The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-04-06

foliage is green and luxuriant, ferns ana
creepers mingling in wild confusion. ana
the feathery palms and bambOOs crown
ing the underground add their grace ana
charm to the landscape.
In the calm waters of the inland sea
near one of these islands a steam-launch
lying at anchor, from which party
had already disenlbarked and rowed away
in a small boat to the shore. A govern
,nent official was one of his visits Of
inspection and had brought with him Jew
specially selected companions to share the
pleasure Of the trip. The said official had
gone off to the capital to transact his bust
ness with the Chinese Captain, who was
the acknowledged head Of the coolies on the
island, and meanwhile two of his guests
were strOlling along the shore of a large
lake which they had come upon quite
close to the sea, picturesquely situated, ana
surrounded by steep-sided limestone hills
1t looked inviting for a bath, but having
inquired whether any crocodiles were llKe-
ly to be hidden beneath its placid surface
and received doubtful answer from one
or two natives who had followed at their
heels, they decided shat discretion was the
better part of valor and turned their races
for further exploration towards the hills
One Of them was middle-aged, with a
rather tired and worn expression. the
mark of long residence in a tropical
climate; the other was about hVe ana
twenty. Of medium height. with tar
HluSldCne anu DTlSul DiuS CJ co, OiOo'N'
strong. and active looking. His dress and
military bearing bespoke him to be a
soldier.
This will be your last expedition for
some time in this part of the world, won't
it, Wizard? You are going on leave short
, ly. hear"
Yes; 1 am off in a few days. by the
next P. and o. mail, and 1 shant come
back again."
"Hows that?'
"Why, didn't 1 tell you? I'm going to be
married and only came out for a time be-
cause her people insisted on years en-
gagement. The fact is, Miss Marshall is
an only daughter, they wouldn't hear OF
her coming out East. and l expect her
governor won't rest satisfied until I've
chucked the army and settled down as a
country gentleman somewhere IN their
part of the world
Lucky fellow I wish I had the chance.
But its getting uncommonly hot no" the
sun is up. If you want more walking 1
think I'll sit down here and rest for awhile
till you come back.
well. I'll go on bit further. They tell
me there's a joss-house just beyond this.
and | should like to have look at it. L
might pick up something quaint to take to
Miss Marshall. She's dead nuts on curios:
and with a nod and laugh he went on his
way along the jungle path which they had
been traversing. AS he assembled the path
narrowed and eventually came to ana END
before the shrine he was seeking. IL was
unmist akably Chinese joss, cut out or the
rock, and very rough specimen OF It's Klno.
There was an outer ledge on which were
placed flowers and offerings, and DIS OF
cOlOred paper which had been partially
burnt were scattered on the ground before
the primitive altar,on which stood an image
of Buddha heWn out of the stone Al the
side was a further small shrine, square
hole cut in the rock, and inside this mole
there stood an idol in the shape of triune
god, carved in ivory, with jeWeed eyes, ana
evidently accounted precious, as some oars
had been fastened across the opening, ap-
parently with the idea of keeping 1t secure
AS Malcolm Wizard examined the quaint
specimen Of workmanship the thought
ma ssed through his mind that If he could
get possession of it for his lady love 1t
would be an acceptable gift to carry with
him the following week. "A Chlnaman Will
do anything for dollars" he said to him
self, and he look around to see where the
custodian of the place was to be found.
After shouting once or twice to attract at
tention and getting no answer ne maze up
his mind that there was no one about
Loath to relinquish the carving he coveted
he took hold of one of the wooden bars and.
shaking it gently, drew 1T out in his hand,
when he quietly slipped the idol into his
pocket saying to himself, Il will make
bargain with them when 1 get down to the
village and, turning, he started TO RECON-
his friend to whom, however he did not
mention what he had done at the joss
house. When they reached the village they
found that the official had completed the
work sooner than he had expected and was
waiting them with some Impotence on the
shore so as to get back to the launch be-
fore the turn of the tide should make 1t
too late to row over the shallow water
which covered the mud to within short
distance Of where their vessel was moored.
In the hustle and hurry of departure Wizard
forgot all about the tiny idol which he car
ried with him. lying snugly in his pocket,
when the launch steamed out OF the bay;
and it still lay ensconced there when his
boy packed his boxes for England, and, In
fact it was only discovered by him when
he took it out Of the coat half way on his
voyage home.
..Mysterious attempt at robbery. Mount
worth Park. the residence Of Sir Neal Cor
dillon was burglariously entered the night
before last but it is supposed the thieves
were disturbed at their work. as nothing
Of value, so far has been missed The dogs
had been drugged, as they were discovered
next morning lying about in different parts
of the house and garden In coma tose con-
dtion. The furniture in the drawing-room
was displaced, and the door Of Lady Cor
dillOn's boudoir, which had been left locked
on the outside, was found open. The in
truders had not gone away hungry. as
they had supped on some jam tarts which
they found in the larder and carried into
the kitchen, where they had evidently
washed down their impromptu repaSt with
cold coffee, jug Of which had been left
standing on the table. A carriage maya
zine, belonging to Capt. Wizard, a guest in
the house. and some other cases which
were in Sir Meals writing-room, were
carried out to a shed in the garden, and
there ransacked and the contents scattered
on the ground, but nothing appears to
have been taken The police are Investigate
ing the affair."
Such was the paragraph which Hilda
Marshall read out aloud to those seated
country house, her mother and her BRIDE
maid-elect Freda Birchett. And as she put
the paper down she said:
Really, 1t is a most remarkable thine!
Malcolm has only been at home 70
months. and during these few weeks De-
sides the time he spent here, he has paid
two visits. and on each occasion there has
been an attempt at robbery in the house
Don't you think it most extraordinary,
mOther?'
well, my dear it is certainly strange
coincidence, and rather an unpleasant one
for him. l hope the same thing won't oc-
cur when he comes back to us the day
after tomorrow, or that if it does, we shall
be as lucky as the Conditions and manage
to surprise the thieves in time"
Freda looked up from a piece of fancy
work she doing and said:
You remember, Hilda, at the Grey
Thompson's 1t was exactly the same
Everything ransacked: nothing taken Very
mysterious, is it not?"
$50 much so that 1 begin to feel rather
nervous about his coming. 1t is enough
to make one supersttious. and 1 almost