Iuka reporter., January 16, 1890, Image 2

About Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894

Image provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

                
€l)c 3uka Hep or ter.
Published Every Thursday
—AT—
IUKA. « MISSISSIPt
The new phosphate company recently
organized in Florida propose! to do- I
velop no less than thirteen thousand !
acres of phosphate lands. This is sn
industry which has been productive of
a very largo revenuo in South Carolina
for a long term of years.
Lord Tennyson, Cardinal Newman
and Cardinal Manning, all of whom
were supposed a year ago to be at
death’s door, seem to have taken new
leases of life, and aro stronger than for
a long time before. Mr. Gladstone is
in excellent health, and his voice par
ticularly is better than for tho last few
years. So well does ho feel that he has
uo iutentiou of going abroad this win
ter.
Iron bricks, so called, a-e said to bo
in satisfactory use for street paving in
Germany. These bricks are made by
mixing equal parts of finely-ground red
argillaceous clay, with tho nddition oi
5 per cent, of iron ore. Tho ingre
dients thus mixed together aro then
moistened with a strong solution of
sulphate of iron, to which fine iron oro
is added. After this, the compound is
shaped in a press, dried, dipped once
more into a thick slip of fiuely-ground
iron ore and then burnt in a kiln for
about 48 hours in a reducing flame.
Although English and American ex
cavating parties in Assyria linvo been
unusual lv hn.nvnArp.rl thi« war
authorities, the results of twelve months
are said to bo exceedingly valuable.
Almost tho whole of Sennacherib’s
groat palace a* Ivonyunjik has now boon
cleared out, including tho library and
chambers, and the result is that some
1700 new tablets, etc., have been se
cured for tho British Museum. The
Americans were relatively fortunate so
far as finding things went, but they got
into trouble with the Arabs and were
obliged to abandon the work and seek
refuge in Bagdad.
The question of uniting tho various
States of Central America into a feder
ation is again attracting attention, and
according to reports from that section it
is probable that the proposition will
meet with more favor than has been the
case in the past. The rivalries of tho
leaders in the several small republics
have so far prevented any definite ac
complishment, but there are now hopes
that all jealousies will be healod, and
that tho long talked-of union will
finally be accomplished. Thera is
little chance, however, that this
great change will be wrought with
out some disturbance or opposition, and
already we hear of rumored outbreaks in
Central America. It will be remembored
that when the last attempt was made to
enforce the organization of tho Central
American union General Barrios, the
celebrated dictator of. Guatemala, lost
his life in tho contest that ensued with
Ban Salvador. In spite of tho failures
of the past, the benefits that are likely
to accrue to the several countries by tho
chango aro too obvious to permit the
project to die, and the New Orleans
Picayune thinks we nmy expect to see
. tt revived periodically until it is finally
successful.
The following story is told regarding
- the device by which President Harrison
avoided the delicate matter of deciding
whether North or South Dakota should
be the older State: On Saturday the
President, received from the Stale Pe
£ pertinent the two proclamations defi
P fient only to tho extent of liis signa
I ” djiure. Tho question of priority at once
came up, and it was found to bo diffi
cult to decide. It was a grave situation
, for the President to be in, and ho evi
dently realized it, but he steered hi*
way out without difficulty. Tho two
documents, unlooked at, were laid face
downward on tho desk on a
sheet of paper, and then they were
shuffled until even a thiee-card monte
expert couldn’tteli “tothor from which.”
When this stage of tho game had been
reached tho proclamations wero turned
face upward, but protected from the
gaze of the President by the sheet ol
paper upon which they had beon laid,
sheet was slipped aside until the |
I Will Be Worthy of It
l may not reach the heights I seek.
My untried strength may fail me;
Or, half-way up the mountain peak.
Fierce tempests may assail me.
But though that p’nco I never gain,
Herein lies comfort for my pain—
I will be worthy of it.
I mav not triumph in success,
Despite my earnest labor;
I mny not grasp results that bless
The efforts of my neighbor.
But though my goal I never see,
This thought shall always dwell with mo—
I will be worthy of it.
The golden glory of love’s light
Mav never fall on my way;
My path may always lend through night,
Like some deserted by-way*
But though life's dearest joy 1 miss
There lies a nameless joy in this—
1 will bo worthy of it.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox,
it MKK1C MATTER OF FORM.
Mr. Hardcash—“Well, sir, what in
duced you to imagine, that I would give
iny consent to my daughter's inarryinc
you?”
l)e Gall—“Pardon me, my dear sir, \
Wasn’t so foolish ns to imagine anything
pf the kind. I merely asked for it as i\
matter of form. If you refuse wo shall
marry without it. that's all.”—Oriv.
A MODERN
MAGDALEN.
BY M. C. FARLEY.
CHAPTER XIV. [Continue!..]
Misa Ohidley, greatly disturbed, ad
vances to meet the stranger. “My
nieco is indisposed," the spinster says
hurriedly. “I am so sorry, but if you
could call at another time-”
me visitor looked Ins disappoint
ment. “Then I can not see her?”
“No, no. Bhe is ill—most seriously
indisposed. ”
His red eyes twinkls.
“To-morrow, perhaps?"
“Poss.bly.” Miss Chidley is by no
means certain in her own mind that he
will ever see her niece. But it doesn't
matter.
The stranger turns reluctantly to
ward the door. Ho is the same man
who had visited the grave of Judith
Donithorne a few days previous. “I
am greatly disappointed,” he says,
casting a lingering glance about the
room. “My groat desire being to learn
from Miss Lafarge the particulars of
tile death and burial of a lady whom
sho befriended at tho time of the late
railway accident. 1 may not be in this
locality again for some time.”
Miss Chidley really, hopes he will
never bo in her locality again. But
she doesn’t say so. Bhe savs instead,
and knowing perfectly well that there
is no possibility of Biich a thing:
“My dear Marion may be recovered
sntliciently in a few hours to grant you
an interview. Bho would be delighted,
I know, to give you all the information
Bhe can. The lady’s death was very
sad. ”
“Yes,” assents the visitor, with an
other twinkle of his red eyes, “very
Bad,indeed.”
’ Then he bows himself out, and Miss
Chidley hastens to the assistance of
Miss Lafarge.
CHAPTER XV.
THK IlUTLLll’S PJ.OT.
N second thought Mr.
Bolton decides there
is no Very pressing
reason for his immedi
ate l-etuVn to the stuffy
back bedroom in his
city boarding - house.
The nirv country inn,
, in which he has estab
J lished himself pending
’phis contemplated ne
III II Rotiati°n with the
* P ■ — P powers that be, at By
’ water Bark, is by all
odds to be preferred to Mrs. McOilli
cuddy’s fourth-rate lodging-house. The
expense of living is no greater, ond sum
mer in the country is delightful.
Mr. Bolton already feels invigorated
aud refreshed by the change. If a
short sojourn in the country has dono
done him good, a longer one will do
him still more good. Therefore,
though he retires at night with the no
tion in his head of his speedy depart
ure in the morning, yet the morning
dawns and finds him with this idea eu
hrnlu 1,..1 — l.:„_.1
Mr. Bolton’s first thought is of tho
roll of money the butler has given
him. He hastens to assure himself
that the whole transaction enacted in
the Park grounds tho previous evening
is no wild chimera, or shadow of a
dream, by drawing tho roll of hills
from thoir place of concealment bo
neath his pillow and looking them
over.
“1 may as well remain here for a
short time, ” says Mr. Bolton, who finds
it a matter of conscience to always
pandor to his own desires. “Madam
Dundas need not know that I am with
in a thousand miles of her, and I’ll |
keep shady. For Boo's sako as well '
as for my own, it may be ns well for
me to remain in this neighborhood for
a while, anyway; and here’s monev
enough, if I am careful, to last until
Madam comes down with that promised
salary. ”
The truth is, Frederic Bolton fools
a strong desire to once more he looked i
upon as “somebody” or as an attache
to the court of somebody. Madam
Dundas is tho great lady of the conn- 1
try side, and this lldlton is quite well
aware of.
Madam might and did ignore her re- 1
lationship to Frederic Bolton ; but ]
Frederic Bolton never forgot, and al- i
lowed nobody elso to forget, tho fact of
his relationship to Madam.
In the country, where everybody i
knows everybody else, Bolton’s claims j
upon the mistress of Bywater Park j
were admitted, and he was treated with
leference and respect by the country ,
people. This was soothing to his selt
ove, and created a desiro in him to j
:ontinue on in this congenial atmoa- |
phcro. Moreover, M i
littlo anxious to make .... _
quaintanoo of Captain Hazard, and tc
lind out, if possible, llio exact con
ditions of Madam Ouudas’ will.
Uo was a good deal annoyed to find
tlio man Hearth domiciled at Bywatei
Park. Hearth was an old oll'ender, a:
Holton had cause to know, and then
was a doubt still in Holton’smind abou
tho gen uinoncss of tho bn tier's allegei
repentance and change of life,
i H° believed Hearth’s presence boder
. no good to tho inmates of Hywate
1 ark. If Hearth really had reformed
I a littlo surveillance could do him n
i possible harm. Y\ Idle if lie was up t
his old tricks, the watch set upon hi
movements might result in positiv
benefit to Madam’s household.
N iewing tlio subject all around
Holton decided that upon the whole th
best thing to do was to remain whor
ho was for tho present, with an ev
l upon tho corners and goers at Hywate
l'ark. By this course of conduct h
was certain to please himself at an
rate, and possibly Iro might bo th
moans of doing Madam a good turr
which would result in winning the ol
lady's forgiveness. This being his vie1
of the case, Holton made himself cor
tent. He knew better than to iutrud
upon the household at Hywater. T
intrude upon Madam was to ruin eve to
thing.
Still, having tnudo up his mind to a<
the part of a Watchdog, Mr. Bolto
was faithful to the character, an
thereafter, if Madam goes out in he
carriage, or Walks in tho park, or rc
ceivos a visitor, Mr. Holton secs it. N
movement of the l’ywater householi
escapes the watchful Holton. If Lo
rides out with tho Captain, or walk
with her aunt, or sits mooning trnde
tho trees, she may bo sure the observ
ant eyes of her father are upon hor.
It is only in the actions of tho butle
that Mr. Holton fools curiosity ami sits
pieion ; and his curiosity and suspicioi
rather increase than diminish as tli
days go by.
The Tuesday appointed for Madam’i
narfv nriMVOS mill u ifoll nlnunlir no I.,
will, still nothing is done by the butloi
to warrant Bolton’s open condemns
tion.
On Tuesday morning the light wagoi
in driven from Bywater Park to tht
bank, half a mile distant) presently re
turning with a strong, .square box that
is heavily clamped and barred with
iron.
“The By water plate,” Bolton says tc
himself, as tho vehicle trundles pasl
him, and his eyes light upon the box.
“Madam is doing the thing in regu
larly swell stylo. There goes the fam
ily silver, and it is valuable.”
Mr. Bolton's eyes follow the box
lovingly, as the wagon disappears
through the Park gates.
Then lie turns about, fetching a long
sigh as his mind reverts again to the
box of silver and the ease it would buy
for him were it his own, and converted
into cash.
As he turns away, his eyes fall upon
the short, squat figure of a man who is
walking hurriedly in the shadow of the
trees.
Bolton’s first impulse is to follow
him, and he yields to the impulse.
The stranger is some little way in
advance of Bolton, and he walks with
a peculiar, cat-like, and gliding mo
tion.
Bolton follows on slowly and care
fully, and is astonished to see the
stranger pause at a smatl side gate in
the stone wall —a gate that has long
been disused by the Bywater Park
household. A chain that has groxvn
rusty from disuse fastens the gate to a
po-it in the Avail.
Bolton AVCmlors Iioav the man will re
move this rusiy chain, but soon sees
that neither the gate nor the chain
itself is a bar to his ingress.
The stranger’s next movement proves
that he is no stranger to the correct
management of this half-forgotten
gate, for he whips out a key from his
pocket, fits the key in the padlock
Avhich fastens the gato and chain to
gether, and, presto! the gate opens
easily, and ho disappears at the inner
side of tho stone wall.
Bolton wonders. He cautiously ap
proaches the gate and listens as the Ioav
murmur of voices on the other side of
the wall is borne to his ear.
There is a crevice in the high stone
Avail which shuts Bywater Park from
the public road. To this crevice Bolton
"ml I
To Ik is crevice Holton applied Iris eyes.
applies his eyes. He sees two figures
standing near each other on the oppo
site side of the wall. One of tho men
is the parly who has just passed
through tho gate. Tho other—there is
no mistake —is the rascally butler at lly
water Park.
bolton instantly recognizes the slim,
black-robed figure'of Search, and all
his dormant distrust is at once aroused.
He feels certain Hearth is plotting mis
chief, and as if to dispel even the
shadow of doubt from his mind, tho
lirst low words which fall upon his ears
reveal tho purpose of the two plotters
before him.
“Yes,” the butler is saying, “the
[dato arrived just now. It is Worth a
fortune, aud must be bagged to-night
)r not at ull. Madam has had it brought
lown from the bank for the party. To
norrow it will go back again. Ho ta
light is tho time. ”
“About what hour?” asks his confed
.•rate. .
“The party is to break up at one
(’clock. At two the guests will all be
[oue. and by three the household will
■5 . ,< a . ' .( J (
be in bed and Bound asleep. Say at
half-past three. I am to sit up and
watch the plate, which will be stored
in tiie butler’s pantry as soon as the
guests are gone. At 'half-past three
ypu must have the wagon ready at, the
side gate here, and tile plate will be
ready. It's oasy enough.”
“Yes,” the shdtt man says, With (
chuckle, “easy enough, that’s certain. ’
“Well, Well,” gasps Bolton undei
■ bis breath, "this heats roe. Of all the
[ : Villains I ever heard of, this precious
pair beats them all.”
i 1 “I don't care a straw,* Scartli c^n
i tinues fiercely, “for any Of the folks ui
i By water. I’d rather rob them that
i not. 1’ oiks that have must lose, yoi
' know. Aud 1 particularly desire theat
people to lose. 1 hate the young lady
. She knew me tho minute she put bet
■ peepers on me, and I've expected daily
3 to lie denounced by her.*
3 "Maybe we might carry Off the younj
r lady herself," says the otlieh
l3 "No, aUe Would bo a trouble. Tin
. silver is enough. I'd liko to givo her i
A little crack on tho head, though, jus
, to remember me by. Aud maybe ]
l Will.*
v "He means Loo,” thinks Bolton, ni
- ho gathers, himself up m a buncl
' against the wall. “Let him so muel
J as lilt a finger against a hair of Loo’i
- head, ami it will bo all day witl
Hearth, or whatever he calls himself.'
t Tho two villains notv walked slowly
t along, still conversing, hut in so lo3v i
1 tuno that Bolton tailed to catch tlieii
r words.
He had heard enough, however, tc
t enable him to frustrate their designs,
l and this ho meant to do. They musl
3 not suspect that a listener had over
j heard their plot. Bolton realized this,
r uiid at once rnovod off do3vn the road,
He was puzzed at first about the
proper thing to do. But a moment's
* reflection decided him upon a course ol
: action. Ho went directly to the village,
i and, hunting up tho village constable,
3 laid the matter before him. This offi
cial determined to nntifv Plantain IP. -
i ard of tile intended robbery, and then
' proceeded to lay a plan by which the
'■ villains should be taken in the verv
act.
CHAPTER XYL
k the robbery.
YWATER RARE
is brilliantly illum
inated. Twinkling
lights from myriads
of Chinese lanterns
dot tho grounds,
and floods of light
stream from the long
w i n d o w s of the
house itself. The
guests are arriving,
and the roll of car
riage wheels along
the graveled drive
ishncessant.
Captain Hazard
has suggested to
Madam that tho or
dinary start' at By
water l’ark is quite
made juate to meet
the requirements of tho occasion, and
a number of trained waiters from a
neighboring city arrive in time to help
serve the .supper. The appearance of
this addition to the usual start' rather
nonpluses the worthy butler at first.
But Captain Hazard remarks casually
that he sent for them at the last mo
ment, entirely upon his own responsi
i bdity, knowing that the help kept by
Madam would be unworthy so skillful
a chef as the butler himself, and Kib
bey’s suspicions—if suspicions they
are—at once subside.
The Captain knew, if Kibbey did
not, that the new waiters were only so
many policemen in disguise. But this
was something tho Captain felt justi
fied in koeping entirely to himself. Ho
did not even take Madam Dundas into
his confidence on this point.
Very stately and dignified in her
black satin and point lace, Madam
stands in the great drawing-room and
receives her guests. Loo stands be
side her aunt, and there are presenta
' lions and speeches, and flowers and
music and darn ing. Loo’s poor head
is in a whirl, but she bears the ordeal
vory well and acquits herself credita
bly, even in Madam’s critical judgment.
Miss Lafarge arrives late. She is
fairly dazzling in silver gauze and
pearls, with ail her beautiful blonde
hair curled and coiled upon her head
in tho most bewitching fashion imagin
iwjie. otruigniwuy buo iorees iue cap
tain to come to her side, aud hero she
keeps him.
Loo sulks a little; then she thinks
better of it, and being really a girl of
some spirit treats her rival to a glance
that is intended to bo scornful, accepts
Littlefield’s arm and whirls away
among the dancers.
So the hours go by. Midnight comes.
Madam lias long, since excused her
self and gone to lie down on the
cushions in the alcove behind the long
curtains in the supper-room. She will
not retire. Notwithstanding her great
age, Madam’s notions of what is due her
guests will not allow her to seek the
privacy of her own room until the last
carriage has rolled away, and the last
guest paid liis parting devoirs.
Still, she must rest. So she quietly
makes her way into the aleove, unper
ceived by any one, not even by the
sharp-eyed Kibbey liimself.
Captain Hazard exerts himself to
entertain the guests—particularly Miss
Lafarge, Loo thinks, jealously. And
Miss Lafarge accepts liis attentions
with becoming graoe. She smiles up
into his eyes and beams upon him in
such a manner that more than one
thinks the future mistress of Bywater
Park will not be very hard to And when
the right time comes.
All this, however, is going on above
stairs.
[TO BE CONTINUED. J
Oi n little Walter manufactures the
most convenient participles for the oc
casion whenever an uncertain verb gets
in bis way. This morning he was
obliged to pick up a large numbor of
buttons which he had carelessly upset
from their basket, and after the task
was done he jumped up and said, cheer
fully : “Paps, now I've got ’em all puck
up 1”—Baby hood.
The Kentucky idea is that this great
country revolves around the whisky
ring,—Macon Telegraph,
WITH A RATC CHER.
CLEARING A RIO Rl MJRANT
CELLAR OP RO iTS.
How Rats Are Cnugti nil Row
They Are Killed By a Profession
al—Weasel Against Rollout.
At 11:30 o'clock at night, three men
Stood iu a dark colour of the collar un
der d large downtown restaurant. One
Of the mfen catried a dark lantern. He
Was William Penney, a professional rat
catcher. T lio other two men in the cel
lar were Wd'inm Isaac en and a 10
porter, The rati atcher’s dog, Kit, had
wormed herself into a pile of baskets
tilled with oysters, pded oae above the
Other in the corner. One end of Kit
Whined. The other end vibrated like a
metronoiMe. Kit smelled a rot.
''Catch him, Kit!” :ad PennSy, as
lie begun lifting down the baskets one
by one. Kit bca ante frantic. Iu d few
tnimites Penney was covered with C >b
webs and oyster juice from the baskets.
The swiat trickeled down his face in
stroonis. Each basket weighed seventy
pounds. 11 was hard work for the rat
catcher. in the consre of ten minutes
Penney uncovere 1 a fldur 1 avrel without
.1 head. Kit jumped iiito the bh-iel and
began stratehing at srme tire b.ioks
that partially tilled it.
"Watch him, Kit !’’ ra d the rat
catcher, as he began lilt ng out the
bricks one at a time. The scent became
hotter as Penney lifted out an old table
leg, two empty tomato cans and a worm
eaten bag. iBaicsen held the dark lan
t rn so that its rays illumined the inside
of the barrel. Penney leaned over and
lifted a piece of sacking. The mi n Held
their breath in suspense. The:e w.is a
whisk of brown fur through a hole neir
the bottom of the barrel. Kit’s jaws
closed upon two inches of a long rail
and the rat disappeared. The dog
jumped out ox the barrel and l-an winn
ing around the e liar. A .joyful bark
told the men that she hivi found the
hole into which the rat had darled. It
led into the ma only of the foundation.
“Fetch the ferret I" said Penney.
The ferret was brought in a small
wooden box. Penney took the animal
in his hand and stiokod its silky neck.
Its eyes shone like heads iii tho light
of the dark lantern. The f. net weighed
eleven ounces. It hud been starved for
thre e days. It was hungry and thirsty,
Kit stood with dilated nostrils at the
mouth of the hole. Not a muscle of her
body quivered. She stood as if carved
in bronze. Penney put the ferret upon
the eoneiele Hi or. The animal stood
st 11 for an instant. Then it got tho
scent hot in its nostrils. With a slow,
sinuous movement, and waving its head
from side to side the ferr. t crept towaid
the hole. Pennev pulle 1 the dog away.
The lerrit enter.d the hole. The light
of the lantern was turned full upon tho
aperture. The dog resumed its posi
tion. The men wait'd. .One m nute
went Ivy and the second hand of the
open-faced watch held by the reporter
was fast consuming another lpinute when
a faint sqmal came from the wall.
“He’s coming,’’ raid Penney. “Get
back, Kit; I want to catch him alive.”
Kit retired reluctantly. Penney drew
on a pair of buckskin glov ex. The sus
pense was trying. Overhead could be
heard the shuffle of feet in the restau
rant. Kit panted with suppressed ex
citement. Suddc lily a rat’s head ap
pe ired at the month'of the hole and was
as quickly withdrawn. The lingers of
Penney’s right hand encircled the open
ing. Then another faint sqeal was
heard. The rat spinng outward and was
caught by Penney. His thumb and
: fove-linger encircled its neck and the
other fingers were wiapjel gentlv
around the rat's body. Tho ferret fol
lowed quickly and was picked up by
Isaaosen and placed in the box. The
rat was in a vis >. It could not move.
It palpitated with fear and expos at its !
sharp te dh in ineffectual remonstrance.
It wnB placed in a i tout canvas bug and
the hunt was resumed.
Seventy traps, i a di nbont three inches
in diameter, were set in the cellrr. To
each of these a small chain about two
feet long was attache 1. At the end of
the chain was a small ring which is
dropped over a peg driven in the ground
when tho trap is set out of doors or in
a barn. There was also a small iron peg
tt-i/aujucvi lint) nirnu, WHICH COUIa DC
driven into a eia -k m the floor to hold
the tiap. Penney set these traps almost
as fine as the hair trigger of a duelling
pistol. He placed the traps in the run
ways of the rats—along steam-pipes, be
hind barrels, in niches in the masonry—
until seventy-five of them gaped for un
wary feet. Hy 2 o'clo 'k twenty rats had
been caught. The legs of a few of them
were broken by the jaws of the traps.
All the rats were put alive into the can
vas bag.
At ,3 o’clock this morning the party
left the restaurant and went to a room
only a short dist ince from the Brooklyn
Bridge. The room was about 12 feet
square. There was no carpet on the
floor. The only articles of inrnitu e
were a stove and I wo eh iiis. The chairs
were placed outside the door.
The room wascoiefully examined and
all possible' avenues of < scape closed.
The, only light was fuin;shcd by the
bull’s-eye lantern which was placed
upon the mantel. Each man tucked his
trousers into his stockings. The bag
was kept in motion to prevent the lats
from gnawing their way through the
canvas.
By this time Isai03en had procured a
young fox terrier. Ho wanted to try the
mettle of the animal. Penney opened
the mouth of the canvas 1 ag, and put
ting his hand into the aperture he felt
around among the animals until he hod
caught one by the back of the neck.
He i-aid, as he drew out the snuealimr
animal:
“Bats won’t bite in the dark.”
The rat was a monster. The experts
said it would weigh eighteen ounces,
which is at least four ounces more than
the weight of the ordinary brown rat.
Its feet were tied together with bits of
string. Then the animal was put into
Penneys to it po ki t. When everything
was ready the bag w. s laid upon the
floor and the rats ran out. Headed by
a big fellow they ran around the walls,
examining all the cracks for a possible
exit. They made the circuit of the room
twice. When they realized that there
was no es rape they showed fight, Tliev
made a noise resembling that produced
bjr fifing a Biiw. Some of them ran to
the men- standing in the middle of the
I room and tried to climb up their trous
ers legs.
The young dog was then brought in.
When the iafs saw the d-'g, which was
held in tlie firms ol'its owner, struggling
to get free, tin y ran to one corner and
mnged theiiis dves in tWo irregular rows
diagonally aero s the corner. They
stood up and uttered cries of fear and
anger. The dog sprang to the floor and -
ru-h d at the rats. He taught one be
tween h's jaws, but the others fastened
themselves upon his body, banging from
his Sirs, his tail and back. The pain
caused bv the sharp teeth of the rats
made the dog weaken. He whined and
ran to Penney, who plticked the fat*
from the brute ns if he were gathering
blackberries. The rodents resumed
their position in the coiner. The young ‘
dog wns put outside the door and the
expei ieneed Kit was brought in. She
did hot 1 tish heedlessly at the rats as the
young dog hail done, but when f-ho had
got to within three feet of the rodents
tlie stood still and waited.
A big rot in the front row, who eli
de utly a de 1 in the rapacity of captain
of the company* m e pted the dog’s im
plied challenge and sprang at the ter
rier. Kit was prepared for him. One
snap of her teeth and the captain was
dead.
In tlie meantime the other rats had
fastened their teeth in Kit's sleek hide.
But it was of no nse. She stood still
and picked them from her body one by
one. And when they were all lying
around her upon the floor whenever one
showed signs of life by the movement of
a kg or tlie twitching of a muscle Kit
walked around oxer the field of battle
and gave them an extra nip to quiet
them.
The dead nils were gathered up end
put into the canvas 1 ag. Then occurred
a scene of intense interest-. It was a
tight between a l at and a ferret.
While Kit xvns killing the rats, tho big
fellow in Penney’s pockpt had chewed
the string which tied its legs together,
orawlpfl ntlfr and inmnp.d it ili*» flnnr
Befoio Kit could catch it elm was told
to lie down by Penn y, and then she
was order d tiygo out of the room.
A piece of eonrse sacking was then
thrown down in the middle of the room.
The rat in the me in while was making
at examination of the room just as the
others had done. After smelling at al
most every inch of the bare board, the
rat gave up the search and hid itself un
der the sacking. Us movements could
he traced by tlio mound like a mole’s
track in the sa ‘king, until it rest d
quietly in one corner of the bag.
The fer;et was then let loose and it
took up the trail just where the rat hid
alighted on the floor and followed ex
actly in the fugitive’s foot tops. Wher
e\er the rat had stopped to examine a
crock the ferret slopped. Every inch of
floor traversed by the rat was gene over
by the ferret until it reached the bag.
A shrill scream of terror and anger in
dicated that the rat had b en found.
The rat darted out of the hag and be
gan a wild flight around the room, Re
lentlessly upon its trail came the ferret,
n ver increasing its speed, but with a
slow movement of the head from side to
s de which was fascinating in its sug
gestious of subtlety aud deadly intent.
The circuit of the room must have been
made twenty five times before the rat
showed any signs of weakness. Then
its pace began slowly to slacken.
The tragedy was nearing its climax.
The rat began to chatter ns if smitten by
an icy wind. It t xik refuge in the cor
ner where its comrades had fallen, with
it. 1 ack to the wall. Standing upright,
with drooping paws, it uttered a cry so
fraught with terror that it sounded al
most human. It was its death cry. The
animal instinctively knew that its time
had come.
The ferret kept on the trail around
the room. The rat recovered from its
terror and jump d up to the window
ledge and sit s ill. The ferret lost the
trail and went snuffing around with its
nose in the air. The r.it, had another
pa' oxvRrn, and limping from tlio window
ledge ran to the corner and up a stout,
rough onne standing there. Heie the
ferret found its prey, and it stood on the
floor looking upward at the rat. Tlio
two animals gazed at ra il other until
the rat oould stand it nolonger. Utter
ing another s ueiim, it sprang at the fer
ret. The latter animal kept its fore feet
upon the cane, turned its lital aside to *
avoid the shock, and, as tho rat shot by,
fastened its teeth in its victim s neck.
The movement was almost as rapid ai
light. Tho fores of the rat’s dgafUtfiM1*
carried both animals six l’cef over the
floor. The ferret threw one fore leg
over the rat’s bnok, released the hold
first secured and buried its Letli in tho
centre of (he rat’s ne.-lc, crushing tho
backbone, and the hunt was over,—
[New York 8uu.
The Biggest Ruby and Cat’s Eye.
The biggest and in every way the best
ruby in existence, so far as connoisseurs
know, is ou sale at a famous shop in
London. Fifty thousand dollars is tho
price, asked for it. It is broader than a
filbert nut and gives out a deep red glow.
Queen Victoria sighed when she saw it
and declared it had no paiallel in the
crown jewels, and the Duchess of Edin
burgh cirried it all the way to St.
Petersburgh for the Czar to have a look
at it.
The world’s biggest and most beauti
ful cat’s eye was taken to London not
long ago from Ceylon. It weighs 170
carats and is insured lor 40,000 rupees.
It casts but four opalescent rays, which
are. said to combine to form one single
stream of light. Cat’s eyes of such bril
liancy are now said to sell for as much
as diamonds. Ordinarily tho cat’s eye
is considered only a semi-pieoious stone,
—[New York World.
A Diver in a Mine.
1 he first instance in which a profes
sional diver has been employed in the
mines of Pennsylvania iB that at Rich
mond’s new shaft, on the outskirts of
Scranton. The shaft is close to the
Lackawanna river, and was flooded a few
weeks ago by a rise in the river. ' It was
sunk nine feet, and the water could not
be removed because the straiuers in the
pumps that reach from the top to the
bottom of the opening became filled
with sand. John Rice, a New York
liver, was engaged to go down and dean -
rut the strainers. He began the work
and finished it in two days, and pumping J
was resumed,
k