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-l l i: ll: .17.? A u tn etc. CHAPTER X.â€"-(cont'd.) For a long time he had ceased to care for Polly Powell; when he was In Surrey his mother’s letter had openâ€" ed his eyes to the kind of girl she real- ly was. He saw her, coarse, loud- talking, and vulgar; a girl who had appealed only to what was coarse In his own nature. And he had yielded to her blandishments; he had left a pure, refined girl for her, and he had’ lost Alice for ever. _ , That was the bitterness In Toms cup of joy. He was proud of what he had doneâ€"what fellow situated as he was would not be? His heart thrilled with exultation as he remem- bered what the Colonel had said and written about him. He remembered with joy, too, what his comrades had said when he left for home, and the cheers they gave him. Oh, if he hadn‘t been such a fool! He thought of what his home-comâ€"’ 'ing might have been if he had remainâ€" ed true to Alice; he fancied the look in her eyes as she greeted him; of the feelings which would fill his heart asI he sat by her side in the church she attended. But that was impossmle now. Thus his home-coming would be robbed of half its joy. If he saw Alice at all she would be in the comâ€" pany of Harry Briarfield, and Brian‘- field, he knew; had always looked down upon him. “But there," he said to himself, “I’ll bear it like a man. I have done my bit, and that’s something, anyhow.” ‘ He had sent a telegram to his moth- ! er the day before, telling her of the time he expected to arrive in Brun- ford, and presently when the train drew into the station he looked out of the window eagerly expectant, and with fast-beating heart. Yes, there his father and mother Were, waiting for him. But what 'was the meaning of the crowd? No sooner did he set foot on the platform than a great cheer arose. “There he is! There’s Tom Pol- lard!” “Gi’t tongue, lads! Hip! hip! hip! hoorah!" Tom, heedless of the cheering and shouting, went straight to his mother. For a second this lady looked at him, and seemed to be on the point of reeting him with a caustic remark; hen her mother’s heart melted. “Ay, Tom, «I’m fair glad to see thee," she sobbed. “And I am glad to see you, mother. Ay, father, it is good to see you, it is.” “And I am fair proud on you. Tom,” and Ezekiel Pollard’s voice was hoarse as he shook his son’s hand. “But, Tom,” cried Mrs. Pollard, wiping her eyes, “thy clothes be dirty; I shall have a rare job to get th’ muck out of ’em.” This .was followed by a general laugh by those who had come to greet Tom and bid him Welcome. “Ay, and thou look’st as though thou hasn’t weshed for a week. I thought as aa’ sodjers kept theirsens clean.” “I’ll wash right enough when I get home, mother," laughed Tom. “Holloa, Tom. I am glad to see you,” and Pflly Powell made her way through the crowd. “Thank you,” replied Tom quietly; {have you brought one of your young men with you, Polly ?” “I have not got any young men,” Was Polly’s reply. Whereupon there was a- general laugh of incredulity. Polly, heedless of the crowd, and al- Gi’t tongue! though angered at the remarks that were made, still held her ground. “You are coming down to the Thorn‘ you, Tom?" she, and Thistle, aren't said; “mother and father are expectâ€" ' ing you.” ' “No, thank you, Polly," said Tom. “I am going home with my mother and father. Besides, I don’t want to play gooseberry." At this there was general cheering. It was evident that Polly Powell was ready to give up her latest lover in order that the glory of Tom‘s lustre might shine upon her; but her power over him had gone. “Nay, thou’lt come down to the Rose and Crown wi’ us, won’t 'a’?’ cried another. “No, I am not going to the Rose and Crown,” replied Tom. “Nay, you doan't mean to say you’ve turned teetotaler?" “Ay, that I have,” replied the lad, “you see I’m following the example of the King.” Whereupon Polly went away abashed. All the way Tom's progress down Liverpool Road was a great proces- sion of people. On every hand he was greeted and cheered. who had gone out from Brunford had returned; some had been wounded,- and many had done brave deeds, but Tom’s action had laid hold of the imagination of t e people. To dis- cover a German spy in Waterman, whom many in the town knew; to bring him to justice; to risk his life in order to render his country a ser- vice; to face almost certain death that he might obtain the plans which had been intended to help the enemy, made him a hero. Perhaps there are few parts of the world where the people are more hearty and more generous than the dwellers in those busy manufacturing towns in the North, and Tom was their own towns-boy. reared amongst them, had gone out ‘ (.935 ‘ icy/(79900? "All for 5. Scrap of Paper." "Dearer Than , Published by Hodder 8: Stouzliton. Limited. London and Toronto Other soldiers‘ l . - He had been. boom of guns; :Iis‘ezid . c, ’ ‘ltll‘. \/ 12y or or 'fi'om them, and so they gave him a great welcome. i No words can tell the joy which- , Mrs. Pollard felt when she found that 1Tom was going straight home with l«her. As she said, she had got the best dinner in Brunford for him, but rshe was afraid that Tom would yield to all the inducements which would I be held out to him. ‘ “Never mind,” she said to ‘neiglibor whom she had asked to get everything in readiness by the time lshe returned, “we’ll have everything las though we wore sure he wur com- : ing 'ome. Nobody shall say as ’ow I ldidn't prepare a good dinner for my ‘ boy when he returned from the war.” 1 Thus when Tom had refused the ;invitation to go to the Rose and iCrown, and declared his intention of 3 going straight home, her joy knew no j bounds. “Dost 'a' really mean. ltliou‘rt coming straight home with ‘ thee feyther and me?" l “Ay, I do,” replied Tom, "there‘s place but home for me to-day." “Ay, then I mun kiSs thee agean," l she sobbed, throwing her arms around ‘his neck. ! Throughout the whole of the at eiâ€" lnoon and evening Ezekiel Pollard’s 1 house was besieged with visitors. Reâ€" ‘ porters came from the newspapers In ‘order to hear any details 'which had ibeen missed concerning Tom's ex- : ploits. Relations whom Tom had not [seen for years came to bid him wel come, while the neighbors thronged the doors. ‘ - “Ay, it’s good to be home again,” ‘ 110 said Tom, standing on the doorstep‘ and watching the last visitor depart lthat night, “I never thought that it .would be like this. ' erg . “Just a bit,” said Tom. Isleep last night, I was thinking all the time about coming home, and now " “Ay, lad, I’m proud of thee," said lhis father for the hundredth time. “Thou art a fool, lad,” said his : mother, “but thou’rt noan such a fool ' as I feared. Thou’st done vary weel too, vary weel.” “Father,” said Tom when they had entered the house and closed the door, “do you ever pray now '2" “I hadna prayed for years,” said Ezekiel Pollard, “till thou went to the Front, but every night sin’ I have lashed nowt for myself,” he added al- most proudly. “I didn’t deserve it; but I’ve asked God to take care 0’ thee.” “So have I,” said his mother. “I never towd anybody about it; I wur a bit ashamed, I reckon, but I have prayed twenty times a day. “Then,” said Tom, “let us kneel down and thank God for His good~ ness." And the three knelt down together. CHAPTER XI. It wasi nearly midday when Tom awoke. The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour, indeed at nearly all the churches the congrega- tions were being dismissed. The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve, but all else seemed strangely silent. Tom rose in his bed, and rub- bed his eyes. “Where am I?" he gasped; “this is ~this isâ€"ay, where am 1? Why, I’m home! I’m homel”. Immediately he jumped out of bed, and pulling up the blinds looked out upon the smoky town. “Dear old Brunford, dear old Brun- ford,”.he said; “ay, this is a change!” “Art ’a’ got up, Tom?" “Ay, mother." “Make haste, then, I’ll have dinner <ready for ‘tliee by the time thou’i‘t , ready." [Tom, and then he sighed. “I wonder , now, I wonder " and then he sigh- ' ed again. l “I mean to go to chapel to-day,” he .said to his mother when he presently appeared. “Chapel!” said his moth-er, "I ithought thou'd given up going to chapel." “I am going to-day anyhow,” said .Tom. “It would be grand if you and father would come with me toâ€" » night.” “Then us will," said Ezekiel quietâ€" ;ly. { That night Tom, together with his. {father and mother, found their way to lthe church which he had ntienlil ‘years before. Many eyes were by n *him as he was shown into the pew. 1All the town had heard of Tom Polâ€" ‘lard's return, but few expected to see 'him at church that night. For <, me time Tom was very selfâ€"coziscim:, ma it is to be feared that he thoi‘e‘ht lit- tle of the service; more than 0110:“, too, ‘he caught himself gazing flii‘Ii‘COly around the building. but he Ilil not see the face he longed yet fix-well to see. Since his return ho had “312 no questions about Alice l-i<‘ei‘, ,1 neither his mother or fll’llf-l‘ h-wl volunteered any informaticm about i i “Well,” said Tom. “I must drive yher out of my mind. What " f- l I was!" ,‘ How beautiful it was to M own: the old hymns again! Tbs: Qt“ i-;i' liq. ,fore he had been in ane~ «l w. ' stead of church bells he ll‘nll ‘v . i ‘ m? J l. l . . . ,, ,of hymns, the Surieknig of sh ~ - the‘ Tom, as . “Art ’a’ tired, lad ‘2” asked his fath- “I couldn’t - ing victory and “Ay. it's good to be home," saidl ,~.. stead of the scenes of home, and the loved ones, were the blackened ruins of an ancient town which had been ruthlessly destroved. Oh, how Tom wished the War were over! How he dreaded the idea of going back again! Yet he knew he must go, until those who had made war should be power- less to make it again. Presently the service was over, and Tom made his way towards the vesti- bule of the church. Scores of hands (To be continued.) â€"o\4~-_â€"_. WHERE our MEN FIGHT. World-Wide Triumphs of Our Malch-‘ less British Army. It is obvioiis~and yet it needs say- ingâ€"athat the war is going on in its reality miles away from London, primarily (for us) in Flanders and in France; then, also, wherever our best'l men fight in almost every climate and , corner of the world, says the London‘ Pictorial. They advance upon Jerusalem in the East, after many triumphs. They hold Bagdad. They keep guard in Egypt.’ They watch at Solonika. They are arâ€" rayed for battle in Italy. They rule ,the seas, in great or humble vessels, imaintaining the nerve and body and Ilifc~breuth of the Alliance, securing for the talkers at home the means of displaying their abilities, and, as we say, of “airing their views." The presence and prevalence of this amaz- ing host is the real thing that matters to us all. This wonderful, this unconquerable, this ubiquitous British Army of ours is the rock which breaks all waves of .“pessimism” to pieces. l Think of it, critics who despair of our race, thus represented in the great society of the bravest and no- blest of our sons! , But if you do not remember and think of it, be sure the Germans do. May it not be said indeed, truth- fully, that they think of nothing else ‘2' « The British Army baffles them ,wh‘erever‘they turn. They cannot step litsiadvance in the East. They feel its ceaselesspressure on the West. As wondering why, if they win, they cannot have the peace they want, calmly, sternly, the British Army watches them, all the world over. They cannot get beyond it. They cannot understand it. It stares at themâ€"a many-headed Sphinx, threat- ening them. It is the German nightmare! Control of Insect Pests in Canada. The annual report of the Dominion Entomologist for the year ending March 31st, 1917, has just been issued« by the Department of Agriculture, Ottawa, and in its twenty»four pages a brief record is given of the activities ‘of the officers of the Entomological Branch. The necessity of protecting all our crops from insect pests with a view to increasing crop production is inure urgent than ever at this present time. The establishment of regional entomological stations, of which there are now ten in different provinces, has greatly enlarged the scope of the ,‘work and the usefulness of the officers concerned. Concise statements are given of the progress of the following lines of work; investigations on inâ€" sects affecting grain and field crops, garden and greenhouse, fruit crops, forest and shade trees, stored grain and' other products, insects affecting domestic and other animals, the houseâ€" hold and public health; the introducâ€" tion and colonization of parasitic in- sects and studies of natural control; field work against the brown~tail moth :in the Maritime Provinces; and the in- lspection of imported nursery stock. A brief statement of the work undertakâ€" en with a view to conservation of wild life, particularly birds, is also given. The publication does not contain any recommendations respecting the con- trol of insect pests, such information is published in the bulletins and circuâ€" lars of the Entomological Branch. It 'comprises a brief account of the year’s work and will be of interest to all who desire to learn what progress is ,being made in this line of scientific research as applied to agriculture. ,Copies may be obtained on application lto the Publications Branch, Departâ€". ment of Agriculture, Ottawa. All en- ,quiries respecting insect pests should they plunge hither and thither, claim-, PLANTING TREES 0N nit PRAllllE MORE THAN 7.000.000 sn’r our DURING‘IQIY. ‘ Three-[old Object of Providing Sholtet Belts, Future Fuel and Ornamentalion. On the farms of the prairies of the three provinces during the season of 1917, 7,450,000 trees have been plantâ€" ed by the joint co-operation of the forestry department and the farmers, with the threeâ€"fold object in view of providing the farmsteads with shelter belts, the farmer with a possible fuâ€", ture suppw of wood, and of adding ' pleasing effect by beautifying the landscape of the prairie homeland. says the Canadian Forestry Journal. Incidentally, trees are said to have an important effect on the weather and climate, as well as in the supply of moisture. Certainly they tend to check the winds and by catching the drifting snow, they may be used to in- crease the supply of moisture in the soil of field or garden. an end much desired in certain sections of the prairie West. ' The deciduous trees are of five kinds, maple, ash, RuSsian poplar, caraganna, red willow and aspen leaf twillow. The eVergreen trees include white spruce, lodge pole pine, jack pine and Scotch pine. The deciduous trees are supplied free by the forestry department, and the nominal charge of a cent each is charged for the evergreens. The express from Indian Head, Sask., is paid by the applicant in each case. 80‘Per cent. Turn Out Well. About eighty per cent. of the trees planted have turned out well, and where there has been failure it has been largely due to uninterested ten- ants on rented farms, the enlistment of farmers, and the selling or aband- onment of farms. Only about five per cent. of the failures were due to gross carelessness. The most success- ful trees proved to be Russian poplar and caraganna, and among the ever- greens the white spruce has proved to be the most adaptable to Alberta. The pines are best suited to rocky - districts. SOme farmers on the prairie have found that the double shelter belt has enabled them to grow small fruits most successfully. The outer belt of trees catches the drifting snow, and the garden or berry patch is planted in the treeless land between the inner and the outer shelter belt. The farm yard is often located inside the inside belt, where the family and live stock are quite comfortably located, even on the prairie which was once noted for its blizzards. In the districts near Edmonton this would not apply as, much as it does to those settlements iwhere there are no trees except those .planted by the settler. In many districts to the north and west of Edmonton the trouble of the pioneer homesteader was to get rid of the natural growth of trees. But now that the native brush is being cleared off, the settlers of the attention to the planting of shelter‘ belts around their farm buildings. With the satisfactory supply of moisw ture found here, there is little or no‘ difficulty found in growing these trees. Another Plantation Started. The forestry department have on, their farm at Indian Head 21 planta-, tion of 480acres devoted to the culti-‘ vation of ‘trees and demonstration plots. Owing to the increase of applications in recent years, and to supply the demands of a large area, another plantation of 320 acres has been started at Sutherland, Saskatche- wan, and sown with seed that will in due time produce a crop of trees.‘ These tree plantations are under the supervision of Norman Ross, Forestry Department, with headquar- ters at Indian Head. To him all apâ€" plications for trees should be made. be addressed to the Dominion Entomo- llogist, Department of Agriculture, Ot- tawa; such requests and enquiries may 'be mailed free of postage. . “7 i‘kqt . j Where Water is Precious. i On the coast of Bahrcin Islanil, in' the Persian Gulf, there is no fresh wa-’ .ter, so the inhabitants of that very hot climate resort to getting drinking wa- Itor from the bottom of the harbor, Lvsherc there are springs of pure wa- 'ter that well up through the sand. Knowledge of the location of these‘ springs is llfill(lOLl_th\Vll from genera- llt‘l‘. to generation. Divers equipped with water-bags made of skins des- cenil from ‘noats and catch the water Ins it flows fresh from the sands by jcarcfully inverting their bags over the «uncut of the spring. One can , imagine how precious water is in such «re the thermometer freâ€" .s at 140 degrees Fahrenâ€" 1 I L-Limi w iriiently 5’23 liotfl'bcl Edmonton , district are frequently turning their: chief :of the Tree Planting division of the 5M cit? r 3: {attainments-‘51 o Many a; People \. ‘ Make a . .. if Town/Na . *3 i g; I various [Intel w \ r - i: for the Walker House «The House ‘ 5?: of Plenty) as soon as the arrive in -, (av 'loronto. The meals, t 6 service ". : and the home-like appointments , : constitute the magnet that draws them there. 715. are. 235‘ = ‘6' i (.32 Noon Dinner 60c. i it: Evening Dinner 75c. 4% Toronto‘s [“llnlOUS Hotel TORONTO, CANADA Rates Reasonable . Geo. Wright 8; (20., Props. ':: o (‘ . Zr; @316 wirI/Gléifi I .eFSQSI'Qo .L, ‘ The trees are supplied for planting [on the farms only, and must not be planter! in towns or cities. Those :wishing to plant trees in 1919 must have their applications in before March, 1918. The ground on which ,the trees are to be planted must be ,summer-fallowed the year previous to ,planting, and a. satisfactory report is received by the department from ,their own inspector before the trees , are sent out. I 0 _._â€"_ «.0 â€" <- 1 ANCIENT HEBRoN. lMost Venerable of Earth’s Cities and l Rich in Historic Interest. , Hebron, recently captured by the British forces in Palestine, is a very iancient city, figuring, in fact, one lof the oldest in the history of Canaan. lIts modern Mohammedan name is ‘El lKhaIil, or Khalil Allah, “Friend .of ‘God," said to have been so named tfrom its association with Abraham. tlfor the Moslems regard it as one of ifour sacred cities, the others being 1Meccp, Medina and Jerusalem. It lies‘ only tvventy-one miles south-west of Jerusalem. i The city of Hebron is referred to in the Old Testament in Numbers xiii., 22; Genesis xxiii., 2; Joshua xiv.. 15. As a sanctuary it was the most fam- ous of the south, and the three patri- archsâ€"Abraham, Isaac and Jacobâ€"â€" are reported to have sojourned at Hebron (Genesis xiii., 18; xxxv., 27; ,xxxvii, 14.) A legend has it that they were all buried there. with Reâ€" becca and Sarah, while even to-day an old oak is pointed out at Mamre, near ,by, as that of Abraham. 1 The spies sent out to visit the Promised Land .ventured to Hebron, ,and Joshua was said to have destroy- led the city before giving it as a heri- itage to Caleb, and made it a city of trefuge. Then the place figures promi- nently in the history of David, for it was here that he was anointed King, 'first over Judah, and then over the ‘Whole of Israel. (II. Samuel ii, 1-4; Iv., 1-3.) Absalom also made his at- : tempt to capture the Throne from He- bron, but soon after that time it dis- appears from marked prominence in Bible story. In the Apocrypha it is mentioned, however, as being the place that Judas Maccabeus took from i the Edomites. 1 â€"â€"â€"~_o:9 v- w , B.C.’s Trade Position. 1 British Columbia’s mills have a pos- sible output of 2,500,000,000 feet per ,annum of lumber, according to an es- timate made by the “Victoria Colon- ist.” On that side of the continent, says the “Colonist,” there is the largâ€" est supply of merchantable timber. [Pulp and. paper mills when fully in lswing will be able to supplement the shortage of products in the east and probably indefinitely supply the de- mand for paper. In the years 1012 to 1914 not more than five per cent. of the foreign lumber export trade on the Pacific was handled from the west- ern ports, notwithstanding the na- tural resources, which are greater than all the States to the south. The figures, therefore, show that British Columbia, which is in a posit-ion to ‘supply the major portion of the de- mand, is only in a small minority in actual trade. A square foot of honeycomb con- tains about 9,000 cells. Coronado Coronado Beach, California Near San Diego POLO, MOTORING, TENNIS, BAY AND SU RF BATHING, FISHING AND BOATING. I8-Hole Goli Course Hotel is equipped throughout with Automatic Sprinkler System. AMERICAN PLAN ' JOHN J. HERMAN, Manager