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_____ _ I8SUKD ^ ^ ' i. m. grist's sons publisher.. } % J'amils geujspaper: Jor the promotion of the political. Social, Agricultural and Commercial Interests o(f the people. {^^m^|^opJ"iBviciSt?*!l,!l!' ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE, S. C., TUESDAY^DECEMBER 19, 1905. :N~Q. 101. " ' " - - - - I .... .... .... I " * ?m?-. 1 1 1 U. .1.1 tn I M41 t? . V* ? THE QL .An Historical ] Ku Klu BY THOMAS Copyright by the'Author and Published Book IV?The Ku Klux Klan. CHAPTER L The Hunt For the Animal. Aunt Cindy came at 7 o ciock 10 gei breakfast, and finding the house closed and np one at home, supposed Mrs. Lenoir and Marion had remained at the Cameron House for the night. She sat down on the steps, waited grumbllngly an hour, and then hurried to the hotel to scold her former mistress for keeping her out so long. Accustomed to enter familiarly, she thrust her head into the dining-room where the family were at breakfast with a solitary guest, muttering the speech she had been rehearsing on the way: { "I lpk ter know what sort er way dis?whar*s Miss Jeannie?" Ben leaped to his feet. i "Isn't she at home?" "Been waitin' dar two hours." "Great God!" he groaned, springing through the door and rushing to saddle the mare. As he left he called to his father: "Let no one know till I return." At the house he could find no trace of the crime he had suspected. Every room juas in perfect order. He searched the yard carefully, and under the cedar by the window he saw the barefoot tracks of a negro. The white man i was never born who could make that track. The enormous heel projected . backward, and in the hollow of the instep where the dirt would scarcely < be touched by an Aryan was the deep I wide mark of the African's flat foot. He carefully measured it. brought from an outhouse a box. and fastened it over the spot. It might have been an ordinary chicken-thief, of course. He could not tell, < hut It was a fact of big import. A sud- i den hppe flashed through his mind that they might have risen tvith the sun and strolled to their favorite haunt at Lover's Leap. In two minutes he was there, | gazing with hard-set eyes at Marlon's hat and handkerchief lying on the i shelving rock. The mare bent her glistening neck, i touched the hat with her nose, lifted her head, dilated her delicate nostrils, i looked out over the cliff with her great ] soft half-human eyes and whinnied I gently. < Ben leaped to the ground, picked up l the handkerchief and looked at the i initials, "M. L." worked In the corner. He knew what lay on the river's brink i below as well as If he stood over the dead bodies. He kissed the letters of i her rame, crushed the handkerchief In i his locked hands, and cried: "Now, Lord God. give me strength for the service of my people!" He hurriedly examined the ground, 1 amazed to find no trace of a struggle i or crime. Could It be possible they had i ventured too near the brink and fal- < len over? He hurried to report to his father < his discoveries, 1-structed his mother i and Margaret to keep the servants I quiet tintll the truth was known, and the two men returned along the river's brink to the foot of the cliff. They found the bodies close to the water's edge. Marion had been killed 1 Instantly. Her fair blonde head lay In a crimson circle sharply defined In the I white sand. But the mother was still < warm with life. She had scarcely I ceased to breathe. In one last desper- i ate throb of love the trembling soul had dragged the dying body to the girl's i side, and she had died with her head resting on the fair round neck as though she had kissed her and fallen asleep. Father and son clasped hands and stood for a moment with uncovered heads. The doctor said at length: "Go to the coroner at once, and see that he summons tne jury you seieci and hand to him. Bring them Immediately. I will examine the bodies before they arrive." Ben took the negro coroner into his office alone, turned the key, told him of the discovery, and handed him the list of the jury. 'Til hatter see Mr. Lynch fust, sah," he answered. Ben placed his hand on his hippocket and said coldly: "Put your cross-mark on those forms I've made out there for you, go with mo Immediately, and summon these men. If you dare put a negro on this jury or open your mouth as to what has occurred in this room, I'll kill you." The negro tremblingly did as he was commanded. The coroner's jury reported that the mother and daughter had been killed by accidentally falling over the cliff. In all the throng of grief-stricken friends who came to the little cottage that day, but two men knew the hell-lit secret beneath the tragedy. When the bodies reached the home, Doctor Cameron placed Mrs. Cameron and Margaret outside to receive visitors and prevent any one from disturbing him. He took Ben into the room and locked the doors. "My boy, I wish you to witness an experiment." He drew from its case a powerful microscope of French make. "What on earth are you going to do, sir?" , The doctor's brilliant eyes flashed with a mystic light as he replied: "Find the flend who did this crime? and then we will hang him on a gallows so high that all men from the rivers to ends of the earth shall see and reel ana Know me migm ui an quirable race of men.'" "But there's no trace of him here." "We shall see," said the doctor, adjusting his instrument. "I believe that a microscope or sufficient power will reveal on the retina of these dead eyes the image of this devil as if etched there by fire. The experiment has been made successfully in France. No word or deed of man is lost. A German scholar has a memL ory so wonderful he can repeat whole volumes of Latin, German, and French without an error. A Russian officer AXSMAKf. Romance of the x Klan. ; DIXON, JR. by Doubleday, Page & Co. has been known to repeat the roll-call of anv resriment by reading It twice. | Psychologists hold that nothing is lost from the memory of man. Impressions remain in the brain like words written on paper In Invisible ink. So I believe of images in the eye if we can trace them early enough. If no impression were made subsequently on the mother's eye by the light of day, I believe the fire-etched record of this crime can yet be traced." Ben watched him with breathless interest. He first examined Marion's eyes. But in the cold azure blue of their pure depths he could find nothing. "It's as I feared with the child," he said. "I can see nothing. It is on the mother I rely. In the splendor of life, at thirty-seven she was the full-blown perfection of womanhood with every vital force at its highest tension?" He looked long and patiently- into the dead mother's eye rose and wiped the perspiration from his face. "What is it, sir?" asked Ben. Without reply, as if in a trance, he returned to the microscope and again rose with a little quick nervous cough he gave only in the greatest excitement, and whispered: "Look now and tell me what you Bee." Ben looked and said: "I can see nothing." "Tour powers of vision are not trained as mine," replied the doctor, resuming his place at the instrument. "What do you see?" asked the younger man, bending nervously. "The bestial figure of a negro?his huge black hand plainly defined?the upper part of the face is dim, as if obscured by a gray mist of dawn?but the massive jaws and lips are clear? rmrciful God!?it's Gus!" The doctor leaped to his feet livid with excitement. Ben bent again, looked long and eagerly, but could see nothing. "I'm afraid the image is in your eye, sir, not the mother's" said Ben, sadly. "That's possible, of course," said the doctor, "yet I don't believe it." "I've thought of the same scoundrel and tried blood hounds on that track for some reason they couldn't follow it. I suspected him from the first, and especially since learning that he left for Columbia on the early morning train oti pretended official business." "Then I'm not mistaken," insisted the doctor, trembling with excitement. "Now do as I tell you. Find when he returns. Capture him, bind, gag, and carry him to your meeting-place under the cliff, and let me know." On the afternoon of the funeral, two days later, Ben received a cipher tplperam from the conductor of the train telling him that Gus was on the evening mall due at Piedmont at nine o'clock. The papers had been filled with accounts of the accident, and an enormous crowd from the country, and many admirers of the fiery lyrics of the poet-father, had come from distant -arts to honor his name. All business was suspended, and the entire white population of the village followed the bodies to their last resting-place. As the crowds returned to their homes, po notice was taken of a dozen men on horseback who rode out of town by different ways about dusk. At eight o'clock they met in the woods, near the first little flag-station located on McAllister's farm four miles from Piedmont where a buggy awaited them. Two men of powerful build, who were strangers in the county, alighted from the buggy and walked along the track to board the train at the station three miles beyond and confer with the conductor. The men, who gathered in the woods, dismounted, removed their saddles, and from the folds of the blankets took a white disguise for horse and man. In a moment it was fitted on each horse, with buckles at the throat, breast, and tail, and the saddles replaced. The white robe for the man was made in the form of an ulster overcoat with cape, the skirt extending to the top of he shoes. From the red belt at the waist were swung two revolvers which had beei concealed in their pockets. Oi each man's breast was a scarlet circle within which shone a white cross. The same scarlet circle and cross appeared on the horse's breast, while on his flanks flamed the three red mystic letters. K. K. K. Kach man wore a white cap from the edges of which fell a piece of cloth extending to the shoulders. Beneath the visor was an opening for the eyes and lower down one for the mouth. On the front of the cans of two of the men appeared tlo red wings of a hawk as ihe ensign of rank. From the top of each cap rose eighteen inches high a single spike ht id erect by a twisted wire. The disguises in.to ard horse were nv>de of rlitsp white home-spun, and when not in use were folded within a blanket and kept under the saddle in a crowd without discovery. It required less than two minutes to remove the saddles, place the disguises, and remount. At the signal of a whistle the men and horses arrayed in white and scarlet swung into double-file cavalry formation and stood awaiting orders. The moon was now shining brightly, and its light shimmering on the silent horses and men with their tall spiked caps made a picture such as the world had not seen since the Knights of the Middle Ages rode on their Holy Crusades. As the train neared the flag-station, which was dark and unattended, the conductor approached Gus. leaned over, and said: "I've just gotten a message from the sheriff telling me to warn you to get off at this station and slip into town. There's a crowd at the depot there waiting for you and they mean trouble." Gus trembled, and whispered: "Gus fur Gawd's sake lemme off here." The two men who got on at the station below stepped out before the ne gro, and, as he alighted from the car, ( seized, trapped, and threw him to the t ground. The engineer blew a sharp ( signal, and the train pulled on. s In a minute Gus was bound and gagged. 1 One of the men drew a whistle and t blew twice. A single tremulous call 1 like the cry of an owl answered. The i swift beat of horses's feet followed, s and four white-and-scarlet clansmen 1 swept in a circle around the group. Une or tne strangers turned to me ? horseman with red-winged ensign on c his cap. saluted, and said: c 'Here's your man, Night Hawk." "Thanks gentlemen," was the an- I swer. "Let us know when we can be s of service to your county." i The strangers sprang into their buggy and disappeared toward the North t Carolina line. f The clansmen blindfolded the negro, c placed him on a horse, tied his legs se- t curely, and his arms behind him to a the ring in the saddle. c The Night Hawk blew his whistle t four sharp blasts, and his pickets gal- s loped from their positions and joined r [him. n Again the signal rang, and his men g wheeled with the precision of trained ii cavalrymen into column formation d three abreast, and rode toward Pled- li mont, the single black figure tied and c gagged in the centre of the white-and- c scarlet squadron. I CHAPTER n. ? The Fiery Crcss. a The clansmen with their prisoner ^ skirted the village and halted in the ^ woods on the river bank. The Night v Hawk signalled for single file, and In a few minutes they stood against the cliff under Lover's Leap and saluted the chief, who sat his horse, awaiting their arrival. Pickets were placed in each direction on the narrow path by which the spot was approached, and one was sent to stand guard on the shelving rock P above. Through the narrow crooked en- ^ trance they led Gus into the cave ' which had been the rendezvous of the Piedmont Den of the Klan since its ^ formation. The meeting-place was a grand hall eighty feet deep, fifty feet ^ wide, and more than forty feet in height, which had been earved out by the river In ages past when its waters stood at a higher level. Tonight it was lighted by candies placed on the edges of the walls. In the centre, on a fallen boulder, sat the Grand Cyclops of the Den, the presidIng officer of the township, his rank marked by scarlet stripes on the y white cloth spike of his cap. Around him stood twenty or more clansmen in p their uniform, completely disguised. One among them wore a yellow sash, ^ trimmed in gold, about his waist, and c on his breast two yellow circles with red crosses interlapping, denoting his ^ rank to be the Grand Dragon of the Rialm, or Commander-in-Chief of the State. _ ^ ? # i_ 1 ne CJ'Clops rose iruni his ocu. "Let the Grand Turk remove his prisoner for a moment and place him M in charge of the Grand Sentinel at the ^ door until summoned." The officer disappeared with Gus, a-id the Cyclops continued. "The Chaplain will open our Council with prayer." Solemnly every white-shrouded fig- j ure knelt on the ground, and the voice of the Rev. Hugh McAlpin, trembling with feeling, echoed through the cave: . "Lord God of our Fathers, as in times past thy children, fleeing from the oppressor found refuge beneath the earth until once more the sun of righteousness rose, so are we met tonight. ^ As we wrestle with the powers of darkness now strangling our life, give s to our souls to endure as seeing the in- J visible, and to our right arms the ^ strength of the martyred dead of our people. Have mercy on the poor, the ^ weak, the Innocent and defenseless, ^ a"d deliver us from the body of the Black Death. In a land of light and beauty and love our women are prisoners of danger and fear. While the heathen walks his native heath unharmed and unafraid, in this fair . i a Christian Southland, our sisters, wives, and daughters dare not stroll at twlc light through the streets, nor step beyond the highway at noon. The terror of the twilight deepens with the dark- ^ ness, and the stoutest heart grows sick with fear for the red message the morning bringeth. Forgive our sins? ^ [they are many, but hide not thy face from us. O God, for thou art our j refuge!" As the last echoes of the prayer lin- r gered and died in the vaulted roof, the f clansmen rose and stood a moment v in silence. f Again the voice of the Cyclops broke the stillness: ^ "Brethren, we are met tonight at the request of the Grand Dragon of the Riuhn, who has honored us with his t pr? sence, to constitute a High Court t for the trial of a case involving life. t Are the Night Hawks ready to submit c their evidence?" "We are ready." came the answer, t "Then let the Grand Scribe read the f objects of the Order on which your c authority rests." The Scribe opened his Book of Rec- j ord. "The Prescript of the Order of the t Invisible Empire," and solemnly read: s "To the lovers of law and order, c peace and justice, and to the shades of the venerated dead, greeting: a "This is an institution of Chivalry, Humanity. Mercy, and Patriotism: em- c bodying in its genius and principles f all that is chivalric In conduct, noble c in sentiment, generous in manhood, > and patriotic in purpose: its peculiar f objects being. f "First: To protect the weak, the in- j nocent, ar.d the defenseless from the t indignities, wrongs and outrages of the \ lawless the violent, and the brutal; to i relieve the injured and the oppressed: 1 to succor the suffering and unfortu- 1 nate, and especially the widows and i the orphans of Confederate Soldiers. I "Second: To protect and defend the i Constitution of the United States, and all the laws passed In conformity i thereto, and to protect the states and the people thereof from all invasion a from any source whatever. i "Third: To aid and assist in the ex- i ecution of all Constitutional laws, and c to protect the people from unlawful s seizure, and from trial except by their peers in conformity to the laws of the j land." f "The Night Hawks will produce their t evidence," said the Cyclops, "and the < Srand Monk will conduct the case of he people against the negro Augustus Caesar, the former slave of Dr. Rlchird Cameron." Dr. Cameron advanced and removed lis cap. His snow-white hair and >eard, ruddy face and dark-brown brlllant eyes made a strange picture In ts weird surroundings, like an ancient ilchemist ready to conduct some darng experiment In the problem of life. "I am here, brethren," he said, "to Lccuse the black brute about to appear f the crime of assault on a daughter >f the south?" A murmur of thrilling surprise and lorror swept the crowd of white and J carlet figures and with one common mpulse they moved closer. "His feet have been measured and hey exactly tally with the negro tracks ound under the window of the Lenoir ottage. His flight to Columbia and reurn on the publication of their deaths s an accident Is a confirmation of our ase. I will not relate to you the selenitic experiment which first fixed my usplclon of this man's guilt. My witless could not confirm It. and It might lot be to you credible. But this neto is peculiarly sensitive to hypnotic tifluence. I purpose to put him uner this power tonight before you. and, f he is guilty, I can make him tell his onfederates, describe and rehearse the rime itself." The Night Hawks led Qua before )octor Cameron, untied his hands, renoved the gag, and slipped the blindold from his head. Under the doctor's rigid gaze the ne;ro's knees struck together, and hecolipsed Into complete hypnosis, merely [fting his huge paws lamely as if to rard a blow. They seated him on the boulder from fhlch the Cyclops rose, and Gus stared bout the cave and grinned as if in a ream sApInc nothlne. The doctor recalled to him the day f the crime, and he began to talk to Is three confederates, describing his lot in detail, now and then pausing nd breaking into a fiendish laugh. Old McAllister, who had three lovey daughters at home, threw off his ap, sank to his knees, and buried his ace In his hands, while a dozen of he white figures crowded closer, nerously gripping the revolvers which ung from their red belts. Doctor Cameron pushed them back nd lifted his hand in warning. The negro began to live the crime ;ith fearful realism?the journey past he hotel to make sure the victims had one to their home; the visit to Aunt Jlndy's cabin to find her there; lying i the field waiting for the last light f the village to go out, gloating with ulger exultation over their plot, and lanning other crimes to follow its uccess?how they crept along the hadows of the hedgerow of the lawn a avoid the moonlight, stood under the edar, and through the open windows matched the mother and daughter lughing and talking within? "Min' what I tells you now?Tie de le one, when I gib you de rope," said (us in a whisper. "My God!" cried the agonised voice f the figure with the double cross that's what the piece of burnt rope i the fireplace meant!" Doctor Cameron again lifted his hand ar silence. Now they burst into the room and Mth the light of hell in his beady, ellow-splotched eyes, Gus gripped his riaginary revolver and growled: "Scream, an* I blow yer brains out!" In spite of Doctor Cameron's warnlg, the white-robed figures jostled nd Dressed closer? ? Gus rose to his feet and started cross the cave as if to spring on the hlverlng figure of the girl, the clansten with muttered groans, sobs and urses falling back as he advanced. He till wore his full captain's uniform, :s heavy epaulets hashing their gold n the unearthly light, his beastly jaws a!f covering the gold braid on the colir. His thick lips were drawn upward n an ugly leer and his sinister beadyes gleamed like a gorilla's. A single e'ree leap and the black claws clutched he air slowly as If sinking into the oft white throat. Strong men began to cry like ,chilren. "Stop him! Stop him!" screamed a lansman, springing on the negro and rrlnding his heel Into his big thick leek. A dozen more were on him In a loment, kicking, stamping, cursing, nd crying like madmen. Doctor Cameron leaped forward and icat them off: "Men! Men! You must not kill him n this condition!" Some of the white figures had fallen irostrate on the ground, sobbing in a renzy of uncontrollable emotion. Some rere leaning against the walls, their aces burled in their arms. Again old McAllister was on his inees crying over and over again: "God have mercy on my people!" When at length quiet was restored he negro was revived, and again >ound, blindfolded, gagged, and thrown o the ground before the Grand Cy lops. A sudden inspiration flashed in Docor Cameron's eyes. Turning to the igure with yellow sash and double :ross he said: "Issue your orders and despatch 'our courier tonight with the old Scotlsh rite of the Fiery Cross. It will iend a thrill of inspiration to every ilansman in the hills." "Good?prepare it quickly," was the inswer. Doctor Cameron opened his medicine jase, drew the silver drinking-cover rom a flask, and passed out of the :ave to the dark circle of blood still shining In the sand by the water's dge. He knelt and filled the cup half ull of the crimson grains, and dipped t into the river. From a saddle he ook the lightwood torch, returned vithin, and placed the cup on the loulder on which the Grand Cyclops lad sat. He loosed the bundle of ightwood, took two pieces, tied them nto the form of a cross, and laid it jesldes a lighted candle near the silver cup. The silent figures watched his every novement. He lifted the cup nnd said: "Brethren, I hold In my hand the vater of your river bearing the red stain of the life of u southern woman, ? priceless sacrifice on the altar of >utraged civilization. Hear the message of your chief." The tall figure with the yellow sash md double cross stepped before the strange altar, while the white forms of he clansmen gathered about him In a drcle. He lifted his cap, and laid It on tne Douider, and his men gazed on the flushed face of Ben Cameron, the Grand Dragon of the Realm. He stood for a moment silent erect, a smouldering fierceness In his eyes, something cruel and yet magnetic In his alert bearing. He looked on the prostrate negro lying in | his uniform at his feet, seized the crdss, lighted the three upper ends and h?ld It blazing In his hand, while, in a Voice full of the flres of feeling, he said: "Men of the South, the time for words has nassed the hour for action has struck. The Grand Turk will execute this negro tonight and fling his body on the lawn of the black lieutenant governor of the state." The (Grand Turk bowed. "I afk for the swiftest messenger of this Den who can .ride till dawn." The man whom Doctor Cameron had already chosen stepped forward: "Carry my summons to the Grand Titan of the adjoining province In North Carolina whom you will find at Hambrlght. Tell him the story of this crime and what you have seen and heard. Ask him to report to me here the second night from this, at 11 o'clock, with six Grand Giants from his adjoining counties, each accompanied by two hundred picked men. In olden times when the Chieftain of our people summoned the clan on an errand of life arid death, the Fiery Cross, extlntlngutehed In sacrificial blood, was sent by swift courier from village to village. This call was never made In vain nor will It be tonight In the new world. Here, on this spot made holy ground by the blood of those we hold dearer than life, I raise the ancient symbol of an unconquered race of men?" High above his head In the darkness of the cave he lifted the blazing emblem? "The Fiery Cross of old Scotland's hills!; I quench Its flames In the sweetest blood that ever stained the sands of Time." He dipped its ends In the silver cup, extinguished the Are, and handed the charred symbol to the courier, who quickly disappeared. CHAPTER III. i The Partino op the Ways. The discovery of the captain of the African Guards lying in his full uniform In Lynch's yard sent a thrill of terror to the triumphant leagues. Across the breast of the body was pinned a scrap of paper on which was written In red Ink the letters K. K. K. It was the first actual evidence of the existence of this dreaded order In Ulster county. The first lieutenant of the Guards assumed command and held the full company In their armory under arms day and night. Beneath his door he had found a notice which was also nailed on the court house. It appeared in thq Piedmont Eagle and In rapid sueetrfhfon tn every newspaper not under negro Influence In the state. It read as follows: "Headquarters of Realm No. 4. "Dreadful Era, Black Epoch, Hideous Hour. "General Order No. 1. "The Negro Militia now organized in this State threatens the extinction of civilization. They have avowed their purpose to make war upon and exterml-ate the Ku Klux Klan, an organization which is now the sole guardian of Society. All negroes are hereby given forty-eight hours from the publication of this notice in their respective counties to surrender their arms at the court house door. Those who refuse must take the consequences. "By order of the G. D. of Realm No. 4. "By the Grand Scribe." The white people of Piedmont read this notice with a thrill of exultant Joy. Men walked the streets with an erect bearing which said without words: "Stand out of the way." For the first time since the dawn of the Black Rule negroes began to yield to white men and women the right of way on the streets. On the day following, the old Commoner sent for Phil. "What is the latest news?" he asked. "The town is in a fever of excitement?not over the discovery in Lynch's yard?but over the blacker rumor that Marlon and her mother committed suicide to conceal an assault by this fiend." "A trumped-up lie," said the old man emphatically. "It's true. sir. I'll take Doctor Cameron's word for it." "You have just come from the Camerons?" "Yes." "Let it be your last visit. The Camerons are on the road to the gallows, father and son. Lynch Informs me that the murder committed last night, and the i solent notice nailed on the court house door could nave come only from their brain. . They are the h<redltary leaders of these people. They alone would have had the audacity to fling this crime into the teeth of the world and threaten worse. We are face to face with southern barbarism. Every man now to his own standard! The house of Stoneman can have no part with midnight assassins." "Nor with black barbarians, father. It is a question of who possesses the right of life and death over the citize i, the organized virtue of the community, or its organized crime. You have mistaken for death the patience of a generous people. We call ourselves the champions of liberty. Yet for less than they have suffered, kings have lost their heads and empires perished before the wrath of freemen." "My boy, this Is not a question for argument between us," said the father with stern emphasis. "This conspiracy of terror and assassination threatens to shatter my work to atoms. The election on which turns the destiny of congress, and the success or failure of my life, Is but a few weeks away. Unless this foul conspiracy is crushed, I am ruined, and the Nation falls again beneath the heel of a slaveholders' oligarchy." "Your nightmare of a slaveholders' oligarchy does not disturb me." "At least you will have the decency *~ ' "Aut? offolr with Mnrwrpf IU ureu.IV Ull ,ywui auun ??av?. . ??. 0?- -. Cameron pending the issue of my struggle of life and death with her father and brother?" "Never." "Then I will do it for you." "I warn you, sir," Phil cried, with anger, "that if It comes to an issue of race against race, I am a white man. me gnasuy trageay or rne conaiuon c society here Is something: for which th people of the south are no longer res ponsible?" "I'll take the responsibility!" growl ed the old cynic. "Don't ask me to share It." said th younger man, emphatically. The father winced, his lips trembler and he answered brokenly: "My boy, this is the bitterest hou of my life :that has had little to mak It sweet. To hear such words fror you Is more than I can bear. I am a old man now?my sands are nearl run. But two human beings love m< ?nrt i inv<? hut two. On vou and you sister I have lavished all the treasure of a maimed and strangled soul?and I has come to this! Read the notlc which one of your friends thrust int the window of my bed-room las night." He handed Phil a piece of paper o which was written: "The o!d club-footed beast who ha sneaked Into our town, pretending t search for health, In reality the leade of the infernal Union League, will b given forty-eight hours to vacate th house and rid this community of hi prese-ce. "K. K. K." "Are you an officer of the Union Lea gu< ?" Phil asked in surprise. "I am its soul." "How could a southerner dlscove this, If your own children didn't kno\ It?" "By their spies who have Joined th League." "And do the rank and file know th Black Pope at the head of the order? "No, but high officials ao." "Does Lynch?" "Certainly." "Then he Is the ucoundrel who place that note In your room. It Is a clums attempt to forge an order of the K!ar The white man does not live In thi town capable of that act. I know thes people." "My boy, you are bewitched by th smiles of a woman to deny your ow fltsh and blood." "Nonsense, father?you are possess ed by an idea which has become a insane mania?" "Will you respect my wishes?" th old man broke in, angrily. "I will not," was the clear answei Phil turned and left the room, and th old man's massive head sank on hi breast in helpless baffled rage an grief. He was more successful In his ap peal to Elsie. He convinced her c the genuineness of the threat agalnt him. The brutal reference to his lame -ess roused the girl's soul. When th old man crushed by Phil's desertioi broke down the last reserve of hi rtrange cold nature, tore his wounde heart open to her, cried In agony ove his deformity, his lameness, and th a gulsh with which he saw the threat ened ruin of his life-work, she threi her arms around his neck in a flood c tears and cried: "Hush, father, I will not desert yoi I will never leave you, or wed wlth'm. your blessing. If I find that my love was in any way responsible ft this insulL I'll tear his image out c my heart 'and never speak his nam again!" She wrote a note to Ben. asking hli to meet her at sundown on horsebac at Lover's L<ap. Ben was elated at the unexpected re quest. He was hungry for an hou with his sweetheart, whom he had nc sren save for a moment since th storm of excitement broke followln the discovery of the crime. He hastened through his work of or derlng the movement of the Klan fc the nlgl . and determined to surprls Elsie by meeting her In his uniform c a Gra-i.d Dragon. Secure In her loyalty, he would de libc rately thus put his life In he hands. Using the water of a brook 1 the woods for a mirror, he adjusted hi yellow sash and pushed the two re volvers back under the cape out c sight, sayl g to himself with a laugh "Betray me? Well If she does. 111 would not be worth the living!" \Vh< n Elsie had recovered from th fret shock of surprise at the whit horse a':d rider waiting for he under the shadows of the old beeel her surprise gave -way to grief at th certainty of his guilt, and the great nt ss of his love In thus placing his 111 without a question In her hands. He tied the horses In the woods, an they sat down on the rustic. He removed his helmet cap, thre' back the white cape showing the scar let lining, and the two golden circle with their darning crosses on hi breast, with boyish pride. The cos tume was becoming to his slende graceful dgure, and he knew It. "You see, sweetheart, I hold hlg ra k In the Empire," he whispered, From beneath his cape he drew long bundle which he unrolled. It wa a triangular dag of brilliant yello* dged In scarlet. In the centre of th yellow ground was the dgure of huge black dragon with dery red eye a d tongue. Around It was a Lati motto worked In scarlet; "quod sem p< r, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus"what always, what everywhere, wha by all has been held to be true. "Th battle-dag of the Klan," he said; "th standard of the Grand Dragon." Elsie seised his hand and kissed 1 unable to speak. "Why so serious tonight?" "Do you- love me very much?" sh vswered. "Greater love hath no man than thi that he lay his life at the feet of hi beloved." he responded, tenderly. "Yes. yes; I know?and that Is wh you are breaking my heart. When firs I met you?It seems now ages an ages ago?I was a vain, self-wllle< pert little thing?" "It's not so. I took you for an an gel?you were one. You are one tc night." "Now," she went on slowly, "In whs I have lived through you I have grow i"to an impassioned, serious, self-dls ciplined, bewildered woman. Yot perfect trust tonight is the sweetei revelation that can come to a woman soul and yet It brings to me unspeafc able pain?" "For what?" "You are guilty of murder." B>n's figure stiffened. "The Judge who pronounces sentenc of death on a criminal outlawed b CIVlIIZfu nuurijf ia uut uouauj wine a murderer, my dear." "And by whose authority are you Judge?" "By authority of the sovereign peopl who created the state of South Cai >K uima. lilt; uriiiiiut&is win# tianu iw uv ie our officers are usurpers placed there i- by the subversion of law." "Won't you give this all up for my i- sake?" she pleaded. "Believe me, you are In great danger." e "Not so great as Is the danger of my sister and mother and my sweetheart 1, ?It Is a man's place to face danger," he gravely answered. ir "This violence can only lead to your e ruin and shame?" n "I am fighting the battle of a race n on whose fate hangrs the future of the V south and the Nation. My ruin and shame will be of small account If they ir are saved," was the even answer. 8 "Come my dear," she pleaded, tenIt derly, "you know that I have weighed the treasures of music and art and ? srlven them all for one clasp of your 't hand, one throb of your heart against ml 'e. I should call you cruel did I n not know you are Infinitely tender. This Is the only thing11 have ever asks ed you to do for me?" ? "Desert my people! You must not r ask of me this infamy, If you love me," e he cried. e "But listen; this la wrong?this wild s vengeance Is a crime you are doing, however great the provocation. We " cannot continue to love one another if vou do this. Listen: I love you better than father, mother, life or career?all r my dreams I've lost In you. I've lived v through eternity today with my father?" e "You know me guiltless of the vulgar threat against him?" * "Yes, and yet you are the leader of desperate men who might have done it. As I fought this battle today, I've lost you. lost myself, and sunk down ^ to the depths of despair, and at the end rang the one weak cry of a woS' ma '8 heart for her lover! Your frown V can darken the brightest sky. For your 8 sake I can give up all save the sense e of right. I'll walk by your side In life ?lead you gently and tenderly along e thn way of my dreams if I can, but if n vou eo vour wav. It shall be mine! and I shall still be glad because you are there! See how humble I am?only you must not commit crime!" "Come sweetheart, you must not use that word," he protested, with a touch of wounded pride. r' "You are a conspirator?" e "I am a revolutionist." "You are committing murder!" "I am waging war." Elsie leaped to her feet In a sudden |f rush of anger and extended her hand: |t "Good-bye. I shall not see you again. I do not know you. You are still a e stranger to me." j He held her hand firmly, g "We must not part In anger," he ^ said slowly. "I have grave work to r do before the day dawns. We may ' not see each other again." She led her horse to the seat quickly ' and without waiting for his assistance sprang into the saddle. "Do you not fear my betrayal of j your secret?" she asked. |t He rode to her side, bent close, and ,r whispered: >r "It's as safe as if locked in the heart >t of God." e A little sob caught her voice, yet she said slowly In firm tones: "If another crime Is committed in k this county by your Klan, we will never seC each other again." He escorted her to the edge of the town without a work, pressed her hand In silence, wheeled his horse, and disappeared on the road to the North ' Carolina line. TO BE CONTINUED. r TOO SICK TO KILL. if ?f The Colonel's Story of tho Last Blow to a Consumptive's Courage. A retired colonel of the United r States army told this story between " ho 1 via nf fhaf Parlinla.Woiit Point s football game which waa graced by " the presence of Prince Louis of Bat' ten berg: "After the Fort Kearny fight with e the Indians I was sent out scouting with my troop, rounding up a band of hostilesi The week before we left :e a consumptive Englishman showed up !r at the post. He was a friend of the colonel's, and he was trying roughing 'e it as a last chance. Ht was in a bad way. e " When my orders came he asked to go along. He was still strong enough d to ride, and we took him, although rather against my judgment Of ft' course such a thing wouldn't be allowed nowadays, but that was on the 's frontier, where rules were lax. Is "He was one of those hopeful coni sumptives?nothing the matter with >r him?only a little trouble with his throat?he was coming along fine, h We used to humor him and tell him he was looking better every day, ala though you could read his death sen s tence on his face. He was grit to ft' the backbone?took every hardship just as it came and sat on his horse a when he seemed ready to drop off *> at every jolt. n "We rode for a fortnight and never found our hostiles. But one rainy - night they found us. tt "I remember that the Englishman e was huddled over a little covered i? campfire when firing started from all sides; and in ten seconds 300 Indians t were riding over us. They had murdered the outposts and sprung a surprise. We got together, formed some kind of a hollow square and drove them back. We lost six killed. s. "When we had time to look about Is for dead and wounded I thought of my English friend. He was nowhere y in sight. I supposed, of course, that he had been killed, and I started scouts d to look for his body. "They found him lying under a brush. The trooper who saw him first rolled him over and found that that he was alive and unhurt, but crying as though his heart would lt break. n " 'What's the matter?' said the trooper. ir " 'I'm a dead man,' said the Engjt llshman. , "He wouldn't explain until I had a session alone with him. It appears > that he had been sitting by the fire when a buck on horseback rose up over him with his gun raised club fashion. The Englishman rose up and faced the Indian, ready to die like a man. The Indian caught a full !e view of his face in the firelight. ? TTorK ? oolrl TnHlon in IT.nclIaVi y "No use. Dead man,' and he lowered d his gun and passed on. "There was no heartening the cona sumptive after that. Two days later we made a settlement and dropped him off in charge of the keeper of the I? stage station, and In a month he was - dead." $u?scciianf0U?i THE DEADLY H0U8E FLY. The Most Active Agency In Disseminating Typhoid. Cholera, Etc. It is probable that the next important step in sanitation will be a declaration of war against the musca domes, tlca, or ordinary house fly?a war to be carried on as resolutely as that started a few years ago against the ubiquitous mosquito. There are still a few medical men* who think that too much has been maije of the germ theory of disease. The facts are over, whelming against these sceptics; but the fighters of microbes and bacteria are beginning to realise that they should not confine their attacks to the microscopic organisms, but must also demolish the visible insects and other carriers of disease. There is good reason for the belief that smallpox, typhus, the plague and other deadly maladies are largely spread by fleas, rats and other domestic parasites and vermin, whose systematic extermination would therefore mean a large decrease In human mortality the world oyer. In our own country and In Europe the darkest blot on the good name of the sanitarians Is the wide prevalence of typhoid fever and the shocking mortality among infants. The wast* of child life is largely due to overcrowding, want of fresh air, improper methods of feeding, and parental Intemperance; but these factors are mostly In uninterrupted operation throughout the year, and do not account for the sud den increase in mortality during the months which are consecrated to the fly. In the Journal of the Royal Sanitary Institute, an English medical officer of health, Dr. J. T. C. Nash, expresses his conviction that musca domestics is chiefly responsible for this increase. Milk Is one of the favorite foods of flies and the milk in our houses, especially in the homes of the poor, is constantly exposed to their visits. Even when they do not resort to their favorite method of committing suicide, they contaminate the milk with the noxious matter ollnging to their feet, and thus the germs of disease find a new and favorable medium for multiplication. Dr. Nash takes the position that milk is even more liable to pollution after than before delivery to the purchaser. This may be true, and, if so, it Is a very important point in sanitation. At the same time, his convictions which are based on observations made at Southend as to the coincidence of infantile diarrhoea with the number of flies raised the question as to whether sufficient attention is paid to flies at the dairies where the cows are housed and the milk is stored. All milkmen keep horses, and Dr. L. O. Howard has shown that most of the house flies breed in horse dung. This furnishes the key to the remedy, which is thus, most fortunately, infinitely simpler than In ' the case of mosquitoes. It would be well to compel farmers and others to take measures to keep the flies from the manure pits, which is quite easy. That would not only reduce Infant mortality, but decrease the number of typhoid cases. In view of what has been said and what is known of the filthy habits of flies, it is not surprising that so many city dwellers safe at home, should come from an outing in the country smitten with typhoid. Heretofore tainted wells have been held responsible for these cases, but in all probability flies are very frequently the culprits. This probability Is largely increased by the sad experiences of our army in the summer of 1898. It was shown abundantly at that time that the most care ful system of water supply Is unsatisfactory if there Is sewage and if there are flies about to pollute the food and drink. Surgeon Gen. Sternberg, knew of this danger. As early as April in that year he issued a circular in which he referred to it His instructions were, however, ignored, with the result that over 21 per cent of the soldiers in the encampments that summer had typhoid and over 80 per cent of the deaths during that year were from the one cause. It is the same with cholera, which disappears when flies disappear. A Frenchman of science Prof. Chantemessa. has recently demonstrated ths role played by flies in the dissemination of the germs of that disease. Fortunately, as his experiments proved, the cholera germs in flies lose their virulence after forty-eight hours. Modern experience certainly points to the conclusion that the fly is the most dangerous of all animals?more so even than the deadly mosquito. It is so, certainly, In our climate, where the mosquito's specialties, malaria and yellow fever, are much rarer than Infantile maladies and enteric fever. But even in India, for Instance, one can easily imagi-e that in cholera time, amid the prevailing horribly insanitary conditions, flies must slay their millions?probably quite as many millions as the mosquitoes slaughter with the malarial germs.?New York Evening Post. ORIGIN OF MOTHER GOOSE. She Was a Mythical Old Frenchwoman, a Story Teller. The earliest date at: which Mother Goose appears as the author of children's stories is 1197, when Charles Perrault, a distinguished French lit-, terateur, published in Paris a little book of tales which he had during that and the preceding year contribu ted to a magazine known as the Recueil, printed at The Hague. This book is entitled: "Hlstolre ou Contes du Temps Passe, aves des Moralites," and has a frontispiece in which is pictured an old woman telling stories to a family group by the fireside, while in the background are the words In large characters, "Contes de ma Mere l'Oye"?"Tales of My Mother Goose." These tales are eight in number, consisting of the following: "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Sisters Who Dropped from Their Mouths Diamonds and Toads," "Bluebeard," "The Sleeping Beauty," "Puss in Boots," "Cinderella," "Riquet With the Tuft," and "Tom Thumb"?or "Little Thumb" (Petit Poucet) as he is here called. "Rlquet With the Tuft" is the only one of the collection which seems not to have maintained its popularity in English and American collections. It is thus clear that Motner uoose was of French extraction, and of at least respectable antiquity. But thus far nothing has been heard of her 0 "Melodies." She began her existence as the raconteur of fairy tales, not as the nursery poetess.?The Dial.