The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-12-22

each Sunday and Wednesday Hector McKill found employment for his fla
 cility in misquoting and distorting
 Scripture, and condemning others to
 eternal torture for their inability to
 see eye to eye with himself. He even
 got certain following, at least at
 first. There are always in Scottish
 church es & few of what may be called
 "dissidents from dissent" Socialism will
 never make any real progress in Scot
 land. For the good reason that, even
 in religion. particularism and private
 property In opinion are so ingrained in
 the nation,- that no three men can ever
 agree with each other or be of one
 mind upon any subject-above all about
 religion.
 Still with the aforesaid dissidents, the
 rif-raff ever ready to enter any new
 Cave of Adullum, and a few honest
 men driven to follow the senior man
 ager for reasons of bread and butter
 Hector McBill gath cred a certain mea-
 gre following
 He was less successful. however,
 when he invited "all interested in the
 dissemination of the truth" to send in
 special requests for prayer. One of
 these notes (strictly anonymous. it may
 well be presumed pointed out that the
 MHlttd StPultiiitS oI liAt Nltiillg we're
 much in need of new coats of paint.
 and urgent prayers were asked for
 the sameD Another remarked upon the
 tattered condition of the local hypo-
 crites' cloaks, and suggested a fresh
 supply as an object to be borne in
 mind by MT. McKill on his next We'd
 nesday evening.
 A third referred to the "second exits"
 of all the Incubus pits as pressing pe-
 T KTI,4 H.. .t.-
 ten in Uniformed caligraphy with a
 strong slope to the left, suggested an
 immediate general rise of 10 per cent
 on the wages bill, and an inquiry into
 the sanitary condition of the houses re-
 gently acquired by MT. Hector McKill
 with the hard earned savings of a life
 time.
 In fact. as MT. McKill well said,
 Such an exhibition of the lowest and
 most debased rascality made him al-
 most despair of human nature" He re-
 piled by putting up the rents upon his
 tenats, so as to pay for the expenses
 of the service in the Oddfellows hall. What would have been meanness in an ordinary man, was only the approved
 necessary wisdom of the serpent in an approven vessel like Hector McKill. That Hector was harmless as the dove, was abundantly proven. In fact, he ad mtted as much himself.
 CHAPTER XIII.
 Brought to Book
 Of all Vida's lovers, the most subtle, persistent, and best equipped with ar
 gument was one who never appeared in the public, whom none ever saw knocking at the door of the little cot tage at the wood gate.
 This was, in fact, no other than James Kahn, the Confidential himself. He had studied his abrupt and pas sionate master, and on the strength of the knowledge so acquired his exploit ed him thoroughly. He knew that much of Jacob Romer's apparent hardness was the effect of a very real remorse. He believed that if he could only pre- sent to his master, daughter fair, stately, and--this was essential-mar- ried to himself, James Kahn, she would be immediately taken to her fathers heart. Also MT. James Kahn would slip without trouble into the success sion of the Romer millions, towards which his heart yearned as bride groom toward a bride.
 There was something else, of course. Vida Bryan was to him a beautiful wild animal, and he promised himself the luxury of tanning her. That this would be a real pleasure he doubted not. He admired her. He missed no
 turn of her 1.-the form, no expression of her vivid face. The energetic traits
 of her beauty were in accordance with his own curiously savage taste-Ghetto crossed with Serb of Belgrade-a bad blood and a dangerous breed.
 A singular and apparently causeless | jealousy fired Kahn into angers all | the more terrible because they had ! to be contained so severly. There was
 no reason in the world why he should | not have come to Globe End openly and | by day before everyone. Vida was a | poor girl. and his purpose of marriage | apparently unselfish, and even noble. | But he could not sit and see Vic Nor 1 ris enter as if the place belonged to | him. or even, in Vic's recent absences, | Phil Calmont. Yet withal MT. kahn | was the most modern of men. in so far l as apparel went-wearing sleeve | like turn down collar, narrow wisp | of tie in crepe de chine confined with | minute gold fastening .Legginged | and wind-coated and fiat-capped, he was the complete chaffeur. But in a | little sheath, double-stitch ed by him self into the waistband of his trousers. | he wore a knife, or rather dagger, 1 very sharp, workmanlike and war ranted to bridge easily and swiftly, for any one who displeased MT. Kahn, the | gulf between time and eternity. l What is more. his Serb blood made him inclined to serve himself with it.
 But he was wise enough to know that in this century, and in peaceable liti- gious Scotland, such a mode of set | ting difficulties would assuredly be gravely inconvenient for himself. His jealousy was so extreme that | he had dismissed two chauffers in sue | cession--one because he showed con ! trary to the wont of these gentlemen, too great an interest in his masters | journeys to Globe End and what he did | when he got there.
 | After the second time he conducted for himself But ever since, on the night of the fire, Vic Morris had so 1 nearly run off with his car James
 Kahn had walked all the way up from "'rhe Carayanseria," his red brick house on the other side of Kirktown a good couple of miles, which in man so little disposed to exercise as the Ghetto Serb spoke volumes for his
 earnestness of purpose.
 Month after month he wooed Vida with mixture of sentiment and saY- agery which warranted that wise young lady in considering him to be
 mentally deranged Sometimes on moonlight nights violin. played as
 no Briton could play it, could be heard sending forth strange out t-of-the-
 world music from the pine woods under her window. or a batter of pebbles ietted from beneath would bring her to panes down which the moisture was running freely. Vida would look out and discern dimly in the rain the figure of q man in a long cloak standing be-
 meath the window in the shelter of the n nn