The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Price of Liberty OR, A MIDNIGHT CALL CHAITEK XLIV.â€" (Continued.; "Then he went to see Uatne Litti- Dier, and from his own hand he drew what is known in our family as Prince Rupert's ring. He placed it in Dame L/ittimor's han'1 there to remain for a year and a. day and when the year was up it was to be put aside for the bride of the heir of the house for ever, to be worn by her till a year and a day had elapsed after her fir.st child was born. And that has been done for all lime, my aunt, LAdy Littimer, being the last to wear it. After Frank was born it was put carefully away for his bride. But the great tragedy came, and un- til lately we fancied that the ring was lost to us for ever. There is, in a few wordii, the story of Prince Ru- pert's ring. So far ij is quite com- tnon property." Enid ceased to speak for a time. But it wasteident that she had more to say. "An interesting story," David said. "And a pretty ono to put into a book, especially as it is quite true. But you have lost the ring say?" "I fancied so till to-night," replied. "Indeed, I hardly what to think. Sometimes I ined that Reginald Honson had at other times 1 imaginetl that you Enid knew imag- it, it was utterly gone. But the mere fact that Henson pos.sesses a copy prac- tically Convinces nic that ho has the original. As I said before, a true copy could not have been made from mere instruction.s. And if I could only get the original our troubles are all over." "Rut I don't .lee how the ring has frank joir.ed her. Then my uncle turned up and there was a secene. It is said that Lord Littimer struck hi.s wifi\ but Frank sa\s that she fell a'^ain.st his gesticulating fist. AnyTiray, it was the same as a blow, anjl Lady Littimer dropped on the floor dragging a table down with her, flowers and china and all. You have seen that table in Longdean Grange. Since then it has never been swept or dusted or garnished. You have seen my aunt and you know what the shock has done for her â€" the shock and the steady per- secutions of Reginald Henson." "Who .'-eeuis to be at the bottom of the whole trouble." said David. "But do you think that was the real ring on the poor girl's finger?" 'I don't. 1 fancy Henson had a copy made for emergencies. It was he who sent the copy to Claire, and it was the copy that Littimer saw on her hand. You see. directly Frank broke open that sale Henson. who was at the castle at the time, saw his opportunity â€" he could easily scheme some way of making use of it. If that plot against Frank had failed he would have invented an- other. .\nd the une.xpected suicide of Claire Carfax played into his hands. Henson has that ring somewhere, and it will be our task to find it." "And when we have done so?" "Give it to Lord Littimer and tell him where wi- found it. .\nd then we shall be rid of ono of the most pes- tilential rascals the world has ever se«n. When you get back to Brigh- ton I want you to tell this story to Hatherly Bell ' "I will, ' David replied. "What a weired, fascinating story it is! .\nd the sooner I am back the better I our ex- cu.se me. I will go up and see. .Mi!" There was the sound of somebody moving overhead. ^ CHAPTER XLV. At the same moment Williams came softly in. Thoie was a grin of sat- isfaction on his face. "The brute is tast asleep." he said. "I've just been in his room. He left the lamp burning, and there is a | lump on the side of his head as big i as an ostrich egg. But he didn't any of his clothes off. On the whole, sir, wouldn't it be better for you to wake our man up and get him awa.v?" David was of the same opinion. Van Sneck was lying on the bed looking vacantly about him. He seemed older and more worn, per- haps, because his beard aiui mous- anything to do with "With the family dishonor. No. 1 1 shall be pleased. I wonder if am coming to that. We arrive at | man is awake yet. If you will the time seven years ago, when my aunt and Lord Littimer and Frank were all living happily at Littimer Castle. I told you just now that the Carfax estates a^ljoin the Littimer property. The family is still extant and powerful, but the feud between the two houses has never ceased. Of â- course, people don't carry on a ven- detta these peaceful days, but the families have not visited for cen- turies. "There was a daughter Claire, whom Frank Littimer got to know by some means or other. But for the silly family feud noboily would have noticed or caretl, and there Would have been an end to the mat- ter, because Frank has always loved my si.ster Chi is and uc ;iU knew that ho would iMarry her some of these days. "Lord Littimer was fuiiously an- gry when ho heard that Frank and Claire had got on !*peaking terms. He imperiously forbade any further intercourse and tleneral Carfax did the same. The consequence was that these two foolish young people elect- ed to fancy them.selves greatly ag- grieved, and so a kind ot Romeo and Juliet, Montague and Capulet, busi- ness sprang up. There were setr.-t meetings, meetings entirely innocent, j 1 believe. and a correspondence which became romantic ami passion- ate on Claire Carfax's side. The girl had fallen passionately in love with Frank, whilst ho regaVdetl the thing as a more pastime. Ho did not know- then, indeed nobody seemed to know till afterwards, that there was in- sanity In the poor girl's t'amilv, though Hatherly Bell's tiiond, Dr. Heritage. who then had a pi-actice near Littimer, warned us as well as he could. Nobody dreamt how far the thing had gone. "Then those letters of Claire's fell into Lord Littiuier's hands. He found thetn and locked them up in his safe. Frank, furious at being treale<l like a boy, swore to break open the gleam of recognition of hia sur- roundings and with a statement that he had been there before, lapsed, in- to silence. Bell prod'uced a small phial in a chemist's wrapper and poured the contents into a glass. With a curt command to drink ho passed the glass over to Van Sneck. The latter drank the small dose, j and Bell carried him more or less to How Snow, Ice, Bain and ICist blera of the cigar-case; she has found out the whole thing. She wants ma to meet her in London to-morroTT. wiien she will tell me everything." (To bo ContinutKt.) TAXIDEEMISTS' TRICKS. a ground-floor bedroom behind the dining-room. There he speedily un- dressed his patient and got him into bod. Van Sneck was practically fast asleep before his head had touch- ed the pillow. "I went out and got that dose with a view to eventualities," Bell explained. "I know pretty well what is the matter with Van Sneck. and I propose to op<»rate upon him with the help of Heritage. I've put him in my bed and locked the door. I shall sleep in the big arm-chair." David flung himself into a big deck lounge and lighted a cig-ar.'rto. "My word, that has been a bit of a business." he .said. "Pour me out a little whiskey in one of the long glasr^es and fill it up with soda. Oh, that's better. I never felt so thirsty in my life. I got Van Sneck away without Henson having the slightest suspicion that he was there, and I had the satisfaction of giving Henson a smashing blow without his seeing me." "Sounds like conjuring," Bell said, behind hia cigar. "Explain your- self." David went carefully into details. He told the story of Prince Rupert's ring to a listener who followed him with the most flattering attention. "Of course, all this is new to me,' Are Represented.. IN MERRY OLD ENGUND KEWS 3Y MAIL ABOUT JOHH BtriX AUD HXS PEOPLE. Occurrences in th» Land That Beigns Supreme in the Com- mercial World. .\lniO£t every loom in Nortti and r, â-  . .., J J. â-  North-east Lancashire in now in tuU It IS not until extra<jrdinary set- i """-o"""- ^- . »«. tings are to be presentedr-winter j ^â„¢"'^"'^°- , .i, ,• , „i^„» =/T^ ^ _â-  f 1 • d- u.. T^he postal authorxlies are about scenos. ram scenes, or birds m fliidit. , _ . _ â-  „ „i„„ ,„ ._ . .u . ,. â-  ^ .. 1 to conmience a motor mail service for inbtance^that the artist displays ^^ Warwick and Birmingham, his best ingenuity ami .nv«t.veness. ^^e recent visit to Birmingham of A group of nrusk oxen, for oxanM>Ie. | tj,e Coldstream (Juards has given • require a foot of snow. Tl.o beasts >,„„rkabl8 stimulus to recruiting ia are shown, luales, leniales and their ^jj^^j ^i(^„ calves, knee d«jp in snow, which U I fhe Fostmaster-Oeaeral has a<*- notting cooler than granulatc-I pa- j thorlzed the use of registered tela- raflme. The animals are startled. â-  graphic addres-ses in sending wir«»- and stop to ga^e. but, as sei.-n ' â€" their tracks, they have beeai rooting "^ i less telegrams. Tbcro are now in England and Wales 38*J inspectors appointed un- der the Shop Hours .\^ct, of whom nineteen are women. "Send your energetic sons to Can- ada, and you wifl never regiet it,"- said Lord Minto in receiving the And , freedom of Jedburgh. snow j By killing and tiressirg a bullock i in twenty-eight and a half minutes, Lincoln- for the sparse grass bCKwalh the heavy fall, and their snouts and faces i^iow frozen snow duat â€" uitelted paraffine spattei'ed with a utiB brush. If a scene with opajqnie ice is required, parajlin in sheets strikiijgly lends itself to the illusion, as hoar frost is made, so is dust imitated. A rain scene is artistically inji-tat- ' a butcher of Scunthrope. ed by means- of glycerine. Leaves of j shire, has won a wager of £5. trees ami twigs and shrubs are coat- i messrs. Rtrfjcrt Stephenson &. Co.. e.1 with this liquid, which, when . Limited, Darlington, have received thinly spattered over the fur of a »" order for eighteen powerful loco- mounted animal, looks exactly like ' motives for tho Imperial railways of fallen mist or condensed fog. or likfllJaP*"- ,, . . „ , ,, early morning dew. j .U M.ldenhalK Suflolk. a company Birds in flight, like the larger ani- ^^a^ b**^ f°''^^ '^^''^- ^°' °°* ^^'^- mals. are mounted after instantane- ous photographs. With wings aitJ legs soar Boll said, presently, "though I knew the family well up to that time. De-i tail feathers spread, and with pend upon it, Eniu is right. Henson i l>"''>o close, they appear to has got the ring. But how fortun-; 'n a general direction, no two bird.<». | ately everything seems to have turn- however, being posed anywhere near ed out for the scoundrel," i alike, and cvcti tho angle of flight | "If a man likes to be an unscrup-j varying with the individual, as is : ulous blackguard he can make u.se , made possible by their suspensioiv' of all events." David said. "But even i with invisible platinum wires. Not Henson is not q.'iite so clever as we ; only are such birds sbown darting ! separate courts to deal with all take him to be. He has found out j skyward from a thicket, but the as-- ' cases in which children are con- the trick we played upon him over I cent takes place from their hatching ] cerned. Chris Henson. but he hasn't the ground. The sand is thickly strewn! The some of $3."iO has been colleot- faintest idea that all this time he „^h various nestsâ€" actual nests, ed during the past vear bv ten dogs has been living under the same roof; stolon bodilyâ€" and here and there kept at various stations on the L. at Littimer." | ^p^ broken shells showing whvre ' and S.W.R. The money goes to tho "rhe girl is a wonderful actres.-." ! j,^j,„jg j,^^.^ j^^^ batched. Htre i companj-'s servants' or;.hanage. ling a year, insures watches against accident and theft up to the value of five pounds. It is statoil that owing to t:he de- predations of tourists Loixi Carnar- von contemplates closing his beautU tul park at Highclore, near Newbury, to the general public. Islington Borough Council will pe- tition tlia Home Secrel-ary to pro- vide a bill for tho astablishraent o> Bell replied. "I only guessed who' she was. If t hadn't known as much as I do she would have deceived me. But Henson has shot his bolt. After we have operated upon Van Sneck we shall be pretty near tho truth. It is a great pull to have him in the ... . ,, ^, . house among the shells on the sand "-â- ^nd a nasty thing for Henson ' * "Who will find out before lo-mor- PEACE .•VND WAR. ro'iv is over. I fool pretty sure that this hou.se is watched carefully. Any firm of private detectives would do that, and they need be told nothing either. I know that I was followed when I went to the iJhomist's to fetch that dose for our friend yonder. the tiny birds, still dependent upon j .\l the present rate of cr-joiibliiigi their mothers, sit in nests, l.ills ' England will have been swallowed i open awaiting a welcome contribu- ; up by the sea in the year 12184, ac- tion. Other young birds have man- 'cording to the calculations of a cor- ngcd to quit the paternal hon*, and respondent of the Frankfurter are striking out for themselves | Zeitung. In a private aBvIum in South l,oa- don is a gentleman who IjeHeves him- self to t>o General Stoeiswl In the same institution thore .ir? already Still, it is a sign that Honson is mean to go to sleep; he hasn't taken ' gel ti"S frightened." "Why do you bring Heritage into this matter?" David a.sked. j -'Well. for a variety of reasons.! First of all. Heritage is an old friend' of mine, and I lake a great interest in his case. I am, going to give him a chance to recover his lost confi- dence, and he is a splendid operator. Besides, I want to know why Hen A strange museum has boon found- two Marshals Oyauia am! Mika-does. ed at Lucerne. Switzerland. It is j At sixteen y^rs of age Miss May entitled the '-Mus^-um of Peace and ; Fjnmett, of BlackTjurn, Iia,^ abtaia- War. " and is intended as a com- ; ed the highest dislisK-tion m Eng- plete historv of war from the earliest land f*^"" pianoforte playmg, the di- limes. The contents are warlike ! ploma of licentiate of the Uoyal arms of all agt-s and nations, books. ; -Academy of Music, prints representing the horrors of: «? means of a now fast steamer war in their most realistic aspect, 'service, insti.tuteU by the Lancashire and ovcrvthing that can throw a : a"cl Yorkshire railway, between candid liglit upon a grim subject, Goole and Copenhagen, record doliv- The founder of the museum is M. ;<?ries of l>anish produce are toeing Joan de Bloch, a wealthy Pole who ! t"a(ie to the Midlands and tho north, is philanthropic, and per..aps a little ! Wounded at the siege ot Lucknow, eccentric, and he has chosen Lucerne ' '"t't"'*^ "'O'" ^-he 1 ' th Lancers with a for the site as bcij^g the place most sood conduct medal, having alwaya likelv to attract the largt^t numbei- 'ived an exemplary life, Henry Wil- * liam Smith has just passed away at Brighton. .A, grateful country al- lowed him to die in the workhouse. to be "' coKjiiopoIitan vi.<itors. ORCHESTR.V OF MUUDEUKRS. At the French penal colony. Nou- â- New Caletlonia. the convicts have organized a band. 'Hie leader ,', ' is a notorious murderer, and was The CHILD TORTL"RE. N'ati-onal Society for tho^ Pre- tache were growing ragged and dirtv ! son has gone out of his way on his face. He pressed his hand to ' so kind to Heritage. And, finally, | his head in a confused kind of way. Heritage was the family doctor oil - -I tell you I can't find it," he said the Carfax people you ju.«it niention- "the tiling clipped out of mv handâ€" , ed before he went to practise in Lon- ; a small thing like that easilv might, i'lo"- Let me once get Heritage j^'*-^" What's the good of niai-i:.- "fuss , round again, and I shall be greatly about a ring not worth £20? Search ' disappointed it he do.:^ not give usi . my pockets If you like. What a mm- a good deal of vaMable iaformationi °>»^^ '" ^^^ T T ,? cv,nbal n^ver - - when 'regai-ding Reginald Honson." Opera House. Ihe ciinbal-plaier; ^^.^^^^ ^^ torture. Straps of I "And Cross. What about him?" "<''l>d a subpoena-servor, and the i doscription a.-o there, sticks. â-  All this in a vague, rambling wav. I "Oh, Cross will do as I ask him.' drum-pl.,yer murdeivd his landlord I ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^.j^,, ^ ,^^ ^^^^^ ^^.^^ in a slightlv foreign accent. David j Without egotism, ho knows that the; «"" » hammer ine nrst cornet is , .^ ^^j^..^^ ^^^^ ^^^^, ^,j ghildisli touched hiin on the shoulder, case is perfectly safe in my hands, j S"''''y °} mu'der. wun roooerj as .^^.^ ^.^^^. ,j,^^^^ .^^.^^ ^j^ twi,9tcd And if we care to look after Van 1 '^e motive, and one of the claiinets. Snoc<, whv. there will be one the! °- tavern-keeper, used to kill his loss burden in the hospital. What ai patrous for the same roason, business it is! Van Sneck ! assistant bandmaster was convicted are vention of Cruelty to ChiKhvn has a I reiuariiuble museum where, within i a glass cast, is a colloctioii ot in>- "Won't you come bbck with me to Brighton?" he said. "Certainly," was the ready sponse: '-you look a good sort re- ' of lunny chiki chap. I'll go anywhere you please. I gets nearly done to tleath Not that I've got a penii.y of money left. What a spree it has been. Who are you?" "My name is Steel. I am David Steel, the novelist." A I'oculiarly cunning look came over Van Snock's face. "t got your letter," he said. ".Vnd I came. It was after I had had that row with Honson. Henson is a under this! of having cut his wife to pieces. This \ Post, lianging by itseli lere to bel convict band gives daily concerts to »>asket two U^t long aiul roof, and ho comes back her _ cured again." i the inhabitants of Noumea, who ara David yawned sleepily as he rose. 1 enthusiastic over the now organixa- "Woll. I've had enough of it for to- I tion. night." he said. "I'm dog-tire<l. and | 4 I must confess to feeling sick of thel Hensons and Littimers, and all their | ISL.\ND OF BLACK CATS. works. hooks, baniiboo caitee. aitd a chain â- YY,Q ' with a padlock by which an imbecile " " â-  was for years fastened to a IFanging by itself is a straw a foot deep in which twins werw found on a baby farm. , r , .. , . ^ . , ,,. „ . j One of the queerest corners of Including th.-ir friend, Miss Ruth I pa,.,h ;,, Chatham Island, off Gates?" Bell said, slilv 'Still, of coast of Ecuador. This island the the lies IN A CRADLE KT .SFA'RNTY. There is a nmii of sovonty in Paris nanted Wallace SuperiK?au. who still sleepts in the cradle he was i-tKrkod in wh«>ti a baby, and he ha.<» never slept ono night of his long life in safe and get his letters j bigger .scoundrel than I am, though thoy have made pretty good use 01: poo miles west of Guayaquil, and tho 1 any other bod, 'ITie voungest of a back. He did so. And in the same ; you may not think it." .you. and I expect you will be g'ad , r ,gt„r rims directly through it. I family of boys. Wallace rctainod hi9 Bate, and in the same drawer, was I "I accept your sfatement implioil- Up Ret back to your work a.gain. At j captain Reinman, who was sent to place in the cradle us he grew older f i»y-, , 1^^'^, same time, you Moe.1 not trouble ,h^ Galapagos group of islands to Hv soon booamo too tall to lie in it â- And I sot your let- your head or plots .or many a da.^ ; j^^ j^^o the pro,H"r grounding of full length. but ho overconv. this \nd you nearly I. Da^d ailmittod that the situation j^ dce:-sea cable, .stopped at Chat- Uifflcullv bv drawing his knees up- , ^ _ ^ „ l.-land. â-  •' - â-  • «• was I Prince Rupcirt's ring. When Lord Lit- ly," David said timer missed the loiters he missed! "Well, he is the ring also and a large sum of ! tor. And I called. And you nearly I David ailmittod that the situation money in notes that he had just re- ! killed mo. .\nd I <lropped it down [had its compensations and went oT celved from his tenants. Frank had >" the corner of tho coo-, s ,. i... » ,' Ttt'i tirt. Bell mot him the next stolen the ring and the money, or so "Dropped what?" David aK'..e*'i, ' »"' fresh as if ho had had a full it s..v?med 1 ahall not soon forget sharply, i night's ivst. and vouohsafi-ii the in- thai day. I ".Nothing," said Van Sneck, "What ' formation that the patient was as "After taking tho letters Frank do you mean by talking about drop- 1 "p" as po.-^siblo. He was coUl and had gone straight to Moretou Wells, ping things, l" never ilooi. any- no longer feverish. and it looked for a little time as if â-  thing in my life, 1 make others do | 'In fact, he is ready for the oper- he had tletl. Within an hour of the that, oh. eh! But I can't remember j at ion at any time." l.e said. "I discovery of his l).ss Lord Littimer : anything. It jusj comes back to me shnll get Heritage here to dinner, tnot Claire Carfax on f-.- -'iVs. She ' and then tlioro is a wheel goes round ! and we shall operate aftoi-wards with was wearing Prince Rupert's ring. â-  in my head. Who are you?"" electric- light. It will bo a good Frank had sent it to her. she said. | David gave up tho m.ittor as hope- j steadivr fur llciitagv"s iior\os. and Anybody but a man in a ftsrious ' loss. This was emphatically a case j the electric light is the best light of pa.s.sion would have si>en that the girl i for Bell. Once let him get Van all for this business. If you have got was not responsible for hor actions. ;Sneck back to Brighton and Bell Littimer told her the true clrcum- could do the rest. stances of the cn.se. She laughed at "We'd better go." ho saiti to Enid, him in a queer, vacant way and fled : "Wo are nioroly wasting lime hero." , . ham ''".yicats ON or\ and says it abounds in one of which is black. through the woods. She went down, "1 .suppose to the beach, where she took a boat thoughtfully. so. All Fnid said, the same, I !»wed herself out into tho bay. .V mila or more from the shore she Jumped into the water, and from that day to this nothing further has been aaen of poor t'Liire Carfax' "Or the ring, either?" David asked. "t>r Bight a few \ artls of spare flex from your reading-lamp 1 11 rig the thing up witho'it troubling your clectricla'n. I can attach it to your study lamp," "I've got what you want," IHivid said. -'Now come in to breakfast," â- |"hcre was a pile of letters on the table, and on the top a telegram. It was a long message, and Bell watch- should greatly like ti> know what it is that our friend Van Sneck drop- pod." It was a long and tedious journey jcd St^-el's face curioiislj . back to Briijhton again, for the pa- ; "lYoin Littimer Castle," he sug- tiont seciucd to lire easili-, and hegeeted. "Am I right?" the ring eithcM-, The sam^ evinced a marked proiiloction for, ".\s usual." David crioii "Mv Ladj- Littimer started after ' sitting by tho roadai(ie and singing. ' little scheme over that diamond star her boy. Littlnior was going to have H was very late before l^avid reach- 1 has worked iiiagi.lftcently. Miss Chris ''rank pro.secuto'1, I«dy Littimer "^l his honie. Bell boame<l his sati.f- , tells me that she hasâ€" by .Iono. Hell, "wl to Longdean Grange, whoro faction Van Sneck, with a half- 1 just listenâ€" she has .solved the pro- ward. I'^fh night to this day ho rests Jiis foc< .iquarelv on the Iwjt- ITiese animals live in the crevices of i torn of the cradle, swnvs his km>,» the lava f« nidation near tho coast, j ^^ ^ml fro. ami i-ock» himself to and subsist by catching fi.sh and 1 g,,,<,p ^^^ ^e did wh^>n a smai; crabs instead of rats and mice. Other animals found on this island are horses, cattle, dogs, goats, and chickens, all of which are perfectly wild The and habit never wa.<» torino«l broken. « boy, in babyhood SOME SUCIAHY FACTS. lite total product-ion of sug«r throughout the world is about 2,- 000.000 tons per anaum. Of this quantity nim'-tont-hs are aJTorded by the •ugar-canc. 25.000,000 tons of which are i-v<julred to pixxluce the above ipiaiility of can-,' sugar. The avei"agv of saccharino matter in tho rijic Wt'st Indian sugar-<:ano is from 18 to '21 per ivnt,. of which only 8 per cent, is nvailabU to comsucrpe. FRUIT NO VFLTI I'^t- . Tho n.nv fruit.<» (vrfected and intro- duced tv> the public during tho pres- ent year outnumber those that made their apix^arnnce during tho la.«t quaitor of a century. One of the latest nt>velti»'« is the applo-pv-ar. a combination fruit which man.v ex- |,H-rionood growers who have soni it claim will beot.iue inunonselv popular jThe total value of tho sugar in the in trade cii-c1«s. It was obtaiiietl by ; cani-. if it could be oxti^cti^J, would grafting a jKar Immch into an ap-ibe about ♦SOO.ii'W.OOO. but onc- ple stuiHp, Thtf fruit prodiicctl ha.-: , h«l( is tost in tho process of lUMnu- iho peel of an ti\^>lv ai>d -the boll lecture-. shap«> iiT a po«ir. .,|t & Ot an extra- ord;nRrv- size, measuring ir> inch"S in circuniioioncc Vh:-. combination fitiit ixwsossvs tho coinbinenl flavors . aroortling to ot the apjilo and pear, , Ireland's bogs certain the c<|>dva- lenl of .5.000 OflO.noO tern.* r^ -a».\, the est'iratp ot Sir Kiolwni Sanh'l, "I