, picked up the handkerchief which had fallen to his feet, and spread one corner of it be- fore his patron, It was marked "A. Vanderdeek, 4, 1804." : A moment Oliver stared with sus- pended pulses. He had turned death- ly pale; the next minute the blood ruched to his témples in a purple wi 1 day still in his triumphant, husky undef- tone, '4g woman Brought this statue to. one our. Subsidiary shops and sold it over the coypter for £2,000. She had the effrontery," t on Mr. Bell, with a sudden harsh uplifting of the voice, " ghe had the effrontery to re- mark: that she had heard Mr. Julius Vane say that she could get £56000 for it emy day. You employed Miss Vanderdeek as your secretary, I be- lieve?" The dealer was searching Oliver's face with his round, esger "0d Vanderdeek cut up uncommon badly. The girl had nothing. Young, beautiful, penniless--a sudden tempta- | tion! He made a circular sweep of | | his hand round the art treasures, "It hauseating brownish black worn in the was too. much for herl Nowadays principles are worn thin, Mr. Mac-| michael. And you put every trust in' her? Quite so, quite so." Macmichael sprung up; seizing the butler had retired; then, with-| | reasonable idea. Wiky mot a pink dust. 'Oh, that's my friend, Benjamin Bell," said Julius. smiling agreeably. | "The cleverest scoundrel in Europe. I'd rather have his opinion--his veal | opinion--on d doubtful point than! that's the beat of alll' "bandanra, he thrust it indo his breas She looked past him, dreaming with eyes fixed as if upen some illimitably distant thought, and then said: i "Did Mr. Vane mean that the ivory even Oxshott's here." jstatuette would not be worth £5000 Lord Oxshott, bearded, bluff, griz- if it were not unique?" | ; zled, nodded a little contemptuously. The question surprised him.' She at the compliment. ihad to repeat it before he answered. | "Well, I'll take Miss Estella Vander.' "No. I rather think he meant that | deek's opinion," cried the guileless knew some ome who would give Oliver. "A look's enough for her, 'pon. £6,000 for it on its intrinsic worth; honor it is." {that on the goore of its being a unique fee wae swallowed, cigars and Specimen one might get more. I say, cigarettes were lit, and 'the three I don't mean to sell it. you know." gentlemen were led by their host into| "No," agreed Estella, in her deep, "that éspecially built skylit 'gallery at melodic voiee~ ~~ © the back of the Eaton Place house,| "And it is unique, it is unique, any- which enshrined the Macmichael col- how!" cried he, and though he laugh- lection. ed, the jealousy of the collector was Sir James, a small, grizzled, highly, audible in his accents. cultured individual, removed the nd 1 wonder," said Miss Vanderdeek. _. from his \lps with an involuntary "I am sorry not to be able to finish of reverence on the threshold, as | the catalogue," wrote Estella Vander- if he had been about to enter sacred | deek a week' after the lunch' party. "I| précincts; Julius repeated the same, feel I must rest. and I am going to| gesture with a flourish when he per-|the country. Thank you for all' your ceived the tall woman's figure in deep | kindness." : 3 | mourning which 'rose unobtrusivel ! ind a w | | i | The letter shook in Oliver Mac- from riting table littered | michael's hand. It was the most un- | with papers. expected blow. He looked around the; "Oh, Mies Vanderdeek)" exclaimed sunny gallery and its marvels became | her employer in 'his bright, boyish suddenly dust-and ashes to him. He! way, "Here they are. Lord Oxshott,! understood in'one of those flashes by | Sir James Fenwick, and Mr. Vane." '| which the spirit reveals man to him-| "We've met, haven't we?" said this self that all his intellectual ardors | it: searching the girl's face with his sprang from one pure hisman five, He iant eyes: "Your grandfather and, was in love with Estella Van, Were regular cronies, and, well, I! He turned over the letter forgotten seeing you once or Sooki for some hint of ome 'air implied appreciation of her overleaf a postscript 5 : tuette is not unique. really ave, you know," cried this" ul Po a a i sively, "so awfully like wee as Oli statuette, You : , 1 Was, Hs first impulse 3 uncle always away the note, ie re Ht At least he called it fourteenth, anted to speak to.you about the 'said stella Vanderdeel: | pocket; then turned furiously on his companicn. "That will do, Mr, Be'l. I will send you a cheque for £2,000. That closes long the matter as far as cerned." i He strode to the chimmey piece and' rang two or three times. ! Benjamin was so astounded that for the moment he in-his turn eould only stare rage and a dawning insolent comprehension writing themselves on his countenance, 'Show Mr. Bell out," thundered Oliver, as his servant ap 4 "You'll prosecute, sir?" The Jew's' voice rang like a threat. '"Youll' prosecute 7 | "What businesh-is-that-of yours?" (To be concluded.) - mT, memanTat Difficult Feat. The school girl was sitting with her feet strotched far out into the aisle and 'was busily chewing gum, when the teacher espied her. : "Mary!" called the teacher, sharply. "Yes, ma'am?" questioned the pupil, "Take that gum out of your mouth and put your féet in!" , : ey Minard's Liniment for Golds, eto. you are con~ } There's no man ings must have a certain unt, of lamor mixed in 'with 'their prosaje eontrary--probably felt peeved whe she had to leave the lovely garden and go in to peel the apples and get them on to cook. And very. likely she ex- pressed her displéasure--womanlike-- in making herself as miserable as pos- sible during the performance. Per- haps if she had hung a few garlands about to look at, or thrust a paradise aigrette into her hair to make her feél dressy, even though she did have to . 'But' probably Eve w.s like the wo- men who think their houses can't be really clean or a task completed prop- erly unjess they stagger to the end of their day utterly exhaystéd in body and soul. Positively sledged! _ Perhaps the chief reason why so many kitchens are deadly uninterest- ing is because of the belief that-beauty is a luxury and that to be serviceable a thing must be ugly. (Orphan asylum costumes, for example.) But, I ask you--and, like Mr. Cobb, I pause for a reply--is the dirt on a kitichen floor; any dirtier or any more difficult to take up, or 'is ite Temoyal any more costly, if the dustpan into which it is swept be rose pink instead of that best dustpan circles? i 'Why, the very idea! A pink dust- pan! Exactly, If isan idea. Anda pan cr an orange-colored dustpan or a Delft blue? Why not any color of the rainbow, not only for your dustpan but for ail other offending articles, so as you are surrounded by just enough of any color that blends with | the marrow of your bones and makes even removing the dirt from your! kitchen floor more of a ceremony and less an' outrage to your sensibilities. | But . rose-colored dustpans! We'll have you bo know, madame, that we | can't afford to purchase our kitchen | equipment from an art shop! patronize the 10-cent store! Oh, very well. But while you're there buy a 'can of paint the color you'd marry, if you'd marry a color and 'a brush. And after you've We, painted your ~dustpan look -around.!johmmycake There are the broom and mop handles; stark thi lovely. ~ And the "battered old tin trays and kitchen chair the and a few dimeprate table legs. Even: though new beauty would be only skin deep, if it's a. skin you|- love to look at, that's deep enough, isn't it? ra 80 continue to live with a doubt about it, Mumanih ngs that might as well bel. 1 they do mot like is because] they do not fully realize their dislike, | -- ~ "My slice waswt," Mrs. Brown re-| - plied. "Pll take care of it." * That afternoon as I was going home |. 1 passed one of the hired men. "Arent you eating bread any*more ?" he asked me, oi "I notice you aren't eating bread either," 1 replied, "but I warn you you'll eat it yet, You'll have a deli- cious pudding to-morrow"! ; "Iam glad you mentioned pudding," he said, grinning, "I bet you well never eat that bread!" ~~ TH ~In the evening he called on us. "Wi had bread in milk gravy for supper," he said, "but we all asked for crack-| ers and milk. T suppose it's pudding bo-morrow.". : . The next forenoon Mrs. Brown ran in for a minute's chat. She said she had a pudding in the oven. "Just think," she added, "I put a whole quant of cream into milk gravy last night, and every one of those boys called for crackers and milk, « But I don't mind. 1 just added three eggs and a little nutmeg; it will make = delicious pud- ding. * Now, don't tell the boys" ~ | 1 felt rather guilty. Realy I began to hope she would win. : That afternoon my husband came in laughing. He had just been talking to one of the boys. They had all gone without dessert for di , and they believed she would give up trying to save the bread now. " "Give up!" I said. There are three eggs quart of cream, to say nothing of the bread she never throws away." f The next forencon I saw ome of the boys and asked him whether they had had pudding for breakfast. "Oh, no," he replied. "But we are wondering what we'll have for dinner. What could she make that pudding into?" * "What did you havé for 1 asked. ww "I guess not! breakfast 2 I had my suspicions then. Before the forenoon was over Mrs. Brown « 'in, "I heard that adided to that'g you had some | © You Can. To work at your best You must be at your best, "And tH@ best is none too good 3 To be for the man who would © Be at his best" © = . "or the interest'. - - © Of Himself and the, multitude. It you. must confess ... You find yourself less = Than your full > y _ Don't blame your pedigfee, But start off to-day. - In exactly the way & You know you ought to be, ~ Your past 'is a measure Of possible failure, ' i Your future the range of success. As long as a day you possess, You still can make'good With due promptitude, It the will you really possess, 3 ~Paul Hayden. Steam-Driven Motorcycle - % Economical to Operate, * "An economical steam-driven motor cycle 'has been built by & Denver, Oolo., man, and as there are no gears, chains, belts, or clutches, it is prac- tically noiseless. The inventor claims that the machine develops a speed of 60 miles per hour from a standing - stort, within a distance of 174 ft; and that *1 gal. of kerosene furnished suf- cient steam to travel 36 miies. The driving power fis applied directly to | the axic of the rear wheel, by a twa: | eylinder singli 5 e-expansion dotibe-acting engine, Big Poh _Drawerlike Seat Slides Into x ide of Auto Body. - An extra seat; which pulls out of the side of thé: car body Hke-a drawer, is & feature of one of the jatest-model Tunabouts. The back and armrests fold into the drawer, which is entirely use. ;