Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

The next morning he called upon the doctor, who dressed the painful hand and received the mysterious coin in payment for his services.

That night, behind locked doors in one of the officers' rooms of the United States Mint in Chestnut Street, two men were engaged in a long whispered conference. The wife of one of the men, as she sat in her room in the Continental Hotel, anxiously waiting for her husband, was beginning to wonder whether, after all, marriage was a failure!

Two days later, in speaking of the seizure of over forty thousand bogus silver dollars and the clever capture of three of the most dangerous counterfeiters that ever attacked the currency of the United States, the _Daily News_ said:—

"The most remarkable part of the whole story is that one of the coins, fresh from the machine of one of the counterfeiters, fell out of a third-story window near which he was working, was picked up while almost red hot by a letter-carrier, and passed as genuine through various hands until it reached Buffalo, where, by the merest accident, it came into the possession of Mr. Ansel Hobart of the Secret Service. That gentleman noticed an imperfection at one point of its rim, and succeeded in tracing the coin to the headquarters of the gang on Vine Street in this city, where, under the cloak of a locksmith shop and green grocery business, six hundred of the spurious coins were turned out daily. So admirably were these counterfeits executed as to defy scrutiny save by experts of the Government. The coins were not cast in molds after the ordinary fashion, but were struck with a die, and plated so thickly with silver as to withstand tests by acids. The defect which led to the discovery was found only in the one coin already spoken of, and it is supposed that it was this defect that caused the piece to spring from the finishing machine and fall out of the window."

And the New York newspapers of three days later contained the intelligence that the White Star steamer "Majestic," which sailed for Liverpool that day, had among her passengers Mr. and Mrs. Ansel J. Hobart, of Chicago, Illinois.

Advertisements.

"I cannot speak too enthusiastically of what my dressmaker has done for
the last two seasons. All the former annoyance of heavy sleeves (which
are also very hot in warm weather) has been done away with, and it is
such pleasure to me to use no special care of the skirt when either
riding or boating as I am sure every fold will instantly disappear the
moment I walk."

"What different materials do you use to accomplish this?"

"Why, really the same, only you know the AMERICAN HAIR CLOTH CO.—I
believe that is the name—make one grade of linings so thin as not
to be objectionable to the thinest white material even, and then the
heavier grades which are just as suitable for winter use as for summer,
and all their styles in either gray, black or white."

"How much does this really add to the weight of the skirt without any
lining?"

"My dressmaker says that an entire skirt if it were made up as a
separate skirt of seven yards would weigh but 12 ounces, and if one
should use their 170/3 it is almost as light as air itself."

"Why, these figures are new to me; what do they mean?"

"I took pains to investigate that, and their =10/4=, =10/5= and =98/3=
is the style usually used for skirts and can be had in either gray or
black, though of course they make heavier grades, principally used by
tailors."

"Either the =84/3=, =146/3=, =170/3=, =184/4= or =200/4=, is all right
for thin sleeves, so that if the dealer has not all these styles he
ought to have one surely."

"I am very glad for this information, for I confess that while I have
been forced to follow the fashion. It has been at great discomfort,
especially in the hot weather, with what I have had used for linings;
and I had really no knowledge of these different grades, or in fact
that HAIR CLOTH CRINOLINE was really the perfect thing to be used for
both skirts and sleeves."

Hair Cloth Crinoline

Ask your Dealer for Ours

=It Lasts Forever=

We do not sell at Retail

American Hair Cloth Company,
PAWTUCKET, R.I.
CHARLES E. PERVEAR, Agent

=If you are thinking= about advertising in any newspaper, magazine, or
program =anywhere=, send to

DODD'S Advertising & Checking AGENCY
=265 Washington St., — Boston.=

_=We write and illustrate advertisements for our clients.=_

RELIABLE DEALING.
CAREFUL SERVICE.
LOW ESTIMATES.

=If you are thinking= about advertising in any newspaper, magazine, or
program =anywhere=, send to

DODD'S Advertising & Checking AGENCY
=265 Washington St., — Boston.=

_=We write and illustrate advertisements for our clients.=_

RELIABLE DEALING.
CAREFUL SERVICE.
LOW ESTIMATES.

SEARCH LIGHT

=Is what it is named.=

It is =not= a signal to show that a bicycle is coming,
but an =aid=, recognized by such riders as R. P. Searle,
who says:—

GENTLEMEN: I have just finished my second record-breaking trip
from Chicago to New York. I used your lamp on all my night runs,
sometimes running at a speed of fifteen miles per hour in the dark. I
was only able to make this fast time by the splendid light which I was
enabled to obtain with the use of your lamp. I used your lamp because
I considered it the best in the world to-day, and it has far exceeded
my expectations. Yours very truly,

_R. P. Searle_

Points of Superiority over every other Lantern Made:

=Central draft—burns ten hours.= =Burns kerosene oil unmixed.= =Flame absolutely adjustable (by set screw).= =Filled and lighted from outside.=

_Saves Doctors' Bills_, barked shins, soiled clothing, and =makes
riding= when there is the most leisure =a pleasure=.

=Don't be insulted= by having a cheap Lantern offered you which may
possess possibly one characteristic, =but insist= _on having_ the
=Search Light=, which will be delivered free, if your dealer won't
supply you, for the price, =$5.00=. Circulars free. Address

BRIDGEPORT BRASS CO.,
Bridgeport, Conn., or 19 Murray Street, New York.

=The Stomach was made for a purpose—a food wholly digested was not
what the Almighty intended—=

=No Child Can Live=

=upon these thin, slippery Foods, but must have something to satisfy
the stomach in order to give development and growth.=

=Ridge's Food= has all the requirements; but =it does need boiling=,
and care =after= boiling, and a Mother that is not ready to take this
care is a very queer Mother. We have never known, in our =30 years
of experience=, of a single case of indigestion, loss of sleep, skin
disease, or scurvy while faithfully using =Ridge's Food=.

The stomach requires action—it is so constructed that from the very
first it is made for action. With the youngest infant the quantity of
nourishment from the natural food (the mother's milk) is much less,
because the stomach is incapable of taking care of as much as it can
later, but at the same time action is going on, and nature does its
work as the child grows, so it can take stronger food; therefore, the
special directions which have been the result of experience so adapt
themselves to the age of the child as to fulfill those requirements.

Little babies cannot be successfully fed daily by pouring hot water on
something that makes food. =It must be properly cooked=, and properly
prepared especially for the babies' delicate stomachs, if you wish to
save them.

It has been said by some that children could not assimilate starch,
yet we believe it is a proper carbon to have in food. The only carbon
in many foods is sugar. Scurvy is not uncommonly a result of the
continued use of food not sufficiently nutritious. The disfiguring
eczema seen on the face and scalp is a result from the same cause.

=Ridge's Food= is so prepared that only the normal action of the
stomach is required to produce healthful growth and development, and
the result has been good digestion, sound, healthy bodies, good teeth,
strong, straight limbs, and a well-formed brain; the child becomes a
model of healthful strength and childish beauty when fed on =Ridge's
Food=, properly prepared—and its long continuance does not produce
Scurvy and skin disease in its many forms. Do not take our word for
it, but please make the test yourself. =It has stood the test for 30
years=, and abundant testimonials are at hand to prove our assertions.
_Sample free to any physician or mother._

=Ridge's Food,
Used for 30 Years,
Still Unexcelled.=

WOOLRICH & CO., Sole Mfrs.,
Palmer, Mass.

GOFF'S BRAND IS THE BEST MADE

"For Dress
Binding it is
Unequaled."

This is the opinion of experienced Dressmakers who have tried so-called
substitutes during the past thirty years.

RED SPOOL, five yards, mailed for 8 cts., stamps, or BLACK SPOOL,
3¼ yards, 5 cts., if you cannot find the proper shade at the stores.