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Greatest Shark in the World

By Lillian E. Zeh

ERE is the real thing in sharks that could easily gulp without wincing a half dozen of those man-eating sharks that recently have given vaudeville exhibitions by swallowing a boy swimmer or two, in the outskirts of New York harbor. As sharks go, in the seven seas, also in lineal feet measurement and in gustatory acquirements, as Munchausend by the yellow press of the Eastern seaboard, our shark is the daddy of them all. We sent him East a short time ago to be exhibited to New Yorkers at the Museum of Natural History, so that they may become acquainted with a real shark.

This marine wonder is a restoration of the huge jaws, having the real fossil teeth of the largest and most formidable fish that ever lived, which Science has a positive record of, namely, the great shark of the Tertiary Age, known as Carcharodon. The tremendous battery of teeth, some being six and seven inches long in the middle of the jaw, were found in the phosphate deposits of South Carolina. This ancient leviathan is 80 to 100 feet long.

The largest of all fishes is the great whale shark, which is widely distributed in tropical seas, and has been found on the shores of Florida and the Gulf of California. It reaches a length of 50 and 60 feet. The next largest fish is the basking shark, of colder. waters, which is credited with attaining a length of more than forty feet. Both of these sharks are entirely inoffensive, living chiefly at the surface of the water, where they feed exclusively on small marine life. The great blue shark is, however, a fish of entirely different habits, being an active species with a man-eating reputation. Speci

mens of enormous size have been taken -and it is believed by naturalists to grow as long as forty feet.

The jaws of the great ancient shark measure nine feet across, and when widely opened, gaped about six feet. A striking and realistic idea of the size of the monster's jaws, as well as its swallowing capacity, can be imagined from the accompanying photograph, showing the figures of six men standing in the jaw. In fact, an average horse or small automobile could be driven right into the wide gap of the mouth. Owing to its spacious interior the great shark could have swallowed half dozen Jonahs at once without the slightest inconvenience. The daily provisioning of this 80 foot, subwaylike stomach, meant the destruction of thousands of various food fishes of that time. Almost beyond calculation are the billions upon billions of fishes which passed through the seven foot gaping jaws during its life-time. In fact, so enormous was the rapacious appetite of these sharks that they practically swallowed and wiped out of existence all the other various fishes that were abundant at that time, for the geologists fail to find a single contemporaneous fossil specimen.

Their absence has caused a great gap and missing link as to the knowledge, size, shape, etc., of the fish funa of the Eocene. About 25 barrels of fish would be an average meal for the big shark, as some five barrels of mackerel have been taken out of a stranded shark of to-day. A remarkable feature of the huge shark was the savage battery of teeth of great length. These were placed in the jaw in the same manner as are found in the big White Shark, or Man-Eater, of the

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The monster jaws of the greatest shark in the world. and a half inches wide at the base of the crown and six inches long. There are twenty-four teeth in the upper row and twenty-four teeth in the lower, and back of each row there are three other rows, not seen in the front view, which are intended to take the place of any

abundance of fossil teeth found in the phosphate deposits in South Carolina. to-day. The only surviving species related to the Great Extinct Shark is the White "Man-Eater," which is washed. up on the Atlantic coast once in a long while.

The Land of the Lawless

By Cardinal Goodwin

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CHAPTER III.

HE sun had gone down behind a mountain when Sylvester dismounted from Trickster at the gate and led him across the lot to the barn. He spent some time in cleaning and feeding him, and then came out, locked the barn door and put the key into his pocket.

It was a beautiful night. In the east the moon sat like a big yellow ball upon the prairie and covered the plains and clear sky with its soft light. A few stars twinkled in the heavens, and two small clouds hovered just above the mountain top, their lower borders dipped in the faint glow of the departing sun, their upper edges catching the soft light from the moon and the stars. From deep in the woods toward the north came the melancholy call of the whip-poor-will, while from the small pond down in the pasture the incessant croaking of numerous frogs disturbed the stillness of the night. Sylvester took off his hat and walked slowly toward the house. Miss Maddin sat on the veranda, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes fixed dreamily upon the rising moon.

"Ah, you're back at last," she said, rising. "We've been waiting supper for you. How do you like Trickster ?" "Trixster is worth his weight in gold!" was Sylvester's enthusiastic reply.

Miss Maddin led the way into a small, plainly furnished dining room. A circular table of peculiar construction stood in the middle of the roomthe only article of furniture which would have attracted attention. The outer portion, about eighteen inches in with, was made stationary, and con

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The meal was a plain, wholesome one, containing one dish, however, which is a favorite food among the Indians. It is made from Indian corn, and resembles old-fashioned lye hominy in appearance, but is very different in taste and in the way it is served. The Indians eat it in cups with spoons, and without seasoning of any kind. The white man usually finds it necessary to add salt and other seasoning ingredients, which if done in the presence of an old full-blood rouses his indignation immediately. But Mrs. Maddin and her daughter were neither fullbloods nor old, so Sylvester did not hesitate to fill his cup with sophkie, season it with pepper and salt, and eat it as he pleased.

Supper over, he went out on the veranda and was joined a few minutes later by Miss Maddin. They found seats in the shadow and talked of various things for a long time. He told her of Ned, what a fine, loyal roommate the latter had during four years together at school, of the pranks they had played on each other, and on the teachers, and she listened as interestedly as if she hadn't heard many of them many times already from Ned himself. Then she told him of Ned's early life with them, how he, a little orphan three years old, had come to make his home with them, how she had grown to think of him as a brother,

how he had been such a comfort to her and her mother since her father met his death at the hands of Mose Miller, and how Ned had sworn to avenge that death. Then they talked about the Star Gang, and Sylvester told her of meeting some of them while out riding, and of the marshals who were following them.

"The marshals here!" she exclaimed.

A pistol shot in the edge of the woods prevented a reply, and almost instantly a great flash arose from the middle of the street near the station, followed by a deafening explosion. This was succeeded by the rapid fire of guns and a blood-curdling yell.

The fiendish noise continued for several seconds, and a number of spent balls fell upon the house-top and in the yard.

Sylvester crept to the edge of the veranda and looked anxiously through the moonlight toward the center of the town. He waited for some time, but not another sound could be heard.

"Mose and Schute are at the head of that," said Miss Maddin. "They did it to anger the marshals. They get off something of the kind every time the marshals come to Braggs. They won't cause any more disturbance to-night, however, you may feel sure of that." And then rising abruptly, she good-night and went to her room.

said

The young minister remained lost in thought and surrounded by the stillness of the night. Not a human form was discernible. Not even a light glimmered in the village, and through the oppressive silence the call of the whippoor-will in the woods and the croak of the frogs down in the pasture sounded loud and clear.

He had often heard his father tell of the oppressive stillness which surrounded the Confederate army just before Lee issued the command to charge the Union troops on the fatal field of Gettysburg; and although the shooting which broke the stillness of the night in Braggs could have been nothing like the thunder of the cannon which shook the earth around that great bat

tle field and destroyed men by the thousands, the incident that had just occurred gave Sylvester a more vivid picture of what that contest must have been.

CHAPTER IV.

The next day was an eventful one. The marshals paraded the streets for an hour or two in the early morning and then rode out of the village. Sylvester spent the morning reading and writing, took a nap and a ride in the afternoon, and a short walk in the early evening before beginning his meeting. About seven o'clock he went over to the little frame school house which was to serve for a church, rang the bell, lighted the lamps and selected hymns for the service. A congregation of thirty or forty soon assembled in front of the building, and among them he saw his old friend, Joe Farley.

Inviting the congregation to come inside, he began the services. Only one verse of the first hymn had been sung when Schute came in. He had two large pistols buckled around his hips and carried a repeating rifle in his hand. Walking up towards the front, he took a chair, carried it back to the door, placed it down beside the opening, sat and rested his rifle, butt end downward, on the floor. Nor did he change his position during the whole. service. He kept his keen eyes riveted on Sylvester, much to the latter's discomfort. The young minister's courage rose as he proceeded with the sermon, however, so that he got through without revealing the embarrassment which he really felt.

After the benediction, Sylvester went to the door to shake hands with the members of the congregation as they passed out. Schute dodged out, however, before the minister got there, but the latter saw him and shook hands with him later. Converse, however, Schute would not. He responded to all Svivester's questions with a nod of the head. and rever once took his keen, black eyes from the minister's face.

His general attitude, too, seemed to be one of growing suspicion. Annoyed by it, Sylvester finally asked him why he kept staring in that strange manner. The outlaw scowled, muttered something under his breath, and walked out across the narrow strip of field toward the woods, carrying his rifle under his

arm.

Sylvester soon overtook Miss Maddin, who had gone a short distance down the road, and was waiting for him.

"I was beginning to be just a little uneasy," she said, as he joined her. "Joe has just left me. He told me to tell you to be very careful. Schute and Mose are suspicious of you. He thinks they believe you are here for some other purpose than to carry on meetings. He said he heard they had agreed among themselves to watch you for a week, and unless they are fully convinced that you are what you pretend to be, they intend to kill you. They have appointed some of their own men to watch you meanwhile, but don't be alarmed, for Joe has already made himself your guardian. You're very fortunate in gaining Joe Farley's friendship.-you will find that he may be trusted fully, and that what he tells you may be depended upon."

"But how does Joe know all this? Which way did he go? I must see him."

"Not to-night. He'll see you in a few days, he said."

They reached the house, and Sylvester went immediatetly to his room. He sat for hours thinking of what he

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"Shhh, remember, no names; some one might hear."

"Well, I can't do what you ask me to. You know I hate him too much to carry out such a scheme. Besides, it won't work-I tell you, he won't be deceived."

"But I tell you, Maud, it will work. Thy it; try it for the good of the cause if for no other reason."

Then after a pause: "I'll try it for your sake."

"And for your father's, Maud. Remember it is just two weeks from tonight. I'll probably not see you again until after the dance. Joe will bring the whisky; the rest depends upon you. Probably you'd better keep everything hid from Sylvester for a while. Good-bye."

Sylvester heard the grass rustling, and got back to his room just in time to avoid being seen. A crouching figure glided slowly around the veranda, and as it passed out into the bright moonlight he recognized Ned Foster. (To be continued.)

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