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y v ** " . ?'/ \ " / . -V < ^ _ JSSTOD^EMI-WgEHI^j ^ r i. m. qrist'S sons. publishers. j ,;: % JJamilg Jleurspapcr: 4or the promotion of the political, facial. Agricultural and Commercial Interests of the people. {tl!lwrVm* WrEsf.VBhisiiEU 1855. ~ ' YORK VILLE, S. C., FlilDAY, JANl AKY 1, 15)09. NO. 1. wfwtnfwfwfwrimnm m w in m i f HE JO By OPII r Copyrighted 1896, by Wm. I By Permission of La CHAPTER XVII?Continued. The wiu niaU was wait.ng at tne foot of tne slaus. "Bill, we axe goin' over to tne buinen rigut after we eat a bite," he saiu. "i?e cant taae but a tew tningo, and we'll leave the mvht ol our trumpery till we git sett>ed somewhere. 'iaae care of taut norse you've been ridin?he don t belong to us; was left nere oy a man some time ago, teller tnat had to go away oif somewnere to see bis folks, bo, you jest keep him till hes ca.led for; and x've lett you plenty of corn out there to feed him on. y>- can study your books here about .ell as you can in to?n, and I wish ou d sorter look after the things, f arker will drive us over to tne station." "And am I to go also?" 1 asked. "No, I believe not. It's Guinea's arrangement and not mine. Let her have her own way. All women .'tave got their \\_hlms, the whole kit an' b'ilin' Hk of 'em, and you might as well reason with a weather cock. Wait a mkiit before we go in. As soon as we git half way settled Guinea will wrke to you. I have no idee where I'm goin', but it will be away off somewhere. It 1 " makes me shudder every time I meet a man that I know, and I'd bet a horse that if I was to meet a cross-eyed feller I'd fight him. If Alf gits clear he can come to us. And you?I'm sorry you have decided to go in with C'onkwright, for I wanted you to come with Alf." "I will come. Nothing shall stand in the way. Mr. Juckl.n, have you noticed " "Yes, I've noticed everything. And ^F^ it's all right. And Susan has noticed ^F* everything and it's all right with her. W^c There never was a prouder human than Guinea, sir; the old general's pride is rain water compared to her'n. And she's got an idee in her head?I don't exactly understand it, but she's got it there and we'll have to let her keep it till she wants to throw it aside. 1 was ever to the general s before sun up this mornin'. He swore that he . ^^wouldn't take the money, but I left it ^k^^^^^4under a brick-bat on the gate post and ^F^ ^ime away. Well, everything is setWF tie, and all I can say now is. God bless you." Br We were silent at breakfast, and we dared not look at one another. A wa??n came rattling through the gate. . and Parker shouted that he was ready. B. y~ ? No one had said a word, but the old man struck the table with his fist and exclaimed: "I insist on everybody showin' common sense. I don't want anybody to speak to me. I'll fight in a minit. (lit in that wagon without a word. Hush, now." fl wanted t" lead Guinea to the wagon, to feel again her dependence upon me. but she pretended to be looking awav when I attempted to take her hand, and so sv,e walked on alone; but I helped h^r into the vehicle, and I kissed her hand when she took hold of the seat. She gave me a quick look and a smile; and the wagon r, lied away. I stood on the log step, watching it. and as it was slowly sinking beyond the hill I saw the flutter of a handkerchief. I went up to my room and sat down, sad that I had seen her going away from me, yet happy to know that she had left her heari in my keeping. But the foolishness of this separation struck me with a f- rce that had been lacking until now. and for a time I felt toward the old man a hardness that not even a kern apreciation of his kindness and * , his drollery could soften. Gradually, however, the truth came to me that Alf had drawn the plan, and with my arms stretched out toward the hill-top tint had slowlv arisen botween me and wf the fluttering handkerchief I foolishly I apologized to the old man. I did more foolish things than that; I improvised a hymn and sang it to Guinea?a N chant that, no doubt, would have been immeasurably funny to the cold-hearted and the sane, but it brought the tears to my eyes ana renuereu mc i-ai^ ters Just above my head a work of ^ lace, far away. And at these devo% tions I might have remained for hours had not a sharp f >otfall smote upon my ear. I hastened down stairs, and at the entrance of the passage stood Chyd Lundsford looking about, slowly lashing his legs with a switch. "Helloa! Where are all the folks?" "They are gone, sir," I answered. stiffly bowing to him. "Gone? I don't know that I quite catch your meaning." "If it be illusive you have made it rso. I said that they were gone. which means, of course, that they are not here." "I understand that all r'ght enough, but do you mean that they are not in at present or that they have really left home?" "Thev have no home, sir." He gave himself a sharp cut with the switch. 'It can't have been so very long since they ieft, for the old man was over to see father this miming. Which way did they go? I may overtake them." "That would be greatly against their wish, sir." "I am not asking for an opinion. I fwant to know which way they went." "I am mt at libei ty to tell you that. They have gone out into a world that is as strange to them as America was to Columbus." "Rot. There isn't a smarter woman * anywhere than Guinea. Fhe has read everything and she knows the world as well as 1 do. Hut why are you not privileged to ton me wnicn way iney went? I have something to say that concerns them closely. Did they go toward town?" "Do you suppose that they would go pwnv without first seeing their son?" "men vou mean that they went to ?o\vn. Why t*e dnvll can't you sreak font? Whv should you stand as a ^enabling block?" "Why should 1 stand as a sign post?" "X"w ho\ vr,u needn't show vo'?r seTshne?s in this matter. Fhe wouldn't wl^e her fo?t on vou," ^ "No. but she would wipe then on you." nwivniiiviii iu i?m ? hi hi SiiliS-j J READ. -i. Lee?All Rights Reserved. ird & l-e*' Publishers. j "What!" lie took a step forward, out he stepped bucK again and stood mere, iasiung himself witn the switch. "iuy father teds me that you are a 0ent:euian,' he said. "And you may safely accept your tamers opinion of me," 1 answered. "But you are not striving, sir, to make that opinion good." "A good opinion needs no bolstering up." "This bantering is all nonsense. I've got noth.ng against you; i have sim4j.y asked you a civil question." And I hope to be as civil as you are, but out of regard for the feelings of those old people and their daughter 1 cannot tell you which way they went. You couldn t overtake them, any way." "Yes, you could have tried yesterday and the day before and a week ago, when they needed ycur sympathy." He dropped his switch, but he caught it up again, and his face was red. "I . night say, sir, that what I have done and that which I have failed to do is no business of yours, but I feel that there is a measure of justice in what /ou say, and 1 acknowledge that I have oten wrong. That is why I am here now?to set myself right." "In matters of business we may correct an error, Mr. Lundsford; we may rub out one figure and put down another, but a mark made upon the heart ,s likely to remain there.". "I will not attempt to bandy sentimentalities with you, sir. I am a raciical man, a scientist, if you wish; and I came here to tell that girl that my breaking off the engagement?you must know all about it?was wrong. I told my father to come, for just at that time I didn't feel that as a man who looks forward to something a little more than a name I could afford to marry her. But I was wrong; any living man could afford to marry her. I was wrong, and^hat ought to sett'.e it" "And I think, sir, that it does settle it as far as yru are concerned." "Do you mean that she won't marry me? Oh, yes. she will, not out of anv foolish love, but because she would be rroud of my success. Well. I may not overtake her. but I will write to her. Yes, that will do as well. She will want to knew how things are getting a'ong here, and will write to you. and when sh? does I wish you would show me h?r letter. Whet are vou laughing *?t? Haven't vou got anv sense at all?" "T ho^e so. hut I am not so much of > gr5ept*ct thit T em a fool" 'No, but you are so much of a fool that you are not a scientist, by a d?d sight.' lie had me there, and it was his time to laugh, and he did. He was so tick?ed that he roared, walking up and down the passage; and he was so pleased that he held out his hand to shake upon the merit tf his joke. I was not disposed to be surly and I shook hands with him. and he clapped me on the shoulder, still laughing, and declared that it was a piece of wit worthy of the dissecting-room, and that he would jolt his fellows with it. "I am glad you are so much pleased," I remarked. "Why, don't you think it's good, eh? Of course, you do. Well, it's better to part laughing, anyway." "You are not too much of a scientist to be a philosopher," I said. And I expected him to continue his line of deduction and to say that I was too much of a philosopher to be a scientist, but he did not; he sobered and gravely remarked: "Yes, I am devilish sorry that this thing came about, and I hope that Ouinea will not take a romantic view of it. I guess they'll be back after a while, if Alf is cleared, and from what I hear I suppose he will be." "May I ask how your sister is?" "Certainly. She's all right: doesn't "at much, but her pulse is normal? little excited, but hardly not'ceable Loves that fellow, doesn't she? Strong, j good-looking bov, but not verv practical. Hope he'll come out all right. *h. I was going to sav something, but it has escaped me. Oh. yes, you are in I love with Guinea. Be frank, now." "Yes. I worship her." | 'Hardly the word, but it will do, on an imoulse. I think a good deal of her I mvself. I said just now that she wouldn't wine her feet on you, and T ve?j vour pard n. Fhe mav wipe them m vott. You are going to stay here. ~h? Well, come over to the house. No reason whv there shoo'd be any illwill between us. Oood-dav." T sat down on the step and watehed h'm until he had ridden cut of sight. ?nd I was pleased that he went toward his home, not that I was afraid "f a renewal of the engagement: I knew that it was forever set aside. But |T fe't that his overtaking the wagon would bring an additional trouble to the father and the mother: indeed. T was afraid that the old man nvght ki'l him. Ft range fellow Chvd was. and ' UVpd him as an odditv. as something wi^l'v fii?v,rnr>t from mvself or from opv im*vlcivp being. He was not cruel ?he simply had no heart. CHAPTER XVIII. I walked about the old place until nearly no. n. and then I went to town. The jailer met me with a doubtful I oK-.L-inu' of his scheming head, and I knew that again lie had received orders to be rigid in his discipline, but 1 was resolved that the old rascal's appetite for liquor should not play a second prank upon me: so when he hinted at an )ther bottle I told him that I had spent so much of my life as a temperance lecturer that it was against my conscience to buy a favor with wh'sky. I looked steadily at him, and ho began to wince. vVhy, to be sure," said he. "but, my d?ar sir. I didn't buy whisky with that dollar?bought a ham with it. If I didn't I'm the biggest liar In the world: 'i?~d I don't reckon there's a family in P is town that n^eds .another ham right now worse than nrne does." "That may be. but I can't afford to I pay so heavy a price every time I enthe sheriff and get an order from him." "Why, my dear sir, that's unnecessary. Walk right in; but remember your promise not to say anything about that ham. 1 here are a lot of vegetarians in this town, and if they hear of ,ny eat.ng meat they'll hold it against me. Walk in, sir." I found Aif in high spirits. C'onka right had called and had assured him that his day of liberty was not far oft. 1 told him that the old house was deserted, and he stood musing, looking at me dreamily, as if his mind were hovering over the scenes of his boyhood. ' 1 let him dream, for I knew the sweetness of a melancholy reverie. Sometimes the soul is impatient of the body's dogged hold on life, and steals away to view its future domain, to draw in advance upon its coming freedom?now lingering, now swifter than a hawk? and then it comes back and we say - * i J A 1# mat we iiitve ueen ausciu'iiiuiucu. /\u started?his soul had returned. "And weren't you surprised to see them drive toward town?" he asked. "Who, your parents and Guinea? They didn't; they drove toward the railway station." "But they came to town, my dear boy?were here in this jail. They must have driven round to deceive you, for they knew that you wou?d want to come with them, and they deceived you to spare you the pain of seeing us together. And I'm glad you were spared, though mother stood it much better than I expected. But this was because she firmly believes I'll be cleared. They haven't been gone a great while?there's a station not far from this town. Father played another trick on you. Yesterday, when he came to town to deed over the land, he left you dozing in the wagon and slipped off round here. I was surprised, for I had positively ordered him not to come. But he set me to laugh.ng before he got in. 'Open that door by the order of the sheriff!' he cried at the jailer. 'Here's the order; look at it, but don't /ou look at me. Fight you in a minit.' And then he came in, and the first thing he tcld me was that they had gaffs on. He said that he had fought hard to keep mother from coming, at night when the rest were asleep; and i swcre that she must not come, but she did. Bill, you brought me a message that sent me to heaven; and now let me ask if you know that Guinea loves you There, don't say a word? you know it. She told me, standing where you are now?told me everything, and what a talker she is when once she is started. Bat you must let her have her way. and she will come to you, holding out her hands. Have you seen Millie?" "iNo, net since that night. But I am going to see her." Tnen I told him that Chyd had come to the house?I reproduced the scene, and Alf's merriment rang throughout the jail. "Yes." he said, "you can go over there all right enough. The general likes you, anyway. I don't know what he thinks of me?still sizes me as a boy, I suppose; and if he were to come in here now I believe he would ask me what father was doing. But it makes no difference what he thinks, ihe judge tells me that you are going to study law with him. Jumped into an interesting case right at once, didn't you?" We talked a long time and we laughed a great deal, for we were in a paraJise, although in a jail. And I left him with a promise that I would soon bring him a direct wcrd from Millie. I found Conkwright in his office, with his slippered feet on a table. He bade me come in, and he said nothing more, but sat there pressing his closed eyelids with his thumb and fore-finger. How square a chin he had and how rugged was his face, trenched with the deep ruts of many a combat. His had been a life of turmoil and of fight.N He was not born cf the aristocracy. I had heard that he was the son of a Yankee clock peddler. But to success he had fought his way, over many an aristocratic failure. 'Judge, have you finally decided that 1 may come into your office?" "Thought we settled that at first," he replied, without opening his eyes. "Yes, you may c< me in; glad to have you, and, by the way, I've got some work I want you to do right now. A woman was in here today to see if I could get her husband out of the pen itentiary. I don't know but l neipeti put hint there?believe I did, I was [ busy when she came in, and when she j went away I remembered how p? orly ;he was dressed, and I am afraid that I didn't speak to her as kindly as I hould have. She lives at the south end of the street behind the jail, left hand side, I believe. I^ook in that vest hanging up there and you'll find twenty dollars in the pocket, right hand side, I think. Take the money and slip lown to that woman's house and give it to her. Hut don't let anyone see you md don't tell her who sent it. Might tell her that the state sent it as wages lue for overtime put in by her hus' and. And you needn't come back this evening, for it's time to close up." I looked back at him as I stepped >ut. He had not changed his position and his eyes were still closed. And this was my first work as a student of the law?a brave beginning, the agent of a noble design. I found the place without having to make inquiry, and a wretched hut it was. The woman was shabby and two ragged children were lying on the floor. I gave her the twenty dollars?I did more, I gave her a part of the money which Perdue had given me. I explained that her husband had worked overtime and that the state, following an old custom, had sent her the wages f his extra labor. She was not a very good-natured woman; she said that the state and the rest of us ought to te ashamed of ourselves for having robbed her of her husband, and she declared that if she ever got money enough she would sue old Conkwright and the sheriff and everybody else. 1 was glad enough to quit that wretched and depressing scene; and in the ceol >f the evening I strolled about the town. The business part of the place was mean, but further out there were handsnne old residences, pillared and vine-clad. And in front of the most attractive one I halted to gaze at the trees and the shrubbery, dim in the twilight. A boy came along and I asked him who livd there and he answered: "Judge Onkwright." "He deserves to live In even a bet ter house," I mused, as I turned away; | and just tnen 1 was clapped upon the shoulder with a "Helloa, my old friend" ?toe telegraph operator. 1 shook i.ands witn him, and at once he began to ted me of his affairs. "Getting along all rigu?," he said. "Haven't got quite as much freedom as I used to have, but 1 reckon it's Letter for me. Wife thinks so much of me that she's jealous of the boys?don't want me to stay ,ut vvith tnem at night. Don't reckon there's anything more exacting than a rag. But x had to have one. Without cailco thi-re ain t much real fun in this life. But enough of calico's society is about ihe enoughest enough a man can letch up in his mind. Tell you \\ hat?i 11 run on home and come back, anu tnen you can go with me." i>o, x couldn't tnink of putting you to so mucn trouDie. "Won't Le any trouble. Simply don't want to surprise her, you know." "I'll call on you before long, but now L must go to the tavern." 'All right, and if I can get off I'll come over to see you. And 111 tell you what we'll do along about 11 o'clock. We'll go over to Atcherson's store with j iot ct tellers and cook some eggs in the top of a paste-board hat box. Ever cook them that way? It's a wond stater. Just break the eggs in the lid the box and put it on the stove and there you are. finest stuff you ever eat. But while you re eating you inustn t let them tell that jug story. Couldn't eat a bite after that. Well, r leave you here." Fearing that the operator's "rag" might fail in the strict enforcement of tne regulations that had been thrown about the n.ght-time movements of her husband, that he might break out of the circle of his wite s fondness and call on me at the tavern, I left that piace soon after supper and resumed my walk about the town. In some distant place where the land was dry a shower of rain had fallen, for the air was quickened with the coming of that dusty, delicious smell, that reminiscent incense which more than, the perfume of flower or shrub takes us back to the lanes and the sweet loiter.ng places of youth. Happiness will not tear a ciose inspection; to be flawless il must be viewed from a distance? we must look forward to something longed for, or backward to some time remembered; and my happiness on this night was not perfect, for a sense of lonedness curdled it with regret, but here and there, as I walked along, I found myself in an ecstasy?my nerves thrilled one another like crossed w ires, eiectrihed. I knew that it might be a long time before I should ?iear from Guinea, but I was still drunk with the newness of the feeling that ne loved me. Prayer meeting bells were ringing, and old men and old women came out of the dark shadow of the trees, into the light that burned in front of a church?hearts that with age were slow and heavy, praying for the blessing of an Infinite Mystery. I entered the church and knelt down to pray, for I am not so advanced a thinker as the man who questions the existence of God; but I must admit that my thoughts were far away from the mumblings that I heard about me, far, indeed, from the mutterings of my own lips; and so I went out and sniffed the prayer of nature, the smell of rain that came from far off down the dusty road. Early the next morning I went to Conkwright's office, to tell him that for a time I preferred to study in the country. The old man was walking up and down the rcom, with his hands behind him. "Did you find that woman?" he asked. "Yes, and I let no one see me." "Good. You gave her the twenty dollars, and?is that all you gave her?" "Why, that was all you told me to give her." cs, I know, but didn't you give her some of ycur own money? Speak out now. No shilly-shallying1 with me." "Well, she was so wretched that I gave her five dollars of my own money." "You did, eh? The money you borrowed from me, you mean?" "No, money that old Perdue thinks I earned. He insisted upon my taking twenty-five dollars." "It's all right, my boy. Yes, it's all right, hut you'll have to be more careful. It is noble to give, but it is not wise to look for an opportunity. It is better to give to the young than to the old, for the good we do the youth grows with him into a hallowed mem>ry?stimulates him to help others? while the memory of the aged is fitful. Whenever you see a boy trying to amount to something, help him, fir that is a direct good, done to mankind. Now to business. Have you read Blackstone?" 'Yes, but not thoroughly. I have never owned his book." "There he is on my desk. I keep him near me. The lawyer who outgrows that book?well, I may be an old fogy on the subject, so I'll say nothing more except to commend the treatise to a lawyer as I would the multiplication table to a student of mathematics. And now let me say that when you have been with me one /ear we will begin to talk about other matters, the question of money, for nstanc. Don't be extravagant?don't give money because you don't know what else to do with it?and I will see that you shall not want for anything. Oh. yes. I know you are thinking of getting married, but it won't cost much to keep your wife. We'll fix all that, and if I don't make a lawyer out of you I am much fooled. You are in love and are mighty sappy just at present, but you'll come round all right: ves. sir. all right after a while." "I think, judge, that I can study much better out at the old house, and if you have nothing for me to do I should like to spend several days at a time out there." "Why, is that the way to assist me? What good can you do me by poking off out there in the woods? Well, you may for a while. Three days a week for a time, eh? All right. You are as hard to break in as a steer. What about those stories you told at the general's house. I hear that they were great. But^don't let people put you down as a story teller, for when a lawver gets that reputation, no matter how rofound he may be, the public looks 'pon him as a yarn-sninner, rather than a thinker. You might put them 'n print, but n">t under your own name. Bill?came within one of calling you Billy?a great many men succeeded In ' law not because they are bright, but because they are stupid. I never see a jackass that I don't think of a judge ?some Judges that I know. Well, now, the first and one cf the most important things to do is to go over to that tail>r and have yourself measured for a suit of clothes. Did I say measured? Surveyed is the word," he added, looking at me from head to foot and then 'aughing. "Yes, I think that's the word. Well, go on now." To be Continued. ittiscrllanrous ilcailing. A GREAT "DRY" WAVE. It is Steadily Rolling over the United States. Tashington, December 28.?A wave rohibition has swept with such reI inajva o.e euect over tne souin and senI umieni nas so crystalized against the | oa.don and its kaidred evils, tnat the I dawn of tne new year opens upon a vast i oiretcn of territory absolutely bereft cf | dquor, while the area where anti-proaiDitionists have triumphed maras the Dattleground for impending fignts foi and against the saie of intoxicants. , significant of tne magnitude this [ *,romem has assumed is the fact that | .n many states pronioition looms up as a political issue of chief concern to tne voters, obscuring other municipal and I state questions. Other states disposed .if the issue, temporarily at least, by the passage of statutory laws, whose eiflc.ency must yet be tested. In sti.l other states, the will of the majority expressed at local option elections has restricted the sale of liquor to the larger cities, where the iiquor men generally are fortified against attack from iiie temperance folk. Reports rejecting accurately the political stage of the prohibition movement .n the south show that more than half tiie souths territory is "dry" absolute.y, and that in the remaining area listed as "wet' the sale of lntbxicants is upon a restricted scale. It Is evident .hat cities are the only remaining strongholds for the saloons and it is unlikely that this condition will be modified, except through a radical change in political thought, through tatiure to eniorce me laws agamai mc .iquor traffic, failure to solve the problem growing out of deficits in county, municipal and state treasuries from a loss of the whisky tax, or inability tc cope with the illicit sale of whisky and perhaps other obstacles which follow in the wake of prohibition. Georgia now hold? the center of the stage and for a ycyit?)jip" been experiment^ in what'^dwillly a'"near prohibition" law, in that tt forbids the sale 01 liquors containing more than 4 per Mnt of alcohol. State wide prohihitEr laws beccme effective on JanaryBin North Carolina, Alabama and Migy^ippi, nf whf^b n majority of counties had heretofore prohibited the sale of liquor. Prohibition advocates in Louisiana have suspended their fight to test the new Gay-Shattuck law for the regulation of the liquor traffic, which also becomes operative January 1. The anti-saloon people say they will be content if this law is enforced rigidly. Tennessee is the chief center of mterest among the other states where state wide prohibition fights are in progress. The Prohioitionisis assert that a state wide bid will pass the legislature which they expect to organize and control. With the backing of the state .n9<>hlnovv the loral ontion forces are equally confident that such a bill will meet defeat. Kentucky, the second largest distilling stale in the Union, with 119 counties, has but four in which the sale of liquor is not prohibited. Virginia oreotnts a siring of victories f^r tne antiaa.oon element, as prohibition now exists in 80 out of the state's 100 counties. In Texas, where more than half the counties have accepted prohibition, the voters soon will be called upon to vote upon a constitutional amendment for prohibition. In Arkansas, two-thirds of its area, or 75 counties, are "dry," and the question of state wide prohibition will be presented to the voters for decision. I'lorida is partly "dry" through local option, and like some of the othei states, the sale of liquor principally is confined to the cities. The results of prohibition generally are gleaned from reports indicating a great decrease in the record of arrests for drunkenness, an increase in the bank deposits of laborers. fewer cases of wife abandon inent anc a decrease in criminality generally. The difficulty in enforcing the prohibition laws, however, is cmceded to be one of the chief obstacles to its absolute success in many states, and this phase of the question, together with a falling off in revenues, is to <ome extent baffling to the authorities. Ma ink's Loo Harvest.? "Maine's annual iog harvest is now in progress," said Philip D. Farrell of Boston, to .a Washington Post reporter. "An army of 18,000 or 20,000 men is engaged in felling spruce, pine, hemlock and cedar for the supply of the sawmills and the pulp mills in 1909. "In the olden time the lumbermen used to wait for snow to cover the ground before attempting to haul any logs," continued ...r. Farrell, who Is registered at the Raleigh, "but now the crews are sent in months before snow falls, and millions of feet of logs are yarded on bare ground. About the middle of January yarding Is supposed to be finished and hauling begins. "On the Penobscot alone this winter about G.000 men and 1,500 horses are employed. Years ago, th?re was always a good supply of woodsmen, but lately the natives have been seeking other employment. The young men of this day do not care to go into logging -nmr.s with all sorts of associates, to nat beans and swing axes all winter tor $25 to $10 a month. Therefore, great difficulty is often experienced in jetting crews." Goi.f.?Old Golf Professional?No, ell no mak" a gowffer?ye've begut. wer late and ye've ower muckle pottle; but-it's julst possible If ye practice harrd, vera harrd, for two-three ears ye rnicht? Jones (expectantly)?Yes? Professional?Ye mlcht begin to hae a glimmer that ye'll never ken the r-rudlments o' the game.?Sketch. THE SEMINOLE INQUIRY. What Was Done In the Stockholders' iVieetmg Last Tuesoay. Charlotte Observer. Columbia, December 29.?Much Indignant feeling was man?tested at the convention touay of tne siocKho.ders of the famous Seminole Securities company, held in the court house, toward the three local trustees, Messrs. vv ide Jones, W. A. Clark and T. S. Bryan and President Garilngton and nis otlicers and tne d.rectors of the the company, and the meeting, which was attended by about three hundred prominent men representing hve neighboring states, took action looking not only to legal proeeeuings aga.nst ine wealtny trustees to recover tne tosses of the company, but to criminal prosecution of the directors and offl cers of the company. President Gardngton, who promoted and carried the scneme to completion tnrougn the assistance of the trustees, was ca.led for; but nobody volunteered to say where he might be found. An attempt was made to include the trustees in the criminal proceedings, but mis failed after a heated d.scussion. Three and a halt hours of hot debate ended with adjournment for dinner after a committee of five had been appointed to nominate nine new directors to take the place of the present directors, whose resignations were accepted along with those of the trustees ana officers. Tne final action of the morning session was the almost unanimous adoption of the following resolution offered by ex-Speaker of the House W. F. Stevenson: 'Resolved, That the board of directors to be elected today proceed at once to collect all evidence of criminal action on the part of any agent, officers or employes of the Seminole Securities company and lay the same before the state's attorney general and request that, wherever the evidence justifies, criminal proceedings be instituted; and that the directors do give careful attention to pushing the prosecution." The afternoon was still more prolific of sensations. After the election of nine new directors, who were empowered to negotiate with a committee of the Southern Life Insurance company to effect the best settlement possible with that concern and wind up the affairs of the company if they deemed best, the convention listened closely to the reading of the financial statement, hurriedly prepared by Charles H. Helley of Helley & Co., public accountants of Augusta, Ga., whom the trustees employed to go to Chattanooga and investigate the books of the Seminole company. The new directors are: R. T. Caston, Cheraw; Campbell Courteney, Newry; T.' W. Berry, Latta; E. J. Etheridge, Leesville; A. M. Kennedy, Williston; J. B. Watkins of Florida; Julian S. Carr of North Carolina; S. M. Smith of West "Virginia; C. M. Snelllng of Athens, Ga. These were the names suggested by the nominating committee. During the reading of Mr. Heiley's report inquiry was made for the books carried to Chattanoogju Mr. Helley aid that as he was about to leave Chattanooga, Mr. Garlington told him he was sending in his resignation as president and asked Mr. Helley to carry the books along and turn them over to the proper authorities at Columbia. On arrival at Asheville Mr. Helley said he missed the suit case containing the oooks, which he had placed by the side >f his berth in the Pullman, and the most diligent search through the train failed to recover it. Voice: "Was Garlington on the train?" Mr. Helley: "No; I recognized no me I knew on the train. Fortunately, I had rny report in another traveling bag. I immediately wired Garlington to institute search at his end." Voice: "I understand Garlington was n Asheville today." Mr. Helley said the officers made no pretense to keeping books. From check stubs, in different records cf noney raid out and records of stock issued, the records at Chattanooga and elsewhere showed 270,672 shares of stock. Of the money received over $130,000 went to agents for commissirns on sale of stock. Among the assets, totaling $436,076.31, the company holds 1,300 shares of Southern Life stock, $324,985.75. The next largest item is $75,000 worth of stock in the Carolina Agency company, wnicn holds the general agency for this state of the Rome, Ga., Mutual Life. Mr. Clark is president of the agency company. Statement From Mr. Clark. Called on for a statement, he said the company was organized with a capital of $123,000, Garlington being given $75,000 stock for his general agency. But Garlington was to get nothing until the company earned enough to pay x dividend of 20 per cent for a period < f years. He admitted that he had not this and that the market value of the stock was hardly more than 30 cents m the dollar. He said he knew nothing, as trustee, of this deal with the Seminole. The agency stiil held this stock and he would refuse to turn it >ver till the dividend conditions were met. Mr. Helley's report showed the Semn< le was still due Mr. Garlington $24,000. It seems Garlington assigned this agency stock to the Seminole for an ^qual number of shares in the Seminole and got busy selling this Seminole stock, falling by $24,000 to finish when the crash arrived. The books revealed a curious transaction between Sales Agent McKlnney and the Seminole directors. He entered into a contract to sell stock at 5 per cent commission. Later he sold at a iremium and the company bought up his contract for $25,000 and all hands began selling at a premium. In answer to questions Mr. Clark admitted he was paid $1,000 and the other trustees $500 each for their services. Outside of the stock in the Southern Life, Mr. Heiley's statement shows less than $0,000 In cash can be got out of the visible assets. The examination of the trustees revealed the fact that Mr. Clark had applied for 1,000 shares of stock but had never paid anything; that Mr. Bryan never had any stock and that General Jones subscribed for only 200 shares. Already attorneys are being employed to bring individual suits against the three local trustees. The convention at the night session waited two hours on the directors, who were still in conference with the com mittee of the Southern Life. The committee reported that It could make no report tonight. Director Berry, who brought this message, refused to answer any further questions. Judge Watts today announced the appointment of three trustees for the Feminole company: F. G. Tompkins, E. J. Etheridge and Huger Sinkler. RloE AND FALL OF CASTRO. How the Son of a Stock Ra:?er Won and Lost Power. Clpriano Castro Is a man of humble origin. His father was a stock raiser in the Andes near the Colombian border. He Is swarthy of complexion, s.ight in stature, of wiry strength and has a piercing black eye. He shows his Indian extraction. Like most Venezuelan presidents, Castro went into office at the head of a successful revolution. He drove out President Andrade and entered Caracas October 24, 189S. Much has been said of President Castro that lacks the confirmation of unbiased observers. ll*. V>oa hoon Prpplv mnllcnpri hv his many enemies and there have been few to take up the cudgels In his behalf with conviction; consequently he has been given a reputation worse than he deserved. He has shown remarkable courage, determination, perseverance and political skill In conducting Venezuela through nine years of stormy iife. He has had to contend with powerful revolutionary movements at home, and at times with the combined action against him by sea of Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy. This occurred In 1902, and was for the purpose of making Venezuela fulfill Its obligation to the said powers. Castro's quarrels with the powers have resulted In the severance of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Holland. France, the United States, Colombia, etc., and as long as Castro was In power there was apparently little hope of reaching any settlement of these various misunderstandings. There have been several revolutionary uprisings against Castro during his tenure of office. The most notable was the Mates movement In 1902, backed by powerful interests outside of Venezuela. This Castro succeeded in crushing by defeating the Matos forces on October 26, 1902, with great slaughter at La Victoria, not far from Caracas. President Castro's strong and revengeful hand made him probably the most hated of recent Venezuelan presidents, and under his control the business and commerce of Venezuela have suffered incalculably. It Is said of him that he did not loot the government treasury, as has been the custom with his predecessors, but that he acquired the wealth which he Is said to have sent to Europe before him by taking into his own hands and shutting out all competition some of the mcst profitable enterprises and industries In the country. He governed hard and for the benefit of the clique at Caracas who were his favorites. Castro is known to have been ill for several years, but just what was the matter with him never has developed. It is believed he has some malady of the kidneys. He has at times been so ill that his life was despaired of. His going to Europe for medical treatment was absolutely unexpected. He made the announcement of his departure twenty-four hours before he left Caracas. It has been said that the idea of medical attention was a blind and that the president realized the way the wind was blowing in Venezuela and had determined to get away safely while there was still time. Upon arriving in France there was a question as to how the French government would receive Castro, as diplomatic relations between France and Venezuela were nonexistent. France finally allowed him to land as a private citizen seeking the restoration of his health. He stayed but a day or two in Paris, proceeding at once to Berlin. There is no estrangement between the government of Germany and tnat of Venezuela. In Berlin Castro took accommodations at one of the leading hotels and lived extravagantly until he moved to a private sanitarium, where he is being treated by a famous Berlin specialist. The first outbreak of the populace against Castro occurred in Caracas December 13. This was followed by serious anti-Castro rioting on the 14th. Since this date no news has come through cf the happenings at Caracas until yesterday, when a dispatch from Port au Spain, Trinidad, announced the enforced resignation of the Castro cabinet. This news was followed today by the stirring and sensational dispatch sent from Caracas uecemoer is oy -tcamer to Ponce, Porto Rico, and thence cabled to New York. Potato Gum on Stamps. Every time a person licks a United States postage stamp he gets a taste of sweet potato. The gum with which the stamps are backed is made from that succulent vegetable because Un Se Sam's lieutenants consider it the most harmless preparation of the sort. -All of the gum used on American postage stamps is mixed by the government at the bureau of engraving and printing, where the stamps are made. It is spread on the sheets after the stamps have been printed. The gum in a liquid form is forced up through pipes from the basement, where it is made. These pipes lead to a series of machines consisting of rolers between which the sheets of stamps are fed on at a time. A continuous stream of the liquid gum falls upon one of these rollers. The sheet with its wet coating of sweet potato mucilage passes from the rollers into a long horizontal flue filled with hot air. When it emerges at the other end of the flue the gum is dry. The government makes two kinds of postage stamp mucilage. If one "ould see the packages of stamps as they come to the post-offlce ready to be sold one would find them labeled. according to season, "cummer Gum" or "Winter Gum." The former i<3 iyihpVi fhn hopdop r?f thp tivn and was devised some years ago to keep 'he stamps from getting sticky in warm, moist weather. While Uncle Sam tries to make the lot of the stamp licker as innocuous as possible he does not adv'se making a meal of his sweet potato gum. The whole process of gum making and applying is made as clean as possible, but there is yet another item to be considered. A sheet of postage stamps is handled a good many times before it even leaves the bureau where it is made. If you must lick any of your stamps ni^k out those from the middle of the sheet. The corner ones have gme 'hrough the fingers of half a dozen or more counters, not to mention the perforators and the separators and the rest. TO STANDARDIZE THE GRADES. Committee of Experts to Meet In Con* ( ?> usmriykOu. Definite ske*>s lowaran uie establishment ji a stanuard lor tne aluerent g.aues of cotton shortly will be undertutven in Yvasiiington by a committee ot tne leading cotton men of tnis country and hlurope In co-operat.on with me experts of the bureau of plant industry of the department of agncul- * iure. Tne proposed meeting1 prooaoiy vvnl be held in January next. Secretary of Agriculture Vviison is now engaged in selecting the committee of cotton experts. 'xne proposed standardization oi the vanous graucs of cotton, wnicn already nus made sptendid progress, has been ondertaKen in accordance witn a provision of the last agricultural approbation act requiring "the secretary of agriculture, tnrough the bureau of uiant industry, to establish a standard ur the dinerent grades of cotton, call.ng to his assistance for that purpose expert cotton classifiers, by fixing a standard of nine dilterent grades to be uesignated 'middling fair, strict good mlaaling, good middling, strict middling, miuuling strict low middling, iow middling, strict good ordinary and ordinary and good ordinary, which shall oe the official standard of cotton classifications. These standards are to be prepared in practical form and furnished upon request to any person, the cost to be paid when delivered, by the person requesting the standard." At the present time there Is a great diversity in the method and practice of grading cotton as no definite standard exists. In order to secure the most reliable information as to the present accepted grades, the secretary of agriculture has secured from authoritative sources in the United States sets of grades under seal which are now held under seal for examination by the special committee of experts. "It is proposed to base the new offl- , cial standards on the old, more or less heterogeneous standards of the cotton exchanges, departing therefrom only in so far as will be necessary to secure uniformity," said Prof. B. T. Galloway, chief of the bureau of plant industry, tcday. "At a later date it is hoped that the official standards will be elaborated, without alteration of their fundamental character, so as to be much more useful than any other standards have been in the past. It is not too much to say that-we can now see clearly the possibility, by technical examination of the cctton fibre, of so improving the classification that all interested In the cotton industry will be materially benefited." AFRICA'S GREAT GAME. Still Plentiful, But Not So Numerous As Formerly. Of some of the wild beasts that remain to be hunted by the sportsman jr In Africa, a writer says: "The quagga, most graceful of all the horse tribe, has disappeared entirely. The millions which once Inhabited the high plateau of South Africa, were killed off In sheer wantonness, and today not a single specimen survives unless it be between the Crocodile and Sabi rivers, where, according to native reports, a small herd was running six years ago. As with the quagga, so with the swart wildebeeste, the white tailed gnu of the naturalists. Once the most common of high veldt buck, as well as the most grotesque and harmless, it is now represented fcy a few depressed looking specimens in various zoological gardens. It was very easy to hunt, and as a result it was shot down for the sake of its long tail which made a splendid souvenir, and thus a valuable source of food supply was destroyed, no small matter in a country which today depends entirely on tinned and frozen meats. "The cape buffalo are now confined entirely to the low lying jungle on the east coast, yet half a century ago they ranked among the most plentiful of the great game. Hunters who knew them in earlier days speak of them with scant respect, but it seems as if, as they have retreated before the advance of civilization, they have grown more sullen and vindictive, and today they certainly take first rank among the dangerous game of Africa. That slinking pest, the Hon, Is a low coward by comparison with the buffalo, the destructive nuisance, whose sole title to respect Is that when he can escape no longer, he turns on his foe, a characteristic which he shares with practicahy every animal, even down to a rat. "The buffalo, on the other hand, harms no one if left to himself, but when attacked he becomes the very incarnation of revenge. Moreover, in addition to his strength and ferocity, he has a cunning which the lion does not possess. He may be grazed with a bullet at sunrise, and it may be evening when he charges his assailant from behind some clump of bush. A lion may be shot from the safety of a tree, to the foot of which he has been lured ty means of a goat or calf;, but to kill a buffalo it is necessary to follow him down to the fever haunted jungles, and tackle him fairly and squarely, at the risk of one's life; consequently, the mere fact of a man having made the attempt is a far surer proof of his courage than the actual slaying of a lion."?Chicago News. The following is clipped from last week's issue of the Edgefield News: "Varied emotions possess me in bidding adieu, perhaps farewell, to South Carolina, and to the people who have Known me from cnildhood. "It is hard to say good-bye, and only those who do so can feel its sorrow. "When I think of the thousand kind? ? ?ji j /\# 4 Via ^nrKoo r itesses nicaua uiu mc, ui >w> w?> ances they have shown my shortcomings, 'tis then the heart throbs strongest with gratitude, and beats the sad farewell. But destiny decrees that I go. "In a distant section of the country, in far-off California, where it Is said all is sunshine and clouds are unknown, I wander in search of health. There among strangers In coming years, If years be left to me, I hope to clasp the hands of many and call them friends? friends such as I leave behind. , "But if it be otherwise, then, as in the eft-quoted, but none the less touching lines of Ill-fated Bryon: *' 'Here's a sigh to those who love me, And a smile to those who hate; And whatever sky's above me, Here's a heart for every fate.' "James H. TUlman." 'OT Worry is one of the most fruitful causes of consumption. , A J*