CAPE MAY COOJTTY TIMES. SEA ISLE CITY. N. J.

eJokn Mihokand Iks Lttckyjtrf

CHAPTeK X.—Continued. —16— hwuiij: an h!s and pac*d i. ajrtli of the office Id quick. «barp When he returned to where y .. Wardlu stood, wrapped ahem In t r n.-wT. hia C»t> were clenched and , veins Stood r>t on the back of his > uudrel P be muttered. "SconnAnd I hare been tied to him. 1 L , v , i,.( him bind me; I have let him k; the atandarda. Well, now I kn-w c3 - Tliere wna j menace in his last «or« , i tbs* frlKhtened even daily* tv,-,! n. well thongh she knew' the ue.are was not to t*r. but ranced in ter defense. # •Here." he said, taklnc some bills f/ii tls pocket. "Tou must tell him j’j ctnt pi—tell him yon won’t go; : a must return his money. I will irsd you whs. you need. Don’t be tfrald. I will go with you—" “Hut I can’t take your money, either. Mr Elden," she protested. "I t,: s»ny here any looser. I will have r ; h nnd 1 can’t pay yon back, fou . . I can’t teke it. even «rom you. What a fool I was! For a few You will continue to work—for me." he said. She shook her head. "No, I can’t. I rant. I can’t work anywhere near "Tou won’t need to. The fl m of O.awsrd k Elden will be dissolved at once. I have always felt that there ait tamethlnc false !n Con ward • aethlnc that woul ’.n’t stand test IS w I know." There was a sound of a key in the ureet door, and Con ward entered. CHAPTER XI. Conward panted as he entered (he room. He had evidently not expected to Bnd Elden there, but after a men; of hesitation he nodded cordially to hit partner. "Almost ready. Mias WardlnT’ he uriced. cheerily. “Our train goes In—* H» took his watch from his pocket sml consulted It. Urve’s eyes were fixed on the girt. He wondered whether. In this testing la ment, the would fight for herself or l-an weakly on him as her protector. Her answer reassured him. "It makes no difference whta It c f. Mr. Conwa -d. Fm not going on it" Her voice trembled nervously. I it there w as no weakness In It The , ney which Dave had given her was <•» crumpled In her hand. She ad>ancid to where Conward stood vagueT trying to sense the situation, and Md the bills before him. “Here la four money. Mr. Conward." she said. "Why. what do** this mtiaT" "Here la your money. Will you take It please r "No, 1 won’t taka It until you explain—•• She opened her flngera and the bills lo the floor. “AH right" she said. Con ward’s eyes had shifted to Dave. "Tea ere at the bottom of this. Elden." w said. "What does It mean?" ‘t means. Con ware." Dare an‘■‘ered. and there was steel in hls v .'•e—"it means that after all these J<-ars I hare discovered wha* a cur y-j ire—just In time to balk you. at •vast in this Instance." ‘ ‘onward flushed, but he maintained *o attitude of composu-e “You’ve ’ drinking. Dave." he said. “I “"•ant no harm to Mias Wardln." ' Don’t make me call yon a liar as as a cur." The word cut through Con ward’s 1I * a *k of .ompoxurw. “Now by God! I take that from any man!" he ' ^ ‘Lied, and with a swing of hla arms lervw hi* coat over hla shoulders. Dur* made no motion, and Conward brought hla coat back to position. “I was right." aaid Dave, calmly. "I knew ,„ n wouldn’t fight. Yd think , '' r " ot Tour akin than you do of your •‘"•• "f. Well—if* better worth protection." lf this girl were not here—" Con■■sr.1 prcaated. "1 will not fight—" "h. 1 will lewra," sail'. Miss Wardlo. T, !h ‘■ Aa <> J bopc he soaks !’ u “■•■il.” she shot hack, as the door * 1 ••wd behind her. But by this time Conward had es- ■ •uperlor attitude. "I>ave." ' wild. “I won’t fight over a quarrel 7 il * kl nd. But remember, there are ' ir » things In which no man alb wa 1 liter to Interfere. Leant of all s ich * r " ! ° ** you. Tnetw are waya of get- ^ back, and 111 get hack." hr such a man as me* I know I "n t been much of a moralist lu : "•its (natters—l’r* been In the V b* '•owpany for that—but I draw . you're fine stuff, all ripht. ' '-t Would your frhad Mtsa Harcy “ :'- k T 1 told her all I know?" .. ‘" a know nothing that could affect

drove Into the country with Bert Morrison. when ..n the brow of a bill he switched off bis lights that they might better admire the majesty of the heavens. That Conward should place nn evil interpretation upon that Inrtd>tit was a thing so monstrous, so u! together beyond argument, bat Dave fell back upon the beak human method reserved for such o.casions. His fist leaped forward, and Conward

crumpled up before It.

Conward lay stunned for a few minutes, then, with returning consclous-n-ss, he tried to alt up. Dave helped him to a d-jl.. Blood flowed down his

their daily needs. It, too. would soon he exhausted, and Irene was confronted with the serious business of finding n means of livelihood for herself -id her mother. She discussed her prob’eta with Ber Morrison, with whom she bad formn a considerable friendship, .'he wrdered whether she might he able i get a position on one nf the newsn

pers.

Don’t think of It," eald Bert. “If you want to keep a sane, sweet outlook on humanity, don’t examine It too closely. That's what we hav- to do In the newspaper game, and that * why

face, and as be began to realize what ; we re all cynics. Keep out of It. bnd occurred It was Joined with tears "But I must earn c living." Irene

of pain. rage, humiliation. ! protested.

"You got that one on me. Elden." he “Ever contemplate marriage?" said

said, after a while. “But It was a coward's blow. You hit me when I wasn’t looking. Very well. Two can play at that game. ITl hit when you're cot looking . . . where you don't ex-p«-ct It . . .where you can't hit back. I know the stake you're playing for. nnd—I'm going to spoil lt.“ ID- turned bis swollen, bloody lace to Dave'*, and hatred stood up In hi* ejes as be uttered the threat. “I'll hit you. Dave" he repeated, “where you can't hit

back.'

“Thanks for the warning.” said F,lden. “So Irene Hardy is to be the stake. All right. TH sit In. And 111

win."

"Youll think you've won." returned Conward. leeringly, "and then you’ll find out that you didn’t. TH present her to you. Dave, like that." He lifted a burnt match from an ash-tny and held It before him. Dave’s Impulse was to sek • the thick, flabby throat In hla hands and choke It lifeless. With a resolute effort he turned to the telephone and lifted the receiver. "Send a ar and a doctor to Conward A El len's office." be said when he had got the desired number. “Mr. Conward has been hurt—felt against a

“Evsr Contemplate Mii-Hao*?" Said Mia* Morrison, With Disconcerting Frankness. desk, or something. Nothing serious, but may need a stltcb or two." Then, turning to Conward: “It will depend on you whether this affair get* to the public—on you and Mias Wardln. Make your own explanations. And ns soon at you are able to be about our ;mrtner*blp will be dissolved." Conward wa* ready enough to adopt Dave's suggestion that their quarrel should not come to the notice of the public, and Gladys Wardlc, apparently. kept ber owu counsel fa the matter. In a time when firm* were going out of business Without even the formull’y of an assignment, and other! w-rc being absorbed by their competitors. the dissolution of the Conward & Elden establishment occasioned no more than pasting notice. The explanation. "for business reasons." giv?n to the newspapers seemed suffi-

cient.

Irene Hardy found herself In a position of lurreaalng delicacy. Since the day of their conversation in the tearoom Dare had been constant In his attentions, but. true to hls ultimatum, had uttered co word that could In any way be construed to be more or less than platonic. She had now no doubt that ah* felt for Dave that attachment without which ceremonies are without avail and with which ceremonies are hut ceremonies. And yet she shrank from surrender. . . And she knew that some day she must surrender. The situation waa complicated by conditions which Involved her mother and Conward. It wa* apparent that i>nward's friendship for Mrs. Hardy d not react to Dsve’s advantage. Conward was careful to drop no word Irene’s bearing that could be taken a iarect reflection upon Dave, out abe was conscious of an Influence, a mbgnetUm. It almost aeemed. »he hole tendency of which was to pull

her away from Elden.

Mrs. Hsrd> ha 1 Invested practically 11 her little fortune In her bouse. The mall xum which bad Wen saved from hat unfortunate tovestnent bad been atm up in the cost of furnishing nnd ualntainlnx the home, imctoi Hardy.

Miss Morrison, with disconcerting frankness. The color rose in Irene's cheeks, but she knew that her friend was discussing a serious matter seriously. "Why. yes." she admitted. “I have contemplated It; In fact. I am contemplating it. That's one of the reason' 1 want to start earning my living. When I marry I want to marry a* a matter of choice—not because It’s the only way

•ut”

“Now you're talking." said Deri. "And most of us girls who marry as n matter of choice—don’t marry. I’ve only known one man from whom n proposal would set me thinking. And he’ll never propose to me—not now. Not since Miss Hardy came West." “Oh." said Irene, slowly, “I’m—I'm so sorry!" "It'a all right." said Bert, looking oat of the window. “Just another ot life's little bumps. We get uaed to them—In time. But >oo want a Job. Let roe see; you draw, don't you?" "Juat for a pastime. I can’t earn a living that way." “I'm not so sure. Perhaps not with art In the abstract. Yon must commercialize It. If you. on the one hand, can make a picture of the Rockies, which you can't sell. and. on the other, can make a picture of a pair of shoes, which you can sell, which, as a woman of good sense. <n need of the slmoleons. are you going to do? You're going to draw the shoes—mod the pay-chock. Now I think I can get yon started that way. on catalogne work and ad cuts. I Try your pencil on something—anyI thing at all—«nd bring down a few samples.” So Irene’s little studio-room begac ! to take on a practical purpose. It was work which called for form and proportion rather than color, and >n these Irene excelled. She soon found her self with as much as she could do. In addition to the duties of the household. maids wore luxuries which could no longer be afforded nnd her mother seemed unable to realize that they were net still nvlng In the affluence of Doctor Hardy's Income. Tc Irene, therefore, fell the work of the Louse, ns well ns its support. But her success In earning n living did not seem In the slightest degree to clenr the way for marrlnge. Sh* could not ask Lsve to assume the support of hw mother; partlrulnrlx In view of Mrs. Hardy’s behavior toward him. she could nut ask that. Shu sometimes wondered If Conward— For n long while i.he refused to complete the thought, hut at length, why net? Why shouldn't Conward mnrrx her mother? And what other purpieucould he hove in his continuous visits t-» their home? Mrs. Hardy, although no lonrer young, had by no mean* surrendered all the attractions of her sex, and Conward was slipping by the period where a young girt would be hls natural mate. If they should marry— Irene- was no plotter, but tt did seem that such a match would clear the way for all concerned. She was surprised, when she turned It over In her mind, to realize that Con ward had won for himself such a place in her regard that she could conteru plate suet, a consummation as ver.much to oe desired. Subconsdou-l.' rather than from specific motive, sin assumed a still more friendly attitude toward him. (TO CONTINUED.*

Meaning of “Selah" Tho word Selah, which occurs so frequently In the Psalms, is usually believed to be a direction to the ti. fclctans who i hatited the Psalms Ir tintemple. Mat heaon- the great mu-deol critic, wrote a book on the subject. In which, after rejecting a number o? theories, he on me to the conclusion tint! It la equivalent to the modern “da capo.” and Is a direction that the air or aong Is to he repeated from the core mencenii-.it to the part where the word la placed.

OHK M1HOK la not a character In n short story In a fi-tlon magazine. He Is a real, flesh-and-blocd He lives at 19C South Twentieth street, ha. Neb. He l« a furniture polisher and has worked at Ids trade for stx years in Omah:i. He has n wife and five children. He mn walk Into n national hank In Omaha and be Identified. And what's more, people In hls neighborhood point him out on the Ft reel and say : There tie is. That's John Mlhok hlmielf.” John Mlhuk was born In the village of Nagy Korns In eastern Hungary. In the Mihok home on the shelf over the fireplace ane of ;ie ornaments was a small -ough stone. Hls father had picked tt up ot.e day beside n stream nrj had brought It home. It was u curious sort of stone. Here and there through the rough covering pretty ' 1 colors showed. Altogether tt was an oddity and tether pretty. So the family k- pt K over the fireplace for years, whll.: young John Mihok r-ss growing up. The boy wonted to come to America to seek hls fortune nnd the whole family paved for years to hoard up the money to pay his passage. At last the time came for him to start. When he said good by hls father took the “pretty stone" fr»m the shelf and put It In John's l and. “Here’s a keepsake for yon. John; something to r*m<-mher the old home by. Maybe 1- will bring you luck In the new country across the water." John thanked hi* father and sain. "Sure enough; maybe It will be my treky stone.' And be put It In hU

pocket.

The voyage hy steerage from Trieste to New York was long and tiresome. John cot tlre-1 carrying the stone In hls pocket and chucked It Into hl« h<c canvas hag. with the rest of hls thing* One day he was rummaging through hls bag nnd came across the stone. He showed It to some of hls fellowemigrants. While they were looking at the stone and he was telling them Its story, a party of first cabin passengers came along on a slummingtrip through the steerage. One of the sightseer* offered him V> for It. John w. k tempted, but finally decided to keep li because h!s father had given It to him. At Elllv Island the customs Inspectors went through hls scanty belongings. The lucky stone was right there In plain sight with .ne rest of hls things. But the Inspector* never gave the stone a second glance. This wa* In 1903. John worked In various jiuices. Ills first Joh was !n Rcranton. Tn.. where he married. Then he worked In Cleveland. Ohio. Six years ago he c» to Omaha. And now fce Is a citizen of the United States. In the menntlmi: the Mihok family in the United States wgs growing. It grew faster than John’s earnings did It grvw almost n* fast a* the H. C. L. Tt wasn't always easy for John and hls wife to make both ends meet. One night John was rending a newspaper and came upon a story of n man picking up a ruby beside a stream. Naturally the aturv Interested him. And naturally It set this poor mar. with a wife and five children to thinking al-out hl« own lucky stone Flnally be had what a native xon would call a hunch. The hunch anld: “Maybe your lucky stone Is a ruhv too. Take It to a Jeweler nnd And out what It u.

hn took the hunch. He hnntup hi* lucky stone nnd went to

the Jewelry shop of Joseph I*. Fret.ter In South Fll’eenth street. He banded

Sfam& 9^ Sa/vi Sf/Jtok over the stone to Mr. Frenzer end

said;

"Here's a lucky stone' I’ve bad for yean. Can yon tell me what It Is and If It's worth anything?” Mr. Frenzer smiled and took the stone. But It wasn't one of thoae smiles that won't come off. It vanished !n short order. For the Jeweler, after a few simple tests, could give a shrewd guess at what John's lucky stone really was. He slid to John; “It’s a ruby. And It's a big one. I guest It's a good one. But you'll hare to have tt cut to find out what it's worth. What you want to do is to take tt to Chicago to a lapidary *Jid have It cut.“ ' John thanked the Jeweler and : walked out of the shop In a date And the more he thought about thing* the more dazed he got. "Take It to Chicago and hare It cut!" The Jeweler might as well have told him to take tt to the man in the moon. Hut Jobs had not been here sixteen 1 years without assimilating a fair amount of Yankee shrewdness, and after ranch bird thinking he went to Rev. Father William F. Rlgge of Creighton university. Father Rlgge Is something of a scientist himself and quickly saw that the stone was In all probability a ruby of great value. He also realized that John was In a good •leal of the plight of a hungry hobo with nothing but n thousand-dollar bill. I So Father Ulgge called tn Edmund 1 McCarthy, a lawyer. They told him i :he whole case up to date. John ot- | fered McCarthy one-fourth of what the stone might bring If he would take charge of the whole affair and manage the cuttiug. polishing and marketing Mr. McCnrthy accepted the offer. Lawyer and client were soon on their way to Chicago. “We did not sleep a wink that night | nn the train. I can tell you." said Mr. t McCarthy. “We both kept guard. I \ won’t tell yon where we had the ruby, but It was In a mighty safe place." "Arriving tn Chicago we asked for the name of a precious stone expert | nnd In due time come to the establish j ment of Gustof Glllmsn, lapidary. 1*34 J Webster avenue. “Our hearts were In our mouthr 1 when we hand«*d the stone to him. I | What If the Omaha Jeweler and sclj entlst had made a mistake* What If 1 i the ‘lucky stone* wa* nothing but a j •pretty stoneT "The expression on Mr. Glllmann’s ! fare was not encouraging. He smiled j ia little as Mr. Mihok undid the pack- 1 i age la which reposed the stone. Mr. , i Glllmann too* the stone In hls hand ! land Immediately the cynical smile dls-j j appeared. Hls «ye« seemed to bulge J end hls mouth op.-nod. I “.-Ir gave an extltsnatlon. then Irtish-o »lth the atone to hla workin ••ra and pu* 1: throng*: •-urlous tests, talking nil the while la most excited ' fashion.

“And then he told ns that we bnd a wonderful ruby. He could not tell how pure It waa before cutting It. but he said It was probably one of the finest gems In the world of Its kind." Mr. McCarthy and Mr Mihok took turns remaining with Mr. Glllmann during the process of cutting and polishing and when the work was completed the lapidary turned It over to them saying: "There’s yonr ’great Mihok’—and It*» all I told you It would be—sod more!“ The two men took the "Great Mihok" back to Omaha with them. Then sat np ali night again and hardly dared mention the precious thing even Jr. whisper*. In Omaha they went directly to the safety deposit vaults of the Unltotf States National hank; rented a bos and saw that the lucky stone that had been kicked around for sixteen years was oecurely locked up. with the key In their possession. Then John Mihok went homo and told the good news to bis wife. "She wouldn't believe me at Cm when I told her we would not hare to work any more and that we could move In a nicer house where we would have electric lights." he said, "but now she believe* me and we wll! have comfort In life. ; “We will buy e new home. I knew a nice one. Just what we want for $4,000. And we are going to hay s little automobile. The reit of the money we will put In Liberty hoods. I think. There it Is safe. "We are no fools. We don’t spend It all end w# don't try to get rich quick. We put It nwny for our old age and for our chlldrtr’s education. The oldest boy. who left school last year, will go back gain and maybe vrw make a doctor o him. All the children got now a good education. My dead father wls the giver of all my good luck. We are thankful. Indeed, and very happy." And how much Is the “Great Mihok" worth? Well, here Is what Mr. Glllmann says of John Mihok'* “lucky atone”: “The ’Great Mihok' I* a genuine pigeon blood ruby: Its color Is s deep carmine red: It is flawless; Its specific gravity is 4.05: Its weight Is 23.C carats; tt Is the largest ruby I ever saw or ever heard of; I believe there Is one tu India that weighs about IT carats; large rubles are scarce and valuable ; one of ten carats Is about ten tl i-a as valuable as a diamond of the same weight; Altogether, 1 should say the ‘Orest Mihok’ Is worth about JC0O-

000."

Collar Ironing Machine. Laundrymen have long used a curved plate with a s. If-heating. grooved Iron for smoothing the folded edge of linen collar* so that they will not Irritate the neck. An improved machine has now app sired, however. In which clever mechanical design takes the place of the nutnan skill f r» inerty required. As the operator rotates the Iron a hnll-bearlug roller nn a ramltke track carries It gently onto the cdlar. and. after the edge has been Ironed, off the col’ai t -d out of the way.—Popular Me, banlrv' V ig*-

zine.

Bananas.

The banana i< a perennial hertw ceous plant, growing from year tr year from an underground root stocl with a stem or stulk from 10 to 1 fret high above the ground. The pl.tu has drooping leaves, hut no branch.ke fruit trees of the north eoufilrier Each stalk produces one largo *-lu*!.

rod OjI- of fruit. After fruiting, the stalk !-• bis was j cut down to the surface of the gronni 1 tppiying i and grow* up afrin from the root.

Reminders of Early Days

. one learna from an article ■v Y'ork Time* Magazine, has : on on.y s yeAr. but the field ! of the New York Historical s discovered a cave and fire-

aborigines and dnt-

ihillty.

historical society expedition for recovering hurled treasure !u and around New York. The plan might be carried out In other large cities with pleasure to the explorers nnd profit to total of historical collection*.

then gilt

Of '

tiling ;

•us hoi

j and ‘.hen tangible

t ozoenslve part o