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\ ONLY A NIGHTMARE : I By C. T. OVERMAN. I Dr. Crowder's professional success "was complete. His selection to deliver ; the address at the meeting of the In- - -^ ternational asso- ~ " ~ elation, of which : ,1.1 he had been notifled but yester(day, vouched for I f & .that, even had not his great prac- J&9*rA \ ^ j tise, largely as * ?-*counsel for other # ^ puyBxciauu, uut settled the matter .jHrll Hp long ago. RfoJTH One cloud only ^ 1 \r hung over ' Dr. > w Crowder'a life. It was a woman of course. - When a mere boy, not yet formed or educated, he had married pretty Ethel Wood, a milliner's apprentice. She was pretty of course, very, very pretty?and she was good, and tender, and true. But she was ultimately Impossible for a man with such a brain as Dr. Crowder possessed. Through all the toilsome years he had been conscientious in his monthly remittances, even when It had reduced him to the most uncomfortable straits. Yes, Ethel and the little boy had been taken care of physically? that much was taken off his conscience. But many times he questioned within himself whether that covered his obligations. "But, great heavens, she could not spell," he said to himself over and over again, "sne scarcely couia reaa ?never read anything worth while. She had no ideals, ambitions, no mental initiative." Ah! but the boy?he got on Dr. Chowder's mind many sleepless nights. What right had he to project a human life into the world and leave it to work out the devious course of existence without the guidance and aid of a father's care? Tonight the memory of his girl wife and the few happy months he had spent with her?before he heard the call to climb the heights?was hot upon him, and he paused in the midst of his experiments and sat with his head In his hands for a long time. Of one thing he reflected with satis* faction?as he frequently had done before?be had covered his tracks well. No acquaintance of his youth could possibly identify the great Dr. Crowder of New York as the callow youth of Pottstown 20 years ago known as Tom Bil/ings. He seized a glass of water standing on the table in front of him and gulped it down and turned to his work. The water tasted rather peculiar. and he paused a moment to look at the glass containing fluid as colorless and as tasteless as water?* but deadly poison. This was the basis of the experiment he was making. "Great God!" the thought flashed j through his mind. "Could I possibly ! have made a mistake?" The cold sweat stood on his temples. If he had drunk the poison he would be a dead man within a half hour?and there was no known antidote. Panic seized his mind and he trembled like a leaf. 'If I am to die." he said, "I must prepare for it." The peculiar feeling In his head left no doubt in his mind banks." "What of It r "Oh, nothing. Now Yocfc used to dictate" ! PLAYING THE GAME i ? ? By EUGENE BONNIE. ! ? * ? At the little station an exceptionally large number of Plainville's citizem were assembled in honor of the de parting bride and groom nervously waiting the arrival of the east hound limited. Special directions had beet telegraphed to the porter to suitably decorate two chairs in the parlor car and upon the arrival of the train al Plainville to give the newly married couple marked attention. "All aboard!" rang out the vibrani voice of the conductor, hardly Waiting ror me train to come to a uiuy. With a mad rush for the platform: of the cars the passengers jostled anc stumbled In heedless disregard, and k the midst of a shower of rice and t volley of verbal well-wishes the lasi passengers took their share of the ill directed missiles good naturedly, anc disappeared inside of the coaches. Inadvertently the bride and groon followed close in the wake of a young man and woman who were entering the parlor car. The grinning face ol the porter as the door opened met with a speedy retreat, and the bride wheeled about and entered the second coach, leaving the perplexed husbanc with no choice but to follow. The face of the porter broadened with a radiant smile as he ostenta tlously ushered the entering couple into the decorated chairs bearing un mistakable evidence of premeditated design. The young woman's preoccupatior in struggling with a rebellious vei prevented her from noting the decora tions, while the man, eager for nov elty, was ready to play the game. "An unusually mirthful lot of pas sengers tonight," commented the woman, surveying the aggregation in dividually and collectively. Her eyee caught the ends of a rib bon dangling from a poorly made bo\* pinned to the back of her companion'! chair. "Mr. Reed!" alarmedly, her face flushed scarlet, "what can we do! They are?that is?they think we arc the bride and groom." "But we are not, are we?" replied the man, Indifferently. "But Mr.?" "Call me Don," he interrupted, as he leaned forward touched by her ap peal, "we can do but one thing." "What?" "Play the game. Look like a blushing bride, act well your part, I will mine.' His enthusiasm Increased. "But, Mr.?" "Married people call each other by their given names, I believe," he interrupted dryly. "On two hours' acquaintance?" "I have known you several years," he ventured, looking Into her eyes. "Don," she epoke the name natur ally, "tell me something about yourself." "Some other time when we are not playing," he answered. "But," she objected, "there may be no other time." "There will be," with confidence; "now that I have found you, I am not going to surrender you so easily." "I am living in Evanston," she volunteered. "So am I," he answered. "Evanston," was the muffled sound heard from the other end of the coach, and several passengers moved toward the door, passing the bride and groomapparent with a curious smile. "Then tomorrow," she smiled, as she offered her hand which he held for a moment. The young man waited at a respectful distance in a safe retreat to see his companion's friends carry her away. No one claimed her, and as the last passenger, after gazing into her face, passed on, Donald hurried to her side with a deep sense of satisfaction. . "Your friends didn't come, Minerva/' ha saicf "So I see," she replied, almost coldly, "You forget the game is over. I am no longer Minerva." "May I call a cab?" he questioned, disregarding her rebuke. "That will not be necessary; my home is only two squares away. I prefer to walk. You may carry my uncase u you win. They had reached the houses and were standing near a rosebush where rlnee were wound around the columns of the veranda. The night was'perfect. "Minerva, will you listen to me7" caressingly. YI seem to have no choice," she replied almost timidly. "Minerva," and he took both her hands in his. "I love you. I have loved you ever since you and my sister were at Radcliff. I wanted to meet you then, but my sister would not let me." *Do you know why your sister would not let us meet four years ago?" she questioned. "Well, I will tell you. 1 aw you often on the campus at Harvard. I saw you at Radcliff when you visited your sister?I?was in love with you then?infatuation, your sister called It?she would not let us meet She said you would never care for me. She was oljler and wiser, so 1 reluctantly obeyed." He held her In his arms now, be? face close to his, looking deep Into her eyes as they sparkled with the kindling fire of love. )>Tirk._ .1/. hana All* hnn?TT\Ann f VTUCU UU WO IMTWlrui uvuv^ mwwu be whispered. "When we are both ready." she an swered. I The happy man it one who la leai unhappy than his neixhboc. 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PSK i j , |:j^ J '' ? i A Big Bargain McCall's Magazine The* three leading (any McCall Pattern) Women'* Magazines Woman's World each one year for Today's Magazine ODly 75c (any May Manton Pattern) ./ ?00 **Te "0 ceal5 Today's will give : ?100 to your Church Send a postal asking for paaticulars. : Today's will give You Fine Premiums If you want valuable presents i without cost, send for large Premium Catalogue?free. Today's Magazine , Dept. N. S. P. 4ol Fourth Ave,^ New York SPECIAL OFFER?For only 5 cents we will send you postpaid the two latest numbers of Today's. This is so you can sec tor yourself that for Latest Styles, Newest Fancy work, Fascinating Stories, Best Recipes, Household Labor and Money Savers, Recreation and Good Cheer, Today's is superior to any magazine you evsr saw. Send 5 cents now. i THE THRIGE-A-WEEK EDITION OF THE New York World. ' Practically a Daily at the Price of a Weekly. No Other Newspaper in the World Give So Much at So Low a Price. The ^ear 1914 has been the most ex- I ' traordmary in the history of modern I ' times. It has witnessed the outbreak of i the great European war, a struggle so i titanic that ic makes all others look small. i You live in momentous times, and /ou , should not miss any of the tremendous r events that are occurring. No other ' newspaper will inform you with the promptness and cheapness of the Thrice' a-Week edition of the New York World. > Moreover, a year's subscription to it > will take you far into our next Presidential campaign. > , The Thrice-a-Week World's regular subscription price is only $1.00 per year, and this pays for 156 papers. We offer this unequaled newspaper and The County Record together for one year for $1.75. > The regular subscription of the two that he had taken the poison. Then his thought turned quickly to the wife of his youth and his boy whom he had never seen. He turned quickly tc his deBk and wrote rapidly for some minutes. He wrote the se cret and the history of his life. He explained the change in his name and his relation to Tom Billings and Ethel Wood and?the boy. And then he wrote a will leaving all he had to hl? wife and bo/. Staggering to the door he summoned the Janitor and # ^ordered blra in his old imperious way [ to find a friend?at onc& Which, be-1 Jng done, the two signed their names | as witnesses and the document wa< j hurriedly placed in an envelope and given to the janitor to mall to Ethel? which the Janitor did at once. Some hours later the janitor found Dr. Crowder stiff and stark on the floor of his laboratory and the greatest physicians in all the great city were summoned. Consciousness returning, Dr. Crowder looked for a moment into the face of the great doctor who stood over his bed?a colleague and a friend? and said: "No use, Ned; it's the new poison." u man bending gravely over him mlled indulgently. "It's only a nightmare, Fred," he faid. "I ftared it myself when I saw the stuff in your laboratory; but I have trteg every test and tt is not so. Yoti are overworked; better go some* where and take a rest. "Yes, Fred, I think I will take a rest. Find when the next train goes to ^ottstown." ^(Copyright t>y Dally Story Pub. Co.) ! Too Many of His 8ort "What business is your father in 7" "He's a collector." "A collector?" "Yes, the world owes me a living and I am letting dad collect it forme." Different Times. "I see New York did considerable for one of those reserve ATaleol and < Woii f f 1*11 VT 1 Stop Limping through wail of woe over a sore Buy Shoes that prote from chafes and bruise Buy Shoes that conforn of the foot?Shoes thai light and springy step ease and comfort. We have such shoes ir stantly, of all styles ar they makQ life worth li Davis & 1 Kingstree, - Soi ^x?xx?xxttxxxx |Every W ^ WANTS - - ? ? a rno * Li How, When and Where to Shop to the be! onomical way of managing the home, and ^2 We want every woman in this county to I ings we are making in Bry Goods and Lad M Included in this splendid array are hundre day in the year and which can be purchase ^ ter clean-up at a substantial saving in pri Summer Stock is arriving in great quantil for their display, * We are not conducting a windy and sped ^ ets "something for nothing" fake bargain and systematically and energetically disp ^ and are making our prices secure quick sa This is the How, the When and the Wher among the many who are taking advanta portunity. 3 Silverman's Depar Jiij Kingslree, - - ^?T?T'T'T?T'T?T?T'T'X?I I .... ? FWoe Tnol J i life with a toe. ct your feet ' 1 to the shape t give you a 1 - A aiiu a ua yui a i stock con- I id prices, and I iving. x I J Fennell I ith Carolina | ! ^X0X0X0X?I^HBB omang w | st advantage. It is the ecHERE IT IS. Ky mow of the enticing offerlies' Specialties this month. W ds of articles needed every wm id now during our late win- kSiiSI Ice, because our Spring and ties and we need the room . tacular and blare of trumpi sale. We are just quietly osing of our surplus stock, jM| ties and many of them. e, and we hope to see you Hn ige of this exceptional op- ^ tment Store J South Carolina & |j