HORT STORY

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 412, 7 April 1904, Page 7

HORT STORY

i. To cm* Dr. Anstruther stood six-feet-two in hit stockinged feet. At college he had beam acroirnted one of tie beat athletes the onivenity had ever produced, and from that alone it may be readily intoned that Ansttothar was not the man to be »aaily stirred, especially by anonymous letters.

It was on a mild October day that the doctor received the first one. It was •Hbjted in a scrawling hand, evidently disguised. ' Do not go to 310, Merton Street, under any consideration. This is the advice of a tineeie well-wiah?r.' Anstruther tossed it info the wastebasket, asd in two minutes had forgotten its existence. A day or two later another mat with a similar fate; bat when the thfid arrived the young physician was plainly annoyed. ' How, wtat on earth——' he began impatiently. And then read again the note, which was written in the same scrawling hand. 'Under no consideration go to 310, Merton Street. Tour practice is not all yon have imagined it would be——' (' Hang it V growled the doctor. ' That's true enough.') " Nevertheless there are tbixgs which money cannot compensate. Tfae person interested in year welfare who sends you these notes forces them upon yea because he fears that one or two yon might think merely a joke. Permit him to say it is nothing of the kind, but a very serious matter; and, moreover, it is highly imperative, for your present and f utiue welfare, to give the above numter a wide berth.'

The note was signed: 'One who takes interest enough in you to warn you.' The doctor was thoroughly exasperated. 'interest be hanged I' he growled. 'Whoever you are you're a consummate coward I Why don't you come out like a man? The more fool to think Til pay attention to your impertinent scrawls! I don't even know where the street is. And, whats more, I dost care a rap!* With that he tossed the note into the waeto-basket, and ten minutes later was looking up Merton Street in the Directory. HaJgousd it led ci one of the main down by the river. A rather unsavoury locality, ha reflected, aad one to which he was in nowise hkely to be summoned. Why, then, should his ♦welkwiahar' warn him against it? If this was some joke of the boys, they were dwiegHo disappointment He would treat the whole matter, with indifference. Nay, more, he would utterly ignore it. Who said he had ever received anonymous notes? Who? He glared about him in the gathering dusk of his efflce, and then fall to laughing to find himself bo much exercised about the affair.

A weak wait past Then one morning a tetter in the ftnaJHn* hand appeared. At tat Anstruther was inclined to throw it into .the fire unopened. Curiosity, ho we ver, prevailed, and he broke the seal. The latter rant

Let me warn you again about 310, Merton Street,. You may or may not have been summoned there. You may possibly be unaware of its existence. At any rata, do not go there. These notes, be assured, are for your own cood, as is the advice they humbly offer. ' IOUB WaLL-WISHSB.'

' Now, hang the cowardly brute!' the doctor thundered. 'lf I only knew where to by hands on this vahant well*wisher— * He amote his deek a blow that made it creak. 'This thing/ he said, when he had cooled down somewhat, 'has gone quite far enough. Hereafter any letters of thk typo an bamed at the outset. Whoever this sneaking parcel of impertinence is, hell do well to save his time and ink.' Tee every letter thai came Ansttather opened and read* and afterwards confessed himself a week fool I Daring that week he had no lees than ten letters in the same handwriting, and all to the same effect He threw them all latohis jastepaper-basket; but the affair began toworry him. lit haopened that one afternoon a » fenuonaf call took him down . the viof nity of the river, and as he canr away it occurred to him to go out of his way a little and have a look at 810, Merton Street. He found it easily enough—an old brick bona*, running up three storeys, and its general aspect of degeneration -■ heightened by an additional storey recently built on and covered with sine. *Bo thatfa the enemy/ he said, as he stood on the opposite kerb. ' Seedy hole enough probably a sailors* lodginghouse. Doesn't look sensually dangerous. By Jove I I*7B half a mind to go over and - * ring the belL* He debated the idea a moment, then "•-' turned on his heel and went away. It -; was not his physical fear but a horror of looking ridiculous that kept him from -"■ solving the riddle there and then. As it was, he was completely disgusted by the intensity of his own curiosity. which the letters had aroused. Next morning the boy who was cleaning up his surgery was favoured with some pretty stiff language. Anstruther stood reading the following: •It is highly essential that the matter referred to in many previous letters be again brcgyht to your attention. It is r \.eridenHffli you have received some commanicatiA from 310, Merton Street. Yesterday you went to the address mentioned, and for a time it seemed quite possible that yen would enter. Your Better judgment prevailed, however, and yon wens away without making so grave an trior. Again be warned against entering the house. Do not show yoursalf in the vicinity even. It is dangerous for you to do ao. The person who sends you this knows whereof he writes.' ' By Jingo 1' the doctor yelled, flourish- " ing the letter in the face of the startled. boy. *ls there any part of this town I'm afraid to enter? No!* he bellowed, in answer to his own question. 'And, whafs mow, 111 go where and when I like 1'

He seised nil bat and stick, and iljipaii cut of the office, leaving the astonished yosngiter trembling in the farthest comer. Five minntei later he was back lor his coat The November JBJUytoa tooled his wrath somewhat, but

310, Merton Street.

it lived forth again as he opened a telegram handed him by a waiting messenger. ' Don't go to 310. Bemember.' •That settles it!' he said with determination. And, donning his coat, he hurried down the street, and got on the first omnibus. When Anstruther alighted, he went direct to Morton Street Without a moment's hesitation he mounted the steps of 310, and polled the bell. In the few seconds he stood there waiting he began to wonder what he should offer aa an excuse for his visit. He had received no communication from the occupants of the boose. For the fraction of a minute he saw possibilities of an awkward situation. These were dispelled when a little man with grey hair and beard opened the door and bowed low. 'Dr. Anstruther, I believeP» he said. 'Will you step in P* The door cloted behind them, and Anstruther found himself in a large, bare hall, dimly lighted from the transom above his head. The grey-haired man had found the knob, and opened the door. ' Will you kindly step this way f said he. And ho ushered Anstruther into a cottly furnished room. ' Well ?' said Anstiather.

His host stood before the fire, hie hands behind his back, and his grey eyes scrutinising the doctor's face. 'Dt. Anstruther,' he said at length, 'yon hare been, somewhat annoyed of late by the receipt of anonymous letters. I apologise for sending them/ ' Yon V said the doctor incredulously. ' Yes, it was me. Yon Bee, lam not the sort of man who accepts people on trust. To me a man is of no use until he has proved himself a man of nerve and a gentleman. Now, to business. ' Yon have heard, perhaps, of Maxwell's Menagerie f* 'Of course. Everyone's heard of Maxwell's.*

The little man drew himself up proudly. ' Sir,* he said, ' I am Maximilian Maxwell, the proprietor of that colossal enterprise,' ' Delighted to make your acquaintance,' smiled Anstruther; 'but I do not see—-' ' No, of course you wouldn't But, you see, Dr. Anstruther, my position is this. In the gigantic enterprise I have just named there are, all told, some two hundred persons employed. They have been gathered. Dr. Anstruther, from every corner of the earth, and are of every breed and colour. For instance, some eighty of them are pure-bred Indians, collected from the great north-west, Dr. Anstruther, without regard to trouble or expense.* * Don't bother to go into details,' interrupted Anstruther. 'I saw your show only a week or two back But--—'

The little man held out his hand. 'And you were delighted with it, doctor, I am sure. Shake hands. Well, in a collection of so many souls, who have to perform, no matter what the weather may be, or they get their walking ticket you will readily understand that there is a good deal of illness from time to time. You understand that P* 'H'mi' said Anstruther, the light beginning to dawn upon him. 'Well?' 'Well, them Indians, Dr. Anstruther, are as yet only half civilised; and as to the Dagos and the Wonderful Convoluting Chinese Troupe, they ain't civilised at aIL All the same they want doctoring when they're ill, but they want a man of nerve to deal with 'em. I won't deny it, there are times when they get sort of playful, and inclined to bite or dig their beet friends with razors, just to show there's no ill-feeling. They want a doctor who is afraid of nothing on this earth to deal with 'em, and I should say the way I've tried your nerve up to now is enough to show that you're the man for my money. 'They told me down at the hospital, where I got your address, that your practics wasn't exactly a ruby-mine as yet—excuse me speaking plainly— bo I've made up my mind to offer you the post of medical magnate to Maximilian Maxwell's Menagerie. It isn't one doctor in a hundred would have chanced everything and come here to see for himself what was up after all those horrible warnings I sent you. The pay's .£SOO a year and all found, and extra when yon attend the presiding manager of this extraordinary concern. Will you take it and come along with us ?'

For a moment Anstruther felt like nothing so much as bursting out into a roar of laughter, but then he considered. It was plain the little man was in earnest. At that time his practice was not paying the rent cf his surgery, and his resources were getting painfully low. The prsctico might grow, of course, but it would take time; and, besides, with what he could save out of two or three years' salary with Maximilian Maxwell, he could buy a much better one. And then there was pretty* patient little Sylvia Mathieson. 'You won't expect me to treat the magnificent Africa* lion when he contracts bronchitis, or lance the Bengal tiger's gumboils ?* he asked 'Dr. Anstruther, Maxwells Menagerie carries it's own veterinary surgeon!' said the little man stiffly. ' You have to do nothing against the etiquette of your profession, which I respect and honour.' ' And you will not include the illuminating description of myself as medical magnate, &0., on your programmes V 'Not if you'd rather not, though it's a pity to waste a good line like that. Still, considor it imprinted.' ' Then I'm your man!' Half an hour later it was the doctor's

turn to Bend an anonymous message. It was in the form of a telegram, and it was addressed to Miss Sylvia Matthieson, 296, Franklington Gardens, West Kensington, and it read: ' Maxwell's—Menagerie—for—ever. Those—wedding—bells—shall—soon—ring— out'

as he simply wills that they should Bee those things. Yet I, in common vith Western nations, was too aairealised, sensual, and materialised, by flesh-eating and consumption of alcohol, to retain or accept anj deep spiritual teaching;. The most exciting performance that he gave for my amusement was the converting of a bamboo stick into a native servant, who waited at table and supplied our wants.

' Afterward*—in his absence—l tried it, and to my Burpriee the same man was before me asking for instructions. I directed him to fill the chatties in the verandah with water from the well in the compound. This he proceeded to do. When he had filled them all to over, flowing, I requested him to stock-. He however, took no notice of me, and went on stolidly bringing in the water, until in my excited imagination, it seemed that the bun j alow would be washed away. * finding that I could not arrest or stop hia movements, he passing through me as though I did not exist, I drew my sword and lay in wait for him.' The story-teller proceeds : ' I made a slash at him, and apparently cut him in twain, when lo! there were two men bringing in the water, neither of whom could I restrain or prevent from doing so. 'I was completely out of my depth, when I heard a quiet laugh behind me, and, on turning, found it was my instructor, who held up his right hand, and the two men disappeared, the stick resuming its place in the verandah; and, to crown all, there was not the slightest sign of any water having been brought in. 'I excitedly appealed to him for an ex planation. He said he had been present all the time, having willed that he should be invisible to me, that I should imagine myself to see and dp what I thought had taken piece. ' In order to prove it, he asked me to step out into the compound, and directed my attention to a large cavern, which I knew was not there before. As I entered a number of huge elephants and canals issued from it is a continuous stream, yet I could not touch one of them They apparently passed over me as though I did not exist. He again raised his hand, and cavern and animals disappeared.'

A QBE IT SEED FARM. The largest seed farm in the Western Hemisphere and the largest in the world with the possible exception cf one in Germany, says the ' Scientific American,' is located near GJlroy, Cal. where over 25 hundred acres are devoted to th'a department of agriculture alone Tne product i 8 largely marketed in the United States, but a steadily increasing demand is fcund in Australia, South Africa, Japan, and China, as well as from the countries of Europe. Twenty-five years ago the East supplied itself, bat the superior advantages, of California for seed culture have caused almost a complete transfer of the industry to the far West. The seasons in California, which embrace regular periods of moisture and sunshine with the absence of severe frosts at all times, allow earlier planting and Uninterrupted growth, besides incurring an absolute certainty of suitable weather for the harvest. Accidents common to' the more variable climate of the East, are absolutely unknown in California. The long season of sunshine with the invariably cool nights of summer, allow the fullest development even with the moderate rainfall of the winter months. The cultivation of seeds involves the closest attention to detail and scientific accuracy at every step. There is not a rod of land in all the great tract which is not under daily supervision. A complete ground map of each subdivision, no matter how small it may be, is kept and the condition, growth, and the nature of the crop on each is recorded. The probable yield of every section is calculated and thus, weeks before the harvest, the product of the whole farm is accurately known.

Oa this great farm, 325 acres are planted to sweet peas, 800 acres to onions, 230 teres to carrots, 250 to lettuce, 250 to radishes, 50 tomatoes, beets 50, celery 50, and equal acreage to encumbers, parsley, leeks, parsnips, and other vegetables, besides a hundred varieties of flowers and large tracts for trial and experimental grounds and the necessary workshops and buildings attached to the estate. The soil is black edobe mixed with sandy loam, and is of great depth and luxuriantly fertile.. For the many years of cultivation, no sign of exhaustion is shown, though no fertilisers have been applied. Botation of crops is customary. Cultivation begins with November rains. The land is ploughed to a great depth, followed by repeated harrowing, when planting, which is mostly by hand, begins. The onion is planted in December, sweet peas in January. As soon as the green sprouts appear, cultivation between the rows commences. Thinning the plants is done by hand. An average of the season's cultivation is six times by the plough and three by the hoe for each. crop. The labour expended in eradicating the weeds that spriag up so quickly in the fertile soil is tremendous, and the resulting expense very great.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING IN THE ALPS The monks of St. Bernard have taken advantage of modern inventions in their work of saving lives. Among the many whose lives were saved were Alpinists who started to go to the hospice. The use of telephones is taking the place of the famous mountain dogs.