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Show I THE RICH COUNTY REAPER. RANDOLPH, UTAH breath as the four figures went by. One was a swarthy, brute who seemed to have the look of the sea about him; another had the square shoulders and the alert manner of a soldier; while the third was evidently a merchant and a man of means, for his manner and the sleek smoothness of his figure held the complacency of mental and physical ease. The fourth man gained, and continued to hold my closest attention. There was latent power in the poise of his lithe body, a look of the eagle In his eye, a rich resonance in the commanding tones of his voice. The suave host filled four glasses with an amber fluid and, proffering one to each of his guests with a light laugh, said:. This garden Is ours, Senores, where flowers of intrigue may bloom in safety. Therefore, Francisco mio He bowed to him of the commanding poise. Whereupon Francisco raised his glass. To Simon Bolivar, he said, his deep vibrant voice intoning a sort of benediction, the Liberator of our people! They drank slowly, standing, and after a reverent silence, murmured, Vivq viva, and again, Viva! Simon Bolivar? I had heard of him; who hadnt. Already they were calling him the George Washington of South America; this amazing soldier, statesman and patriot who, when only a youth, had plumbed the depths of despair in the loss of a young and beautiful bride, and had devoted his life thereafter to the service of his mother country, Venezuela. I gasped, and held . my breath again for. fear they would discover me. Nothing but the gloom of the apse hid me; had I stepped forward one yard I should have come within the glowing circle of the, lamp and the silver light of the moon that filtered through the foliage. So I continued the imitation of a saint while the men finished three bottles of Latours best. It loosened their tongues so that the purpose of this midnight meeting stood revealed heavy-bodie- d THE YALE OF ARAGON well-nourishe- d 'Ey fred McLaughlin Author of -- "The Blade of Picardy ll Copyright by (WNU Service.) Co. Bobbs-Merrl- THE STORY At nightfall, In the old city of '.New Orleans, in the year 1821, Loren Garde, recently an officer under General Jackson, Is aur- -, prised by the appearance of three .figures. In ancient Spanish cos- -' tume, two men and a woman whose beauty enchants him. Re- senting the arrogance of the elder of the two., men, Garde 'fights, a duel with; him with swords, and wounds him. CHAPTER I Continued 2 , The gathering circle had closed in to attend the wounded man, who so I judged from the volume of his groans had not received a mortal thrust. Who is his majesty, Senor? I asked., Adolfo de Fuentes, colonel in the Spanish army under La Torre, who is governor of Venezuela. Then you go, Tasked, to Venezuela? Before he could answer my question a huge mulatto at my elbow voiced a De Charlies heah warning bellow : dey come ! And a wharf rat amplified it with pasty-face- d a shrill : Les gens darmes !" If they should capture you, Senor? Polito said. Yet I have only offered a mans defense.;. True, but the least, Senor, will be an awkward and infinite time and trials and an unfortunate wait, while the Senorita " I found his hand and gave it a warm You will convey my regrets clasp. to the Senorita? Assuredly, Senor." Then adios.". he whispered, Adios, and I turned around and broke through the curious crowd. Two of the Charlies barred my jab path. One received a in the chest that tumbled him over and over like a performing parrakeet, the other bent his body skilfully to evade a swinging fist, then he fired at my face and missed, which was nothing unusual at all, for the gens darmes often miss. Now I put my feet to the pavement and gave myself over to the business of silent running while the chase roared behind me. I directed my steps eastward, went north and east again into Rue Royal, and on and on, ever deeper into the French quarter. I walls which, 1 passed knew, concealed quaint mansions and beautiful courtyards. As I ran I kept an eye searching for an adventitious entrance that might lead to one of these bowers of beauty, for the street itself offered no refuge. I found, finally, a grilled gate which, opening to my touch, led under a graceful stone arch so low I had to bend my head to enter. I waited in the gloom of the areaway as sounds of the battue went by., Silent, I crouched in the shadows long after the noises of the futile chase had died away, and waiting, I had a chance to view again the amazing events of this mad night. In fancy I heard again the music of the womans laugh, and I saw the slim bands that pressed upon her bosom; that despairing cry of Dolfo mio beat Into my consciousness, and a fit of foolish trembling took possession of me. I started for the oval of light that showed me the way to the street, but stopped when figures, turning in from the paved walk, blocked the passage. I heard the rasping scratch of a key in the lock of the iron gate and retreated warily, seeking the friendly shades as four men advanced upon me along the gloomy passage. I came, anon, to a tiny courtyard, in the middle of which a table stood, bearing glasses, silver and a decanter or two. Over the table swung a huge brass lamp, yet the light it furnished was hardjy brighter than that of the brilliant moon. I knew, of course, that the house would afford me no safety, so l flattened my tall body in a narrow, protecting apse in the brick wall that made up two sides of the courtyard, Standing straight and motionless, in grotesque mimicry of some saint who; had doubtless occupied this space in "time long past, I held my narrow-shouldere- d, . . . ; proces-verba- moon-wrait- point-blan- The Santa Lucrecia l, I lived in a land of dreams, of port-hol- k vine-blanket- gro- tesque fancies, where formless figures moved in silent aimlessness through half transparent fog. I heard the vaguest echo of a voice, the fragment of a song, the shuffling of footsteps. Morning sunlight, streaming through stenciled a narrow, slatted a flaming pattern on. the wall above my head. I was in a cabin of a ship, for I saw the heavy beams that held the floor of the afterdeck, and I heard the gentle creak of blocks. I felt a painful throbbing in my head and, raising a han touched a bandage. A figure moved in the cabin, approached and leaned over me. About the face so near my own there was a sort of unreal malformation. One of the eyes was closed, the nose was larger by far than any nose should be, and a crooked grin pulled the features all awry. Is that a real face, I asked, or have you, too, just returned from a bal masque? Whereupon the face swore a bitter Spanish oath, and I knew the" owner of it for the soldier. Now the tall form of Francisco bent over me. Then you didnt shoot me in the garden of the good Diego, nor drop me in the river? No; Smiling, he shook his head. however, Manuel was for slipping a knife between your ribs. Is Manuel he of the dark face that resembles a bad dream? His He chuckled. Yes, Senor. face is even worse now if such could Ybu be. He thought a moment. fight, Senor, as though you love to -- d e, liver-colore- But His Long Arm Came Down Swiftly. to me. I was aghast, for, although this new republic of the United States might have a very tender feeling and a definite sympathy for the struggling South American colonies, I knew it would not countenance a revolutionary junta within its boundaries. It was all too easy, Senores. Diego, the complacent merchant, was Within the long, carefully speaking. twisted coils of tobacco are guns; ground tobacco in the kegs that we have loaded on the ship will burn with greater readiness than tobacco ever He burned before it will explode! One barrel of flour laughed aloud. will hold two score of pistols, and even the innocent Indian corn has taken for traveling companions knives and bullets; while each huge slab of salt pork carries within its greasy interior a half dozen machetes. Unloaded at La Guaira this Interesting shipment will move, unconsidered, through the Spanish lines, and the natives who wait for Simon Bolivar will be in readiness. A beautiful plan, said Francisco. We will drink upon it, the swarthy sailor Suggested. , As I watched them drink a' chill of fear touched my spine, and my tongue had an unfamiliar feel in my, mouth. Looking upon the man whom nature had set apart to be a leader, I felt the thrust of his cold eyes over the edge How long since, of his wine glass. asked he dear then, have my Diego, you put another saint in the place reserved so long for San Isidro?" He had found me; those sharp eyes of his had sought me out I Should I run, and if so, where? There was only the house, and the garden surrounded by a wall too high for unassisted scaling. Should I .offer resistance to these four men, three of whom were doubtless armed, or should I surrender peaceably?! It seemed certain that the knowledge I had acquired concerning their intent would bq my "death-- 1 warrant; thpy could not let me go CoJHfee Siiroipw ! CHAPTER II h, stiff-arme- and then continue further with their plan of revolution. While I considered thus Diego answered: I have put no saint In the place reserved for San Isidro; you jest, amigo." Sinner or saint, Diego mio,' Francisco insisted, there is a figure in the apse. The figure Is taller by a shoulder than San Isidro, and he is garbed as the modern dandy of New Orleans. His hair, too, is not the dark hair of the Mexican patron, but light. He laughed shortly, and came to his feet. He is an American saint, Diego, which is strange, for I had always believed that the pagan Americano had no saints. He must have had the eyes of a lynx, and in his voice lay murder. As the swarthy sailor came toward my hiding place, the soldier drew a gleaming pistol. Not here not in here ! Diego cried, You cannot kill a man in my garden. Take him take him alive, and move him to the river. Drown him, but do not shoot him in my garden Senor Sailor, his bloodshot eyes staring stupidly, thrust his dark face within range of my fist, and I swung swiftly. It caught him fair upon the point of a heavy chin. Tumbling backward, he fell with sharp violence against the table, which overturned with a resounding crash of glass, catching the soldier in its fall, precipitating him to his hands and knees. The fighting blood of my sturdy Norse father raced through my veins, filling me with the lust for battle. I shot out of my retreat and, striking wildly, found the soft face of Diego, into which my fist sank sufficiently. He went down heavily to the paveMadness ment of the courtyard. seized me again, and I laughed aloud. The soldier was up again. I took his glancing blow upon the shoulder and gave him all I had with one straight right, then I turned to face the last adversary, Francisco, but his long arm came down swiftly, and a pistol in his hand struck my unprotected head. The trees and the hanging lamp and the moon disappeared in a crimson sea. I groped blindly, and found friendly hands that let me down gently to the flagstones. d fight. Not at all ; though sometimes, it is true that the blood of my father speaks to me." Geographic (Prepared by the National D. Society. Washington. Fran--cisco- C.) recent announcement that in the THE Statesconsumption climbed to a total of 13 pounds per person In 1930, adds interest to the checkered career of the beverage since it was first brewed in the Near East a millennium and a half ago. There are about 80 species of coffee plants but only a few of them are extensively cultivated for commercial use. The coffee plant is a cousin of the cinchona tree from the bark of which quinine is produced. Gambler, which furnishes tanning material and dyes that bear the same name, and madder from the roots of which a substance Is extracted that is important in some red dyes, also are related to the coffee plant The coffee plant started its worldwide ramblings centuries ago. . Beginning in the hills of Ethiopia, it jumped the Red Sea and coffee plantations began to rise above the soil of the extreme southern tip of Arabia where the famous Mocha coffee now is produced. Later it was carried to Europe (about 250 years ago) and then to the West Indies and Brazil. Although coffee did not, strike a poptilar cord among Europeans until the Fifteenth century, as early as the reign of Charles II, in the middle of the Seventeenth century there were more than 3,000 coffee houses in London. Today coffee is a popular brew in every continent and on the civilized islands of the seas, with the United States as the worlds leading consumer. More than 1,599,000,000 pounds of coffee were imported by the United States last year. First Used as a Paste. But the coffee berry has had its ups and downs during Its rise to fame in the beverage world. Its first use was in the form of a paste which was eaten. Early Moslems were not permitted to drink wine, so they learned the art of making a brew from coffee berries. The name coffee Is derived from the Arabic word which was pronounced Kahveh by the Turks. Kahveh was the general Arabic term for intoxicating liquors. According to some authorities, the first cup of coffee was drunk as a refreshment at Aden, Arabia, in the Fifteenth century. Cairo began drinking the beverage about 50 years tater. Meanwhile Moslem leaders held a meeting at Mecca where they decided that coffee should be banned. That was In 1511. As a result of the Mecca decision, coffee warehouses were burned and coffee houses were closed in many parts of the Mohammedan world. Some of the coffee house proprietors were beaten with their own brewing utensils by fanatical Moslems. The ban in Egypt lasted only thirteen years, when Sultan Selim I gave coffee his stamp of approval In the East, coffee Is usually used In powdered form. The coffee beans popularly known in the United States are placed In a mortar and pounded. Then the powder Is put into boiling water. The coffee maker serves the beverage only after a prescribed ceremony. He pours a small quantity of the liquid into one cup and then rinses each cup with the brew. After all cups have been rinsed, the rinsing liquid is poured on the fire as a tribute to Sheykh esh Shadhilly, the coffee drinkers patron. Half a cup is served first to the eldest and most honored guest. To hand a full cup to a guest would be an insult. Coffee Map of the World. If one were to construct a coffee map of the world filling in coffee growing areas in black he would find most of his dark area on the portion of the world map between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. Mexico would be filled in from the Tropic of Cancer to its southernmost border. The whole area of Central America and a wide coastal rim around the northwestern shoulder of South ' America, including portions of Kah-we- . If Venezuela had a thousand men like you, Senor," he said, and the flame of the patriot burned in his eyes, she would win her independence out of hand. I found nothing to say to this, and he went on, deep anxiety in In your unconsciouness, his eyes: Senor, you spoke often to Her Majesty, who seems to possess shining black curls and purple moonlight in her eyes. Can we have made so vast a blunder? Now, in spite of the torture of my wounded head, I laughed and The groaned, and laughed again. of the of my lady majesty, Senor, dreams, lies only in her beauty ; I saw her coming from a bal masque, and she was garbed as a queen. You have taken no prince incognito only an American who has spent one mad night. I knew that they would have killed me after our fight if they had intended to kill me at all, so I assumed that, for the present at least, , I was safe. Where do we go, and what, may I ask, are youi plans concerning me? .. (TO BE CONTINUED.) Picking Coffee Berries . h, In Brazil. Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru on the Pacific, and Columbia and the Guianas on the Atlantic would also be marked, as well as Jamaica, Haiti, Porto Rico, and Santo Domingo. d An Inverted area on the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Bahia to a point south of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is the worlds leading area. In this region is Sao Paulo state whose prosperity rises and falls with the condition of the coffee industry. Coffee is responsible for the fact that the state has more miles pear-shape- coffee-produci- of railroads than any other state in the republic. The railroad leading from Santos, the worlds chief coffee port, to Sao Paulo, the worlds coffee capital, is one of the richest steel highways because it is literally a coffee funnel, the smaller end of the funnel being set in ships holds at Santos. The first coffee berries did not reach Brazil until 1727. Today coffee and Brazil are nearly synonymous. In Sao Paulo state alone there are more than 40,000 coffee plantations with 996,000,-00- 0 trees in production. New trees numbering 158,000,000 have been set out and soon will be in production. One plantation owns its own railroads, highways, shops, stores and warehouses. Africa has several regions. Liberia, Sierra Leone and a portion of southern Nigeria are large producers. The coastal zonfes of the Belgian Congo and a portion of Angola, Mozambique and Kenya are dotted with plantations while Ethiopia, original home of the famous coffee berry, continues to produce. Coffee plantations in Madagascar are confined to the eastern half of the island. The southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula continues to grow Mocha coffee, while the the southern tip of India and Ceylon also are important regions of Asia. Java and neighboring Islands have successfully grown coffee transplanted from Liberia, and New Guineas eastern plantations are showing promise in the coffee industry. Australias region Is in Queensland, he sugar bowl of the continent How the Bean Is Handled. The coffee plant grows to a height of from 15 to 20 feet. Its blossoms remain on the plant only a day or two when the petals wither and fall and the fruit begins to take shape. A bush produces from two to three crops a year. Ripe coffee berries resemble dark red cherries. Inside the cherries are two coffee beans (the coffee of commerce) which are extracted by various processes. The beans are enveloped In a delicate skin and fleshy pulp. In Arabia these coverings are removed by the old drying method. The berries are spread out on a drying floor a few inches deep where they are frequently stirred so that each berry may be exposed to the sun. The pulpy covering dries in from two to three weeks after which the berries are pounded until the coffee beans are set free . The most popular method of hulling is the wet method. The berries are brought in from the field and placed in tanks. The mature berries will sink to the bottom of the tank where they are drawn off through pipes and conveyed to crushing machines. The crushed mass passes to a water tank where It is stirred to separate the beans. The beans fall to the bottom of the tank and are withdrawn. At this stage the beans are covered with a slimy film which Is removed by placing them in a vat where fermentation sets up. Then they are washed, dried and sacked for market, the latter process consisting of assorting the beans into sizes, colors, and eliminating any foreign bodies from th coffee-growin- g coffee-growin- g coffee-growin- g . mass. Young coffee plants must be given protection from the sun for several months after they break through the ground. Some planters shade them with paim leaves; some by building a frame over the plants about three feet above the ground. matting-covere- d |