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YORKVILLE ENQUIRER. ISSUED SKMI-WESHLY. l. H. grist s sous. Pebiishers.} % 4amil8 : 4?r tfy ?romoti(in n|[ lh< political, ?ocfaI, ^jrieultnrat and ffommwyffl Intmste of (h? E ST A BL18 H ED 185 5. YORKVILLE, S. CFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1912. ' N"Q. 14.* s Whe . PRODIGALJ TheFamousNove VAUGHAN Mi Copyright, tgu, Tkc Bobbo-lfori ?> CHAPTER XXVU. PriioMra A In the face of Betty's indignant protest Slosson and the man named Bunker climbed into the carriage. "Don't you be scared, ma'am," said the tavern keeper, who smelt strongly of whisky. '1 wouldn't lift my hand ag'ln no good looking female except in kindness." "How dare you stop my carriage?" cried Betty, with a very genuine anger which for the moment dominated all other emotions. She struggled to A her feet, but Slosson put out a heavy J - hand and thrust her back. "There now," he urged soothingly. "Why make a fuss? Wo ain't going to harm you; we wouldn't for no sum of money. Drive on, Jim?drive like Ig- hell!" This last was addressed to the man who had taken George's place on the box, where a fourth member ~ * C11^-?.rvw?? K nn<l Viorl thft AAflPh - l?i OIU09VII O i'uiiu tmu tv4v?u m.v mail down Into the narrow space between the seat and the dashboard, and was holding a pistol to his head while he sternly enjoined silence. 4 With a word to the horses Jim swung about and the carriage rolled off through the night at a breakneck pace. Betty's shaking hands drew Hannibal closer to her side as she felt the surge of her terrors rise within % her. Who were these men?where could they be taking her?and for what purpose? The events of the past weeks linked themselves in tragic sequence in her mind. What was it she had to fear? Was it Tom who had inspired Norton's murder? Was it Tom for whom these men were acting?. Tom who would profit greatly by her disappearance or death! They swept past the entrance at Belle Plain, past a break in the wall jp of the forest where the pale light of stars showed Betty the corn-field she and Hannibal had but lately crossed, and then on into pitchy darkness again. She clung to the desperate hope that they might meet some one on the road, when she could cry out and give the alarm. She held herself in readiness for this, but there was only the steady pounding of the big bays as Jim with voice and whip urged them forward. At last he ab^ ruptly checked them, and Bunker and V Sloeson sprang from their seats. "Get down, Tfla'sm!" said "the lat"Where are you taking me?" asked Betty, in a voice that shook In spite of her efforts to control it. ? "You must hurry, ma'am," urged Slosson impatiently. "I won't move until I know where you intend taking me!" said Betty, "If I am to die?" Mr. Slosson laughed loudly and indulgently. "You ain't. If you don't want to N walk, I'm man enough fo* to tote you. We ain't far to go, and I've tackled jobs I'd a heap less heart fo' in my time." he concluded gallantly. From the opposite side of the carriage Bun. ker swore nervously. He desired to * know if they were to stand there talking all night. "Shut your filthy mouth, Bunker, and see you keep tight hold - ? -* ? Qlna. or tnat young np'navcr, ?oiU son. "He's a perfect eel?I've had dealings with him afore!" "You tried to kill my Uncle Bob?at the tavern, you and Captain Murrell. I heard you, and I seen you drag him P to the river!" cried Hannibal. Slosson gave a start of astonishment at this. "Why, ain't he hateful?" he exclaimed aghast. "See here, young feller. that's no kind of a way fo' you * to talk to a man who has riz ten children!" Again Bunker swore, while Jim told Slosson to make haste. This popular clamor served to recall the tavernkeeper to a sense of duty. "Ma'am, like I should tote you, or will you walk?" he inquired, and reaching out his hand took hold of Betty. "I'll walk," said the girl quickly, shrinking from the contact. "Keep close at my heels. Bunker, you tuck along after her with the boy." "What about this nigger?" asked the fourth man. "Fetch him along with us," said Slosson. They turned from the road while he was speaking and entered a narrow path that led on through the 0 woods, apparently in the direction of the river. A moment later Betty heard the carriage drive away. They went onward in silence for a little time, then Slosson spoke over his shoulder. ^ "Yes, ma'am, I've riz ten children a piercing cry for help. Slosson swung about on his heel and seized her. For a moment she struggled to escape, but the man's big hands pinioned her. "No more of that!" he warned, then he recovered himself and laughed. "You could yell till you was black In the face, ma'am, and there'd be no one to hear you." "Where are you taking me?" and Betty's voice faltered between the sudden sobs that choked her. "Just across to George HIcks's. "For what purpose?" ' "You'll know in plenty of time." And Slosson leered at her through the darkness. "Hannibal is to go with me?" asked BoHv ti-Anrmlnnnlv. "Sure!" agreed Slosson affably. "Your nigger, too?quite a party." Betty stepped Into the skiff. She felt her hopes quicken; she was thinking; of Bess; whatever the girl's motives. she had wished her to escape. She would wish It now more than ever since the very thing; she had striven to prevent had happened. Slosson seated himself and took up the oars, Bunker followed with Hannibal and they pushed off. No word was spoken 'until they disembarked on the opposite shore, when Slosson addressed Bunker. "I reckon I can manage that young; rip-staver, you go back after Sherrod and the nigger," he said. He conducted his captives up the bank and they entered a clearing. Looking across this Betty saw where a cabin window framed a single square of lig"ht. They advanced toward this and presently the dark outline of the cabin Itself became distinguishable. A moment later Slosson paused, a door yielded to his hand, and Betty and the boy were thrust Into the room where Murrell had held his conference with Fentress and Ware. The two women were now its only occupants and the mother, gp*oss and sh&peless, turned an expressionless face on the intruders; but the daughter shrank Into the shadow, her burning glance fixed on Betty. "Here's yo' guests, old lady!" said Mr. Slosson. Mrs. Hicks rose from the three-legged stool on which she was sitting. "Hand me the candle, Bess," she ordered. At one side of the room was a steep flight of stairs which gave access to the loft overhead. Mrs. Hicks, by a gesture, slgmifled that Betty and Hannibal were to ascend these stairs; they did so, and found themselves on a narrow landing inclosed by a partition of rough planks, this partition was pierced by a low door. Mrs. Hicks, who had followed close at their heels, handed the candle to Betty. "In yonder!" she said briefly, nodding toward the door. "Walt!" cried Betty in a whisper. "No," said the woman, with an almost masculine surliness of tone. "I got nothing to say." She pushed them into the attic, and, closing the door, fastened it with a stout wooden bar. Revond that door, which seemed to but none or em was imc mm?x named "em up to the minute!" Mr. Slosson seemed to have passed completely under the spell of his domestic recollections, for he continued with just a touch of reminiscent sadness in his tone. "There was all told four Mrs. Slossons; two of 'em was South Carolinians, one was from Georgia, and the last was a widow lady out of fe Kast Tennessee. She'd burled three husbands, ui:d I figured that we could start perfectly even." The intrinsic fairness of this start made its strong appeal. Mr. Slosson dwelt upon It r with satisfaction. "She had three to K her credit, I had three to mine; neithei I could crow none over the other." As they stumbled forward through the thick obscurity he continued his personal revelations, the present en terprise having roused whatever there was of sentiment in his slumbering soul. At last they came out on a wide bayou; a white mist hung above it. and on the low shore leaf and branch were dripping with the nighl dews. Keeping close to the water's ^ edge, Slosson led the way to a point ' where a skiff was drawn up on the bank. "Step in, ma'am," he said, when he had launched it. ^ "I will go no farther!" ^ald Bettj in desperation. She felt an overmastering fear, the full horror of the unknown lay hold of her, and she gave have closed on every hope, Betty held the tallow dip aloft, and by Its uncertain and flickering light sun-eyed her prison. The briefest glance sufficed. The room contained two shake-down beds and a stool, there was a window in the gable, but a piece of heavy plank was spiked before It. "Miss Betty, don't you be scared," whispered Hannibal. "When the Judge hears we're gone, him and Mr. Mahaffy will try to find us. They'll go right off to Belle Plain?the Judge is always wanting to do that, only Mr. Mahaffy never lets him?but now he won't be able to stop him." "Oh, Hannibal, Hannibal, what can he do there?what can any one do there?" And a deadly pallor overspread the girl's face. To speak of the blind groping of her friends but served to fix the horror of their situation In her mind. "I don't know. Miss Betty, but the Judge is always thinking of things to do; seems like they was mostly things no one else would think of." Betty had placed the candle on the stool and seated herself on one of the beds. There was the murmur of voices in the mom below; she wondered if her fate was under consideration and what that fate was to be. Hannibal, who had been examining the window, returned to her side. "Miss Betty, if we could just get out of this loft we could steal their skiff and row down the river; I reckon they got just the one boat; the only way they could get to us would be to swim out, and if they done that we could pound 'em over the head with the oars?the least little thing sinks when you're in the water." But this murderous fancy of his failed to 1 interest Betty. Presently they heard Sherrod and Bunker come up from the shore with George. Slosson joined them and there was a brief discussion, then an interval of silence, and the sound of voices again as the three white men moved back across the field in the di rection of the bayou. There succeeded a period of utter stillness, both in the 1 cabin and in the clearing, a somber hush that plunged Betty yet deeper in despair. Wild thoughts assailed 1 her. thoughts against which she strug gled with all the strength of her will In that hour of stress Hannibal was sustained by his faith in the judge. ' He saw his patron's powerful and . picturesque intelligence applied to ! solving the mystery of their disappear I ance from Belle Plain; it was incont ceivable that this could prove other wise than disastrous to Mr. Slosson t and he endeavored to share the confi> dence he was feeling with Betty, but there was something so forced and un' natural in the girl's voice nnd manner when she discussed his conjectures ' that he quickly fell into an awed si lence. At last, and it must have come some time after midnight, troubled ? slumbers claimed him. No moment ol forgetfulness came to Betty. She was waiting' for what?she did not know! The candle burnt lower and lower and tlnally went out and she was left in darkness, but again she was consciout of sounds from the room below. At first it was only a word or a sentence, then the guarded speech became a steady monotone that ran deep lntci the night; eventually'this ceased and Betty fancied she heard sobs. At length points of light began tc show through chinks in the logs. Hannibal roused and sat up, rubbing hit eyes with the back of his hands. "Wasn't you able to sleep none?" he inquired. Betty shook her head. He looked at her with an expression of troubled concern. "How soon do you " * * 1,1 Via qoITPH reckon me judge win mw? ; "Very soon, dear." Hannibal was greatly consoled by this opinion. "Miss Betty, he will love to find us?" "Hark! What was that?" for Betty had caught the distant splash of oars. Hannibal found a chink in the logs through which by dint of much squinting he secured a partial view of the bayou. "They're fetching up a keel boat 10 the shore, Miss Betty?it's a whooper!" he announced. Betty's heart sank, she never doubted the purpose for which that boat was brought into the bayou, or that it nearly concerned herself. Half an hour later Mrs. Hicks appeared with their breakfast. It was in vain that Betty attempted to engage her In conversation, either she cherished some personal feeling of dislike for her prisoner, or else the situation in which she herself was placed had little to recommend it, even to her dull mind, and her dissatisfaction was expressed in her attitude toward the girl. Betty passed the long hours of morning in dreary speculation concerning what was happening at Belle Plain. In the end she realized that the day could go by and her absence occasion no alarm; Steve might reasonably suppose George had driven her into Raleigh or to the Bowens' and that she had kept the carriage. Finally all her hope centered on Judge Price. He would expect Hannibal during the morning, perhaps when the boy did not arrive he would be tempted to go out to Belle Plain to discover the reason of his non-appearance. She wondered what theories, would offer themselves to his ingenious mind, for she sensed something of that indomitable energy which in the -face of rebuffs and laughter carried him into the thick of every sensation. At noon, Mrs. Hicks, as sullen as in the morning, brought them their dinner. She had scarcely quitted the loft when a shrill whistle pierced the silence that hung above the clearing. It was twice repeated, and the two women were heard to go from the cabin. Perhaps half an hour elapsed, then a step" became andlbte on- the packed earth of the door yard; some one entered the room below and began to I ascend the narrow stairs, and Betty's fingers closed convulsively about Hannibal's. This was neither Mrs. Hicks nor her daughter, nor Slosson with his clumsy shuffle. There was a brief pause when the landing was reached, but It was only momentary; a hand lifted the bar, the door was thrown open, and its space framed the figure of a man. It was John Murrell. Standing there he regarded Betty in silence, but a deep-seated fire glowed in his sunken eyes. The sense of pos session was raging through him, his temples throbbed, a fever stirred his blood. Love, such as it was, he undoubtedly felt for her, and even his giant project with all its monstrous ramifications was lost sight of for the moment. She was the inspiration for It all, the goal and reward toward which he. struggled. "Betty!" the single word fell softly from his lips. He stepped into the room, closing the door as he did so. The girl's eyes were dilating with a mute horror, for by some swift intuitive process of the mind, which asked nothing of the logic of events, but dealt only with conclusions, Murrell stood revealed as Norton's murderer. Perhaps he read her thoughts, but he had lived in his degenerate ambitions until the common judgments or the ununderstanding of them no longer existed for him. That Betty had loved Norton seemed inconsequential even; It was a memory to be swept away by the force of his greater passion. So he watched her smilingly, but back of the smile was the menace of unleashed impulse. "Can't you find some word of welcome for me. Betty?" he asked at length, still softly, still with something of entreaty in his tone. "Then it was you?not Tom?who had me brought here!" She could have thanked Cod had it been Tom, whose hate was not to be feared as she feared this man's love. "Tom?no!" Murrell laughed. "You didn't think I'd give you up? I am standing with a halter about my neck, and all for your sake?who'd risk as much for love of you?" he seemed to expand with savage pride that this was so, and took a step toward her. "Don't come near me!" cried Betty. Her eyes blazed and she looked at him with loathing. "You'll learn to be kinder," he exulted. "You wouldn't see me at Belle Plain; what was left for me but to have you brought here?" While Murrell was speaking, the signal that told of his own presence on the opposite shore of the bayou wa.< heard again. This served to arrest his attention. A look of uncertainty passed over his face, then he made an impatient gesture as if he dismissed some thought that had forced itself upor him, and turned to Betty. You don't ask what my purpose is where you are concerned; have you no curiosity on that score?" She eni deavorcd to meet his glance with a glance, as resolute, then her eyes sought th boy's upturned face. "1 i am going to send you down river. Betty. Later 1 shall join you in New Orleans. and when I leave the countr> you shall go with me?" "Never!" gasped Betty. "As my wife, or however you choost to call it. I'll teach you what a man's love is like," he boasted, and extendec ' his hand. Betty shrank from him, ant i his hand fell at his side. He locket at her steadily out of his deep sun! ! eyes in which blazed the fire of hi! 1 passion, and as he looked, her fact ' paled and flushed by turns. "You ma> i learn to be kind to me, Betty, he said. "You may find It will be worth your I while." Bettty made no answer, she ' only gathered Hannibal closer to her 1 side. "Why not accept what I have ; to offer, Betty?" and again he went > nearer her, and again she shrank 1 from him, but the madness of his ' mood was in the ascendant. He seized ' her and drew her to him. She struggled to free herself, but his fingers 1 tightened about hers. "Let me go!" she panted. He 1 laughed his cool laugh of triumph. "Let you go?ask me anything but I that, Betty. Have you no reward for patience such as mine? A whole ! _ immer has passed since I saw you l first?" There was the noisy shuffling of feet i on the stairs, and releasing Betty, Murrell swung about on his heel and faced the door. It was pushed open an Inch at a time by a not too confident hand and Mr. Slosson thus guardedly presented himself to the eye of his chief, whom he beckoned from the room. "Well?" said Murrell, when they stood together on the landing. "Just come across to the keel I boat!" and Slosson led the way down I the stairs and from the house. | "Damn you, Joe; you might have Iwaited!" observed the outlaw. SlosIson gave him a hardened grin. They I crossed the clearing and boarded the I keel boat "which rested against the I bank. As they did so, the cabin in I the stern gave up a shattered presence J In the shape of Tom Ware. Murrell I started violently. "I thought you I were hanging out In Memphis, Tom?" I he said, and his brow darkened as, Isinister and forbidding, he stepped I closer to the planter. Ware did not (answer at once, but looked at MurI rell out of heavy bloodshot eyes, his I face pinched and ghastly. At last, I speaking with visible effort. "I stayed In Memphis until 5 o'clock I this morning." "Damn your early hours!" roared I Murrell. "What are you doing here? II suppose you've been showing that I dead face of yours about the nelghI borhood?why didn't you stay at I Eelle Plain since you couldn't keep I away?" ! "I haven't been near Belle Plain, I I came here Instead. How am I going I to meet people and answer questions?" His teeth were chattering. I "Is It known she's missing?" he addled. ' "Hicks raised the alarm the first I thing this morning, according to the I instruction's I'd given him." j "Yes?" gasped Ware. He was I dripping from every pore and the I sickly color came and went on his unshaven cheeks. Murrell dropped a I heavy hand on his shoulder. "You haven't been at Belle Plain, I you say, but has any one seen you on jthe road this morning?" "N'o one, "John," rried Ware, panfI Ing between each word. There was I a moment's pause and Ware spoke I again. "What are they doing at Belle IPlain?" he demanded In a whisper. jMurrell's lips curled. "I understand there Is talk of suislde," he said. "Good!" cried Ware. They are dragging the bayou down I below the house. It looks as though I you were going to reap the rewards I of the excellent management you have I given her estate. They have been tryling to find you in Memphis, so the *"?? ?Hr?iv vnnrsplf the better." .lUUiitJ /vu ?'? " ? ^ ? ? ? he concluded significantly. "You are sure you have her safe. John, no chance of discovery? For God's sake, get her away from here as soon as you can. it's an awful risk you run!" "Captain," began Slosson who up to this had taken no part in the conversation. "When are you going to cross to t'other side of the bayou?" "Soon." replied Murrell. Slosson laughed. "I didn't know but you'd clean forgot the Clan's business. I want to ask another question?but first I want to say that no one thinks higher or more frequent of the ladies than just me, I'm genuinely fond of 'em and I've never lifted my hand ag'In' 'em except in kindness." Mr. Slosson looked at Ware with an exceedingly virtuous expression of countenance. He continued. "Yo' orders are thai we're to slip out of this a little afore midnight, but suppose there's a hitch ?here's the lady knowing what she knows and here's the boy knowing what he knows." "There can be no hitch," rasped out Murrell arrogantly. "I never knew a speculation that couldn't go wrong, and by rights we should have got away last night." "Well, whose fault is it you didn't?" demanded Murrell. "In a manner it were mine, but the ark got on a sandbank as we were fetching it in and It took us the whole damn night to get clear." "Well?" prompted Murrell. with a sullen frown. "Suppose they get shut of that notion of theirs that the lady's done i drowned herself, suppose they take to watching the river? Or suppose the whole damned botton drops out of this deal? What then? Why, I'll tell you what then?the lady, good looking as she is, knows enough to-make west i Tennessee mighty onhealthy for some i of us. I say suppose it's a Hash In the pan and you have to crowd the disi tance in between you and this part of i the world, you can't tell me that you'll i have any use for her then." Slosson i paused impressively. "And here's Mr. Wale feeling bad. feeling ilk hell," he resumed. "Him and me don't want ; to he left in no trap with you gone i God only knows where." "I'll send a man to take eharge of i the keel boat. I can't risk any more i of your bungling, Joe." "That's all right, but you don't anl swer my question," persisted Slosson, < with admirable tenacity of purpose. [ "What is your question, Joe?" "A lot can hapjien between this and midnight?" "If things go wrong with us there'll be a blaze at the head of the bayou; does that satisfy you?" i "And what then?" i Murrell hesitated. 1 "What about the girl?" insisted Slosl son, dragging him back to the point 1 of issue between them. "As a man I : wouldn't lift my hand ag'ln no good i looking woman except like I said?in ) kindness, but she can't be turned loose, r she knows too much. What's the word, Captain?you say It!" he urged. He made a gesture of appeal to Ware. "Look for the light; better still, look for the man I'll send." And with this Murrell would have turned away, but Slosson detained him. "Who'll he be?" "Some fellow who knows the river." "And If It's light?" asked the tavern-keeper In a hoarse undertone. Again he looked toward Ware, who, dry-lipped and ashen, was regarding him steadfastly. Glanee met glance, for a brief instant they looked deep Into each other's eyes and then the hand Slosson had rested on Murrell's shoulder dropped at his side. To Be Continued. CHARLE8 DICKENS. Appreciation of tho Great Novelist by a Devoted Dieciple. Editor Yorkvllle Enquirer: Tn tViia fho nontonarv voor t\T Vila birth, It Ik indeed most gratifying to the tens of thousands of the admirers of the great novelist to note the spontaneous wave of enthusiasm that is sweeping over the civilized world. And if all the nice, kind, pleasant things, and all of the favorable criticisms that have been and which are now being said about him could be put into book form, what a big volume it would make, and what Interesting reading it would be! Nearly all of our papers, secular, religious, social and literary, as well as all of our leading magazines, are giving us, by gifted writers, the most interesting and complimentary things with reference both to his writings and to his peculiarities and characteristics. The writer painfully realizes the fact that any attempt at anything like literary criticism on his part would be sheer egotism, so he will discuss very briefly, from the viewpoint of a layman only, his impressions of the books of Charles Dickens. Even a list of Dickens' numerous characters would require a lot of space. My brother and myself read Dickens together, a fact that has given us unspeakable satisfaction, and we are seldom together but that we discuss several of his many characters. Ah, but Dickens was indeed a wonderful delineator of character! My own experience with Dickens has been that his characters are so clearly drawn, so vividly painted, that an indelible impression is made upon the mind. I've read books by the score, and in a few months the characters become dim and indistinct. Not so, however, with the characters of Dickens. They stand out clear and distinct and we no more get them mixed than we confuse our friends when we meet them on the street. Again, Dickens wrote of the past, of his present, and almost with the pen of prophecy he wrote of the future. His characters are all around us today. We meet them every where. Again, Dickens played upon every emotional chord of the human heart with the consummate skill of a mastc*_niu*lcUuv who played upon a harp of a thousand strings. Quite recently an eminent scholar of my acquaintance, in response to a question, informed me that approximately 75 per cent of the books that are written die a natural death in a few short years. But Dickens wrote imperishable books and his place In literature Is secure for all time. Is it not strange that one can find all around us today multitudes of people who have not the slightest acquaintance with the works of Dickens. What a pity that it Is so. There is yet something stranger still, and that is, to find a number of scholars, so-called professional men,?so-called ?who are not even on speaking terms with Dickens! For average people who haven't read Dickens there may be found some excuse. But for the man who has enjoyed educational advantages there Is no excuse, and we can't help having for him a feeling slightly akin to contempt. A man may call himself educated, he may be the possessor of a half dozen diplomas and medals, and yet who has failed to make himself fanillar with standard works, and especially the works of Charles Dickens, his education Is, to say the least, defective and incomplete. As stated at the outset, no literary criticism is herein attempted, for to dc so would require ability, time and stace. If, however, the perusal of this short, desultory- article may awaken an (interest In or in any way influence eten one young man or woman to read the intensely human books of Charles j Dickens, the writer will be amply repaid and more than satisfied. W. S. Gordon. Yorkville, S. C.. 2-13-'12. ROYAL SUICIDES OF UGANDA. Monarchs Who Never Allow Themselves to Become Old or Infirm. Some of the peculiar customs of a ptstoral people of Uganda, known as tie Banyoro, are told by the Rev. John Roscoe. He said that when once a king was enthroned his person became sacred and his food was restricted to milk and beef from a sacred herd of cows, which were kept apart from otier cows. The Banyoro monarch never allowed himself to grow old or his faculties to Income impaired. When he thought h? was going to be seriously ill he filled a council, arranged the state afalrs with the principal chiefs withoit giving them any reason for thinking that he was about to die, and dlsnfssed them to carry out his Instructi>ns. Then he returned to his private h?use and summoned his chief wife aid ordered her to bring a cup of polscn. He drank the contents and In a few minutes was dead. The widow thereupon called one or two of the p-incipal chiefs, who prepared the b?dy for burial. For as long ?,a possble the death was kept secret. Each diy the milk and beef were brought tc the royal residence and enquirers were informed that the king was sufficing from an indisposition which reqiired him to rest. In the meantime the chiefs were engiged in making private arrangements t? guard the body and protect the sacked herds of cattle during the wars uhinh xvnniri follow on the announce nent of the death. When the news lmked out the sons of the dead king fiught among themselves, brother klllhg brother. The survivor became king aid attended his father's funeral. At the ceremony several of the widows of the deceased king were clubbed t? death, as were the cowmen and the c?ok. Other widows took poison. All tie bodies were placed in the grave, tie idea being that their ghosts should ninlster to the ghost of the king in tie next world. When the last king cime to the throne the country was n Bitlsh protectorate. According to the medicine man the "rod" was displeased and indicated tiat the first person seen coming along a particular road should be slain over tie drum In which human blood was vont to be poured at each coronation. Ihat unfortunate person happened to le a tax gatherer, an Englishman, who vas accordingly decapitated. The "nedlclne man" was arrested, but the Jidge liberated him with a caution, taking the view that he acted out of bnorance. The drum, however, was Irought by the speaker to England.? london Standard. ittiscrUatuous Sradiitfj. WOODROW WIL80N. About ths Man Behind Whom tha Maaaaa Ara Lining Up. "The great voice of America doea not come from seats of learning. It cornea in a murmur from the hills and woods and the farms and factories and the mills, rolling on and gaining volume until It comes to us from the homeci of common men. Do these murmurs echo In the corridors of universities? I have not heard them. "The universities would make men forget their common origins, forget their universal sympathies, and Join a class?and no class ever can serve America."?Woodrow Wilson. If this man is nominated for president of the United States at the Baltimore convention, it will be due to the fact that the masses of the Democratic party will take no denial from the politicians and bosses of the Democratic party, and if he shall be elected president of the United States it will be due to the fact that he stands Inveterately opposed to and is the relentless enemy of all there is In politics and government that such men as Tim Qmllh rAnroapnt Without tnsln uatlon against or aspersion of any other Democratic aspirant. It Is but the truth to say that Woodrow Wilson Is the man against whom is directed the flre of corrupt big business and the malice of depraved big bosses. This is manifest to the least observing. When he was nominated for governor of New Jersey, that Jim Smith set had not the slightest doubt that they owned him; but when they came to Investigate they found that Wilson owned himself. Two of them were in Baltimore a few days ago and they assailed Governor Wilson bitterly, calling him "ingrate," "self-centered," many unprintable epithets in addition. Here Is one of their indictments. "Wilson let Smith work for him for governor. He let Smith spend $100,000 In electing him, and then he turn[ ed him down flat. He never knew him after election. Why? Because he thought Smith might prove a detriment to his candidacy for the presidency, and so he threw him over. Look what he did to Harvey." Now, If Jim Smith spent $100,000, or $10,000, or $15,000, or $1, in that election, he spent it for Jim Smith. He wanted to be United States senator, as he was in 1894, and his intention was to do what he did before? defeat tarlfT reform. No doubt Jim Smith's vote In the next congress would be worth twice or thrice $100,000 to the leather trust that has made him a very rich man. Wilson rejected |his alliance, as later he rejected the aid of Jim Smith's fellow-millionaire, Tom Ryan. It was not the money of Jim Smith that elected Woodrow Wilson governor, but the character of Woodrow Wilson that elected him. The bosses awakened to find that Wilson was not with them nor of them. A native of old Virginia, of that indomitable Scotch-Irish race that has wrought so potentially to make our government the best and our republic the greatest of the nations, Wilson is the son of a beloved Presbyterian clergyman. He lived in Georgia and South Carolina, where he was a pupil In school, a teacher of youth, and a lawyer at the bar. He was educated at Princeton, of which institution he was subsequently the head. He also is a graduate of the law department of the University of Virginia. In addition, he was a fellow of Johns Hopkins, where he took a degree. He taught in Pennsylvania and in Connecticut. Appointed a professor of Princeton, he was raised to its presidency, an office he held when he was nominated for governor of New Jersey. Governor Wilson Is a student in the best sense of the word?he thinks profoundly on what he reads. He is gifted with the genius of taking pains, and recognizes that excellence is the fruit of labor. He is the author of several books, some of which are now standard, notably his "Congressional Government," "The State" and "A History of the American People." Before he was 30 he was an eminent publicist, and no man of the present day is better fitted for the public service of a free people. He is a practical man. an administrator. He is a creative genius, and he can make paths where there were none before. He is a man of destiny if there be such a one now on the public stage. He Is a man of courage and preeminently independent. He could have the unanimous support of knavish big business for a wink or a nod. He scorned to bid money for the nomination. He ofr fers character for it, and his is the highest bid as well as the best. Woodrow Wilson Is a Democrat In social contact as well as a Democrat in political principle. He is as approachable as the late William R. Morrison, and "free ofT-han'" his story 'eiia Hia afvle is onen. simole. terse. direct, virile. His sincerity is manifest in every word. I take the liberty of inserting what one of the shrewdest observers of the newspaper press says of him?Marmaduke B. Morton, of the Nashville Banner: "Wilson's capacity for looking after details is enormous?to me almost beyond conception. He never seems to spare himself, and yet he seems to come out always with steady nerves and a smile upon his countenance. As a sample?while president of Princeton he was his own stenographer. He is a good shorthand writer, and uses it extensively?or did?in his every day life, taking copious notes of things he wants to remember. He comes here frequently, and is one of the most popular visitors to the Banner gang. He is a genuine Democrat, and sits around the office and talks snakes with the snake editor, horses with the horse editor, sports with the si>ortlng edlJtor, borrows any vacant desk upon which to write, and makes himself generally at home." This the man who said that the great voice of America comes "In a murmur from the hills and woods and the farms and factories and the mills, rolling 011 and gaining volume until It comes to us from the homes of common men." There spoke the constructive statesman, the contemplative philosopher, the ardent patriot, the simple Democrat, the admirable gentleman. This country needs a man. Even more acute than when old Menelaus Agrippi in the early days of the Roman commonwealth patched up the quarrel between patrician and plebeian by a recital of the fable that told of the strife between the stomach and the ) members of the human body, Is the breach between the privileges of the i rich and the burden of the poor. That breach must be closed that dissension composed, that tumult quieted If peace Is to reign In our republic. There Is but one remedy?Justice, and justice always means equal opportunity for all. The people believe that there has been favoritism practiced In the enactment of the laws'and In the administration of the laws. This opinion is deep-seated, and pervades all communities where there are hewers of wood and drawers of water. Ore set gathers where another strewed. In the division of profits capital gets too big a share. Nay, the Republican party announces that the law must insure the profit of capital, as witness the following from its platform of 1908: "In all tariff legislation the true principle of protection is best maintained by the imposition of such duties as will equal the difference between the cost of production at home and abroad, together with a reasonable profit to American industries." The duty Is levied to protect the product, which is the property of capital. But lafcor, mental and physical, must protect itself, while It is taxed to protect the steel trust, that declares It cannot protect Itself. That is the chief abuse with which the reformer has to deal. That Is the enormity which will tax all his powers?the eradication of every purely protective feature of the tariff. On the tariff question Woodrow Wilson is as sound as a trout?sounder than some of his rivals you may wot of, one at least. That is why so many guns are trained on him. That Is why predatory wealth Is so anxious to beat him for the Democratic nomination. If he would allow Wall street to finance his campaign and to believe he was a reformer in speech only they would not say a word to his prejudice. But they know him. Knowing him, they fear him. Fearing him, they hate him. And by that same token the people love him for his enemies, and no man was ever more fortunate In his enemies.?Savoyard. THE PARCEL8 P08T. Startling Facts From Well-informed Authority. Kepresentative Lewis of Maryland, spoke recently on his pet suojeci, "fostal Express," and was heard by a representative assemblage of members and visitors, says a Washington special to the Baltimore bun. He said: ...... "The high cost of living problem before the nation resolves itself into a simple proposition. It is how to transport small shipment*?quantities to suit the ultimate purchaser?trom producer to consumer. This sort of transportation is now denied and the high cost of living is an Inevitable result. "The railway does business entirely by wholesale. Its minimum is the 100-pound shipment Its transportation practices, especially its transportation accounting, render it incapable of economically handling the small dhipment. One does not look at the freight depot tor packages dispatched to tne consumer. The railway charges, based upon the handling of the larger shipment, impose an unconscious, unintended, but none the less prohibitive, penalty upon the movenidnf nf onv small ahinmant* tc% mflT ket by that transportation medium." Mr. Lewis read the list of twenty operations essential to the dispatch 01 a shipment by freight, no matter how small the package. "We look to the express company to carry small packages," said Mr. Lewis. "it ought to ao, but it does not; It cannot. The express company follows the railway lines. It does not and cannot reach the 25,000,000 farmers and other ruralliles who comprise nearly a third of our population. It has to sustain a transportation accounting of eleven needless Items to every package, Involving an enormous and unnecessary expense which should and could be covered by a postage stamp. Its rate making processes are unnatural. "In ten countries of Europe, not blessed with express companies, but possessing an express service run In the public interest, the average express charge is Ave times the freight charge. Our express companies exact fifteen times the average freight charge, three times as much as the European shipper pays." Mr. Lewis argued that while express rates are too high their practices are such that the exorbitant charge is mainly absorbed and no margin left upon which regulation may seize; and he declared that no regulation can successfully be attempted through the Interstate commerce commission. "Parcels post is not the remedy," Mr. Lewis declared. "Eight cents a pound, or $160 a ton, even if nationwide, is no answer to a condition that can not survive an average express charge of $31.20 a ton?less than two cents a pound. The local merchant needs a reduction of rates if he is not to be throttled by the mall order house. He needs a preferential rate and his location deserves it. No law that discriminates against the local merchant, that imposes a rigid limit of weight or of overcharge against his use should be written on the statute books. "An adequate system should include a unified system of transportation from farm to city and city to farm, with no gaps of double cost to seller or buyer. To get sucn a system iow rates enjoyed by the express companies are necessary, and no private plan can ever give the desired benefits, because no private necessity for profit will ever admit the public service motive. The public management will articulate the country and the town, cut the express rates in half and develop a new industry?suburban gardening, where the poor man who has worn out his best years in industrial occupations may end his days in peaceful tilling of the soil, doing hjs share to reduce the high cost of living. A few days ago a shipment of two dozen eggs, a dressed fowl, three pounds of butter, three pounds of sausage, ten pounds of country cured ham and half a bushel of apples, which cost on the farm $2.85. was sold in Washington Centre market. 20 miles away, for $5.55. If we could have sent this my postal express to the consumer, the cost would have been 25 cents for delivery, and one family's high-cost-of-living problem solved. "These necessaries are Indispensable: and it is the duty of congress to give serious consideration as to whether they can afford to neglect this opportunity to thus afford at once a wide market on one hand and a chance for life on the other to millions of our fellow-countrymen, when doing so can injure no legitimate interest anywhere." Mr. Lewis was congratulated by Republicans as well as Democrats on his speech. Judge Prouty of Iowa, told him that it was one of the best speeches he ever heard in the house. MANILA'S OLD FORT. 8antlago Wai Built Mora Than 300 Yaara Ago. A score of miles down the bay from Manila, right at the very front door of the archipelago, lies hidden on Corregldor Island a veritable hornet's nest of masked batteries. According to the Overland Monthly, these batteries make the Port Arthur emplacements of yesterday seem like mere oldfashioned toys, and paper ones at that. The Gruson turrets, made of concrete and steel and sunk on rock foundations, natural or artificial, in the deep," resembling huge gray turtles sticking up out of the water with protruding gun barrels for necks, occupy Ell Fralle and other small islets in the vicinity, while old hump-backed Corregldor is covered from crest to shore ? line with guns, a honeycomb of underground cement tunnels, pits and runways, wireless equipment, electrical apparatus, searchlights and other contrivances to aid In repelling an enemy. When it comes to age and romantic history*, however, old Fort Santiago is far ahead of Corregldor. Manila's walled city, a town In Itself, consisting of several city blocks with paved streets, business houses and large dwellings, is surrounded by a stone wall about thirty feet high and from thirty to forty feet thick. The walls once were skirted on the outside by a deep moat, filled with water, having drawbridges at the various gates. Most, If not all, of the moat has now been filled In, but r.o doubt the walls will stand for years, If for no other reason than for their historic interest. Of this vast yet crude system of defense Fort Santiago stands as the key. What the Tower of London is to England, what the Vatican la to Rome, what the Bunker Hill monument is to the United States, Fort Santiago Is to the Philippine Island*. The Spanish Invaders made Manila their headquarters In 1671 and began to fortify It about twenty years later. The first stone construction was the circular wall, which is still standing. Since the American occupation of the fort its armament has been taken away and the buildings within the parks have been converted Into barracks and storerooms. Commodious office buildings have been erected on top of the walls along and overlooking the Paslg, and here the commanding general of the Philippine division has his headquarters. In one of the beautiful parks within the fort is located the military arsenal, with its big steam and electric workshops. Some of the maps and plans of the fort are now In the British museum, in London, where they were carried after the British conquest of Manila. The fort, mostly In its present form, has stood for 300 years. There are all sorts of stories floating about concerning secret chambers In the walls and wings. So far as the secret chambers are concerned, there is some truth in the rumors. The filling of the old moat closed many of the entrances to these chambers, probably forever. When the wall In Calle Aduana was removed, an Inner chamber was found filled with human skeletons. Natives have a wholesome terror of the old Dlace. and absolutely no de Ire to see anything below the surface of the thick old walls. Americans who, with electric lamps, have started explorations, have given up, owing to the foul air, crumbling passages and other hindrances. Only three flags have flown above Fort Santiago. For S28 years the 8panish ensign was unfurled to the tropic breexe, except for the brief time the British flag supplanted that or the rightful lorda The hoisting of the third flag is well known to all Americans. Brains is Brains New. Trusts are good customers for brains, said President Hadley of Tale, in an address in this state a few days ago; they employ so many talented men that even the universities have to depend largely on men who love teaching for its own sake. Likewise, we might add, the public business, when well performed, is principally carried on by men who glory in public esteem, which they value more than money. If the trusts can pay greater salaries for scientists, financiers, executives, statisticians and experts generally, the United States the greatest corporation of them all. should be able to. This Is a blessed age for brains. Three or four hundred years ago any exhibition of them was rewarded by gibbetlng or burning at the stake; now such things are good for $25,000 a year. The universal attitude toward smart people once on a time was indignation. "Discovery" of anything was at the peril of one's life. No doubt Wilbur and Orville Wright would have been hanged for witchcraft In 1640; and Edison would have had to "recant" or flee to Rhode Island, where they permitted some intellectual novelties. We have grown more liberal. People are permitted to write any kind of novels and Invent automobiles, both of which continue to be very. much of a problem; but we are* not afraid of problems; we welcome them. We even yearn to have our minds disturbed by them, and we organize crusades to disturb other people's minds. If you can't earn $25,000 a year with your brain, you can make many who are earning it work for their money.? Exchange. A GOOD BILL THIS. It Wants to Prohibit Aliens From Voting in 8outh Carolina. The bill Introduced in the lenate on January 25 by Senator Chrlrtensen of Beaufort requiring that only citizens will vote In the primary elections, has been passed from second reading to third reading In the senate. . This measure is important. rr?ui_ Will M... A?l?lMa||,r tin. 11119 mil WCU9 UI IgllUMi/ I V|fVl tvu Ml* favorably, but, on motion of Senator Christen8en, the unfavorable report was laid on the table. Senator Earte questioned the advisability of the bill, but the other senators convinced him that it was a good measure. The full text of the bill follows: "That hereafter only citizens of this state, or other citizens of the United States, who have been residents of this state for at least one year, with the bona fide intention of becoming citizens of this state, shall be entitled or allowed to vote In any primary election. state, county or municipal, in this state; and that upon a person offering to vote, and His vote being [challenged for non- itlzenshlp, the [challenge being accompanied by an affidavit of some registered voter, made of his own knowledge, or on information and belief, to the effect that such [person is not a citizen, as defined above, he shall not be allowed to vote, [unless he file with the managers at the polls his affidavit that he is a cltzen, specifying whether born or naturalized, and if naturalized, exhibit to the managers his certificate of naturalization."?Columbia State.