"
THE TOWN SQUIRE
"Doing very little business today,"
I thought to myself as I walked up
to.th? front door of another house
and pressed the bell button. 1 had
danvaeeed more theua half of this j
small town, and tad made but throe
sales. Presently I heard footstep#
on the hall floor within and determined
to do my beat to make a sale
here. The knob was grasped, the I
door partly opened, a woman's face j
appeared. The instant she, caught
sight of me she threw up her hands
and exclaimed, "Oh, my goodness,"
and fell to the floor in a swoon.
Horrified by the sight, I did not
have the presence of mind to act
instantly, hut stood there gaziug at
the helpless woman. The next in-,
stant some one sprang up on the
porch behind me and struck me a
blow on the head, which sent me
Pealing over the railing to the pavement
below.
"Murder! Murder!" my assailant
was veiling. "He has murdered this ;
woman. Hold him! Call the constable
! Run for the doctor." hp cried.,
Two men ran up, pounced upon me j
and pinned me to the ground. Soon
two nonstable* ap;>eared. handcuffed j
me and raided me to my feet.
AM this had taken place so quickly
that I was unable to comprehend
what it really meant, hut now I understood
ray situation. They were;
holding ine for the condiliou of that i
woman, and I k?**w I must prove my
innocence.
"Officer," I said, "I have done,
% nothing; there must be some mistake."
"That's enough of that," said the |
officer, stopping me off abruptly. |
That game won't work with me.
You have struck that woman, and
? mark iuy word, you'll suffer for it."
1 could say no more, but had to
make the besi of mv predicament.
The crowd which liad now gathered
sent up a cry of "Lvnch him!" ami
1 cau tell you my thoughts in the
midst of this angry and menu less
crowd were far from placid.
The officer now came out of the j
house. "Did he kill her? Is she
dead vet? Was her skull fractured?"
were the cries I heard as the crowd
rushed to him for information.
"She is coming around all right." ;
said the officer, "but he must hav?
hit her an awful blow, for that gash
on her head is a dandy." 1 could
scarcely keep from answering this
charge, but. knew that pleading to
these men would mean nothing, so 1
remained silent.
|
"March him off to the squire. :
Bill," he continued, adddresaing the |
officer in charge of me. "1 will be !
there presently." He took s tighter
Hfllrl An in if a n?n ...? ? * 1. ? * 1
VU ?uy nu.l, II1C a J tT I I\ II1HI
almost threw me from my feet, and
roughly said, "Come along here,
you."
I could make no resistance, and
marched by hi* aide to the aquire's :
office, with the crowd at our heels, i
The sight of the old squire decidedly j
lowered my courage. He was one of 1
those curious-looking old country
folk, rough in appearance, tall. ;
lanky, 9light.lv stooped in fonn, with
a long white beard, partly discolored
with tobacco juice, and a pair of
spectacles poised on his nose, ower
which he looked at me with a pair
of sharp eyes.
'Die other countable, who had remained
behind, now arrived, and the
first witness was (railed.
He testified thus: "While I wan'
walking up Main street today 1 saw 1
a man on the porch of Mrs. Hams'
house, but took no particular notiee
to him. l*reaently 1 heard an awful
cry, turned around and 3aw Mr*.
Harris fail backward into the hall.
I knew this fellow," pointing to me. |
"was the cause of it, and before he
could run L sprang over the porch
railing, knocked him down and went
.to Mrs. Harris' assistance. She was
just barely breathing, had blood
trickling from an ugly wound in her
forehead, and beside her was a stoat
stick with whioh he must hare
tunned her."
"Did you see him hit her?" asked
the squire.
"No, I did not," answered the wih- |
new.
1 could stand this no longer and
decided to appeal, regard let* of who
had tbe floor.
"Squire," I said, "I have been in i
moat of 1 hese people's homes today," j
pointing to the crowd assembled,:
"and have carried nothing with me j
but my sample case."
Peeling sure that they would at
leant tell the trnth in a matter of
this bind, I continued: "Ask any of
these people if they have seen am
with a stick in my hand at any time
today."
The squire put the question thus:
**la there anyone in this room who
has seen this man carrying a stick
^ or club?"
"Yea, I did," said an untidy-looking
man in the corner. "He passed
' my house this morning with a stout
stick in his hand, the very stick I
aaw on the floor sf Mm. Harm'
hall." I
/
I could do nothing. The"other men
of thin crowd, I suppose, considered
an opportunity of speaking on this
occasion, whether a truth or an untruth,
a real honor, for, when questioned
by the squire, they all conflrmsd
the miserable lie.
"That settles it," said the squire.
"Bot/' protested I, "you have hot
JtfftTU mj siue of Uie i^ueStivS."
"J have no need to," answered the
bull-headed old man. "The evidence
of those citizens has proved that you
are guilty. You will he confined in
the town lockup until the results of
that woman's injuria have been definitely
determined. Officers, take
him there at once."
Out* of the office I waa marched,
and headed directly for the lock-up.
Imagine mv feelings as I caught
eight of that dingy old loek-np in
which I waa to be confined.
.Inst then I saw an auto approaching
at break-neck speed. "If that
fellow don't slow up." said one of the
<?tficers. "I'll {mil him in."
But the car made a decided decrease
in s|>eed, and the neit inatant
halted at our side. '
"Where are you taking that man ?"
n woman occupant asked of the officers.
I immediately recognized her by
the death-like face which l Imd last
seen lying !>efore me in the doorway
Sot her home.
"Taking him to jail," replied the
officer.
"What for?" asked the woman, in
an excited ione. as she now raised
herself from a reclining position to
an er?M-t [KXJture.
"Now don't get excited," said the
innn sitting beside her. who evidently
was a physician, "better sit hack and
rest."
"But, officer," she ooutinued, "you
have not answered my question.''
"What!" cried the officer. "Don't
you know this man? We are taking
hirn to the lockup for attacking you."
"Me? Attacking me?" she exclaimed.
"That man is innocent.
Please take him bock to the squire.
I will go with you and show you
your mistake."
Those words, to me, were like a
message from heaven. The offii-ers
hesitated, but the phvsiciau insisted
on their going, and, upon the request
of the chauffeur, we tnree seated ourselves
in the auto and whirled hack
to the squire's oftit*. The idea of
coming before this squire again was
not a favorable one.to me, for, after
the outrageous decision he had just
given. I did not know but that 1
might receive worse treatment at his
hands this time.
When we reached the squire's the
crowd of a half-hour before had
gone, and everything was quiet. The
doctor, Mrs. Harris, two officers and
myself entered the office.
"I am sorry to trouble you," said
the woman, addressing the squire.
"I am Mrs. Harris, the woman
whom this man has been accused of
assaulting, and I desire to prove hit
innocence."
"Mrs. Harris," said the squire,
"can ?4)ii account for vour ...v?w4.'
t ion ?"
"Yes, sir," she replied. "1 did
net hour this man ring the hell, I
opened the door by chance, and the
unexpected sight of him caused me
te fall to the floor in fright."
"Didn't he strike you?" asked the
quire.
"No, sir," answered the woman.
"Well, then," he continued, "account
for that gash on your forehead
and the stick that lay beside you."
She explained thus: 'While falling,
I was still conscious., and remember
mv head striking the hall
rack, causing this gash, and the stick
on the floor was dropped there by
my little sen. who had been playing
horse."
"Mister," satd the squire, "you are
innocent."
My handcuffs were removed. I
heartily thanked the woman, but not
the squire, and took the next train
home.?Philadelphia North American.
VENTILATION MUCH NEEDED.
Ventilation of motion picture tba?
aterrs urgently demands attention in
moat ot our cities, in t'luoago, which
has about 600 of these institutions,
with a daily attendance of about
500,000, the department of health
has adopted the plan of issuing certificates
to all theatera having ventilation
systems of proved efficiency,
and urging the public to patroniae
no theaters where theee certificates
are not displayed. l/?t ua hope, saya
the Scientific American, the next
object of attack will be the hermetically
sealed street car.
Coins of mall Value.
Doubtless the smallest coin (n the
; Aorld circulates In the Malay per.lncla.
simply a thin wafer made from
' .he resinous juice of a tree, and has
urrent value of about 1-I0,000th of a
em. In the southern parts of Russia
the peasants use a coin of such
?mall value that a quarter of a mil*
Ion of them are worth no more than
1.25. The old Japanese mouseng was
worth 1*112th of an American cent.
In Portugal the reis la the loweel
standard of value, but no 1-rels
pieces are colaei. A Issla piece la
efelrales* te tlMtki efsesst
THE F
BELLES OF DIXIE
VIE AT REUNION
Brilliant Fetes Planned For
Jacksonville Meeting
May 6, 7 and 8 To Be Memorable
Dates in Florida's Metropolis*?
Large Crowd Assured the Reunion
City.
Jacksonville, Fla?Southern social
circles are again taking an interest
ia the great social, military and aeutiaiental
annual meeting that brings.
together a crowd of from 7f>,0<?0 to
lr.o.nnn people to do honor to the exConfederate
soldier?the reunion of
the survivors of the Confederate arm- ]
Us.
The reunion is to be held this year
at Jacksonville, Fla., May 6, 7, S inclusive.
It is the flrat time that the
' ex-Confederates have selected Florida
as the reunion state, and uncommon
! interest attaches to the meeting here
< and throughout the South. Owing it)
the comparatively early date of the
reunion, the divisions, brigades aud
camps made their appointments of
sponsors and maids early, and these
ladies compose the social side of the
reunion. They are known as the official
ladies of the meeting, entertained
as such, and courted by the entire ?ociai
fabric of the South.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans,
following in the footsteps of their fathere,
maintain organizations in every
Southern state, aud hold their reunions
on the same dates. They appoint
sponsors and maids of honor.
The two organizations, closely allied,
therefore, send to each Confederate
reunion several hundred official ladies,
selected from the best families of the
South, that staud high In the social
scale in their com muni ties.
.Mapping out a social program,
therefore, for a Confederate reunion
Is a task that demands the beat of
talent la the entertainment lineThere
must be dinners, reception*,
balls, trips to points of interest around
the reunion cities and anything else
in the line of social eutertalnment the
committee may devise. The crowning
event of the week in society,
however, is the anuual ball for maids
and sponsors, if the reunion is held
lu a city where a hall large enough
to accommodate several hundred dunciug
couples at once can not be secured.
a dancing pavilion is constructed
for the occasion. This pavilion
consists of a large canvas tent, well
The Safe
Put your^1"*^
in sale Hands
Savings Bank
W. B. WEACHAM, President
aisasasHsasasggsasHsassasaj
did y
|[{ That we are better
& to fyrnish the best o
ju CROCERY line? Ti
jjj order and you will 1<
great advantage in
nl filled promptly with <
jjj on the market. The
K is par-excellent, oui
|jn perfect and we gladh
jfjl that proves unsatisfa
I PARKS CRi
I i r;:*,
( tH5a5gS5B5BSag5H5Hra5B5H5i
J. J. B>
LUMBER - R
YOU W
IftLw / THIS IS HOW
L V Buy 4 gals. L. & M- St
1 I i And 3 gals. Linseed Oi
lA / You then make 7 gals
If / Anybody can mix the (
LHi Whereas, if you buv
CANS, you pay $2.10
The L. V M. SEMI-MIXED RE At.
ZINC oiul LINSEED OIL. tin- best-i
| (toe ? gal. oat ol any L&M. PA1
fatal madr. rrtara th? faint a
ORT MILL
floored and (Tght*<f; IT (a also supplied
with comfortable aeata oa the grand*
stand order, where sereral thousand
j spectators may witness th% ball. If
! a reader has not seen one of these an*
nual balls at a Confederate reunion
he has but limited idea of its alse and
brilliancy. Nothing to equal it In
splendor can be seen in the United
States, unless it be the inauguration
ball at tbe national capital, now fallen
into social desuetude. If the Inaugu*
ration ball 1s put out of tbe contest,
; the annual ball of the Confederate re|
union, at which the maids and sponi
aors hold sway, is the greatest social
function of the United States.
The social side of the Jacksonville
reunion will be participated in by repr?H*ntatl
VPS nf all Snnlli?.n
the border states and a few western
commonwealths. There are sixteen
state divisions of the United Confederate
Veterans' Association, as follows:
South Carolina, North Carolina.
Virginia, West Virginia, Maiyland.
Louisiana, Tennessee. Florida, AlaI
bams, Mississippi, Georgia, Kentucky,
j Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Arj
kansas. Kach state sends large delegations
of young women to the reunion,
selected wuh regard to their
social standing at home. In addition
* to the state delegations, the comI
mander-tn-cliief has his own official
i ladies, chosen from the South at large.
There are thrpe departments, known
? the Army of Northern Virginia de|
partment. Army of Tennessee department
and Trans-Mississippi department
Kach department appoints
maids and sponsors and sends them to
all reunions. The scope of country
covered by these many organizations
has about half the population of the
United SlP.tes; hence, the interest in
a Confederate reunion is always widespread.
Society circles in all of this
| territory are interested in the Jacksonville
reunion, and the event will
bring here one of the largest '-rowds
of young people ever assembled in
: the South. Florida appeals to the
young, because of its flowers aud its
wonders- its poetry, its songs and its
attractive history. Klvers and ocean,
gulf and havs have ?n th.i
own. The palm and the piue, llveoak
and holly, and a hundred other forest
trees that abound throughout the
state as nowhere else on the contlI
nent. Invest Florida with an interest
as wide as the nation. Greater inter;
est attaches to the Jacksonville re,
union than to any recent meeting of
the Gonfederaies, and preparations are
; being made to entertain a large
crowd of people in May.
3110*1 CII'C IS THE ONLY
GENUINE mm salve
;st Hands
To handle your surplus earn.
ings are these of the veceivI
inf teller in our savings bank.
T When the money has passed
9^ into his keeping it begins to
fiB earn interest for you. it is
always secure and ready at
your call, and if you add a
tjk little to the hoard every week
jjk it will soon grow into a small
fortune, and from that into a
large one. Our reputation is
without a blemish.
of Fort Mill, I
W. B. MEACHAIi, Jr.. Cashier ||
lasassasasESHggsHSBsasasH
-KNOW 1
prepared than ever W
>f everything in the n]
y us with your next |fl
'am that there is a njj
having your orders ID
the very best eatables ^
quality of our goods jjj
r delivery service is nl
y take back anything J{]
ctory to you* H
Mai
DGERYCO. 1
<S. Manager. (j!
[g^ggsgsgs^^tesasaggs
\ILES,
AINTS - OILS
rour Own Paint!
ILL SAVE 60 cts. PER GAL.
MI-MIXED HEAL PAINT.
at $'2.10 per gal. - $8.40
1 to mix with it - - - 2.10
. cf pure paint for - $10.50
y $1.50 per gal.
3IL with the PAINT.
7 gals, of rcv.dy-for-use paint in
a gal. or $14.70.
PAJST is PURE WHITE LEAD
tnoii'ri f?.uHf materials for I .X) yi-?r.i.
[NT you buy. and it not the best
nd get ALL your mooty l?ac*..
*
TliviES
GREENLAND PARENT
j
"My sweetheart i? coming to call
tonight."
"Well, I want you to go to bed by
the brat of March; that is late
enough to sit up with any fellow."
FAVORS AMBIDEXTERITY.
Gen. Sir K. Baden-Powell showed
a marked artistic skill when yet a
child. His family treasures a spiribed
drawing which he made of some
I Arabs, leading camels through the
desert. The leader was represented
leaving pieces of paper to mark his
track for those who were following.
Thus early the head of the Boy
Scout movement showed his scouting
intuition. As a boy of twelve
he had made a collection of excellent
i sketches which his mother showed
to Buskin, expressing concern, however,
that her son drew with his left
hand. The master, after examining
the sketches with evident pleasure, j
said: "Madam, let your boy draw
wiih which hand he likes.'* The genj
era I has remained ambidextrous and
entourages scouts to cultivate tliia
useful faculty.
Many Like Salomon.
"I ain't never heard tell that 'ho i
Lord pays taxes or cuts the firewood. ^
or mends the roof when It leaks, or
g- Is shoes for the children, and all >
them things has got to he done. Solon.on
Hatch leaves things he dou't
like to do to the Lord. He gets me I
ami the Lord mixed up."?Kate j
Lanrly Kosher In "The llouse of I lap- .
PiUtMK."
f
Pair
you can do it
It's easy to gi\
varnish-gloss fii
colors.
AC
CAP
is made especia
and vehicles of j
finish that will
ideal finish for s<
Masse
Edisto High C
For Sa
McElhane
Fort Mil
i
? . 1
Quality, Purity tI
and Service"
is Qur Motto.
I
I here's only one w ay to know
when the other fellow's prices are
in line. That is to phone 8 or 14.
JONES, the grocer.
Phones 14 and 8.
>
I DISCRIMINATION f
>
*
^ >
? Should be used in the ^
> choice of the store at +
which you purchase t
? ^ou show the t
? best ?f Judsment if
\3U*~-?'8. &-%> u"u'uu ,a"s on t
JffV-7 this establishment. Z
t
A visit will impress you with the truth of that ^
?
claim. A single purchase of our Shoes will prove it.
____ i
M'ELHANEY & CO. !
' N . >
^ 7- ^
Li i our uwn
Carriage ^
yourself and at little expense,
re it a beautiful, hard, brilliant,
lish in black or rich appropriate
>
ME QUALITY
LRIAGE PAINT (Neal's)
illy to give to buggies, carriages
ill kinds, a tough, durable, glossy
look well and wear well. An
ettees, flower stands, porch furni
M
re, garden tools and all surfaces
i ? -
at must witnstand exposure and
ird usage. Ready to brush on
id the label tells how.
y's Drug Store,
Fort Mill, S. C.
L_
, > f . j Electric | "
irade Guano Bitters
le by Made A New Man O# Him,
"I was suffering from pan in mr
stomach, head and hack,"writes II.
_ . T. Alston, Raleigh. nTg*4^** my
\\ I j()IB liver and kidneyadidnoHrork right,
'J ' hut four bottles of ?le<rte Bitlars
made me feel tike anew man."
I S Q ^
? Stacks cf okl j aper for seta at T^a
! -Tknes olBc*.