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IIIE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN (AND NEWS) Published Every Afternoon (Except Sunday) 3y THE GEORGIAN COMPANY It 25 West AtnUnma St.. Atlanta. Ga, Subscription Rates: One Tear XU Months Thre- Months On* Mv'fjtlj ... By Carrier. I>‘r Week ... ...JIM .... 2 M :: ! I Telephone* eontieetlnp nil depart ment*. Long distance terwhmls. Smith .V Thmcpsoo. adrertlsfny^rep- raaentntlves for sll territory ontslue of CMrSm Offlre .... Trlhon. BiiIMInt New Vork Offlc. .... Brnntwlrk Ulilg. If yon lure any trenMe (retting TUB Oi:0n«IAS AND KBWC telephone the drrolstlefi ilepnrlment eiort have it promptly remedied. Telephone.: Bell 49K main; Ailnuta 4WL /-.■iliseiibers desiring TIII5 I3EOR. GUN AND NEWS discontinued mint ootlfy ml. office on the dole of explra- _ ordering n change of address, plenit* give Ike old a. well •• the new '■iiuitMia< nnif »»ti « o w »» words In bngtlt. It Is Impcrstlre that they be slicneU. as an erldenee of good faith. Dejected manuscripts will not lie returned unless stamps ire sent for the fnirpose. THE GEORGIAN AND NEWS prints no tufclenii or objectionable ndvertls- lap. Neither does It print whisky or any liquor ads. AND NEWS stands for Atlanta's own ing Its own gA* and electric light plants, as It now owns Its water works. Other cities do this and get C HS •• low ns TO cents, with a profit the eflr. This should lie done at oooe. THE GF.OItGIAN AND NKWB relieves Hint If airret rnllwnjrn eon lie operated sneresaftillr by Bnrope.ii ntiea, on the, ore. (here to no good nn nederbiklnff. •cl it* tore In lh.f direction NOW. Rolling bones gather no coin. Too much brew makes tco many brut sent. Near Orleans Is the latest victim of the Sunday lid. The law la trying to squeese the water out of the Illinois milk trust. Would yon call the man who carves epltnpbs on tombstones a monument al liar? Antomoblllng puts wrinkles into women's "faces. It puts crimps Into pedestrians very frequently. A porker roateil up some bombs In Russia,, thereby changing the old adage to "root bog and die." Somebody ndvtoes girls to marry round-faced men. Most of them look for the men with a round wad. "I bet you can't shoot my bat off,” eald n California man to a companion. The head went alryig with the hat. It cotta $2,000 a year to keep a race home. Race horses cost some men more than that who do not keep them. Senator Burkett looms potential as vice presidential timber. He Is tho only man mentioned to date for that Job.' > ' Young Rockefeller soya money Ib not good for poor people. It's easy for a man like that to Bay such a thing. Pittsburg concerns will turn out 300.000,(00 tin cans uezt year. Geor gia will bo a closed market on them in a few days. A Burlington minister delivered his Christmas sermon in verse. A man must be well versed In Biblical lore to do such a thing. A Chicago man aays St. Louis wom en have larger feet than those of the Windy City. Most people will be from Missouri on that statement. Wisconsin has selected interior decorations for her new state capi tal. They will not be like those used on Pennsylvania's state house. If old Sam Houston could only come back and see what George Bailey It doing to graqdoldlexas he'd be sorry he' rounded It Into the Union. "Prohibition goes to bat In the South In two weeks more," says The Detroit News. Paradoxical as It may seem. Old Booze will get "canned” In this teagne in a few days. A twenty-tnoath-old baby boy can lift a scuttle filled with cool. When lie's ten yearn old be frill complain that It's too heavy for him, Just like all boys do. Booth Tarktngton was arrested In Indianapolis the other day for kick ing a detective. Still one would hard ly have supposed that Tarktngton needed the advertising. Shipments of turkeys from the South bested the Eastern gobbler trust. The Richmond Tlmes-Dispatch will probably claim that old BUI Skll- Itt, of Henrico county, Virginia, ship ped most of them. In 2,000 years the shape of fish hooks has not changed. The size of the Osh caught with them changes constantly, however, being guided solely by the aMUty of the man tell- AS NEARLY AS WE CAN SEE IT. There Is so much being said about hard times and good times and prospects and probabilities that we may well stop a while and take a little Inventory of the country and conditions and then take a new start. The newspapers sometimes protest so much that we find ourselves doubting whether we should believe everything, and possibly we all fall victims to the fault of whistling too loudly. So let's talk It over a little and see what there la to expect. It Is true that business Is still somewhat depressed—business has had a spell of sickness and requires a little time for recovery. Just as a man who has had typhoid fever—but there is no denying that strength Is returning to business. To begin at the beginning, wo must' consider money—money was at the seat of It all. And while most of-us believe that Wall-st. tried to punish the country by holding back the money, the, fact remains that money was tight. The public got scared and began to call on the banks In New York for their money, and as a result some of the banks were placed In receivers' bands. Of course, the news spread, and the whole country began to tighten. Savings depositors began to give sixty days’ notice, as required by law, and It looked as If hard times had set In. In actual fact, howevor. It was not as bad as It may have seemed, for the actual hank clearings, which mean the amount of money handled In the banks, last month—at the height of the money scare—was, for the United States, about 29 per cent less than November a year ago. Wo do not consider this serious in view of the rCcord-bt-caklog Increases we have grown to expect. Then, too, we see plainly that the seriousness of It Ib over, nnd the most unmistakable sign Is that the day after Christmas was sixty days from the giving of notice by savings depositors in New York, and hardly a depositor called for his money. Again, the government, when the situa tion wag acute, set put to Issue on* hundred nnd fifty millions of bonds, which would really put that much more money Into use, but stopped when only a quarter of It had been Issued because the need for It had passed. And soundest of all. Is the tact that In November this year the treasury had nine hundred and four millions as against one hundred and sixty-four millions tho samo time In 1893, when we had our last panic. So If dollars are dollars and credit is credit, the money question Is righting Itself, and we have long since passed the pedk In the hill and are going down the other side. The next step, then, Ib business activity and labor. No one can ex pect that everybody will be as busy as usual, when everybody Is econ omizing and trying to do with leas. Wo know of merchants who have bought lea* goods, consequently they Will sell less, and for awhile there will bo less labor required In the various factories of the world to pro- duco these goods. But this Is only a natural precaution, and the very workman himself began to economize possibly before the merchant did, so nobody is to blame. This Is all righting Itself, nnd those who read closely will see that where labor was laid off early In The depression. It Is going bock to work, and In other sections U Is Jnst being laid off. We read that the railroads 'ore laying off hands fqr short periods and that the New England cotton mills are going to cut their output 25 per cent for a few months, but we read, on the other hand, that tho steel trust Is putting six thousand men back to work and conditions are grad ually going back to normal. Now as to ourselves In particular: The storm here has centered around the failure of one of our banka. It was an Interesting tact that on last Saturday, tho day tho bank opened for tho last time, there was almost the old spirit among our business men, and Christmas buyers were as choerful as they ever were. So let’s remember that any cloud that ha* been oast over us locally by this unfortunate evont does not nfcan that the country at large has slipped back a step. And certainly Atlanta hat not slipped back, for the Noal Bank did not get into its pres ent condition this month, nor last month, nor probably this year, and maybe not last year, but had been doing what It ought not to do with tho people's money for some time, nnd the only difference Is that you have found It out. whllo six months ago you were In Ignorance of It. If the little run of last Saturday had not happened, everybody who bad money In that Institution would feel Just ns rich today as If they had the cash In their hands. It's always best to know where we stand, and Atlanta Isn't any worse off—It only thought It was better off. Wo have heard rumors of some of our friends being booked for fail ure who we know are not only paying all tlietr bills bat have paid ovary bill In advance and taken the cnBh discount. On the other hand, we know of some about whom the public has not tost any sleep who art) strug gling against odda that sometimes they fear they enn not meet. Even If we had a few failures that could not bo helped, it would not ruin our city nor our state. Frank Munaey, one of tho greatest suc cesses of the age, says he has fatlod, but ho figures that If be falls five times out of seven ho has still succeeded. We are founded on too firm a rock—our own prosperity rests In tho necessities of life, whllo even the Industrial sections have quit talking about the past and are looking ahead. Tho longer we talk of the mat ter and the longer the papers print about It and “whistle thru the grave yard.” the longer we will feel depressed. So here's for forgetting It all and throwing up our hat for the future. "To see the good In people is not so much an act of charity as of justice.” firowth and Progress of the New South Tlif» Genrglau here record# curb d*7 *anif ecouomlc fact la reference to the onward progress of the South. BY JOSEPH B. LIVELY Fort Monde. Fin., Is not a new town, yet ot the present time It's n boom town and thoro u protmbly no plate In Florida that is growing faster from a business viewpoint than this old Indian historic tort town. Fort Mc-nde from Its present rate of active growth will boon be one of the progressive little cities of Honda. If tho writer expected to lie/here when this article fa read It would lie safer to say **Ng cities.” However, the town Is growing and reel estate Is booming. A newspaper. The Fort Meade Observer, Or. William F. Zander editor, is one of the recent business enterprises, nnd Is a credit to the town nud profession. Many new cement •izJ brick buildings ore In course of erection and many wore planned to be built In the near future. Some of the richest phosphate mines In the state are located here nnd add much to making this one of the best growing business towns lu Florida, nnd with the flue orange groves nnd vegetable farms lu every direction surrounding tho place Fort Meade baa a fntnri* second to noue In this loud of flowers ana fruit. Frostproof, Flo., the land df lakes among the bills of virgin plue forests, the natural home of fruits and flowers, with Its many flue homes surrounded l»y orange groves of perfect green nnd gold. Is no doubt one of the most beautiful •pots In beautiful Florida at this season of the year. Here the grower lives content In the knowledge that bis fruit win not freeze and cause him to lose all of that which Is necessary to support home and family. The Greenfield, Tenn.. Fruit Grower*’ Association held Its annual meeting December 6. A very Interesting report of the year’s work was rend by the secre tary. showing the association to be In excellent condition financially. Great prepare* tlona ate being planned for the coming /ear and It Is estimated there will be l.SOO to 2.00) acres cultivated In the various fruits and vegetables. The shippers ajl not In perfect harmony nnd Greenfield Is sure to become the largest shipping point lu West Tennessee. SOME LITERARY NOTES ItHIHNMMMMUIIilHHHil By WEX JONES. "Mtltbjr'* Millions’’ In n thrilling story of mystery. The central figure., miserly old John Mil It by, has feifed up two million dol lars from the 4|»roflts of his peanut viwd. Ills wealth Is all In gold, nnd Maltb. teeps It bidden In a sock under his chair. Sain light Is tempted by the’ stories of Mnltby’s fair to the nutfcor to teli how Ham reforms and marries old Mnltby'a beautiful daugh ter, who hnd been entirely forgotten by the miser until Bnm drew his attention to her ono day lu Brooklyn, where she had gone to be alone. Sylvester Souffle, whose latest book. “Tops/ Tarry," Is selling In some stores as faat as I (on testa Biscuits, doesn't like to work In the morning, ond never thinks of doing anything in the afternoon. Work In the evening ho dislikes very mneb. and work at nlgnt Is. of course, out of the uues- tlon. As n result Mr. Souffle takes a long time to write a long novel. "Tho Commercial Aspect of the North Pole” Is published by tho„Ynrvnrd Society for SWcntlflc Research. An the North Pole has no commercial aspect, the author has done better than might have been expected. Hooks of travel nre always Interesting, lome of the lw»rt published this season ore: "Tiffin in Tibet," by Anglo-Indian; Anyone. Books afford a flue field for the dlwrlml* anting selection of Christina* present*. They can be had to match n!mo»t any fur niture. Boy* will be fs solas ted by "Around the Globe." It I* ft thrilling story of adven tures In many land* nnd »eas. Hve boys build nn airship which, by the ejeetlou of gas nnd by loading with lead, can bo con verted Into a knbnmrln*. They fir to the North Pole, dire to the bottom of the ocean nnd catch a whale, which they train to fol low them by feeding It with eon* of sar dine*. When the boys nre chased by rob ber* In tho Sahara J>e*ert the whale kills the bandits with a blow of Us tall. There nre many other realistic Incidents that win Tbre# ton* *0ld In two day*. "Troy Tenor, the Cowboy.' f Order It now with your winter coal. Second edition of ten tons now ready. "Troy Tenor Is a character that grip* the render like a door closing on yonr thumb.”—Book Weekly. "There are no files on Troy Tenor, tho Cowboy.’"—Heury James In the Evening Ghost. Order a hundred weight for yonr fnmlljr. —Advt. MADD0X-RUCKER BANKING CO. CORNER ALABAMA AND BROAD STS. I F you are thinking of opening a bank account, or of changing the location of your present one, we would invite you to look into the facilities offered by this institution. We are confident that we can help you. Consult our officers. THE PARMENTER MILLIONS ... A Stirring Novel of Love, Conspiracy and Adventure. .. (Copyright, 1907, by Artbnr W. M urchin out.) TAKING OF NEXT CENSUS WILL COST S14.000.000 A YOUNQ SOUTHERNER SIGNALLY HONORED. The appointment of William James Bryan, ot Jacksonville, Florida, to fill the unexpired senatorial term of the late Hon. Stephen R. Mal lory has brought Into national prominence a remarkable young Southern er. Only tblrty-one years of age. Senator Bryan has been signally hon ored In being called to a position "bf great political distinction. His col leagues In tho senate will be men generally of much greater age and ot much longer experience In matters appertaining to governmental affairs. Ho will be compelled to contend with and against men trained In tho In tricate phases ot national politics by years of active participation In tho problems and policies which have made the history of tho times suc ceeding the Civil war the most vital and Important In the annals of tho country. That Senator Bryan Is equal to thts supremo test ot hts Intellectual attainments and of hts capacity to deal with the great political prob lems of the day his Georgia friends have little or do doubt Graduating at Emory Cotloge, Oxford, In 1896, Mr. Bryan was regarded by his class mates and by Uls college professors aa destined for a future public ca reer of great usefulness and of unusual brilliancy. That these prophe cies and predictions were not born simply ot personal regard and af fection is evidenced by the remarkable honor Just paid him In his ap pointment as United States senator from Florida at thirty-one years of age. Senator Bryan corned 1 of a brainy race. His father held various po sitions of treat and honor In Florida and his people have made their Im press upon the political and legal, history of that state. He la a cousin of the great commoner, William Jennings Bryaa. The appointment of so young a man to so elevated an office must of necessity prove an Inspiration to the young men of the country and es pecially, to those of the South. This recognition of worth. Intellect, capacity and aptitude, regard less of the limitations of youth and of the political aspirations of older and mare experienced men, baa opened to the aspiring young men of tbs South another' door of hope and opportunity. It has also established a precedent which shall serve as a guide for the future preferment of young men In the South who prove themselves worthy of party advancement end of political prominence. The Georgia friends of Senator Bryan—and they are scattered throughout the state— rejoice la the distinction which has come to him so easily In his life. They also predict that the fat nre bojds no limitations to hit politi cal career which has begun with such a splendlt' recognition ot bis Intel- • I—>--.i rml of M» mer-t worth. , Washington, Dec. 27.—A bill will be passed St this session of congress‘pro viding for taking the 1910 census, which. It Is estimated, will cost $14,- 000,000. Bills for this census have been prepared by Director North, end have been Introduced In the house and sen ate. Actual work of taking the census will begin April IS, 1000, though the enu meration of population does not com mence until April. 1910. Heretofore the enumeration bos been token on Juno 1. This change will have the effect of showing great gains In the population of cities like New York. Boston and Philadelphia. Director North says that the summer resorts begin to attract tn May. and that If the census Is delayed until June 1, tho enumerators will find many vacant houses. Many Supervisor*. In the lest census 000 supervisors were employed. It Is proposed to have ISO supervisors for tho thirteenth cen sus. The bill provides that these super visors shall be authorized to begin work on July 1. 1909. eo that the enu meration districts can be laid out and their geographical limits clearly defined and scrutinized In every locality, with a view to the correction of omissions and errors. Mr. North says he will make an effort to have hlgh-clsss men designated as supervisors and to this end he proposes that these officials •hall be paid a minimum compensation of *1,200 a year. The supervisors ore to bo appointed by the president, and so far aa practicable and desirable the boundaries of the supervisors' districts are to confirm to tho boundaries of the congressional district. There will be one supervisor for Greater New York who will be paid a salary approximating $6,000 a year. In most cases the supervisor la to be paid a compensation based upon the popula tion of his district. PEOPLE AND THINGS GOSSIP FROM THE HOTELS AND THE STREET CORNERS '•Bee that msu sitting there with the Mrspaper lu front of, hts rare? sri-ed Itnsxer Dutton, of the Piedmont. 'Well, e's « Pinkerton detective, swl the tost time he was here he hsd the cltaso of hie IlfeV No. 1 don't hnow what hts name Is this time. I looked itnttthelsst time ho mi bore, bat Ife probably different now. lb newspapers reeembfinr resistor al two countries were wrs printed tue etory snout n men lie Heymoml Ullcbeook trying to at the l'ledmont when the potlre of tilrles were aearehlug for the actor. na not printed i lowing the night . ' Per Capita Cost. The appropriations for the twelfth census were approximately 113,500,000. Mr. North asks an appropriation of *14.000,000 for the census of 1910. The per capita cost of the first cen sus taken tn 1790 was $.01212, while the per capita cost of the cenaus of 1900 was $.1650. Mr. North does not think there will be any Increase in the per capita cost of the thirteenth census. There ore now (35 clerks employed In the census office. About 3,600 cferks will be required for the thirteenth Cen sus ft Is proposed also that there shall bo (5,000 enumerators instead of 45,- OOO, the numbor employed in 1000. This Increase In tho number of enu merators Is made necessary by the de sire to complete the work of enumera tion In a shorter period than hereto fore, To this end, the enumeration districts wll be reduced from 4,000 to 2,000 population. In all elites over 5,000 Inhabitants, the enumeration Is to be completed within two weeks after April 16. Insular Csnsua. In 1900 there was a grand scramble for census patronage. Each senator and representative was permitted to nominate a limited numbor of clerks. The nominees were then submitted to a sort of non-competitive examine tlon which was conducted by the offi clals of the census office. If the nom inee proved utterly unsuitable he was not given an appointment, but If there seemed to be doubt as to his qualifica tions, political Influence had a material bearing on his retention or dismissal. Mr, North says that he thinks it will be possible to compile the statis tics of population In three or four months after the close of cnumeratlim. It Is estimated ttuit an additional ap proprlatlon of ll.oOO.OOO will be re qulred If It la desired that a census of Porto Rico and the Philippines shall be token In connection with the enumera tion In the staten. ARMY-NAVY ORDERS AND MOVEMENTS OF VESSELS. a get Now, the •round mouthed. But that man sag don't (to shouting their Identity from the house tope and they are mighty m wanted r ail that everybody else knew. Ite o Sir. Hradidreet, the clerk. who - — — be recog- iiTuphreldeJ lTraitoireet"u«iii«c he didn't grab the wan and bow blui snd i asked all sorts of ouestlsws us to the usau s descrip tion and the tllre.-thm hs took upon leaving the hotel. Finally be uuU bate thought he wan saving too mack and getting too ex cited. for he calmed down and speut the day in a search of the town. That was the last time I saw him until today, lie's looking tot eosoe one now. If you set,over to one side you will see he tout reading that ns traps per, bnt Is esrefslty siting an thatusu at the writing -jerk nearestJhW« Anid when the wan at the desk nulled bis letter and went oat. tho fly cop followed. IL Gresham, formerly with the Bss- lmard la Atlanta, W taw city ticket agent nt Birmingham for the spent Christum In Atlanta and trill l>e here la the Seaboard ofrtce a few dare helping out daring the holiday rash before relnrulng te Birmingham. Officials of the United Stsfee district at torney’s office sre now st work preparing • report for the department of Justice on the work done « the tost term <>r wort. This will be finished before ike first of the, new end will show that n ronaideraldc it of hasliieaa boa been transacted of ... a criminal nature. While there have hoeu cnnalderrd sertoos and be expects to be at no Irc-o ivm-her of Me ccsre. tt*-re nee hts cot-— a grin in a day or two. Army Orders. Washington, Dec. 27 Captain Raymond U. Stevens, Twenty-third Infantry, from general hospital, Washington barracks, to proper station. Navy Ordsrs. Lieutenant Commander C. M. Knepner to Iraruau of ordnance; Ensign A. C. Kail to duty connection fitting oat Montgomery and duty on board when placed In commission. Movements of Vessels. ARRIVEIt—December 3, Connecticut. Ver- moot, IcmlslQim, Kansas, Georgia, Virginia. New Jersey, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Ohio, Author rf “By Right of Sword," Synopsis of Previous Installment. Purvis becomes convinced that Olive knows more about the Merrldews thnn she Is willing to tell. He threatens her nnd she telln him about Selma Ibtmtnond. JPnr- vIs declares the girl Is bis daughter. Olive explains to him that she bns friends search ing for Selmn.' Purvis declares ho will pro* tect Olive ngnlnst the Merrldews. Selma herself might be able to Influ ence him. but even then the greatest care and tact would have to be used In handling him. At present his resent ment against the Merrldews was main ly caused by their treatment of his child. Olive had carefully worked on that, fostering the feeling and feeding It with references to the shame of treating Selma so abomlnally while they themselves were In the enjoyment of the luxuries of Sllverbeeeh. She had harped on tills In the last short conservation, ond he had taken fire readily, declaring fiercely that Sel ma had as much right as any of them to be at the Manor. It was clear that the girl must be brought to the Manor, but that again might Involve a risk that Olive would gain less than nothing as the result. It would certainly bring about the dis covery of Olive's Identify. She had told Purvis her actual experiences with Selma, while at the same time leav ing him to assume that they had met as fellow servants. Selma would at once reveal this misrepresentation, end It was Impossible to foretell what ef fect that would have on such a nature as that of Purvis. She thought this over and over, and at length decided to send the man to Mr. Casement to meet his child and then have the - truth told to him by the lawyer himself. But a hundred obstacles suggested themselves at once. As a convict Pur vis would certainly shy nt saying a word to a lawyer, especially os’ he himself must In some way be concern ed In the fraud. If there \Vere one. Nor was It practicable to offer him a reward for telling whut he knew, for the reason that he would have more to gain by holding his tongue. More over. even it he agreed to any such proposal, his story might not, and so far as Olivo could see would not, up set Mrs. Merrldcw’s claim; and then there would be no money with which to pay the promised reward. He has said he could destroy the whole scheme; but then a man In a rage was apt to say anything and threaten far more than he knew he could ever hope to accomplish. Of all the difficulties which Olive had had to face, this problem of dealing with Purvis offered the greatest per plexities. She wished fo make the res toration of Selma the price of getting the truth from the father; and at the samo time to conceal her hand so that he should not know her object. Hour after hour she wrestled with the puzzle without finding any solu tion that even promised success; and she was dispirited and harassed when she went up to her room. Then another phase occurred to her. Had Purvis himself been actually con cerned In the fraud? Could he have take any part In It? She recalled all that the Sheffield solicitor. Mr. Ring- rose, had told her of him. He had cer tainly been on the spot at the time, He had engineered her father's rain. Ought she to have questioned him about that old time? He clearly was Mrs. Merrldew's husband. The latter hail not attempted to deny It when ahe believed she and Purvis were alone to gether. Then suddenly the probable solution occurred to her. She had been blind ns bat! The thing was plain. Mrs, Merrldew was, of course, already mar ried to Purvis when she hod married her father! Surely that would be the easiest thing In the world to prove. Agents must be at once set to work to trace that out. For that she must have photo graphs of both Purvis and Mrs. Merrl- dew, and these she could easily get, There were plenty of likenesses of Mrs, Merrldew about the Manor, taken at different ages, and there was that pho- tograph df Purvis which she hnd seen with the report of his trial. She would get that at once and sand It to Mr. Casement with her new Ideas, and would at the same time send one By ARTHUR W. MARCHMONT. “When I Was Czar,” Etc., Etc, cretly after the household had retired for the night; and such a step on his part bodeil mischief to some one. To Pdrvis, of course, was her Instant thought. She could not hear what passed In the bed room, but after a time Merrl- dew passed through the room, switch ed off tho light and went out Into tht corridor. Olive lay where she was for soms time, fearing that ho would return- and ttum crept stealthily to the door and opened It. "Is that you, Gilbert T' cried Mrs. Merrldew, as the lock clicked slightly. This meant that she was expecting him back; but taking the risk, she opened the door, slipped through, and gained one ot her hiding places in safety. She stayed there resolved to watch. She was certain that some black work was Intended; and her heart was beat. Ing at the gallop with excitement and dread. She soon had confirmation of her worst fears. The sound of blows, a groan, and the noise of a short struggle came from Purvis’ bed room. Here, then, was the meaning ot the secret return. Murder! , CHAPTER XLIX. The Scared Household. As Olive stood dazed and awestruck by the gruesome sounds of the deed In Purvis' bed room, she saw In a flash the meaning of what had so puzzled her a day or two before In Merrldew's conduct—his apparently empty threat to hand Purvis over to the police. It was Intended as the cover to this deed of blood. To account for his dis appearance It would be a very plausible story that Purvis, hearing of Merri- dew’s Intended return, had fled rather than face him. The cunning was wor thy of the man. Before Olive could decide what to do the door of Purvis' room opened and Merrldew came out carrying the man across his shoulders. Purvis was not dead. Olive heard his breathing as he was carried past her hiding place; but he hung limp, helpless and unconscious, and she saw that his hands were tied to his sides, Merrldew carried hli victim along the corridor Into a room In the unused wing of the Manor. Olive Jumped to the conclusion that he had been afraid to complete ths work In tho bed room and meant to finish It In the deserted room. This must be prevented at any risk: and ai soon as she eaw where he was going, she darted out to raise an alarm. If possible she must do this without letting It be known that It was her act; and the means occurred to her as sho ran. There waa a big electric alarm bell In tho house which could ba set clanging from a push on every floor; and one of the pushes was close to her room. Once started, It could only be stopped by an appliance below stairs. She set It to clanging and then dart ed Into her own room. She tore off some of her clothes, and, os the fright, ened servants came rushing Into the passages, she Joined them and ran with them downstairs, making more clatter and show of alarm than anybody. On the floor below Merrldew, white as death and trembling with rage and consternation, met them and angrily demanded the cause of all the hubbnb, who had rung the alarm bell and tor what cause. To start the belief among the scared maidservants that there were burglars In the house waa an easy matter; nothing spreads faster than the con tagion of fear; and Olive, with a hint here, a etart there, and a cry or two of fright, soon convinced some of them that they had actually seen the thieves. Some one must go round the house, or they would all be murdered In their beds, was her next suggestion, put for. ward thru the frightened housekeep er; and as soon as this was settled upon and the commotion waa at Its height, Olive succeeded In slipping away. She knew that Merrldew would he afraid to go near his victim again un til the commotion had died down, even If he had ventured to do anything more at all that night; and she had thought ot a means of saving Purvis. The room to which Merrldew had taken him was one which led by n se cret means to an Inner chamber which had been one of the famous hiding places of old. The Inner room was reached by the' concealed staircase from the ground floor of tho unused wing—the same staircase which had enabled her to escape when she had followed Mrs. Merrldew when the lat ter had hidden the papers. It ran right from the top to the bot tom of the manor. Rushing up to her bed room, Olive snatched up a little flask of brandy and a bottle of eau de cologne, threw on her dark cloak, de scended the staircase, gained the Inner chamber and from that entered Ihe room where Pyrvls lay. She had been right. He was not dead, and her little lamp soon en abled her to see the extent of his In juries. Ho had been struck a heavy blow on the head, and was stunned. But no blood hud been shed. Olive knew the reason. She had read or sandbagging, and Merrldew had had recourse to that method with Purvis. For a long time she endeavored to restore him to consciousness, but witu- out success, and at lost had to aban don her attempts. Precious time was passing, snd with out waiting for him to regain bis senses she dragged him Into the Inner cham ber, and, returning, opened the win dow of the room where he hod-been carried. Intending to suggest the ImPD*: slon that he hod recovered and had strength to escape. It was now necessary for her to go and seo what was passing In the house, and for this purpose she went back up stairs, and, leaving her cloak In J" room, ran down to Join the other servants. . ... Fear had now given way to curiosity and superstition. Who had sounded the alarm bell? No one knew. ridew. furious at the Interruption jjjj fool been plenty of work of a minor nature. Postmaster Blodgett nnd the army elerks nud carriers under hts supervision nre now getting tlm Mrst rest of over s s *raw James ft. Sledge, well known over the state In newspaper circles, Is quite III st the home of I'mnptreller and Mrs. William A. Wright. Mr. Sledge began Ms newspaper career on Atlanta newspapers, afterward going to Savannah, where he worked on The Morning News and Press. About a year ago Mr. Sledge's health fullest somewhat lu Savannah nud he r.-tme to Atlanta, where he fins t-een employed by the Southern Hell Telephone Company. As s uewapaprr writer Mr. sledge waa foreefnl and accurate, mat his frleuda In the pro fession wish for him speedy recovery. As the result of a toll down the steps of hla residence, U> Capitol-sre., early Kri day morning. Deputy Bhertff A. J. Shrop shire sustained several painful bruises. Which necessitated confinement to hie Inst throughout the day. Mr. Hhrnpthlre was going down the steps when be slipped and foil, striking bl* head upon the ground with considerable force. His Injuries sre very painful. Ini: are not r two photographs ot Mrs. Merrldew. Elated at her fresh plan, she put on her dark cloak and stole out of her room on her quest. It was fate and the great house was hushed and still. But she acted with all her usual cau tion. She crept down by the secret staircase to the floor on which Mrs. Merrldew had her suite of rooms and noiselessly made her Way to that In which the bureau stood that contained the likeness she sought. She felt her way acroos to the bu reau, opened It stealthily and found the packet she sought, doing every thing noiselessly nnd quickly. Her electric lamp cast a ring of light Just sufficient for her purpose; and she was taking out Purvis’ photograph from the little packet when she started. Her quick ear had caught a sound somewhere In the house. She thrust the whole packet Into her boaom, ex tinguished her light and closed the desk. As she was turning to fly, the door which led through Into Mrs. Mer- rldew's bed room wps opened. "AH right, mother. I’ll get It. Where la the switch 7” It was Gilbert Merrldew, and In an other moment he would turn the light up and she must be discovered. "Close to the opposite door, said Mrs. Sterrldew from the bed room. Olive saw him, and with her heart in her mouth she stooped and crawled under the eofa by which she was stand. ^Merrldew heard her, but mistook the sound. "Don’t get out of bed, moth er”,he called, as he found the switch and turned on the brilliant light. "What did you say?” “Don't get out of bed. I say,” he an swered Impatiently, raising bis voice. 'I'm not. Gilbert." "Oh, I thought I heard you. All right. Here It Is;” ond having found what he sought, he returned to the bed room, leaving the door open and the light on. Olive was thus a prisoner. 8he lay ‘ tUZ-VV. IUIDIUB SSI. MIC U.SS..S-K-— . vriivc niu niu» u i:riJKiner. wne lay scheme, had off*rtd t*D' .1. fool unde* the sofa almost afraid to breath*. I *crop oul speculating fearnomely us to the r**u-1bundled neck and cr p •on for Merrldew's return to Hilver* the house on the Instant.