Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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^RUPERT flUGHES NOVELIZED FROM WE COMEDY OF TflE SAME Mm. T T T CHAPTER XXXVII. . Down Brakes! Just aa Kathleen flung her head In baffled vexation, and Mallory started to allnk back to Marjorte, wltk an other defeat, there came an abrupt shock aa If that gigantic child to whom our rati road trains ara toys, bad reached down and laid violent bold on the Trans- America* In full career. Its smooth, swift flight became sud denly such a spasm of Jars, shivers and thuds that Mallory cried: ' "We're off the track." He was seat flopping down tka aisle like a bolster hurled through the car. He brought up wltk a aickeaiag slam across the seat Into which Marjorie had been Jouaoed back with a breath taking slam. Ami then Katkleea came flying backwards and landed In * beap oa both of them. 8everal of the other passengers were just returning from breakfast and they were shot and scattered all over the car as If a great chain of hu man beads had burst. Women screamed, men yelled, and then while they were still struggling against the seats and one another, the train came to a halt. "Thank Ood, we stopped in time?" Mallory gasped, as he tried to dlsen* gage himself and Marjorle from Kath leen. The passengers began to regain their courage with their equilibrium. Little Jimtnle Wellington had Jiowa the whole length of the car, cllngtag to his wife as If she were Franceses da Rimini, and he Paolo, flitting through Inferno. The flight ended at the stateroom door with such a thump that Mrs. Posdlck was sure a detec tive had come for her at last, and with a battering ram. But when Jimmle got back breath enough to talk, he remembered the tralnnstopplng excitement of the day before and called out: "Has Mrs. Mallory lost that pup again?" everybody laughed uproariously at this. People will laugh at anything or nothing when they have been frightened almost to death and sud denly relieved of anxiety. Everybody was cracking a Joke at Marjorle's expense. Everybody felt a good-natured grudge against her for j being such a mystery. The car was ringing with hilarity, when the por- | ter came stumbling In and paused at j the door, with eyes all white, hands j waving frantically, and lips flapping ? like flannel, in a vain effort to speak. | The passengers stopped laughing at J Marjorie, to laugh at the porter. Ash- | ton sang, out: "What's the matter with you, por- ' ter? Are you trying to crow?" Everybody roared at this, till the porter finally managed to articulate: "T-t-t-traln rob-rob-robbers!" Silence shut down as if the whole ] crowd had been smitten with paraly- , sis. From somewhere outside and ; ahead came a pop-popping as of fire- 1 crackers. Everybody thought, "Re volvers!'* The reports were mingled , with barbaric yells that turned the marrow in every bone to snow. These regions are full of hlstorlo j terror. All along the Nevada route the conductor, the brakemen and old travelers had pointed out scene after scene where the Indians had slaked the thirst of the arid land with white . man's blood. Ashton, who had trav- , eled this way many times, had made himself fascinatingly horrifying the evening before and ruined several breakfasts that morhing in the dining car, by regaling the passengers with stories of pioneer ordeals, men and women massacred In burning wagons, or dragged away to fiendish cruelty i and obscene torture, staked out supine on burning wastes with eyelids cut off, bound down within reach of rat tlesnakes, subjected to every misery that human deviltry Could devise. Ashton had brought his fellow pas sengers to a state of ecstatic excit ability, and, like many a recounter of ? burglar stories at night, had tuned his own nerves to high tonslon. The violent stopping of the train, the heart-shaking yells and shots out side, found the passengers already apt to respond without delay to the ap peals of fright After the first hush of dread, came the reaction to panic. Each passenger showed his own panic In his own way. Ashton whirled round and round, like a horse with the blind staggers, then bolted down the aisle, knocking aside men and women* He climbed on a seat, pulled down an upper berth, and, scrambling Into It, tried to shut It on himself. Mrs. Whitcomb was so frightened that she assailed Ashton with fury and seising his feet, dragged him back in* to the aisle, and beat Mm with her ( flats, demanding thai he protect her and save her for Sammy** sake. Mrs. Fosdick; rushing out of her ataterpom and not finding her 1ue> clous-eyed husband, laid hold of Jim* xnfe. Wellington and ordered, | go to tie rescue of ber speuse. Mra. Wellington tore ber hands loose, err lag: MLet hltn go, madam. He bee a wife of bit own to defead." J 1 ramie was tryhag to pour out dy lag meeaagea, and only sputtering, for. gettlag that be bad put bis watch In bis mouth to bide It, though its cbala was still attached to bla waistcoat. Anne Qattle, wbo bad read much about Cblaese atrocities to xalsalow arlee, gave bsrself up to death, ret re JeSced greatly tbat she bad provided a timely man to lean on and should not bare to enter Paradise a splaater, providing she could manage to con vert Ira In the next few secoads, be fore tt waa ever lastingly too late. She was begging her first heathen to join ber In a gospel hymn. But Ira waa roaring curses like a pirate capiat* la a hurricane, and sweartag that the villains should not rob him of bis bride. Mrs. Temple wrung ber twitching hands and tried to drag her husband to bis knees, crying: "Ob, Walter^ Walter, won't yon pleaae aay a prayer? ? a good strong prayer?" But the preacher waa ao confused that he answered: "What's the use of prayer In an emergency like this?" "Walter!** she shrieked. "I'm on ray va-vacatlon, you know," he stammered. Marjorle was trying at the seme time to compel Mallory to crawl under a seat and to find a place to bide Buoozleums, wbom she was warning not to say a word. 8noosleums, un derstanding only tbat bis mistress was In some distress, refused to stay In his basket and kept offering his services and his attentions. Suddenly Marjorle realized tbat Kathleen was trying to faint la Mai lory's arms, and forgot everything else In a determined effort to prevent her. After the first blood-sweat of abject fright had begun to cool, tbe passen gers came to realise that the lnvadera were not after lives, but loot. Then came a panlo of miserly effort to con ceal treasure. Kathleen, finding herself banished from Mallory's protection, ran to Mrs. Whltcomb, who had given Ashton up as a hopeless task. "What shall we do, oh, what, oh | what shall we do, dear Mr?. Welling- ) ton?" she cried. "Don't you dare call me Mrs. Well-l ington!" Mrs. Whltcomb screamed; then she began to flutter. "But we'd better hide what we can. I hope the rah-rah-robbers are gegentlemen men." She pushed a diamond locket con taining a small portrait of Sammy In to her back hair, leaving part of the chain dangling. Then she tried to stuff a large handbag into her stock ing. " r - -~--j Mrs. Fosdlck found her husband at last, for he made a wild dash to j her side, embraced her, called her hit ' -wife and defied all the powers of Ne- ! vada to tear them apart. He had a brilliant Idea. In order to save his fat wallet from capture, he tossed It through an open window. It fell at the feet of one of the robbers as he ran along the side of the car, shoot ing at such heads as were put out of windows. He picked It up and dropped It into the feed-bag he had swung at his side. Then running on, he clam bored over the brass rail of the ob servation platform and entered the rear of the train, as his confederate, driving the conductor ahead of hiia, forged his way aft from the frost, while a third masquerader aligned the engineer, the fireman, the brakemas and the baggagemen. i CHAPTER XXXVIII. Hands Up! All this time Lieutenant Mallory had been thinking as hard as am of ficer in an ambuscade. His harrowing experiences and incessant defeats of the past days had unnerved hlqi and shattered his self-confidence. He was not afraid, but intensely disgusted. H? sat absent-mindedly patting Marjoria on the back and repeating: "Don't worry, honey; they're not going to hurt anybody. They don't , want anything but our money. Don't worry, I won't let *em hurt you." But he could not shake off a sense of nausea. He felt himself a repre- j eentative of the military prowess of | the country, and here he was as help less aa a man on parole. The fact that Mallory was a sol- ' dler occurred to a number of the pas sengers simultaneously. They had been trained bj eariy studies in those beautiful works of fiction, the school histories of the tThlted States, and by many Fourths of July, to believe that the American soldier Is an invincible being, who has never been defeated and nsver known fear. They surged up to Ifallory in a wave of hope. Dr. Temple, being near* est, spoke lint Having learned by experience that hie own prayers were not always answered as he wished, had an Impulse to try some weapon ? i t :? v ;? * - '? ? ? he had never UMd. "Young Qiao/' be pleaded across tb? back of a seat, "will you kindly load BM A guar' u ? ? Mallofy itwwMod euliealy : "tftae fa lm my trunk qu the trala ahead, dame It If I had It I'd have A lot Of fua." M r?. Wbltcomb bAd An Inspiration She ran to bar berth, And cam* beck with a tiny silver-plated revolver. 'Til load you this. Sammy gave it to ma ta protect myself la Nevada!" Mallory smiled At tba .21-caHber toy, broke It opaa. and displayed an I ?tapir cylinder. "Where are the pllla tba* go with itr be AAld. "Ob. Banay wouldn't lot ma have any ball eta. Ha waa afraid I'd hurt myself." , MaHmt returaed It, with a bow. *lf | would make aa excellent nutrcraoker." "Areal you sola g to uae Itr lira Whltoemb gasped. "It'a empty/' Mallory explained. "But the robbera don't know that! Coulda't you Just overawe tbm with itr "Not with that," aald Mallory. "uxv leas they died laughing." Mrs. Wellington puabed forward: "Thea what the devil ere you going to do wbea they come?" Mallory answered meekly: "If they request it, I aball bold up my beads." "And you won't realatr Kathleen ga aped. "Not a resist." "And he calls himself a soldier!" she sneered. Mallory writhed, but all he said was: "A soldier doean't have to be a jAokAff. I know just enough about guns aot to monkey with the wrong end of 'em/.' - . a . "Coward!" she flung at blm. He turned white, but Marjorte red, and made a leap at bar, crylag: "He's the bravest men in tbA world. You ssy a word, aad III scratch your eyes out." This rebeertened Mallory a little, and he toughed nervously, aa be re* attained her. Ketbleea retreated out of danger, with a parting shot: "Our engagement is ofT." "Thanka," Mallory said, and put out his hand: "Will you return the brace letr "I never return such things/* saM Kathleen. The scene was so painful and such an anachronism that Dr. Temple tr^ed i to renew a more pressing subject; "It's your opinion then that we'd best surrender?" "Of course ? since w? can't run." ' ' j Wedgewood broke in Impatiently: ! "Well, I consider it a dastardly qut? rage. Ill not submit to It. I'm a Bubjeot of- His Majesty the ? " "You're a subject of His Majesty | the Man Behind the Gun," said Mai- i lory. "I shall protest, none the leas," ! Wedgewood Insisted. Mallory grinned a' little. "Have jrou any last message to send home- to your mother?" J I Wedgewood' was a trifle chilled at ! th,le. "D-don't talk of such things** he j said. And by this time the traift'-H)tMters had hastily worked their way through the other passengers, and reached the frantic inhabitants of the sleeper, /'Snowdrop." "Hands up! Higher!! Hands up!" With a true sense of the dramatic, the robbers sent ahead of them the most hair-raising yells. They arrived simultaneously at each end of the aisle, and with a few short sharp com mands, straightened the disorderly rabble Into a beautiful line, with all palms aloft and all eyes wide and wild. - One robber drove ahead of him the conductor and the other drove in Mr? Mannlng, whom he had found trying to crawl between the shelvea of the linen-closet. The marauders were apparently cattlemen, from their general get-up. Their hats were pulled low, and Just beneath their eyes they had drawn big black silk handkerchiefs, tied be* hind the ears and hanging to the breast. Over their shoulders they had Blung the feed-bags of their horses, to serve as receptacles for their swag. Their shirts were chalky with alkali dust* Their legs were encased In heavy chaparejos, and they carried each a pair of well-used Colt's revolvers that looked as big as artillery. When the passengers had shoved and jostled Into line, one of tht; mea jabbed the conductor in the back wit* the muzzle of his gun, and snarled: "Now speak your little piece, like I learned It to you.'.' The conductor, like an awkward schoolboy, grinned sheepishly, and spoke, his hands in the air the while: "Ladles and gents, these here par* t(es in the black tidies says they want everybody to hold his or her hands as high as possible till you git per* mission to lower 'em; they advise yoa not to resist, because they hate the sight of blood, but prefer it to argu ment." The Impatient robbers, themselves the prey of fearful anxieties, broke in, barking like a pair of coyotes in a Jumble of commands: "Now, line up with your backs that way, and no: back talk. These guns shoot awful easy. And remember, as each party Is finished with, they are to turn round and keep their hands up, on penalty of glttln' 'em shot off. Line, up! Hands up! Qlve over there!" Mrs. jimmle Wellington took her time about moving Into position, and her deliberation brought a howl o| wrath from the robber: "Oct Into thai line, you!" Mrs. Wellington whirled on hlmi "How dare you, you brute T" And she turned up her nose at the gran. The anxious conductor lnterve%|A* "Better obey, madams; he's an uj* lad." gl "I don't mind being robbed*" said Mr*. Jimmle, "but I won't endure rudeneaa." The robber shook bin bend Id de spair, and ba triad to wltbar bar wttb sarcaatn: "Pardong, manually, would you ba ao kind and condeacendln' aa to step Into that there oar before I blow your husband's gol blame baad onr Tbla brought bar to terms. Hba hastened to bar place, but put out a restraining band on Jlmmla, who aeed* ad no restraint. "Certainly, to aave my dear buaband. Won't atrlka him, Jlmmla!" Tban eacb man atuck one revolver into Ita convenient holater, and, cov ering the paaaangara with the other, proceeded to frlak away valuablea with a apeed and agility that would have looked prettier If thoae Impa tient-looking muxilea bad Dot pointed here, there and everywhere with auch venomoua threats. And ao tbey worked from each end of the car toward the middle. Their banda ran awlftly over bodlea with a loathaome familiarity that conld only be reaented, not revenged. Their banda dived Into pockets, aad up uleevea, and Into women'a half, every* where tbat a Jewel or a bill might be aecreted. And alwaya a rough growl or a awing of t&e revolver ^ alien ced any proteat. / - Their belnoi^a Angara had hardly begun to ply, when the aolemn atlll neaa waa broken by a chuckle and low hoot of laughter, a darkey'a unctu ous laughter. At aucb a place It waa inore shocking than at a funeral. "What alia your' waa the neareat robber's demand. Th0 porter tried to wipe bla atream ing eyes without louring hla hands, us he chuckled on: "I ? I? -Just thought of aumpum funny." "Funny!" waa the unlveraal groan. "I waa Just thinking," the porter snickered, "what mighty poor plck Inga you-all are goln' to git out of me. Whilst If you bad 'a' waited till I got to 'FTiaho, I'd Jest nacbelly beeD oo* in' money.'' The robber relieved hinv of a few dlmea and quarters and ordered him to turn round, but the black face whirled back aa he heard from the other end of the car Wedgewood'a In dignant complaint: "I say, tbla 18 an outrage!" "Ah, close your trap and turn round, or I'll ? " The porter's smile died away. "Good Lawd." he sighed, "they're goln' to skfn that British lion! And I Just wore myself out on him." The far-reaching effect of the whole procedure was Just beginning to dawn on the porter. This little run on the bank maant a period of financial stringency for him. He watched the hurrying hands a moment or two, then his wrath rose to terrible propor tions: "Look here, man," he shouted at the robber, "ain't you-all goin' to leave these passengers nothln' a tall?" "Not on purpose, nigger." "No small change, or nothln'?" "Nary a red." j "Then, passengers," the porter pro claimed, while the robber watched him In amazement; "then, passengers, I want to give you-all fair warnln' heah and now: No tips, no wblsk broom ! " Perhaps because their hearts were already overflowing with distress, the passengers endured this appalling threat without comment, and when there was a commotion at the other end of the line, all eyes rolled that way. I Mr. Baumann was making an ef fort to take his leave, with great po liteness. "Excoose, pleass. I vant to get by, pleass!" ? "Get by!" the other robber gasped. "Why, yon ? ?** "But I'm not a passenger," Mr. Baumann urged, with a confidential smile, "I've been going through the train myself." . ? ? -"Much obliged! Hand overl" And a Tude hand rummtged his pockets. It was a heart-rending eight. "Ol ol!" he walled, "don't yon allow no courtesies to the profession?" And when the inexorable thief continued to pluck his money, his watch, his scarf-pin, he grew wroth indeed. 4,8top, I ?top, I refuse to pay. I'll go into bank, ruptcy foist." But still the larceny continued; fingers even lifted three cigars from his pockets, two fbr him self and a good one for a customer. This loss was grievous, but his wild est protest was: "Oh, here, my frlent, you don't vant my business carts." "Keep 'em!" growled the thi6f, and then, glancing up, he saw oh the ten der inwards of Mr. Baumann's up held palms two huge gllsteners, which their owner had turned that way in a misguided effort to conceal the stones. The robber reached up for them. "Take 'em. You're velcome!" said Mr. Baumann, with rare presence of mind. "Those Nevada nearlles looks almost like real." "Keep 'em," said the robber, as he passed on, and Mr. Baumann almost swooned with joy, for, as he whis pered to Wedge wood a moment later: "They're really real!" Now the eye-chain rolled the other way, for Little Jlmmie Wellington was puffling with rage. The other robber, having massaged him thoroughly, but vrlthout success, for his pocketbook, noticed that Jlmmle's left heel was protruding from his left shoe, and made Jimmie perform the almost in Credible feat of standing on one foot, while he unshod him and took out the hidden wealth. "There goes our honeymoon. Lu cre tla?" he moaned. But she whis pered proudly: "Never mind, I have my rings to pawn." "Oh, you have, have you? Well, IH be your little uncle," theltnetllng rob pt laughed, as he overheard, and he continued his outrageous search till he found them, knotted In a handker chief, under her hat. (Continued on last page.) n . * ~ - you' should take account of in * buying clothes is the way you will look in them when you are away from home, as well , as when you're here around town. , ........ .-<% ; V ' ? ' . ' ? v ?" ?. Hart Schaffner & Marx - . \ styles are not local; they're ? - It'' international ; the best models of English tailors, vjjM illustra ted in the designs of these makers ; and anywhere in the world you'll be well-dressed in these clothes. Do you want to see some of our new late fashions? In im ported and American weaves; grays, blues, tans, browns, cheviots; serges, homespuns, fine worsteds. I There are no other clothes made so satisfactory as these of Hart Schaffner & Marx. We can fit you any day in a fine suit at $18, $20, $25, $30, $35.