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“Not personally,” the agent ad- mitted. “So far as I can tell, the. property came into the present own- er’s hands some years ago by inheri- tance. The property also included a very old house, called Longvdean Grange, not far from Rottingdean, where the lady, Mrs. Henson, lives" at present. Nobody ever goes there, nobodv ever visits there, and to keep the place free from prying visi~ tors a, large number of savage dogs are allowed to prowl about the grounds.” “No,” the agent replied. “But the present owner was interested in both 218 and 219, which used to be a kind of high-class convalescent home for poor clergy and the widows and daughters of poor cler- gy in want of a holiday. The one house for the men and the other for the women, and both were fur- nishe/l exactly alike; in fact. Mr. Gate’s landlord, the tenant of 219, bought the furniture exactlykas it stands when the scheme fell through.” V“Has 218 been let during the 06- cupation of the present owner?” Bell asked. Bell listened eagerly. Watching him David could see that his eyes glinted like points of steel. There was something subtle behind all this commonpltwe that touched the im- agination of the novelist. A smart. dapper little man, look- ing absurdly out of place in an exâ€" ceedingly spacious office, was quite ready to give every information. It was certainly true that; 218 Bruns- wick Square, was to be let, at an exceedingly low rent on a. repairing lease, and that the owner had a lot more property in Brighton to be let on the same terms. The lady was exceedingly rich and eccentric; indeed, by asking such low rents she was doing her best to seriously diâ€" minish her income. “Do you know me lady at all ” Bell asked. Steél looked up swiftly. A .sudé flen inspiration came to him. “In that- case what became of the precisely similar furniture in 218?” he asked. Bell spoke exult-antly, a great. light shining in his eys. And David Rapiently asked no further ques- tions for the present. All that he wanted to know would come in time. The next move, of course, was to visit the agent of the property. ’ “That I cannot- tell you,” the agent said. “That house was let as it stood to some sham philanthrop- ist whose name I forget. The whole thing was a fraud, and the swindler Only avoided arrest by leaving the country. Probably the goods were stored somewhere or perhaps seized by some creditor. But I really can’t say definitely without looking the matter up. There are some books and prints now left in the house out of the wreck. We shall probably put them in a sale. only they have been overlooked. The whole lot will not fetch £5.” ' ' Bell gravely préduced a £5 note, for which he asked and received a receipt. Then he and Steel repairâ€" ed to 218 once more, whence they recovered the Rembrandt and subseâ€" quently returned the keys of the house to the agent. Bell asked; “Gladly. Even if only to get them canted away.” “And now, fierhaps, you will be good enough to explain,” David suggested. . “My dear fellow, it would take too long,” Bell cried. “Dine with me at half past seven and I will tell you all.” “At my house,” said Steel. “Agreed,” cried Bell. Steel lighted a cigarette mid strolled tht’mghtfully homewai‘ds along the front. The more he thought over the mystery the more tangled it became. Then he found himself thinking about Ruth .Gate’s gentle face and lovely eyes, until he leaked up and saw the girl be- fore him. “Youâ€"you wanted to speak to me?” he stannnered. ‘ “1 followed you on pui‘pbse,” the ulcklv .4 ohms: 315170sz 6 \uchgly “or! sought. cure: colgg. heavll' -__._ ‘ffiWogldy you take £5 for them ’3” CHAPTER X.â€"â€"(Cont’d) Prinee’ Rupert’s Bing; OR, THE HOUSE OF THE SILENT SORROW. “Well, in Amsterdam I got to know everybody who was worth knowingâ€"~medical, artistic, social. And amongst the rest was an Eng- lishman called Lord Littimer, his son, and an exceedingly clever ne- phew of his, Henson by name, who was the son’s tutor. Littimen was a savant, a scholar, and a -fine con- noisseur as regarded pictures, He was popularly supposed to have the finest collection of old prints in England. He would travel anywhere in search of something fresh, and the rumor of some apocryphal trea- sure in Amsterdam had brought him thither. He and I were friends from the first, as, indeed, were the son and myself. Henson, the nephew, was more quiet and reserved, but fond, as I discovered, of a little secret dissipation. v She gaéeghinâ€"l a long look of her deep, velvety eyes, she flashed him a little smile, and was gone. “About seven- years ago prof-es- sional business took me to Amster- dam; a brilliant young medic-11 ge- nius who was drinking himself preâ€" maturely into his grave had made some wonderful discoveries relat- ing to the brain and psychology generally, so I decided to learn what I could before it was too late. Hatherley Bell turned up at Downend Terrace gay and debunaiv’ as if he had not a single trouble in the world. “In those days I was not averse to a little life myself. I was pas- sionately fond of all games of cards, and I am afraid that I was in the habit of gambling to a greater exâ€" tent that I could afford. I don’t gamble now and I don’t play cards; in fact, I shall never touch a card again as long as I live. Why, you shall bear all in good time. ~_5‘We were getting on very well together at that time when Lord Littimer’s sister paid us a visit.’_She came accompanied by a daughtéjr called Enid. I will not describe her, because. no words of mine could do her justice. In a word, I fell over head and ears in love With Enid, and in that state I have rémained ever since. Of all the crosses that 'I have to bear the knowledge that 1 love Enid and that she lovesâ€"and despises-~me, is by far the heaviâ€" est. She paused with the deep blush crimsoning her face. David caught her hand, and it; seemed to him for a moment that she returned the pressure. “Let me help you,” he whispered. “Only be my friend and I will [or- give everything.” 7 girl said, quietly. “I can’t tell you everything, because it is not my se- cret to tell. But believe me evâ€" erything will come out right in the. end. Don’t think badly of me, don’t be hard and bitter becauseâ€"” “Because I am nothing of the kind,” David smiled. ’ “It is imâ€" possible to look into a" face like yours and doubt you. And I am cer« tain that you are acting loyally and faithfully for the sake of others whoâ€"” “Yes, yes, and for your sake, too. Oh, if you only knew how I admire and esteem y0u!_ _If_onlyâ€"â€"â€""" After the dinner they wont to the library. Bell lighted a cigar and plunged into the story: "WVe were a very happy party there until Van Sneck and Von Gulâ€" den turned up. Enid and I had come to an understanding, and, though we kept our secret, we were not going to do so for long. From the very first Von Gulden admired her. He was a handsome. swagger- ing soldier, a. goodâ€"looking, weal» thy man, who had a great reputa- tion for gallantry, and something WUI‘SC. “It- is no fault of mine that I am extremely sensitive as to my per.- sonal appearance, but Von Gulden played upon it until‘he drove me nearly mad. He challenged me sneeringly to certain sports where- in he knew I could not shine; he challenged me to ocartc, where I fancied VI was his master? “Was 1? Well, ive had been din- ing that night, and perhaps too free- ly, for I entirer lost- my head be- fore I began the game in earnest. Those covert sneers had nearly driven me mad. To make a. long story short, when I got up from the CHAPTER XI. “I was sent off on foot to look for Van Sneak, only to find that he had suddenly left the cxty. He had got into, trouble with the police, and had fled to ~ avoid being sent to goal. And from that day to this nothing has been seen of that pic- ture.” “Another one,” Bell observed. “Oblige me by opening yonder parâ€" cel. There you see is the print that I purchased to-day for £5. This, this, my friend, is the print that was stolen from Littimer’s lodgings in Amsterdam. If you will closely look'at it you will/see four dull red spots in theieftâ€"hand corner. They are supposed to be bloodâ€"spots from a cut finger of the artist. I am pre- “Itcame down the next morning after a sleepless night, and with a wild endeavor to scheme some way of getting the money to pay my creditor. To my absolute amazeâ€" ment I found a polite note from the lieutenant coldly thanking me for the notes I had sent- him by messen- ger, and handing me a formal re- ceipt. for £800. At first I regarded it as a hoax. But, with all his queer ways, Von G‘ulden was a gentleman. Somebody ‘had paid the debt for me. And somebody had, though I have never found out who to this day.” “I have a very strong suspicion, but I have never been able to veri- fy it. All the same, you can im- agine what an enormous weight it was off my mind, and how compara- tively cheerful I was as I crossed over to the hotel of Lord Littimer after breakfast. I found him liter- ally beside himself with passion.» Some thief hadlgone into his room in the night and stolen his Rem- brandt. The framewas' intact, but the engraving had been rolled up and taken way. “But I read to-day that it is 'still in Littimer Castle,” said David. ‘7‘A11 the same, you have your susâ€" picionsl” Steel suggested. “You can imagine how delighted he was with his prizeâ€"he had se- cured an engraving by Rembrandt that was absolutely unique. Under more favorable circumstances I should have shared that- pleasure. But I was face to face with ruin, and therefore I had but small heart for rejoicing. “The. following morning the great discovery was made. The Van Sneak I have alluded to was an art- ist, a dealer, a man of the shadiest reputation, whom my patron, Lord Littimer, had picked up. It was Van Sneck who produced the copy of ‘The Crimson Blind.’ Not only did he produce the copy, but he pr0~ duced the history from some recent- ly discovered papers relating to the Keizerskroon Tavern of the year 1656, which would have satisfied a. more exacting man that. Littimer. In the end the Viscount purchased the engraving for £800 English: table that night, I owed my oppon- ent £800, without the faintest prosâ€" pect of paying a-tenth part of it. And if that money were not forth< coming in the next few days I was utterly ruined. “Well, I lost my head then. I accused Von Gulden of all kinds of disgraceful things. And he behaved like a gentlemanâ€"he made me ashamed of myself. But he kept the picture and returned it to Littimer, and I was ruined. Lord Littimer declined to prosecute, but he would not see me and he would hear of no explanation. Indeed, I had mine to offer. Enid refused to see me also or reply to my letters. The story of my big gambling debt, and “I could say nothing, for there lay the Rembrandt. The red spots had been smudged out of the corner, but there the picture was. “I am just coming to that. We hunted high and low for the picâ€" ture, but nowhere could it be found. The affair created a profound im- pression in Amsterdam. A day or two later Von Gulden went back to his duty on the Belgian frontier and business called me home. I packed my solitary portmanteau and deâ€" parted. When I arrived at the fronâ€" tier I opened my luggage for the custom officer and the whole conâ€" tents were turned out without cereâ€" mony. On the bottom was a roll of paper on a stick that I quite failed to recognize. An inquisitive Customs HouSe officer opened it and immediately called the lieutenant in charge. Strange to say, he proved to be Von Gulden. He came up to me, very gravely, with'the paper in his hand. “ ‘May I inquire how this came amongst ypur luggagg ?’ he‘askqd. “He has one in his collection,” Bell said coolly. “And, moreover, he is firmly under the impression that he is at present happy in the possession of his\own lost treasure. And to this very play I was under exactly the same delusion. Now Iknow that there must have been two copies of the plate, and‘t-his knowledge was used to ruin me.” “But,” Steel murmured, “I don’t exactly 36â€"” _ pared to swear that this is the very print, frame and all, that was pur- chased in Amsterdam from that; shady scoundrel Van Sneck.” “But Littimer ls credited with having one in his collection,” David urged. Nsfiontl Drug and Chemicd Co. of Clhnda. Limited. NA-DRU-Co Headache Wafers step the meanest, nastiest, most persistent headaches in half an hour or less‘ We guarantee that they contain no opium. morphine or other poisonous drugs. 25¢. a box at your druggists'. or by mail from ' Influenza, ink eye, eplzootlc, dismmper and all nose and throat. dis eases cure , and all others, no matte-r how “ox sed." kept. from having any of these diseases with SPOEN'S LIOUI DISTEMPER CURE. Three to six doses often cure my case. One {yo-cent bottle guaranteed to do go. Best thin for brood mnres. Acts on the blood. 50c and 818 bottle. 86 and 11 a dozen bottles. Druggists and harness shops. Distributorsâ€"ALL WHOLESALE DRUGGISTS. §hippingF¢v¢r SPOHN MEDICAL 00.. Chemists. don“, Indiana. 11. s. A. “For the present I can only make surmises,” Bell replied. “Van. Sneck was a slippery dog. Of course, he had two of those plates. He kept the one back so as to sell the other at a fancy price. My en- emy discovered this, and Van Sneck’s sudden flight was his op- portunity. He could afford to get rid of me at an apparently dear rate. He stole Littimer’p engrav- ingâ€"in fact, he must have done so, or I should not have it at this mo- ment. Then he smudged out some imaginary spots on the other and hid it in my luggage, knowing that it would be found. Also he knew that it would be returned to Littiâ€" mer, and that the stolen plate could be laid aside and produced at some remote date as an original find. The find has been mine, and it will go hard if I can’t get to the bottom of the mystery now. It is strange that your mysterious trouble and mine should‘be bound up so closely together, but in thevend it will sim- plify matters, for the very reason that we are both on the hunt for “Come, let; us go at once to Long- dean Grange.” the. same man. “We will bait for him as one does for a wily old trove. The fly shall be the Rembrandt, and you see he will rise to it in time. But beyond this I have made one or two importâ€" ant discoveries to-day. We are g0- ing to the house of the strange lady who owns 218 and 219 Brunswick Square, and I shall be greatly mis- taken if she does nuo prove to be an old acquainfcance of mine. There will be danger. Bell roseuand' lighted a fresh ci- gar. its liquidation, got about. Steel, I was ruined. Some enemy had done this thing, and from that day to this I have been a marked man.” “But how on earth was it done ‘1” Steel cried. Shilolzés 6.11m vulckly'uops con II In. throat and Ian I The various uses to which Concrete may be profitably put, on the farm, arc plainly and simply in our 160â€"page book, A flayed and flu "we at lama or van! B d 6 "him ‘ macs?‘é:u‘:lrm “_ Eng; fana't’éi ooh. um WI. n.8th In “What the .Farmer Can which shows how the following {arm buildings and minus: can be constructed of conorgtetâ€" Do With C oncrctc" (To be continued.) Emirarmfiljrleai ' i I 23 can. VN