cnpmmrr 13H
to
SYNOPSIS.
Harding Kent calls on Louise Farrlsh to
propose marriag-e and finds the house In
exeat excitement over the attempted sui
cide of her sister Katharine. Kent starts
an investigation and finds that Hugh
Crandall, suitor for Katharine, who had
been forbidden the house by General Far
rlsh, had talked with Katharine over the
telephone Just before she shot herself.
A torn piece of yellow paper Is found,
at sight of which General Farrlsh Is
stricken with paralysis. Kent discovers
that Crandall has left town hurriedly.
Andrew Eteer, an aged banker, commits
suicide about the same time as Katharine
attempted her life. A yellow envelope is
found tn Elser's room. Post Office In
spector Davis. Kent's friend, takes up
the case. Kent la convinced that Cran
dall is at the bottom of the mystery.
Katharine's strange outcry puzxSes the
detectives. Kent and Davis search Cran
dall's room and find an address, Ixsclc
Box 17, Ardway. N. .T. Kent goes to Ard
way to investigate and becomes suspi
cious of a "Henry Cook." A woman
commits suicide at the Ardway Hotel. A
yellow tetter also fieures in this case.
Kent calls Louise on the low? distance
telephone and finds that she had Just been
called by Crandall from the same booth.
"Cook" disappears. The Ardway post
master is missing. Inspector Davis ar
rives at Ardway and takes up Inves
tigation. He discovers that the dead
woman Is Sarah Sarket of Bridgeport.
Louise telephones Kent imploring him to
drop the Investigation. Kent returns to
New York to get an explanation from
Txmise. He finds the body of a woman in
Central Park and more yellow letters.
Hj sees Crandall. whom he recognizes as
"Cook," enter the Farrlsh home. Louise
again imnlores Kent to drop the Investi
gation and refuses to give any explana
tion. Later Kent sees Crandall and Louise
In an automobile. Kent returns to Ard
way. Davis announces that he has
planned to arrest the missing nostmaster
and also the master criminal. While seek
in the criminals. Kent comes across
?xuie and Crandall. Pursued by Davis
the postmaster Jumps off a precipice and
Is killed. Aleck Young, the master crim
inal. Is found in a hut in a morphine
Ptupor. Louise tells Kent that she and
Crandall had come to get papers from
Young which gave him a strange hold
over General Farrlsh. It is shown that
Crandall's only Interest in the case was
to help Katharine recover her fathers
papers. Young is shackled and bound,
with morphine Just out of his reach. In
an attempt to make him confess and give
up the papers.
.. CHAPTER XV. (Continued.)
Tf you had seen, the name of An
drew Elser in it," said Davis, "would
you not haie examined it?"
"Was his Yiame there?"
"Yes, and also the names of the
Bridgeport victim and Dora Hastings
md Henry Eberle. It was Young or
Rouser who sent out the yellow let
ters and checked vthe list, using Just
plain, ordinary shorthand for such
words a3 'Sent,' 'Answered,' 'Five
Thousand.' Fortunately, the list
Rhows that while more than five hun
dred letters were sent out, hardly a
dozen had brought responses, and in
only three cases had money been re
ceived." X
"Was General Farrish's name on
tne list"
"No," answered Davis sleepily, "but
I hardly expected to find it there."
"And the letters sent out," I per
sisted, "were they the yellow let
ters?" "Of course."
; "What 'was in them?"
"That's Just what I've got to find out
from Young," said Davis, and in an
other minute he was fast asleep.
As I saw Davis lying there a new
thought came to me. If be could ex
tract the information he wanted from
Young, what was to hinder me from
doing it Surely our prisoner by now
had seen the hopelessness of his posi
tion and would be ready to talk. At
least there would be no harm in try
ing. I entered the room where Young
was, and, approaching his couch, laid
my hand on his shoulder, he had been
lying there with his eyes closed, and
the mere touch of my hand so jolted
his shattered nerves that his whole
body bounded to the limit , of - his
bonds. His tightened lips showed how
difficult it was for him to suppress a
cream.
"Look here, Young," said I, "I've
come to you as a friend to tell you
just how the land lies. Rouser is dead
and the inspector has possession of
all his papers. He knows everything
about the yellow letters."
An evil smile was Young's only an
swer the cunning leer of the man
who scents a trick.
"There are stacks and stacks of
evidence against you. We have the
list of people to whom Rouser sent
letters."
"Damn your evidence!" he sneered.
"You may have evidence against tha
fool Rouser, but you've nothing on
me. If the inspector, as you call him,
bed evidence enough to convict me,
da you suppose he'd have me tied up
here He hasn't a bit - of evidence
gainst me. He never will have.
Reach me that medicine."
He Jerked his head in the direction
of the.morphine that lay so tantaliz
ing near. There was something in
hia voice, some indefinable power of
persuasiveness that almost influenced
me to do what he asked. Involun
tarily my hand went out to the bottle
containing the solution, but I caught
myself in time.
"Go on, hand It to me," he begged.
"Can't you see how I need it? Give
It to me and I'll tell you anything you
wint to know,"
"Tell me first," said I, "and you
have It."
Jdhnstoa
"I can't talk, I can't think," he
cried, "till I get it. You can see for
yourself how shaky I am."
I could see for myself that he was
suffering the torture of the damned.
Every muscle in his body seemed to
be jerking involuntarily, doubling it
self into little hungry knots that
joined his aching nerves in the shrill
clamor for morphine morphine.
"Give me just one dose," he plead
ed, "and I'll tell you anything, every
thing you want to know. I'll die if
I don't get it."
So pitiable was his condition that
I found myself sympathizing with
him in spite of myself. My eyes fol
lowed his glance to the chair near the
couch, where, beside the hypodermic
syringe and the morphine, Davis, as
if to accentuate the torture of his
fetters, had placed the key that un
locked them. I would not have known
how to administer the morphine, even
if I had wished to do so, and besides,
I had a strong aversion to drugging
a fellow-man, but as I saw the key
there, I thought of a solution.
"If I unlock the fetters on your
arms," said I, "so that you can reach
the morphine, will you promise me to
answer my question?"
"I'll promise on my word of honor
to answer every question you ask,"
he replied, an eager light coming in
to his eyes.
"I swear it on my mother's honor."
Thinking how amazed Davis would
be when he awoke to learn that I had
the prisoner's full confession, I reach
ed for the key. Young turned over as
far as he could to permit me to un
lock the fetters.
Then, quick as lightning, as the
steel fell away from his wrists, his
hands shot out and clutched my neck
with maniac strength. I felt my eyes
bulge, my lungs fill to bursting. I
put forth my hands to try to , shake
off his grip, but I felt my strength fast
falling.
Athletically inclined though I have
always been, and matched though I
was against a drug-weakened wretch
with fettered feet, I found myself no
equal for his maniacal desperation.
Back and forth over the couch we
swayed in a silent death-struggle, my
cut-off breath all the while pounding
unpurifled through my bursting lungs,
my brain turning weak, and my sight
growing dim. I was beaten. I knew
I could hold out but a few seconds
I Felt My Eyes Bulge, My
longer. I saw nothing ahead of me
but death strangled to death by a
drug fiend.
There passed through my mind in
my struggles a vivid picture of what
was about to happen. Young would
silently choke me to death. Silently
he would hobble with his fettered feet
to where Davis lay In the lean-to
sound asleep and brain him with a
blow. He would cast off his fetters and
long before the constable would re
turn to find our bodies would make
his escape os Rouser's bicycle. The
mystery of the yellow letters never
would be explained. Poor Louise
Young's hands fell from my throat
and I staggered back gasping for
breath. I thought at first that the
strain had been too much for his drug
racked body, but soon I saw what
had happened. His muscles had not
weakened, but his will. Standing
over him was Davis with a revolver
pointed at hia head.. Even before I
had recovered myself Davis had the
fetters readjusted and the rope passed
through them.
Our lives were saved. The mystery
might yet be solved, despite my fool
hardiness. As soon as 'my aching throat would
permit me to speak I began making
abject apologies for my foolhardy con
duct and trying to express my thanks,
but he would not listen to me.
"I guess you'll guard him safely
enough now," he said, and once more
was fast asleep.
With something of the feeling of a
chastised school-boy who knows he
deserved far more than he got, I sat
down beside the couch and for four
long hours watched the struggles and
heard the curses and listened to the
entreaties of the drug-mad prisoner.
But now I had no sympathy left for
him.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Forty-Ninth Hour. ,
Two days two unforgetable days
we passed there in the hut, Davis and
I and our self-tortured prisoner. Each
day the constable came and went, the
first day to tell us that the Inspector's
plan for disposing of the postmaster's
body had been successful and that no
suspicion had been aroused. The sec
ond day a pleasanter mission brought
him to deliver telegrams from Cran
dall and Louise that all was well,
that the general was slowly improv
ing and that Katharine was recover
ing rapidly.
And all the while Young lay there
bound, defying us, now cursing, now
pleading, now in brilliant phrases
striving to convince us by logical ar
guments so deft, so forceful,, so- cun
ning that a weaker and less wise man
than Davis might have been con
vinced by them.
His logic failing he would turn to
mer6iless invective and ribald threats,
his penetrating voice making the
whole hut hideous as he prophesied
for us both grotesque horrible deaths,
brain-breaking punishments in this
world and the next. Then, overcome
once more by the intensity of his un
satisfied desire for the drug that had
long been his master, he would moan
and plead and weep for morphine.
At times delusions would seize his
brain. By the hour he would rave of
beautiful cities and wonderfully fair
women and pleasant pastimes. Ma
jestic lines of poetry would flow from
his fevered lips, to end in a shriek of
agony as his quivering, knotted mus
cles all but tore his nerves apart.
Again the weird morphine fantasies
would take hold of him and a rush of
horrible grotesque ribaldries would
foul the air.
But after forty-eight hours of this
terrible torture nature would be put
off no longer. She demanded rest.
Young had sunk into a troubled, un
easy sleep about seven in , the morn
ing: Davis and I, having spelled each
Lungs Fill to Bursting.
other as guards during the night, sat
talking about our prisoner. I hap
pened to remark that It was a pity
that capital punishment could not re
move such criminals as Young from
the earth. The inspector, in spite of
the rigorous way he had kept up the
torture, seemed to have strong sym
pathy for Young.
"I don't believe in capital punish
ment at all," be said explosively. "Our
whole system is wrong. It took us a
good many centuries to discover that
insane persons didn't need prisons,
but doctoring. They just can't help
being criminal. Stand behind a line
of prisoners as they march In to
breakfast la the penitentiary. Not
one of them will nave otal hh
Is that their fault? It Is the fault of
society. It's our fault."
There was a stir on the couch and
Young opened his eyes. . The fire ol
the drug-madness and the look of
hate seemed to have vanished.
"I give up," he said., "I can't stand
the strain any longer. I'll tell you
anything you want to know."
He spoke quietly and calmly. Yet
there was something in his voice that
rang true. I felt that thla time he
meant what he caid. Apparently
Davis, too, realize' that at last
Young's spirit was broken. Without
hesitation, he seized the hypodermio
"Take Charge of Iriese and Give Th vr
to Miss Louise or Miss Katharine
syringe and plunged It into Young's
arm. The prisoner breathed a long
sigh of relief. The color came bach
into his face and , strength to his
voice. His muscles , stopped twitch
lng.
"Now," said Davis gently, "where
are the yellow letters hid?"
"In a tin-box under a flat stone near
the spring," Young replied.
"Which stone?"
"It's the third from the spring com
ing this way."
Davis was up like a shot and out
the door, reappearing quickly with al
ordinary document box.
"And the Farrlsh papers where ar
they?" he asked sharply.
"They are in the box, too," said
Young wearily. "May I have anoth
er shot?"
Davi3 studied his face and felt his
pulse and then reached for the
syringe. ,
"Where' the key?" he asked as ht
finished administering the morphine.
"In my left trousers' pocket,'
Young answered apathetically.
Quickly Davis possessed himself oi
the key and opened the box. In the
top tray were perhaps fifty letters,
type-written on yellow paper, with a
blank left for the name to be filled in.
Without stopping to read the letters,
which seemed to be all after the same
form, Davis lifted the tray.-. In the
bottom of the box was a type-written
list of names and a bulky sealed
legal envelope, marked on the out
side "Papers in the Farrlsh case."
"Here, Kent," said Davis, handing
me the envelope, "take charge of
these and give them to Miss Louise
or Miss - Katharine. You're entitled
to that." -
Joyfully I stowed the envelope in
my breast pocket, my heart bounding
at the thought of the relief the sight
of the package would bring to the
Farrlsh family. But as yet the whole
affair was a blind puzzle to me and
I waited eagerly for further develop
ments. "Now. Young," said the inspector,
"tell me all about your scheme."
"If the damn thieves hadn't been
such cowards as to go and kill them
selves," said Young with a glow oi
enthusiasm, "I would have been a mil
lionaire within a year. Read one of
the letters End you can see for your
self just how good the scheme was."
Lifting the topmost sheet the in
spector read the yellow letter aloud i
Lock Box 17.
Ardway, N. J., Feb. 8, 1910.
Dear Sir:
I am writing to you In pursuance or
my duty as executor of the late Kdwln
Green, who died here recently, leaving
his entire estate, amounting to som
1880,000, in my hands for what he was
pleased to term a "Defaulters' Fund."
I can best explain Its purpose by briefly
summarizing the founder's life. In hi
early youth Mr Green was employed for
a short time in a tank in a small city in
another state. Becoming involve 1
speculation he used several hundred dol
lars of the bank's funds. He had no rela
tives but a sister, to whom he knew 1
was useless to apply for aid. As dis
covery seemed inevitable he was con
templating suicide, seeing nothing biri
prison, and disgrace ahead of him. Brt
an old friend of his father, who entlrel
by accident learned of his plight, ad
vanced hiVn the money he needed to maki
good his defalcation, exacting from hlir
a promise that he would help others 1
similar plight whenever he had oppor
tunlty.
His subsequent life was of the h!gKfrj
recititude. Though he .amassed a fortunn
he never found opportunity to aid any
one in a plight similar to the one 1
which he once found himself. It became
almost a mania with him and resulted irt
hia leaving his entire fortuneto aid first
offenders in turning back into the light
path.
I know of no way of reaching the par
sons he Intended to aid. I am sending
out this letter to persona employed Itv
banks and positions of trust, hoping thai
you or others who receive it may kno
of some man, young or ,old, who ha
made the first misstep and is wrongful!
using funds belonging to others, but U
desirous of making good his peculations.
If you should know of any such I will
gladly make good his defalcation and en-
deavor to save him from exposure, dis
grace and imprisonment, asking only hit;
word that he will not err again, for Mr,
Green, in the deed of trust, expressly
speciflea that this is the only security u
be exacted. I am, sir.
Very truly yours.
HENRY MALCOLM STEWA,mV
(TO BE COiJTirrjXXX)
ERADICATE HOG LOUSE
Vigorous and Patient Treatment
Is Required.
Blood-Sucking Parasites Cause Much
Irritation, of Skin In Dipping
Creollne Is Better Than Lime
and Sulphur.
(By N. a MAYO.)
The hog louse is a common parasitic
pest on swine and one that requires
vigorous and patient treatment to
eradicate. The hog louse is one of
the largest of the lice that attacks
domestic animals. They are readily
seen traveling about on the bristles,
usually on the neck, back of the ears,
moving with a peculiar sliding - mo
tion. The eggs or "nits" are small,
white, ' oval bodies attached to the
bristles. Hog lice may be found on
almost any part of the animal's body,
but are most common about the neck,
ears and back of the elbow.
These are blood-sucking parasites
and, by biting the hog and abstract
ing blood, they cause a good deal of
irritation of the skin. The animal
rubs on posts and other objects and
the coat looks rough and harsh.; The
parasite and eggs are easily found
upon examination. The parasites are
transmitted from one animal to an
other by contact, or by con-tact with
infected bedding or quarters.
Dipping the animals three or four
times at intervals of ten days will usu
ally free them from these parasites,
Vat for Dipping Hogs.
provided the Bleeping quarters are
thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
In dipping to kill lice, the coal-tar
dips of the creoline type are better
than lime and sulphur. If the hog
wallowB are kept well filled with wa
ter, to which some of the creoline
dips are added every ten days, the
swine will usually free themselves
from the lice. Another good way of
combating the parasites is to tie
gunnysacks or, other coarse cloths
around ruBblng posts and keep these
cloths saturated with crude petrole
um. There are many coal-tar "dips" on
the market. They are made from the
products of the distillation of coal tar
and have a variety of trade names.
Creoline is one of these preparations.
They are ; all dark-colored liquids
with a strong coal-tar odor and when
mixed with water form a milky white
or slightly brownisn emulsion. We
have tried several kinds with ex
cellent results. Practically all drug
gists have these dips, but we would
advise using a dip made by a well
known and reliable firm. These dips
should be used at the strength of
one part of the dip to forty or fifty
parts of water. If rain water is ob
tainable it is preferred to "hard" wa
ter. These dips should be used warm.
, There should be a dipping vat on
every hog farm. They may be made
of wood, galvanized iron or cement.
They are set in the ground at a con
venient place . so that there is good
surface drainage away from the vat.
A good size for a large vat is ten feet
long on top, eight feet long on the bot
tom, and two feet wide on top. The
end where the hogs enter should be
perpendicular and the other end in
clined, with cleats, so that the hogs
can emerge after swimming through.
The entrance should be by a slide.
Such a tar.k is very useful whereever
hogs are kept In numbers, as frequent
dipping tends to keep the hogs healthy
and free from parasites.
Incubator No Miracle Worker.
Do not expect your incubator, no
matter of what make or of what cost,
to perform impossibilities. Then see
that your eggs to . fill are fre6h and
have been well handled. Eggs should
be from stock that is strong and vig
orous, and free from disease.' . One
cannot expect good hatches from eggs
laid by hens that have been weak
ened by roup or kindred troubles.
Charcoal From Cobs.
Charcoal is a health promoter for
the fowls. If you will put some ears
of corn in a hot oven and let them
burn quite black and feed when the
grain gets cold enough you will per
haps be astonished to see how greed
ily the poultry will partake of the
charred corn. Give such a feed every
two weeks. ' "
Seeds From Alaska.
Alaska will some day provide farm
ers In lower altitudes with grain seeds
superior to what they grow at home.
Wheat Map of World.
The wheat map of the world Is an
exact map cf the highest civilization
of the world
WATER REQUIRED FOR SHEEP
- -
Animals With Bountiful Supply Pro
duce More Mutton Than Those ;
That Are Deprived of It. i
Experiments carried on with cattle
showed that cattle given plenty of
water with their pasture contained
more moisture and less dry matter
than did the carcasses of cattle given
pasture but no additional moisture.
It is a generally accepted principle of
feeding that it co.s more and more
to produce meat as the moisture de
creases and the dry matter Increases.
From this we are able to deduce the
fact that it costs less to grow the
steers that had plenty of water, and
60 made watery carcasses, than it did
to grow the steers that had no water
other than that in their food and re
produced a dry carcass.
What is true in the case of steers
would hold equally true in the case
of sheep. Sheep given plenty of water
will produce mutton more cheaply
than will those deprived of it. Muscle
expansion will be more active in the
one case than in the other, and that
is another reason why mutton pro
duction would be cheaper.
There is considerable water In any
of the pasture crops that sheep eat,
and they get still more moisture from
the dew. that collects on the grass
blades in early morning and late eve
ning; but from these two sources,
while it gets enough water to keep it
alive, a sheep still . does not get
enough water to keep it in the very
best growing condition nor to keep
all its bodily processes going on in
the most effective manner posSible,
There is not an organ in the body
that can function properly without
water to aid ti. Being one of the
chief constituents of blood, water is
carried to every part of the system,
and not alone helps it in getting its
nourishment, but also in ridding it of
its impurities. It is obvious that a
large amount of water must be neces
sary to keep, the sheep doing well.
Enough is not gotten with the food,
even in summer, and this amount
should be supplemented by all that
the sheep will drink when given con
stant access to it.
CULL OUT UNDESIRABLE HENS
All Fowls That Have Passed Their
Term of Usefulness Should Be
Marketed at Once. '
It is always seasonable to cull, out
the undesirable birds from a flock,
says the Poultry Journal. All hens
that have passed their term of useful
ness should be marketed. While cull
ing should be continued throughout
the entire year, the most heroic work
should be done In the fall. What
we call yearlings in poultry are those
which were hatched the year before
the pullets. They are nearer two
years old than one, and make ex
cellent breeders. After breeding1 pick,
out of this flock such as are consider
ed unprofitable. What we call the
two-year-olds are the ones that are
going into their second molt. Very
often some excellent layers are found
among these, and it pays to keep such,
but at that age the closer we cull the
better will be our profits. This cull
ing, however, can only, be successful
by close watching. No matter how
valuable a hen may be, if she proves
to be a feather puller or an egg eater.
she, too, should be sent with the lot
of culls to market.
HOMEMADE LAWN ROLLER
Practical and Substantial Implement
Will Keep Grass in Fine Shape
and Discourage Moles.
Frequent rolling with a heavy roller
keeps the lawn in fine shape and helps
to discourage moles frdm working, in
it, says the Farm and Home. . A prac
tical and substantial roller for this
purpose may be made of cement with
gaspipe axle and handle. It should
weigh about 200 pounds and should
Home-Made Lawn Roller.
be about two feet long. A piece of
15-inch salt-glazed sewer tile makes
a good form. Forms can also be
made of wood from narrow slats or
galvanized iron. In the latter case
the form may be left on the roller.
Do Not Feed Moldy Corn.
. Moldy corn will produce blind stag
gers in horses, and it should never be
fed to them. Every year there is con
siderable trouble with this disease In
the west, and in almost every case
the cause is moldy corn. If this
corn does not produce blind staggers,
it will tend to injure the physical con
dition of the animal. . So don't feed
it, and be careful about pasturing the
horses in; stalk fields where there Is
moldy corn.
Using More Brains.
In live stock and dairying, brains
are more used today than brawn.
Corn Alone Unprofitable.
Hogs cannot be raised profitably on
oftru alone.
. ,
J