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l o n .1 .0 o q o o I c o. e. 0.00.00.00.05... 5. ill. ill. 0 0.0 e n. c “e 0 00.0 o e o c o '9 o .6 o 0.00 c v o N e ’0 r 0:. 9.0 f c c o 9 e o o o o 0 e p.oo.¢o.eo.00.oo.ec.e 9 c e o 00.00....00.’ I. Thorne was undressing when a, knock called him to the door. E The man who came in did not. 0 00 '0 v o o o o o O ?.eo.c0:00.n.eo.eo.c0.00.00 e c apologize for calling at such an hour, but walked past 'l‘norne to the cen- un overcoat and cast tre of the room, drew off his sturdy shoulders, himself into a chair, the comfort of; bent forward, catching the blow harmlessly with a Shoulder, and, springing back quickly, displayed an exceedingly ugly knife. "Don't do it, Mr. Thorne," he said and still that. grin and not left his lips. "It’s sure dcathl You can't refuse. You can‘t warn the police. I make you a fair and plain proposi tion. Lend me your aid for a fee of £10,000. If you doâ€"all’s well. If you don’tâ€"why, then, my dear Mr. Thorne, I must tell you that you will be found so soundly asleep to-morâ€" row at daybreak will not hesitate to summon an unâ€" def-taker." “You will murder me like a dog?" Thorne Was all white. "On the contrary you will die as a. inconspicuously, Come, now, gentleman should, and with no violence. which he evidently appreciated. 110 i um“ mmighl you may think it own “'93 in evening CIOLhCS' Withou‘ Then I must have my answer. ’l‘hink blemish. it overâ€"your friends against your Thorne was irritated, then amused. Ii'o suspended judgment until the cal- ler said: “Mr. Thorne, good-morning!" "You are hyperâ€"accurate, sir," Thorne retorted. “It is only fifteen minutes past midnight, and you are in full evening dress.” "As you will, sirâ€"as you will; but as I said, good-morning. May I speak with you quietly and in confi- dence for ten minutes?” The strang- er grew affably business-like. Thorne could not escape a. smile as he said: "You came in of your own accord, my dear sir. Suppose you proceed likewise with your business. My onâ€" ly condition is that I be. allowed to enter my bed in ten minutes." “Good!” the well-dressed intruder said, smacking his hands together. "You are the right sort. I wish I had knowu you years ago." "Thank you." Thorne spoke so gravely that the visitor looked sharply at. him, as if searching for signs of veiled sarcasm. "My name I do not give," he. pro- ceeded. "Yours I know, and all about youâ€"'-or enough. I know you for one of the clcvcrest financial ediâ€" tors in London. I am a. gentleman who lives by the goodness of human- ity. I subsist by my wits as applied to what others have acquired. 1â€"" "You are, then,” Thorne .put in, “a lawyer?” - "Yes"â€"with burglar." “A what?” Thorne gasped. “You misunderstand. I said ‘a lawyer.’ " “And I replied, 'Yes, a burglar.’ We thieves draw few class distinc- tions, you know. I am a burglar. Five of my assistants and myself are preparing to enter the vault of the Midâ€"Counties bank in Chapel street, through an opening in the founda~ tion which we have been drilling for six weeks from the adjoining house, which we lease. Sixty seconds of careful work will pierce the last sec- tion of steel lining about the vault, and let us inside.” "But, man," Thorne cried, “what are you here telling me this for? Don't you know that if what you say is true I’m the last man you could be telling it to in safety? If you knew as much as you profess about me you would understand that some of my best friends are in the Mid- Counties Bank, and that you will no sooner be out of my rooms this morning than I shall send a warning which will make your five worthy safeâ€"breakers and yourself decidedly uncomfortableâ€"ii what you say is true. Don’t you think, though, that you had better leave me to my bed for the rest of the night? Suppose you meet me at the ‘Dawn' office at one o’clock this afternoon." The stranger ignored. the suggestion smiling again as he resumed. "Mr. Thorne, you have discovered my very reason for coming here. My purpose is to enter the vault of the Midâ€"Counties Bank the night after certain large sums of cash, aggregat- ing £600,000, as I understand, are placed there. The deal will be secret,. and I can learn the exact date only through assistance. That you can, and doubtless will, give. I am aware how well you know MacArdle gnd Spurnley in the bank." "I ask you to see them, and ascerâ€" tain for me the (late of the arrival of this vast temporary deposit. 1 will then complete my attack on the vault, which‘ can by no possibility fail. You will receive £10,001) in cash for your part of the work, with which you will in no wise be connectâ€" ed, except as I suggest. I must have accurate information of the de- posit. This is my one safe way of securing it. What do you say?" Thorne was already measuring the man’s well-set figure, and longing to have his boots. The burglar smiled again over gleaming linen and imâ€" maculate black. "It’s of no use. Mr. Thorne. Don't think 'of it. You're a. good man, but you can't afford to try me. lit-sides. I’m armed like a. battleship, and a profound bowâ€"“a 4 chairs. life and a fortune!" "Against my honor, man!" "As you please; but you can’t deny the fortuneâ€"£10,000 and no condiâ€" tions whatever. You will pardon me, but I really must not let you move out of my sight until you have given me an answer. That will hasâ€" ten your decision, I am sure, and will certainly serve me better. You may sleep and eat, but I must be your guest meanwhile." II. Thorne felt like a lion in a circus parade until it was time for breakâ€" fast. He got into his clothing stup- idly, and led the way clown to where they might cat in due seclusion. While they were finishing an omelet he looked over to where his guardian leisurely perused a morning newspa- per, and spoke for the first time in hours. "I am going to the bank as soon as we finish breakfast. I suppose you will accompany me?" "Thank you-yes." "You dare?" “To be sure. me?" “I may expose you the instant We are within the doors of the bank.” “My dear Mr. Thorne,’: he said, “again pardon my intrusion of self into this well-ordered breakfast. But I must hasten to correct what I perâ€" ceive to be an insufficient and inad- equate comprehension of the very inâ€" teresting circumstances in which you find yourself at present. As you knOW, I am not a man of violence. I do not like force, but sometimes I have to use it. On such occasions I resort to hired service, and have the work done by some menial. “This now occurs to me as I see standing in front of‘the south Winâ€" dow yonder ,a. muscular person who undoubtedly passed the night under your Windows, awaiting a possible Signal from me; who has followed us here, and will by no means lqse sight of us, whether we visit the bank or not. He is committed to certain inâ€" structions given by me, a part of which is a caution that at a certain Dare you challenge sign from me he is to set in motion! the machinery of my oflice," The Way to the bank was painfully short, Thorne thought, giving him scant time to reach seine conclusion. What could he not do with £10,000? Future assured, established where the way of comfort lay open, marâ€" 'ried, and in a home of his ownâ€" something of a society man. . . , . ’lhotne 3 long professmnal experiâ€" ence showed him at a glance what $10,000 would do for him, with his friendsâ€" his well~laid, wellâ€"guarded, (-arciullyâ€"manipulated sphere of friends. Friends! There was the trouble. The Mid-Counties Bank had been his generous p years. He called played golf with chairman atron for ten at his house, and a nice girl that livâ€" ed there. She was the chairman’s daughter, and Thorne felt certain that if he asked her to share life with him she would say yes. Yet how could he ask her to share life with him on 42300 a year? The. cashier was a personal friend. He knew even the clerks. They re- cognized him as a trusted friend of "the old man." not all a question of money. gang would murder him to assist them, just as they would 1e move every other obStacle to com- plete escape from detection. The bank's doors stared and they walked in. trance, Thorne glass door, The if he refused at them, Still in a pushed through the and in another instant stood before the chairmanâ€"his friend. The father of the nice girl looked the burglar over with business kc detail as he put them both in “Well. my boy"â€"lhe eyes were shining, there was no denying his confide-netL “well, my boy, what is it toâ€"day‘? Do you know I wouldn't have lulâ€" sce that pile of lollers~f wouldn't have let anybody but you in here Oh} man’s and Thorne .‘aW burglars don't. box when they can reach a knife." “But I can. and do, refuse; and you will leave this place immediately sir!" said ’l‘horne, boiling up, and y‘arning again for his boots and a good grip on a chair. "ll-“ave at once, sir; and be sure 1 shall lose no1 time in notifying the police." “To be sure. my dear fellout Course!" The. burglar slrelched himself, and looked about for it bigger choir. As he did so, Thorne leaped forward. The burglar wheeled, and his left shot forth. ’i‘hornc saw it, dropped his shoulders, and let it pass over; then swung back his own right with of all his strength and weight in a mighty upper-mt ninied at the other’s jugular. But the burglar, in place of dodging. threw himself on his tiptors, and for _nll there is in that pile. lut I can i. refuse you anything, lad." One hand Wl'lll, over ’l‘norne’s knees “What's up?" I Thornc's eyes wi-re gl tongue seemed thick. burglar assing and his ~ liesule him the sat, as lillllCl‘Lllf‘i.nll)lv,‘ as evâ€" er, studying the ceiling criticallv, and ’Ihmne knew his life was in those most lllt‘l‘t‘i 5*. hands. I: was . - 7' . . r x ‘ ‘ - I like suiculc. li.oxnv- caught the glisâ€" tcn of the chairman's eyes again. and suddenly getting up. put his back against the door and said: “I came here toâ€"duy to ask when the Mid-Counties Bank would receive that. big Government deposit. Don't store please. That’s what I came here for. What I now say is that I don't. want you to answer that quesâ€" tion. but press your police call in- slantly. This man is a dangerous burglar. He plans to rob the bank, that your friends Then, again, it was. m |and tried to make me a party to the crime. Now we’ve got him here, and if we work quickly we can prevent him signalling his confederates, as he surely will do. Press your button at once, sir, and I'll keep this scoun- drel busy until help comes. Ring, ring, sirâ€"ring! Now, you villainâ€"" ‘ But the chairman only smiled, and the burglar laughed aloud. Thorne stared at them, like an owl at the sun. He could not understand. The burglar laughed Some. more. ; "’lle’s all right." he said. Thorne reeled to a chair. The chairman spoke: ! "Thorne, it was a test. I wanted ‘to try you, and my friend, the jun- ior member of the l’iympton DCLCt‘r =tivo Agency, offered to assist. me. I want a confidential clerk who can look after my business. I’m getting old, and the girls want me at home more. I’m satisfied that you're safe and I hereby ask you to come around and live with us, be my busi- ;ness l-"Dl'CSOnlLIILIVO and accept a. sti- pend of £2,000 annually for the pre- sent. You’re the kind I want. I’ve proved you honest. But come, what do you say?" i The chairman was smiling confi- dently. The ex-burglar turned the leaves of a noteâ€"book. , Thorne reeled again, then himself. He ,right hand. ' “What do I say?" His voice was gone. i The chairman looked alarmed for a moment, so white had Thorne turnâ€" ed. Then he touched an electric button. The door opened, and the pretty girl whom Thorne had played golf with entered. She looked at Thorne for a moment. "I'll answer 'Yes’ for Mr. Thorne,” e saidâ€"London Answers. *5 PSYCHIC INFLUENCE. __ Remarkable Facts in. the Treat- ment of Disease. caught had his gloves in his he whispered. ish Concerning the curative power of hypnotism, suggestion and deception. romarkablo facts are reported from the hospitals. A writer in Health, an English publication, reports one case, that of a young woman who cannot sleep without first receiving a. hypodermic injection of pure water. She believes she is getting a quarter grain of morphine with each injec- tion, and, as there is no way of her learning of the deception, the treat- ment Works like a charm. Another case, says a contemporary, is that of an. elderly man sufl'ering from‘imaginary paralysis, who could not be benefited by the use of drugs or the electric current. By proâ€"ar- ranged plan he was informed by a person supposed to be uninterested iin his case, that magnetism, not elec~ tricity, was what he needed, and since then he has shown marked improves iIncnt under the constant application of a wooden magnet, painted to re- . semblc the genuine article. Still another case is that of a weâ€" man who cannot speak a word un- less she is in a steeping posture. li‘or ‘lIlOlllllS her voice was lost to her al- together, but one day while bending over caressing a. eat her voice re- turned, and since then she can only talk when her body is bent to a. right angle. All ell'drts to relieve her were of little avail until one day her attending physician informed her that she could not be cured until she :had undergone a long course of treatment, but ventured the informa- tion that she could be relieved for the period of one week by the appliâ€" cation of “raw” electricity to her throat, taken from the city’s current. lElectricity was applied and the W0â€" man's voice returned, but when the week expired her voice was lost to her again. Now and then a case presents an amusing phase. One woman possess- ed of the idea that her heart was Igrowing to her side, refused to im- Iprove under the treatment accorded her, and the doctors, knowing her condition was due to hysteria, planâ€" ned to get rid of her. Medicine was prescribed, made up of the most nau- seating drugs and the patient was ordered to take doses hourly. After the first day‘s treatment the woman said she vas well enough to go home, and the doctors congratulated themselves that the expelling decoc- tion had proved successful. To their surprise, when the woman left the hospital she asked that a bottle of the medicine be given her, as it had furnished her more relief than any- thing she had taken. Every observâ€" ing physician has noted similar cases. ___+. MIRRORS ENllAClC THEM. "Lions object to mirrors," obâ€" served a keeper in a menagerie. "On one occasion a lookingâ€"glass in the hands of a small boy so frightened and excited our largest lion that we feared he would injure himself. The wretched youngster had drawn a handâ€"mirror from beneath his coat [and held it before the king of beasts. "The latlcr looked and jumped for the rival whom he thought he saw. The bars of his cage dashed him back again and again. while he filled the whole house with terrific roars. I have known several other cases in which lions have been thrown into the wildest panic by a mirror being held up before them." A boy of twelve years, (lining at his uncle's made such a good dinner the pigs ull l.--r, ;i1.<l after they inn-.3, [hat lmrl that his aunt observed, “Johnny. you appear to eat well." “\cs, replied the urchin. “I‘ve been prac- tising eating all my life." “Nb. @ElRlEEN DIRECT VS. INDIRECT SOIL EN- RICHMENT. Early and persistent tillage, tillage that actually keeps the leaves from ,showing, is fatal if well followed up. Fallows should have their quictus, iniw that for untold times they are {again shown by tests at the Minneâ€" ‘so‘ta. experiment station to be terâ€" ‘riblo robbers. The rapid formation of soluble plant food by the action of atmospheric agent in the con- ,slantly tilled soils in the absence of plantt to absorb it, is followed by rapid leaching and a consequent loss, yPnot only of humus but of minerals. [Good crops may and do follow a fal- low, but at a disastrous loss to the soil. It mortgages the future. Now that the humus idea is in the air green manuring is pressed upon us very frequently at institutes and elsewhere. It adds, we are told, huâ€" mus to the soil and this material lholds water strongly. is the center of bacterial action and of chemical changes that memoir “ON SOILS. A well fertilized soil will increase in soil humus provided a good rota- tion is adopted. The roots and stubble of clover, as shown by many experiments, including those of the writer, leave nearly as much organic matter in the soil as the tops reâ€" move. This being the case a crop of clover of 23; tons makes an ex- pensive addition to roots and stubâ€" bio for green manuring that are bad for nothing. As some 95 per cent. always over nineâ€"tenths, of the weight of the roots and stubble are derived from the air, humus may actually increase in the soil as a di- rect result of good farming, always on condition. that a rotation is adopted favoring it. ,The organic matter always in good soils will vary from about 100.000 to .150,â€" 000 lbs and the addition of 4,000 lbs in a crop of clover is not a great ratio of increase. We are aware that this is not presentation of the whole subject. but in the light of the absence of trial tests that have shown even for one year or for . A SERIES OF YEARS a compensation for a crop to grow succeeding crops, it must be held as adequate until accurate tests de- monstrate the contenticn of those who advise us to use one crop to feed another. Green manuring is a good plaything for the rlcn. Tillage has done something, muck a little and other factors have aid- ed but the system of moderate an- ‘nual manuring with something, coupled with tillage, forms the basis of the grain. It is understood of course that true chemical farming seeks to add direct plant food to the soil, and on this basis the farm has been operated. While it is not do. nied that the soil may be looked ,upon in a limited sense as a, mine to be exploited, and that lime, salt and ashes and tillage while cropping, as a substitute for following, mav be useful aids under wise and limited conditions, the royal road to up- building poor lands and the ad- vancement of our farming is in the main through the balanced soil ra- tion'. This way surely pays. and the other, if it enriches at all, is at the expense of the future, unless very judiciously indulged in. a RAISING PIGS. 5 The following from an experienced and successful hog breeder will in- terest farmers :â€" I have had good success for several years raising pigs and pork in con- nection with an "all-year-round” dairy. I try to have my spring litâ€" ters come in March and April, when prices are higher than for later pigs. If there is a demand, when the pigs are four weeks old I sell to neighborâ€" ing farmers for from two to three dollars each ; if not, I wean the pigs at that age in order to breed the sows again, and haVe never been able to catch them in season until the pigs have been off from three days to a week. Wheat middlings with milk is the best food to start young pigs, and should be fed often and little at a time, just what they will eat up clean each time. There is usually a good demand for them when from four to six months old,, both as breeders and feeders, asl many farmers if they can find good thrifty shouts, will buy them when they have extra fer-d. I kept high- grade Chesters, with fullâ€"blood boar. and as soon as the grass is well starlcd in spring, ring the sows and PUT THEM 1N A PASTURE where there is running water, aiming only to keep them in good flesh, as the grass will nearly support lili‘lll. A few (lays before the pigs are due, the sows are placed in a pen In l-ox. stall, or temporary shed with board or slab roof will do), where they will be dry and confined. Old sowsl will usually get along fai'i'owing all~ right alone in warm weather, but young sows should l«- t..in<d and: kept watch (:f. Uzi-y .m- npi injure their pigs. T Lave saved whole liflrr if}: staging \xiih 11.4.- slur. and as fast as the p34» arrivi-d, putâ€"i ting them ill a basket until she wasi through : slit» Would lie (lam. It); it it 5 so I could place once sucked tin-re is very little danâ€" Ipose. illt'lgill. is Him; by rubbing ilf‘l' bag! [sows as well, due, I think, to their being kept too fat and in cold quar- ters. I always try to keep their bowels loose by feeding something laxativo, such as small potatoes, cull apples, bran mesh, or roots, but as labor is expensive, very few in this section raise many roots. I also give the sows charcoal and fresh earth, and have stopped a litter of two or three weeks old from scour- ing by giving them a. few fresh sods. \_.._..¢_ THE OLD-AGE EABIT. Mullaly’s Advice to Those Who Are Getting 01d “For why should I look old dar- ling? Answer me that, now!" Mrs. Mullaly demanded. She had been Honors. Costigan formerly, Mrs. Morris's loving and faithful house- girl; but that was twenty years ear- lier. Mistress and maid had been at, opposite ends of the earth in the meantime, and the mistress, who had noticeably aged, felt almost a shock of resentment at sight of the plump and buxom Nora she used to know. "Sure, I've had me bad times and me good times, like the rest of the world," Mrs. Mullaly went on, reflec- ‘livoly. "But, glory be! before the bud itlmes quite finished inc the good times came againâ€"me always leav- ing the door ajar to let them in d’ye mind? “1 am older; I feel it sometimes in me poor back; but. I‘m not old. Whis- per, darling, it ain't the years that go over; it’s the heart that's inside that changes the face of us. “ "l‘was a cousin of mine that teached me the truth of it, this long ago. She begun to be old the day she was born, did Katie, and when she was fourteen, looking and acting twenty, ’twas a great help to her. But when she was tiventy, "I'm gob- ting onl’ says she. When she was twentyâ€"five, ‘No,’ says she to Johnny Walsh, that came aâ€"courtin, ‘I’m too old and settled in me habits to be marrying.’ Then when she was thir- ty nothing would do her but to gel; wid the old women and talk of the times when she and they was young. I "So the heart of her went into the ‘face of her. It did so! I mind when she was thirty about and me over twenty, we went together one day to a big new hotel to get work. A good worker was Katie. But the Boss he looked us up and looked us .down and asked his questions, and then says he, llI’ll give you a trial, my girl,’ says he to me, ‘But as for yOu,’ he says to Katie, 'it’s young, strong, lively women we want,’ says he, 'and I’m thinking you’re after mistaking this for the Old Ladies‘ Home, which,’ says he, ‘is in the. next block.’ - " “ ‘Oâ€"ho!’ says I to meself aC that. I ‘Am I going out (to hunt for wrinkles and rheumatism before me own mo- ther gets gray in her hair? No, says I, and ’twas then I begun to toss me birthdays over me shoulder as fast as they came. They’re all behind me Mrs. l glory be! where I can't. fall over thim. “Whisper, darling,” Mrs. Mullaly added, impressively, “old age is a. bad habit, like drinking, and if ye give way to it ye won‘t so easy break it ofl‘. Sure. there’s a new year to every twelve months. but that can’t make ye an old womanâ€" never, darling, until yc’re willin' to be!" â€"+ LOSJNG A FORTUNE. He sat in his chamber alone‘. The lights burned dim and the fire iflickered fitfully. No raven came to flutter its black wings and cast its sombre shadow over the room, but it Would scarcely have been out of place. For a long time he sat there gazing into the fire, the very personiâ€" fication of despair. At last he stir- red uncasily and half rose from his chair. He looked at the clock. Lit was on the stroke of midnight. "Only an hour ago," he muttered. “Only an hour, and it has seemed a. yearâ€"n. hundred years." He sank back listlessly, broken spirit and crushed in hope. “One word, and a fortune is lost," he sighed, despairingly. "One little word of two letters, and $150,000 in has gone glimmering among the things that were." » He groaned in his agony, am the lights sank lower and lower, and faded away, leaving him in a gloom impenetrable. And, gentle reader, why ’3 Why ? Because the wealthy widow without encumbrance had said "No" when he asked her id be his. Sad, wasn't it ? lit) YO U Ill'lL’l"? This is a qucslion more particular- ly for the consideration of ladies, and it is one which up may occasionally hear'onc nu-inber of the fair sex ad- dress to another. The wearing of a belt decreases the size of the waist. This fact has been gleaned from mill- iary circles, where it is well known that a soldier's girth decreases after a period of sm‘vice. Ladies have found out that ’l'ommy’s belt has a. Il'lftlf‘lil'y to give him a smaller cir- at that part where his ought to be. and they have t" rizilt‘l'eurl: \‘. ill>‘. endoplcd the bell. for the old, old pur- ’l‘hr.- Waist of :1 woman whose .1 feet 4 int'nt‘s, judging by the Venus of Milo. should be liventyâ€" four int-hes. Coal l‘I-nit-i‘ f;fi:\:;'oli:~!_\')â€"-"llohl on! lznsn‘l, i'f'l‘ll weigth it looks to um rather large for a ton. ' llf‘ivei'â€"""l‘ain't inf-tnde for :1 ion. (2;, r (.1' losing any. I _, ,, , l.n.~.i spring many of my lll'lflilllfll'sili'h 1x2": Ions. i’UztiL‘l‘-â€"- Leg par. ’l.st fhc-iz' young pigs and some liiuli'idl’l‘r '--' “‘WL'J’