Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, December 21, 1898, Image 1
l. m. grist & sons, Publishers, j gl Jjamilg gteirspaper: <Jfor the promotion of the political, Social, gugricultural, and Commercial Interests of the ?outh. { term|ingScopy.bfi^^c??toance*
established 1855. YOEKYILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1898. * ISTO. 102.
LOST Mil
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Copyright, 1897, by Anna K. Rohlfs.
Synopsis of Previous Installments.
In order that new readers of The Enquirer
may begin with the following installment
ot this story, and understand it
just the same as though they had read it
all from the beginning, we here give a
synopsis of that portion of it which has
already been published:
Amelia Butterworth, who has done
clever detective work, is called upon by
Mr. Gryce, a professional detective, to
take up an interesting case. He tells her
that in a certain village several persons
have suddenly disappeared. In this place
lives a family of the name of Knollys, the
children of a former friend of Miss
Butterworth. Mr. Gryce desires Miss
Butterworth to enter this family for detective
work. Miss Butterworth goes to
visit the Knollys' home, finding there
Mipses Lucetta and Loreen Knollys and
their brother William. She dines with
the family and is taken to her room. She
remains awake during the night, and,
heading strange noises, goes into the hall
and calls Lucetta, who gives unsatisfactory
reasons for the disturbance. Mr.
Trobm, a neighbor visits the Knollys.
Lucetta is terrified at seeing him and
faints. Miss Butterworth receives a letter
from Mr. Gryce telling her that if she
is in danger to blow upon a whistle he
sends her. An old crone called Mother
Jane appears. Miss Butterworth gives
her a quarter, whereupon Mother Jane
repeats a curious combination of numbers.
Miss Butterworth leaves the house and
hears of a young girl formerly leaving
the Knollys house in a carriage and being
married before her mother could overtake
her. Since then a phantom carriage
is said to go through Lost Man's lane at
midnight, suggesting that the carriage
may carry away the persons mysteriously
disappearing. Mr. Trohm drives Miss
Butterworth in his wagon. Returning to
the house she witnesses a parting between
Liucetta ana a lover, wutw icvjucov .... ?...
answer to his suit Lucetta is endeavoring
to put off. He leaves without getting a
favorable reply. Miss Butterworth gets
from Loreen the key to a chamber which
she has heard is haunted. In visiting it
she finds her way into William's sanctum
and discovers that he is a vivisectionist.
Miss Butterworth passes an uncomfortable
night She is locked in her chamber
and loses her whistle which she keeps to
call the police, but recovers it. Making
further explorations, she finds two shutters
tied together with a knot of crape, indicating
a death in the house. Miss Butterworth
is impressed with the gentlemanlike
demeanor of Mr. Trobm and
goes with him to visit Mother Jane, who
repeats her combination of numbers. Miss
Butterworth sees on the wall shadows of
several persons carrying what appears to
l>e a corpse to its burial. She follows and
sees the bearers lower a cottin through a
hole in the tloor. Miss Butterworth meets
Mr. Gryce at the hotel. Hei informs her
that he has a clew pointing to Mother
Jane as the culprit and he has examined
a string of vegetables in Mother Jane's
cabin, finding in one of them, corresponding
to a number repeated by the crone,
a valuable ring. He assisted at the burial
witnessed by Miss Butterworth and tells
her that the corpse was a favorite dog of
William Knollys. He had disguised himself
in Mother Jane's clothes, the others
supposing him to be mother Jane. Miss
Butterworth tells him of finding the knot
of crape and convinces him that what was
buried was human. Mr. Gryce searches
the Knollys house and goes to the grave
in the cellar. He is about to open it when
Loreen stops him and avows that it is the
grave of her mother.
CHAPTER XXIX
INVESTIGATION.
The shock of these words?if false,
most horrible; if true, still more horrible?threw
us all aback and made even
Mr. Gryce's features assume art aspect
quite uucommou to them.
"Your mother's grave?" said he,
lookiug from her to Loreen with very
evident doubt. "I thought your mother
died seven or more years ago, and this
grave has been dug within three days."
"I know," she whispered. "To the
world my mother has been dead many,
many years, but not to us. We closed
her eyes night before last, and it was to
preserve this secret, which involves others
affecting our family honor, that we
resorted to expedients which have perhaps
attracted the notice of the police
and drawn this humiliation down upon
us. I can conceive no other reason for
this visit, ushered in as it was by Mr.
Trohm."
"Miss Lucetta," Mr. Gryce spoke up
quite quickly?if he had not I certainly
could not have restrained some expression
of the emotions awakened in my own
breast by this astounding revelation?
"Miss Lucetta, it is not necessary to
bring Mr. Trohm's name into this matter
or that of any other person than myself.
1 saw the coffin lowered here,
which you sav contained the body of
your mother. Thinking this a strange
place of burial and not knowing it was
vnur mother. Miss Knollvs. to whom
you were paying these last dutiful rites,
I took advantage of my position as detective
to satisfy myself that nothing
wrong lay behind so mysterious a death
and burial. Can you blame me, Miss
Knollys? Would I have been a man to
trust if 1 had let such an event go by
unchallenged in this lane?"
She did not answer She had beard
but one sentence of all this long speech.
"You saw my mother's coflin lowered?
Where were you that you should
see that? In some of these dark passages,
let in by 1 know not what traitor to our
peace of mind." And her eyes, which
seemed to have grown almost supernaturally
large and bright under her emotions,
turned slowly in their sockets till
they rested with something like doubtful
accusation upon mine. But not to
remain there, for Mr. Gryce recalled
. - .i_ i i- i? xi.
them almost lnsrauuv uueit oy mm
short, sharp negative.
"No, I was nearer than that.- I lout
iny strength to this burial. If you had
thought to look under Mother Jane's
hood, you would have seen what would
have forced these explanations then and
there."
"And you"?
"And I was Mother Jane for that
night. Not from choice, miss, but from
necessity. It was I your brother saw in
the c ottage. I could not give away my
plans by refusing the task your brother
offered me."
fS LAI.
, I
[ARINE GREEN. j
i
i
i
"It is well." Lucetta had risen and ]
was now standing by the side of Loreen. (
"Sneh a secret as ours defies secrecy.
Even Providence takes part against us.
What you want to know we uiust tell,
but I assure you it has nothing to do
with the business you profess to be
chiefly interested in?nothing at all."
"Then perhaps you and your sister
will retire," said he. "Distracted as
you are by family griefs, I would not
wish to add one iota to. your distress.
This lady, whom you seem to regard
with more or less favor as friend or
relative, will stay to see that no dishonor
is paid to your mother's remains.
But her face we must see, Miss Knollys,
if only to lighten the explanations
you will doubtless feel called upon to
mako."
It was Loreen who answered this.
"If it must bo," said sho, "remember
your own mother and deal reverently
with ours." Which word and the way
it was uttered gave me my first distinct
conviction that it was truth these
girls had been telling and that the girl
child we had come to unearth was the
Althea of my early friendship, whose
fairyliko form I had for so long a time
believed to have mingled with foreign
dust. The thought was almost too much
for my self possession, and I advanced
upon Loreen with a dozen burning questions
on my lips when the voice of Mr.
Gryce stopped ma
"Explanations later," said he. "For
the present we want you here."
It was not an easy task for me to linger
there with all my doubts unsolved,
waiting for the decisive moment when
Mr. Gryce should say: "Come! Look!
Is it she?" But the will that had al- g
ready sustained me through so much f
did not fail me now, and, grievous as r
was the ordeal, I passed steadily through t
II, ueillg uuiw iu bay, wuujju uuv muiout
some emotion, I own: "It is she!
Changed almost beyond conception, but
still she," which was a happier end to
this adventure than that we had first
feared, mysterious as the fact was, not
only to myself, but, as I could see, to the
acute detective as well.
The girls had withdrawn long before
this, just as Mr. Gryco had desired, and
I now thought I might be allowed to
join them, but Mr. Gryce detained me
till the gravo was refilled and made decent
again, when he turned and to my
intense astonishment?for I had thought
the matter was all over and the exoneration
of this household complete?said
6oftly and with telling emphasis in my
ear:
"Our work is not done yet. They who
make graves so readily in cellars must
have been more or less accustomed to
the work. We have still some digging
to do."
CHAPTER XXX.
KTKATEU X.
I was overwhelmed.
"What," said I, "you still doubt?"
"I always doubt," he gravely replied.
"This cellar bottom offers a wide field
for speculation. Too wide, perhaps, but
I have a plan."
Here he leaned over and whispered a
few concise sentences in my ear in a
tone so low I should feel that I was betraying
his confidence in repeating them.
But their import will soon become apparent
from what presently occurred.
"Light Miss Butterworth to the stairway,"
Mr. Gryce now commanded one
of the men, and thus accompanied I
found my way back to the kitchen, a
where Hannah was bemoaning uncom- (
forted the shame which had come upon e
the house. 6
I did not stop to soothe her. That 1
was not my cue, nor would it have an- i
swered my purpose. On the contrary, I d
exclaimed as I passed her: i
'' What a shame! Those wretches can- {
not bo got away from the cellar. What 1
do you suppose they expect to find there? I
I left them poking hither and thither
in a way that will be very irritating to
Miss Knollys if she is such a woman as 1
lam. I wonder William stands it." e
What she said in reply I do not know, c
I was half way down the hall before my \
own words were finished. i
My next move was to go to my room, f
where I had among other small necessa- (
ries a tiny hammer and some small, 1
very sharp pointed tacks. Curious arti- I
cles, you will think, for a woman to t
carry on her travels, but I am a woman i
of experience and havo known only too i
often what it was to want these petty i
conveniences and not be able to get i
them. They were to serve me an odd 1
turn now. Taking a half dozen tacks in i
one hand and concealing the hammer in J
my bag, I started boldly for William's }
room. I kuew that tho girls were not :
there, for 1 had heard them talking together
in tho sitting room when I came <
up. Besides, if they were, I had a ready 1
answer for any demand they might
make. '
Searching out his boots, I turned them i
over, and into the sole of each I drove '
one of my small tacks. Then I put
them back in the same place and posi- 1
tion in which I found them. Task No. i
1 was done. i
When I issued from the room, I went '
as quickly as I could below. I was now
ready for a talk with the girls, whom I <
found as I had anticipated, talking and
Weeping together in tho sitting room. '
They rose as I came in, awaiting my
first words in evident anxiety. They had '
not heard me go up stairs. I immediately
let my anxiety and only too deep in- i
terest in this matter have full play.
"My poor girls! What is the meaning
of this.' Your mother just dead, and the
matter kept from me, her friend! It is i
astounding?incomprehensible! I do not i
know what to make of it or of you." i
"'It has a strange look," said Loreen
gravely, bu; we had reasons, Miss Bnt- rc
terworth. Jur mother, charming and w
sweet as yon remember her, has not al- aj
ways done light, or, what you will bet- w
ter understand, committed a criminal rfc
act against a person in this town, the 6e
penalty of which is state's prison." a
With difficulty the words came out
With difficulty she kept down the flush b<
Df shame which threatened to overwhelm
her and did overwhelm her more sensitive
sister. But her self control was Li
jreat, and she went bravely on, while I,
in faint imitation of her courage, re- ga
strained my own surprise and intolerable
sense of shock and bitter sorrow un- ta
3er a guise of simple sympathy. gi
f ?? -t- - ?:J
"IE was corgery, sue suiu. xuio
has never before # passed our lips, ga
Though a cherished wife and a beloved th
mother she longed for many things that th
ny father could not give her, and in an th
)vil hour she imitated the name of a
rich man here and took the check thus bi
signed to Hartford. The fraud was not
detected, and she received the money, 6h
but ultimately the rich man whose er
money she had spent discovered the use oc
she had made of his name, and if sho lb
lad not escaped would have had her ar- th
ested. But she left the country, and
he only revenge he took was to swear yj
;hat if she ever set foot again in X. he m
would call the police down upon her.
Fes, if she were dying, and they had to yo
Irag her from the brink of the grave. et<
\nd he would have done it, and know- th
ing this we have lived under the shadow
of this fear for 11 years. My father sti
lied under it, and my mother?ah, she sa;
spent all her life under foreign skies,
jut when she felt the hand of death av
lpon her her affection for her own flesh th
ind blood triumphed over her discre- IJ
;ion, and she came, secretly, I own, but et<
itill with that hdrror menacing her, to eh
hese doors, and begging our forgive- loi
less lay down under the roof where we Hi
were born and died with the halo of our ha
ove about her." w<
"Ah," said I, thinking of all that hii
iau UttppCLlCU, oauitox uau wuxuc iuvu iuio louse
and finding nothing bat conflrnation
of what she was saying, "I begin to<
o understand." th
But Lucetta shook her head. M;
"No," said she, "you cannot under- or
;tand yet. We'who had worn mourning vii
or her because my father wished to Lc
nako this very return impossible knew ne
tothing of what was in store for ns till 60i
"STOP YOUR DESECRATING
, letter came saying she would bo at the coi
J. station on the very night we receiv- bri
d it. To acknowledge our deception, to fel
eek and bring her home openly to this to
louse, could not bo thought of for a monent.
How then could we satisfy her ch
[ying wishes without compromising her mi
nemory or ourselves? Perhaps you have so!
juessed, Miss Butterworth. You have inl
lad time since we revealed the unhap- in
VTT cnorof rvf fViia h nil fifth nld. ' ?
"Yes," said I. "I havo guessed." wc
Lucetta, with her baud laid on mine, re;
ooked wistfully into my face. "Ah," wc
he said, "when we saw her, she was
Iriven up to our doorstep through the sal
vends and grass, and William, who had ho
lot dared to go to C. lest our 6trate- cei
;eiu should fail, stepped down to the nil
:arriago and lifted her out in his arms, cu
[t was while sho still cduug to him, with
ler face pressed close against his breast, wi
;kat Loreen and I first saw her, our th
nother, yet so small, the smallest of us wi
ill. She was wan, but happy and very co:
lear to death. Loreen and I blessed God pu
is we carried her up the stairs and laid wi
icr in the great front chamber. We did tic
lot foresee what would happen the very th
tiext morning?I mean the arrival of ht
four telegram, to be followed so soon by th
yourself. " nc
"Poor girls! Poor girls!" It was all I ly
;ould say. I was completely over- or
whelmed. 6ii
"The first night after your arrival we wJ
moved her into William's room as be- \V
iug more remote and thus a safer ref- m
uge for her. The next night she died, ca
Ihe dream which you had of being ey
locked in your room was no dream. Lo- w
reeu did that hi foolish precaution wi
igaiust your trying to search us out in lit
the uiglit. It would have been better m
now, I seo, if we had taken you into ed
aur confidence. fe
"Yes," suid I, "that would have been
better. " But I did not say how much ui
better. That would have been giving to
away my secret. TI
"William, who is naturally colder th
? * i?
than we ana less sensitive 111 xugaiu tu m
her good name, has shown some little sp
impatience at the restraint imposed th
upon him, and this was an extra bur- ki
den, Miss Butterworth, but that and all
the others wo have been forced to bear ar
[the generous girl did not speak of her T.
vn special grief and loss) have all been
ndered useless by the unhappy chance
hich. has brought into our midst this
?cnt of the police. Ah, if I only knew
hether this was the providence of God
ibuking us or just the malice of man
eking to rob us of our one best treasure,
mother's untarnished name!"
"Mr. Gryce acts from no malice"? I
igan, but I saw they were not listens'
"Are they done down below?" asked
ncetta.
" Does the man you call Gryce seem
tisfied?" asked Loreen. t
I drew myself up physically and men11v
Mv ?w>nnH task was ahont to he
11.
"1 do not understand those men,"
id I. "They seem to want to look farer
than the sacred spot where we left
em. If they are going through a form,
ey are doing it very thoroughly."
"That is their duty," said Loreen,
it Lucetta took it less calmly.
"It is nn unhappy day for us," cried
e. "Shame after shame, disgrace aftdisgrace.
I wish we had all died in
ir childhood. Loreen, I must see Wilim.
He will be doing some foolish
iug, swearing or"?
"My dear," said I, "let me go to
'illiam. He may not like me overuch,
but I will at least prove a reraint
to him. You are too feeble. See,
u ought to be lying on the couch iniad
of trying to drag yourself out to
e stables."
And indeed at that moment Lucetta'fl
rength gave suddenly out, and she
uk into Loreen's arms insensible.
When she was restored, I hurried
ray to the stables, still in pursuit of
e task which I had not yet completed,
found William sitting doggedly on a
doI in the open doorway, grunting out
ort sentences to the two men who
anged in his vicinity on either side
3 was angry, but not as angry as I
d seen him times before. The men
jre townsfolk and listened eagerly to
8 broken sentences. One or two of
ese reached my eara
"Let 'em go it. It won't be now or
iay they 11 settle this business. It's
e devil's work, and devils are sly.
y house won't give up that secret,
any other house they'll be likely to
jit. The place I would ransack? But
ireeu would say I was babbling. Good
ss knows a ieiiow'8 got to taik aoout
netbing when his fellow townsfolk
HAND!" SHE CRIED.
:ne to sec him." Aud here his faugh
ako in harsh, cruel aud insulting. I
t it did him no good and made haste
show myself.
Immediately his whole appearance
anged. Ho was so astonished to see
) thero that for a moment he was ablutely
silent; then ho broke out again
to another loud guffaw, but this time
a different tone.
"Ah, ha," he laughed, "Miss Butter)rth
I Here, Saracen. Come, pay your
spects to the lady who likes you so
ill."
And Saracen came, but I did not forko
my ground. I had seen what I
ped to see in one corner, and Saraa's
presence afforded me the opportuty
of indulging in one or two rather
rious performances.
"I am not afraid of the dog," said I,
th marked loftiness, shrinking toward
e pail of water I had already marked
tli my eye. "Not at all afraid, "I
utiuued, catching up the pail and
ttiuc it between us as the dog made a
Id dash in my direction. "These gen:men
will not see me hurt." And
ough they all laughed?they would
ive been fools if they had not?and
0 dog jumped the pail and I jumped,
it a pail, but a broom handle that was
ing amid all the rest of the disorder
1 tho floor, they did not eee that I had
ccccdod iu doing wbut I wished,.
Inch was to place tnat pail so near to
illiam's foot that? But wait a mocut,
everything in its own time. I esped
tho dog, and next moment had my
oon him. He did not move after that,
bich rather put a stop to the laughter,
bich seeing I drew very near to Wilmi,
and with a sly gesture to the two
en, which for some reason they seemto
understand, whispered in the rude
llow's ear:
"They've found your mother's grave
.1? -i- - a '\?
iner tue uuwcr puriui. iuui uokus
Id me to tell you. But that is not all.
aey're trampling hither and yon
irough all the secret places in the celr,
turning up the earth with their
tades. I know they won't find anyling,
but we thought you Qught to
low"?
Here I made a feint of being startled,
id ceased. My second task was done,
be third only remained. Fortunately
at that moment Mr. Gryce and his torlowers
showed themselves in the garden.
They had jnst come from the cellar
and played their part in the same
spirit I bad mine. Though they were
too far for their words to be heard, the
air of secrecy and the dubious looks
they cast toward the stable could not
but evince even to William's dull understanding
that their investigations
had resulted in a doubt which left them
far from satisfied, but, once this impression
made, they did not linger long together.
The man with the lantern moved
off, and Mr. Gryce turned toward us,
changing his whole appearance as he
advanced till no one could look more
cheerful and good humored.
" Well, that is over," said he. "Mere
form, Mr. Knollys?mere form. We ,
have to go through these things at
times, and good people like yourself
Wnf T occmra rnn if {a
UUVC tu OUUJLUlli UUV A UDQIUO J V/Vft AW AO
not pleasant, and under the present circumstances?I
am sure you understand
me, Mr. Knollys?the task has occasioned
me a feeling almost of remorse, (
but that is inseparable from a detective's
life. He is obliged every day of ,
his life to ride over the tenderest emotions.
Forgive me! And now, yon boys
Vcatter till I call you together again. I
hope our next search will be withont
such sorrowful accompaniments."
It succeeded. William stared at him
and stared at the men slowly filing off
down the yard, but was not for a moment
deceived by these overflowing expressions.
On the contrary, he lo9ked
more concerned than he had while seated
between the two men manifestly set
to guard him.
"The deuce I" he cried, with a shrug
of bis shoulders that expressed anything
but satisfaction. '' Lucetta always
said"? But even he knew enough not
to finish that sentence, low as he had
mumbled it. Watching him and watching
Mr. Gryce, who at that moment
turned to follow his men, I thought the
time had come for action. Making another
spring as if in fresh terror of Saracen,
who, by the way, was eying me
with the meekness of a lamb, I tipped
over that pail with such suddenness and
with such dexterity that its whole contents
poured in one flood over William's
feet And my third task was accomplished.
The oath he uttered and the excuses
which I most volubly poured forth
could not have reached Mr. Gryce's
ears, for he did not turn. And yet from
the way his shoulders shook as he disappeared
around the corner of the house I
judge that he was not entirely ignorant
of the subterfuge by which I hoped to
force this blundering booby of ours to
change the boots he wore for one of the
pairs into which I had driven those little
tacks.
TO BE CONTINUED.
ittisccllancous Reading.
TENTHATE A BANDIT.
A New York Lawyer's Thrilling Experience
While a Rough Rider.
A number of the New .York boys
who enlisted with the Rough Riders
experienced some severe shocks during
the first few days that regiment was
in camp at Tampa while getting acquainted
with their associates in the
organization. The New York boys
were scattered around the various
troops aud thrown in with men from
the west and southwest, who were of
a type with which they were not familiar.
A young New York clubman,
who served through the Santiago campaign
with Colonel Roosevelt, told the
following story of his first days in the
regiment, at the University club the
other night, according to the New
York Suu:
"I went to Tampa alone, after the
regiment had been there for several
days, armed with letters which I felt
pretty sure, would result in my being
in Qnliiioi-inn man a i.hiniT T
taiVCU 1U? kfUIUlVI lug w mm M vm*md
| bad never given any thought to before 1
I the war broke out, and I was about i
as green a youth as ever made appli- ]
cation at a recruiting station. All <
of my time had been devoted to the I
study of law and a struggle to estab- J
lisb myself, and my ill success proba- I
biy bad as much to do with my desire t
to fight for my country as anything i
else. I
"I had never heard much about the 1
Rough Riders; but never having been '
in the west, I had no idea what kind '
of men formed the nucleus of the regiment,
although I had heard there 1
were lots of cowboys and westerb had '
men in the ranks. The day I struck '
Tampa I presented my letter to Colonel
Wood, and the next day I was a
trooper. My troop was made up al- I
most entirely of westerners, and at that I
time I was the only New Yorker in it. ]
I didn't make friends very rapidly ; (
but my tentmate seemed a decent sort i
of a fellow, and I was soon on pretty <
good terms with him. He was a little, i
smooth-faced fellow, with a firm jaw 1
and a keen eye, aud, I should say, s
about 30 years of age. He was very j
quiet; but when he did talk it was in a i
voice as soft as a woman's. i
"I made up my mind that he was a '
good fellow, but rather diffident; aud t
that in order to make our relations 1
more cordiul, I must draw him out.
I felt rather sorry for him, aud for a t
time made a point of going everywhere (
| with him in order to make him feel i
more comfortable. He took my over- i
Lures in good part and seemed to enjoy i
my compauy. About the fourth day I
it suddenly dawned on me that my '
bashful little 'bunkie' knew all about t
me, my Dame, station in life, and all \
the other things that a friend i9 sup- t
posed to know, while all I knew about t
him was that his name was Redmond.
So I just tackled him one day and told (
him that, as we might be together for t
months, I'd like to know who he was s
aud where he came from and whether
he had a family. 'You see, Redmond,' t
I said, 'our homes may be all we'll y
have to talk about before this war is i
over, so we might as well know one 1
another.' f
"He gave me a queer look, mumbled
something about seeing me later, and
left the tent. I made up my mind
right there that there was some sad
secret in his life that he couldn't talk
about to so new an acquaintance as
myself, and I didn't bother him again.
I was so blue myself about being away ,
from my friends and relatives that a
great wave of pity for this poor fellow,
who seemed so much less able to stand
trouble than I, swept over me. The 1
second night after this, Redmond put i
on his coat and said he was going out i
for a walk.. 'Hold on a minute,'I said,
'and I'll go with you,' ,
" 'Oh, I'm not going far,' he said ; |
'you'd better stay. I'll be back in an i
hour.'
" 'But I want to go,' I said. 'I'm
sick of banging around the tent.'
"He said no more and we went out
together. There were no guards but ;
the provost guards and the men could j
wander around at will. We went into ;
the town and stopped at a saloon, j
where Redmond made me gasp by j
drinking nearly half a tumbler of ]
whisky without wincing. We went 1
to several other places and had drinks,
and finally, at my suggestion, started <
back for camp. We were passing (
through a very dark street when Red- <
mond suddenly came to a standstill, t
and, hauling out his big cavalry re- |
volver, examined it carefully and then ]
turning to me said: 'You'd better <
step in that doorway a moment. I'll <
be right back.' ]
"I looked up and then noticed, about t
a hundred yards away, a man coming |
toward us. He was a well dressed, ]
prosperous looking man, and as I saw
Redmond take a step in his direction (
it came over me all of a sudden what j
be intended to do. ]
" 'See here, Redmond,' I called, ;
walking forward and catching him by (
the shoulder, 'what are you going to 1
io?' I
" 'Hold him up,' he said in his soft ;
troice. 'Go into a doorway; it won't i
:ake a moment.' I
" 'Not a bit of it,' I said. 'You'll i
io no such work as that while I'm 1
iround.' <
"An expression which betrayed the i
nan's real charactar came over bis
ace and for a second I thought he was
going to shoot me. Before he got a
:hance I continued:
'"Redmond, if you need some money,
['11 help you out. I've got a little. I
von't stand for any such game as this
hough.'
" 'I can get along until we get a pay
lay on $5. Can you let me have that
nuch ?'
" 'Certainly,' I said, and I gave him
i bill in a hurry, for the stranger was
getting dangerously near us. He put
jp his revolver and the stranger passed
us, little knowing what a narrow
escape be bad bad.
"Redmond never made the slightest
reference to the affair on our way to
lamp ; but when we got into our tent
[ told him very plainly that I was
going to quit bim, and I made an exchange
with another man the next
lay. He wasn't the least disturbed
jy my leaving him, and always greeted
me pleasantly when be met me. A
week later he came around and gave
jack my $5. We hadn't had a pay
lay, and I don't know to this day
where be got the money.
"From this incident I guessed that
Redmond was an unscrupulous fellow ;
cut I never had the faintest conception
of what a scoundrel he was. It
wasn't until I got to Camp Wikoff
hat I learned all about Redmond. I
came up to that camp from Cuba. He
came from Tampa and got there ahead
)f me. When I got there he was unler
guard, although he wasn't supposed
to know it. He was wanted in
Kansas for murdering two women,
ind the Kansas officers who brought
>n the warrant told a tale of Redmond's
career that was bloodcurdling,
[n addition to being a murderer he
was notorious as a train robber and an
ill-round desperado. A sergeant was |
X 1.2
put OD guaru over xjiuj bo tuai uc
wouldn't get away ; but oue night while <
:be sergeant was peacefully sleeping, |
Redmond cut out the whole back of j
ihe tent and escaped. The next day <
the detective came on to arrest Red- ?
nond, having procured the right from <
:he war department; but the bird had <
flown, and I have never heard that he <
was captured. That was all there Was i
;o it; but if you could meet Redmond i
?by the way, that was merely an |
alias?you would never believe that t
be was anything but a mother's dar- <
ing." (
* ]
The First Silver Wedding.?The I
fashion of silver weddings dates back ;o
the reign of Hugues Capet, king of I
France, in 987, says a writer in Vogue. '
Dnce, as Hugues was arranging bis <
incle's affairs, he found on one of the 1
jstates a servant who had grown gray 1
n the service of his relative. On the '
'arm with this old man was also a <
serving woman, who was as old as he, <
ind also unmarried, who bad been the <
nost devoted and hardworking of the
tvomeu servants of the king's uncle. >
When the kiug beard these praises of I
be two, he ordered them to be brought *
lefore him, and said to the woman : <
"Your service is great, greater than 1
his man's, whose services were great
rnoughj for the woman always finds '
a%\A aKo/1 inrt/in hurHnr than u
nrisiiv auu uuvuivu^ uuiuvj vuuu m
nan, and therefore I will give you a
eward. At your age I kuow of none t
letter than a dowry and a husband. I
rhe dowry is here?this farm from this f
,ime forth belongs to you. If this man t
vho has worked with you five and '
.wenty years is willing to marry you, i
,heu the husband is ready." 1
"Your majesty," stuttered the old t
leasant, confusedly, "bow is it possible i
,hat we should marry, having already
lilver hairs?"
"Then it shall be a silver wedding," 1
inswered the king, "and here I give j
/ou a wedding ring," drawing a costly i
ing from his finger and placing the 1
lands of the thankful old people to- t
;ether. 1
This soon became known all over t
France, and raised such enthusiasm
that it became a fashion after a twenty
years' marriage to celebrate a silver
wedding.
6ARBIEL SAILES, GIANT.
Stories About a Half Forgotten Strong
Man of Maryland.
Baltimore Bun.
Easton, Md., December 13.?On the
Talbot county "Debt Book or Quiet
Claims, Michealmas, 1755," made by
Colonel Edward Tilgbman for Henry
Hollyday, Esq,, representing the interests
of the late lord proprietor, showing
what was done on quiet claims at
that date,appears the following entry:
garbiel sailes.
Rich Range, 300 acres, 6s. Od.
Relpb, 100 acres, 2s Od.
These farms were in what is now
probably called Oxford Neck, on the
left hand side of the publi^road from
Hambleton to Oxford, in a pretty and
rich agricultural section. Since
Sailes's day, among other owners of the
land was John Leeds Kerr, some time
Doited States senator.
Of course no one now living ever
saw Gabriel Sailes, nor ever saw any
jne that did see him. He left no descendants,
and as far as is known to
bhe narrator or to the people he has
alked with, there is no one of his
rindred living. But his name is as
well known to Ibis generation as that
)f any of bis contemporaries?better
cnown than nearly all of them. The
stories told about him and the traditions
attaching to the place, keep his
name in rememberance.
He was a mighty man in tallness and
strength, measuring, we are told, 6
Feet 8 inches in height and of splendid
physical and muscular development.
Many stories are told of his feats of
strength, the best one of which is this:
rhe fame of this powerful man had
gone far abroad. It had even reached
New York city, where exaggerated
stories of his feats and powers had been
bold among men who considered they
were something of giants themselves.
The most notorious pugilist in the
country at tnat time was a Dig ana
powerful New'Yorker named Garth,
cr Goerth. He was a man of science
in the pugilistic art, had whipped
many a man and had never been bested
himself. He beard so much about
Gtabriel Sailes and what he could do,
be got mad and determined to find
bim and whip him. One hog-killing
bay in November a stranger rode up
:o the Sailes house. "Are yon Mr.
Sabriel Sailes ?" he demanded. "Yes;
tvhat'll ye have?" said the eastern
shoreman to the New Yorker, and he
was not a bit startled at the letter's
reply. "My name's Garth; I am a
ighting man from New York ; I have
neard of you as a fighter and I have
lome all the way down here to whip
r'ou !" "All right," said the eastern
shoreman ; "wait a minute until I kill
his beef." In those days, and freluently
in these, it was the custom to
vind up the proceedings of hog-killing
lay by slaughtering a beef for Christmas.
The animal this time was a big
)x. He was brought up in front of
Jailes, who struck him between the
syes with his right fist and knocked
lim down. After cutting the ox's
ugular, he turned about to announce
a the New Yorker that he was ready
o accommodate him ; but that worthy
;vas riding rapidly out the lane, on his
vay back to New York.
It is not related of him that he was
Harticularly cruel to his slaves. But be
must have been Drankv with them. It
s told that when they asked "Mas'
Sabriel" for a holiday he would exjlaim:
"Holiday, ye black rascals,
ifes, ye shall have holiday," and would
ben compel them to-climb up on top
,be barn and sit straddle of the roofd
ridge all day. Twenty years ago a
gentleman, then 75 years old, told the
larrator that his father, when a small
>oy, had seen the Negroes sitting a
straddle the top of Gabriel Sailes's
Darn like so many crows.
But the most singular freak of this
extraordinary man was connected with
lis death and burial. He had bis cofin
made while yet alive. It was made
>f 2-inch white oak stuff, cut and
sawed in the midnight hours in a grove
)f white oaks on a headland called
'The Devil's Keep." The coffin was
>pen at both ends. He directed?the
writing is still extant?that "a jug of
whisky be placed in one end of the cofin
and a plug of tobacco in the other,
so that if the devil comes in at either
end he will stop to take a chaw or a
Irink, and I will get out at the other."
Most fantastic notion; but it is said
shut it was done for the purpose of
showing what he thought of rum and
,obacco, of which ho used to say:
'They are a part of the devil's diet,
ind not fit for white men to use." In
she early part of this century the grave
was opened through the curiosity of
some skeptical people, who affected to
iisbelieve the story. The thick oak
:offin was there. Both ends of it were
>peu, and in one end was a jug. A
ecord of the fact and findings was
nade at the time. Another of the
antastic directions was that the grave
should be dug nortb and south, instead
if east and west, and a holly tree
ilanted at each end. This was done.
" i. L!_ 1
me nouies are living yei?uig ?uu
/euerable trees. He died about 1760.
8^" As a gentleman and lady were
;aking a ride in the country, they came
,o a farmhouse where all things looked
so nice and neat that they concluded
hat there could be no trouble there.
They stopped and inquired of the farner's
wife, who replied : "0, yes, we
lave a great deal of trouble; we have
.wo hens that want to sit on one
jest."
BloT "You inherited quite a nice little
ortune," said the lawyer. "Yea," rejlied
the fortunate youth. "I suppose
r ou will pay a lot of your debts now ?"
'I bad thought of it, but I concluded
.0 make no change in my mode of
iving. I don't want to be accused of
/ulgar display."