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To the man standing at the open French window the quiet beauty of the landscape meant at that moment no- thing; he was conseious only of the girl mounting the steps from the lawn to the verandah, from which, in less than a minute, she would enter the room. In other circumstances, at another time, doubtless Ronald Sloane would have noticed, and with appreciation, the scene without the tennis lawn, the old rose garden beyond, with its quaint sundial, the sweep of the plain, and far away on the horizon, the shimmer- ing blue of the sea. His whole con- sciousness was concentrated solely Upon Joyce Falloden as she mounted the__steps and came tow_ard him: She was worthy of his attention,! worthy of the attention, indeed, could; Sloane but have realized it, of a man: bigger and more magnanimous than he was or could ever become. Tall and deep-bosomed, she carried herself with a natural grace that spoke rath- er of long tramps in the open country than of the calculated artifice of the ballroom. Her hair was dark brown and wavy without persuasion, and her [neck was magnificently molded. But it; was her face that most provoked admiration; the features were regular land beautiful, but their beauty was {more intense than delicate, for her complexion was browned from her habit of roaming the countryside without a hat; she was like a Madon- na who had lived long with gypsies. A Wise Purchase Yet she had been wooed and won; John Malleson had found it possible to break through the rampart of her cold, exacting reticence and to enter into the castle of her intimate spir- ituality. Such a wooing, while provo- cative in Sloane of envy, hatred,malice and all uncharitableness, was provo- cative also of a begrudged measure of admiration. ' 'ul' “ £3- am is the wisest purchase you can make. Pure. Fresh and so Deliciousâ€"Just try it. â€"â€"‘_‘â€"ébadrraftemoon, Mr. Sloane. Sorry to have kept you waiting, but we just had to finish that set? "Oh, that is quite all right. I hope I have not come at an awkward time, but the committee has asked me to discuss with you one or two points in connection with the meeting on Mon- day, and the sooner they are settled the better.” you sit down?" Ronald Sloane was the village schoolmaster, a young man of some parts and a pronounced Socialist, and the meeting he had mentioned was to take place in the neighboring town, when one of the most advanced lead- ers of the Socialist Party was to be the principal speaker. Joyce Falloden, too, was an ardent Socialist and a prominent member of the local group which had arranged the big meeting: for the following Monday. They were. soon absorbed in the discussion of various matters connected with its incidental tactics. The Dictator Who Was Misunderstood nC-leur‘t'gt'lly. What are they? Won’t will be excellcnt, admirable,” ISSUE No. 26â€"J23. PART I. is the Best Ecommy BY BE RTRAM LEIGH. Tflfi replied Sloane to a suggestion she had put forward. “We will leave it at that, Miss Falloden/l rose 'to take his leave. She press- ed him to stay _to teq. u: "“i-‘gvéfitâ€"‘fg ifitféauCe you to Mr. Malleson." she said. “He arrived yesfisrqayy Y0? EPOWJL lvuv Awâ€" : 4v“ ----v~~- “So I lxeard. The village is all agog, I assure you, and those who possess mouth organs are feverishly learning, ‘See the Conquering Hero Comes’ to play whenever he is unfortunate enough to appear _in our one street?” He spoke bitterly, but thought he was speaking generously. Joyce, di- vining nothin of what was in his mind. tossed ier head and laughed delightedly. “He is out riding at the moment, but we expect him back for tea. Come into the garden and see mother. And you know the othersâ€"the Heuling crowd and the Mrapngring twins.” _ On the verandah he spoke, rather awkwardly, of What was -f0remost in his thoughts, the probable effect upon his own intercourse with Joyce Fallo- The greetings between Sloane and Mrs. Falloden and the tennis votaries were scarcely over when the maid brought the tea, and with the tea‘ came John Malleson, erstwhile dic-‘ itaterâ€"president of the Republic of Romario. He was of middle height and carried himself with the easy dignity of the diplomat rather than with the ibrusque smartness of the soldier, for, Jim spite of his military victories, which had given him the reputation the world over of a miniature Napoleon. l he was more statesman than general, landâ€"as unmisiakably he looked in his ; neat riding breaches and khaki shirt, open at the neckâ€"more prince of men 3 than either. His face was bronzed. 3 the face of Caesar, but with a small aeh of Malleson’s return 'from his amazing adygntulf South Arperjga. v “I sgy, Miss Falioden, won’t Mr. Malleson wish you to give up social- ismâ€"at leastryour actjve interest in itâ€"noW that he is at hand to mono- polize your attention? To judge from all I have heard of his five years of dictatorship in Romarioâ€"â€"â€"and I have heard quite a lot from various sources -â€"I imagine that he can’t possibly be in agreement with us, even in the mere matter of fundamental demo- cratic principles.” _ (“Mrf Malleson has always under- s’oood that I am a Socialist, and knows what to expect,” she answered with a smile. than either. His face was bronzed. the face of Caesar, but with a small brown mustache above the chiseled, laconic lips. His gray eyes were unâ€" fathomably distinctive of the masterâ€" ful genius that burned Within him. “This is my friend, Mr. Sloane, John," announced Joyce. “Pleased to meet you, often heard of you,” said Malleson pleasantly, as the two men shook hands. During the first amenities of tea- time the conversation was general and parochial, and neither Malleson nor Sloane acquitted himself with more than average banality. It was obvious that the Mannering twins, two girls, and the two sons and the daughter of old man Heuling were in a great tak-‘ ing at the presence of the man whose name had been for the last few years so much in the world’s eye and on the world's lips, whose sudden career as dictator of a South American repub- lic had seemed like some breathless chapter out of a glorious romance. Of course they had met him before, when he was a nobody, merely the son of an old family friend of the Fallodens. But now matters were different" and they were not quite easy in his com- pang. 1\ alleson had gon to Romario on business for his fat er, had enta‘nd that country during one of its dis- tressful and periodical revolutions, a revolution that .‘or once hadesucceed- titan a‘tefu broke t a men :1 gen to Romario on is fat er, had ante-rd luring one of its dis- eriodical revolutions, a : .‘or once had‘succeed- D136 while been playing with a peculiarly poisonous form of bolshevismâ€"in two swift and thorough campaigns, and been thereupon saluted, quite in the old Roman fashion, as dictator by his enthusiastic army. Then, of course, Romario’s restless and powerful‘ neighbor; Tarragonia, must needs} make one of her habitual raids into Romarian territory. She was severely pu.zished. For the first time in history the Romarians defeated the Tarra- gonians. Malleson, returning from his cam- paigns in triumph, had devoted him- self enthusiastically to the internal welfare of the country that was now completely his. In this task he suc- ceeded admirably, and, when his term of office was over and he returned to the States, he left Romario immeasur- ably greater and incredibly happier than he had found her. To the Rom- arians he had become a hero, a savior, almost a fable, the establisher of a new prosperity, of a new earth if not, quite of a new heaven. They called him, half in awe and half in affection, “El Establecedor.” Malleson the Establisher.” And now he was seated, balancing on his knee his teacup, with a large piece of chocolate cake in the saucer, and ravely listening to the prattle of old {culing’s pretty daughter, who was mainly desirous of having him learn that her uncle’s brother-in-law was a retired major-general, lettin§1 it be presupposed, by inference, that er interests, therefore, were at least col- laterally military. ' Suddenly from the house came Malâ€" leson’s ex-soldier valet. “Yes, Hayward?” “A telegraph for your Excellency," announced that functionary. Wfi‘efihandéavit to his mister who, with an apology to Mrs. Fallola), opened simd {gad it. _ v I‘V‘Thanks, Hayward. There’s no answer.” His man bowed respectfully and re- tired. He liked these little ceremonies and performed .them with a genial flourish, much to the amused tolerance of the shrewd gentleman he seryed. “May I have another cup of tea?” asked John innocently. ‘ Mrs. Falloden, talking to one of the twins, did not hear the requgst. _ u“: qum, uuu uuu Alva; nu, Lyfl.w..-. “Mother,” saId Joyce, “His Excel- le‘rggy deslres another cup of tea.” Her voice vibrated with obvious italics; the scorn was unmistakable and unmistaken. “My dear!” mildly expostulated Mrs. Falloden. “Certainly, John. Pass me yglr cup.” Light ét Last! The skipper was examining the am- bitious young man who wanted to be the gunner's mate. He asked him several questions, and was not at all pleased with: the an- swers he received, and at last he said in desperation: “How much does a. st-pound shell weigh?" “I don’t know.” the other confessed. “Well,” was the next question, “what time does the twelve o’clock train leave?“ “Twelve o’clock." “All right, then; how much does a six-pound shell weigh?” “Ah!” said the youthful mariner, as he suddenly slaw light “Twelve pounds.” Though the Omnipotent decree That I descend into the mire,- Yet will His hand reveal to me In smoking flax the unqu‘enched fire. For in the darkness I shall find Brave comrades, n'utured not to yield Entranchised from the shifting mind, The craven heart, the nerve unsteeled. Out of the land of gloom and shade Him will I worship and extol, Who of all great things, greatest made The unconquemble human soul. Johnnie, who had been praying for month-s for a baby brother, finally be- came discouraged. “I don't believe God has any more little boys to send," he told his moth-er, “and I'm going to stop it." Early one morning a few weeks later he was taken into his mother’s room to see twin boys who had arrived in the night. Johnnie regarded them thoughtfully for some minutes. “Golly,” he remarked, finally, “it's a. good thing I stopped praying when I did." anard's Just Stoppéd In Tlme. Neither S v( To be Eontinued.) Fortitude. men! The Purpose of Garden Paths. Garden paths should always go some- where, says W. S. Rogers in “Plan- ning Your Garden." “Paths'which stalt nowhere and end] at a. blank wall suggest purposeless-i ness. It may be taken as an aviomr that the principal path should com-l men-ce at some point cronviently near, and preferably facing, the door by which the house inmates enter the gar- den. Its direction should be through‘ the flowers, and it should have a natural termination, or final destination. The best terminal to a garden path in my opinion is- the summer house, and when that feature is nonexistent, an arbor, or some other erection, should serve the purpose. Failing that. the ‘path might terminate in a square ex- pansion, in which a seat, sun-dial, or other appropriate object might be placed. “It would be better to end it at a tool house or garage, or even at a pot- tingAshed, than to allow it to stop sud- denly nowhere." Mlnard’s Llnlment for Coughs & Colds THE COCA-COLA COMPA ‘ Canadians are apt to think that \their forests are illimitable and their lisupply of wood inexhaustible. This is not so. Fires and insects are de- pleting the reserves of forested land at an alarming rate and it has be- come a pressing national duty to conâ€" iserve the forest resources and create {new ones by reforestation. Ducks fly high in clear weather. Even a dog banks his surplus bones. 30/0 0 y 01/67“ 14,000 General Stores ; and 16,000 Grocers ON SALE EVERYWHE‘ IN CANADA MATCHES OCCFS mu; / Aw“ ¢