The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Merritt said hoarsely that he had not been in the Church very long. Henson was obviously ill at ease. In his suaVe, diplomatic way he con- trived to manoeuvre Merritt off the ground at length. The uneasiness in Henson’s man- ) ner gradually disappeared. Evi- dently the girl suspected nothing. Somebody was in the arbor, two people talking earnestly. One man stood up with his back to Chris, one hand gripping the outâ€" side ragged bark of the arbor frame. Chris could see the hand tgrned back distinctly. A piece of bark was being crumbled under a strong thumb. Such a thumb! Henson would have been pleased had he known thas the fascinating little American had waylaid his messenger and read his telegrams under the plea of verifying one of .the addresses. A moment or two later and those addresses were oare- fully noted down in a packetâ€"book. 4‘ It was past: five before ’Jhris found herself with a little time on her hands again. She went into the garden. There was a tiny arbor on a, terrace overlooking the sea to which Chris had taken a particular fancy. She picked her way daintâ€" ily along the grass paths between the roses until she suddenly emergâ€" ed upon the terrace. , It was as if at some time it had been smashed flat with a harhmer, a broadx strong, cruelâ€"looking thumb, flat; and sinister-looking as the head of a. snake. In the centre was one tiny, perfectly formed nail: The owner of the thumb stepped back the better to give way to a fit of hoarse laughter. He turned slightly aside and his eyes met those of Chris. They were small eyes set in a coarse, brutal face. It came quite as a shock to see that the stranger was in clerical garb. stammered. Henson emerged from the arbor. He appeargd confused. “Please don’t go away,” he said. "Mr. Merritt will think that he has alarmed you. Miss Lee, this is my very good friend and co-worker in the field, the Reverend James Merâ€" ritt.” ‘ r A ‘ Henson strolled away with a sigh of gentle pleasure. Once out of sight he flew to the library, where he scribbled a couple of telegrams. They were carefully worded and re- lated to some apocryphal parcel re- quired without delay, and calculat- ed to convey nothing to the lay mind. A servant was despalclred to the village with them. “Is Mr'. Merritt a friend of Lord Littimer’s‘l” Chris asked. “Littimer hates the cloth,” Henâ€" aon replied. “I met my good friend by accident in the village and I brought him here tor a chat. Mr. Merritt is taking a, holiday.” “Have you been in the Church long, Mr. Merritt?” she added. J _-._--J Dinner came at length, dinner served in the great hall in honor of the recently arrived guest, and set up in all the panoply and splendor that Littimer affected at times. “I Boliaréi‘that time may long be deferred,” Hensgp: rggrlpured. “Of course Henson pretends to condemn all this kind of thing,” Littimer said. “He would have you believe that when he comes in- to his own the plate and wine will be sold for the benefit of the poor, and the seats of the mighty filled with decayed governesses and anti- quated shopwalkers.” ‘ 1 I “You would not speak thus if you knew Merritt,” said, Hgnsory Hensonmsllook his head playfully at all this show and spendor.‘ --V-- V W, “And so do I,” Littimer said, drily, “which is one of the disad- vantages of being conservative. By the way who was that truculent- looking scoundrel I saw with you this afternoon ” Iiâ€"[eâ€"rivsbrn hastened to explain. Lit- timer was emphatically of opinion that such visitors were better kept at a distance. _ “There was a time when the enâ€" terprising burglar got his know- ledge of the domestic and physical geography of a house from the serâ€" vants,” he said. “Now he reforms, with the great advantage that. he can lay his plan ()1 campaign from personal observation.” hi‘fiAllw‘gliéiairnyoe, I dfon’t want the CHAPTER XXII.â€"â€"(Cont’d) O 0 Prime Rupert’s Bing? beg your pardon?” Chris OR, THE HOUSE OF THE SILENT SORRO'W. getBer.” It was the very moment that Henson had been waiting for. He sprang to his "feet and made his way hurriedly across the lawn to what seemed to be the very edge of the cliff and disappeared. Above the gloom a head appeared. “An exceedingly nice girl, that,” Littimer was saying, “and distinct- ly amusing. Excuse me if I leave you here-a tendency to ague and English night air don’t, blend t0- “That you, Merritt?” Henson asked, hoarsely. “Oh, it’s me right enough,” came the reply. “Good job as I’m used to a seafaring life, or I should never have got up those cliffs. Have you got- the things ’I” n A u “Got everything, pardner. Got a proper wipe over the skull, too.”_ “How on earth did you manage to do that?” “Meddling with Bell, of course.” “So he got the best of you, eh '1” “Rather! I fancied that I was pretty strong, butâ€"well, it doesn’t matter. Here I am with the tools, and I ain’t going to fail this time. Before Bell comes the little trap will be ready and you will be able to prove an alibi.” Henson chuckled hoarsely. “Get along,” he said. “There is no time to lose.” “Well, you will not have long to wait now,” Li‘ttimer said. “Bell is due at any moment after eleven. Coffee in the balcony, please. It was a gloriously warm night. Down below, the sea. beat with a. gentle sway against lthe cliffs. Chris strolled quietly down the garden with her mind at peace for 3 time. A figure slipped gently past her on the grass, but she utterly failed to notice it. Merritt nodded and began to make his way upward. Some way above him Chris was looking down. She watched eagerly. Just below her the big electric light on the castle tower cast a band of flame athwart the cliff. Presently she saw a. hand uplifted into the belt of flame, a hand grasping for a ledge pf rock, and .a quickly stifled cry rose to her lips. The thumb was smashed flat. Chris’s heart gave one quick leap. She needed nobody to tell her that the owner of the hand was James Merritt. Chris peered eagerly down until the intruder looked up. Then she jerked back. »The action was disastrous, however, for it shook Chris’s diamond star from her head, and it fell gently almost at the feet of the climber. An instant later and his eyes had falâ€" len upon it. “What bloomin’ luck,” he said, hoarsely. “I suppose that girl yon- der must have dropped it over. Well, it is as good as a couple of hundred pound _ to Ame, anyway.” him,” Chris saifl. To Chris’s quivering indignation he slipped the star into his breast- pocket. Nearer and nearer the man with the maimed. thumb came. Chris stepped back into the shadow as he made his way toward the castle. Two minutes, five minutes, elapsed before she moved. privilege,” Littimer smiled. “A man with a face like that couldn’t reform; nature would resent such an enormity. And yet you can never tell. Physically spuaking, my quon- dam friend Hatherly Bell has a per- fect face.” What was that? Surely a voice somewhere near her moaning for help. Her sense of humanity had been touched, she had forgotten Merritt entirely. fl _ _ _ fl “Henson,” canle the totally unâ€" expected reply. “I’m down below on a. ledge of rock. No, I'm not particularly badly hurt, but I dare not move.” Chris paused for a moment, ut- terly bewildered. Henson must have been on the look-out for his accomplice, she thought. and had missed his footing and fallen. “I cannot see anything of you,” she said. “All the same 1 can see your outline.” Henson said,dismally. “Who are yEJu’!” Chris shouted. “And where are your?” confess I am anxious to see CHAPTER XXIII. “The vexpected guest has arriv- ed,” Henson said. “Handsome is that handsome does,” Henson quoted. “Let us hope that Dr. Bell will succeed in his mission. He has my best wishes.” to a telegraph office the first thing the following morning and wired Littimer to the efiect that he must see him on important business. He had an hour or two at, his disposal, so he took a cab as far as Down- end Terrace. He found David Steel in the conservatory. “My next move is to go to Lit- timer and convince him that he has done me a great wrong,” said Bell. “1 am bound to have Littimer’s ear once more.” “He is very handsome,” she conâ€" trived to say, steadily. Chris turned away and walked as slowly as possible up the stairs. Another minute with that slimy hy- pocrite and she felt she must be- tray herself. Once out of sight she flow along the corridor and snap- ped up the electric light. She fell back with a stifled cry of dismay, but was more sorrowful than sur- prised. ‘ . .. . n‘ 11" The precious copy of Rembrandt was no longer there! “Myvdear Ehap, somebody knows youi have fine 2101mm.” 1 ‘ 1 W“‘»11;f)bésiblel’l’ Bell exclaimed. “Only yourself and Enid Henson can possibly be awgre thatâ€"” _ v..." r7V, “All the same, I am speaking the truth,” David said, and he told of the attempt of the man with the mashed thumb to take it. Bell nodded thoughtfully. The information was of the greatest possible value to him. It told him quite plainly that Reginald Henson knew exactly what had happened. Under ordinary circumstances by this time Henson would be on his way to Littimer Castle, there to Checkmate the man he had so deeply injured. But unfortunately Henâ€" son was in his bed, or so Bell im- agined. -.. n Henson said sententiously that he fancied not. His familiarity with the cliffs had led him too far. If he had not fallen on a ledge of rock goodness only knows What might have happened. Would (‘hris be so good as to lend him the benefit of her arm back to the castle? Chris was willing, but she was full of curiosity at the same time. Had Henson really been in danger, or was the whole thing some part of an elaborate and cunning plot? They passed slowly along till the lights here and there from thea castle shone on their faces. At the same time a carriage had driven up to the hall door and a visitor was getting out. With a strange sense of eagerness and pleasure Chris recognized the handsome feaâ€" tures and misshapen figure of Hatherly Bell. t “I expected it,” she said, "I knew that this was the thing they were after.” ‘ T ' It seemed to Hatherly Bell that the first thing to be done was to see Lord Littimer. He procegded "Tlirhafig it. {flatter myself I shall astonish him. I feel all the safer because nobody knows I have the engraving.” Bell hustled off and before five o’clock he was in the train for Lon- don. It was nearly eleven o’clock before he reached Moreton Station. It did not matter much because Litâ€" timer had said that a carriage should meet him. 7 “You are going to show him the spare Rpmbranfit,_eh_?” ' ~â€" 1- wu“I am really obliged to you,” Bell said. “Your information is likely to be of the greatest possible service to me.” However, there was no convey- ance of any kind outside the station. A sleepy porter said a carriage from the castle had come to the station, but that some clerical gen- tleman had come along and counter- ‘Vâ€"“um vâ€"“v ‘â€" _..â€"â€" muddy stops condha. can: colds. heavl. the throat and [unis - u o 25 cent... The rope was there as Henson stated; indeed, he had ,placed it there himself. With the utmost coolness and courage Chris did as she was desired, and presently Henson, with every appearance of utter exhaustion, climbed over the ledge to the terrace. At the same moment an owl booted twice from the long belt of trees at the bottom of the garden. “I hépe you are none the worse for your adventure?” Chris asked, politely. “If I had a rope I should have the proper confidence to climb up again. And there is a coil of rope in the arbor close to you. Hang it straight down over that middle boulder and fasten your end round one of those iron pilasters.” CHAPTER XXIV. He half turned as the stranger swung round. The latter darted at Bell, but he came too late. Bell’s fist shot out and caught him fairly on the forehead. Then the stick in Bell’s left hand came down with crushing force on the prostrate man’s skull. So utterly dazed and surprised was he that he lay on the ground for a. moment, panting heavily. ’ He paused suddenly, undesirous of letting the rascal see that he knew too much. The other man rolled over suddenly like a cat and made a dash for a. gap in the hedge. He was gone like a flash. “Thanké, veiy much,” 1125 said crisply. V‘V‘Keep shaigh? on.” Meanwhile, the man with the thumb was flying over the fields in the direction of Littimer. He made his way across country to the cliffs, and proceeded to scramble along them till he lay hldden just under the terraces at Littimer Castle. He lay there, panting and breathing heavily, waiting for the signal to come. Somebody was coming down the lonely road towards him, somebody in clerical attire. The stranger stopped and politely inquired if he was on the right way to Moremn Station. Bell responded as politeâ€" ly that he was, and asked to know the time. Not that he cared any thing about the time; what he realâ€" ly wanted was to see the stranger’s hands. The little ruse was successâ€" ful. In the dim light Bell could see a. flattened, hideous thumb with the pink parody of a nail upon it. “You murderous ruffian,” Bell gasped. “You escaped convict in an honest man’s clothes. Get up! So you are the fellowâ€"J’ “Hensan seems to be pretty well served,” he muttered, grimly. Meanwhile, Bell was jogging along placidly and with no fear in his heart at all. He did not need anybody to tell him what ways the object of his late antagonist’s at- tack. He knew perfectly well that if the rufiian had sot the better of him he would never have seen the Rembrandt again. Presently Bell could see the lights of the castle. By the lodgegates stood a dog- cart; in the flare of the lamps Bell recognized the features of the driv- er, a very old servant of Littimer’s. Bell took in the situation at a glance. “Is this the way you come for me, Lund?” he asked._ Bell’s face was grim and set as he stepped out into the road. He knew fairly well what this meant. It was pretty evident that his arch- enemy knew his movements perfect- ly well, and that a, vigorous at- tempt was being made to prevent him reaching the castle. “I’m very sorry, sir,” Lund reâ€" plied. “But a clergyman near the station said you had gone another way, so I turned back. And when I got here I couldn’t make top LO.‘ tail of the story. Blast if I \va:21'.’t a bit nervous film it might have Bonn unmn nlnn ég. un‘ “I only just saw his face,” the porter yawned. “Dressed in black, with a. white tie and a straw hat. Walked in a, slouching kind of way with his hands down; new curate from St. Albans, perhaps. Looked like a. chap as could take care of himself in a row." “Thanks,” Bell said, curtly. “I’ll manage the walk; it’s only two miles. Goodâ€"night.” manded it. Whereupon the dog- cart had departed. “What sort of d parson Was it '1” Bell asked. F‘QEafi and Be Mary-‘3” and you’ll feel like a new person. Sour stomachâ€"headburn- occasional lndigestion~chronic dyspepsiaâ€"all yield quickly to NA-DRU-CO Dyspepsia Tablets. The properly digested food restores your strength, your stomach regains il's tone, and soon requires no further aid. 50C. 3 box. If your druggist has not stocked them yet send 50c. and we will mail them. : NATIONAL DRUG AND CHEMICAL 00. OF CANADA LIMITED. MONTREAL. Stop starving yourselfâ€"stop suffering the pangs of indigestionâ€"stop worrying about what you dare and dare not eat. Eat hearty meals of wholesome fqod, take Cure: the sick and acts as a. preventative for others. Liquid given on the tongue. Sade {or brood mares and all others. Best kidney remedy; 50 cents a, bonle; 86.00 the dozen. Sold by all dru gist: and harneu houses. Distributorsâ€"ALL WHOLESALE DRUGGS Ts. SPOBN MEDICAL CO.. Chcnish. Gotten. Ind" U. S. A. FOR PINK EYE Dr. Philippi states the}, the poisu on commenced to met two hours af- ter dinner, and the ladies especial- ly were affected. But all the men and women suffered from hallucin- ations. Another lady ran to the tele- phone a-nd put out her tongue at the receiver as though exhibiting it. to a docior. A chambermaid car- ried away twenty-five hot water bottles in succession to her own bed. Most bachelors believe that ma)- riage is a, failureâ€"4011i; married me] don’t say a word. In Twelve Hours Effects of the Drug Wore 0H. Dr. Philippi, a. well-known Ger- man physician, has just puLlished,{ in a medical review, some extraor-J dinary details of the effects upon twenty-five men and women VlSltg ors at Davos pension of some heni bane root accidentally introduced into their horseradish at dinner. One lady thought; herself a living statute and refused to move from her pose. Another went on her hands and knees searching for an imaginary object. An English lady wanted to teach h-er language to everybody present in turn. A Rus- sian lady, who always spoke Ger- man, entirely forgot‘ that language. The men were also caught in the brainstorm. One of them started out for a chemists, but never reach- ed there, forgetting his purpose; and bought quantities of useless things at- other shops. Henbane is the plant from which hyoscine, the drug used by Crip- pen in the murder of Belle Elmore, is extracted. But in has instance there were no fatalities. When a, doctor was hastily sum- moned one of the lady patients, to whom he was an utter stranger, in- sisted that he was an old and deal friend, and would not allow him to leave her. Twelve hours later, having been promptly and carefully treat-ed, the patients had all recovered, but thev could none of them remember their extraordinary behavior; “Only came yesterday, sir. Shai] I drive you up to the house? And if you wouldn’t mind saying no- thing to his lordship about my mist take, sirâ€"â€"” “Make your mind easy on that score,” Bell said, drily. “His lord- ship shall know nothing about it. On the whole, I had better drive up to the house. How familiar it all looks, to be sure.” culckly utops‘ gluinvcng; 89121:..‘hen‘h' AL.- u....... -- “How long has Mr. Henson been here “a” he asked. A minfite later and Bell stood within the walls of the castle. (To be continued.) It came as a great mum'iw to Bell to find that rh enemy was at: tually in the field; Was going to drive slmvly along In the station Again when you turned up.” ‘ A“Oh, there’s' nothing wrong,” said Bell, cheerfully. “Anybody staying at the Castle,__Lu.-_1fil” ‘FOnTy Mr. Regmafild Henson, sir,” Lund said. §éfifiizé Cilia? MADNESS FROM HYOSCINE. “" if”?! ' ., méth‘ififii "d" M an. DISEMPER CATARRIAL FEVER AND ALL NOSE AND THROAT DISEASES 37