Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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m ?* v. t v ;v<'l ' ' ? - ? By Peter IB. Kyme Copyright by Ptttr B. X]rgi WNU Serrto*. CHAPTER I Old William B. Latham lay on a wicker chaise longue In the veranda of his country house, Hillcrest, and pretended to be asleep ? a subterfuge quite In keeping with a certain salient characteristic of his which, quite early in his career, bad earned for him the not inappropriate sobriquet of "Crooked Biy/' Not that the old ras cal was crooked In the commonly ac cepted sense of that term as employed in the quaint patois of our times (In deed he was a most honorable man), l but because he was possessed of an ' uncommon degree of craft, of auda cious and generally amusing slyness, in business and out of it ? a sort of super-prudence born of uncanny in nate ability to read human nature. Such men are rarely deficient In a sense of humor, and Crooked Bill had found life more abundantly provoca tive of laughter than of sighs. He was* popularly believed to have more money than some folks have hay ; he had no wife to bother his life and he paddled his own canoe; also, he en Joyed excellent health. It pleased William B. Latham this late afternoon to pretend to be asleep in order that he might, from under the drawn-down rim of his hat, watch his late wife's niece engaged in a pastime peculiarly dear to that most attractive young woman, to wit, snar ing and breaking the heart of a youth whose manifest decencies appeared, to Crooked Bill, sufficient Justification for receiving from the young lady in question what her uncle and guardian described as "a whole lot of letting alone." With the ordinary run of young gentlemen who laid their vealy hearts at the feet of Miss Roberta Antrim, Crooked Bill had little sympathy and less patience. The majority of them were he-flirts, amusing themselves with Roberta as outrageously as she amused herself with them, or else frankly attracted to her as a moth Is attracted to a candle flame. Up to the present none of Roberta's rejects had committed suicide, although not less than four had vowed so to do. Crooked Bill had more than a sus picion, 'too, that, In addition to Ro berta's undoubted charms, the fact that she was his heir was not a neg ligible attraction to. her continuous and shifting entourage. In the case of the young gentleman who sat with Roberta on the stone bench under the elm, Crooked Bill could find no extenuating circum stances to adduce as to why Roberta should not be convicted of Inflicting cruel and unusual punishment. Glenn Hackett, to begin with, was of good family whero brains and money, in evidence for three generations, had always been used wisely. He was rather tall, loose-Jointed and angular, with a plnln honest face like a kind horse. He was thirty yenrs old, a lawyer and a good one, which ls.2o say that Crooked Bill gladly paid ifUn a large annual retainer. The old man's highest compliment for Glenn Hackett was that he had horse sense, and was the only man he knew who appeared to be as common and com fortable as an old shoe and yet wasn't. Crooked Bill wished he might have been privileged to hear what Glenn Hackett and Roberta were saying. However, he was a fairly accurate reader of gesture, facial expression and nods, so he wan assured that Hackett was proposing marriage to his niece. "It'll be like her to refuse him," he decided, "and him the only real man I've ever seen on the premises. And for once In his life he's doing all the talking while Roberta does the listen ing. I know that meek, sad resigned bend of f?er head while she tugs at her handkerchief and tries to appear surprised. She must have admiration from men or life Is a delusion and a snare) And now she's picked on a victim that's bound to back-fire on her, or I'm no Judge of men. Hello, he's talking too much I He's getting op pressive She's finding the going not i to her liking? ah, I thought sol" Crooked Bill drew his hat brim down over his nose, opened his mouth a llttlo and commenced to breathe In long even respirations. He heard the rapid patter of Roberta's little feet as she passed him and entered the house. In about Ave minutes he heard the firm, leisurely tread of Glenn Hackett following, and was aware, presently, that the young man had sat down In a chair beside him. So he pretended to sleep on for five minutes, then he stirred uneasily, gritted his teeth, alghed, /opened his oyes, and yawned pleasurably. ? "Well/ now that you haven't hrid your forty winks," Hackett observed quietly, "what's your opinion as to \-what my next move should be? I've Just Jilted Roberta!" Crooked BI11 sat up with the abrupt ness of a Jack-tn-t he-box, which, In all fairness, he resembled not a little. "Sfioot mo for a horse thief I" he ejac ulatod. "Played fast and loose with you, eh, hoy?" "No. Just tried to.* "So you threw the dally over your v. pommel and gave her the bust, eh? Three cheers for our side." "Cheer to your heart's content This poor devil isn't dying," Glenn Hackett retorted savagely. Crooked Bill looked cautiously around to make certain the door from the veranda to the living room was closed, for It was Instinct with him never to make a move until all the conditions were propitious. "1 hadn't you two were engaged, son." We weren't, although I think we could have been if I had been fool enough to Insist Bobby likes me tre mendously. I'm sure of that." "Like Is right I doubt If she'll ever love anybody, but If sho should I'm certain he'll be a married man with a Inrge family and unavailable from every point of view. You interested ner, son, far more than any of your predecessors, and I've seen them all come and go. I reckon that's because you were a mite harder to land than the othprs." "She's been expecting me to propose ror a month, and Just a little while ago I was fool enough to do it Sho looked so infernally proposable today ! And while I was doing It I looked at her steadily and noted the triumphant gHnt In her eyes, and a little self-sat isfied smile on her lovely lips. Some thing told me she was preparing the skids for me. So, no sooner had I popped the question and no sooner had she commenced to assure me that she hadn't remotely suspected this at tachment than I interrupted her and withdrew my proposition. I begged her not to think any more about it." "H? l's fire!" Crooked Bill was steeped in reveVential awe. "That got her blazing mad," Hackett continued. "It would anger a sheep," Crooked Bill agreed. "Roberta's mighty high and handsome In her Ideas." "I told her it had suddenly occurred to me that she could never possibly consider marrying a lawyer who grubbed for u living in the heart of New York's financial quarter. I told her I was quite certain that what she was seeking was a knight-errant and I wasn t It { told her I had suddenly mad? up my mind that It was all a hideous mistake and? But that's as far as I got." "She up and left you then, son? She was crying as she passed me. I didn't see her, but my hearing's right good B?y' y0U're a *Ift from !Iu\t0 p,ay your card? like that and shes yours without a flicker. That girl requires a whole lot a Hckln', but she's only got to be licked once!" hand1?" WOnder,n8r If 1 overplayed my "What If you did? She didn't have even a dirty little deuce to trump your ace, did she?" * "I suppose I startled her. rhi a little bit afraid, Mr. Latham. She Plays fast and loose with a man She s a confirmed flirt" "They mnkd awfu, K0Qd wlyeg you halter-break 'em," Crooked Bill suggested. 1 "How do you know?" I married one and she was that girls aunt. Roberta comes by her misfortune honestly. All the Bar rows women were romantic. In fact Roberta's mother ran away with an end man in a minstrel show She adored the Jokes that boy used to crack until he cracked one on her bv marrying her. She bore him Roberta and from that day until he died Ro berta ran him ragged and made the poor devil like It. He was a good end man but a poor Judge of Invest ments, and when he and his wife were killed In a train wreck, my wife and I fell heir to Roberta. She was eleven then My wife died ten years ago and I ve been riding herd on Roberta ever since. "I fear you've made a bad Job of It, Mr. Latham." 'Well, you can't bar me for tryln' " Crooked Bill responded calmly. "The girl's sound at heart, but cursed with a face and figure that'd make Helen of Troy look like a Navajo squaw In comparison. She has brains, she has poise ? " "Not any more," Glenn Hackett In terrupted gloomily. -I've Just upset her poise I" Crooked RID Indulged himself in a very mirthful little chuckle. "Well at any rate, she's n very good dear sweet girl, he defended finally. "She can't coquet with me She want, to be pursued. I'm a busy man and I ve pursued her for a Jear. and you know, Mr. Lathnni. as well as I do, that whenever she has another hZnUt* kI"1"'1 "h? ft,waJr? devotes nerself to him and Ignores me." o~ t0 ,f you'" get Jeal Crooked mil stroked his chin and spftt a thin amber stream over the veranda railing. "Tell you what you do, son, he announced presently, and Glenn Hackett leaned forward to Jis ten to the words of wisdom from the oracle. "You stay to dinner Just as If nothing out of the ordinary had oc curred Itoberta'll dine In her room. If she has any appetite at all, which I doubt, because the mald'll tell her you're still here and she'll think that's indecent of you. Let her think It. Continue to come out uninvited and unexpected whenever the notion grips ] you, when she gives you the dead face you grin at her like a Chinese I Idol and tell her how winsome she looks In that new dress. Continue to advertise yourself, son." ? ?????? Pausing not an instant In her pre cipitate flight from the most amazing and impossible male biped she had ever encountered. Roberta Antrim fled to her room, locked the door, lay down on her bed and Indulged herself for ten minutes In that delight of her sex customarily known as a good cry. "The wretch I" she soliloquized. "The odious boor I He had the ef frontery to talk to me exactly as If I were a refractory client Instead of the girl he had but a moment before as sured he loved to distraction. Oh, dear, what humiliation 1 I hate him, I hate him. Til never speak to him again as long as I live." When a woman has come to that conclusion, quite usually she flnds It time to cease vain repining and weep ing, lave her Inflamed eyes with some soothing lotion and powder her nose. So presently Roberta did all of these things and while doing them ap praised herself very critically In her Ha Heard the Rapid Patter of Ro? berta'a Little Feet. mirror. She knew she had a medium sized, well-shaped head covered with the sort of golden-tinted auburn hair which so many women attempt, but which few achieve. She had the sort of rich creamy skin that goes with such hair; her eyebrows and eye lashes were darker than her hair, their luxuriance conveying a hint of Celtic blood. Her eyes, large, brown and a trifle sleepy, owing to her acquired trick of gazing up at men from nnder the lids, were Ideal for setting the reason of an Impressionable male tottering on Its throne. Her nose had Just es caped being snubby and was tilted at so gentle an angle as to confer upon hA* a faintly haughty expression when her face was In repose. She had a short, beautifully curved upper lip? which adorable malformation per mitted much too easy a display of even, hard white teeth. Her lower lip was full, tender and Just a shade will ful. Her chin was full and aggres sive, her body beautifully formed, lithe as a cat's and suggestive of abounding health and much outdoor exercise. Despite her almost startling beauty one realized instinctively that Ro berta was not (sentimentally speak ing) a clinging vine. One felt, too, that she had n healthy temper, despite her perennial good nature and her tolerance for her own sex. As a mat ter of fact Roberta did possess a tem per readily aroused, but stye had the saving grace of refusing to admit It except under extraordinary circum stances. i Appraising herself In her mirror, Roberta reflected with a sort of sweet bitterness that she had dressed that afternoon with an eye single to Im pinging herself upon the cool, quietly Impersonal glance of Glenn Hackett. "If I were a girl who wore diamonds to the breakfast table," she told her reflection, "there might have been some excuse for his gauche conduct. One moment he had proposed and the ' next he wan withdrawing the proposal. I wouldn't have accepted him on a bet, nice as he Is and comfortable as he Is to have around, but he might Genius as Understood by Old English Writer By genius I would understand thnt powor, or rathor those powers of the mind, which arc capable of penetrating Into nil t.h!n*?n within our reach and knowledg e nnd of dlst'ngulshlng their essential differences. Theso are no other than Invention nnd Judgment ; nnd they are both called by tlio col lective nnmo of genius, as they nre of those gift* of nature which wo bring with us Into the world; concornlng ench of which, mnny seem to have fallen Into very groat errors; for by Invention, .1 believe, In generally un derstood a creative fnculty, which would Indeed prove most romance writer* to have the highest pretentions to It; whereas by Invention In renlly meant no more, end so the word sig nifies, than discovery, or finding out; or, to explain It at IftTge, a quick nnd sagacious penetration Into the true es sence of all the objects of our con templation. ? Henry Fielding. Relng hnppy In Inrgely forgetting. ! have given me an opportunity to uy sol He was terrible 1 He gave aie the Impression that. In one revealing J moment, he had seen something in me that revolted him ? and I'm not re volting, I'm not, Tm not ? " Once more she gave way to tears, but not for long. She dried her eyes and applied the powder rag. And then the real reason for her charm ? the reason men adored her and made love to her ? presented itself. Ro berta was a good sport ? none better, and hated a quitter with all the strength of her vital, intelligent souL She made a little grimace at herself. "Well, Bobby Antrim, you took a man's-slze beating, didn't you? That Hackett imbecile isn't dull, ait any rate. And I did start to say something banal ? all about never having sus pected his attachment! I see it all very clearly now. Right there little Bobby went blah I Yes, that was a sour note ? and he has an ear for music. That man-animal has some pride ? and I had thought they all had ego!" She sat down In a low rocker to think It over very carefully. As usual, her resentment and rage were disap pearing at the double ; she was only sensible now of a feeling of humilia tion, not so much because of what Glenn Hackett had said and done as because she had failed so miserably In feminine adroitness to meet an ex traordinary situation. In a way of speaking lie had demolished her. Par alyzed her powers of Initiative and In ventiveness and left her helpless to defend herself! ground her to a pulp! He had proved to her what a monu mental failure she had turned out to be In an art where, to quote Crooked Bill, she was supposed to be 150 per cent perfect ! Suddenly Roberta began to laugh. "Thinks he's won a great victory," she decided. "Well, like John Paul Jonea, I have not yet begun to flght. I'll bring that unusual man to his knees and when I have him there I'll ? well, ! I'll not do anything so unladylike as to put my foot in his face, but I'll laugh at him ! I swear I wllL I'll laugh out loud !" There Is always a feeling of com fort when one has come to a decision after wrestling with a knotty prob lem. Roberta had her poise back again; she felt again that she was ready to conquer new worlds and make them like it. She went down stairs and found Glenn Hackett and Crooked Bill In the library enjoying cocktails. "Have one, honey?" her guardian asked coaxlngly. "A tiny one?" "No, thank you, Uncle Bill. Give my share to Mr. Hackett. He's going to need It to give him courage to face the future." "Bah !" Mr. Hackett replied rudely. Ho caught a wildly approving wink from Crooked Bill and decided to leap In over his head. "Sour grapeB," ho added ? a bit vlperlshly, Roberta thought. Roberto smiled with exceeding po liteness. but there was coolness In the smile. Crooked Bill noticed her chin had gone up about a quarter of an Inch. "Let's be good friends, Glenn," she said In her most Ingratiating and fascinating manner. "You are so In telligent one cnn't help being attracted to you, and usually you're very nice. Really, if your bank account should ever be brought to Jhe sear and yel low lenf you should set up as a for tune-teller and mind-reader." "I thought I hod read yours cor rectly. I see now I did not." "Indeed, you did. You're marvel ous." "You'll marry me when I get ready to mnrry you," he (Charged amiably. "Why, you tell Jokes, don't you?" "Time!" Crooked Bill saw that the Issue was for from clarlfylhg. "No more of these lovers' quarrels, Ro berta. Glenn Is stoylng for dinner, fou'll Join us, of course, honey?" "Why, certainly, Uncle Bill. How delightful, Glenn !" Any man who thinks he can out fence a woman Is a fool, and suddenly Glenn Hackett realized he was all of that. Such realizations always disturb a manly man. "If I remain for dinner, Mr. Latham, I fear I'll not be able to do Justice to your excellent cuisine. Therefore, with your permission, Bob by, and yours, sir, I'd like to motor back to town." Crooked Bill was upset "H ? l's flrel" ho exclaimed, using his most formidable oath. He had placed his money, so to speak, on young Hackett and now the ingrate was running out on him, to employ a colloquialism. He was prepared to enter a vigorous protest, but the maid, entering with a telegram, rendered that lmppsslble. "A telegram for you, Miss Roberta P ?Thanks, Minna. May I?" With up lifted brows to her uncle and his guest, she commenced to tear the en velop. "She's very polite, no matter what her other faults may be," Hackett re marked to Crooked B11L Roberta Ig nored him and read aloud: "Los Algodones, Texas, "June 21, 1925. "Miss Roberta Antrim, Hlllcrest, Dobbs Ferry, N. Y. "Your uncle Tom had an argument with a cowman yesterday stop There will be a funeral tomorrow stop I got your address by frisking Uncle Horn on whose person I found your letter to him of the second Instant stop If you Insist I will send him to you charges prepaid stop However If you will take the advice of a well-inten tioned stranger you will permit him to await the trump of resurrection In the land his sheep made fallow stop If you have any Interest In his estate I suggest you take steps to protect It stop If unable to do this Immediately wire me authority and I will take charge of It stop Most usually I am honest stop Reference Federal Trust company El Paso. "JAIME MIGUEL HIGUENES." "H? l's fire!" Crooked Bill's voice was the first to break the silence when Roberta had finished reading this re markable communication. "It's true. There Is a God that marks the spar row's fall ? and your Uncle Tom was a bird !M "Well, now that he's dead, Uncle Bill, you might be charitable and speak kindly of him. At least he was my last of kin," Roberta chid the old man. "All right, honey, I'll not say an other word." Glenn Hackett thought the situa tion, while a bit clouded, deserved the customary consideration. "I'm very sorry, Bobby," he said. "That's kind of you, Glenn. Unfor tunately I never knew Uncle Tom ? had never seen him, that Is.* It's too bad, of course, but really poor Uncle Tom wasn't a very lovable character, I'm afraid." "He was a turkey buzzard," Crooked Bill declared with finality. "Roberta's paternal uncle," he went on to explain for the benefit of Hackett. "He took to associating with sheep. I reckon the old bandit must have been worth considerable, and so far as I know, Roberta, you're his next of kin. So it looks as If you're In the sheep bxffel ness In Texas." Roberta read the letter again. "Judg ing by the name of the sender of this telegram, Jaime Miguel Higuenes, It would appear that Texas boasts at least one very intelligent, very thoughtful, very frank and very humor ous Mexican. He expresses himself like an educated American. Uncle Bill, you spent a great many years down there. Do you happen to know the Higuenes family?" Crooked Bill's face had worn his most crafty smile while Roberta was speaking, but now It was blank and expresp'onless. "It's been twenty-five years since I operated in Texas, Ro berta. Higuenes! Higuenes I I can't seem to remember anybody by that name." "It would appear," Roberta decided presently, "that I have need to en gage a lawyer to investigate Uncle Tom's estate." She glanced with frank interest and approval at Hackett. "Certainly. Of course," Crooked Bill agreed, and thought more kindly of Uncle Tom for having provided an opportunity for these two to forget their recent differences and be friend ly again in the name of business. "Hackett is the very man." "Hackett isn't," that harassed per son declared with finality. "Jaime Miguel Higuenes is. That man is hon est and fearless. I can tell that much from his telegram. Also he gives bank references. If you desire, Roberta, I shall telegraph the bank ho men tions. If the bank's reply would seem to Indicate the advisability of requesting Higuenes to take charge of your Uncle Tom's estate for the present, may I send him a telegram, signing your name, and requesting him to do so?" ? Roberta was rereading the telegrnm. "I think." she declared, "that Jaime Miguel Higuenes must be a perfectly fascinating person. In twenty-three words ho gives one the whole dramatic story of a bloody shooting scrapo out on the rango and gives one the im pression? In fact, the conviction? that the result was no surprise to him and that he is not sorry the tragedy oc curred 1 He Is resourceful, not squeamish and has initiative, because In the pursuit of Information he dared to pick a dead man's pocket. He Is kind and friendly and thoughtful and wants to help n person he hns never seen, and he Is a man of substance and takes a justifiable pride In his personal and financial standing." "Oh, those Spanish dons are as proud as Lucifer," Crooked Bill as sured her. (TO ntt OONTINtJICD.l MercolizedWax Keeps Skin Young 0*lM??tMMdi!Mu4|raetod.flMMr?ltiMO(M?l ?kit imuI uaUI *11 aW?oU ?ueb M UmpWa. U?*r ?pot*. Ul and fraekUa dlaappaar. Skin la than soft Md rtlvaly. Your Iim looka ran rwiin. Marouliaad Was brlac oq? tb* UiMw Miutjr of jrour akin. T* MMM ?Hmm um ont ounoa Powdaiad Suolha (Uaalnd la ost^ktl piat wtvch haaal. At drai atoraa. Sunshine ? All Winter Long At th? Foremost D*??rt R?vort of th? W??t ? marvalout dlmata ? warm svnny day? ? d?ar mtarllt nighta? dry invigorating air ? tplcndid road* ? gorgaout mountain ?c*n??? flnwf hotoU ? ?h? idoai wintar home. Writ* Or ? A Ohaftty PALM SPRINGS California Scientific Advice for the Short in Stature News for short men. Do not de spair, for you may yet add a cubit to your Btature, If you but lie down. Height, says Dr. Carroll K. Palmer, Increases slightly in the reclining in dividual. The Increase varies with height and sex, and Is somewhat greater in men than in women. The observed extension was some times as much as one Inch. Doctor I'almer came upon this odd phenom enon in the course of an Investiga tion at Johns Hopkins for the pur pose of finding a basis of comparison between the height tables of infants. OIL Strep? No manor bow largo or aanaittvat CARBOIL quickly atopa throb* binfl pain. npana and oftan haaia wont boll ovamlgtit Owt CAR* BOIL today from drujflltt. Sootfcaa pain, hoal* boUt, torn, bttea, ate. Generous box 80c, Sourlock-Ntai Co. Na?hvtUa.Tann. Fore?t Fire Damage It pays to prevent ifVes in forests and woods. Foresters measured tree growth for 13 years on two plots of longleaf pine In North Caro lina, one plot being burned over each year and the other being kept free from fire. The trees on the tire protected plot grew 19 per cent fast er in height, 0 per cent quicker in diameter, and 22 per cent faster in volume. HAVE Beautiful Skin ? soft, smooth, clear, "pink and white" ? the matchless completion of youth. Sulphur purifies, clears and refreshes the skin. For beautifying the face and arms use R?klu4'i Styptic CoIIm 23c Glenn's Sulphur Soap Oonulna BMi Put* Balphur. At Drngglsts. 72 Years at Same Bench Having rounded out 72 years at the same bench for the same firm, Jn Aberdeen, Scotland, Alexander Ingram recently was presented a wallet of money and a cane by fel low employees. Ingram started Ills apprenticeship when only twelve at the bench at which he now works. ALMOST FLAT ON HER BACK Aching back I Will it never stop? She's nearly desperate* LydiaE. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound has relieved "feminine troubles'* for over 50 years* All Settled Mary ? "I hear you Intend to teach lifter you are graduated ?" Carrie ? "Yea, and I have the man already picked out." Some women's only Interest in liffl Is to dress to kill. Watch Your Kidneys/ Dont Neglect Kidney an<t Bladder Irregularities If bothered with bladder Ir regularities, getting up at night and nagging backache, heed promptly these symptoms. They may warn of some dis ordered kidney or bladder con dition. For 50 years grateful users have relied upon Doan's kPilk. Praised the country over. LSold by all druggists. Doan's I A Diuretic for th? Kidney* t