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Show 'BARBER'S BROTHER. 1 ' The barbers second brother that waa what ho gave hlmeelf out to b , Dot that the barber knew anything about him He appeared at the ll'.tle tdiop one day at noon when Ilia bar ber'a assistants were all awnjr. "Shave me," lie eald and settled 1ilmtl( In the chair Ills bearu was n full black tine and handsome. "You wlah to sacrlllce jur wholo brard.slr!" "livery hair down to Urn roota And 7011 may alto rut my In It, and do It Tatlitr close. ' Thu hair win luxuriant nnd n degree longer Uian that worn by most gentlemen nt fashion When tho harbor had completed hl appointed casks, hhi pitron arose, thonk himself, and laid ten 1100 bills on Un counter which contained tho pomades and the bny rum "I like your conversation," said he, "nnd I Ilka tho way jou share 1 am going to remain nnd learn tho trade from you. 1 nm your second brother." "Kxcuse me," said tho birbcr, politely, tho hand with which he stroked strok-ed hi pate mustache trembling perceptibly, per-ceptibly, "but what Is the naturo of the trouble you are In? It will depend upon that whether I give my content or uot," ' One thousand easy dollars," muted tho mnn, spreading out Ills bribe attractively. at-tractively. "Aro they likely to come )ojr way again, nnd for a thing so ngrccablo as tho acquirement of a new relative!" "I!ut I have n wife," cried tho barber, bar-ber, "what am 1 to tell her? ' 'Tell her I am your second brother, friend. No, stay; I will tell her ray- aalf. When In the?" "In tho room behind " Tho man went lo tho door nnd called A black-eyed woman with n sharp note entered. Bho was tidy, and her elbows Jerked as alio walked "It this sha?" The barber nodded "Mndam," snld tho stranger, gravely, grave-ly, "It hns come to my cars how poorly provided your husband nnd vourselt nro with deslrnblo relations. Also 1 havo learned that there It a dearth lit barbers' apprentices Therefore, 1 have coma to offer my services in a double capacity I dcslro to learn this undent trndo of our husband, nnd alto to call mself his second brother. In consideration thcrcol 1 tender him thoto ten bills, each, nt jou see, of n noble denomination " "Wo may get ourtelves In n peck of trouble," said the woman, shrewdly. "I think It Is worth more " An almost Imperceptible sigh of relief re-lief escaped tho stranger's lips. "How much more!" ho asked. "1 should like as much moro as there Is there for pin money for myself " "A reasonable request If I give It lo you I shall trust you to refrain from letting tho world know of my generosity!" generos-ity!" Tho tone was jetting, but the man was really n terrible tiling to look at at that moment, There was n menace In his eye that made tho pale-haired barber faint "I shall never mention It myself, nnd I shall undertnko to ace that my husband hus-band keeps still, too." "Thanks, slstcr-in-law. It Is an oath." "No familiarity, If you please." "Pardon me, none was Intended. It was a JcbL Almost everything It a jest. Do not let me detain ou any longer," Tho woman may have wondered how It came about that tho was tacitly dismissed dis-missed from her own shop. Hut stio left without protest, having gathered up the bills the man hail laid out for ber. At tho door eho turned. "Why, are you our second brother!" sho Inquired. She was smiling Tho bills had been n spiritual cmollent. "Why not!" said be. And ho smiled, too. All that afternoon he took lessons from tho barber, 'This Is my second brother," said tho barber to everyone who entered. "He has grown tired of professional lite he was on tho stage, you understandand under-standand be has come to mo to learn tho trade." Hut he wot not an able apprentice. That evening, while acrnplng his own cheek, tho razor slipped and made n hideous gash In his cheek, almost letting let-ting his eye slip from Its socket. "You will carry tho reminder of that pleco ot nwkwardnrss to tho day of your death," said tho physician, who took five good stitches In his fuco. ' Congratulate me," said the barber's second brother to the barber after the physician had left "You heard what bo said I shall be scarred forever!" "You pay a high price," said tho barber. bar-ber. The next day the man appeared in the full outfit of a barber, nnd devoted hlmselt to his work Ho kept tho shop scrupulously clean, he polished windows win-dows and oiled the floor He brushed the customers and blacked their boots this last wan an enter- f V lo ot his own. Al tie nd 'if n month the shop bean to feel till Influence It had become popular Men who fell soclablo. or whoso children cried loo much or whose wives did not ardently enjoy their conversation, got In tho way of frequenting tho place. It was odd, for tho barber's second brother said llttlo Hut he had a way of making eery ono feel nt home, and ho put padded cuthlons In tho chairs and bought tho finest towels and best soapt "You have mndo an excellent barber, sir," remarked tho liarber to his second brother "Thank ou tou have been an ex. cellent brother" The man lived with the barber nnd his wlfo six ) ears-slept In tho little bedroom off their kitchen, nto nt their table with them walked wllh them to tho park, nnd rend oloud to them evenings even-ings At the end of those six years he remained ns much n mystery as tho day he came, but he had Inspired affection affec-tion and even grntltude In tho hearts of the barber and his wife, who by nil reckoning should have dltllked blm mightily Ono day he dltappearcd My brother has gono back to the stage" cxplnlncd the barber Ho snld It sadly. Ho wns realty lonesome He tried to keep up tho habit of reading evenings, but he could not be Interested Interest-ed Ho endeavored to mako the shop look aa It had fur tho six past cars, but he could notsuccccd Trade began be-gan to fill off everything seemed dull Tho liarber found fault with bis wlfo and sho found fault with him "Ho ought not to havo left us," they sighed "Ho might havo known bow lonesome wo would be" They wiro llko children who have suddenly become urphant Ono day n letter rnme for them from n dlttnnt cll n city at tho under side of tho world. "Shavo no morn chins dear brother," It read "I send you nnd Miranda the means of rest And I with, by tho way, It you hne the desire. )ou would coma oer here nnd tee mo t hnvo n palace hero beeitde tho sea, and n servant ser-vant for every different want Hut I nm lonesome I do not require It ot you but I long for you It Is easy for mo to send )ou the Inclosed Your Hecond Hrother" "Ho had lost nil his old friends, I suppose tho friends he hnd beforo " the barber's wlfo got no further. "I think wo'd better go nt once," said tho barber. "Ho may bo needlm us. Ilotldcit It will be pleasant llvlni In n palace " "I always liked tho shop well enough " snld the woman rather wistfully, wist-fully, "but It's easy enough for us tc go, having no children" Bho tlghoC and looked about her. Tho barber wiped his razors nnd put them In their cases "We might mnko n present ot the shop to poor little Hill " said he. Dill was the assistant Tho next day the bnrbcr and his wife held a sort of reception and said good-by good-by to everybody. "We are golne to our brother," sale-they sale-they Hut on the ergo ot going a message mes-sage reached them "It Is all over Hnvo been apprehended. appre-hended. No hope Farewell" "Why didn't ho stay here whero no was safe" sobbed the barber "Poor lamb, poor lamb," sho wept. They never heard from him again. They never learned hit truo name. They went away and lived In a quiet placo upon tho fortuno he had sent , them They hnd no compunctions ot conscience about tiling tho money "What was good enough for him Is 1 good enough for mo," said tho barber. |