Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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YORKVILIE ENQUIRER. ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLT. t. x. oekt'S soxs, Pabiiihen. j J Beirspajfr: >ftir promotion of the political, Social. Jgricnltnral and Commercial interests o| the Jjeople. {m?raoS wrVnVLlcJm.an" iiT?r.i?rin .8M YORKVILiiLE, sTc., TUESDAY, JANUAR^a^ 1907. NX). 7. * J > J l tji/ ?. wv* A Romance of the i > r By W. OILM CHAPTER XVI?Continued. Singleton had employed himself in noticing all these several objects, and k the probability is. that the quick eye * of the old woman had discovered his occupation. She turned her chair so as to place herself directly before him, and the glance of her eye confronting his compelled him to a similar change } of position. The docile cats, with a sluggish effort, changed their ground also; and after circling thrice about their new places of repose, before laying themselves down upon It, they thnip AVAn ftnd self-sat own I CDmil'U v*v.. ? Isfled slumberous hum. which the movement of their mistress had Interrupted. A moment of silence Intervened, during which Dame Blonay employed herself In examining Singleton's person and countenance. He was. of course, quite unknown to her, and a curious desire to make the acquaintance of new faces is, perhaps, as much the characteristic of age as y Its garrulity. Memory, in this way, becomes stirred up actively, and the k decaying mind delights in such a surA vey, that It may liken the stranger to W some well known individual of former days. It is thus that the present time continually supplies with aliment the pest *rom which it receives so much n* its own. The close survey of the woman did not please Singleton, who . at length interrupted it by resuming the subject where Humphries had discontinued. With becoming gravity, he*, asked her the question which follows. In respect to the extent of her pow^ ers? "And so, dame, you really believe that you possess the power of doing what you say you can do?" "Ay. sir, and a great deal more. I ( can dry up the blood In the veins of I youth. I can put the staggering weak-1 ness into the bones and sinews of the strong man; I can make the heart[ shrink that is brave?I can put pain there instead of pleasure." "Indeed! if you can do this, dame, you can certainly do much more than most of your neighbors. But is it not strange, mother that these powers are all for evil? Have you no faculty for conferring good?for cheering the heart instead of distressing it, and giving pleasure instead of pain?" "Ay! I can avenge you upon your ^ enemy!" As she spoke, her form susW l>ended Its waving motion, was bent forward in eagerness, and her eyej glistened, while 4?er look seemed to say. "Is not that the capacity you would have me serve you In?" "That, also Is a power of evil, dame, and not of good. I spoke of good, not evil." "Not that!" she muttered, with an air of disappointment, while drawing herself back and resuming her cronlng ' movement. "Not that! Is not revenge sweet young master?very sweet, when you have been robbed and wronged for years; trampled In the dust: laughed . and sneered at; hunted and hated; is not the moment of revenge sweet? When you see your enemy writhing In pain, you put your ear down and listen to his suffering, and your heart, that used to beat only with Its own sorrow, you feel Is throbbing with a strange, sweet joy at his?Is It not sweet, my master?' a "Ay. sweet perhaps to many, dame, a but I fear me, still evil; still not good; j still harmful to man. Have you no better powers In your collection? none to give strength and youth, and bring back health?" ? She pointed to a bunch of the smaller snake-roots which lay In the corner, but with much seeming Indifference, as if the cure of disease formed but an humble portion of her J mystery and labors. "And your art gives you power over affections, and brings pleasure sometimes. mother?" |- "Is it love?? the love of the young woman?hard to please, difficult to soothe, cold to sweet words?that you would win my young master?" She again bent her head towards him, and .suspended her motion, as If now hopeful that, in this reference, si* had found out the true quest of the seeker. A warm glow overspread the cheek of Singleton, as in answering the inquiry correctly, he must necessarily have confessed that such a desire was in his bosom though certainly without any resort to such practices as might be looked for in her suggestion. "Ay. Indeed, such an art would be something to me now, could it avail ^ for any purpose?could it sof-en the stern, and warm the cold, and make the hard to please easy?but I look not for your aid. mother, to do all this." "I cun do it?fear not," said the old Hp woman, assuringly. W "It may be. but I choose not that thou shouldest. I must toil for myself In this matter, and the only art I may use must be that which I shall not be ashamed of. But we have another quest dame: and upon this we would have you speaii nonesuy. iuu have a Hon?" The old woman looked earnestly at the speaker; and. as at that moment the sabre swung off from his knee, clattering with Its end upon the floor, she started apprehensively, and It could be seen that she trembled. She spoke after the pause of an Instant: "Sure, captain?Ned. Ned Blonay Is my son. What would you tell me? He has met with no harm?" "None, mother?none that I can speak of," said Humphries quickly; "not that he may not happen upon It If he does not mind his tracks. But tell us?when was he here last, mother? Was he not here tonight, and h when do you look for him again?" A The apprehensions of the woman had passed off; she resumed her seesaw motion, and answered Indifferently: "The boy is his own master. Bill Humphries: It is not for an old woman ^ like me to answer for Ned Blonay." "What! are you not witch enough to manage your own son? Tell that to them that don't know you both better. imorican Revolution ORE HI MMM I say to you, Mother Blonay, that story won't pass muster. You have seen Goggle tonight." "And I say. Bill Humphries, that the tongue lies that says it, though it never lied before. Go?you're a foul-spoken fellow, and your bones shall ache yet for that same speech. Goggle? Goggle?Goggle! as If It wasn't curse enough to be blear-eyed without having every dirty field-tackey whickering about It." "Our object Is not to offend, my good woman," said Singleton, interposing gently: "but to ask a civil question. My companion only employs a name by which your son Is generally distinguished among the people. You must not allow him to anger you, therefore, but answer a question or two civilly, and we shall leave you." "You have smooth words, captain, and I know what good-breeding Is. I have lived among decent people, and 1 know very well how to behave like one tr mey wouia lei me; uui mini such Ill-spoken creatures as Bill Humphries asked me questions, it's ten to one 1 don't think it worth while to answer them: and answer I will not, except with curses, when they speak nicknames for my child. I know the boy is ugly and blear-eyed. I know that his skin is yellow and shrivelled like my own but he has suckled at these , withered paps, and he is my child; and the more others hate and abuse him. the more I love him?the more I will take up for him." "Now. Mother Blonay, you needn't make such a fuss about the matter. You know I meant no harm. Confound the fellow, I don't care whether he has eyes or not; sure I am, I know the name which people give him without minding the blear. I only want you to say what you've done with him?where he Is now?" "You are too quick?too violent. Humphries, with the old woman," said Singleton In a whisper. "Major, don't I know her? The old hag?I see through her now, Jlst as easy as I ever saw through any thing in my life. I'll say now she knows all about the skunk." "Perhaps so, but if she does, this is not the way to get at her Information." "But little hope of that now, since she's got her back up. Confound Goggle! If I had him under a stout hlcknrv i ivrkon I'd make her talk to an other tune." This was loud enough for the old woman, who replied? "Yes?you'd beat with blows and whips a far better man than yourself. But go your way. and see what will come of this night's work. I have curses, have I??if I have, you shall hear them. I have a bad mouth, have I??you shall feel It. Hearken. Bill Humphries! I am old and weak, but [ am strong enough to come to you where you are. and whisper in your ears. As what I say will do you no pleasure, you shall hear It." And. tottering forward from her seat, she bent down to the chair upon which he sat. and though he moved away in an instant, he was not quick enough to avoid the momentary contact of her protruded and hag-like Up with hiR ear. that shrunk from the touch as with an Instinct of Its own. She whispered but two words, and they were loudly uttered for Singleton to hear as well as Humphries. "Your sister?Bella Humphries!" The trooper started up as If he had been shot: staggered he certainly was. and his eyes glared confusedly upon those which she piercingly fixed upon him with a fiendish leer. She shook her long bony finger at him. and her body, though now erect, maintained Its waving motion Just as when she had been seated. Recovering In a moment, he advanced with threatening action exclaiming: ? "You old hag of hell! what do you mean by that? What of Bella? what of my sister?" "Goggle? Google? Goggle?that of her! that of her'" was all the reply; and this wus followed by a low chuckling laugh, which had in it something exceedingly annoying even to Singleton himself. The trooper was ferocious and with clenched fist seemed about to strike. This, when she saw, seemed to produce in her even a greater degree of resolution. Instead of shrinking. she advanced, folded her arms upon her breast, and there was a deep concentrated solemnity in her tone as she exclaimed? "Now may the veins dry up. and the flesh wither, and the sinews shrink and the marrow leave the bones! Strike the old woman, now. Bill Humphries?strike, if you dare!" Singleton had already passed between the parties, not. however, before he had been able to see the prodigious effect which her adjuration had produced upon the trooper. His form was fixed in the advancing position in which he stood when she addressed him. His lips were colorless, and his eyes were fastened upon her own with u steadiness which was that of parti lysis, and not of decision. She, on the other hand, seemed instinct with life, a subtle, concentrated life. The appearance of decrepitude had gone, the eye had stronger fire, the limbs seemed firm on the instant, and there was something exceedingly high and commanding in her position. A moment after, she sank back in her chair almost exhausted?the two cats anxiously purring about her. having siooa ai ner siae, ax 11 ueiu iu w opt-rate In her defence, on the first approach of Humphries. He now recovered from the superstitious awe which had momentarily possessed him: and heartily ashamed of the show of violence to which her mysterious speech had provoked him, began to apologize for It to Singleton. "I know It's wrong, major, and I wasn't exactly in my sober senses, or I wouldn't have done it. But there's no telling how she provoked me; and the fact Is. what she said worries me no little now; and I must know what she meant. I say, mother?Mother Blonay!" ' Her eyes now were fixed upon his ] with a dull. Inexpressive glare, that i seemed to Indicate the smallest possl- ble degree of consciousness. "She Is now exhausted, and cqlinot t understand you; certainly not to satisfy your Inquiries," said Singleton. i The trooper made one or two efforts ( more, but she refused all answer, and < showed her determination to be silent 1 by turning her face from them to the < wall. Finding nothing was to be got 1 out of her. Singleton placed beside 1 her upon the chair a note of the con- i tlnental currency, of large amount but i for Its depreciated value; then, with- t 1 >- hnvol ffl t oui more worus,. mcj icu uic . Its wretched tenant, both much rellev- I ed upon emerging into' the open air. s The severity of the storm had now s greatly subsided; the rain still con- r tlnued falling, however, and, hopeless > of any farther discoveries of the fugl- i tlve they had pursued, and as Ignorant 1 of his character as at first, they moved \ onward, rapidly pushing for their blv- t ouac upon the Ashley. f t CHAPTER XVII. 1 "Commune with him, and fear not. 1 Foul though he be, t Thy destiny is kindred with his own, And that secures thee." 8 % They had scarcely gone from sight, when Goggle entered the dwelling. * The old hag started from her seeming 1 stupor, and all her features underwent 8 a change. She fondled upon her son f with all the feeble drivelling of age; called him by various affectionate 1 diminutives, and busied herself, In 1 - - - 1 spite of her infirmities, waaaung aooui from comer to corner of the hut, to ' administer to his desires, which were x by no means few. He, on the other 1 hand, manifested the most brutal in- c difference to all her regards, shook her 1 off rudely as she hung upon his -shoul- a ders, and, with a boisterous manner, c and a speech coupled with an oath, * demanded his supper, at the same time a throwing himself, with an air of ex- e treme indolence, along the bed. "And, Neddy dear, w,Jiat has kept you so late? Where have you been, and c whence come you last?" were the re- ? peated questions of the old woman. ? "A'drat it! mother?will you never be 1 done asking questions? It's not so ? late. I'm sure." 1 "Later than you said; much later, by t two hours, boy." * "Well, if it Is. what then? It's well * you have me at all, for I've had a narrow chance of It. Swow! but the bullets sung over my ears too close s for comfort." j "You don't 'say so. Ned! What! that v stark, bull-head Humphries, has he j shot at you, Ned, my son?" j "Him or Singleton, d?m 'em. But f I have a hitch on him now that shall swing him. He plays 'possum no long- r er with Huck, if you have a tongue In your head, mother." I "Who?I? What am 1 to dot Ned, r boy? Is It to put Bill Humphries in t trouble? If it's that, I have the heart ? to do It, If it's only for his talk tonight." "Yes, I heard it" 1 "You! Why, where were you, near i "There." t He pointed to the end of the hovel, f where, snugly concealed on the out- t side, his eye, piercing through a hole * hetween the logs, had witnessed all t that had taken place In the apart- \ ment while the partisans held it. t "And you heard and saw all?" said t the old woman. "You heard his foul f speech, and you saw him lift his hand I to strike me because I spoke to him as ? he deserved! Rut he dared not?no, r he dared not! 'Twas as much as his c life was worth to lay hands on me. j His arm should have withered! That a It should." t "Psho! Psho! withered!" exclaimed l the son scornfully. She might deceive herself, but not him. r "But who was the other man, Ned- t dy?the captain?" a "His name's Singleton, and he's a ( major of the continentals?that's all I e know about him. He took me prisoner I with some others of Travis's, and I a Joined his troop, rather than fare a worse. This gives me pickings on both i sides: for since I've Joined we've had t umnrt u-nrlr In aklrmljihlnB'- and down C at Archdale Hall we made a splash at i Huck's baggage wagons, and got good .? spoils. See. here's a watch?true gold! 1 ?was this morning in a red-coat's r fob, now in mine." x "It's good gold, and heavy, my son; a ?will give you yellow-boys enough." t "Ay. could we sell?but that's the l devil. It comes from a British pocket, and we can't venture to offer It to any f of their color. As for the continentals. | they haven't got any but their ragged t currency, and that nobody wants. We l must keep the watch for a good chance, for that and other reasons. I | took it from a prisoner by sleight of t hand, and It must not be known that c I have It, on either side. Proctor a would punish, and the young fellow a Singleton, who has an eye like a hawk, he would not stop to give me a swing- e ing bough If he thought I took It from c one of his prisoners." "Give It to me. boy; I'll save you t that risk." r "You shall do more, mother: but i get the supper. I'm hellish hungry, and tired out with the chase I've had. I A'drat It! my bones are chilled with i the mud and water." 1 "There's a change In the chest, boy, r besides you. Put the wet clothes off." a "It's too troublesome, and they'd r only get wet too; for I must start back t to the camp directly." r "What camp?" j "Singleton's?down upon the river? t five miles below the Barony. I must be j there, and let him see me, or he'll sus- 1 picion me, and move off. You will c have to carry the message to Proctor." i "What, boy! will you go back and t put your neck In danger? Suppose he j finds you missing?" t "Well. I'll tell him the truth, so far t as the truth will answer the purpose \ of a He. I'll say that I came to see t you. and having done so, have come < back to my duty. They cannot find t fault, for the troopers every now and then start off without leave or 11- 1 cense. I'm only a volunteer, you see." 1 "Take cure, boy; you will try the 1 long lane once too often. They sus- 1 pect you now, I know, from the ask- 1 ings of that fellow Humphries; and hlin too, the other?what's his name? s ?he. too, asked closely after you." j "Singleton. I heard him." "What Singleton is that, boy? Any 1 kin to the Singleton's hereaway In St Paul's?" < "No, I believe not. He's from the High Hills,' they say, though he has f friends at 'The Oaks.' It was there he t went tonight. But the supper, mother t ?is it all ready?" r "Sit and eat, boy. There's hoecake I ind bacon, and some cold collards." s "And rum?" he Inquired, rising slug- ,t rishly from the bed, ana approaching It the little table which, while the pre- p ceding dialogue had been going on, his nother had supplied with the edibles s ?numerated. She handed him the Jug, e -1.1-V V,a SranV fi-aoW Lf-UIU D IIIUII, UUUIIUKU, ???> , . Allowing the stronger liquid with a noderate draught from the gourd of vater which she brought him at the n lame moment. While he ate, he mut- o ered occasionally to his mother, who fi lung around him all the while In close S ittendance. regarding the besmeared, u tallow, and disfigured wretch with as c nuch affection as if he had been the ;ery choicest of all God's creatures, tl Such Is the heart, erring continually y n its appropriation of sympathies, vhich, though intrinsically they may o >e valueless, are yet singularly In B iroof of that care of nature, which pernits no being to go utterly unblest by b ts regard, and bestows on every w lomestead, however lowly, some porlons of Its soothing and its sun- e ihlne. 9 Goggle had eaten, and now. like a b forged snake, he threw himself once V nore at length upon the couch that h itood in the corner, grumbling, as he v lid so? " "A'drat it! I hate to go out again! a Jut I must?I must go back to camp, 1 - ' - ? 1 ? ,k.l 4.1 I ,o DIUHl singleton; anu no mi uwi iciow Humphries, hear you, mother?I 8 vas In the pond by Coburn's corner vhen he came upon me, and Just about o cross It. They called out, and rack, crack went their pistols, and he balls both times whizzed close 81 ibove my head. It was then they save :hase, and I lay close, and hugged the 1 lollow. Singleton's horse stood right tcroes me, and I expected his hoofs ?very moment upon my back." "You don't say so, Neddy?" "Ay, but I do?but that's not It The i langer was something, to be sure, but iven then I could listen?I could hear ill they said; and I had reason to lis- ^ en, too, for It was of me Humphries ipoke. The keen chap suspected me x> be the man they chased, though 0 hey could not make me out; and so n le spoke of me. Can you co'unt up * vhat he said, mother?" c "No, Neddy; how should I?" p "What! and you tell fortunes, too, n ind bewitch, so that all of them call Sj 'ou cattle charmer, yet you can't tell u vhat Bill Humphries spoke _bout me, w rour own son! For I reckon I am s rour son, no matter who was my right ^ ather!?Can you not tell,?eh?" "No, sure not: some foul speech, I tj eckon, considering who spoke It." 0 "Ay. foul speech enough, If you s mew. But the long and short of it, a nother, is this, and I put the question ^ o you plainly, and expect you to aniwer plainly?" v "What do you mean, my son?" "Ay, that's it?I'm your son, I be- t, leve that; but tell me and tell me tru- j y?who was my father? It was of w hat that Humphries spoke. He spoke or all the country round, and some- p hlng, too, I've heard of before. He iald I was no better than my father; n hat he was a horse-thief, and what 1{ vas worse, that I had a cross In my a >lood. Speak, now, mother?speak out ^ ruly, for you see I'm in no passion;, ^ or, whether It's true or not, I will have t] t out of him that spoke it, before long, t( tome way or other. If it's true, so nuch the worse for him, for I can't :ut your throat, mother?I can't drink v rour blood: but what I can do, I will, intl that is, have the blood of the man hat knows and speaks of your mlsdo- w ngs." n That affectionate tenderness of man- w ter which she had heretofore shown hroughout the interview, passed w iway entirely after this Inquiry of ?oggle. She was no longer the moth- ,, r of her son. A haggard scorn was n every feature?a hellish revival of ingry passions, of demoniac hate, and l frenzied appetite. As she looked p ipon the Inquirer, who, putting such a luestlon, yet lay, and seemingly with- (l >ut emotion, sluggishly at length upon s ler couch, her Ire seemed scarcely re- (| (trainable?her figure seemed to dilate n every part?and, striding across tne ioor with a rapid movement, hostile ^ leemlngly to the generally enfeebled H tppearance of her frame, she stood h lirectly before, and looking down upon ^ dm- p "And are you bent to hearken to such c oul words of your own mother, bring- ^ ng them home to my ears, when your ^ >ul)et should have gone through the lead of the speaker?" ^ "All In good time, mother. The bul- t] et should have gone through his head u >ut for un accident. But It's well It lid not. He would have died then In r k moment. When I kill him now, he f iha.ll feel himself dying. I warrant." j, "It is well, boy. Such a foul speak- w >r should have a death of terror?he leserves It." u "Ay, but that's neither here nor h here, mother?you have not answered ny question. Speak out; was I born ^ awfully?" r "Lawfully!?and what care you, Ned 31onay, about the lawfulness or the j mlawfulness of your birth?you who lourly fight against the laws?who c ob, who burn, who murder,' w henever _ % " i chance offers, and care not? Is It c lot your pleasure to break the laws? o live on the profits and the property >f others? Whence came the purse (] rou brought here last week, but from c he red-coat who traveled with you as s t friend, and you, all the time recelv- b ng pay from his people? Whence ame this watch you Just now put Into y ny hands, but from your prisoner? and b he hog of which you ate for supper, ,-our own rlrte shot it in the swamp, ^ llthough you saw the double fork in g he ear, and the brand on its quarter, ^ vhich told you it belonged to Squire ( tValton, at 'The Oaks?'?what do you .r :are about the laws, then, that you b vould have me answer your question?" b "Nothing: I don't care that for all v the laws In the country?not that! \ But still I wish to know the truth of n this matter. It's for my pleasure. I n ike to know the truth: whether I f( tnlnd it or not'is another thing." v "Your pleasure, boy?your pleasure! ind what If I tell you that Humphries s spoke true?that you are?" e "A bastard! speak it out?I want to b tiear it: and it will give me pleasure a ?I love that which provokes me. I t :an smile when one does me an injury r -smile all the time I bear It quietly, pr or I think of the time when I'm to co ake pay for It. You don't understand ph his. perhaps, and I can't give you any ho eason to make it more plain. But so ml do?and when Humphries had done an peaking:, I would have given some- bu hlng handsome to have had him talk t over again. When I have him In my go ower, he shall do so." an "The Indian blood! It will show It- o< elf anyhow!"?Was the Involuntary an xclamatton of the old woman. tei "rta: wnai's tnat, motner:" co "Ask nie not." "Ay, but I will?I must; and hear ie once for all?you tell me the truth, hi n the instant, or you never see my la: ace again. I'll go to the Indies with tli lir Charles Montague, that's making mi p a regiment In Charleston for that to ountry." ge "Beware, boy?ask me not?any fe< hlng else. You will hate me if I tell ou. You*will leave me forever." ro "No?don't be afraid. Come, speak a ut, and say?was my father's name tlonay?" th "Blonay was my lawful husband, bu oy. when you were born," said the it ,'oman. evasively. .. ho "Ay, that may be well enough," he do xclalmed, "yet I be no son of his. m: peak the truth, mother, and no two Ites of a cherry. Out with It all? mi ou can't -vex me by telling It. Look sh ere?see this wound on my arm? rv hen it begins to heal, I rub It until t nnuraira onH arrrwnra rod and Anirrv an gain. I like the pain of it. It's strange, th know, but It's my pleasure; and so 8e lock to be pleased with the story you yc hall tell me. Was Blonay my father?" ch "H? was not." Ck "Good!?who was?" "Ask no more." ur "Ay, but I will?I must have It all? all o speak on." "I will not speak It aloud?I will not. have sworn It" |( "You must unswear It. I cannot be rifled with. You must tell me the se- ? ret of my birth and all. I care not ow dark. how. foul, how unlawful? ^ ou must suppress nothing. This Ight must give me the knowledge W hlch I have wanted before?this If Ight you speak It freely, or lose me as jrever." do The woman paced the apartment 'rc onvulslvely, undergoing, at every 'el joment, some new ,transition, from th nger and Impatience, to entreaty and *h umblehess. Now she denounced the th urioslty of her son, and now she lm- tvl lored forgiveness. But she cursed tvj r Implored In vain. He lay coolly and lai lugglshly, utterly unmoved, at length, pon the bed; heedless of all her be rord, and now and then simply asuring her that nothing would suffice W1 ut the true narrative of all he wished an [> kno\y. Finding evasion hopeless, he old, woman seemed to recover her tei wn coolness and strength with the re- m! nlve which she - had taken, and after ex little pause for preparation, she be- ca an. 13 "Ned Blonay. It Is now twenty-nine 'ni ears jlnce you were born?" tu "Not quite, mother, not quite?tweny-elght and some seven months. "r ,et's see. November, you remember, as my birthday, and then I was but s-enty-elght; but go on, It's not lm- er ortant?" "Twenty-eight or twenty-nine, it c'< letters not which?you were born aP iwfully the son of John Blonay, and 9,l 8 such he knew and believed you, 'our true father was an Indian of the p? 'atawba nation, who passed through Wl he Cypress the year before on his way ur J the city." "Go on?the particulars." th "Ask not that?not that, boy; I pray ro e ? m< "All?all." "I will not?I cannot?It wa9 my TI ,'lckedness?my shocking wicked- 'n ess! I will not speak It aloud for bu orlds." 8e; "Speak It you must, but you may ou hlsper It In my ears. Stoop?" She did so, passively as it were, and be l a low tone, broken only by her own RP auses and his occasional exclama- an Ions, she poured into uls ear a dark, ,al >ul narrative of criminal Intercourse, va rovoked on her part toy a diseased so ppetlte. resulting, as It would seem, m( l punishment, in the birth of a mon- w' ter like himself. Yet he listened to It nnl nnuuli'plv nt lojt.qt without ny show of emotion or indignation; tb nd as ahe finished, and hurrying away rom him threw herself into her old ne eat. and covered her skinny face with vv' er hands, he simply thrust his fingers be ito the long straight black hair deending over his eyes, which seemed to m< any conflrmatoiy evidence enough w< fir the support of the story to which m' e had listened. He made no other lovement. but appeared, for a while, usy In reflection. She every now and hen looked towards him doubtfully, ^ nd with an aspect which had In it nmethlng of apprehension. At length, ^ Islng. though with an air of effort, ^ rom the couch, he took a paper from 1 is pocket which he studied a little 1 hlle by the blaze In the chimney, then n' pproachlng her, he spoke In language tterly unaffected by what he had n eurd ? "Hark, ye mother. I shall now go ack to the camp. It's something of a Isk, but nothing risk, nothing gain; nd If I run a risk. It's for something. go back to blind Singleton, for I " hall tell him all the truth about my oinlng here. He won't do any thing ' lore than scold a little, for the thing's en SI) nmrnon; but If he should?" "What, my son??speak!" "No," he muttered to himself, "no tr" anger of that?he dare not. But you r>me, mother,?come to the camp by unrlse, and see what you can. You'll 'n e able to prove I was with you after he storm, and that'll clear me; then ou can go to Dorchester, make all m aste and with this paper, see Proctor Wl nd put It In his own hands yourself. 'c< 'here's some news In It he will be lad to pay for. It tells.him some- ar hlng about the camp; and that about th !ol. Walton, shall make him fly from Wl The Oaks,' as an old owl from the sn urning cypress. You can also tell Im what you see at camp, and so use our eyes when you come there. Mind, l'e oo, if you see Huck or any of his m aen. keep dark. He would chouse you re u| of all the pay. and get the guineas P' or himself; and you might whistle for our share." l'' He gave her a dirty paper as he poke. In which he had carefully not- < d down every particular relating to sc is new service, the force, the deeds, br nd the camp of Singleton?all that he m hought would be of value to the ene- til ay. She heard him, but did not ap- de ove of his return to the camp. The nference with Singleton and Humiries, together with the undisguised stliity of the latter, had tilled her Ind with troublesome apprehensions; ^ id she warned her son accordingly; it he took little heed of her counsel. "I'm bent upon It, mother, for It's a od business. Tou come?that's all, d say when and where you've seen ni 9 tonight. Come soon?by sunrise. C id I'll get off clear, and stand a bet- tf r chance of being trusted by the e< mmander." A "And Bill Humphries?" I * > "Ah! he must have his swing. Let cl m. The dog swallows his legs at 'n st, and so will he. I only wait the ne. and shall then shut up his ^ r>uth In a way that shall be a lesson him forever?in a way he shan't for- ?' t, and shan't remember. He shall p! ?1 me before long." "And he shall feel me too, the repbate: he shall know that I have power, though he laughs at It." "A'drat It, but It's dark, mother; a 11 Ick cloud's yet over the moon, and n it a sloppy path for ashy foot: but v< must be done. There's some old mnd yelping yonder In the woods: he 11 >n't like being out any more than tr I'self." fr1 "You will go, Ned!" and the old wo- 01 an's hand was on his shoulder. He oved It off with something of a hur- t( . while he answered? . "Yes, yes; and be sure you come, a id when you have helped me out of e scrape, go. off-hand, to Proctor. >e him, himself;?don't let them put | iu ofT. He will pay well and not J ouse you, for he's a true gentleman. > ad - n Ight?good- night." flhe watched htm from the door-way ^ itil he was completely lost from ;ht In the adjacent forest. (To be Continued.) e; n CEBERGS IN 80UTHERN 8EA8. g h iptain'a Yarn of What Ha 8aw on. T ryaga From Naw York to Honolulu. C| T The bark Nuuanu, which arrived on ednesday afternoon from New York, lying at Fort atreet wharf, looking ? aplck and span as If Just out of dry c' ck instead of having completed a und the Horn passage. The Nuuanu Cl rt New York on August 7, crossing 01 e line when thirty-one days out. Off " e mouth of the river Plate and along 1 e coast of Brazil strong southerly nds and gales were experienced, and len considerably north of the regup Iceberg limit the bark ran through 1 lies of sea dotted with mammoth p rgs. "After fifty years traveling on the n iter In all oceans, and after many 01 ixlous nights passed on the lookout r possible Icebergs when In the wa- ^ rs In which they might be expected, V first sight of bergs was most un- n pected." said Capt. Josselyn. "It a me In the early morning of October w last, when the Nuuanu was speed- * g south In latitude 47 south! longl- tf de 66 west, which Is nearly 140 lies north of the recognized northern nit for Icebergs. "Just at daylight 6n that morning I w a small white cloud on the weathbeam. the wind at the time being r< XW. We were heading southwest n >se hauled. Looking to leeward, what b' ipeared to be an Island came Into jrht; but as I knew full well that * ere was no land at that point, I allzed that after fifty years at sea I w is about to have the doubtful please of seeing my first Iceberg. "As it grew lighter we could make ol em out In numbers dotting the horl- ai n as far as the eye could see, great, finstrous masses of Ice, and, to my rprise, as white as snow fresh fallen. ^ le wind was blowing a smart gale, which we were pitching, but the ^ ige Ice islands were motionless. The 11 as which tossed us about were with- " ft t effect on them and It was hard to CI Heve that they were afloat. The rgs were from one to five miles art, but we did not dare to sail In ^ nong them. We counted twenty-three ^ rge ones on our port side bergs that )r rled from 200 to 700 feet high, and ^ me of them 1.000 feet long. We n ensured one of the smaller ones th sextants and It gave us 290 feet. ^ "I cannot understand how the bergs . n ? saw were all so square, many of o| em exactly resembling great cubes marble. One or two of them were arly round and the one we measured )r is like a great armchair, the seat Ing formed evidently by the rays of e sun falling on the north side and ^ eltlng out the hollow. The last berg ( ? saw to windward of us about five lies looked like a castle and fortress . mblned. "All that day we were carrying sail ? clear them, skirting the bergs for out a hundred miles. How much r< rther south they extended we have ' i Idea, but It would seem that we _ ffi .rdly entered their domain, for as r as the eye could reach from aloft ev appeared upon the horizon, seem grlv tnicKer man mo?e ou?e w u?, ST "A few whales were cruising about the lanes between the Ice mounIns, but we saw'very few birds,"? molulu Commercial Advertiser. o) C.ricask Makes Iron Fi/>at.?It Is a C* markable fact that If a small rod Iron, or a straight piece of wire, for P' stance. Is greased. It can be made float on water. The grease appartly prevents the breaking of the rface of the 'ater, and the Iron lies j adled In a slight depression, or >ugh. Recently, one of the government e) ientlsts at Washington, experiment- j g with rods and rings of Iron, tin, ? ipper. brass, platinum, aluminum, n 'rman silver, etc., found that all |fl etals, even the densest, will float on jr iter when their surfaces are chem- _ m illy clean. A perfectly clean piece copper, or platinum wire, for ex- t? nple, forms a trough for Itself on e surface of the water, just as if It as greased. The same Is true of a lall rod of glass. The official In question believes the CI intlng Is due to a film of air con- ^ nsed on the surface of the glass or ^ etal. because If the rod Is heated to dness. and as soon as It cools Is aced on the water. It will sink: but It Is exposed to the air for a short w Tie It will Hoat. tj ? ? ? rl 1* For compelling ten soldiers to rub a barrack with their tooth- st ushes a subaltern In the German ar- t< y has been sentenced by courtmar- it il to one year's Imprisonment and t\ gradation. al JRistcUaitfous grading. ILL'S DEFEN8E OF RAILROADS, eclares Agitation Againat Tham Hampora Nation'a Growth. In an Indignant outburst In th? Idst of a speech the other night at hlcago, James J. Hill, president ol le Great Northern railroad, protest1 against the agitation against the merican railroads and plans for gov-nment ownership of lines. He deared political agitators are hamperig the nation's growth. Mr. Hill spoke at the dinner of the [erchante* club In the Audltorlurr Dtel. His theme was the necessity r free trade with Canada. In hit reface on conditions In the Unltec Late* he took up transportation dlfcuttlea "Today the entire country Is suffer iff from want of transportation facllles to move Its business without un< sasonable delay," he said. "The pre< alllnff idea with the public Is thai le railways are short of cars, whili le fact Is that the shortaffe Is lr acks and terminals to provide t reater opportunity for the movemen' f cars." After a few remarks of the satm 'nor Mr. Hill suddenly paused ant nook his head. It Was evident t< II that he was about to say some ilnff on a subject on which he wai eeply in earnest. He called attention to an edltorla i a Chlcaffo mornlnff newspaper deal iff with the railroad's side of th< resent troubles.' He said the news aper had seen the real point of thi ansportatlon question. "It has been noticed," he said em hatlcally, "that from June 30, 1895 > 1905?ten years?the growth In toi llleage was 110 per cent Th< rowth In the mileage of railroads t< a nHlfi that traffic was SO ner cent here's where you stand today. Toi an see it in that brief comparison he traffic of the country is congeatec eyond imagination. The commerc< f the country is paralyzed, which ontinued, means slow death. "More cars? Yes, we need mor< ars. but we need also cars of greatei apacity, heavier trains and mon liles of railroad to haul them over n ten years the railroads of the coun y expended 20 per cent for th< andllng of a business that increase< 10 per cent. Suppose you are abl< i the near future to Increase that ex anslon 50 per cent? That will stil ave 40 per cent a year of the bus! ess without any facilities for takini are of it. "It is estimated that from 115,001 ? 120.000 miles of track must b< ullt at once to take care of the lm tense business. But to build tha mount will cost as much as the clvi ar cost at least. It will cost fron 4.000.000.000 to $5,000,000,000. A lousand million dollars a year foi ve years will scarcely aumce. wny lere Is not money enough or ralh nouffh In all the world to do thli ilng. "And if the rails were piled ui ?ady for the undertaking, and If th< mney were In bank today It woult p Impossible to get the labor wit! hloh to do It. Labor In the mines i the forest. In the quarry, are be< Ind a stone wall which they cannoi ale. "I tell you there is no question sinci ie civil war of half the consequent r this one. Why, you can't go oui nd contract with any railroad In thli juntry to move COO cars of freight om here to New York In thirty days nd the railroad could not deliver II It should contract to do It. "There Is not money enough avail ble to bring relief to this situatior nder the conditions existing. Tot lay be able to see a way out. but ] in't. Are men going to Invest theli toney In railroads as long as the rail >ads are considered outlaws? Tin kct Is that the railroad has not beer ettlng justice In this country. Why > the recent campaign we beheld th< jectaole of two great political partlei reaching the doctrine of the opera' on of the railroads by the governlent. The Federal government Is tc jn the main lines?they are tne onij lies that make any money nowadayi -and the private Investors can hav< le branch lines, there being no profli i them. Is this the way to get mer ? put more money Into the country*! til roads? Is this the way to gel lore railroad mileage so that the juntry's freight can be moved. "It is time to call a halt in thli eatment of the railroad. Why, 1 lallenge you to point out a road thai as not failed at some point In its ca?er. Most of them have had theli ipital wiped out and have gone Into te hands of receivers. It's been t id. and a costly fad. to build rail>ads." Here Mr. Hill abruptly stopped and ioked around with an embarrassed nlle. "I hope you will pardon me for thh Iverslon," he said. "I merely want1 to make these remarks as a kind f encouragement to the discussion ol le problem." J. T. Harahan, the newly elected resident of the Illinois Central rail * 1 tn Phlno. JUU, wnu rrtciiii^ i?iui nvu %v a from New York, made It clear thai e did not agree with President Jamet Hill of the Great Northern as tc le cause of congestion of freight traf"What we want more than anything se Is more cars and more locomoves," said Mr. Harahan. "I see Mr ill said In a speech that, while busless had Increased 110 per cent In tht ist ten years railroad trackage had icreased only 20 per cent. He musl lean the actual miles of new rail)ad. I don't believe he has taken in> account the double tracking and ir ime cases the triple and quadruple acking. "The congestion of freight Is not sc tuch the question of tracks, but ol irs and locomotives and the prompi andling of the carriers. We could andle 50 per cent more cars and lojmotlves, but there are not facllltlei >r turning them out. We have plenr of trackage. It may be different ith Mr. Hill's railroad In developing le great northwest. I have nevei dden over an inch of the line. "Mr. Hill, quoting from statistics lid freight cars running from twelvi > fifteen miles an hour average a lovement of twenty-five miles lr venty-four hours. We get considerbly more movement than that out ol our cars. I'm not telling how muoh It la?It's not enough?but it's more than that. To avoid freight congestion the cars should be loaded and ' unloaded promptly. If we could get our cars that are held by the other 1 roads It would relieve a lot of our congestion." i : NATIVES OF PATAGONIA. Head Hunting For a Bounty?The Price of a Wife. "It seems strange to live In a coun try where you see only white men and 1 where a man can go around in safety. after living down in Patagonia for, ali most a lifetime, where a bounty of 16 i was paid by the authorities for every r head brought in by the head hunters," 1 said J. J. Medlin, now of Laxumle. I Wyo., but formerly of Patagonia. "The head hunters up to six years ago went out at regular intervals to hunt the Terra del Fuegans and when * they returned with the heads the bounty was paid out without any ques tion. This tribe of people are lower t than the dogs and had to be exterrol> nr led for the safety of the more civil1 Ixed people. The bounty was taken 1 off about six years ago and now there 1 are no head hunters. Some of the former hunters still continue their ? slaughter; but it is frowned on by the 1 decent people. 1 The climate around Laramie, Wyo., is pretty much the same as the win* 9 ter climate of Patagonia. The summer climate of that region, however, is 1 pretty much the same as we are given * to understand the climate of hades is 9 all the year round. "The ordinary tribes of natives sre gentle and as honest as the general run of people In South America. "Some day there will be a big rush to Terra del Fuego, or the Land of Fire, as the country near the Straits of Magellan is called. There is plenty of placer gold there and plenty of rich quarts. Several parties have gone through the interior but have kept their finds secret. 1 "Patagonia belongs partly to Chile 9 and partly to Argentina. The land Is ' cheap and is about one-hundredth as good for grazing purposes as Wyoming 9 lnnd la There is no title given to the r property and squatter sovereignty B holds good' until some man comes ' along and gives the chief official of " the section a large bribe, when the 9 squatter is dispossessed. 1 "The natives are not cannibals, as * has been reported, and probably nev" er were. They take only one wife and 1 at the husband's death all the prop* erty goes to the wife. A man wanting f a wife purchases her for so many hnmafl nnrl an murh nronartV No mir* rlage ceremony is performed, but the purchase is more binding than the legal ceremony In this country. "The punishment for Injuring a man Is much more severe than for outright marder. If a man Is convicted of murder he Is likely to escape with a year of penal servitude, but If in a brawl he cuts and Injures a man the chances are that he will hang for the crime. There Is little crime, however. The people are peaceable and follow hunting and sheep raising to a large extent. I always found the native tribes friendly and hospitable and never had any trouble during the time I lived In the land."?Denver Post WHOOPING COUGH. How to Handle This Distressing and Dangerous Ailment It Is strange how little Is thought of whooping cough and how little care Is taken to prevent It for It la In truth a dangerous disease. The mortality statistics show that more children die from whooping cough than from measles. Scarlet fever alone among what are called the diseases of childhood causes a greater number of deaths. A child with whooping cough should be as strictly Isolated as If he had scarlatina, and It Is very wrong for a mother to take her Infant with this disease on boats or in cars, where It Is likely to carry Infection to others. An older child should be kept away from - school and not allowed to play witn , > other children, except such as have ' already had the malady. > It is usually easy to recognise s whooping cough after the disease is 1 fully established, for the paroxysmal > cough, going on and on and on until ' the child's breath is all but gone, and ^ then succeeded by the long noisy In> spiration, is unmistakable. The disease varies so greatly In se' verity in different cases and in differt ent years that it has been suggested t that It would be wise to expose chif' dren to the infection In a year when lt? course was mild. But it is a very ' serious thing to expose a child dellberL ately to the dangers of any disease of " this nature, for even In a year of the mildest epidemic an Individual case 1 here and there will be severe and even ' fatal. When it Is said that over seventy ' drugs have been recommended In the treatment of whooping cough it may ' be assumed that none of them has been ' found very efficacious. This is not to say that much good may not be obtained from certain medicines, such as quinine and belladonna, for example. | Vet the main reliance in the manage' ment of a case of this disease is on ' hygienic measures. ' Although the patient must be kept away from school and from other children, it must on no account be kept ' In the house. Fresh air and sunshine are the beat agents in the hygienic ' treatment. City air is better than none, but it is best when possible to send | the child to the country, where it can be outdoors all day and not be forced " to Inhale dust and smoke. In stormy weather, when one must perforce stay Indoors, the playroom windows should 1 all be wide open, and the bedroom ! windows should also be open. The food should be plentiful and > nourishing, and whenever the stomach f rejects a meal the patient should have 1 another at once?at least a glass of ' milk and some bread and butter.? " Youth's Companion. i ^ An acre of wheat absorbs in Its growth 480 tons of water; an acre of [ rye, 334 tons; an acre of oats, 570 tons. VT South American ants have been , known to construct tunnels three L miles long?a work proportionately , greater for them than it would be for . men to build a tunnel under the At<; lantlc from New York to London.