£ 5Y LOWS
CHAPTER IV. <CoNTiNrsD.»
That same night the clerk entered
upon a bout of drunkenness so con
sistent as to surprise even his intimate
acquaintances. He was speedily ejected
from the boarding-house; deposited his
portmanteau with a perfect stranger,
who did not even catch his name; wan
dered he knew not where, and was ,at
last hove-to, all standing, in a hospital
at Sacramento. There, under the im
penetrable alias of the number of his
bed, the crapulous being lay for some
more days unconscious of all things,
and of one thing in particular: that the.
police were after him. Two irronths
had come and gone before the conval
escent in the Sacramento hospital was
identified with Kirkman, the abscond
ing San Francisco clerk; even then,
there must elapse nearly a fortnight
more till the perfect stranger could be
hunted up, the portmanteau recovered,
and John’s letter carried at length to
Its destination, the seal still unbroken,
the inclosure still intact.
Meanwhile, John had gone upon his
holidays without a word, which was ir
regular; and there had disappeared
with him a certain sum of money,
which was out of all bounds of pallia
tion. But he was known to be ca r eless,
•nd believed to be honest; the manager
besides had a regard for him; and lit
tle was said, although something was
no doubt thought, until the fortnight
was finally at an end, and the time had
come for John to reappear. Then, in
deed, the affair began to look black;
•nd when inquiries were made, and the
penniless clerk was found to have
•massed thousands of dollars, and kept
them secretly in a rival establishment,
the stoutest of his friends abandoned
him, the books were overhauled for
traces of ancient and artful fraud, and
though none were found, there still
prevailed a general Impression of loss.
The telegraph waa set in motion; and
the correspondent of the bank in Edin
burgh, for which place it was under
stood that John had armed himself
with extensive credits, was warned to
communicate with the police.
< Now this correspondent was a friend
of Mr. Nicholson's; he was well ac
quainted with the tale of John’s calam
itous disappearance from Edinburgh;
and putting one thing with another,
hasted with the first word of this scan
dal, not to the police, but to his friend.
The old gentleman had long regarded
his eon as one dead; John’s place had
been taken, the memory of his faults
had already fallen to be one of those
old aches, which awaken again indeed
upon occasion, but which we can al
ways vanquish by an effort of the will;
and to have the long lost resuscitated
In a fresh disgrace was doubly bitter.
! “Macewen,” said the old man, "this
must be hushed up, if possible. If I
give you a check for the sum, about
which they are certain, could you take
it oc yourself to let the matter rest?"
/ T will,” said Macewen. “I will take
'the risk of it.”
1 "You understand,” resumed Mr.
Xicholson, speaking precisely, but with
ashen lips. “I do this for my family, not
for that unhappy young man. If it
•hould turn out that these suspicions
are correct, and he has embezzled large
•urns, he must lie on his bed as he has
made it.” And then looking up at
Macewen with a nod, and one of his
strange smiles: “Good-bye,” said he;
and Macewen, perceiving the case to be
too grave for consolation, took himself
off, and blessed God on his way home
that he was childless.
» CHAPTER V.
Y a little after noon
the eve of Christ
mas. John had left
his portmanteau in
the cloak-t'oom
and stepped forth
into Princes street
with a wonderful
expansion of the
soul, such as men
! jz'ZsgxZO 1
IwW
>9*
t *(F
enjoy on the com
pletion of long
■ourished schemes. He was at home
again, incognito and rich; presently he
could enter his father’s house by means
of the pass-key, which he had piously
preserved through al) his wanderings;
he would throw down the borrowed
money; there would be a reconciliation,
the details of which he frequently ar
ranged; and he saw himself, during
the next month, made welcome in many
Btately houses at many frigid dinner
parties, taking his share in the con
versation with the freedom of the man
and the traveler and laying down the
jlaw upon finance with the authority of
ftho successful investor. But this pro
gram was not to bo begun before even-
Eg — not till just before dinner, Indeed,
, which meal the reassembled family
ere to sit roseate, and the best wine,
INTERNATIONAL PRESS ASSOCIATION.
the modern fatted calf, should flow for
the prodigal’s return.
Meanwhile he walked familiar
streets, merry reminiscences crowding
round him, sad ones also, both with
the same surprising pathos. The keen
frosty air; the low, rosy, wintry sun;
the castle, hailing him like an old ac
quaintance; the names of friends on
door-plates; the sight of friends whom
he seemed to recognize, and whom he
eagerly avoided, in the streets; the
pleasant chant of the north country ac
cent; the dome of St. George’s remind
ing him of his last, .penitential mo
ments in the lane, and of that King of
Glory whose name tyad echoed ever
sinep in the sad tie st porner of his
memory; and the gutters where he had
learned to slide, and the shop where
he had trod, and the railings in which
he had rattled his clachan as he went to
school: and all those thousand and one
nameless particulars, which the eye
sees without noting, which the memory
keeps indeed yet without knowing, and
which, taken one with another, build
up for us the aspect of the place that
we call home: all these besieged him,
as he went, with both delight and sad
ness.
His first visit was for Houston,
who had a house on Regent’s Terrace,
kept for him In old days by an aunt.
The door was opened (to his surprise)
upon the chain, and a voice asked him
from within what he wanted.
“I want Mr. Houston—Mr. Alan
Houston,” said he.
“And who are ye?” said the voice.
“This is most extraordinary,” thought
John; and then aloud he told his name.
“Not young Mr. John?” cried the
voice, with a sudden increase of Scotch
accent, testifying to a friendlier feel
ing.
“The very same,” said John.
And the old butler removed his de
fenses, remarking only, “I thought ye
were that man.” But his master was
not there; he was staying, it appeared,
at the house in Murrayfield; and though
the butler would have been glad enough
to have taken his place and given all
the news of the family, John, struck
with a little chill, was eager to be gone.
Only, the door was scarce closed again,
before he regretted that he had not ask
ed about "that man.”
He was to pay no more visits till he
had seen his father and made all well
at home; Alan had been the only pos
sible exception, and John had not time
to go as far as Murrayfield. But here
he was on Regent’s Terrace; there was
nothing to prevent him going round
the end of the hill, and looking from
without on the Mackenzies’ house. As
he went, he recollected that Flora must
now be a woman of near his own age,
and it was within the bounds of possi
bility that she was married; but this
dishonorable doubt he dammed down.
There was the house, sure enough;
but the door was of another color, and
what was this—two door plates? He
drew nearer; the top one bore, with dig
nified simplicity, the words, "Mr. Proud
foot;” the lower one was more explicit,
and informed the passer-by that here
was likewise the abode of "Mr. J. A.
Dunlop Proudfoot, Advocate.”
The Proudfoots must be rich, for no
advocate could look to have much busi
ness in so remote a quarter; and John
hated them for their wealth and for
their name, and for the sake of the
house they desecrated with their pres
ence. He remembered a Proudfoot he
had seen at school, not known; a little
whey-faced urchin, the despicable mem
ber of some lower class. Could it be
this abortion that had climbed to be
an advocate, and now lived in the birth
place of Flora and the home of John's
tenderest memories? The chill that had
first seized upon him when he heard of
Houston’s absence deepened and struck
inw’ard. For a moment, as he stood
under the doors of that estranged
house, and looked east and west along
the solitary pavement of the Royal Ter
race, where not a cat was stirring, the
sense of solitude and desolation took
him by the throat, and he wished him
self in San Francisco.
And then the figure he made, with,
his decent portliness, his whiskers, the
money in his purse, the excellent cigar
that he now lighted, recurred to his
mind in consolatory comparison with
that of a certain maddened lad who, on
a certain spring Sunday ten years
before, and in the hour of church
time silence, had stolen from that city
by the Glasgow road. In the face of
these changes, it were impious to doubt
fortune’s kindness. All would be well
yet; the Mackenzies would be found,
Flora, younger and lovelier and kinder
than before; Alan would be found, and
would have so nicely discriminated his
behavior as to have grown, on the one
hand, into a valued friend of Mr. Nich
olson’s, and to have remained, upon
the other, of that exact shade of jovlal-
fty which John desired In his compan
ions. And so, once more, John fell to
work discounting the delightful future,
his first appearance in the family pew,
his first visit to his uncle Greig, who
thought himself so great a financier,
and on whose purblind Edinburgh eyes
John was to let in the dazzling day
light of the West; and the details in
general of that unrivaled transforma
tion scene, in which he was to display
to all Edinburgh a por.ly and successful
gentleman in the shoes of the derided
fugitive.
The time began to draw near when
his father would have returned from
the office, and it would be the prodigal’s
cue to enter. He strolled westward by
Albany Street, facing the sunset em
bers, pleased, he knew r not why, to
move in that cold air and indigo twi
light, starred with street-lamps. But
there was one more disenchantment
waiting him by the way.
At the corner of Pitt Street he paused
to light a fresh cigar: the vesta threw,
as he did so, a strong light upon his
features, and a man of about his own
age stopped at sight of it.
“I think your name must be Nichol
sdn,” said the stranger.
It was too late to avoid recognition;
and besides, as John was now actually
on the way home, it hardly mattered,
and he gave way to the impulse of his
nature.
“Great Scott!” he cried, “Beatson!”
and shook hands with w’armth. It
scarce seemed he was repaid in kind.
“So you’re home again?” said Beat
son.” Where have you been all this long
time?”
“In the States,” said John —"Cali-
fornia. I’ve made my pile, though; and
it suddenly struck me it would be a
noble scheme to come home for Christ
mas.”
“I see,” said Beatson. “Well, I hope
we’ll see something of you now you’re
here.”
“Oh, I guess so.” said John, a little
frozen.
“Well, ta-ta,” concluded Beatson, and
he shook hands again and went.
This was a cruel first experience. It
was idle to blink facts; here was John
home again, and Beatson —Old Beatson
—did not care a rush. He recalled Old
Beatson in the past —that merry and af
fectionate lad—and their joint adven
tures and mishaps, the window they
had broken with a catapult in India
Place, the escalade of the castle rock,
and many another inestimable bond of
friendship; and his hurt surprise grew
deeper. Well, after all, it was only on
a man’s own family that he could count;
blood was thicker than water, he re
membered; and the net result of this
encounter was to bring him to the door
step of his father’s house, with tenderer
and softer feelings.
The night had come; the fanlight over
the dobr shone bright; the two win
dows of the dining-room where the
cloth w’as being laid, and the three win
dows of the drawing-room where Maria
would be waiting dinner, glowed soft
ller through yellow blinds. It was like a
vision of the past. All this time of his
absence, life had gone forward with an
equal foot, and the fires and the gas
had been lighted, and the meals spread,
at the accustomed hours. At the accus
tomed hour, too, the bell had sounded
thrice to call the family to worship.
And at the thought a pang of regret
for his demerit seized him; he remem
bered the things that were good and
that he had neglected, and the things
that were evil and that he had loved;
and it was with a prayer upon his lips
that he mounted the steps and thrust
the key into the key-hole.
He stepped into the lighted hall, shut
the door softly behind him, and. stood
there fixed in wonder. No surprise of
strangeness could equal the surprise of
that complete familiarity. There was
the bust of Chalmers near the stair
railings, there was the clothes-brush in
the accustomed place; and there, on the
hat-stand, hung hats and coats that
must surely be the same as he remem
bered. Ten years dropped from his life,
as a pin maytlip between the fingers;
and the ocean and the mountains, and
the mines, and crowded marts and
mingled races of San Francisco, and
his own fortune and his own disgrace,
became, for that one moment, the fig
ures of a dream that was over.
'TO BE COXTtMCBO.f
Mmcolar Education.
At a local school, during a reading
lesson, the phrase ‘‘mental occupation”
occurred.
The teacher asked: “What is meant
by mental occupation?”
A pupil replied: “One in which we
use our mind.”
“And a manual occupation?”
“One in which we use our hands."
The teacher then said: “Now, which
of these occupations is mine? Come,
now, what do I use most in teaching
you?”
A knowing pupil quickly answered:
“Your cane, sir.” —Answers.
Too Trw*.
Edith—“ Matches are made in heaven,
Grace.”
Grace—“ But on earth we make light
of them.”—New York
SOUTH DAKOTA I’ROSPEHOUS.
More Money In the Hank« und nn
Increase in Live Mock.
The assessment returns on live stock
show a decided Increase in the number
returned for last year. The total num
ber of cattle returned Is 95.%577 head,
which is an increase of 143,512 over
last year. These figures would appear
to sustain the general belief that a
large number of range cattle are estray
about the time the assessor is on his
rounds. The total returns of all coun
ties west of the river is 222,661 head.
The total number of sheep returned is
449,876, which is an Increase of 73,540
over last year. Qf this number 179,529
are returned from west of the river,
Stanley county leading In number with
59,693, and Butte next with 27,226.
The total number of horses returned
is 351,596, an increase of 14,500. The
west river counties return 56,652, but
counties east of the river return a
greater number than any of Uie west
river counties, Brown leading with 13,-
751 and Minnehaha next with 12,692.
The total number of hogs returned was
275,734, which is an increase of 26,358.
Clay county leads with 24,120 and
Hutchinson county is next with 21,073.
Only 4,834 hogs are returned from west
of the river, and about half of this
number is from Gregory county.
There has been a decided increase tn
the amount of mines and credits which
were dug up by the assessors this year.
The total amount of this class of prop
erty returned was $1,470,039, which Is
an increase of $523,071 over last year's
returns. Hutchinson county has re
ported $158,045 and Yanton county $136,-
860. One of the peculiarities of the re
turns on this class of property is that
only $3,200 could be found in Lawrence
county, one of the wealthiest counties
In the state, while Hyde county, which
is a small and exclusively granger
county, shows up $5,000. In fact, about
the only county In the state which
could not did up more money and cred
its than Lawrence was the little county
of Buffalo, with only about four town
ships within Its borders. The Increase
on merchandise returned was $1,270,250,
making the total $4,571,741.
MITCHELL CORN PALACE.
Arrn ngcmen tn Being Perfected’ to
llnve One on a Larue Scale.
The business men of Mitchell held a
meeting recently and started the corn
palace idea again for this year, the
dates for thb same being Sept. 26 to
Oct. 4. The soliciting committee made
Its report showing that over $4,000 was
on the guaranteed list. The immense
corn crop in this county insures plenty
of grain to cover the exterior of the
building, and it is the idea to make
it more prominent than the one eight
years ago. N. L. Davison was elected
secretary of the corn palace. W. J.
Healey and T. J. Spangler were largely
instrumental in securing the sum of
money to carry out the palace idea.
Negotiations were commenced by wire
to-day for attractions for the palace.
Indian Courtship.
If a story regarding a Chow creek
Indian maiden be true, then romantic
fancies are a part of the red man’s life
as well as that of his pale face brother.
It has been the habit for years of a
family of Crow Creek Sioux to go to
Miller evry new moon and eamp on the
creek near the slaughter house. From
Sisseton agency north hrts also come
with equal regularity a family of Sioux.
It was supposed that the half-wajr
meeting was for the purpose of swap
ping dogs and comparing moccasins.
It seems, however, that there is love
tn the camp. A Crow Creek girl is
wanted by a young Sisseton policeman.
The maiden objects. The young officer
has bribed the parents to meet his
family every new moon on Turtle creek.
The plan Is causing the dusky maiden
to relent, and a wedding, so the story
goes, win soon follow the long scheming
courtship.
To Meet at Tankton.
The second week in September wiTl
mark the holding of more state con
ventions of various kinds in Yankton
than any like period in the history of
the town. Many of them are called
there by the fact that the state fair is
held there at that time, and they win
contribute largely toward making that
enterprise a success. The first of these
state assemblies to meet will be the
state eclectic physicians on the
on the 12th the state bookkeepers meet
in annual session, and the state flr»-
men's association also convenes. On
the evening of the 12th the members of
El Riad temple of the Mystic Shrine
will hold a reunion. The 13th wffi also
be marked by the reunion of the mem
bers of the First South Dakota Spanish
war veterans and by the reunion of
the survivors of the First Dakota cav
alry, organized in 1662.
Mate School of Mine*.
The State School of Mine® la Rapid
City will open with a larger attendance
than ever. Two members ha\e been
added to the faculty and a :>ew depart
ment has been established The build
ings have undergone repairs and the li
brary has been enlarged by several
hundred volumes. There remains still
>SOO with which to pcrrrhase books.
Charles F. Fulton, who will take charge
of the department of mining engineer
ing and metallurgy, rs a graduate of
the Columbia School of Mines in New
York city, and has. also been instructor
at the State Unirersity of Wyoming.
The other new member of the faculty
is Prof. A. D. Humbert. who will take
charge of the »ew commercial depart
ment. Prof. Humbert In graduate
of Seymour Katon’s F< ho l *f Business
In Boston, and h?s h'»<’ sixteen,
of expe.dcnce In scho ,1 wjtk.
Onr Lvl Bln . e r
Lord Sayvan-Do
n" U utt‘ S . Ure
Miss Sharpe-Nonsensp> wv.
matter with “Hobo,” •uL fl What « the
Dusty Roads,” and so rtnW Villie -”
phia Press. n •"
Husain's New <
It is said that Kus"ial? ar ;
adopt a new calendar. eJk about to
tains 13 months of twentv COn ’
each. The main featuTe, V‘f?
stability, and in this it res'-mhi W
sovereign remedy. HostetterTs oi?’
Bitters. Try it for dysDensh aeh
tlon, nervousness or insomuia. Be
you get the genuine. ’Sure
.*** IM«»ei»iin«to F
David won t come to breakfast u»tn
ae has read the morning pai>er. '
“Is he so eager for news?”
"No; but he likes to find ionu»ki
lismal to talk about while we are
ng.”—lndianapolis Journal.
Dent for the Bowels,
No matter what ails yon, headvh.
to a cancer, you will never get w "n
until your bowels are put nJ*
CASCARETS help nature, cure yj:
without a gripe or pain, produce euy
natural movements, cost you ju»t io
cents to start getting your health back
CASCARETS Candy Cathartic, the
genuine, put up in metal boxes.’every
tablet has C. C. C. stamped on it.
ware of imitations.
A Matter of Custom.
“I can't see the justice,” said Tooler
"In condemning the Mormons for driv
ing their wives four-in-hand b»caus»
we prefer to hitch ours tandem.'-!
Smart Set.
Hall’s Catarrh Cure
Is taken internally. Price, 75c.
We must be a military people, for
every minor among in looks forward
to becoming a major.
Mrs. Winslow’s Mouthing Syrup.
For children teething, soften* the gum*, reduc«f»
dammatlon. allaj* pstn.cure* windcoilc. 25cabotua
The bookworm oftimes seems to
thrive on dry leaves.
KIDHET TROUBLES OF WOMEI
Miss FraderidVs Letters Show How Sh»
Relied on Mrs. Pinkham and Was.
Cared.
“Dm Mrs. Ptammc:—-I have a
yellow, muddy complexion, feel tired
and have bearing down pains. Menses
have not appeared for three months;,
sometimes am troubled with, a white
discharge. Also have kidney and blad
der trouble.
I have been this-way for a long time,,
and feel so miserable I thought I would,
write to you and see if you could do ma
any good.”—Miss Edna. Ekbpebick*
Troy, Ohio, Aug. 6,1899 i
“ Dear Mrs. Pinkham; :--r have used!
Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com
pound according to directions, and can*
say I have not felt so well for years as-
Ido at present. Before taking your
medicine a more miserable person you.
never saw. I could not eat or sleeps
and did not care t» talk with any ona
Now I feel so well I cannot be grateful’
enough to you for what you have dona
for me.”—Miss EdnaFbxdebick, Troy,,
©hioj Sept. 10, 1999.
Backachar Cured
“•Drar Mrs. Puikham I write to
thank you for th* good Lydia E. Pink*
ham’s Vegetable Compound has done M
It is- the only medicine- I have found
that helped ms. I doctored with one
of the best physicians- in the city of
New York, but received] no benefit. I
had been ailing for about sixteen years,
was so weak and nervous that I could
hardly walk; had continued pain inmy
back and was troubled, with leucorrhaa
Menses were irregular and painful
Words cannot express the benefit Lhave
derived from the use of your medicine.
I heartily recommend it to all suffering
women.” Mrs. Mart BabshdwMi
Windsor, Pa.
'S THEfAVORITEj
Z< FOR MEDICINAL
AM
list.
j
L Sr f
ISOLD BY DRUGCMTe AND DtAiX»O>
»T.SAULt=S. B#flZ niH»CA*OL!S j
v jwl
Ej in Unas. Sold *y dr ?Tf > * t *'u ■
_ A . R- <
*
tor th e
.trictiy a
wt
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gltion of a
of the Grau
anything an
From mem
labored at
listening to
fleers and <
majority ol
the parks
lake, and th
enough in t
an invltatic
the stock y
Bel*
than had 1
angle" at
-bloody lai
The convei
and from
pushed " it
slon was e
and was o]
noon meet
character.
In the aft'
u p was tii
mittee. I
generally
ments. bu
was not ii
or recomi
The comn
length in
done by tl
talning fi
Increases
slons. It
cnees of
pension <
the G. A.
the old S'
ficient coi
at length
have bee
in reply 1
by mend
offered n
to be put
printed i
of busin
to whicl
journed.
had pres
were pr
and Pai
token of
held by
tee whl<
sake of
fler con
of ail h
tion of
the dab
to the
the cor
their r
vention
to Judi
Candida
dcr-ln-<
tain tl
first vc
talk re
encamj
and Sa
Ilumb
Mila
who k
terday
life in
decide
events
the m
He ad
accom
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the tr
until
took
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one i
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