Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, June 25, 1907, Image 1
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^ ISSUED ggB?-WEBaCI.Tr^
t. m. grist's sons, Pobii.h?r?. j % ^amilj JJetuspape r: Jfor 'M promotion o(f the jpolitieal, foeial. ^gricnltopl and ?ommerciat Interests of the feople. { TER9??'le topVVive cE^VAXCB'
ESTABLISHED 1855. " YOR K V^ILIYE, S. 0~ TTJESD AY, JUNE -^5, 1!>Q7. MO. 5l7
' mi"~ * " ~ -- "*? *' V* * IwnriH v?t it in flptunJIv exnortinu: that! 8TORY OF AN EAQLE.
DAUGHTER
?
By ETTA A
CHAPTER VI.
Captain Snirlaw.
IT.I4 ~?, Kaiit later n qerVRnt ClOSed
nun an huui iMtv.
the door' of Rook wood behind Abel
Llspenard and the latter went away
down the asphalt walk of the garden,
hopped Into a skiff that was lying
against the bank, and rowed across the
river to his own domain on the opposite
shore.
Moonlight sheeted the rippling current,
the night wind was heavy with
the perfume of flowers. Llspenard
moored his boat at the stone Jetty,
and took the nearest path to the
house. This led, for a space, through
thick trees; then it emerged suddenly
on a strip of garden running over with
white and yellow lilies, and surrounded
by a sunken wall, like that of some old
English pieasaunce. Llspenard paused,
looked around the fair spot, lifting
his hat quickly as if to some invisible
presence.
"Lilian!" he muttered.
It was the name of the beautiful
sister who had died, a raving maniac,
behind bolts and bars, high up in the
gray tower. As Cyril Vye had said,
the skeleton In the Llspenard closet
whs a formidable one.
He went on past the garden, and
climbed the ascent on which the house
stood. There were no flowers here,
only a short, close turf, like velvet, and
the intense green of carefully pruned
shrubbery and century old trees.
Out of these arose the dark gray
walls and towers, their haughty, forbidding
aspect broken only by one
great patch of color?a terrace filled
with palms and hibiscus, and strange
tropic vines, set In Delf Jars and im
mense blue China vases. Here a
plate-glass window chanced to be
standing open. Llspenard made his
way to It, and hopped?for that word
alone described the motion?through
into a luxurious smoking room.
"Shirlaw, are you here?" he called.
In an easy chair at the far end of
the apartment lounged a young fellow
in an undress uniform, with a face
and figure of an Antinous. He was
puffing at a cigar, and teasing a halfdozen
dogs that were grouped around
him in various attitudes.
"Behold me, old man!" he answered,
lazily. " 'Pon my soul, you feed these
brutes too much?they are growing so
fat and indolent that they refuse to
perform the most common trick. Hallo!
How odd you look, Lispenard!
Where have you been?"
"Across the river!" replied Llspenard,
briefly.
Captain Victor Shirlaw dropped his
cigar into a Moorish jar beside the
lounging chair, and straightened himself
with sudden interest."
"To Rookwood?"
"Yes. I went in response to an urgent
summons from Philip Vye?he
had a little matter of business to
transact with me."
Shirlaw lifted his handsome brows.
"I understand. The distinguished
lawyer has, of late, been drawing
pretty extensively on the purses of
his friends. That precious son of his
is going the pace with a vengeance.
Don't frown. Lispenard. Of course,
you allow no meddling In your private
affairs, but I must speak my mind.
To tell the truth, I am somewhat prejudiced
against our legal friend. He
browbeats his wife?he snubs and
abuses her in the face and eyes of
everybody, and a man who will do that
is capable of anything. Oh, come now!
whom did you see at Rookwood?"
The olive face of the dwarf was
slightly averted from his guest. He
patted the sleek dogs that were leaping
affectionately upon him.
"Whom did I see? An angel!"
"By Jove! Are such beings to be
found in the Dale, old man?"
"When you stand face to face with
Miss Vye, you can decide that question
for yourself."
Shirlaw's brown eyes kindled?he
was thoroughly aroused.
"Oh. you mean the daughter of the
cattle king? Then the expected young
lady has arrived from school? Ta, ta!
Like Byron, I have an antipathy to
schoolgirls?I detect, as did his lordship,
the lisp of the nursery in their
utterance, and the odor of bread-andbutter
about their persons. But, by
Jove! this one must be an extraordinary
creature if Abel Lispenard admires
her!"
Lispenard continued to stroke the
dogs.
"I did not say that I admired her,"
he answered, iiritably, "but It would
be well for that distant cattle king to
come east now and take charge of his
daughter. With her unearthly beauty,
and the fortune which she will presumably
Inherit, she certainly needs a
different guardian from Philip Vye."
" 'Her unearthly beauty." By Jove!
this grows interesting," thought Shirlaw.
Aloud he said, "How you pique
my curiosity, old fellow! I must hasten
to make the acquaintance of Miss
Vye. So." with a languid smile, "you
do not think Philip Vye a proper guardian
for his niece?"
"No?decidedly no!"
"There's a rumor abroad in the Dale
that he means to marry the young
lady to his worthless son."
"I dare say."
Shirlaw settled himself again In his
lounging chair, his splendid soldierly
figure in strange contrast to the
square, grotesque shape of his host.
"Well, I do not know as I am called
to meddle in the family affairs of the
Vyes." he said, carelessly; "en passant,
old fellow. I had callers In your absence?the
Berkeleys came in force,
Nina leading the van, her arms full of
Wagner's atrocious music, which she
desires you to play over in your hours
of leisure. She grew melancholy when
I told her you had vanished. I confess,
Lispenard, that I'm deucedly
afraid of that young woman, with her
eye-glass and her Boston culture, and
her long pedigree; and when, like Silas
Wegg, she drops into poetry, my hair
riese on my head. Mark my words, old
S OF Cfttit
V. FIERCE
I
man, she'll marry you yet, In spite of I
your teeth!"
"Shirlaw, you are nothing. If you are I
not absurd!" answered Lispenard, I
with a spark of anger In his sombre,
dark eyes; "to speak of marriage in I
connection with a monster like me"?I
how bitter his voice grew!?"seems I
little less than sacrilege! Where Is I
[Miss Berkeley's music?"
"She left It in the drawing room. I
You call yourself hard names, Llspen- I
ard?why, bless me! you ignore the I
fact that you are considered a great!
catch"?
"Hush, for God's sake, Victor! Youl
mean that there are women, who, fori
money and social power, would even I
sell themselves to a being like me. I
Yes, I dare say, it is quite possible; I
but I swear to you, Shirlaw," and now I
a white heat, like lightning, overspread I
the olive face, "that no woman shall I
barter herself for the Lispenard for-1
tune, or the Lispenard prestige, while I
I remain custodian of the two!"
He went out quietly, and closed the
door of the smoking room. Directly!
Shirlaw heard the distant sound of a
piano played with great skill and pow- I
er, he knew what that meant?he I
would see no more of his host for the
night. Guests In Lispenard's grand
house were often left to entertain
themselves. Shirlaw, however, was I
something more than a guest?he was1
a very intimate friend and distant I
kinsman, and Lispenard's eccentricities I
never troubled him in any way.
"He has gone to quiet his disturbed I
soul with music," yawned the brown I
young soldier, "so I will fare forth,!
and look at the moon."
He sauntered out of the house, and I
down the shadowy walks, past the gar-11
den lilies to the river. As he paused 1
on the little Jetty and looked across I
the track of moonlit water to the op-I1
posite bank, a sudden idea struck
him.
"If I should Jump Into Lispenard's
skiff," he mused, "it might be my luck I1
to catch a glimpse of the hourl oppo- I
site. Shlrlaw's luck was a proverb I
at West Point, and more than once It 11
has served me In my little bouts with
the 'fiery-eyed Apache!' Here goes!" I'
Instantly he was in the boat, pushing!
out into the current. A burning cu-l'
rloslty had seized the young captain.!1
If there were angels about, he meant I
to see them. He sent the skiff straight I'
Into the shadow of the trees that I'
fringed the banks of Rookwood. As|!
he did so, gay girls' voices saluted His I
ears, a gleam of summer draperies was 1
visible in the shrubbery, he could hear |'
light footsteps on the dewy gravel.
"I adore a garden by night," said the
voice of Maud Loftus. "Behold the
supernatural proportions which these
roses take in the glamour of the moon!
Yonder is one, seemingly suspended in
space, like a great white star! here Is
another as red as your cousin Cyril's
eyebrows. By-the-way, how rude 1
that young man is, dear! I sang to
him until I was hoarse?It was solely
for your sake?and all that he said by
way of thanks was, 'Confound Verdi!
?I wish he had never been born!'"
"Yes, he is rude," replied Mignon's
severe young voice; "as rude as a Hottentot.
Let us go down and look at
the river?"
"With pleasure love; but do you not
feel a slight dampness here? I have
neuralgia sometimes, you know. In
spite of my avoirdupois. I will run
and ask your aunt Elinor for shawls."
Away toward the house flashed one
white cloud; the other remained motionless
for a moment, in the walk,
then it began to move slowly down toward
the river. Shirlaw, sitting in his
skiff under the shelter of the trees, and
scarcely daring to draw his breath,
saw a lovely head, like a deer's emerge
from the garden shadows?saw such a
shape as sculptors love pause on the
bank and look across the rippling river.
The moonlight only added a new
glory to her uncovered golden hair and
flawless face. Her white hands were
full of roses, and she began to tear
their petals apart and drop them down
into the river, and as she did so, he
heard her hum softly to herself these
lines of an old song:
" 'Oh. I loved in my youth a lady fair;
For her azure eyes and her golden hair;
Oh, truly?oh, truly I loved her then.
And naught shall I ever so love again.
Save my hawk, and my hound, and my
red-roan steed.
For they never have failed in my hour
of need.'"
"Mignon!"
A man had started suddenly up behind
the lovely vision, and seized the
hands with their burden of shattering
petals.
"Mignon," repeated Cyril Vye, "you
were angry with me tonight in the
hall, and I have followed you to
apologize for my rashness there. Forgive
me. because I love you, and men
in love often do foolish things, you
know."
She tore her hands free.
"I told you I would never forgive
you," she answered, sternly.
"Oh, but that's nonsense, for you
must! Long ago I made up my mind
to marry you. To be sure I had not
meant to speak so soon, but you yourself
force me to do so; and, after all.
one time is as good as another. Come,
now, my beauty, for custom's sake, I
must ask the usual question: Will you
be my wife?"
She stood tall and white in the
moonlight. drawing her draperies
closely about her, as if to escape all
contact with him.
"For custom's sake," she replied, in
a withering tone. "I will condescend
to answer you. Xo. a thousand times
no! Your impudence Is quite inexcusable.
Cyril, for you are well aware that
I find vou now. as I found you years
ago?detestable! Now leave me, and
never approach me again in the character
of a lover."
"I cannot leave you, Mignon, till
you reconsider your answer. I love
you. I say, and I mean to marry you!
You cannot escape your fate, so yield
to it gracefully."
"Marry a man like you, Cyril?" she
cried In high indignation. "I would l
sooner leap into this river! Stand <
back?no, do not dare to touch me."
But he pressed suddenly toward her 1
with arms outstretched. She gave a I
cry. The next Instant Shirlaw was out j
of the skiff and on the bank, his fiery 1
young blood tingling, his bonny blue 3
eyes all ablaze. 1
"I will give you Just one second, Mr.
Vye, to take yourself out of the pres- l
ence of this lady!" he said.
The sudden apparition of young An- t
tinous made a visible sensation on the 1
bank. Cyril Vye grew white with 11
wrath. Mlgnon caught her breath as <
the brown soldier lifted his hat defer- 1
entially to her In the moonlight.
"By what right. Captain Shlrlaw, do r
you interfere betwixt my cousin and c
me?" stammered Vye.
"By the right which any gentleman ^
has to aid a lady who has fallen Into I
obnoxious company," replied Shlrlaw. c
"Be off or I will throw you Into the <i
river!" cried Vye, choking with rage, \
and he made a rush at the Intruder, \
as if to fulfill his threat. r
The next moment he was lying flat s
and senseless on the earth, and Shir- a
law stood over him making his best a
bow to Mlgnon. 1
"I regret that I was obliged to knock r
the fellow down In your presence," he S
said. "Pray pardon me. I am Victor fc
Shlrlaw, now and always at your ser- \
vice: and you?yes, I am sure that you r
are Miss Vye. Permit me to escort you
safely to the house. t
Tall and maidenly, showing no sign e
of confusion, she stood, her beauty c
growing upon him, j(
"Luminous, gem-like, ghost-llke." p
"You have done me a service, Cap- v
tain Shlrlaw," she replied, sweetly. "I v
thank you. No, do not trouble your- v
self? . II
And then Maud Loftus came flying v
down the walk with some gay-colored a
wraps on her arm, and burst upon the h
scene In round-eyed wonder. 0
"Oh. Mlgnon, what Is the matter, t
dear?" she cried, and straightway be- c
gan to scream at sight of Vye's pros- f'
trate figure.
Perhaps that sound aroused the law- h
yer. At any rate he arose to his feet, h
The two girls fled. s
"I demand satisfaction of this out- b
rage, sir!" foamed Cyril Vye, turning a
furiously on the brown captain. n
"In what form will you have It?" an- '
swered Shlrlaw. "Pistols at six pj^es?" a
"Yes, by Heaven! Yes." o
"Very well," said the young soldier,
with great sang frold; "name the time f'
and place."
"Here and now," stormed Vye, with i<
Increasing rage. "I demand blood. We a
need have no delay, no seconds, no pre- g
llminaries. We want nothing, In fact, c
but the weapons." o
"What admirable simplicity!" said ti
the captain. "Do you happen to have g
any pistols about you?" n
"I regret to say that I have not," fi
answered Vye, stiffly. "You, a mill- f
tary man, may be better prepared for h
an emergency." b
"Scarcely," replied Shirlaw, with airy t<
good humor, "it is not the habit, ti
even of military men In this nineteenth
century, to go about like walking ar- h
senals. Remain here, however, and I a
will guarantee to bring the weapons In h
ten minutes* time." n
Vye changed color. With an air of n
morose, vindlctiveness he had stiffen- a
ed himself against a tree. p
"Very well," he replied, coldly; "make g
all the speed possible. Do not keep
me waiting." s;
"Not for the world!" said Shlrlaw.
He sprang Into the skiff and pulled d
for the opposite bank. Llspenard's c
piano was still walling forth its won- h
derful music when he reached the c
house. He hurried, unseen, to his own p
room, found a brace of revolvers, and f
with the same started gayly back to p
the rendezvous. As he for the second t
time crossed the river, the whole affair n
began to assume a highly ludicrous e
aspect. n
"I wonder," he thought, "what Lis- t
penard will say to all this? In the a
space of a half-hour I have made the t
acquaintance of the angel, and now,
great Jove! behold me about to indulge
in a duel with her rejected lover." v
He was out of the skiff before it a
touched the bank. He had not lost a s
moment of time; but where was Vye? a
In vain he searched for that fiery foe- ^
man. He had vanished. He walked up a
and down the garden, peering under _
trees and into shadowy thickets, but t
no living thing was there. r
"Evidently Mr. Vye has changed his f
mind," said Shlrlaw. q
He went back across the river, but 0
his heart was left behind at Rook- e
wood. T
\
CHAPTER VII.
Esther. a
"I never knowed anybody by the c
name in these parts, sir, and I've lived
here, man and boy, for fifty years. I c
recken you're on the wrong track, j
Tempest?Tempest," meditatively. "No, r
sir! There's no Tempests at Cinder- (
vllle, but slch as whoop and holler up
and down the coast, and play the dev- c
il with the fishing boats and any other 8
craft that may be laying about loose,
sir." r
The speaker, a wrinkled fisherman, j
in a flannel shirt and canvas jacket, i
with his trousers tucked into a pair of
enormous sea-boots, was calking a |
boat, drawn up on the stocks, in the i
sleepy little Maine fishing town of ^
Cinderville. Guy Fleetwood, the person
addressed, stood leaning against i
the sagging gable-end of a fish-house j
?a <iueer, tottering structure, yellow f
with lichen, and decorated with the r
rotting figure-head of some lost ship f
?lazily watching old Tom Dexter at >
his labors. r
In front of the two men lay an old \
wharf, strewn with debris?lobster- t
traps, broken yawls, damaged tubs and .?
barrels, and a great sea, like lapis
lazuli, combing and curling in gloomy 3
waves against the sandy beach. Be- t
hind them, the little hamlet of Cinder- ?
viile went straggling up a steep hill, ]
its paintless church well in advance, {
the gray fish-houses bringing up the
rear. The whole hillside seemed set ]
with "flakes" for drying fish. There i
were cornfields, however, and flocks at ?
Cinderville. for the place was half-marine
and half-agricultural.
"Hereabout, sir," said Tom Dexter l
to Fleetwood, "a man can't wholly get <
his living neither on the land nor on <
the water?he's got to draw from j
both."
"Then," said our Canadian friend, |
helplessly, as he leaned against the
old fish-house, "you are sure, Mr. Dex- 1
:er, that there Is no lady by the name
jf Tempest residing In Clndervllle?" i
"By the great horn spoon, I never I
lenowed of any sich?I never heard '
:ell of any!" replied Mr. Dexter, with 1
frowlng impatience. "I ain't one of 1
;he overcurious kind, but what may be i
four business with this Tempest wo- ]
nan, sir, when ye find her?" 1
Fleetwood laughed; then gave his 1
jlonde mustache a thoughtful stroke, i
"Well, really, Mr. Dexter, I haven't 1
iny business whatever with her, and, '
jesldes, you must first catch your hare t
>efore you cook him?no, I should say, t
:atch your hake before you transform t
llm Into chowder."
"Haddock Is best for chowder, sir? 3
lever take hake when you can git had- 1
lock."
"All right. I will remember. One e
veek ago this very day, Tom Dexter, 1
arrived in Cinderville, led hither, I c
ronfess, by an abnormal curiosity to s
llscover a certain Concordia Tempest, e
vhom I had good reason to believe J
vas a resident of this place. And <]
low, for seven long days, I have
earched the town high and low, up \
ind down, and can find no person an- "
iwering to the name; consequently it I
s plain to me that I must give over 1
ny quest, and go home to Canada.
5ince an old inhabitant like you 1
mows nothing of her, I feel quite con- 9
'inced that Concordia Tempest Is a k
nyth." t
It was quite true. Guy Fleetwood, v
tearing In his pocket the address glv- 8
n him by poor Hoxle, had actually 8
ome to this out-of-way fishing ham- c
et In search of Black Dave's corres- r
tondent. Maud Loftus, his betrothed ^
rife, was watching for him at Rook- 8
rood. His fond English-bred mother d
raited impatiently for him across the
Ine; and here the young fellow was, 1
rusting his time in this strange place,
nd upon this ridiculous quest. Why 8
ad he voluntarily assumed the task 1
f finding the daughter of that cut- f
hroat and robber, Black Dave? He 0
ould not tell. Why will men ever do
oolish, inexplicable things?
"Well," said Old Tom Dexter, calk- e
rig away for dear life, "I knows about r
ake and halibut and porgles, and
qulb, and mackerel and menhaden, 8
ut I'm blessed if I knows anything
bout myths, sir. Howsomever, it's d
ny belief that there's no Concordia 8
"empest In Cinderville, nor ever was; c
nd a woman with a name like that 8
ughtn't to be let live anywhere. Now, ''
a what quarter hev ye been a-looklng v
or her?" c
Fleetwood shifted his position care- tl
sssly. The small waves were lapping
gainst the old wharf. A battered y
chooner lay at anchor close by?its
rew had gone ashore. The gray wing
f a mackerel-gull hovered over a dlsant
wave, like a moth above a blosom.
A wasp, which had made her
est under the old figure-head on the
sh-house, was buzzing angrily about
'leetwood's blonde head, her long legs ^
anging straight down, her black
ody ringed with vivid yellow. He ^
ook off his straw hat and brushed the ^
roublesome insect languidly away.
"I have been east and west," he
aughed; "up the hill to the church,
nd down the hill to the beach. I
ave vainly implored every man, wolan
and child in Clndervllle to give
le information of Miss Tempest,
fore than all that, I have been to the
g
ostoffice?the greasy rat-hole under
iampson's fish-house."
"Ha! And what did old Sampson
ay to ye, sir?"
"I politely inquired if letters adressed
to Concordia Tempest ever
ame to Clndervllle, and if that person
erself appeared at the postofflce to
laim them. By Jovei your antique
ostmaster turned on me, like a dogish?said
he never told tales about letera,
or spied on parties that came for v
hem, and bade me go about my buslnoe
T ahnWMt him ft handful of mon
y, I coaxed and cajoled, but he renained
incorruptible, and I unenllghened.
That man ought to be- put in
, pickle of Cadiz salt, and preserved
o a virtuous Immortality."
Old Dexter grinned. '
"Maybe 'twas the cut of yer Jib?yer
k'hite hands, and sich, that set him
gin ye. Old Sampson don't like the r
ummer gentry. He's as close-mouthed t
s an oyster?wouldn't tell ye, if he I"
mowed, but he don't know, sir?he I
in't lived at Clndervllle but a few year t
-he came from Eastport way?I was s
iorn here"?with conspicuous supe- r
iority?"and I can count you out every s
amily in the place?I'm as well acluainted
with 'em as I be with my ?
>wn, sir. Now, I ask you, ain't that t
nough? Do you 'spect any woman 8
Tempest can-be a-hiding in Cinder- a
ille and I not get wind of it?" f<
"No, Tom." replied Fleetwood, "you I
re light. It is enough, my search Is 1
ver?I give it up, here and now." 1
He drew from his notebook the adIress
which he had received from r
loxie, the herder, tore it into the most r
ninute fragments, and cast it upon the I
Tinderville beach. *
"Hallo!" cried old Dexter, "here r
:omes Rube, with his catboat. Is he
t'going to take you out for a sail, sir?" 1
A boat came gliding up to the wharf, 1
nanned by a raw-boned young fellow c
n a red shirt and canvas trousers? t
leuben Dexter, the son of old Tom. I
"Yes," replied Fleetwood, growing
Y
ively, "I have an appointment wun
^ube. This is our last sail together. I i
diall leave Cinderville tomorrow." 1
"Sorry to hear that, sir. I like ye, t
f Jake Sampson doesn't. Now, if 8
re're u-golng out with Rube." raising c
lis voice suddenly, so that his son *
night hear, and grinning from ear to \
>ar, "ye sheer off from Porgy Light, i
sir?there's a gal over in that air di- t
ection that Rube is mighty taken
vith. If it be that ye go too near the
ock, he may neither bring you back, (
dr. nor come himself." J
Rube's sunburnt face grew redder f
ret. as Fleetwood dropped down into
he boat. During the Canadian's brief t
sojourn at Cinderville, the younger t
Dexter had been his constant guide and 1
ittendant. I
"Is that so, Rube?" he asked, jocose- <
y; "(Id you find yourself, at your j
ender age, a victim to the grand pasdon?"
Rube hung his head.
"Dad hadn't any cull to speak of
ler," he answered, in a low voice. "She
lon't care nothing about me, and nev?r
did. She ain't like any other girl
ibout here."
"Ha! is it a case of unrequited affection,
Reuben?"
"Yes. sir," replied the other, hum>ly.
i ne lime narDor, as iney swept
icross It, was speckled with hakers,
trawlers, and long, sharp seine-boats,
rhe sail of a jigger flashed gayly by
them over the gloomy water, which
ivas all alive with flnny things?
shrimp, and heering and menhaden.
Fleetwood was fond of sailing. He
lad been out with Rube Dexter numberless
times in the last week, but
lever before had he seen the young
:euow so absorbed and dejected, "un,
tls love, 'tis love, 'tis love, that makes
he world go round," and 'tis love, alio,
from which most of the sorrows of
he world spring.
"Where Is the Porgy Light of which
rour father was speaking?" asked
Heetwood, at last.
"Over yon," replied the unhappy lov>r,
with a vague nod toward the far
torlzon; and then, with a sudden burst
>f confidence, as though his harrowed
iouI must find voice, "I'm that cut up
Lt times, sir, that I've a good mind to
ump Into the sea, and let the darned
logflsh eat me!"
"Don't do lt, Reuben," said Fleetvood,
scarcely able to repress a smile.
'A faint heart never won fair lady.
Jpn't Immolate yourself! She may reap
t."
f'No, she won't," answered poor
iilbe, as he trimmed his sail, dlsconMS&tely.
"I'm no mate for her, and I
uiow It I never see her, but what I
hJnks of the sun coming up over the
vater. She orders me about like a
lave. She looks at me, and my breath
roes?I'm limp as wet seaweed?I
wouldn't speak a word to her to save
ny life; but she knows I'm ready to
life for her, and she don't hold me of
iny more account, sir, than sand unler
her feet."
"She must be a very high and mlghy
maiden, Reuben."
"Yes, sir," drearily, "she's that, and
i good deal more. There's nothing
hat can go ahead of her In these
tarts. She's like an eagle among a lot
if mackerel-gulls."
".foor reiiow: " mougni neeiwwu,
he has the disease bad! Thank Heavn!
the woman does not live who could
educe me to this state of mind."
"By Jove!" called out Fleetwood. |
uddenly, "what Is this?" ,
It was fog, thick, white, curious,
Iropplng upon them In a moment, like
. great blanket. The catboat was
ompletely enveloped, and cut off from
11 surrounding objects. Very sudden
t was, and very disagreeable. Fleetrood
could scarcely see the face of his (
ompanlon.
"Dern It!" said Rube, In disgust, ,
that's the way the stuff drifts In on
e, sometimes, thick enough to cut." (
"Is It likely to lift soon?"
"'.hat's mighty uncertain, sir."
Directly a sound, like stertorous
lowing, saluted the ears of the two.
Vho can tell If Rube's amatory abtraction
had not affected his seamanhip
this morning? At any rate, he
at, as if paralyzed for one moment,
?id the next, Fleetwood saw looming
ip and over the catboat, In that white,
linding mist, a great dingy sail, a
lack, battered bow, and lo! in an intant
he found himself struggling In
he Intensely cold water, Rube Dexter
rlth him, and away went the catboat
lown the crest of a great wave, botom
side up.
"Help!" roared Reuben. "You have
wamped us! Help there, for God's
ake!"
But the schooner, hearing nothing,
eelng nothing in that blinding fog,
anlshed Into Its ghostly embrace with
10 response. From another quarter,
iowever, and from a greater distance,
i woman's voice rang out across the
ea, and never was sound more wel- ,
erne to the ear of Fleetwood.
"Speak again!" It said. "Where are ,
ou?"
Rnho with his month full of sea
rater, raised a cry:
"Boat ahoy?ahoy?ahoy!"
"Ahoy It Is!" the voice answered.
To Be Continued.
PASSING OF THE SOMBRERO.
:amed Hat Now Seldom Worn By Upper
Class Mexican*.
The famed Mexican sombrero la
low seldom worn by Mexicans of the
ipper class when riding, driving or
tuntlng, says the Mexican Herald.
"Jot so many years ago even here at
he capital men of position were occaionally
seen wearing the sombrero, a
nost suitable hat under a tropical sun
mch as we all feel at midday.
Pity that the sombrero should have
riven place to the black derby or
lowler. a hat that should be catalogued
imong hats that are not hats in true
ense, just as Charles Iximb made up
l list of books that are not books. Nor
j the narrow-brimmed modern straw
lat a sufficient shade for the eyes in
his land of glaring sunshine.
The Panama hat, real or Imitation,
low in high favor among the younger
nen, is almost ideul as a protection to
lead and eyes. It is light, almost uni ersally
becoming and growing ever
nore popular.
The Panama has come to stay, uness
fashion, so potent nowadays, exles
it. Yet it would be absurd for
lenizens of the tropics to give up
he best of hats for any caprice of
Dame Fashion.
Of late years the wearing of straw
rnts in winter here has been frowned
ipon by the gilded youth who give
he law of style to the young men of
he middle class. Yet there is hardly
i day in the year when, under the sun
>f Mexico, a straw hat is not suitable,
some very sensible young Britons
vear straw hats the year through, realzing
that they are dwellers of the
roplcs.
Old-Time Punishments.?A number
>f tender-hearted English gallants
dined a pioneer expedition to Virginia.
The weather was cold and the
vork hard. When these soft-muscled
I'oung men were set at chopping trees
heir hands were sorely blistered by
he axe helves. With cries of pain
nany oaths were heard. The presllent
of the company soon put a stop
;o the swearing by ordering a can of
sold water to be poured down the
sleeve of the guilty one at every oath
le uttered.
In colonial days hog stealing was
considered one of the most serious
:rimes. At the first offense the thief's
>ars were slit, at the second his ears
vere nailed to a pillory, and at the
third he suffered death "without beniflt
of clergy."
Deceitful bakers and careless fish
lealers had to "lose their ears," while
le who spoke detracting words had
lis tongue bored by a bodkin.
A Frenchman traveling in America
n 1700 described the ducking pool as
i "pleasant mode" of punishing a
jcoldlng woman.?Youth's Companion.
|Hwrfiianrd?si flfamni). p
? ? P
NO MORE 80T0L WINE. J
Unci* Sam Stops ths Manufacture of ^
a Maxican Nectar.
One of the minions of the United
States internal revenue bureau came ,
61
out here from San Antonio, says a
correspondent of the New York Sun,
writing from Ysleta, Tex., and destroyed
600 gallons of wine made from
the root of the sotol plant. Not only C<
this, but the word has been passed
down the line In all the upper Rlo|
uranae Doraer region mm liicie mum.
be no more manufacture of alcoholtc w
liquor from the sotol.
Sul Boggs rode all the way from
Tornlllo to get a supply of the sotol c<
wine. He arrived the day after It had ^
all been spilled by the revenue agent.
He was disgusted.
"It beats all," he said, "What Is w
this country a'comln" to? Here we've 3
been drinking sotol ever since this part p'
of the com '.ry was discovered by the
Spaniards, and here comes some kind '
of new rulln' made by some jumpln'
Jack up there at Washington and cuts 111
us fellows off from one of our princl- p<
pal rations. '
St
"I'll bet the man who Is responsible
for doin' away with makln* sotol never 1
tasted the liquor In his life. Sotol ?'
wine is nectar for the gods.
"I guess I can go without It, but
just wait until the Mexicans along the
river hear that they can't get any
more sotol to drink, and you will see
the biggest exodus of Greasers bound
for Mexico that was ever witnessed In 'c
these parts."
Sotol Is to the people of these parts
what whisky is to the men of Ken- 131
tucky. Small sotol distilling plants ?'
have been In operation all through this hl
region from time Immemorial.
The sotol grows profusely upon the w
ranches of the extreme southwestern tc
part of Texas and of northern Mexico.
It Is a semi-desert plant, and In 'n
drought It is fed to cattle and sneep ?
In lieu of grass. p<
In all the border saloons sotol can "
be bought. It has long been a favorite
beverage with the Mexicans who work m
upon the ranches and live In the territory
where the sotol plant thrives. p
The sotol liquor Is said to possess a
peculiar quality which nerves men up ^
to do desperate deeds. To be a real m
bad 'ombre a man must take a few
drinks of sotol. v<
It Is related that at the time Bill el
Taylor and his band of outlaws held ^
up and robbed the Overland Express 01
rm the Southern Pacific near Comstock,
a few years ago, they were all more 'e
than half drunk on sotol. When three ct
members of the gang were captured In R
the Davis mountains several days la- h<
ter they had on hand a half empty
Jug of sotol. They had been forced to Q'
lighten their burdens by dropping a A
big bag of silver, but they retained the
Jug of sotol. 111
It has been said by physicians that
sotol is one of the purest and most U
healthful of all alcoholic liquors. If
taken in moderate quantities it builds h<
up the system.
GOLD NOT GOOD IN CHINA. <*
What Money It Depends Upon this Lo- h<
cality, Says a Traveler. y<
"It Is hard to define Just what money
Ik" aoM RpnresentatlvA Julius Kahn of gi
San Francisco, recently, says the st
Washington Post. "At best, It seems A
to be a relative term?that is, what ^
passes for money in one part of the ai
world is regarded with suspicion at a
some other place. B
"Gold is supposed to be the one clr- ir
culatlng medium that passes current S
everywhere, but it is not true. In the ei
far east for instance, the natives pos- m
itlvely refuse to take anything but silver.
Gold Is not money to them, and a
in Washington or New York or any of b;
the cities along the Atlantic coast r<
when I hand a man a 110 or $20 gold 0'
piece to change he looks upon me with w
suspicion. He almost says in so many r<
words that he would rather not have
it. But let me hand out a worn and t<
dirty bill and he accepts it without w
looking at It. * Ci
"Out in California bills are still h
more or less of a curiosity and conse- tl
quently the people are not accustomed
to them. Go into a bank in San Fran- d
cisco and tender a $50 bill for change. r'
The chances are that the president of w
the bank and the entire staff of offl- "
clals would be called Into consultation
as to its genuineness, and I doubt If s<
there is a store in the town where a w
bill would be accepted and changed off- ,e
hand. We are all creatures of habit A
and custom rules the world after all. e'
"The silver coins in circulation in A
China," Mr. Kahn continued, "are obJects
of curiosity to foreigners. In P(
China the coinage of money Is let to ai
private parties, and the amount of sll- a>
ver in a coin depends largely on the P'
personal honesty of the man in charge
of the particular mint. On this account
each coin as It passes around in
circulation has to be stamped with the
Initials of the merchant last having
it in his possession. The last man
stamping the coin is held responsible
for any shortage in weight In the coin.
The result Is that the coins from repeated
stampings, resemble small saucers,
and each one fits into the other
when stacked up In a pile. I Imagine
that they might be useful for picnic
0(
purposes, but they are certainly inconvenient
to carry around, as any one ^
can bear witness who has traveled ^
through the Flowery Kingdom."
a'
LESS CHAMPAGNE DRUNK.
I'
United States Imports of Sparkling gl
Wine Show a Decrease.
Apparently champagne drinking in b<
the United States is on the wane, says d
" * Dnol Bath the Milan- fl
lilt: tYU.llllllgiuit a wow. ?..v n
tity and value of that beverage 1m- k
ported Into this country last year were a
less than in the preceding year and y
practically no greater than a dozen
years ago. a
This Is only one of several surprising a
features of a statement issued by the jj
bureau of statistics on the "ebb and
flow of the commerce of the United 0
States In 1906." The figures show that S'
394,727 quarts of champagne and other 81
sparkling wines were imported In 1906, ?
valued at $5,855,425. while In the Im- tl
mediately preceding year the number S
of dozen quarts was 401,514, valued at ?
15,518,651. 1;
Another rprislng fact is that while
the United States Is one of the greatest
coffee consuming countries in the p
roduct. The exports of domestic
roducts Include 31,518,494 pounds of
reen, or raw, cofTee, valued at 82,70,592.
This is explained by the fact that
orto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands
re customs districts of the United
tates and that their exports to forIgn
countries are now included with
le figures of exports from the various
jstoms districts of this country.
It is stated that doubtless all of this
jffee ia the product or tne island pos>ssions
referred to. In addition 13,-J
)0,000 pounds of coffee of foreign)
roductlon brought Into this country
as re-exported.
Still another curious feature of
merlcan commerce Is that while this
juntry produces three-fourths of the
orld's cotton, $11,000,000 worth of
?at product was Imported last year,
> say nothing of $1,000,000 worth of
aste cotton. This product, however,
of a different quality from that'
rinclpally produced In the United
tates, being of the long and silky fl?r,
coming principally from Egypt.
While this country is the largest
lanufacturer of cotton goods, the Imitations
of manufactures of this
roduct aggregated In round figures
>9,000,000 In value, which was more
rnn 50 per cent, in excess of the value
f these goods exported.
Awcrnnrca nc no AKFD.
amous Britisher Who Will Proach to
John D. Rockefeller.
Rev. Dr. Charles Frederick Aked,
irmer pastor at Pembroke chapel In
Iverpool, who recently arrived In
ew York to take up his duties as
istor of the Fifth Avenue Baptist
lurch Is an atheltlc type of man, and
Is manner reminds many of President
oosevelt. It Is told of Dr. Aked that
hen he was about to take the pasirate
of Pembroke chapel, Liverpool,
? went Ashing at 3 o'clock one mornig
and, Andlng a suit of clothes on
te bank, jumped In to save a supjsed
drowning man. He brought out
le man's dead body. As a result of
te incident Pembroke .chapel on the
ornlng that Dr. Aked preached his
rst sermon was crowded to the doors,
eople wanted to see a preacher who
id gone Ashing at 3 a. m. and .who
id jumped Into the water to save a
an.
When Interviewed somehow the conization
turned Arst to John D. Rockleller,
and Dr. Aked rather resented
te Idea that he was to be the pastor
' "Rockefeller's church."
"I know nothing of Mr. Rockefelr,"
he said, "and It is rather hard to
l11 the Fifth Avenue Baptist church
ockefeller's church. He is only a pew
>lder in the church."
Here some one managed to get in a
uestion as. to tainted money, and Dr.
ked brightened up.
"I am not talking now on tainted
loney," he said. "But perhaps you
>el like the negro. The story goes
lat two negroes were talking when
le of them asked whether he had
?ard that a certain rich man had
ilnted money.
" 'What is this tainted money?' ask1.
one.
" 'What,' said the other, 'ain't you
;ard what dat is? Well, it 'tain't
>urs and It 'tain't mine.'"
When the Transvaal war crisis bean
to approach, "in season and out of
;ason," to use his own words, "Dr.
ked denounced Chamberlain's policy."
Then the war began he was the first
nd most fervid of the pro-Boers. On
Sunday, after a disastrous week to
ritlsh arms, he announced a lecture
i Pembroke chapel dealing with the
outh African war. The police expect3
what would happen and had 200
ten at the chapel.
After.the service Dr. Aked, his wife
nd a deacon got away safely in a cab
y a side entrance. Before the cab
jached the minister's house it was
vertaken by the mob and partially
recked. It managed, however, to
;ach the house.
Dr. Aked sprang out, fought his way
? thA door. oDened It and fought his
ay back to help his wife from the
ib to the house. One man stood In
Is way. Dr. Aked dealt with him In
le fashion he has applied to all his
ghts. He did not speak to him, he
id not wait to see if the man would
pally offer violence?he was In the
ay, .and Dr. Aked knocked him down
ke a log.
When the minister and his wife were
ife Inside the mob amused itself by
recking the house from without, not
aving a pane of glass unbroken. For
ve weeks this scene was repeated
fery Sunday. For five weeks Dr.
ked denounced his own country un?r
police protection. Three hundred
slice guarded the house and chapel,
rid all the way between the two, back
nd forth, Dr. Aked was handed from
lain clothes man to plain clothes man.
~~A ROMANCE.
bout An Eastern Tenderfoot Who
Struck It Rich.
Archie Layton was from the east
[Is parents were exceedingly poor,
ne of his sisters chewed gum before
typewriter all day long In a broker's
fflce In Columbus, O., while his brothp
hopped counters in a Cincinnati dry
oods store. These two supported
lelr poor old parents. Archie wanti
to strike a gold mine and pay the
lortgage on the old farm in Ohio. He
ad come to Big Nose, the new camp,
) look around. Everybody laughed
t him but Alkali Jim, a big-hearted
ilner. To him Archie told his story.
"I will help you," said Alkali Jim.
11 steer you right and you will find
old."
Archie tolled and tolled. His hands
ecame covered with blisters, but every
ay he thought of the old folks at
ome und the mortgage. One day Alall
Jim said: "Archie, go out yonder
nd dig like the devil, and maybe
ou'll strike gold."
Archie followed his advice. He took
lunch and a box of cork tipped clgrettes
one day and went out and dug
ke the devil. At 3 o'clock exactly he
egan to get disheartened. He had
jund nothing. With another thought)
f the old home he buckled In and dug
ome more. All at once he struck
omethlng hard. He breathlessly dug
ut some rock. With several specllens
In his hand he ran uptown. He
bought of the old home and the mortage
once again. Running to the office
f an assayer. he threw the specimens
n the table and yelled, "Eureka! Here
i gold."
He lied. It was Just plain rock. Arhle
Is now playing piano in Bullneck
larvey's saloon in Ely, Nev.?Denver
'ost.
Bird Kills a Dog, But Is Badly Injured
In the Fight.
One afternoon some time ago the following
episode, In which a great eagle
figured, occurred at Furstenwald, In
Brandenburg, Prussia, says the Chicago
Chronicle. A field laborer heard
a dog howling in most dismal manner
at no great distance from the spot at
which he was working. Running In
the direction from which the sounds
came, he saw a large bird perched on
tha \x-q fphHn<y nt o nalirtihnrinff farm *
the two were struggling and fighting,
partly In the air and partly on the
ground.
At last they passed into an adjoining
copse, when the laborer ran and called
the bailiff of the place where he
was employed. Both proceeded to tbe
copse, to find the bird moving with the
greatest difficulty and scarcely able to
hop a few paces; it tried to fly, but
was evidently disabled and a well-directed
shot killed it.
They found the poor dog dead, ail
the flesh had been literally torn from
the bones by Its enemy. The eagle
measured seven feet between the tips
of its wings and was almost black,
with snow-white shoulders, indicating
great age. It had evidently had a
history, for on its left foot. Just above
the claw, was a strong gold ring on
which were engraved some letters, the
meaning of which could not be deciphered,
the word "Eperjes" and date
"10, 9, 1827." Eperjes Is a town in
Hungary, not far from the northern
Carpathians. The bird had probably
once been in captivity.
The eagle in its native haunts is a
solitary bird, its mate alone excepted;
no other of its kind is likely to be
fouqd living within a considerable distance
of it.
A t ow from its wing alone is said to
have killed a kid. There are many instances
of babes and young children
havlna been carried off bv eat'les.
It is even stated that In the canton
of Geneva a boy of ten years of age,
who was attempting to rob an eagle's
nest was seixed by one of the birds
and carried a distance of 600 yards.
He was, however, rescued by his companions
without having suffered any
very serious injury, although its talons
had inflicted some severe wounds.
The eagle builds its eyrie in the
cliffs of inaccessible rocks or on the
edges of precipices, the nest being little
more than a flooring of sticks and
branches lined with leaves. Here it
brings and stores up a considerable
amount of food, often consisting of
young lambs and game.
Condensed Knowledge.
Elevators with a platform eighteen
feet square are in use in some New
Tork garages.
The Slrius, the first steamer to cross
the Atlantic, was 178 feet long, and
her tonnage 450.
Food valued at 12,175 is brought
into Great Britain every minute W
the dav and nlaht.
Greece Is said to be the poofest
country of Europe. Her total wealth
amounts to 11,000,000,000, or about
half that of Switzerland.
A modern Incandescent lighthouse
lantern with 3i-inch mantle gives
2,400 candle power, and uses no
more oil than the old six-Inch wick
burner which gave only 700 candle
power.
The ostrich yields about 3 pounds
of feathers yearly.
China and Japan together produce
126,000 tons of silk annually.
England has 30,000 persons with
a single leg or arm.
The Japanese have a coin called
the "mousang." which Is \yorth one
two-hundredth part of an English
penny.
Europe and America have about 8,000,000
hives of honey bees.
The birth rate of both England and
Germany is decreasing. That of Germany
is at present 34 per 1,000, while
England's is 28 per 1,000.
The condor can fast for forty days
and the eagle twenty-eight days.
France has 2,900,000 dogs.
Europe has fifty languages, with
587 varatlons.
The "meslah" bird of India excels
all others In Its imitative powers.
A young plant Is 75 per cent water
and the remainder carbon, which It
has taken from the air.
The average amount of honey taken
from an English hive is 60 pounds,
double the American average. The
record "take" from any hive was
1 nnn nnnndo frnm a stock of Cvt>
rlans.
The Australian tallgalla Is the only
bird which leaves the egg fully feathered.
The London and Northwestern railroad
has in its regular employ an
artificial limb manufacturer.
The best microscopes magnify
about 16,000 times and make a tiny
pile of flour look like a pile of stones.
The average size of the heart Is
about that of the closed fist of the
person to whom it belongs.
A normal man breathes 20,000
times in the course of one day.
In the census of the world the percentage
of blind persons is 64 to
every 1,000,000.
The fortress at Malta is regarded as
second to Gibraltar.
Every Inch of the human skin
contains 3,500 perspiration pores.
The female brain begins to lose
weight at the age of 30, but thai, of
the male not until ten years Ir^ter.
On the average the coolest part
of the day Is at 5 o'clock In the morning.
The wettest hour of the day Is at
3 o'clock In the morning.
The life of a north Atlantic Iceberg
is often 200 years.
The light of one candle power Is
plainly visible at one mile, and one
of three candle power at two miles.
The wreck record of the Baltic sea
Is greater than that of any part of
the world. Ahe average is one a day
throughout the year.
The efficiency of the human heart
is greater than that of any other piece
of machinery, taxing into conaiaerauun
the size. It pumps nearly eight tons
of blood dally.
Nearly half of the railroad mileage
of the world is In the United States.
Eighty-seven per cent of the Cannadian
farmers own their farms.
The Automobile club of England
founded ten years ago, has 2,900
members.
Out of the 212,000 women In Australia
qualified to vote, 174 exercise
the right of franchise.