Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE LEllOEIl i aAFFEET. ». 0., MAttCIt »l, 1*0<I. LOVt’8 BWEET REWARD. I care not for th< thorny way, Thoui,'!! wkioa bend Mack above me. The dark ninKM aweetly to the day, “You love me, dear—you love inul" The winter bloasoms as the May, And sweetest birds are sinxinx, Tlie atorm hath still the rainbow’s ray, Ami all life's bolls are ringing, And bright the night end dear the day, With stars or storms above me, While life shall sing and death shall say, “You love me, dear—you love me!” —Atlanta Constitution. i ONE NIGHT ONLY. Gentlemen, I am at a loss for words. In saying'* yon have done mo too much honor tonight I mean we are apt to for got that tho opportunity to take his tide et tho flood does not come to every etruggler. Now, mine—the speaker’s voice had halted curiously for a moment •—well, it spells an actor’s story that is f erhaps without parallel. There—never, never should I forget it—that day, I mean, when as a few of us were wait ing listlessly for instructions at ths «;ew suburban theater our brusque old manager panted in with a face as white as it was worried. And it was to me ha beckoned. i “Quick! This way, Strang!” Audi went after him into one of tho dressing rooms. “Here’s a go!” ho blazed out. I fee his arms waving uow\ “Here’s tho j lace alive with postersaud expectation, 'the curtain bonnd to go up in live hours ,to a packed house, and no one in tho wide world to play Karl Angel. No one! The opening night! It means ruin in a suburb like this. ” Up and down ho aveut striding, while I gasped, for Karl TVngel, as yon know, was tho pick of i*ho parts in “The Unknown Knight.” “Every ouo dying to hear Norman Caffyn, and hero comes a note to say he can’t possibly take it tonight—had an npsot or some fine thing. I wire off to tWentworth, tho man understudying Kim all along, and back conies tho con founded reply that he’s left homo*for jtiobody knows where. Strang!” Ho stopped and faced mo. “ You’ro not tho ijiushiug man I thought.” i “I’ll play it,” I said. Tho room had feomed to whirl round, but I believe I fnapptd my tooth on the words. At last, yes, but a man’s heait may sink very low while ho waits cu chance. Ho jiiuew well enough I had studied tho Wole from the very first, but ho had al ways givou this Wentworth tho prefer ence and poobpoohed my every desper ate attempt to rise superior to those (leadening minor parts. | “You will! You must! There's no ono else to take it. There, do your level best, and I shan’t forget it; neither will the public. Hang it, though, it means a half empty house tonight anyway, .■with Call'yu out of tho cast. I suppose I’m bound to stick up a notice. And ■what about the things—tho helmet, mail shirt and all? Annoying! I must «e*ud—uo, go yourself for them. Y'uu «au compare notes. Here’s his address— 'tho Strand hotel. Hurry off. You’ro quite sure of yourself, Strang?” he fumed nervously, and I spun round hotly. A thought had flashed through me. Blake’s estimation of a man's pow ers was notoriously worth having in those days. “Am I? Well, so sure, Mr. Blake,” I said, closing tho door, “(hat if Mr. Oaffyu himself only consented no ono ;but qur tftree selves need know’ thoro has been any change for the ono night. Centainly I mean it. If that can alter your fixed opinion of me, I’ll play Nor man Caffyn and Karl Angel, too, so that you or any ono else will never see a difference. I could be ill—any ouo could take my part—and yon can have your full house and advertisement. Is that agreed?' “Nonsense; you couldn’t. Never heard of such a thing,” ho whispered, staring at mo. Perhaps there was s< n.e thing in my determined front that «i.. v that impressed him. “You would Well, if you think he—it’s the opening night, too—there, I won’t say either way. You must see Caffyn. I’ll give you two hours. The idea!” Y’es, tho queer, daring idea! That was at 8 o'clock. An hour later, with the chance of my lifetime tltrust into my hands, I bad reached the city and was in a train on my way to Peckham. Short ns wasjtho time and thrilling the occasion, 1 meant to call home first and tell my youug wife what a wonderful thing had happened. She, who hud so oftcu cheered mo on, and brightened hours as dark for her as for mo, she should know, and be at the theater that night to see my first real bid for suc cess! Never nervous, I could doit, I knew—but to come on us Caffyn him self, and play Karl Angel as ho alone was supposed to be able to play it! In our height, size and pitch of voice, there was not a deal of difference—that was why it had occurred to mo to study his part at fho outsot. But would Caffyn drixim of allowing it? I could hardly dare-expect it. Whether or uo, that night's work would scud me springing up the slippery ladder, I knew. Hurrah ! “Nance, Nance!” I went up those stairs three at a time—the prospect seemed to buvo made another man of me, and shu—when she dropped that everlasting needlework and swayed up in a maze, I remember I held her at arms’ length. “It’s a guinea a kiss to day!” I laughed. And then, touched by the look on her pale, dazed face—we hud bad a real struggle.to beat back the wolf—I calmed down. “Pm quite sane, dearie! You said my chance would come; it has—the very night the now theater opens! Hay nothing to anybody, but be there by h, and see if you know tho man who plays Karl Angel. ’ A few moru quick breath* of explana tion and then I ran out—leaving her in a fit of tears and laughter together—and was hurrying w< stward to see Norman Caffyn. Great actor as ho was, I had uo sense of presumption at tho time, but simply sent up a card marked ‘‘ur gent.’’ I recollect, though, it did stem dreamlike us 1 was shown up the grant! ftnUcubo to his sitting room—still uior< so when, ns bn opened the door, I found him dressed, smoking a cigar and look ing precisely as usual—except, I thought, a trifle startled. ‘ Ob, it’s you!” He seemed relieved. “What's up? You’re to take my place tonight—you ! Ah, of course, you— why, what about Wentworth? Sure ly ”- “He’s not to bo found. Sorry to hear of your indisposition, Mr. Caffyn,” I said, wondering a little what it all meant. “Oh, no, you’re not!” Ho turned away rather sharply. Truth to toll, it struck me at ouco that tho thing was more or less a sham—but that was pure ly his own business. “It’s a rare chance for you. Of course, you happened to have just the cut and style. Wentworth not to be bad. Queer! That’s a bit of pique, I'll wager—he rather annoyed me some time ago and I had to remind him that he was only number two. And so you've come for the things? There they are, in that trunk, just us they were packed after the Midland tour. Take it us it stands. By Jove! I recl' n, then,” he went on absently, “Blak,. is a good deal put out: Has he posted an intimation:” “No, Mr. Caffyn,” I said, quickly, walking up close. “He has not, because I’ve taken the liberty of telling him there was no need—that I can take both parts.” It was out, and curious enough it souuded, but I gave him no time to gasp, and ran on with a tense coolness that must have startled him. “I’m not playing the fool, Mr. Caffyn; I shall not disgrace your reputation ! For years Blake has refused mo an opening, us you know, mid today I have as good as challenged him to this. The notion came into my head, and I can do it—if you’ll let me. This one night! No oho knows of your note, and”— “No oue knows!” ho put in breath lessly, catching my arm. “Why, it’s the”— There he stopped. If I had made some dreadful proposal, ho could hardly have turned whiter. “No, I—I couldn’t think of it,” he said, and sat down. For a minute or so I stood there staring at him, and then ho turned round. “All right, have your whim, man,” be whispered. “Let tho house find it out for themselves. Goon ! Hold hard, Htrang!” I had just snatched up the trunk, with a hoarse “Thanks for that, sir!” and was opening tho door, when he sprang up and blurted out. Ho had a hand to his forehead. “No, I’ve just recollected—I shall want that mail shirt and helmet and the rest for the fancy dress ball at tho club tonight!” That was it. We stood looking at each other; 1 could hardly play the part without them—especially in that last famous duel scene, where the unknown knight lifts his visor and stands revealed as Karl Angel. - “There, what’s to be done? It starts at 12, and I’m bound to he there,” he went on, staring past me very strange ly. “Ah, I know! Look here, don’t stop to change, bpt ns soon us the cur tain drops, jump into a cab and ucure straight here. 1 shall just have time to get iuto them and be at the club by 12. Now, don’t forget, Htrung, I want them to time particularly. Dash off tho mo ment you’ve killed your man and grip ped the verdict of tho house.” “Why, certainly, Mr. Caffyn; rely on that. ” I was out, and making back to the railway station in a whirl. Imagine! I seemed to ho treading on aiir; I wanted to give a great shout—but it was the time, if ever, to keep desperately cool. I bad meant to run back homo and see Nance—there was something more I had to say to her, but there would only be just time enough to purchase ouo or two little things 1 must have, snatch a tea, freshen my memory by a glance through tho “cuc-i, ” and then—and then prepare to realize aud eclipse tho v ihli sf dream I ever dreamed. For to- uigl.t 1 was Caffyn himself—aud to il is i)t I was to play Karl Angel. By 11 o’clock I had seen Blake. By half past I hud slipped into a dressing room and locked the door. At a minute to 8, when tho cyllboy’s voice sounded above the flnulo of tho orchestra, I step ped out, ready. Oue of the supers, as I passed close, touched his forehead. “Good oveuiug, Mr. Caffyn!” • •••••• Eleven o’clock and all over! A glori ous success, that was ending iu a pro longed shout as the ourtqin went slowly down! Aud I—sick with the intoxica tion, with the certaiu knowledge that I had made never a palpable slip and moro than justified my claims—I stood, my foot on the chest of my prone oppo nent, lifting my sword iu one hand aud with the other clasping tin* maiden whose cause I had championed and won. Yea, at that moment I could un derstand what Caffyn felt’ewry night— what it was to bo an idol of the people, if only for an hour. “Caffyn, Caffyn! Bravo, Caffyn!” they were shouting, and up rolled the curtain for the third time, then down, and it was all over. 1 strode “off. ” Blake was waiting. Oue sin flu, aud he pressed my hand. “Bravo it is. Btrung! Ho ought to have been here—it’ll leak out! Take my word for it, you need never look back now! Buperb!” But it was Nance I wanted to see. Bbe was thero in front, and her eyes wouhl be swimming with aheer pride, I knew well. I was making for the dress ing room—and then 1 suddenly recol lected what 1 hail promised Caffyn. Slipping on my hat and overcoat, I stuffed the helmet and my own clothes into the trunk, scribbled a note of ex planation and gave it to the cullboy to take round to whom Nance waited and harried out into the street. There was an empty hansom just moving past the theater. “Htruud hotel, sir? Right—inside 80 minutes!” I remember 1 sank back on the seat, my bV-arl still thumping away. It w as more than likely Caffyn had been a little curious to see what my “make up” was like. He should—he should open his door and see his “double” that Ulght, Au ejaculation of approval or tnrprjso from his lips would complete tho day’s triumph. And wouldn’t Nance be waiting at home iu a fever! Bless her heart! Tlie cab stopped, I gripped the trunk and went to step out. 1 heard a boy say, “Look, ain’t that Caffyn, tho ac tor:’’ and laughed to myself. What then? The rest seems still moro like an awful, incredible dream. Looking buck afterward to realize, it seemed to me that I had hardly taken a stride across the pavement when a figure darted for ward and intercepted me dead. It all happened in a mere flash of time. I know I took in a glimpse of a dead white face that I knew aud of two eyes that shone with a vindictive light. Then simultaneously a husky hiss: “I warned you! Take it!” I never saw the pistol go up. There was uo time to grapple with him or even to swerve an inch by instinct. A flush, a bang—something had struck mo full iu the ehest. A noise of rushing feet, a whirl of dancing stars, a sound of distant shouting—and then for me heaven aud earth had come together with a crash. “Save him, doctor—bring him to be- fi’.'o his wifo comes! That shot was n. mt for me. I’ve acted tho coward an ! villain. Oh, save him you must! I com ’t stand exposure!” That broken voice—wan it Norman Caffyn’s: Where was I—what had hap pened? I lay iu a deadly yet sweet lethargy, not even able to open my eyes, just conscious that I had partly strug gled 1 ack to life aud that some oue was pluck, ng at my chest. Then another voice, cool and reassuring : “You need not. Don’t you excite yourse^x, sir! There you are—a mere flesh wound that’ll be well iu a fort night. ’"his mail shirt affair has simply saved his life—tho bullet only just got through It. There was an intense shock to tho heart, au access of blood to the brain, ai d now—this brandy and a lit tle quiet ught to put him right. There, he’s coming round. I’ll send down aud tell then, there’s nothing much the xuattor. Aud they let the scoundrel get clear away!” “Clear-away before tho policeman got near. ” vye, that was Caffyn’s sunk en voice. I moved a hand, and in a trice both his own had closed convul sively upon it. “Btrang, old chap— thank heaven! I’ve sent for her—thero was a card iu your pocket. There’s been a miracle at work all round. I only know you were to save my life tonight. Oh, I’ll never forgive myself—I was a skunk to let you go like that. I dou’t know what made mo do it, but I was frightened, unnerved. I wanted to know, and you put tho idea into my head. There’s uo ouo here now. Who was it?” Then I recollected, aud tho mere re membrance of that mad, vindictive face — Wentworth’s face—brought oblivion again. It must have lasted a long time, because when, at last I muttered* “Where’s Nance?” the. tight pressure of 4\v<j arms round my neck told me that I need not ask again. Nance was there— aud I had played Karl Angel that night to a crowded house—and the beginning perhaps of some groat end had como for me. “I’m all right,” they say I whis pered. “Let mo go to sleep now.” Yes, it was u night of miracles—a chapter of iuterweaved coincidences. Not a newspaper had got at the truth that next morning. Caffyn hud contriv ed that. There was only a brief, garbled account of an assault by an unknown miscreant upon a gentleman entering tho Btruud hotel and a vague reference to the bullet having been turned by some providential means. Caffyn him self did not glean Wentworth’s name from me till that next morning, aud then, for reasons of his own, he begged me not to tell a living soul, so that, as fur us I know, his would bo murderer has not been publicly identified with the man who had understudied him for years aud who may now bo repenting his despicable attempt iu some fur corner of tho earth. Certaiu it must be that the shot was intended for Norman Caffyn and uo other. A series of menacing letters, hinting at violence of some sort, had reached him, but ho never so much as dreamed that Wentworth had inspired them. How should he? Then finally there had come on that eventful moru- iug oue containing these words: “Your star still rises, while mine still hangs. Make the most of Karl Angel tonight— you will never reach homo alive!” That was it. Half incredulous, but really scared, Caffyn, a superstitious man, had simply resolved not to stir from his ho- tel^for tho next 24 hours, while yet ho was ashamed of his fear and the facts becoming known. Then I had called with that astounding proposition, and— you cau guess at the rest. A' very hu man impulse—a sodden vs. ;uo idea that by talftug advantage of this extraor dinary coincidence, as it seemed then, he might somehow learu whether thero was anything iu the veiled threat, aud —well, there, I like to believe that ho honestly never realized what really was working in bis mind that day when be allowed mo to personate himself. That he had some distinct foreshadowing of danger either at the theater itself or upon leaving it was evident from the fact that, just iu time, that idea of tho fancy dress bull had shot iuto his con fused bruin. Woro I to be attacked in any way by mistake, that mail shirt— well, to tell the truth, it was an idea that he had more than once adopted as a precaution himself. Only to know— that was his oue wild thought that turning But I—I prefer to forgot all that. I fy to think only of the golden side of that strange day when, playing Karl Angel, 1 was made to come between Norman Caffyn and death. Why, if a debt was there, ho paid it in full meas ure long ijefore he was taken from our midst; to him, if to any man, I owe the opening which has led mu on to—well, to this! To his memory! In more ways than one, gentlemen, he leaves a blank that cun uuvur bo tilled up!—Loudon Tit UR*. A BUCCANEER BOOM. The llretliren of tlie Conut Sackeil Towel XVlica Gallmina Failed Tliem. Frank K. Block ton, writing in St. Nicholas a series of narrative sketches of “Tbo Buccaneers of Our Coast,” says: • Tho buccaneers were afraid of noth ing. They paid uo attention to the rules of war. A little ship would attack a big one without the slightest hesitation, and, more than that, would generally take it, and iu every way Bpaiu was be ginning to feel as if she were acting the part of provider to tho pirate sea men of every nation. Finding that she could do nothing to diminish tho number of the buccaneer ing vessels, Bpaiu determined that she would not have so many richly laden ships of her own upon these dangerous seas; consequently a change was made iu regard to tho shipping of merchan dise aud tho valuable metals from America to her homo ports. Tho car goes were concentrated, and what had previously been place upon three ships was crowded into tho holds aud be tween the decks of oue great vessel, which was so well armed and defended as to mako it almost impossible for any pirate ship to capture it. In some re spects this plan worked very well, al though when the buccaneers did happen to pounce upon one of these richly laden vessels iu such numbers and with such swift ferocity that they were able to capture it they rejoiced over a prize far more valuable than anything the pirate soul had ever dreamed of before. But it was not often that one of these great ships was takeu, and for a time tho ro- sults of Spanish robbery aud cruelty were safely carried to Bpaiu. But it was very hard to get the bet ter of the buccaneers. Their lives aud their fortunes depended upon this boom, aud if iu ouo way they could not get the gold out of tho Bpauiards, which the latter got out of the natives, they would try another. When tho miners in the goldfields find they cau no longer wash out with their paus a paying quantity of tho precious metal, they go to work ou tho rocks and break them iuto pieces aud crush them iuto dust; so when the buccaneers found it did not pay to devuto themselves to capturing Spanish gold ou its transit across the ocean many of them changed their methods of operation aud boldly plan ned to seize tho treasures of their ene my before it was put upon the ships. Consequently tho buccaneers formed themselves into larger bodies command ed by noted leaders aud made attacks upon the Spanish settlements and towns. Many of these were found nearly de fenseless, aud even those which boasted fortifications often fell before the reck less charges of the'buccaneers. The pil lage, the burning and thy cruelty ou shore exceeded that which had hitherto been known ou tho sea. There is gener ally a great deal moro iu a town than , thx'ro is in ^ ship, aud tho buccaneers proved themselves to bo amon'g the most outrageous, exacting and cruel conquer ors ever known iu this world. They were governed by uo laws of warfare. Whatever they chose to do they did. They respected nobody, not even them selves, aud acted like wild-beasts, with out tho disposition which is generally shown by a wild beast to lie down and go to sleep when it has had enough. There were times when it seemed us though it would bo safer for a man who had a regard for his lifo and comfort to sail upon a pirate ship instead of a Spanish galleon or to take up his resi dence iu ouo of tho uncivilized com munities of Tortuga or Jamaica instead of settling iu a well ordered Spanish- Americau town with its mayor, its officials and its garrison. It was a very strange nation of marine bandits which had thus sprung into ex istence ou theso faraway waters. It was a nation of grown up men who existed only for the purpose of carrying off that which other people wore taking away. It was a nation of secondhand robbers who carried their operations to such au extent that tiny threatened to do away entirely with that series of primary rob beries to which Bpaiu bad devoted her self. I do not know that there were any companies formed iu those days for the prosecution of buccaneering, but I am quite sure that if there had been their stocks would have gone to a high figure. Courageous Hindoos. In some things the natives of Bengal and Bohur are wonderfully courageous, aud tho bravest deed that I over wit- uessed was performed iu tho coolest mauucr possible by two of my own do mestic servants. Oue morning while seated iu the veranda of my bungalow a mad jackal rushed through tho grounds and went under a raised godowu, which was close to the bungalow. I left the veranda for my gun, and bn my return I discovered two of my servants armed with hog spears creeping under the go- dowijfintil they came within striking distaimuof the jackal, when they quick ly transfixed him with their spears. Tho offer of a blank check ou the Bank of England would not have induced mo to act iu the way that these brave fellows did. Au old mihtar (sweeper), a man of the lowest caste iu my service, who was nearly bent double with age, was the smartest hand at killing a venomous snake that I ever knew. Thu old fellow used to sit up at night iu tlie fowlhouse for the purpose of destroying the cobras that came after the eggs, aud one morn ing before dawn I stepped iuto the ve randa of my bungalow iu time to see him pulling a karait out of a hole with oue bund, which grasped the reptile’s tail, while in the other hand was held a stick, which promptly descended on the kaiait's head us soon as it appeared in view. It was all done very neatly aud smartly aud as quietly as if the old man hud been crushing a beetle.—Guu- tlemuu'a Magazine. Different Aa|i«cU. It is we who have what wo cull self confidence. The other fellows are filled with fttdf coucut.—Boston Transcript. COLD STUFF ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ In (he shape of Soda Water, Cocoa Cola, Bon Rons, Lemonade, Ac., are “on tap” now at our fountain. < Call on us when you get thirsty. Don’t forget us when you want pure drugs. THE DuPRE DRUG CO. Easter Eggs In all colors and styles Will he on sale at T. DAVENPORT'S CHEAP STORE In time for you to get a supply, Don’ forgot tills. F. G. STACY, Pres. J. G. WARDLAW, V. Pres. D. C. ROSS, Cashier The National Bank o ' Gaffney, Capital $50,000 00. This hank solicits tho accounts of individuals, firms and cor porations. Accommodates customers as liberally as tho volume of their business and safety will permit. Call to see us whenever you wish to borrow or deposit money. Safety deposit boxes to rent. D. C. ROSS, Cashier. -»§ M. G. MONTGOMERY, & NDERTAKE AiNl> FURNITURE DEALER. Plain and Fancy Furniture at Rock Bottom Prices for Carfi or on Installment Plan. Our Undertaking Department is the Most Complete in the City. Orders will Receive Prompt and Courteous Attention. Mr. A. B. Gaines is -till with me and will continue to serve his patrons in the future as in the past. M. G. MONTGOMERY. IF YOU WANT TO BUY JVIiiloss, 'W'ajfoiis, Ouaiio and J\.e!d I *liospliat<?» CALL ON Clieap J. I. SJVRRJVT'T. N. B.—Oak wood delivered at 75c per load. IToj—^ Building and Plastering Lime, Coal, Shingles,Laths and Plaster Hair, [Dynamite, Blasting Powder Fuse and Dynamite Caps, call on THE LIMESTONE SPRINGS LIME WO*KS, Telephone 37. CARROLL & CO., Lessees CARDEN ■FIELD. A fresh supply of garden seeds that we arc selling At 2A cents per paper—every one warranted. See our new varieties of field corn, The best selection over brought south. No Gardner or farmer can alibi’d not to plant some. Cane Seed, Clover and Millet. Call at the See 1 Emporium And get the best. CHEROKEE DRUG CO. The Gaffney City Land and Improvement Company :«i Ui him M-nm <111 nigral ratw.; al»«» A»rri< uliurul LanU» lo r. „i for K*rni uur. imihi-n. For full purlieu 111 r * apply Hi \VOOI>, Ajtont. N H. All tmi«pawiiii| <>n lumUof Uilj* rompuny, viitlluu and rcmovlug llmlwr Huhimr u. • Uuulliig. are forbidden under iHiialiy of law.