Evening star., 1901-09-07

some time. They communicated indirectly.
First a pyramid of beer barrels eooK the
opportunity of collapsing as was crossing
the brewery yard. 1 escaped by the SKIN
of my teeth, and though 1t was an accl-
dent. Then there was a gas explosion IA
my laboratory, and the place was "reS1Su
body and walls. BY the greatest miracle
on earth I'd just gone outside, ana the
only victim was strange man, VINO was
blown to rags That made me suspicious,
and, when walking across the heias mere
tonight a man came for me with knife,
I'd this revolver ready in my pocket eno
showed him off with that.
"Shoot him?''
NO: what was the use poor rogue? He
was only a paid tool earning his dirty pay: !:
and besides, I didn't want to get myseh
into a row with the police Nice snug place
to spend the evening In. this. McHinnie, t.
isn't it7 Don't you think you'd petts1 ~
and sleep at the hotel, like sane Chris
tian?"
81 do most distinctly; and I'll go If you'll
come with me-"
mo, won't, thanks. Luck on the hotei.
for one thing. And, besides, I'm going TO
see 1t out here. I'm not going to let those
scoundrels think they've scared me-. or
course, they deny all knowledge or these
outrages, and it would be Impossible to
father them on Hatton Garden. Indeed,
Levenstein has at this moment libel suit
pending against me for an open letter l
wrote to him on the subject. But there
not the smallest doubt that that's what
they're after"
But. my good fool they've oceans OF
money. and if they go on long enough
they're bound to bag you at last.
"My dear McHinnie, they won't go on.
They'll get my uitimatum tomorrow morn
ing That points out that the working
details Of my invention are written upon
paper, and bestowed In safe Keeping else
where. In the event of mB death that plthy
MS. will be forwarded to Printing House
Square, and form a column Of very inter
esting reading in the Times newspaper next
morning. To every one above the grade OF
costermonger that disclosure would be the
sensation Of the century,
"Quite so. What figure do you charge Tor
leaving things as they were?'
"a pension of 600 900 a year SO long as
keep the recipe to myself. Tomorrow morn
ing they'll know Of this, and the conditions;
and they'll be bound to accept Tonight
they don't know, and so assassination still
strikes them as sound business. But, as
say, tomorrow there'u be a meeting of the
available chiefs of the ring, and they'll
snap up my terms. I'm dirt cheap at the
price; they'll have to screw that 100000
per annum out Of the acknowledging pub
lie for a good many years to come yet
You see. they wouldn't cut short the pen
sion by Staying me- because, ipso facto,
they would smash their own trade by doing
it. AS a very necessary life insurance, /
naturally stick to the publication clause in
the newspaper on the day of my death. So,
1 fancy, McHinnie, I've got that Diamond
mailer-''
A crash and a binding explosion cut short
Macdonalds s sentence. The further wall of
the place swept bodily toward us in a whirl-
wind of smoke and flames; and as the blast
smote me on the head life appeared to tear
itself away with a jolt and jerk.
1t was by very marvel Of marvels that
in that moment we were not Transmitted to
the clay whereof our corporeal bodies were
formed. Nothing but the tank had saved
us. But the advancing breath of the explo-
sion had driven us over the brink, and the
water had acted as cushion against the
shock. So violent had been the power Of
the bomb thrown against it that Of the
building nothing remained but scattered
mound Of dusty rubble.
By it's agents the Diamond Ring had
lifted its hand against Conrad Macdonald
with lust to Slay, and by it's agents the
same coterie drew his unconscious form
(and mine also) out of the chilly haven Of
that water tank By a curious irony Mr.
LeVenStefn was the first person to bring US
assistance. He had just arrived in Burton
by special train to say that the demand
for the 100000 annuity was agreed to.
have never seen an Israelite so effusively
genial and civil as Mr.. Levenstein made
himself whilst he attended to our physical
needs after that explosion.
The process of blossoming out into
man of means was one did not see as the
French were going up to Timbukhtu just
then, and 1 wanted to go with them to see
er 1t was only magnfed joke. AS it
turned out, the neighborhood proved in
tensely interesting, so l staid there a long
ish time; and when got back to England
again. Macdonald had quite settled down
to the new order of things.
That tank, the only creature comfort Of
his working days was forerunner Of what
is the mans abiding place now that he Is
come into enormous wealth. On the flank
of his more stable residence he had built
him huge house of glass, and filed 1t
with palms and bananas and palmettoes
and other tropical foliage plants and ferns
There Is no method or order in their plac-
ing, nor are there concrete walks about the
place. Some of the floor is soft short grass
the rest water, winding in deep narrow
channels in and out of the islets of foliage
The temperature stays In the sos.
Here Conrad Macdonald, in the garb that
nature gave him, basks and swims and
dives for six hours of the day and medi-
tates over an airship built on natural prin-
ciples. He studies the flights of birds and
butterflies and insects which skim and
futter in the warm air around him. but
till now he has made no practical effort to
put his observations into shape. Yet l
think he will make that airship.
If you don't know Macdonald, and do not
believe this tale, go round to Hatton Gar
den, and ask any diamond merchant there
Jew or Gentle. how much he pays toward
Conrad Macdonalds pension. He may wax
eloquent, but the odds are he refrains from
giving civil reply
Good Dentistry Preserves Health.
From the New York Times.
People who read in the papers of Thurs
day morning that the mortality of the
country. had materially decreased within
the past ten years." said a prominent
dentist, probably had little thought of
what consider to be one of the greatest