Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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the left spur, whirl him back the way he had come and almost as swiftly. ? .et ready to give him the quirt on the^oee " Daylight called. H ? hung almost gleefully upon her actions in anticipation of what the ffgcdJoua Bob was going to get. And Dob jfot It. on his neit whirl, or at? tempt! rather, for he was no more than htilf way sround when the quirt nu t hlin sjniack on his tender nose There and ft hen. In his bewilderment, sur ggMse snd pain, hin fr re feet. Just skim ming the road, dropped down. "Qreat!" Day'ight applauded. **A couple n ore Will ll him. "He's too smart m * to know when he's beaten.'' Again Boh tried. Hut this time ho wns lure'.v Quarter around when ti. doubled qutrt on hi* nose compelled him to ?Iren his fore feet to the road. Then, with neither rein nur spur, but by the .nere threat of the quirt, she straightened htm out. Dede looked triumphantly at Day llghi. et me give him a run?" she asked. Daylight nodded, and she shot down the road. He watched hor out of dghf* aroun i the bend, and watched till she csme Into sight returning. She certainly could sit h?r horse, was his thought, and she was a sure enough hummer. God, she was the wife for a man! Made most Of them look pretty slim. And to think of her hammering all week at a typewriter. That was no place for her. She should be u man's wife, taking it easy, with silks and satins und diamonds (his frontier no? tion of whst befitted a wire beloved), and dogs and horses, and such things. But the quarry was doomed to pass If out of bis plans for a time, for on thr following Sunday he rode alone. No Dede on a chestnut sorrel came across the oack road from Bsrkeley that day, nor the day a week Ister. As the third meek drew to a clone and anoth? er desolate Sunday confronted him. I ?>e> light resolved to speak, office or no office. And ss wat. his nature, he went simply snd directly to the poiu'. She had finished her work with bin; and waa gathering her note pe I and pencils together to depart, whs ho said: 'Oh, one more thing. Miss I hope you won't mind my I ik snd itrslght out. You're struck right along as a ?sjaafhle IWlnrtsfl girl, and I don't think you'll take of? fense st wbst I'm going bo say. You know how long you'Oe been in the of? fice?it's years, now. several of them, anyway; and you know I've alw \ fhoen straight and aboveboard \\Th you. I've never what you call?pro sumed Because you were In my ohv rte tried to be more careful than i; ?-II vou wasn't In my office?you un? derstand. T*\JX lust The s*un?\ Tl G< n't make me any the lesa human. I'm a lonely sort of a fellow?don't tab a that as a bid for kind no-s. What by It la to try and tell you ?w much those two rides /e meant And now I hop* nlnd my Just asking why you h?v. boon out riding the last two s?" plsyed nervously with a pencil lme. ss if debstlng her reply is wslted patiently, s riding." she began; "It's not hey call the right thing. I t to you. You know the world, the trouble. it's what the world would have to ssy about me and my employer meeting regularly and riding in the hills on Sundays. I s funny, but it's so. I could ride with one of the clerks without re? mark, but with you?no." "Look here. MUs Mason," said Day light "I know you don't like this talking over of things In the office. Neither do I. It's part of the whole thing, I guess; s man ain't supposed to talk anything but business with his stone.*-, her. Will you tide with me next Sunday, and we can talk it over thoroughly then and reach some sort of a conclusion. Out in the hills Is the place where you cat talk gsss> I thing bealdee business. I sue*a you've soon snough of me to kno * I'm pretty square I?I do honor snd respect you. and . and all that, and I ? He was beginning to floun? der, Sjsj the hand that rested on the desk blotter waa vislbl) trembling. He strove to pull himself together. I Just want to harder thin anything seer In my life before. I?I I can't explain myself, but I do. that's all. Will you?Just next Sunday? To? morrow P Nor did he dream thst her low ac? quiescence was duo. as m ich as any? thing else, to the beads of sweat on his forehead, his tumbling hand and bis sll too-evident general distress. "?)f course, there's no vay of tell? ing what snybody wants from what they r?iy" Dy light rubbed Bob's re s) esr with his quirt snd pon w'.th dlssstisfactl n ) ? w.Td.i ho had Just uttered They did not say whst he bad meant them to say. ) "What I'm driving at Is that you say i>u won't meet me again, sjsj slve your naaors. but b ? v sm 1 to know they ere yotr real rea? sons? Mehbe you lust don't want to got acquainted with me, and won't say so for fesr of hurting my feeling*. g Don t you see? I'm the last man in r the world to shove In where I'm not wanted And If I thougnt you didn't care a whoop to nee anything more of me. why I'd clear out so blame.! quick you cou'dn't see me for smoke " It had been s happf day. Daylight had met her on the back road from I;? rkeley. gl <' I hoy bad had ho??rs to? gether. D was only now. with the Osy drswlng to a rlo*e and with them approaching m ?? of tu nul '<> Berk v. f, that he had broached tho imports u' * inject She heran h'*r snswer to hi-* last Ogsjtentlon. and he listened rrat"fu1'y. I "But suppose. Just suppose, that the reasons I have given are the only m*sl???i no oncstlon of I Messrs. A. I* Jacks n, II. <'. .VI? my not wanting to Know you?" "Then I'd go on urging like Sam Scratch." he said quickly. "Because, you see, I've always noticed that folks that incline to anything are much more open to hearing the case Itated. Hut If you did have that other season up your sleeve. If you didn't want to know me, if?If. well, if you thought my feelings oughtn't to be hurt just because you had a good Jjb with me. . ." Here, his calm consideration of a possibility was swamped by the fear that It was an actuality, and he lost the thread of his reasm.i Well, anyway, all you have to do is to say the word and I'll clear out. And with no hard feelings; it would be Just a case of bad luck for mo. So be honest. IIiff Mason, please, and tell me If that's the reason?I almost got a hunch that It Is." "Oh. but that Isn't fair." she cried. ' You give me tho choice of lying to you and hurting you in order to pro tect myself bf getting rid of you, or of throwing away my protection by telling yop the truth, for then you, aa you said yourself, would stay and urge.' Daylight smiled grimly with satis? faction. "I'm real glad, Mlsu Mason, real gla/1 f jr those words." "But they won't serve you," she went on hastily. "They can't serve you. I refuse to let them. This is our last ride, and . . . here is the gate." Rangln? her mare alongside, she bent, slid the catch, and followed the opening gate. "No; plea?e. no," she said, as Day? light started to follow. Humbly iejQ^riejfejfjgjt, he nulled Dob back, au<S the gii*.o swung shut be? tween them. Bui :iere was more to say, and she did not ride on. "Listen, Miss I?ou." he said, In a low voice that r.eok with sincerity; "I want to Mtura you of one thing. I'm not Just tryin| to fool around with you. I like you, 1 want you, and 1 was never more l .meat In my life. There's nothing wrong in my inten tlons or anything like that. What ( mean Is strictly honorable?" But the expression of her face made htm stop. She was angry, and she was laughing at thl samo time. Dede Mason hod quick, birdlike ways, almost flitting from mood to mood; nnd she was all contrition on the instant. "Forgive me for laughing." she said across the gate. "It wasn't really laughter. 1 was surprised off my guard, and hurt, too. You see, Mr. Harnish, I've ne>t been . . ." She paused. In sudden fear of com? pleting the thought into which her birdlike precipitancy had betrayrd her. "What you mean Is that you've not b*en used to such sort of proposing." "I Like You, I Want You and I Nevsr Was Mora Eir*est In My Life." Daylight said; "a sort of on-the-run, 'Howdy, glad-to-make-your-acquaint ance, won't-you-bc-raiue' proposition." She nodded and hroko Into laughter, In which he Joined, and which served to pass the awkwardness away. He gathered heart at this, and went on In greater confidence, with cooler head ard tongue. "There, you aoe, you prove my case. You've had experience in such mat? ters. I don't doubt you've had slath? ers of proposal*. Well, I haven't, and I'm lik?> a fish out of water. Besides, thia ain't a proposal. It's a peculiar situation, that's i ll, and I'm In a cor? ner. I've got enough plain horse senso to know a man ain't supposed to argue marriage with a girl as a rea? son for pat Hag i ualnted with her. And right there wax where I was in the hole. Nun.! ef one. I can't get ac? quainted with you 'n the office. Num? ber two. you r\v you won't see mo out of tho office to give me a chance. MumbOf thre??. yc ir reason Is that folks win talk be luaej you work for me. Number four, I Just got to get acquainted ST 1th rOU, and I Just got to' K??t ?'i to tea that I mean fair and all right Nun I :'ve. there you are en gga side the gats getting ready t<> go, and me here on the other side the gate prettv <:? n-iafe and bound to say something to make you rod n ilder. Number six. I snid it. And now and flnnl!;-, I Just do want you to reconsider." He was pi ,-h I boy, this big giant of a millionaire who had half the rich men of San Franr! mo afraid of him. Such a boy! Sh?> had never linagln? d th * side of his natura, "HOW do folk< .ret married?" bf was saying "Why, numher one, they meet; mimic- tv. ?. like each others looks; number thr?get acquainted; and number four, gel married or not, according to how they like ench Other i Let lotting acquainted. Bui how in tt nnd*r w**y* *" h "?" i <?*,??'.to "* N 11 od Q, O. Tweed went to Colum< out whether we "Ike encn Tn'ier enough is beyond my suvvee, unless we mnk? that chance ourselves. I'd come to see you, call on you, only I know you're Just rooming or boarding, and that wont do." "It's getting lato now, anyway," Daylight hurried on, "and we've set? tled nothing at all. Just one more Sunday, anyway?that's not asking much?to fettle It in." She gnthced the reins into her hand preliminary to starting. "Good night," she laid, "and?" ??Yea," he whispered, with Just the far st touch of Imperativeness. "Yes," rhe said, her voice low but diat'net. At the same moment she put the mr.re into a canter and v ent down the road without a backward glance, in? tent on an analysis of her own feel? ings. CHAPTER XV. Lifo at the office went on much the way it had always gone. In spite of their high resolve, there was a very measurable degree of the furtive in their meetings. In essence, these meetings were stolen. They did not ride out brazenly together In the face of the world. On the contrary, they met always unobserved, Fhe rid? ing across the many-gated backroad from Berke'ey to meet him halfway. Nor did they ride on any save unfre? quented roads, preferring to crops the second range of hills and travel among a church-going farmer folk who would scarcely have recognized even Day? light from his newspaper photographs, D i found Dede a pood horsewoman? good not merely in riding, hut in en? durance. There were days when they covered sixty, seventy, and even eighty miles; nor did Dexte ever claim any day too long, nor?another strong recommendation to Daylight?did the hardest day ever seo the slightest chafe of the chestnut sorrel's back. "A sure enough hummer," was Day? light's stereotyped but ever enthusias? tic .verdict to himself, His lifelong fear of woman had orig ?<1 out Of noiiunderstanding and had also prevented him from reaching any understanding. Dede on horse? back, Dede gathering poppies on a Stimmer hllLido, Dede taking down dictation in her swift shorthand strokes?all this wad comprehensible to him. But he did not know the Dede who bo quickly changed from mood to mood, the Dede who refused steadfastly to ride with him and then suddenly consented, the Dede in whose eyes the golden glow forever waxed and waned and whispered hints and messages that were not for his ears. In aU such things he saw the glimmering profundities of sex, acknowledged their lure, and accept? ed them as Incomprehensible. But through It ail ran the golden thread of love. At first he had been content just to ride with Dede and to be on comradely terms with her; but the desire and tho need for her In? creased. The more he knew of her, the higher was his appraisal. Had she been reserved and haughty with him, or been merely a giggling, sim? pering creature of a woman, it would have been different. Instead, she amazed him with her simplicity and wholesomeness, with her great store of comradeliness. The latter was the unexpected. He had never looked j upon woman In that way. Woman, the toy; woman, the harpy; jwoman, J the necessary wife and mother of the race's offspring?all this had been his expectation and understanding of i woman. But woman, the comrade and playfellow and joyfellow?this was j what Dede had surprised him in. And the more she became worth while, the more ardontly his love burned, un- | consciously shading his voice with caresses, and with equal unconscious? ness flaring up signal fires in his eyes. Nor waa she blind to it, yet, like many women before her, she thought to play with the pretty tire and escape the conscui'igt conflagration." ??Winter will soon be coming on," she said regretfully, and with provoca? tion, one day. "and then there won't be any more riding." "But I must see you In the winter just the same " he cried hastly. She shook her head. "I've been pretty good," he declared. "I lcavo It to you if I haven't. It's been pretty hard, too, I can tell you. You just think It over. Not once have I said a word about love to you, and me loving you all tho time. That's going some for a man that's used to having his own way. I'm somewhat ! of a rusher when it comes to travel? ing. 1 reckon I'd rush God Almightly if It came to g race over the ice. And yet I didn't rush you. I guess this fact Is an Indication of how much I do love you. Of course I want you to marry me Have ) said a word about It, though? Nary i chirp, nary a Mut? ter. I've been < :id good, though it's almost made | k at times, this keeping quiet. 1 . irett't risked you to marry mo. I'm not asking you now. Oh. not but what you satisfy me. I sure know you're the wife for me. But how about myself? Do you know me well enough to know your own mind?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, and I ain't going to take (hanoes on it now. You've got to know for sun; whether you think you could get along with me or not, and I'm playing a slow conservative game. I ain't Brgoing to lose for overlooking my hand." This was love-making of n sort be? yond Dede'a experience. Nor bad she t far heard yf anything like It "Ho you see," he urged, "Just for a square deal we've not to see home more Of each other Ibis winter. Moat likely your mind ain't made up yet?" "But It Is." she Interrupted. "I wouldn't dare permit myself to care for you. Happiness, fOT me, would not lie that way. I like you, Mr. Haiuish. and all that, !?'it. ?t can never be more his Tuesday morning on business, than that." "It's because you don't like my way of living," ho charged, thinking in his own mind of the sensational joy-rides and general profligacy with which the newspapers had credited him?think? ing this, and wondering whether or not, in maiden modesty, sho would disclaim knowledge of it. To his surprise, her answer was flat and uncompromising. "No: I don't." (TO BE CONTINUED.) i ir, NERDS IN SOiJTM. Sent * !: erehUi.j Btults'Jes u;? to Cost of M< ui &im1 Dairy Products In South. Washington, Feb. 20.?"The South offers over $100,000,000 yearly to livestock raisers who will locate In that section and supply the demand for meats. The South consumes more meat per capita than any other sec? tion of ths country. Fifty Southern cities are offering over $22,000,000 yearly to dairymen who will supply their demand for dairy products" The-.' Startling statements are made In an unusually attractive booklet devoted to stock raising in the Southeast which has just been issued by tli" Southern Railway Bys t. m for distribution among stockmen and farmers ol the West and North? west in an effort to induce them to move Into this region and take up the raiding of cattle, horses, mules, sheep and hogs, thereby enriching themselves and keeping In the South the vast sums now being paid other s ctlons for meat and dairy products. Attention is also giveoi to the great opportunities for profit in raising poultry. So Important to the interest of the I aople of the South does the South? ern Railway feel the live stock and Hairy industry, that in addition to advertising to the outside world the great tield open for profitable de? Velopment in this direction, it is now Operating S "Dairy Instruction Car" over Its lines in the States served by It for the purpose of giving all possible information to the people at home about raising live stock and the production Of milk, cream and but? ter. The booklet is (tiled with splendid Illustrations of stock, forage crops, Ideal dairies and pasture lands, and live reading matter teling of the ex? ceptional advantages awaiting the practical dairyman and stockman In tho Southeast. . The wide circulation which this handsome booklet will bs given by the Southern Railway and affiliated lines should prove an ef? fective boost for the South. Conference of High school Teachers. The following is a revised list of the namOS of those who expect to at? tend the conference of High School teachers and of the homes where the teachers Will be entertained: Prof. W. H. Hand with S. 11. Ed mund8, Supt. B. S. Dreher with hotel. Mrs. e. s. Watklns With Miss Mc Laurin. Mr. L C, Crum with Mr. L. C. Moise. Mr. Walter Bailey wtih Mrs. Alta mont Moses. Miss Clara Berg with Dr. ?I(Kay. Miss Bookman with Dr. -M 1^ y. Miss Brennan with Mrs. Adtamont Moses. Mist Hoyt with Miss Bru .s< a Miss Senior With Miss Br ins ?n Camden: Snot. R, M. Kennedy with C, Moise. J. A. Marion with Rev. J. P. Ma? rion. MlSS Corbett With Dr. McKay. Miss Zemp with Dr. Spann. * Mr. Stroehecker with Dr. Spann. Summerton! Mr. Tea.-ley with Mr. Burns. Miss Romansteln with Mrs Lucius. Mlsa Llda Scarborough with rMs. Tolar. Lym hburg: Mr. w. T. McQowan with Mr. W. B, Burns, MlSS Olive James with Miss Wei bourn and Mis^ Wright. Manning; Mr. J. c. Daniel with Mrs. .1 B. Richardson. Mr. Green with. Mrs. J. s. Richard? son, M's* Brown with Mrs .1. s. Rich? ardson, Blshopvllle: Supt. Q. B, Dukes, Mr. Bethea Mr, J. F, Muldrow, Mr. Bethea Miss Gregory with Miss Mcl^eod. Baal < >ver! Dr. W. J. Rivers with Dr. China. Mr. T. H. Auld with I >r. China. Miss Isadora Williams, with Miss Bandle. Miss Mar Inda Williams, with Miss Bandle. Mr, <'h.is. b. Hanna with Mr. Van I >ov liter. Cameron: Mr M.|y with Mr. BartOW Walsh M Iss Farr \n it h M rs. Betht a. Mr. Alston Smith, r presenting the McClamroch Tiling and M ulde Com p .nv of Qreen^nro ' ' ' :i rava of ths M. C. A. SECURITY, It's Importance. Every depositor, when choosing an institution with which to transact financial affairs, wants, most of all. absolute protection? certain security?for hi.s money, in fact, security is the primary reason for the existence of lianks and this institution transacts its attain along ths lines that assure unquestioned safety. The Peoples' Bank. Its Policy. HlS l*i ;Icy of thin bank is to con? duct its business along the most con* SOS votive lines; to restrict its oper? ations to legitimate enterprises; to eliminate all speculative ventures. THE BANK OF SUMTER SUMTER, S. C. J ?SB Conservative Banking It's said, the RICHEST PER CAPITA Nation on earth is France. France is not the greatest producing nation, but its Wealth is Due Entirely to its SAVINGS. The Farmers' Bank and Trueil Co. m i GEORGE H. HURST, UNDERTAKER AND EMBALMER 202 N MAIN STREET Day Phone 539 Night Phone 201 LIME, CEMENT, tfgU&rfccl?*im uff. Bran, feed. nay, vTIdlll, Mixed tow sad Chicken Horses, Mules, %Ztf?9' :w,i?"s No Order Too Large Or Too Small Booth-Harby Live Slock Co. SUMTER. SOUTH CAROLINA. Undertakers and Embalmers, and Private Ambulance HEARSES FOR WHITE AND COLORED Ring 14 or 251?Day or Night Prompt Service J. D. Craig Furniture Company 8, 10, 12 West Liberty Street. I Frosr Proof Cabbage Plants. We grow only Kuarsutced plantK. true i<> name, recoeimeeded by si I wee hnvo UHed thetn. Our price* are%a follows.: 1,000 to 4.0?) pisnts si || 2$ per tie Carr-Carlton Co. Box 61, Meggette, S. C.