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I TheGolden f Egg By Victor Redcliffe (Copyright, 1317, by W. G. Chapman.) "I am speaking from my heart, Elva. Can you give me any hope?" Youth and love were enshrined in the mellow golden sunlight which ir radiated Elva Parsons and Maurice Houghton, seated on a mossy bank st the riverside. It was the critical, ecstatic or despairing moment in the fate of Mau rice Houghton which he had antici pated for many months. He was a small farmer in the district, laboring mightily from dawn to dark to wrest a living from the little twenty-acre farm patch his father had left him badly encumbered with debt. At last be faced the unequal struggle in a manly, practical way. It would take ten years to lift the interest-devour ing mortgage, but by close, calculating and persistent effort he could feed the consuming monster, finally extinguish it and meantime live comfortably, at least. With Elva Parsons by his side Maurice was sure of hopeful counsel and co-operation and happiness. So he had come to the little home, had decoyed her Into a stroll which she regarded as merely casual, and now Elva sat blushing divinely, her eyes averted, but her heart throbbing .with responsive love for her suitor of a year, whose brave, loyal spirit had long since appealed to her. Alas ! the words of reply that would make Maurice Houghton a happy mun were flattering on her honey sweet lips, when, suddenly Crash ! The startling sound aroused both from their dream of bliss. They arose to their feet. Splash ! "Oh, Maurice, a man in the water! He will drown. No! no! do not im peril your own life !" But Maurice was gone. In a flash be had taken in the picture of an old Helpless in the Strong Current. man -.vho, crossing the old bridge span ning the stream, had sunk with yield ing, rotten timbers. Now he was in mid-stream, his arms waving wildly, whirled round and round helplessly in the strong central current. A natural born athlete, a superb 6wimmer, Maurice soon had the in sensible victim of the bridge accident in his grasp after a plunge into the water and a few speedy swinging strokes. He got the man ashore and laid him on the bank, kneeling to chafe bis cold hands and pressing his chest to exude the water from his lungs. "Oh, I know him!" cried the pale and trembling Elva. "He is the strange old man who came early in the sum mer and who lives like a hermit in the old Percy cottage near the edge of ?the town. He never speaks to any one. They call him mis-mis-" "Miser?" supplied Maurice. "No-misanthrope, that's lt He lives poorly, but they say he has money and had some business or fam ily disappointment, and burles himself lhere to get away from all his-old ?friends and associates," "We had better get him home," sug gested Maurice. "See, he is recover ing. Courage, sir," spoke Maurice in his hearty, helpful way. "We got you lout of your trouble just In time." The old man was still half dazed. !He shivered with cold and shock. Be tween them Elva and Maurice assisted ihlra to the wretched home where he ?lived. He was so weak when he ireached it that they had to almost car ary him Into the house. They placed [him on a bed in a miserably furnished room. "I win make a fire and get him nn fdressed and comfortable," Maurice ad ?vised Elva. "But yon will stop on your way ?home and .ell me how Mr. Trask is .getting along?" pleaded Elva and her .?yes fell and she flushed consciously, ?for while she was truly sympathetic iand humane, she longed to have Mau irlce take up the thread of that wel come lore discourse where the Ind dent of the broken bridge had rudely disturbed it. "I will, Elva," promised Maui ice, and an hour later, true to his word, he joined Elva at the gate of her lowly home. Elva lived with an old maiden auut and they were even poorer than Maurice. She greeted her lover eager ly. Old Mr. Trask was all right. It might be well, however, Maurice sug gested, to have Elva or her aunt visit the cottage the next day and see that he was keeping so. Then Maurice leaned closer to his fair companion. "As I was saying when that splash startled us," he spoke, low-voiced and i smiling, and lower went the blushing face of Elva, and his utterance faded down to a tender whisper, and lier's was responsive, and the soft, balmy air quivered with the echo of their first love kiss. Elva went to see Mr. Trask the next day. She found him dressed anti seat ed in a chair near to the open door way. He was wrapped up and his face looked pinched and troubled. It bright ened as Elva came into view. "I was too stricken to even thank you and your brave, good friend yes terday," spoke Mr. Trask, and in a very few minutes Elva felt easy and friendly with the old recluse. She detected that it was with difficulty that he got around. Playfully and then insistently she declared he must let her tidy up tilings and started at work forthwith. Elva was truly appalled at the disorder and barrenness of the ( three little rooms the cottage con tained. When she came to the larder her pretty face took on a pitying ex pression. Some dry bread was all that she found. Without saying a word to Mr. Trask, she hurried away by the rear door, reached home and went around to the barn of the place. Elva had a rare docile pet in Whitey, the one hen she had raised and owned. In the feed box were a dozen eggs she had accumulated to make a set ting for Whitey. Resolutely Elva gath ered them up in her sun bonnet. Then she hastened back to the cottage. The old recluse devoured the toast, coffee and four fresh eggs with an avidity that showed he had been neg ligent of his eating in the past. For several days Elva continued to go down to the cottage and act the help ful housekeeper. Her presence seemed to have a humanizing influence on its inmate. Mr. Trask came out of his shell. He had money, Elva learned, and she induced him to order house hold necessities from the village. Maurice came to call upon ner one evening to find his lady-love in a state of great excitement. "Suppose we stroll down to the cot tage and see how Mr. Trask ls get ing along?" he suggested. "Why, Maurice, he is gone!" said Elva. "Gone?" repeated Maurice vaguely. "Yes, only two hours since. Oh, Maurice! it is like a story book, lt seems that he had quarreled with his wife and had isolated himself here, and what do you think !-she traced him and came to see aunty and me this morning, and I took a message to Mr. Trask, and they are reconciled, and I am glad that we have all been able to so happily mend two broken lives." It was a month later, and Maurice and Elva were seated in the garden dis cussing details of their approaching marriage, when the parcels post man drove up in his delivery gig. For "Miss Elva Parsons" there was a small boxlike package. "What can it be?" murmured Elva, ns her eager fingers undid the cover ings. "Why! an egg, golden egg!" ex claimed Maurice, as such, lying in a soft nest of wool, was disclosed. "It opens !" said Elva. "See the lit tle card! From Robert Trask as a grateful acknowledgmen; of the care and kindness of true, unselfish friends." And Inside the quaint treasure case, suggestive of "Whitey" and her prod uct, was a new, crisp one thousand dollar bill, and the worries of the future were past for the happy pair. Dimensions in Language. Perhaps there are states of mind per fectly expressible in language ; but any reader with a love for something be yond cleverness will value a passage not so much for a content small enough to be exactly adjusted to its form as for a content which is felt to have ex panded the form, to overflow lt, to cir cle beyond it, writes George Soule In the New Republic. This is, for instance, the charm of Henry James* style; he did not take language as It was given him and busy himself with the game of finding meanings which neatly and gracefully would flt into It; he kept stretching it and using it for new pur poses until he made of this one-dimen sional medium an Imitation of three dimensions, something In which recur ring variations of suggestion lead out ward and back again until lt conveys not a simplified procession of Ideas, but a rich mind as it exists to Itself. The Only Way. Theodore Dreiser, the New York novelist, helped himself to some tiny rice-birds at a luncheon at Sherry's. "What little things rice-birds are!" said a poet. "Here are nine on this one piece of toast. How do you kill enough rice-birds for a meal, anyhow?" "Why, with insect powder, of course," said Mr. Dreiser, taking np a brace of birds on his fork. Identification. "Your mother was talking abont some women of moods and tense mo ments." "I'll bet lt was our grammar teacher." PROPER WORKING OF A DRAG Rules From Highway Magazine Tell How to Get Best Results-Drag Whenever Possible. If a dirt road is properly built, the road drag will keep it in good con dition. Like any other work there is a best way to do it. These mles from the Highway Magazine, tell how to get the right results. "Use a light drag. "Haul it over the road at an angle so that a small amount of earth is pushed toward the center of the road. "Drive a team at a walk. "Ride on the drag; do not walk. "Begin at one side of the road, re turning up the opposite side. "Drag the road as soon after every rain as possible, but not when the mud Details of Split-Log Drag. is in such condition as to stick to the drag. "Do not drag a dry road. "Drag whenever possible at all sea sons of the year. "The width of the traveled way to be maintained by the drag should be from IS to 120 feet; first drag a little more than fhe width of a single wheel track, then gradually increase until de sired width is obtained. "Always drag a little earth towards the center of the road until lt ls raised from 10 to 12 Inches above the edges of the traveled way. "If the drag cuts too much, shorten the hitch. "The best results for dragging are obtained only by repeated applica tion." VOLUNTEER FOR GOOD ROADS We Can Have Anything Good If We Will Get Together and Work Hard for Desired End. Why, bad roads, even, is a moral question. Why should men wade In mud and punish their beasts when they have the power to prevent it? lt ls moral in that we fail to use to advantage the powers and possibili ties that God has given us, writes R. F. Beasley in Progressive Farmer. We can have good roads If we will. We can have any good thing if we will-communities acting together. Half a dozen men could volunteer to delegate themselves as leaders In a good roads movement and the people soon would follow them. A million volunteers will rush to arms to shoot down a million others who have done them no harm; why should not some volunteer to be lead ers in the romances of pence and progress? ARMY ENLISTING ROAD MEN Corps of Thoroughly Experienced Spe cialists in Constructing Work Being Organized. Enlisted men with a knowledge of road building are being recruited in the engineer reserve corps of the United States army. This ls the corps of experienced men which Is being or ganized as a reserve body of thorough ly trained specialists In every branch of construction work. Measure Community Value. The roads furnish a yardstick to measure the value of any community. A settled country that is not worth a good road Is not worth living in. Obtain Best Results. Best results are obtained by drag ging the road as soon as possible after each rain. Bad Roads a Hindrance. Poor roads are a bar to better mar kets, better schools, better churches, better living, _ COAL and ?SCRAP IKON. For the next three weeks I will pay forty cents per 100 lbs. for all kinds of Scrap Iron except old boilers. Rush it in as ray price will decline after three weeks. Coal shipments now enroute and I will be glad to name summer prices to be delivered in July and August. M. A. TAYLOR. June 18. 1917. I The Woman's Tonic j o 3 Sold Everywhere ? ? r a t. #????????.??? TAKE NO ALCOHOL PREVENTS Colds, LaGrippe, Rheumatism A pleasant but effective emulsion, which rebuilds the tissues, revives the system, adds strength and stimulates the nervous system. It has no alco- ? hol, and is in every sense a tonic. $1,00 PER BOTTLE Ask Your Druggist. Monufactured Solely By THE FERROL CO., Columbia, S. C. HARRIS' PRESSING CLUB I take this means of letting the people know that I have re-opened my pressing club, and will appre ciate their patronage. I am better prepared than ever to clean and press all kinds of garments, both for ladies and gentlemen. All vvork guaranteed. Let me know when you have work and I will send for it and make prompt delivery. Wallace Harris Sheppard Building Down Stairs NOTICE! To My Friends anl the Public Generally: Although I have accepted the position as City Carrier, I have no intention of discontinuing the Insurance business. Your busi ness will receive the same core ful attention, and will be appre ciated. Office Hours:-6:00 P. M. to 8:00 P, M. J. T. HARLING At The Farmers Bank. Edgefield, S. C. ?I W&m^ GEO. F. MIMS OPTOMETRIST Eyes examined and g.asses fitted only when necessary. Optical work of all kinds. EDGEFIELD, S. C. A. H. Corley, Surgeon Dentist Appointments at Trenton On Wednesdays. The Quinine That Does Not Affect The Head Because of its tonic and laxative effect, LAXA TIVE BROMO QUININE is better than ordinary Quinine and does not cause nervousness nor rinsrine in head. Remember the full name and look for the signature o? fi. W. GROVE. 25c. "Land of the Sky" is the appropriate designation of the wonderful Mountains of Western North Carolina Located in the magnificent section of lofty mountains, abounding in towering peaks, beautiful rivers, smiling valleys and charming wooded slopes, are hun dreds of excellent places at which to . spend the summer, ranging from pre tentious hotels with gay social life to home-like boarding places, quiet re treats and camps for roughing it. Get Out in the Open Golf, tennis, horse-back riding, mountain climb ing, boating, bathing, motoring, driving, and all other out-door recreations. Send the Boys to a Summer Camp Excellent camps to take care of the growing boys during vacation time. Academic instructions if de sired. Out-door life and athletic instructions under wholesome influences. Many Wonderful Sights In the "Land of the Sky" within a one-day trip from any central resort. Excellent Accommodation To be found at Asheville, Hendersonville, Hot Springs, Lake Junaluska, Waynes vi Ile, Brevard, Saluda, Lake Toxaway, Flat Rock, Tryon, Black Mountain, Ridgecrest and many other. Southern Railway System Write for illustrated literature, fares and schedules. FRED R. McMILLIN, Division Passenger Agt. J. A. TOWNSEND, 228 Eighth St., Ticket Agt., Edgefield, S. C. Augusta, Ga. Collett & Mitchell PHARMACISTS Large stock of Drugs and Drug Sundries always on hand-fresh from the leading manufacturers. Prescriptions accurately compounded from drugs any hour of the day or night. A Share of Your Patronage Solicited F. E. GIBSON, President LANSING B. LEE, Sec. and Treas. FARMERS, MERCHANTS, BUILDERS, If you are going to build, remodel or repair, we invite your inquiries. COMPLETE HOUSE BILLS A SPECIALTY. We manufacture and deal in doors, sash, blinds stairs, interior trim, store fronts and fixtures, pews, pulpits, etc., rough and dressed lumber, lath, pine and cypress shingles, flooring, ceiling and siding. Distributing agents for Flintkote roofing Estimates cheerfully and carefully mane. Woodard Lumber Co. AUGUSTA, GEORGIA. Corner Roberts and Dugas Streets, , Our Motto: S