The ledger. [volume] (Gaffney City, S.C.) 1896-1907, September 26, 1895, Image 2
THE WEEKLY LEDGER: GAFFNEY, 8. 0., SEPTEMBER 20, 1895.
^ CtiPvmr.HT J19S ~
“All.
hon'.'st
ncv*'r
ri?ia%
■ Copy me ht U9S
"TEo^ovidence of my own i*yt.\s mi'l
ews.”
silence in the room was intense.
“Yes, Mr. Moderator, my own unprej
udiced observation. I myself have
seen her in his room standing' near the
window with his arm around her. This
very day, since preparing these charges,
in company with Capt. \Yixon, 1 found
this couple in his class room alo.e\
ifthe girl was weeping and again and
again crying in deep distress: ‘O.i,
what shall I uo if you go away and
leave me? What shall 1 do?'" lie
paused impressively, and, turning to
Grey, demanded: “Can you deny thi ..
young man?”
A dead silence followed; even Ids
friend the prospector eyed the school
master doubtfully.
A deep flush dyed Grey's cheek. “The
words are truly reported, the interpre
tation and tone of delivery false as |, r-
Jury.”
His explanation hung tire.
Wilders-broke the oppressive silence
by -asking if he might question the
minister.
“No,” said Wixon. “Yes,” said K !-
gerly, and Anally he was allowed to
appear as Grey’s friend and adviser.
He addressed Mr. Dodd.
“What church do you belong-to, sir?"
“That is no business of yours," was
the sullen response.
“Nevertheless,” interposed Gdgerly,
“I think you should answer.”
“Are you ashamed of it?” hotly con
tinued Wilders. “Speak out. man. Arc
you a regular parson? Got your certid-
cate? No bogus, and all that kind of
thing?”
“Well, sir," stammered Dodd, in con
fusion, “I am not what you would call
an -ordained priest; we have uo sin h
mummies in our church.”
“What is your church?”
“Well, the Hopkinsites. Our form-
are based on the simple principles of
the early disciples: to whom the .spirit
of teaching is given, he goeth out in e
the world and preacheth the truth."
“That will do. I guessed as much,'
sneered the prospector, as he took hi
seat, while the moderator hastily asked
what steps the board would take in t!u
matter.
“No immediate action,” said Kdgerly.
“If Mr. Grey is guilty, he can resign
his position without further scandal, as
I understand the proceedin'-- of thi.-
meeting art t< be k pit' •i-;..’
“That’s it,” interrupted Wixon; “the
best possible, course he can pursue. No
fuss. Called away on urgent private
affairs. Work too much for his consti
tution. Must have rest, and—"
“But,” added Kdgerly. “if he is inno
cent he is either the victim of unfortu
nate circumstantial evidence or ot u j
deliberate plot to ruin him. In that ;
case, let him stay and tight it out."
“Right you are, old boy,” cried the
prospector, wringing Edgcrly's hand.
“And you bet your bottom dollar, my
man will stop to face the music.”
The meeting was adjourned.
CHAPTER V.
A FRIEND IN NEED.
“Milly, dear, leave the coffee on the
stove and he off to bed. The pro
fessor and I are going to hold a pow
wow, and squaws are not wanted in the
wigwam.”
The scene was the interior of the
prospector's cottage; the dramatic per
sonae, Jack Wilders.his wife and Frank
Grey; time, twenty-four hours after the
events recorded in the last chapter.
“Squaw, indeed, Mr. Impudence,”
chirped the young wife, saucily. "I've a
great mind to assert my woman's rights
and sit up till midnight."
“Do, dear,” said Wilders, “that's just,
what I was driving at, I knew that
the best way to keep you with us was
to ask you to go.”
“Then, to sustain my character for
obstinacy, goodnight, Mr. Grey,” was
the gay reply; but as the little woman's
glance fell on the haggard face of her
guest, her heart melted, and she added !
with mucli feeling: "I know all .lack's j
secrets. Bear your trouble bravely, j
We are your friends and what Jack
wants you to do, is for the best. Trust
him as you would a brother.”
“Easy, easy, old lady, you're too ]
fast; you'll spoil it all. Women in busi- I
ness and hens in a garden - always the
same trouble.”
“You savage man, I leave you; but
remember, if you fail to bring Mr. Grey
to our way of thinking,! shall belie ve
that all your boasted tact isonly st rong
enough to impose upon an unprotected
female, who hasn’t the courage to re
bel.”
“Ah!” the prospector mused, casting
a proud, loving glance at the retreating
figure of his wife. “Did you ever see
such a woman? Nature made her, and
broke the mold.”
"Have you seen Wixon, Kdgerly and
the others?” Grey asked, too anxious to
bandy compliments.
“Seen them! I’ve been running about
all day, like a candidate, who wants to
save his country by taking office."
“Well?”
“Well, the whole concern boiled
down to facts means that Wixon holds |
two bowers and the joker, an’ you arc 1
euchred.”
“But his charge is so utterly, wildly I f or( i
in this tlx. If you stay hero you may
dear yourself,but you will never be able
to relieve that young girl’s character
of the stigma east upon it. Ill-natured
people will say that where there is
lire there must be smoke. A He that’s
half a lie is always the worst to fight,
as that poet that Milly’s so sweet on,
says.”
“I see all this,” Grey groaned.
“Well, the alternative is to fling up
the sponge. Just quit and leave the
game in Wixon's hands.”
“What! That would be to confess
our indiscretion. If the very children
are gossiping about us—”
“Gammon! There isn’t a man, wom
an or child in the city has said one
word about her, except those as
Wixon had at the meeting last night.
There isn't a living soul in the city as
guesses t he purpose of the meeting.
The captain played his cards uncom- -
monly smart, lie didn’t'want no in
vestigation. lie just wanted to get rid ]
of you; and, if he had not left this i
chance for you, lie would have had no !
price to pay you oil with.”
“And he offers?”
“He don't shoot straight at the mark.
He insinuates that if you will resign !
and leave these parts, he will keep
everything as secret as the grave.”
“But how can he? Who could curb
the tongue of that woman Clarkson, for
instance?”
“He can. That I know. He's got a
hold on her that ’nil shut her mouth as
tight as a squirrel trap.”
“And Susan Green?”
“Her father's Wixon’s private prop
erty. lie never uses no tools he can’t
dull or sharpen as lie wants to. That
sham parson is his, body and soul, and
the lubber Holbrook is already shipped !
off to Chicago.”
“And Mr. Kdgcrlv?”
, r <»ing
away;
you
e we
ri* idu'i
•rful.
yes t
he paii
i the
roubl
a you hi
luted
And
you t lionght
•y of
a long
fan-
hid o
f you—
kind
so much, El
sic?”
t!i
Kii'se
day,
im ;
of :
but
neither color;
his head will
. i .lit of his
jl j ;C'.=ik
h 1
/ & \ \ . cv ' v J f
“TRUST HIM AS YOU WOIT.D A nUOTHKB.’
Wixon
me t-
11
.1 ’! 1.
'.ever fear,
gerlv’s all
if t lie ni; -lit school,
absurd. Surely the child's nge might
have, protected her—”
“Hold hard, Grey. You forget Mu '
a bouncing slip of a girl sixteen years
old.”
“What!" the aclioolmaHtci s eyes
flashed fire. “Have yon a shadow of
(toubt In your mind concerning my in
nocence?”
“That you are aitting in this room;
that yon have just tulcen my Millie’s
brain.
You a.
right.”
“And myf
what will they s: y?"
“That you were bought off — sold
them—got your pile and skipped.”
“Then I muxt leave behind me the
reputation of a villain?"
“As I said before, you must either
sink yourself, or sacrifice the girl. ’
For a time there was silence. The
young man sat watching the clouds of
smoke that rose from his companion's
pipe, as though in them he would read
his fate. In imagination he saw the
the sweet,innocent, childish face with
the brown hair clustering round it, the
sad look of those pensive eyes, the
trembling movement of that beautiful
lip—and he held his hand out to Wild
ers and said:
“Jark, I irill go!”
“Spoken like a white man,” cried the
prospector. “Now we can go ahead
with full steam on an’ no danger sig
nals out.”
Long and earnestly they talked till
the first shrill scream of a steam w’ . 1st 1c
roused the miners from their sleep and
called them to another day’s duties
when they were but half rested from
yesterday’s.
“Stay a minute,” Wilders said, as his
guest rose to leave. “Millie wants mo
to give you this.”
He handed the young man a bulky,
sealed envelope, which he took from a
table-drawer.
“Just a woman’s whim — nothing
worth mentioning—but she said you
were to keep it in your pocket, an’ not
open it till you were a day’s journey
from Oretown.”
(1 rev’s face was shadowed as he stood
fingering the little parcel.
“Guess it’s some of those furze-flow
ers,” the prospector added unblush-
ingly. “Females is awful tender
hearted, an’ chock full o’ nonsense-
kind o’ forget-me-nots I guess—but take
of them for the little woman’s sake.”
“I will,’’Grey replied in tearful tones,
“and may God reward you both for all
you have done for me.”
“Goin’to Chicago for a visit, be thee?"
asked honest Mrs. Whitford at break
fast. “Hast thee volks down i’ those
parts?”
“No, Mrs. Whitford,” Grey replied,
“I have no business: my father and
mother died when I was a lad, and I
have never known other relatives.”
“P'raps,” interrupted the corporal,
jocularly, “wo shall see you tripping
hack with a trim little wife hanging on
to your arm.”
“No, Mr. Whitford; I never yet spoke
one word of love to living woman,"
Grey declared in slow, impressive tones.
“Lord, but I pity your bad taste,"
grinned tho corporal. "Why, when I
was a lad in the royal marines, I—"
“Howd thy tongue, mon,” Mrs. Whit-
interjccled. “Dtmnn thee see
going to Chicago on a vacation, and be
off without any painful betrayal of
emotion.
But this was not to be.
Tho last book was packed, tho last,
belonging put away, the last long,
lingering lookout of the window at the
lake, now a big plain of snow, fringed
by the pine-clad hills, the last - Ah,
what was that?
The door opened and Elsie Whitford
confronted him.
A child! Good heavens, it seemed as
if in a night she had grown into glori
ous womanhood. As she stood there in
tho strength of her young beauty the
scales fell from the eyes of the unhappy
man, and he knew he loved. Oh, how
he longed to take her in his arms and
tell her all he felt; hut. between her
and him was a chasm he dared not
cross—not yet—but who knew what
the future might bring foi th?
She seemed very quiet and self-pos
sessed—not a bit the e!uotion-tos:,od
Elsie he had pictured to l. nn.elf. Look
ing round the room at his corded boxes,
she said very quietly:
“You are going to leave us for good,
Mr. Grey, you are not coming back’to
Oretown ?”
"Yes, Elsie, I am
have guessed rightly."
Tho words and tom
but she read in his
parting cost him.
“On account of the troubl
at?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“I guessed as much,
to spare me the misc
well! Ah, that was kind
to the very last.”
“Shall you miss ni<
Manlike he was disappointed at her
equanimity, though he had so much
dreaded any ebullition of feeling.
“Good-by, Elsb!”
“Good-by, Mr. Grey!”
And that was all their parting, for
at that moment the prospector drove to
the door in his buggy to take Frank
Grey to the depot.
The prospector's horse was just such
an animal as he might be expected to
own—a quick, rough Indian pony,
with legs as clean as a deer's, whi h
was by no means inclined to let
the grass grow under his feet, but
Wilders was afterwards wont to de- {
clare that it was the longest mile he
overdrove, for his companion was more
inconsolable than a widow' at the loss
of her first husband.
As the steamer Idlewihl palled out
of the bay Grey sat gazing on the re
treating land, wondering whether ever
again he would see tho,a inhospitable
shores.
His heart was full of bitterness.
Why bad things gone so wr;n<;'? Well,
ve.i. If had after all been if IF *v 4 in
.. •. to Klsf \ ' r '•<!. but
who would have expected such a child
ns she was to have grown into a woman
in one single night?
Then lie took from his pocket the
package that Wilders had given him.
There was a spell of sentiment over
him now, and the dried gorsc flowers
would be a consolation, conveying
many pleasant memories; but. when
the envelope was torn open no yellow
buds were there, only ten twenty-dol-
lar bills wrapped in tissue paper and
a letter in Sirs. Wilders’ neat hand
writing.
“Use this trifle without compunction.
It is a free gift from your loving
friends, Jack and Millie.”
Then was added in the big, rough,
scrawl of the prospector:
“Don’t return this little pile. No
man goes back on my Millie's wishes
and calls me friend J. W.”
“Now, God bless their noble hearts!”
murmured Grey, us tears of deep emo
tion coursed down his cheeks.
month, Mrs. Whitford, and pay in ad
vance,” Elsie heard a voice say, as she
entered her foster-mother's house one
afternoon.
“Toiinc to pay, zer, when we ha’ ad
dled it: vor it be a’most as bad to pay
aforehand as not at all.”
“The word of the righteous is his
bond,“snuffedthe stranger, whom Elsie
WHITFORD CONFRONTED HIM.
bad no difficulty in recognizing as Dodd,
the Hopkinsite.
TO liK CONTI N UK I» NEXT WEEK.
how thy foolish clnvcr reddens Elsie's
cheeks." Then turning to tho girl, she
added; “Gan thee host finished thy
meal, my dear, gel thco to thy room an’
fettle it oop a Mt. 01 ’ull be wl’ yo
presently."
Grey seized on Elsie’s absence us a
good opportunity to finish packing, for
he was haunted with a painful dread
of arousing her suspicions of his per
manent departurr, feeling sure flint n
htntfin yours onawnrs that question,” long furewell would bo so hfrd for tliu
said fhe prospeutor with digu%. door oMH—»yo, «nd fhr Mw, too:
n I tartlets yon. Now telf the worst," wborras If Ml pins Kid not fkfl !w
my fry, job I wrttar fhs pwrtwro erf
CHAPTER VI.
A MOONLIGHT RAMBLE.
“Then I will take your room
for a
HEART DISEASE!
Fluttering, No Appetite, Could Not
Sleep, Wind on Stomach.
“For a long time I had a terrible
pain at my heart, which fluttered al
most incessantly. I had no appetite
and could not sleep. I would be com
pelled to sit up in bed and belch gas
from my stomach until I thought
that every minute would be my last.
There was a feelling of oppression
about my heart, and I was afraid to
draw a full breath. I could not sweep
a room without resting. My hus
band induced me to try
Dr. Miles’ Heart Cure
and am happy to say it has cured
me. I now have a sjjlendid appetite
and sleep well. Its effect was truly
marvelous.”
MRS. HARRY E. STARR, rottsvillc, Pa.
Dr. Miles Heart Cure Is sold on a positive
guarantee that tho lirst bott le will heneiit.
All druggists sell it at *1, 0 bottles for $5, or
it will bo sent, prepaid, on roccipt of prico
by the Dr. Miles Medical Co , Elkhart, lad.
GAFFNEY CITY RAILWAY CO,
Carroll & Co., Lessee.
The following schedule in effect
March (5. ISfio.
Leave Gaffney (Lipscomb’s Hotel)
8:80 a. in. arriving Cooper-Limestone
Institute 8 : lf> a. m.
Returning
Leave Cooper-Limestone Institute
2:1”) p. m. arrive at Gaffney 2:2.”) p.
m.
The Gaffney City Land and Improvement Company
)
Offer for Sale Building Lots in this Flourishing
OI
Town,
r y
Also Farms near by and in reach of the schools of Limestone Springs
and of this place in lots of from 30 to UK) acres on liberal time rates.
Also Agricultural Lands to rent for farm purposes.
For full particulars apply to
MOSES WOOD, Agent.
N. B.—All trespassing on lands of this Company cutting and removing
timber, fishing or hunting are forbidden under penalty of law.
Guns! Guns!
Pistols and Cartridges, Gun Caps and
Shells, Rubber and Leather Belting,
Hubs, Spokes and Rims, Iron of all
Kinds, Sisal Ropes. In fact we have
a good assortment of Hardware,
Smith Hardware Co.
Our Store
IS NOW UNDERGOING REPAIRS
but will be completed in about two
weeks at which time we will open
the most complete stock of
Fall and Winter Good:
EARTHOU
ES
Are wonderful demoralizing agents.
But, as they are only of a few moments
duration, the consternation and fran
tic effects on the people are soon over.
But such a quake as has occurred at the
Company Store in low prices, and is
being repeated daily and every hour
in the dayis never forgotten.
It’s rumbling noise is heard alike by
town and country, and its vibrations
have crossed county and State lines.
People are amazed at our bargains and
ask are we going to fail or are we sell
ing bankrupt stock. There are secrets
to all business and we are going to tell
ours. It is in buying! We have have a
resident buyer in New York whose
business it is to shop the markets daily
for bargains. We make bold the asser
tion that many lines of goods we buy
and retail for a profit for less than our
competitors pay.
We know we can save you 25 per
cent, on clothing, and similar amounts
on many other things.
Don’t forget our grand FALL OPEN
ING on Saturday, Sept. 23eh. Special
bargains on that day we cannot make
you on any other.
We expect one thousand children at
our penny distribution at 1 2 o’clock on
that day.
Come early and avoid the rush.
Store Gaffney
Co.
Tlxis ic'o for
WILKINS BROS
.vivrvoi
lOjviExiNrr
Woo It.
FINEST and BEST
iVIVI >
Ever shown in Gaffney. Wait for
the announcement of our Fall Open
ing in THE LEDGER.
That are made. And we sell them at prices to suit the times.
We invite your inspection when in need of anything in onr line.
Carroll & Carpenter. CARROLL, CARPENTER & HUMPHRIES.