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“\u. \. '\_ leant his elbows upon the rail, look- , lmu \ ii We 9 :3 I i ‘0 CHAPTER XI. One fine day late in the autumn of eighteen hundred and seventyâ€"six, a steamer emerged from the have that lay over the Atlantic and the north- ern waters of the Boy of Biscay. The captain of this splendid steam»- er was It gentleman as well as a good sailor. and he endeavored make his passengers feel at home while under his cute. Therefore he now walked aft and stood beside the chair of a beautiful woman who was always alone, always indifferent, ul- - ways repelling. "This is a pretty sight, Mrs. Husâ€" ‘tOIL" he said pleasantly, without looking down at her, but standing beside her chair. "Yes," was the indifferent answer; and the sailor's keen gray eyes (Zeâ€" tccled the fact that the fair lashes were never raised. “It brings the fact before me," he continued, “that we are getting near home." “Yes,” with pathetic indifference. She did not even make the pretense of looking up, and yet there was no visible interest in the book that lay ' upon. her lap. ’l‘he sailor moved a little, and ‘ Jrg round his ship with a. critical and all-seeing eye. "I hope," he said cheerily, "that there is no one on board to whom the sight of E'd'd'ystone will not give unmitigated pleasure. We shall be there before any of us quite realize that the voyage is drawing to an end." She raised her head and smiled somewhat wanly, and there was in the action and in the expression of her eyes a sudden, singular resem- blance to Brenda Gilholme. But it was a, weak copy. There was neithâ€" er the invincible pluck nor the un- usual intellectuality to be discernâ€" ed. Ii}? "I shall be glad,” she said, “to see England again. Although the g voyage has been very pleasant and very . . . peaceful. Thanks to you.” "Not at all," he answered, with ; breezy cheerfulness; "I have done re- _ markably little to make things plea- ,‘ aunt. It has been a quiet voyage. '2 We are, I think, a quiet lot this ' time. Invalids mostly â€" in body, or mind!" The mariner looked down into the sad face, and smiled in a. comprehen- sive way which seemed in seine in- explicable manner to bring them closer together. “Then,” said the lady, "as I am in the enjoyment of rude health and likely to last for some years yet, I may infer that you kme all about me." The captain looked grave. “I know,” he answered, “just litâ€" tle enough to be able to reply that I know nothing when people do me‘ the honor of inquiring; and just suf- ficient to feel that your afl‘airs are better left undiscussed by us." "I suppose,” she murmured, “that gossips have been thrashing the Whole question out with their cus- tomary zest." “I think,” he said coolly, "that you have done perfectly right in : keeping yourself quite apart from ! the rest of them." “I am glad," she said humbly, "that my sister will be at Ply- mouth to meet me.” “Did you," inquired the sailor, "write from Port Said to Miss Gil- holme?” She raised her hehd with a, quesâ€" tioning air, but did not look up. Or, The End of it All WM‘GWMQMQ :commwme tor nu fin ~ "MiSs Cilholme," she repeated â€" "how do you know her name?" "Oh," laughed the captain. “I a sort of walking directory. There is a constant procession of men and women passing before me. Many of them turn aside and say a few words. Sometimes we find mutual racquaintnn. cs, sometimes only mu- tual interests. Sometimes they pass by again, and on occasion we become friends.” "Then you have not met her?" "Noâ€"I have not had that pleas- ure.’ "It is a, pleasure,” said the beau- tiful woman very earnestly. H'ad slie only known it, her face was in- finitely lovelier in grave repose than in most piquanfe bouderie. “I can quite believe it.” replied tl‘c sailor, with a gallantry which‘ even Mrs. Huston could not take as anything more than conventional. "She is my guardian angel!" mur- mured she, pathetically. "I hear," the captain went on to explain, in his cheery impersonal way, "scraps of family histories here and there, and [hen am rather surprised to meet members of these families, or persons connected with them\." Mrs. Huston bravely quelled a deâ€" sire to talk of her own affairs, and smiled vaguely. “I have no doubt," she said with mechanical pleasantness, "that we have a great many mutual acquaint- !ances â€" if we only knew how to hit upon the vein." “Of course-we have â€" the world, and especially the Indian world, is very small." “I wonder who they are?" mur- mured Mrs. H'uston, raising her eyes to her coinpanion’s face. "Mention a, few of your friends,” he suggested, looking down into her eyes somewhat keenly. “Noâ€"you begin!" He changed his position somewhat, and stood upright, free from the rail, but his glance never left her face. Theodore Tris-t!” Instantly she averted her eyes. For .a moment she was quite off her guard, and her fingers strayed in a. 'nervous, aimless way among the .pages of her open book. To her ,pale cheeks the warm color mounted as if a, glowing ruby reflection had suddenly been cast upon the delicate skin. She expressed no surprise by word lor gesture, and there was a pause of considerable duration before at Ilcngth she spoke. "Where is he now?” she a low voice. The captain stroked his grizzled mustache reflectively. He acted his part well, despite her sudden. and lamentable failugre. ’ "Let me think . . He is in Con- stantinople to the best of my knowl- edge. He is engaged in watching BE. A. w. ceases 3mm was 0» is sent direct to the diseased parts by the lmprovad Blower. Heal: the ulcers. clears the air passages, stops droppin s in the throat and ermaunnty cures {tee (iiiadl‘rhland alyfcvcr. Blower . ca crs. or r. . . . Medicine Co.. Toronto asked in Eastern affairs. It seems that Tur- key and Russia cannot keep their hands off each other’s throats much longer. At present there is an armâ€" istice, but Trist has been through fthe late war between Servia and lTurkey." It Is Lacking the Essential, Life-g Principle which by the Dr. Chase’s iving is Best Obtained Use of Nerve Food. The tired, languid, and depressed trcs “filings WhiCh come With Spring are the use of Dr. Chase’s Nerve Food. the outward indication of the weak- ened condition of the blood and the low state of vitality. When the blood gets thin and wat- ery the Waste of the human body is hnore rapid than the process of re- construction. Gradually the action 'of the heart, grows wbaker and weak- 'er, the lungs do not work to their capacity, the stomach, and other |digestive organs fail to perform their duties, and the result is all )orts of bodily demngements. 4 Aching head, dizzy spells, indiges- tion, feelings of weakness and de- mondency, lack of energy to per- form the duties of the day, loss of appetite, failing memory and power of concentrating the mind, irritabilâ€" ity, nervousness, and sleepbzssness ‘\ m ameng the symptoms which disâ€" There 'is no preparation to be com- pared to Dr. Chase's Nerve Food as a spring restorative. It does not stimulate and so whip the organs of the body to over-exertion, but by enriching the blood, instils new vigor into the nerves and builds up the whole system. By noting your increase in weight while using this great food cure you can prove that. new, firm flesh and tissue is added to the body. To awaken the liver, inv-igomte the kidneys and regulate the bowels, use Dr. Chase's Kidneyâ€"Liver Pills. All dealers, or Edmanson, Bates & Co., Toronto. To protect you against imitations the portrait and signature c-f Dr. A. W. Chase, the famous receipt book author, are on ever) box of \is remedies. being S 3 . 3 3 am , ’on your bended knees that Theodore you, and all can be avoided byl “Do you know him well?" she ask- . . ed at length, after u SOL'Olld pause. | "Yes. lie is a friend of mine." "A grfat friend?" l "I thin"; I may say so." ,‘ "lie is also a friend of ours â€" of‘ my sister and in) self," said Mrs.‘ :ltusfon (illllll_\'. 1 She had quite recovered her Cquun- limity by now, and the pink color} tcolor ha'l lcft her ('lll‘C‘\S. ‘ "I have known him," said the captain conversations11y, “for mmin years now. Soon after he made his ‘ name he went out to the East with ‘ pm, and we Struck up a friendship. ‘ Ille is not a man who makes many ifiii-nds, I imagine." “No,” murmulerl Mrs. lluston, in ,a Volvo which implied that the sule jet was hot distasteful to her, but, :he preferred her companion to talk while she “Jerrod. "llut," conainueil the “those “ho (laim fim as a Line an unusual privilege. He is what we vaguely call at sea a "good" uan â€" a man upon whom it is safe to place reliance in. any emergency, under all circumstances," “Yes.” said the lady softly. The sailor was interrupted by the sound of the first dinner bell, and a general stir on deck. At sea, meal times are hailed with a more visible joy than is considered decor- ous on land, and no time is lost in answering the glad summons. Mrs. lluston ro~'e longuidly from her seat and moved forward toward the spurious saloon staircase. “Yea” she answered thoughtfully, "Theo is very clever. It is difficult to realize that one:s friends are cele- brated, is it not?" The captain walked by her suiting his crisp, firm step to sailor, friend , side, her languid gait, which was, nevertheâ€" less, very graceful in its rhythmic ease. Her voice was clear, gentle. and somewhat indifferent. On her face there was no onhcr expression than the customary suggestion of pathetic apathy. continued in, a “I suppose," the conventional manner, “that he will not be home for some time.” "No. There will be a big war he fo“e this question is settled, and Trist will be in the thick of it.” With a slight inclination of the head she passed away from him and disappeared down the saloon stairs, The captain turned away and mount- ed the’little brass ladder leading to the bridge with sailorâ€"like delibera- tion. "And, young Woman,” he muttered to himself, “you had better go down to your cabin and thank your God Ti‘ist is not in England, nor likely to cross your path for many months to come.” He looked round him with his haâ€" bitual cheery keenness, and said a few WOI‘CIS to the second officer who was on duty. Could he have seen Theodore Tris't standing at that moâ€" ment on the deck of a quick dispatch boat, racing through the Bo‘sphorous and bound for England, he would not, perhaps, have laughed so heartâ€" ily at a. very mild joke made by his subordinate a few moments later. “And yet,” he mile/ted, as he made his way below in answer to the sec- ond dinner bellâ€""and yet, she does not seem to me to be the sort of woman for Tristâ€"Izo't good enough! Perhaps the gossips are wrong, after all, and he does not care for her!” More than one idler in Plymouth Station, one morning in October, turned his head to look again at two women walking side by side on the platform near to the London train. One, the taller of the two, was exceptionally beautiful, of a fair, delicate type, with an almost perfect figure and a face fit for a model of the Madonna, so pure in outline was it, so innocent in its meaning. The younger woman was slightly shorter. ‘She was clad in mourning, which contrasted someâ€" what crudely with the brighter cos- tume of her companion. It was evi- dent that these two were sisters; they walked in the some easy way, and especially notable was a certain intrepid carriage of the head, which I venture to believe is essentially pe.u.lia.r to high-born English wo- men. The sisters had met on the steamâ€" boat landing a few moments previâ€" ously. A rattling drive through the town had followed, and now they were able to speak together alone for the first time. There had been no display of emotion. “My dear," Mrs. Huston was say- ing, "he will be home by the next boat if he can raise the money. We cannot count on more than. a. week's start." “And,” inquired Brenda, “can raise the money?" “Oh, yes! If he can get so far as the steamboat oflice without spend.â€" ing it." Brenda looked at her sister in a curious way. “Spending Alice?” "Ourâ€"drink!” Mrs. Huston was not the woman to conceal any of her own griev- ances from quixotically unselfish mo- tives. ’ Brenda thought for some moments before ieplying. "Then," she said at length, with‘ some determination, “we must make sure of our start, if, that is, you are still determined to leave him." Mrs. Huston was looking down at her sister's neat black dress, about which there was a subtle air of reâ€"5 fined luxury, which seems natural to some women, and part of their be- he it on what . . ing. “ 'cs, yes, I suppose we must. By vllrerulu ‘l.0.:‘\‘. b 0 I ‘Captain ‘nian, .ble or Admiral Brenda patiently. “lint it is two monthsâ€"is it not? â€"sin.e his death, and he was no reâ€" lation. 1 think it is uxmeccssury. lllnck is so lllt‘lallt‘JlOl)’, though it suits your figure." "I am living with Mrs. Wylie,” explained with unconscious "No you still determined that you cannot li\e with your hus« band, Alice?" "My dear, he is a brute! I am not an impulsive person, but I think ll‘mt if he should cmcli me again, it is very probable that I should do soumthing desperate â€"â€" kill myself, Wylie," replied for mum-thing of that sort." "I do not think," do, serenely, "that kill yourself." The beautiful woman laughed in on easy, lighisome way, which was obr-ervcd Bren- you would ever one of her many social gifts. It was such a. pleasantly infectious laugh, utterly lightâ€"headed, nml so ready in its vocation of filling up :mvkward pauses. “No, perhaps not. llut in the meantime, what is to become of me? “ill Mrs. Wylie take me in for a day or two, or shall we seek lodgings? I have some money, enough to last a month or so; but I must have tw0 new dresses." “Mrs. Wylie has kindly said that you can stay as long as you like. llut, Alice, it would never do to stay in London. You must get away to some small place on the sem‘oast, or somewhere where will not be utterly bored, and keep in hiding until he comes home, and I can find out what he intends to do." "My dcar, I shall be utterly bored anywhere except in London. But Brenda, tell me . . you have got into a habit of talking exactly like Theo Trist!” Brenda met her sister's eyes with a brignt smile. you "How funny!" she exclaimed. "I lia\e not noticed it." "No, of course; yourâ€"would not notice it. “hen will he be home?” "I don’t, know," she replied indifâ€" ferently. “We,” continued Mrs. Huston, folâ€" lowing out her old train of thought. “are so helpless. We want a. man to stand by us. Of course papa is of no use. I suppose he is spouting somewhere about the country. He genezally is." "l\‘o," replied Brenda, with a wonâ€" derful tolerance. "We cannot count on him. He is in Ireland. I had a post-card from him the other day." "What we require,” continued Mrs. Huston, “is an energetic man with brains.” “I am afraid that energetic men with brains have in most cases their own affairs to look after. It is only the idle ones with tongues who have time to devote to other people’s business.” "The 'brute,’ my we must remember that. terribly obstinate. "We must be cool and cunning, and brave to fight against him," said Brenda practically. At this moment the guard came forward, and held the door of their compartment invitingly open. They got in, and found themselves alone. They were barely seated, opposite to each other, when the train glided smoothly away. "Theo," said the elder woman sig. nificantly, “is brave and cool and cunning, Brenda." “But,” suggested Brenda, “Theo is in Bulgaria.” Mrs. Illuston smiled with all the conscious power of a woman who, without being actually vain, knows the market value of the moral weight of her beauty. “Suppose I telegraphed to that I wanted him to come to at once.” Brenda fixed her eyes upon her sis- ter's face. For a second her dainty lip quivered. "You must not do that,” she said, in such a tone of invincible opposi- tion that her sister changed color, and looked somewhat hastily in anâ€" other direction. “1 suppose,” murmured the elder woman after a short silence, "that it is quite impossible to find out when he may return?" “Quite impossible. This ‘Eastern Question,’ as it is called, is so com;- plicafe'd that I have given up trying to follow it â€"â€" besides, I do not see what Theo has to- do with the matâ€" ter. We must act alone, Alice." "But women are so helpless." Brenda. smiled in a slightly ironi- Cal way. "\\hy should they be?" she asked practically. "I am not afraid of Huston. He is a gentle- at all events.” “He was!” put in his wife bitterâ€" ] '. 3“.-\nd I suppose there is something left of his former self?” “Not \ery much. my dear. At least, the phase of his present conâ€" dition has been religiously hidden from my affectionate gaze.” Brenda drew her gloves pensiver up her slim wrists. smoothing out the wrinkles in the black kid. There was in 'her demeanor an air of capaâ€" attcmion, something between that accorded by a general to his aideâ€"deâ€"camp on the field of battle, and the keen \vatchfulness of a phy- dear, is clever; And he is him me sit-inn while his patient speaks. “Theo,” she said conversationally, "would be a. great comfort to us. He is so steadfast and so entirely reliable. But we must do without him. We will manage somehow." “I am horribly afraid, Brenda. It has just come to me; I have never felt it before. You seem to take it so seriously, and . . and 1 ex- the way, dear. you are in mourning . for whom?" pe:ted to find Theo at home." "Theo is one of the energetic men HOW TO GAIN HEALTH. A Simple Plan that Should Bel Followed by All Who Are Sick If you could buy back your healtl‘f on the instalment plumâ€"Say 50 cents '11 Week, for :1 limited number of weeks until curedâ€"would you do it ‘l Here is a plan worth trying :â€"Tnk~ ring into account their powor to cure, Dr. \Villiums' Pink Pills, are the most economical medicine. with out exception. These pills have ef4 fected cures in cases of rhcunmtiszuh partial paralysis, St. Vitus (lance, indigestion, kidney troulblc, anaemia, and other serious diseases of the blood and nerves. They have cured hundreds of cases where ordinary medicine had been fried and fnilcd.’ They have restored helpless invulids to full use of limbs that bud long been powerless. That is the best guarantee that these pills will no( disappoint when used for simpler ailments. Taking one p'ill after each meal, (as reqruired for minor. troubles) a fifty-cent box of pills gives nearly two weeks‘ treatment: For chronic diseases, when the larger dose is required, the cost ot treatment does not usually exceed fifty cents a week. If you are siclc or ailing. is it not worth your while to give so effective a medicine as. Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills a trial 1' What the pills have done for other people they can do for you. Every dose makes the new rich, red blood that brings robust health and strength. They are the best tonic medicine to take at this time of the year when the blood is sluggish and impoverished. Do not waste money on ordinary medicines, or substitutes ; see that the full name, "Dr. \Villi-ams' Pink: Pills for Pale People," is printed on the wrapper around every box. Sold, by all medicine dealers or sent post-' paid at 50 cents a box, or six boxes for $2.50, by addressing the Dr.‘ Willi-ams' Medicine Co., Brockville, Ont. W of brains who have their own af- fairs to attend to,” said Brenda, in her cheery way. "We are not his affairs; besides, as I mentioned ,be fore, he is in Bulgariaâ€"in his eleâ€" ment, in the midst of confusion, in- surrection, war." "But," repeated Mrs. Hrus'ton, with aggravating unconsciousness of the obvious vanity of her words, "suppose I telegraphed for him?” Brenda laughed, and shook her head. “I have a. melancholy presentimenii that if you telegraphed for him he would not come. There is a vulgar but weighty proverb about making one's own bed, which he might re- commend to our notice.” "Then Theo must have changed!" Brenda raised her round, blue eyes. and glanced sideways out of the window. She was playing idly with the strap of the sash, tapping the back of her band with it. “Theo,” she observed indifferently, “is the incarnation of steadfastness “He has not changed in any percep tible way. But he is, before all else, a war correspondent. I cannot imagine that any one should pos sess the power of dragging him away from the scat of war.” Mrs. Huston smiled vaguely fol her own satisfaction. Her imagin- ation was apparently capable or greater things. It was rather to bl deplored that, when. she smiled, tlu expression of her beautiful face wal what might (by a true friend behind her back) be called a trifle vacuous "He wrote," continued the youngel sister, “a very good article the otlr er day, which came just within thl limits of my understanding. It was upon the dangers of alliance; and Lo Showed that an ally who, in any on. way, might at some time prove dis advantageous, is better avoidel from the first part. It was apropos of the Turkishâ€"Christian subjectl welcoming a Russian invasion. If seems to me, Alice, that our posi- tion is rather within the reach ol that argument." “Being a soldier’s wife, I do not know much about military matters but it seems to me that a retreaf should be safely covered at a1.l costs." “Not at all costs," significantly. Her color had charge ed, and there was a wave of pinll slowly mounting over her throat. Mrs. Huston smiled serenely, and shrugged her Shoulders. (To Be Continued). SAVE THE: BABY "I can truly say that had it not said Brenda been for Baby‘s Own Tablets, I do not believe my baby would have been alive toâ€"day." So writes Mrs. Albert Lirddiiig10n, of St. Mary‘s River, and she adds zâ€"“Ile is now growing nicely is good na- tured and is getting fut." It is gratifying to know that in all parts of Canada, Baby’s Own Tablets are proving a real blessing to children and a boon to mothers. These Tab- lets are a speedy relief and prompt cure for constipation, sour stomach, wind colic, diarrhoea, worms, and simple fevers. They break up cold, prevent croup and allay the irrita~ tion accompanying the cutting )l teeth. Baby’s Own Tablets are good for children of all ages from birth ‘upwards, and are guaranteed to con- tain no opiate or harmful drug. Sold by medicine dealers, or senf by mail, post paid, at 25 cents a box, by writing direct to the Dr. Williams' Medicine Co., Bmckville, Ont.