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| JOE MEETS STRANGER Encounters Venerable Critter _ tWith Pack on His Back. f \ * MAILS HIM WITH HEARTINESS Ife V. 1 t?" iVhay Convert* of Things That Msko Even a Good Man Bettor?Struggle j jOvar Game of Cards?Ends In Vic ioTy For Pilgrim. t L * tOepyright, 1108, by T. C. McClure.] ~W\WAS proceeding on my, happy. way between the enterprising M 1 town of Jump Off and Happy Day and I was a-saying to. my' self bow much better it was to be in aooent than to hare a mother-in-law. ? .when I encountered a venerable critter * < .With a pack on. his back and a staff in his hand. He had chin Whiskers that Waved in the breeze, and on his face there rested a look of innocence and goodness. I knew him at once for a . idler pilgrim, and I hailed him with **' * - ' - - - A PACK ON HIS AND A STAFF IN HIS -HAND. lwartiness. When he had hailed me in return he gave me his wrinkled hand v, 1 N. and said: y - ^Stranger of the highway, I recog>' " in thee a kindred speerit, and I am rejoiced to meet thee. Thou art one who loves his feller man." "Yes, mo^t of the time," I answered. "Thou hast pity for the sorrering and downtrodden." -? "Heaps of it" "Thou hast sympathy for an erring brother." _ ' "His case always brings tears to my a^es." "Thou wouldst that all men were . honest and upright and that the sins ?f the world were east far, far away." "That's me to a checker. If I had my way about it there would be no guile in the hearts of men and no spavins on the legs of horses. The days should be forty-eight hours long and every day full of glad sunshine and those good deeds that make a man's conscience swell like dried apples in the stewing." "'Tis well," said the stranger. "I knew that I could not be mistaken in hat face of yours. Descend from the vehicle, feller pilgrim, and let us sit here on the grass and converse of the tilings that make even a good man better.". I complied with his request, and for a quarter of an hour we praised the goodness and lamented the badness of men and wondered if the day would over come when Wall street would find its last sucker. By and by, after uttering a groan and wiping away the falling tears, the old man turned to me and asked: . "Pilgrim, dost it happen that thou hast a pack of what they call playing cards in thy pocket?" "You mean those cards with pictures and 8pots on them?" " Ay e,r truly." . A Pack of .Carets. "Then it happens that I hare a pack. I found them beside a straw stack. Where, I fear, a quartet of men without fear of the future in their hearts had been playing a game called poker." "*Tis well. In a dim way I have heard of the game. I have sometimes thought I would like to learn it in order that I might show the unwary the guile there is in it. I wouldst hold up an object lesson to them." "'Tis a thought worthy of a weary pilgrim traveling from afar. No man of innocent heart and pure motives can hope to rake in a pot with three jacks in his hand when the bad man opposite has a full house. Shall we spread a blanket between ns and teach each other the game that we may be the better prepared to warn others of the danger of raising the pot on a four flush?" "Yea; it might be well," he replied in a humble way and with a faraway look in his eyes. For ten minutes we taught each other the value of the cards, and it was surprising how fast we both picked up Information. Then it was the venerable and guileless stranger who looked off over the rolling prairies of Oklahoma, rich with the memories of pipe lines and sich, and whisperingly suggested that a little stake would make the game more exciting. Without suspicion of him in my heart and solely n*fth n desire to send a cash contrihu tion to the heathens of Africa I consented, and we each deposited a dollar on the cloth. As we did so I thought I caught a gleam of avarice in the old men's eyes, while, as I had mine cast down, I am sure he saw nothing. The heathens of Africa had lost $10 through me when there came a feeling to my bretst that venerable was not I altogether a pure and innocent hearted f man, and I began to sit up and take I notice. We had $30 on the blanket when I got a straight flush in my hand. I reasoned it out that if vener- r able was the man I now suspicioned him to be he would have a hand of fours. ..The way he began to raise me warmed the cockles of my heart * and sent my sympathies pouring out * for the unfortunate. We were very humble as we played. Outside of our _ raises we talked mostly of orphans and heathens and of the joy of pre???^1? ? nrliAnaiirttliol trt Knif BVmiilg llicui iuc numnnuui i,v ww; winter underclothing and to indulge in quail on toast. -By and by, when the pot amounted to.$100 or more, vener- . able got scared and called my hand. It was a proud moment for the heathen when I laid down that straight flush. It was a thing of beauty. It C( beat a red-wagon just out of the paint la s^bp. .Far* a long minute the stranger h gazed on it, and then he precipitated ^ himself upon me and made use of e] words not known to the language of Greece in its foremost days. It was a struggle for the right?that is, for the privilege of forwarding that hundred ^ bones to the spot where it would do cJ the most good?and right conquered. It always does if it has got the most muscle behind it, though it may receive a black eye and a skinned nose In the conquering. When I had hammered old venerable ^ to my heart's content I rose from his . recnmbent carcass and gathered up the spoils of virtue and drove away. As I drove many sayings came into my ^ mind and were uttered by my lips, , . Q such as: "He who is armed with integrity can suffer no defeat." And likewise: "The guilty man overcometh him- p >? IE And once more: .. "He who buildeth on deception will come to be tangled up among the ruins of his own house." Any one knowing the address of an African heathen who is hard up will do me a favor by forwarding it. Give postoffice box if possible. Meanwhile the hundred will remain in my hind pocket. Enters Town of Jump Off. I entered the town of Jump Off with a bird singing in my heart and the glad thought in my soul that the world | had grown 50 per cent better since the elections. But, alas, I was to be j made the victim of man's wiles again. The mayor of the town came forward and gave me the glad hand and extended the freedom of the city, which meant that I could drink in every saloon in the place if I had the cash to pay for it. I had pitched my tent and got ready to take tintypes at 10 cents a take when old venerable, who had revived and followed on, struck the burg. He did not seek me out, as i one pilgrim should another, but went I to the mayor and declared that I had "i assaulted and despoiled him on the highway. His honor called for my li side of the story. Truth and integrity b showed so plainly in my face that he could not doubt me. He offered to b boot old venerable out of town if 1 lj would share my winnings with him. I could not consent. I had played b: poker from one of the noblest sentl- tl ments that can actuate the human a heart and I did not wish to degener- b ate it into mere dross. I was given ten minutes in which to make up my fc mind, and as I remained steadfast to h principle, which means never let go n of anything you've got into your pock- a et, I was driven out of the town in p ignominy and humiliation and made to pass the night on the prairie in a s; sobbing rainstorm. I hugged that wad g of greenbacks to my damp heart, how- a ever, and felt that though man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn, as the family almanac a has it, $50 in cash goes a long ways in B setting up mint julips in hot weather. Sj M. QUAD. h t, A Safe Way. tl How Theodule, the young medical w student, practiced trepanning. ? Pele ai Mele. 1\] A Memory. c< "That man said he never forgets a ^ favor." "He speaks truly." answered Senator Sorghum. "He did me a favor fifteen ft years ago and has been talking about d it ever since."?Washington Star. o; ir The Definition Fit. 01 lie (angrily)?I never saw such a b< woman! You are always on the look- a out to set something cheap. n She (suavely) ? Yes. unfortunately. That's how I came to marry you.?Bal- h1 tlmore American. c; With a Frown. i< Bacon?Don't you think the taking of drugs should be frowned down? tl Egbert?Why, that's the only way b: most people can get medicine down! - h< Yonkers Statesman. tf E The Wrong Number. si She (transmitter)?I want 12." John. He (receiver)?Sorry, Mabel, but I cl haven't got a nickel. Besides, my n< name's not John!--New York Life. j y lOWSERMYSA BIRD lis Heart Beats With Sympathy For Forlorn Parrot and Owner. ILORIES IN VIRTUOUS DEED. eath of Forlorn One, Bowser Asserts, Due to a Broken Heart and to Mrs. Bowser?Divorce and Alimony Spoken of Again. [Copyright, 1908, by T. C. McClure.] rHERE was astonishment in the Bowser residence the other evening when Mr. Bowser came home from the office ac)mpanied by a boy and a parrot, the itter in a cage. The boy was in a nrry to get away, and he bad depart-' 1 before Mrs. Bowser got breath aough to exclaim: "You don't mean that you've gone ad bought that thing?" "That thing, as you call it," replied [r. Bowser, "is a bird. As to its speies, it's a parrot. Please refer to it 3 such hereafter." "But what is it doing here?" "It is here by my wishes. In fact, is my property, and I warn you here od now that if you vent your spite on le bird there will be a settlement beveen us." The cage was placed in the sitting >om, and, with a farewell wave of his and to Polly, Mr. Bowser led the way own to the dining room. When the teal had fairly begun he said: "Mrs. Bowser, perhaps I owe you an splanation. I have brought home a arret." . "Yes, I know, and I can't get over ly amazement. More than a hundred mes I have heard you say that you'd SAID THAT HE HAD EATEN NOTHING FOB TWO DAYS." ke to take a crowbar and knock the ead off every poll parrot in the land." "I may have made such a remark, ut it was probably made unthinkingr and without reference to my heart." "What has your heart got to do with ringing home a frouzy old bird like iat? She's a perfect fright to look at, nd I'll warrant that her temper is as ad as her looks." "My heart has this to do with it, [rs. Bowser. When I see even a bird ungering for food and a kind word ly heart beats in sympathy. It was Itogether a sympathetic move on my art." "Oh, it was? I haven't seen any empathy on your part wh^n I hunered for gloves and handkerchiefs nd hosiery." His Heart Touched. Mr. Bowser flushed up and glared cross the table at her, and the reminder of the dinner was finished in [lenc-e. On reaching the sitting room e walked three or four times around ae battered old eagre holding Poll and len said: "The eireumstanees were these: That oy came into the office as I was bout ready to start for home and 'anted to sell me the bird. He is an :alian boy. This has been his pet arrot and playmate for the past two ears, but owing to the hard times he >uld no longer keep her. Tears rolled own his cheeks as he said that he ad eaten nothing for two days." "And the tears melted your heart?" "They did. Besides being hungry, the oy was heartbroken at the idea that is pet bird must go to a stranger, peraps to some one who would take an t tr* har fncfanri nf snpflktnc kindlr hen the bird herself looked at me 1th a sorrowful appeal in her eyes, nd I could no longer resist." "I see how it was with you," replied [fs. Bowser. "You bought a new milk )\v once because you thought she ivitched her tail in a sorrowful man?r." "If it pleases you to assume the attiide you do. go ahead, but I know my utv and shall do it. This ease has illed out my fullest sympathy. Imlediately on purchasing Tolly I sent at and procured food for her and the r>y as well. A hearty meal has made wonderful change in her. She is aw feeling that 1 imay still hold miething for her and that there is at ast one human being on earth that ires whether she lives or dies." ' 1 -1- if ol.n lx.,^1 "rMH* (KH'SIl 1 H?.llv fic n cm- u.ivi ?? nding of any kind." Mr. Bowser bad to mentally admit te fact. The racked and dusty old ird sat on the porch with hanging cad and closed eyes and seemed tit rly oblivious of her surroundings, veil the family cat was disgusted at ght of her. "The house is strange to her." exaimed Mr. Bowser, "and there canst be the least doubt that she feels -nj are inimical to her. She fails to catch a sympathetic note In your voice ?a heartiness in your welcome. The result is that she is placed in an embarrassing position." "It's news to me that an old parrot can be embarrassed." "Perhaps so. I had no hope from the first that you would make her welcome or have any sympathy for the poor boy that had to part with her. He had to hasten from the door to keep you from seeing the tears in his eyes. Another moment and he would have burst into sobs." "Another moment, If he had seen a policeman coming, he'd have jumped off the stoop and over the fence. He no doubt stole bird and cacre some where: How much did your sympathetic heart dictate that you should pay for the outfit?" Mr.' Bowser treated the question with the contempt it deserved, and there was a long interval of silence before he said: can realize the feelings of this bir<^, She doesn't wish to be under any J obligations to you. I positively 4 forbid you to give her food or drink. I will attend to those things myself. And in the same breath I warn you against any malevolence. If I come home any evening and find her with a broken leg cfr lying dead, there will be a- cataclysm around here. I shall beetle to lay my hand on the murderer without trouble.^ Mrs. Bowser made no reply to that, but went down to the kitchen to tell the cook about breakfast Left alone and his' heart still melting with sympathy, Mr. Bowser reached into the cage to take Poll off her roost and tell her how welcome she was to the house. She didn't come off the perch. On the contrary, she hung there and gave him such a bite on the wrist that he went dancing about the room and using bad words. His sympathetic heart got a bad jar, but he had to conceal the fact from Mrs. Bowser, who had no sooner returned than she asked: ' What were you cavorting around the room for just now?" "I wasn't cavorting." "And who were you talking to?" "No one." She seemed to doubt him, but nothing more was said, and after smoking a cigar and glancing over the evening paper Poll was carefully covered up, the cat locked in the kitchen, and the Bowser family went upstairs to bed. Sleep had not yet come when there was a wild, weird shriek from below, and Mr. Bowser bounced up with the exclamation: "What on earth ails the cat?" Midnight Disturbance. "Nothing. It's that old parrot of yours." "But it can't be. No parrot on earth"- ' There was a succession of gurgles, screams and shrieks, and Mr. Bowser ran to the head of the stairs. After listening a moment he said: "Mrs. Bowser, if that yaller eyed old cat of yours has murdered my parrot I I will have blood in repayment!" "Ton know the cat is locked up," she [ answered. "It's that bird. There she goes again. She's lonesome for you, or else she's trying to swallow her own feet. Why don't you go down and see? I If she keeps that noise up much longer, we'll hare the police in here." "WThere?where is my revolver?" "Nobody knows, and you don't need it anyway. Go right down and tell poor Polly how your heart beats for her and how mine doesn't, and she may shut up. If she doesn't you will have to sit up with her all night." Several further shrieks sent Mr. Bowser down the stairs, and as he lighted the eras and advanced to the cage the bird uttered one terrific shriek and fell off the perch and kicked its last. ''What is It?" asked Mrs. Bowser from the top of the stairs. Mr. Bowser did not answer. He reached into the cage and gave the dead body a cuff, and then, taking the cage to the door, he gave it a heave into a snowdrift alongside the fence. "What was it?" repeated Mrs. Bowser as he came upstairs with shivejrs chasing up and down his spine. "What was it? What was it?y he shouted. "It was that you broke that poor bird's heart, and she is* (lead of grief, and tomorrow morning you can take the train for your mother's and Sia.T l Wlilie iur !?, ? J CI O auau^t the divorce and alimony." M. QUAD. Too Much. "Do you think that Miss Kidder was having fun with me?" asked Chawley. "Well, old rhap, give me the details," was Awthur's response. "You see, I had my bull terrier with me. And I said to her. 'That dog knows as much as I do.' And she said. 'Don't you think ?4.50 was too much to pay for him;"'?Cleveland Leader. Hide and Seek In the Desert. ?Harper's Weekly. A Different Kind. 'The couple who are going to take a * wedding trip in the groom's aeroplane will have a nice little reception room ] fitted up on the airship.'' "Indeed! That will be a regular sky parlor."?Minneapolis Journal. GO FITZMAURICE S TH * mb A m > Mi AS i/U4 ana i/ud ewiain di. t For Dry Goods,! Millinery, Fancj and Silks, TJndei You'll find o lowest and our g 1704*1706 Main St. FITZMAI 1^??????? THERE'S JUST NO GETTING AWAY FROM FACTS. When I stand square on both feet and tell you I am selling better harness for less money than you ever paid before. I'm telling facts ! ?and I can prove it. j _ i Neighbor, don't buy a thing in j the harness line 'till you get my < prices. Here are a few: J Plow Collars at 30c. j Plow Bridles at 75c. j ?2.50 Leather Collars at... $ 1.50. J LET'S HELP THE MULE j _________ i urn cp ur martin. ! I We Ask Ton I to take Cardui, for your female I troubles, because we are sure it I will help you. Remember that I this great female remedy? | jCARDUI has brought relief to thousands of I 1 other sick women, so why not to I I you? For headache, backache, I -periodical pains, female weak- I I ness, many have said it Is "the I I best medicine to take." Try it 1 1 I Sold In Thte City n | Adam's Appta. I The projection in the front of the {{ throat in men. denoting the position < of the thyroid cartilage, is styled ^ "Adam's apple." It develops rapidly < usually when the voice "breaks," be- ] ing comparatively small in both cbil- < dren and women. The name arose J from the tradition that when Adam < attempted to swallow the apple in j paradise It stuck in his throat giving < rise to the swelling since seen in all | his adult male descendants. < - i A Great Man. j "Father," said little Rolk>, "what Is | a great man?" ' j "A great man, my son. is one who \ manage* to gather about him a whole < lot of assistants who will take the < blame for his mistakes while be gets ( the credit for their good Ideas!" \ Not Wholly PsrooneJ. < JL?You hare used the word "donkey" J several times lu the last ten minutes. < Am I to understand that you mean j anything of a personal nature? B.~ < Certainly not. There are lots of don- J keys In the world besides you. < ( ^ To learn obeying Is the fundamental j < art of governing.?Carlyla. j * We do not know of any other pi:l | hat, i?: as trood as DeWitt's Little Early I ri.iM.Ts, ohe family little liver pills? i small, jrenrle, pleasant and sure pills f ?vith a reputation. Sold by Kautmann f Drug Co. 9 | Send us your orders for job printing, * >nvelopes, note and letterheads, legal I Banks, cards, etc. All work execut)d promptly and in first class order Best brands of cigars always found it T.ic Bazaar. TO REE-ARCH STORE COLUMBIA, S. C. Notions, Shoes, r Dress Goods 'wear, etc. ur prices the joods the best. URICE'S Columbia, S. C. FOR SALE The most valuable property in Batesburg, S. C., situated in the center of the city. Large lo^, two story brick building nri4-ttta of ava ?aa*vin 1 nn ^af nitu unu okuic iuvius iw icct Long. Six office rooms and Large hall, seating capacity 500, now used as an opera bouse. Best mercantile stand Ln Batesburg. Terms easv, J. J. KAMINERj Gadsden, S! C. Alfred J. Fox, j Real Eslale and Insurance, I LEXINGTON, - S. C. \ One acre lot, new 4-room dwell- J ing just outside incorporation lim- > its of Lexington. > 124 acres, 3mils from Barr. [ 50 acres open land. 8 Room > dwelling. 2 Barns and other out build- J ings, easy terms. > 108 acres 4 miles from Barr > 12 acres open land near church [ and school. 1 Stationery engine 12 H. P. > 1 Boiler, 18 H. P. [ 1 Saw Mill & Fixture. > 194 acres near Saxe Gotha Mills 165 acres one mile from Lexing- [ ton depot; 75 acres cleared; young > orchard; creek runs through place; fruit never fails. [ 20 acres near Lexington. 69 acres 4 miles from Steedman ?18 acres cleared. [ One lot in town of Lexington. > 60 acres within one mile of > Artiiur, 2 acres open land. Plenty [ of water on the place. One lot on Main street of Lex- > ington; good building. j 80 acres 2 miles from Lexington > Plenty water. Fruit never fails. 85 acres near Lexington. Good [ for truck. Fruit never fails. 2o0 acres 2? miles from South- > era railway. 60 acres open land. [ Fruit never fails. Good orchard > on the place. Two buildings. 25 resident lots in town of Lex- j ington. > i 45 acres.S miles from Lexington, J 9 acres open land. Plenty water. ? I 95 acres, 25 acres open land > I 35 acres round timber, 35 acres 1 boxed timber, 2 4-room houses, [ 8 barn and stables. Church and 8 school house within 2 miles of 8 place. ^ 4 nr>P-hnlf anrfl Into nn rtpw , m street to be called Fort Street. I One large lot, 6-room dwelling [ I and barn on Main Street, Lex ington. I 100 acres, 30 acres open land, [ 1 dwelling and barn, church and 1 school within one mile, 5 miles > ] from Gaston, 6 miles from Swan- [ | sea. 1 1 acre, 5-room dwelling just outside the incorporate limits of [ Lexington. , 3 acres, good dwelling near t Lexington. [ 6 lots on East Church Street, > Write or call to see me ! AT I J THE HOME ! I NATIONAL BANK, ! I Lexington, S. C | I WWfVWfWWVtVWVfWVWI I Sewing Machines. I The Davis Unique and other new B mproved drop head machines; nicely fl inished in oak; easy running and per- H ect sewing:; fully guaranteed; for B ale at factory prices for cash, or on :asy payments, at The Bazaar. f Rice B. Harman fl ?? = J The Bazaar Fountain. jm The Bazaar Fountain is now run- *~H in>? in full blast. Cold drinks of ev- I