i .i A GAME FOR LIFE. It was night in the camp of Maxi~ 1 --milian’s army, and sounds of merri« ”31111th were heard upon all sides. In a tent in the inner circle‘of the camp sat ‘two officers at a rude table . upon which was ma1kcd with lead ‘ pencil a. draughtboard, while black and ,white buttons served for the~“men." They were prisoners—scltliers in the service of Juarez, captured the day be fore—but their appearance indicated that they were not Mexicans. Capoul Monteith,‘ the light haired officer, was a young man of wealth and good family. Garnet Weston. the brown hair-.ed was a young lawyer of good though poor parentage. He was fast winning a name when he crossed the path of Mabel Monteith, the sister of Capoul. One day a pretended friend told him _ that'Mabel was his promised-wife, but , that their engagement had not yet been made‘public. Three months later found him a c'av- alry captain in the army of Benito ,Juarez, where in a few weeks he was surprised to be joined by Capoul Mon- teith, who had also offered his services to the Mexican president. Suddenly a. heavy tread resounded without the tent, the sentinel challeng- ed, there was a response, and three of Maximilian’s oflicers entered, one of 1 Whom was an American, another a .Frenchman, the third '3. Mexican. “Gentlemen,” said the American, “I am sorry to disturb you, but news has come to-night that Benito Juarez has executed a captain of our army, and I have orders to-select one of you, and march you forth to die in retaliation.” “You cannot mean that one of us must die for an offence against Maxi- milian by Juarez?” said Capoul and Monteith, rising. “Such are my orders, but I know not which of you to select.” “Let the gentlemen play a game for the chance, the loser to die,” suggested the young Frenchman. The two friends sat down. Ten minutes passed, twenty, and the game was won by Capoul. The second game, too, was won by him. ‘ “Great'heaven! Garnet! old fellow, I feel for you from my heart!” cried the winner, the tears starting to his eyes. Garnet pressed his friend’s hand as he said quietly,— “I was ever a poor, unlucky dog, Ca.- poul; but, my friend, when I am dead, look in my saddle roll, hanging there, and the papers‘you find please deliver to the proper address, and—and—Ca- poul, say to—to Miss Mabel I left a farewell for her. Gentlemen, I am ready.” - An hour passed, and the American officer stood before him. “Well?” said Capoul. “He is dead.” Slow. WEEKLY - nonwhpu ; a groans; the sorrowing friend. “Yes, Captain Monteith, he is dead, and though I have seen many men die, I never saw one face death with such perfectly calm indifference as did ' your friend.- He gave the order to the ‘platoon to fire and fell instantly, but Jere he died he erte this note to you. ” In ,Garnet’s bold hand was written:-- “I could have won those two games, , but Iv-gave my life away to save you, for I loved Mabel too dearly ever to let her brother die where I could be sacrificed instead. I dare tell you this .now, for I stand on the brink of my open grave. Farewell!” Three years passed, and one pleasant evening a "horseman was riding slowly ,aiong a highway traversing a. fertile ’ English valley. Three years had added more dignity to the face and perhaps saddened it, but otherwise no change had come over Capoul 'Monteith’s fine features. Upon his right hand, setting back from the road, was a pretty farmhouse, surrounded by fertile fields, and, the sight promising well for a night’s “lodging for man and beast.” Capoul turned in at the white gateway, rode . up to the front door and dismounted. 1 l 'the steps to greet him, i l The owner of the house descended and. Capoul Monteith stood face to face with Garnet Weston! up its dead?” cried Capoul in dismay. "No, old fellow! You find me flesh and blood, ready and willing to give you a hearty welcome to this my home, left me by and old bachelor uncle a few months since‘. But come in. I will tell. you all. Around a well spread table that ev- ening he heard how Garnet had been carried forth to be most bunglingly ex- ecuted, how a squadron of Juarez’s cavalry had appeared and frightened off his executioners are the first pla- toon had retired and how a watchful ranchero had seized him and borne him to his ranch, where, after months of suffering, he recovered. “But, old fellow, why did you not write to me?" asked Capoul. “I did write to my old law partner, and he said you had moved away, none knew whither.” “True. Poor Mabel failed in health, and I took her to the continent, but we soon returned. Mabel is contented if not happy.” “She married “She married? Fiddles-ticks! No; she never had any idea of marrying any man excepting yourself, and you went off to Mexico and nearly broke her heart.” Teacher (of juyenile class)—“John- n‘ie, what was the first thing the Puri- tans did when they landed at Plymouth rock?” Johnnie—“They fell on their knees.” Teacher—“That's right. Now ' mmy, what was the next thing they 1 id?" w."— Chicaso News. Dolly Waltz. THE MUTILATED EAR. It was getting toward nine o’clock when my attention was attracted to a pretty little girl who was tripping across Regent Street. Just as she reached the curb she slipped upon a patch of ice and- fellheavily. It. took me about half a second to reach the little woman and pick her up. She was shaken by the fall, though not injured, and I had to support her for a moment. ' I had tramped up and down my beat three or four times when a baré‘headed cashboy ran out of one of the big shops and yelled at me,— “Come quick! The manager has caught a. shoplifter!" “Ah, officer,” said the manager, who was a mere business machine, “I-am glad you have come. One of our clerks at, the lace counter discovered that a valuable piece of lace had been stolen and gave the alarm. This woman hurried away from thecounter. The lace was found in an outside pocket of her cloak. This is the piece on the desk here.” There was a sudden movement on the part of the woman. She snatched her handkerchief from her face, ex- Tommy—“Fell on the aborigg tended her right arm and finger, which shOok with rage, and, turning her blazing eyes upon the business ma- ; chine, she fairly screamed,— “Great heaven, has the grave given ] “’Tis false! I am no thief!” She was the black-eyed little girl that I had picked up scarcely half an hour before. Then she told me her little story. She was an orphan and had been brought up by an old aunt in York- shire. About six months before this her aunt had died, and she came on to the city and turned her hand to lace- making and had been able to support herself'decently since then. ' She said that she had stepped into 3 the shop to make some small pur- I chases and was arrested when walking ‘ away. She protested that she did not know how the lace came to 'be found in her pocket. I explained the case to the sergeant at the station and got his permission for her _to sit in a chair in the office instead of occupying a cell all night. Somehow I couldn’t get the sorrow- ful look of those black eyes out of my mind, and I couldn’t sleep, and when daylight came time hung on a peg un- til coult time came. I walked around thinkin'" lfi'i-Yel the case. trying to arrive at some solution favorable to the girl. Of course when we got to court Min- hie—that was her name—was con- victed in one, _two, three order. She made no statement——just stood dazed like—and the judge held hei for trial in the cou1t above. As they led the giil away she was the picture of death. I gave her a 110d of encouragement, but she returned it with a look that said just as plainly as words could have said,— "‘My heartgis broken.” CLARA A. Korma .-_..,L. . ‘9' 4 ,A____.__, .__,__ ,___., l l J I had questioned her closely as to the appearance of the people who had stood near her at the lace counter. She could remember none save one fiashily dressed woman who had at- tracted her attention because of a re- markable mutilation of one of her-ears, as if a. piece had been cutout in a tri-_ angular form. I persuaded the superintendent. to: grant 9 leave of absence for a couple of days and went to work. I over- hauled,“ the pictures at the office and gazed hard and earnestly at the feat- ures of every female “crook” in the _“rogues’ gallery,” but I could not find- the one I was after. At last I fell to read1fig,the remarks under the picture of a. bold, handsome face and was knocked all into a cock-- ed hat by the words:— “Has a triangular piece cut out of the left ear.” I had a long talk with a detective . friend of mine, and after awhile he was able to, place the woman and told me where she most frequented. All that day and nearly all the next I was on the lookout for that lady and was despairing when a big, handsome woman swept past me, actually brush- ing against me with her sealskin cloak. I glanced up and fairly started, for, one of her ears was mutilated just as the girl and the note in the office had described. The woman swept on, and I follow- ed. She entered the very shop where I had arrested Minnie and went up to the very counter where the lace was stolen and began examining the stock. And then, selecting a. trifle, she paid for it and turned to go. I was in a. quandary. But I was de- termined to make an effort and run the risk of making a serious mistake. Step- ping up to her I touched her shoulder and whispered,— “Come with me. I want you a mo- ment," at the same time looking straight into her eyes. Every drop of blood left the wo- man’s face. She fairly trembled for an instant, and then she looked back de- fiantly and went with me. We had moved but a step or two in the direction of the bookkkeeper’s den, where the girl had been searched three days before, when something struck my feet. I stooped and picked up a bundle of lace. The woman had dron- ped it. I was right. I had found my thief. Seeing that she. was caught, the shop-lifter owned up that she had stolen the piece of lace. When ac- cused of the other theft for which I wanted her, she confessed to that too. My, but wasn’t that a grateful lit- tle woman! She just can and placed her arms around my neck and kissed me. I was kind of taken back, for, although I rather enjoy kissing, I don’t. like too many witnesses. I married her two weeks afterward, and the business machine gave her a two hundred and fifty dollar outfit and was glad to get out of the awkward fix at that price. \ hyperbole, H A "I E T '1" "1. ‘THE BUSINESS WAY. _Jack wanted to, but Lady Mary didn’tpand that’s the way it all ,me about. Jack swore she was the 'ery daintiest , sweetest, loveliest girl on earth, added a great deal more of love's and—e‘t're .. nous—even soared into poetry occasionally, when he read to Christopher Columbus, her pet bull terrier. ' -But as Christopher wrinkled his nose decidedly and his tail did not _show the least intimation of a wag, Jack tore it up—the poetry, I mean. The trouble was Jack wanted to pro- pose and couldn’t. For never did he bring up the eventful subject but Lady Mary would go off at a tangent, pos- sibly because Jack was using round- about ways. As Jack confided to his chum, (who shall be nameless for various rea- sons),— ' “Do you know, H., if I speak of sun- sets, she will immediately have a wild desire to discuss ethnology or irregular Greek verbs, and HI Should ever men— tion love—not that I ever have, you know, but if I ever should, hang me if I don’t believe she’d ask me how my liver was.” By which it can readily be seen that Lady Mary and Jack were on the best of terms, and the very intimacy seemed to preclude the possibility of anything more. One afternoon I was lying on the river bank industriously fishing, while Jack sprawled upon the grass alter- nately reading and scribbling. Then he looked up and observed complac- curly,— “Now, I flatter myself that’s rather good. Listen,H.:—— . “The weary sun has sunk to rest, And with him fades the dying day. Come night, come hour I love the best. Fit time love’s winning words to say. “Pretty good, eh?” “Good? Oh, Lord! change those last two lines. should say:— “Alas! still lives a love-struck crank, Who can’t say what he wantsto say. “Besides, ‘best’ isn’t good grammar, if you’re comparing day with night.” “Hang it all, H., Tennyson himself could not please you.” Then a long silence which he at last broke with: “Say, do you think she would have me?” ' “Oh, take a run around the block! How do I know? There she comes now, and I give v 011 faii warning if you two stay here and scare all my fish away I’ ll tell about the poet1y.” Diiinely tall and most divinely fair was Lady Mary. She came tripping sedately over the tender grass, the mountain winds kissing a delicate peach blossom into her cheeks. Jack, with his customary facility, rose to his feet and the occasion to play the gal- lant. Neither of ’em paid the slight- est attention to me. I was supposed You want to You ’75: 5:51 . - ~ I. ..~ -J_ ' ,d,_':_';“,::t ‘ ‘ W "’ ' .3...» a..- :- to bejdoao.‘ . “Jack,” she said sweetly. ' “I want, you. to row me up to the store. Will you?" Jack is a finished oarsman, at least he generally finishes it in about ten minutes. eating, so I gave up the fishing and watched them. (Mem. later: down the river, Mary’s parasol.) Now, Jack being one of those fellows! who believe in never losing an oppor~, tunity, calmly rowed the boat out in the middle of the river and then, as I-._ predicted,_shipped the oars and opened the conversation. “How well we get along together in a They have drifted‘ both behind Lady? boat," he remarked, gazing sentime-nt— . ‘ ally at the cliffs: “Yes,” abstractedly, “but I wish you’d row up to the store. I don’t want to waste the whole afternoon drifting like this.” “No, of course not, ” waking up sud- denly. Two strokes. Then, “I wish we could always “Theie are a. lot of new people com- ing to-night, ” she b1oke in. “Mr. Eg- gleston told me so.” “Did he? H‘ m!” Then with a bril- liant idea, “Are you ever interested in otherepeople?” he asked in his most beguiling tone. “Oh, yes—now, there’s Christopher Columbus. I’m.interested in him. I wish I had him here this very minute. I’d kiss his dear little nose.” “If I were only Christopher Colum< bus,” insinuated Jack. “I wish you were sometimes," she cried wickedly. “Then I could shut you up occasionally, couldn’t I?” Now, what could anybody do with a girl like this? The end of it was that Lady Mary took the oars and rowed to the store herself. Jack came to me disconsolately. “I wish I was dead," he said. I told him how annoying it would be to me to have him lying around dead. He said I talked like a fool. “Jack, my dear boy,” I said, patron- lzingly (I am two months older than he), ‘fthe next time you try to pop the question be like a bottle of ginger ale. Go off with a bang and let all the fizzle come afterward.” , “I never thought of that,” he an- Iwered thoughtfully. “I wonder how it. would work? By George, H., you're I. trump. I’ll try it.” That evening they were both down by the spring, and I hid behind a tree. [ didn’t hear the first part of it, but I got there just in time to hear Jack say,— “Lady Mary, be my wife?" “With pleasure.” she answered gay- ?y. “You silly boy, why didn’t you say so before?” “Just what I told him,” said I, com- ing from behind the tree. "Did you? kiss me for that. Keep still, Jack.” And I did. I love you. Will you I knew it was to be inter- ~- You dear boy, you may‘.
Norwalk Chronicler