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The Land of Bn A Stirring Story of the Mexican Revolution (Crnrr^iu. 1914. by SYNOPSIS. Bud Hooker and Phil De Lancey are forced, owing to a revolution in Mexico, to give up their mining claim and return to the United States. In the border town of Gadsden Bud meets Henry Kruger, a wealthy miner, who makes him a propo rtion to rfifnrn to Mexico to acauire title to a very rich mine which Kruger had blown up when he found he had been cheated out of the title by one Aragon. The Mexican subsequently spent a large 6um in an unsuccessful attempt to relo cate the vein and then allowed the land to revert for taxes. Hooker and De Lan cey arrive* at Fortuna near where the mine, known as the Eagle Tail, is lo cated. They engage the services of Cruz Mendez. who has been friendly to Kruger, to acquire the title for them, and get a permit to do preliminary work. Aragon protests and accuses them of jumping his claim. Bud discovers that matrimonial entanglements prevent Mendez from per fecting a valid title. Phil, who has been paying attention to Aragon's daughter, Gracla, decides to turn Mexican and get the title In his own name. Bud objects to Phil's attentions to Gracia. Aragon fallfl in his attempt to drive them oft the claim. Rebels are reported in the vicin ity. Stories of rapine and bloodshed are brought in. Bud and Phil begin work in earneat on their claim. CHAPTER XIM?Continued. It was slow work; slower than they had thought, and the gang of Mexi cans that they had hired for muckers we're marvel/3 of ineptitude. Left to themselves, they accomplished noth ing, since each problem they encoun tered seemed to present to them some element of Insuperable difficulty, to solve which they either went into cau cus or waited for the bose. To the Mexicans of Sonora Bernardo Bravo was the personification of all the malevolent qualities?he being a bandit chief who had turned first gen eral and then rebel under Madero? and the fact that he had at last been driven out of Chihuahua and therefore over into Sonora, made hi8 malevo lence all the more imminent. unaouDteaiy, somewnere over to me east, where the Sierras towered like a blue wall, Bernardo and his outlaw followers were gathering for a raid, and the raid would bring death to So v nora. He was a bad man, this Bernardo Bravo, and if half of the current sto ries were true, he killed men when ever they failed to give him money, and was never too hurried to take a fair daughter of the country up behind him, provided she took his fancy. Y6s, surely he was a bad man?but that did not clear away the rock. For the fl/st week Phil took charge of the gang, urging, directing and ca joling them, and the work went mer rily on, though rather slowly. The ^ Mexicans liked to work for Don Felipe, ihe was so polite and spoke such good Spanish; but at the end of the week it developed that Bud could get mQre results out of them. Every time? Phil started to explain anything to one Mexican all the oth ers stopped to listen to him, and that took time. But Bud's favorite way of directing a man was by grunts and signs and bending his own back to the task. Also, he refused to under stand Spanish, and cut off all long winded explanations and suggestions by ap Impatient motion to go to work, which the trabajadores obeyed with shrugs and grins. So Don Felipe turned powder-man and blacksmith, sharpening up the drills at the little forge they had fash " loned and loading the holes with dy namite when it became necessary to break a rock, while Bud bossed the unwilling Mexicans. In an old tunnel behind their tent they set a heavy gate, and behind It they stored their precious powder. Then came the portable forge and the blacksmith shop, just Inside the mouth of the cave, and the tent backed up if - wsainst it for protection. For if there K 1 "any one thing, next to horses, that the rebels are wont to steal, it is | giant powder to blow up culverts with, or to lay on the counters of timorous f country merchants and frighten them into making contributions. As for their horses, Bud kept them belied and hobbled, close to the bouse, I and no one ever saw him without his I gun. In the morning, when he got up, [ he took it from under his pillow and E. hung it on his belt, and there it r. staged until bedtime. He also kept a sharp watch on the trail, above and below, and what few men did pass through were conscious | of his eye. Therefore it was all the more surprising when, one day, look ing up suddenly from heavipg at a great rock, he saw the big Yaqul eol l dier, Amigo, gazing down at him from the cut bank. Yes, it was the same man, but with a difference?his rifle and cartridge belts were absent and his clothes were torn bv the brush. But the same good-natured, competent smile was there, and after a few words with Bud he leaped nimbly down the bank and laid hold upon the rock. They pulled together, and the boulder that had | balked Bud's gang of Mexicans moved I easily for the two of them. : Then Amigo seized a crowbar and slipped it into a cranny and showed ?' them a few things about moving rocks. g For half an hour or more he worked K. along, seemingly bent on displaying K # his skill, then he sat down on the I bank and watched the Mexicans with L tolerant, half-amused eyes. If he was hungry he showed it only t by the cigarettes he smoked, and Hooker, studying up the chances he would take by hiring a deserter, let him wait until he came to a decision. "Oyez, Amigo," he hailed at last, and, rubbing his hand around on his stomach, he smiled questioningly, whereat the Yaqul nodded his head avidly. "Stawano!" said Hooker, "ven." And he left his Mexicans to dawdle as they would while he led the Indian to camp. There he showed him the coffee-pot and the kettle of beans by the Are, set out a slab of Dutch-oven bread and a sack of jerked beef, some stewed fruit oken Promises By DANE COOLJDGE Author of "Thm Fighting Fool" "Hiddmn Water*" "Thm Tmxican, "Etc. Illustration* by Don J.L&vin Prink A. Mount) and a can of sirup, and left him to do his worst In the course of half an hour or so he came back and found tne xaqui sopping up sirup with the last of the bread and humming a little tune. So they eat down and smoked a cigarette and came to the business at hand. "Where you go?" inquired Bud; but Amigo only shrugged enigmatically. "You like to work?" continued Bud, and the Indian broke into a smile of assent. "Muy bien," said Hooker with final ity; "I give Mexicans two dollars a day?I give you four. Is that enough?" "Si," nodded the Yaqui, and without more words he followed Bud back to the cut There, in half a day, he ac complished more than all the Mexi cans put together, leaping boldly up the bank to dislodge hanging boulders, boosting them by main strength up onto the ramshackle tram they had constructed, and trundling them out to the dump with the shove of a mighty hand. He was a willing worker, using his head every minute; but though he was such a hustler and mad?;, their " puny efforts seem so ineffectual by compari son, he managed in some mysterious way to gain the immediate approval of the Mexicans. Perhape it was his all-pervasive good nature, or the re spect inspired by his hardihood; per haps the qualities of natural leader ship which had made him a picked man among his brother Yaquis. But when, late in the afternoon, Bud came back from a trip to the tent he found Amigo in dharge of the gang, heaving and struggling and making motions with his head. "Good enough!" he muttered, after watching him for a minute in silence, and leaving the new boss in command, he went back and started supper. That was the beginning of a new day at the Eagle Tail, and when De Lancey came back from town?whith er he went whenever he could conjure up an errand?be found that, for once, he had not been missed. Bud was doing the blacksmithing, Amigo was directing the gang, and a fresh mess of beans waa on the Are, the first kettleful having gone to rein force the Yaqui's backbone. But they were beans well spent, and Bud did not regret the raid on his grub-pile. If he could get half as much work for what be fed the Mexicans he could well rest content. . "But how did this Indian happen to find you?" demanded Phil, when his pardner had explained his acquisition. "Say, he must have deserted from his company when they brought them back from Moctezuma!" "More'n likely," assented Bud. "He ain't talking much, but I notice he Bud Was Doing the Blacksmithing. keeps his eye out?they'd shoot him for a deserter if they could ketch him. I'd hate to see him go that way." "Well, if he's as good as this, let'B take care of him!" cried Phil with enthusiasm. "I'll tell you, Bud, there's something big coming off pretty soon and I'd like to stay around town a little more if I could. I want to keep track of things." "F'r instance?" suggested Hooker dryly. It had struck him that Phil was spending a good deal of time in town already. "Well, there's this revolution. Sure as shooting they're going to pull on9 soon. There's two thousand Mexican miners working at Fortuna, and they say every one of 'em has got a rifle buried. Now they're beginning to quit and drift out into the hills, and we're likely to hear from them any time." "All the more reason for staying in camp, then," remarked Bud. "I'll tell you, Phil, I need you here. That dogged ledge ie lost, good and plenty, and I need you to say where to dig. We ain't doing much better than old Aragon did?just rooting around in that rock-pile?let's do a little timber ing, and sink." "You can't timber that rock," an swered De Lancey decidedly. "And besides, it's cheaper to make a cut twenty feet deep than it is to tunnel or sink a shaft. Wait till we get to that porphyry contact ? then we'll know where we're at." "All right," grumbled Bud; "but seems like we're a long time getting there. What's the news downtown?" "Well, the fireworks have begun again over in Chihuahua?Orozco and Salazar and that bunch?but it seems there was something to this Mocte zuma scare, after all. 1 was talking to an American mining man from down that way and he told me that the fed erals marched out to where the rebels were and then sat down and watched them cross the river without firing oh TbBBMMhb ' them?some kind of'&a understanding between Bernardo Bravo and these blackleg federals. I "The only fighting there was was when a bunch of twenty Yaquls got away from their officers In the rough country and went after Bernardo Bra vo by their lonesome. That threw a big scare into him, too, but he man aged to fight them off?and if I was making a guees I'd bet that your Yaqui friend was one of that fighting twenty." "I reckon," assented Bud; "but don't [ you say nothing. I need that hombre I in my business. Come on, let's go up and look at that cut?I come across an old board today, down in the muck, ana 1 Det you it's a piece uiat ivrugei left Funny w& don't coJ^e across some of his tools, though, or Che hole where the powder went off." "When we do that," observed Phil, [ "we'll be where we're going. Nothing to do then but lay off the men and wait till I get my papers. That's why I say don't hurry eo hard?we haven't got our title to this claim, pardner, and we won't get it, either?not for some time yet Suppose you'd hit this ledge?" "Well, if-I'hit it," remarked Bud, "I'll stay with it?you can trust me for that Hello, what's the Yaqul found?" As they came up the cut Amigo quit work and, while the Mexicans followed suit and gathered expectantly behind him, he picked up three rusty drills and an iron drill-spoon and presented them to Bud. Evidently he had learned the object of their search from the Mexicans, but if he looked for any demonstrations of delight at eight of these much-sought for tools he was doomed to'disappoint ment, for both Bud and Phil had schooled themselves to keep their faces straight. "Um-m," said Bud, "old drills, eh? Where you find them?" The Yaqui led the way to the face of the cut and showed the spot, a bole beneath the pile of riven rock; and a Mexican, not to be outdone, grabbed up a handful of porphyry and indi cated where the dynamite had pulver ized it "Bien," said Phil, pawing solemnly around in the bottom of the hole; and then, filling his handkerchief with fine dirt, he carried it down to the creek. There, in a miner's pan, he washed it out carefully, slopping the waste over the edge and swirling the water around until at last only a little dirt was left in the bottom of the pan. Then, while all the Mexicans looked on, he tailed this toward the edge, scanning the last remnant for gold? and quit without a color. "Nada!" he cried, throwing down the pan, and in some way the Mexi cans sensed the fact that the mine had turned out a failure. Three times he went back to the cut and scooped up the barren dust, and then he told the men they could quit "No more work!" he said, affecting a dejected bitterness; "no hay nada? there is nothing!" And with this sad, but by no means unusual, ending to their labors, the Mexicans went away to their camp, ' speculating among themselves as to whether they could get their pay. But when the last of them had gone Phil beckoned Bud into the tent and showed him a piece of quartz. "Just take a look at that!" he said, and a single glance told Hooker that it was full of fine particles of gold. "I picked that up when they weren't looking," whispered De Lancey, his eyes dancing with triumph. "It's the same rock?the same-as Kruger's!" "Well, put 'er there, then, pardner!" cried Bud, grabbing at De Lancey's band; "we've struck it!" And with a broad grin on their de ceitful faces they danced silently around the tent, after which they paid off the Mexicans and bade them "adios!" CHAPTER XIV. It is a great sensation?striking it rich?one of the greatest in the world. Some men punch a burro over the desert all their lives in the hope of achieving it once; Bud and Phil had taken a chance, and the prize now lay within their grasp. Only a little while now?a month, maybe, if the officials were slow?and $he title would be theirs. The Mexican miners, blinded by their ignorance, went their way. well contented to get their money. Nobody knew. There was nothing to do but to wait But to wait, as Bome people know, is the hardest work in the world. For the first few days they lingered about the mine, gloating over it in secret, laughing back and forth, sing ing gay songs?then, as the ecstasy passed and the weariniess of waiting set in, they went two wayB. Some fascination, unexplained to Bud, drew De Lancey to the town. He left in the morning and came back at night, but Hooker stayed at the mine. Day and night, week-days and Sun days, he watched it jealously, lest someone should slip in and surprise their secret?and for company he had his pet horse, Copper Bottom, and the Yaqui Indian, Amigo. Ignacio was the Indian's real name, for the Yaquis are all good Catholics and named uniformly after the saints; but Bud had started to call him Amigo, or friend, and Ignacio had conferred the same name on him. Poor Ignacio I His four-dollar-a-day job had gone glimmering in half a day, but when the Mexican laborers departed he lingered around the camp, doing odd jobs, until he won a place for himself. At night he slept up in the rocks, where no treachery could take him unaware, but at the first peep of dawn it was always Amigo who arose and lit th4 fire. Then, if no one got up, he cooked a breakfast after his own Ideas, boiling the coffee until it was ae strong as lye, broiling meat on sticks, and went to turn out the horses. With the memory of many envious glances cast at Copper Bottom, Hooker had built a stout corral, where he kept the horses up at night, allowing them to graze close-hobbled in the daytime. A Mexican insurrecto on foot is a contradiction of terms, if there are any horses or mules in the country, and several bands of ex-miners from Fortuna had gone through their camp In that condition, with new rlflee in their hands. But if they had any de signs on the Eagle Tail live stock they speedily gave them up; for, while he would feed them and even listen to their false tales of patriotism. Bud had no respect for numbers when it came to admiring his horse. Even with the Yaqui, much as he trusted him, he had reservations about Copper Bottom; and once, when he found him petting him and stroking hi& nose, he shook hie head forbid dingly. And from that day on, though he watered Copper Bottom and cared for his wants, Amigo was careful never to caress him. But in, all other matters, even to lending him his gun, Bud trusted the Tf man nKnnf ft TO00I/ I uqui ttUOUlUlCt/t lb hoo auuub a n after he came to camp that Amigo Bighted a deer, and when Bud loaned him his rifle he killer t with a single shot Soon afterward he came loping back from a scouting trip and made signs for the gun again, and this time he brougLi in a young peccary, which he roasted in a pit, Indian style. After that, when the meat was low, Bud sent him out to hunt, and each time he brought back a wild hog or a deer for every cartridge. The one cross under which the Yaqui suffered was the apparent fail ure of the mine, and, after slipping up into the cut a few times, he Anally came back radiant , "Mlra!" he said, holding out a piece of rock; and when Hooker gazed at the chunk of quartz be pointed to the specks of gold and grunted, "Oro!" "Seguro!" answered Bud, and going down into his pocket, he produced an other like it. At this the Yaqui cocked his head to one side and regarded him strangely. "Why you no dig gold?" he asked at last, and then Bud told him the story. "We have an enemy," he said, "who might steal it from us. So now we wait for papers. When we get them, we digJ" "Ah!" breathed Amigo, his face sud denly clearing up; "and can I work for you then?" "Si," answered Bud, "for four dol lars a day. But now you help me watch, so nobody comes." "Stawano!" exclaimed the Indian, well satisfied, and after that he spent hours on the hilltop, his black ^head thrust out over the crest like a chuck awalla lizard as he conned the land balow. So the days went by until three weeks had passed, and still no papers came'. Ae his anxiety increased Phil fell into the habit of staying in town overnight, and finally he was gone for two days. The third day was drawing to a close, and Bud was getting rest less, when suddenly he beheld the Yaqui bounding down the hill in great leaps and making signs down the canyon. "Two men!" he called, dashing up to the tent; "one of them a rural!" "Why a rural?" asked Bud, mysti fied. "To take me!" cried Amigo, striking himself violently on the breast "Lend me your rifle!" "No," answered Bud, after a pause; "you might get Into trouble. Run and hide In the rocks?I will signal you when to come back." "Muy blen," sa(d the Taqul obedi ently, and, turning, he went up over rocks like a mountain-sheep, bounding from boulder to boulder until he dis appeared among the hilltops. Then, as Bud brought in bis horse and shut him hastily inside his corral, the two riders came around the point?a rural and Aragon! Now, in Mexico a rural, as Bud well knew," means trouble?and Aragon meant more trouble, trouble for him. Certainly, so busy a man as Don Clpri ano would not come clear to his camp to help capture a Yaqui deserter. Bud sensed It from the start that this was another attempt to get possession of their mine, and he awaited their com ing grimly. " 'S tardes," he said in reply to the rural's abrupt salute, and then he stood silent before his tent, looking them over shrewdly. The rural was a hard-looking citizen, as many of them are, but on this occasion he seemed a trifle embarrassed, glancing inquiringly at Aragon. As for Aragon, he wae gazing at a long line of jerked meat which Amigo had hung out to dry, and his drooped eye opened up suddenly as he turned his cold regard upon Hooker. "Senor," he said, speaking with an accusing harshness, "we are lookinsr TALK ABOUT THE WEATHER Declared In These Days to Be the Only Safe Topic of Con versation. Perhaps the chief reason why the weather is a suitable topic for conven tional conversation Is its usefulness. Nothing can be done with the weather except talk about it, so the talk is not liable to interruption by a call to action. Hard times are a topic of general interest, common alike to mil lionaire and worklngman. But if you say to a perfect stranger the times are hard he may take advantage .of that admission by asking for a sub scription for some charity or by de manding that you vote the socialist ticket. The weather is, in fact, almost the only safe topic left for pure conversa tion in this energetic and practical age, says the New York Independent However much you may deplore the badness of the weather, nobody is likely to hold you responsible for it or call upon you to remedy it unless you run across a crank who is raising a fund to bombard the heavens for the production of rain or the dissipa tion of hailstorms. Leading off with the weather in spires confidence because It is a tradi tional and established opening. If a - for the men -who are stealing my cattle, aid I see we have not far to go. Where did you get that meat?" "I got it from a deer," returned Bud; "there is his hide on the fence; you can see it if you'll look." The rural, glad to create a diver sion, rode over and examined the hide and came back satisfied, but Aragon was not so eaeily appeased. "By what right," he demanded truc ulently, "do you, an American, kill deer in our country 7 Have you the special permit which is required?" "No, Benor," answered Hooker so berly;. "the deer was killed by a Mex ican I have working for me!" "Ha!" sneered Aragon, and then he paused, balked. "Where is this Mexican?" inquired the rural, his professional instincts aroused, and while Bud was explaining that he was out in the hills some where, Aragon spurred his horse up closer and peered curiously into his tent. "What are you looking for?" de manded Hooker sharply, and then Ara gon showed his hand. "I am looking for the drills and drill spoon," he said; "the ones you Btole when you took my mine!" "Then get back out of there!" cried Bud, seizing his horse by the bit and throwing him back on his haunches; "and etay out!" he added, as he dropped bis band to bis gun. "But It tbe rural wishes to search," be said. turning to that astounded official, "he la welcome to do so." "Muchas gracias, no!" returned th? rural, shaking a finger In front of his face, and then he strode over to where Aragon was muttering and spoke in a low tone. "No!" dissented Aragqn, shakingahls head violently; "no?no! I want thto mah arrested!" he cried, turning vin dictively upon Bud. "He has stolen my tools?my mine?my land! He h&i no business here?no title! This land is mine, and I tell him to go. Pronto!" be shouted, menacing Hooker with his riding-whip, but Bud only shifted his feet and stopped listening to his ex '1No, tenor," he said, when It was all over, "this claim belongs to my part ner, De Lancey. You have no?" "Ha! De Lancey!" Jeered Aragon, suddenly indulging himself in a sar donic laugh. "De Lancey! Ha, ha!" "What's the matter?" cried Hooker, -- <n with a derisive \X9 IUO lUiai jwiuuu ? ? ? ? smirk- "Say, speak up, hombre!" he threatened, stepping closer as his eyet took on a dangerous gleam. "And let me tell you now," he added, "that if any man touchee a hair of his head I'll kill him like a dog!" The rural backed his horse away, as if suddenly discovering that the Amer ican was dangerous, and then, salut ing respectfully as he took his leave, he said: "The Senor De Lancey Is In Jail!" They whirled their hQrses at that and galloped off down the canyon, and as Bud gazed after them he burst into a frenzy of curses. Then, with the one thought of Betting Phil free, he ran out to the corral and hurled the saddle on hie horse. (TO BE CONTINUED.) man on being introduced to a young woman is asked by her if he is mar rieu, or on meeting a stranger iu ? dark and deserted road is asked what time it is, his suspicions are aroused at pnce. In. fact, any conversational opening except the conventional one is liable to raise the inquiry, "What does he mean by it?" If, however, one begins with the weather we know that he means noth ing by it, and we may continue the conversation with ease Of mind. Be ing then both useless and useful, the weather is unequaled as a topic of conversation in its formal and pre liminary stages. Even More Deserving. Beggar?Mister, I ain't had nothin' to eat for two days. Gentleman?You told me that very same story a week ago. Beggar?Oh! Then surely boss, you'll help a pore man who ain't had nothin' to eat for nine days.?Boston Evening Transcript. Not In Politics. After all these statesmen have gone on the stand and told ho^, they run their parties, every citizen will know the ins and outs of politics." "Yes," said the Practical Person, "but In pol itics you don't get anything by know ing the outs." - .:&& . . .1; ias To do God's will, that's all That need concern us; not to carp or ask The meaning of It; but to ply ou* task Whatever may befall. Accept the good or 111 as He shall send. And wait until the end. \ PICNIC SEASON. ' . I For a successful picnic three thing* are necessary, a fine day, congenial company and as appetizing lunch. Of course the first and most im portant detail it the sandwich which must be weQ prepared, which la no small task. To insure each sandwich being in good condition wnen ready to eat, wrap in waxed paper. The butter for sandwiches should be creamed so that It will spread eas ily; a slice of cucumber or a lepf of lettuce is a favorite sandwich filling and one which tastes especially good on a hot day. Bread should be at least 24 hours old to make good sand* wiches. \> , If a^hearty dish is desired one may boil Frankfort sausage or broil & beefsteak or fry fish. In fadt, there is hardly any limit to the good things which may grace a picnic. Salads may be carried in glass fruit cans and the dressing added when the salad is mixed. Sardines which are too oily for serving from the tin may be used as sandwich filling.. Olives, pickles, fruit, tomatoes and berries are easily carried. Deviled eggs are greatly liked and are mu6h more appetizing if each Is wrapped in a waxed paper. Cakes that are a delight are Bim ply sponge cakes carried with a Jar oi wnippea cream, wnen me ume for serving comes split the cakes and fill with the sweetened and flavored cream. ) Cream cheese, cottage eheese and nuts make good filling (or sandwiches, and there are always meats for the heartier sandwiches. . Lemon sirup may be carried in a jar and a little goes a long way in making lemonade. Use a third of a cupful of juice and a cupful of water to two cupfuls of sugar, boil the sugar and water five minutes, add the lemon Juice, and bottle. KeeD on ice; a tar blespoonful will make a glass of lem onade. If tea'or coffee is wanted, the ther mos bottle now supplies us with hoi drinks with little trouble. Just so much food should be taken as will restore our powers, not ?o much as will oppress them.?Cicero. A light heart makes quick feet THING8 WORTH KNOWING. When decorating a birthday cake, cut leaves and stems from citron and with the rose cups to hold the candles this make / a pretty decora tion. Put the leaves and stems on to' the frost ing while soft. When raisins and SBiS^ per which wraps them, hold them a moment over the steam of the teakettle. White shoes may be quickly cleaned by rubbing with a piece of batting and powdered pumice stone. The whiten ing need be done less often. Skirt hangers which are wire with a clothespin at each end make fine paper bag and laundry paper holders. Hang the holder up behind the door and keep all trapping paper together. Adhesive tape Jb a most valuable help in the household, it will stop a leak in the hot water bottle for at least one using, and Is Indispensable in many ways. A strip around a sore toe will cure a corn if kept on, as it softens the corn and protects it from the shoe. Keep the lamp chimneys covered with paper bags to keep them bright. A cold foot bath is the solution for the cure for insomnia for one woman. Dip the sweeper brush in water, shake and replace it, then it will pick up clean all the lint and dust with none flying In the air. When making a fruit cake put the fruit In in layers with the dough, then it will not all be at the bot tom when It is cut. Every busy housewife will, if she follows these suggestions, find herself happier, calmer and more rested at the end of the day. ' What are the things I can leave undone? Make room for a few moments during the day of absolute quiet, rest and relax ation. Avoid haste and hurry. Hab ituate yourself to the control of the emotions. Cut off all engagements that interfere with sleep. /La?<?<jL~ Hard to Understand. ( "I can understand how we got along without wireless, or electric light, or the telephone," said the society bud. j'Well?" "But how did we ever get along without the tango?"?Kansas City Journal. Thy Task Shall Have Thy Heart. The instant we begin to thi/>k about success and the effect of our worit?ic play with one eye on the gallery?we lose power, and touch, and everything else.?Kipling. Incomplete. Cyrus Green?Molloy, what is that picture called in the catalog? Mrs. Green (reading)?Cows after Rosa Bonheur. Mr. Green?By gosh! I see tfce cows, but where is Rosa Bonheur?? Dallas News. Student of Art. "I see where a Murillo was discov ered the other day covered with mud and dirt." 1 "Some Joy rider ran It Into a ditch, I presume, and left It there."?Baltimore Sun. ? J Mqmonal SUNMSdlOOL Lesson (By E. O. SELLERS, Director of Evening Department, The Moody Bible Ixatltute, Chicago.) LESSON FOR JULY 26 THE P0UND8 AND THB TALENT8 LESSON TKXT?Luke 19:11-27, cf. Matt. 25:14-30. GOLDEN TEXT?"Well done, good und faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few' things, I will set thee over many things; enter Into, the joy of thy lord." Matt 25:21 R. V. We are told plainly why Jesus epoKa the first parable (v. 11). We must be ware of confusing these two parables, though they are one In their essential teachings. The parable of the pounds was ot tered before the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalen\ while that of the talents was spoken subsequently. This association doe* not mean iden tity for each has a separate lesson. Both have to do with an absent lord whose return was imminent. The, Jews looked for a temporal visible Kingdom and many were associating the earthly life of oaf Lord with that expected manifestation. Hence tills parable as recorded by Luke. issue Is Fidelity. I.- "Occupy Till I Come," w. 11-14. Both of these parables have to do with the return of an absent lord who will then establish his kingdom. In View of this return and consummation, his servants are to give their undivided attention to their immediate responsi bilities. They are to trade, to do busi ness with that that has been in trusted to them. They are to actively discharge their duty. Ere the visible T 0 kingdom is established, Jesus told these Jews, there must be a period of preparation, Jesus, himself, is the "nobleman" whose ascension into heaven where he is to receive a king dom fulfils the "departure into a far country." He will return to set qp that kingdom, icfs 1:9-11, wittr "all authority," Matt 28:18 E. Eph. 1: 18-23; I Pet 3:22. He may return at any time. In neither pkrable is there a full description of the kingdom as lt^ Is to be established, for both have to do with the servants. The issue is that of fidelity in each case. The "citizens" (v. 14) include his proper subjects the Jews, John 1:11; Acts 4:27-28, and in this connection we recall their cry, "Away with him, crucify," Luke 23:8; John 19M5. These "citizens," also include all of his pro fessed followers but not necessarily regenerated men. Matt 7:22-33. The king gives to each servant (v. 13) a pound (about $16.00). His deposit is equal in each case. In the parable of the talents there is a difference in the amounts bestowed. This last empha sizes the fact that each is to be held responsible according to the measure of his own personal ability. Putting these two together we see that all the - 1 _ ' lVl? m servants ot tne King are reoyuuaiuio for the one pound which is a symbol of the common fact of the kingdom power. At the same time the servant is also responsible for that common power according to the measure in which it is entrasted to him, in which he is able to deal with It The small amount of one pound Indicates our re sponsibility for the smallest gifts. Parable of Pounds. II. "When He Was Returned." w. 15-30. The parable of the pounds was spoken to. those who thought he must at once establish he kingdom of God. That of the talents was given in an swer to the disciples' inquiry as to when certain thingq which he had fore told would take place. Upon his re turn all these servants wlll .be sum* moned before him, Matt 25:18, Rom. 14:10-12, II Cor. 5:10. As Jesus stood there, he, likewise of that as ofNall other ages, saw ahead of him Jeru saiem wnu na ucuui^mK, ouuei and death. He also saw beyond that his resurrection and departure to re ceive a kingdom (v. 12), a period therefore In this world during which his servants shall be responsible for the care of his interests, a time dur ing which they shall occupy, do busi ness with what he has entrusted them of the kingdom authority and poWer. All of this will culminate in his re turn when he will deal with those to whom this responsibility has been given, and then establish finally his kingdom. In the parable Jesus deals with each servant separately, and em phasizes the fact of stewardship. The pound belonged to the king. For his faithfulness the first servant received, v. 17, (a) the king's commendation, and ^b) authority over ten cities. Later, (v. 24) he also received another pound. The second did not give quite eo good a report, and his reward lacked the approbation of the king, though he is placed over "five cities." His reward was in proportion to his faithfulness. The third report was bad. It fe veals neglect, laziness, and a wrong conception regarding the king. He sought to excuse his sloth by blaming another. The excuses or tne sinner always condemn himsek, not God, and augment the sinner's guilt. The "wicked servant" lost what he would not usb. If we will not use we must lose. Doubtless this servant considered himself unfortunate, though he was judged "out of his own mouth." Re verting again to those citizens who bated him and would not have the king to "reign over them," Jesus closes his parable (v. 27) by a most terrific inditement. God bears long with his enemies and Is kind but he will not bear forever, II Thess. 1:7-9. All of our present activities are within the period during which the Lord Is absent. We wait his coming. This fact alone is an indication of our responsibility. He must reign?absent w preseijWwillingly, lovingly or even force "till he hath put alt eq^^^Bder his feet," I Cor. 15:24 all be established an un and viBible kingdom^ - . . . - _ .