The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, February 01, 1913, Image 6
The
Sable
Lorcha
BT
Horace Mazeltine
i
it*
to
to
Tbst which ensued was coincident.
As though the step had been prear?
ranged, the three actors moved in con?
cert. The hand which held the weap?
on advanced a dosen inches or more,
flyachronously my foot, lifted with all
the accuracy and power of my under?
graduate football days, met the intrud?
ing revolver and sent it spinning
against the vehicle's upholstered top
Simultaneously. Evelyn screamed. And
wren aa ber voice ra. g out, high and
shrill; even aa that isthal object of
chill hardened steel apun upward, the
light waa switched suddenly off and
we were In grumous darkness.
It waa she who, pressinlg the button
at her side, had dropped over us this
mantle of invisibility no lesa obscur?
ing than the fabled Hel Kepleln; and
It waa she, too, who now opened the
other door of the brougham, and with
a murmured: "Come! Hurry!" drew
me after ber Into the 0*ead uncertain?
ty of an environment oT ?hl h we
knew nothing. ,
The gloom without was scarcely less
thick than that within. Of my five
senses, therefore, all keenly alert, that
or sight told me nothing; but my ears
aad nostrils, aided and abetted by
my perception of sodden planking be?
neath my feet, informed me that we
had alighted In a stable. The sound
of pounding hoofs echoed from near?
by stalle and unmistakable equine
odors were strongly pervasive.
Upon my hearing there fell, too, as
we fled, the high-pitched nasal cackle
an excited and perplexed celestials,
?rboee eyes. dazzled by the brougham's
lasupa, failed to follow ua Into that ob- i
ecurlty which lay in the wake of the
conveyance, and through which, hand
In hand. Evelyn and I crept crouch
Ingly toward the street, our hearts
Kammering but our breathing smoth?
ered lest It betray our whereabouts
and precipitate pursuit.
If In our fond fancy we expected
stn unim?C?i*d way, however, our ex
pectatlons were not realized. Where
the darkness was densest there rose
an obstruction. From out of the black
a pslr of arms encircled me?a pair of
arms, long sine? * snd muscular,
which tightened about me with a sud?
den vlae-llkke pre"sue. holding me pow- ,
erlese. My held of Evelyn's hand was
thus abruptly sundered, and though
Sue could not see, she sensed the en*
counter. Once more she screamed.
High and shrill ber young voice rose
abo>o the noise of the stamping horses
aad the quaintly strident chatter of
the confused Mongolians. It waa not
ao much a mere cry of affright as it
was aa appeal for help. And it met i
With surprisingly prompt response.
I
Before Its echo hnd died, the double '
eliding doors which separated our
stable dungeon from the sidewalk
antra swept swiftly apart, admitting
the revealing gleam from a street '
lamp across the way, and admitting,
too. the husky, commanding figure of
a man with raised revolver, followed
by a mob of neighborhood denizens
attracted by the unusual and excited
by the girl's penetrating vociferation.
Quickly as I had been seized, even 1
more quickly was I released. The en?
circling srms fell away Instantly, and
the giant who had held me turned
with an osth of defiance and confront?
ed the Invaders. la both oath and at*
tltude there was a reminder of some
beard and seen before; and
idlng upon the heels of reminder
tame recognition. It war Phlletus
Murphy, red and burly, who now tow*
ared menacingly above our armed
aavior. It wss Phlletus Murphy who,
swinging viciously for his adversary's
jaw, staggered back the same Instant,
bis srm dropping and a bullet in his
shoulder.
For a moment following the shot
there was dead slb-nce. Then came
pandemonium. Tl g mob. already aug?
mented fr? ! i a . < ?-? *o a hundred,
surged Into the Btablt as a Bp ring llcod
surges over broken darr. i. With Eve
lyn In a corner behind me I fought
off the, crowding, hallowing throng,
while Murphy lay groaning at our feet,
and his assailant, who, Whei once his
face met the licht, i sHacoverecl eras
O'Hara, my own detective, smashed
heads right and Ml w!?h the butt of
his revolver, and hoars* !y commanded
room for his falbm enemy.
What might I gag hapaaaM d. erbat
fatalities might have ensued, had it
not been for th?' fortuitous arrival of
three vinlfoi | ( ?1 members of the met?
ropolitan BOMce force I jhall not at?
tempt to conjecture. Their rltibs, I
know, did fjaad lervtcei and g shot
or two fired over the beade of tho
riotlsg crowd had a wonderfully pat 1
tying ??ffc, t.
Poor Kvelyn, in <plfe of an heroical?
ly stubborn Insistence to he coureV
geous. waa aa thoroughly frlghteaed
as I sav-? ever seen her. \\ h? n, at
length, th" stable clear* d. tnd
lamps were lighted, she wag still pal
lid BS marble, aAd her Up quivered
vita In 8 tlaacy that no restraining
teeth nor Mdlng hand could disguise.
"Ohl Wasn't it exciting!" she ex
clnhntd with nn effort at nonchalance
thai was almost pathetic. T wouldn't
have missed this experience for any?
thing in the world." And theu, discov?
ering a little trickle of blood op my
ch<H.k. which a diligently plied hand?
kerchief had not fully IdCO* dtd in
keeping out of sight, she was at onCC
all solicitude. "Oh, Philip!" she cried,
with wide eyes, swimming. "You're
hurt! It was awful. It was heathen
ish! I with WC had never dared?who
did it? Do you know? Was it a
kni.'e cut ? Was it?" And so Jhe
rattled on, her own ills swallowed up
at length in her anxiety over my in?
significant Injury.
Murphy, meanwhile, had sunk into
insensibility through loss of blood, and
lay now, breathing stertorously. One
of the officers had already telephoned
for an ambulance and the other two
were making a diligent search of the
stable. As for the Chinamen, they
had fled at the first alarm, and it
looked very much as if every one in
any way connected with the outrage,
save only Murphy, had gone with
them.
O'Hara, who had been put, nominal?
ly, under arrest, and who was now i
awaiting the pleasure of his captors,
availed himself of the first moment of
Evelyn's slierce to address me.
"It's been a long chase," ho said?
and there was something of pride in
his tone?"but you see I got him dead
to rights at last. He's mixed un with
the roost lawless gang of highbinders
New York has known for years. I
haven't got down to all his history
yet. but I've been handed a good
stack of it, and it won't be hard to
put the screws on him now 'for killing
that Chink that used to work for him
up to Cos Cob. I didn t know it III
you he was after tonight, but I do
know that he bad a hand In the plot
that fixed another Chink this very
evening?a young fellow named Ling
Fo, who was pumped full of lead just
as he was turning from the Bowery
into Pell street."
It was from O'Hara that I learned
our present whereabouts. The stable
was not more than a half dozen blocks
from the Intersection of the two ?
streets he had just named.
The fate of our driver we could only
conjecture. Before the policeman I
laid the facts and they promised me i
that he should be found. And tin n,
after half an hour's waiting, a suhsti
tuto driver was secured from a neigh*
boring gurage, and Kvelyn and I were
permitted to continue our interrupted
Journey homeward.
Ai the Cameron house, as though
our cup of excitement were not al?
ready filled to brimming, a fresh ex?
perience awaited us?an experience
of such vital significance as to over?
turn entertained conclusions and shed i
a wholly new light upon our darktdt
perplexities. I
CHAPTER XXII.
The Scuttled Ship.
Cheekabeedy met us in the hall?an
unusually agitated Cheekabeedy, with
his full-jowled, rubicund face ruddy
beyond the common, and his tiny gray
eyes twinkling like twin star sapphit i
Our adventure, thrilling as it 1 ad
been, was subjugated, if not ind< d
for the moment forgotten, in the pre* j
ence of this unwonted suscitation. P r
the butler's aplomb was a sort of fsi
ily fixture which nothing short of M I
most extraordinary happening a I
either unsettle or upheave. To And i
him In such case, therefore, argu d
either cognizance of exceptional ds
velopments or possession ci men (
strously important tiding*-.; and at ,
sight of him w? Doth paused in mute
expectancy.
"There is a person, sir," he hegan, j
making vain effort to control his soli I
to dlspasslon, "a foreign person?v t
Is called a Chinee, I think, sir?in the
reception room. If I understand him,
sir, he is a consul or something 11'..e
that. And be has brought with 1 ;n
a tall, thin, elderly man, as yellow ,
himself, sir. I was in doubt about i 1- ^
lowing them to wait, but they told n.e ,
they must see you, sir, tonight with* ,
out fall; that it was a matter to y r
interest, sir. Thoy have been hi ?
over an hour, now, and I have novel
taken my eye off the reeeption-r cm
door. Seeing as how those flnysterfc
ous things happened at Oragholi, Kir,
1 was fearful lest something more of
tho same sort might be eontcmplat? d.
And poor Mr. Cameron lying up 104 re
with that nurre, Bryan, who, between
you and we, * ir, 1 don't trust, nohow."
Kvelyn was geareely to be blamed
for a trepidation equaling, If not iur
passiiii-, Checi.aljeedy'H.
"Don't Mi them, Philip," she hit d '
with nervous vehemence. MP1< p ?
don't see them! K Is some trick, i
foe! it is. Cheekabeedy win get th< m
out of the bottse at onco. Won't y* u,
Chockab edj ?"
Hut I was in far different mood >f
lato matters had been shaping ll nv
?ehren, apparently, towards a clll ??.
In a qui. t way, AYOldlng the spec! i
larly aggressive, and tided n I I
by chance, we had drawn nearer ? d
nearer to the veil which hid the truth.
if there bad come to me now the
portunity for another step, it mu I t
be disregarded* My whole incllnut
Wal to welcome It. Therefore I smiled,
reataniingly, at Kvelyn, as l said
"Ke.-.llv, my dear ^irl, you are un
necessarily alarmed. There is not
cannot I*-, in fact ? the slightest
sihility of ?langer. On the contrary
their visit, whoever they may be, Ii
in all Hkellhood pacific. Dn1 if it would
make yoa any leas uneasy, Mr. Ch< cha
beady Shall waif near the open dour,
ard yog yourself shall st<u. l ire in the
h ill. where you can practically see and
bs ir all that go^s on "
Thai aha yielded promptly to my
t argument, pretsndad, at least, to put
aside her fears, and returning me
Bmile for smile, confessed to a con?
suming curiosity which she had mere?
ly endeavored to disguise, was an epi?
sode aa characteristic of her as any
that I can remember.
On entering the reception-room?a
somewhat formally furnished, square
room, which Jutted from t?;e hall, on
the left?I was mildly surprised to dis?
cover that one of my visitors was none
other than the Chinese merchant, Yup
Sing. At sight of me he rose and
came a step forward, the same tall,
?pere, dignified Asiatic I had met in
the Mott street warehouse, save that
he DO longer wore the dress of his
country, but a dark, well-cut suit of
American clothes.
?'Permit me, Mr. Clyde," he said, in
that chill leisurely tone 1 so well re?
membered, "to present to you the vice
consul of China at New York, Mr.
Chen Mok." And then I saw that his
companion, a much shorter man than
he and younger, had risen too, and
was holding out a hand In tentative
greeting.
My first impulse WSl to ignore the
proffer, for of late I had come to abhor
the race he represented, but on second
thought 1 acceded to the most formal
of hand clasps.
"We are here," Yup Sing continued,
"because we believe we have secured
for you, Mr. Clyde, the explanation
which you recently did me the honor
to request of me. And because we are
In hope that, through you, some agree?
ment may be reached which will put
an end to the present deplorable out?
break amongst certain of our people In
this city."
Vice Consul Chen bowed gravely,
and I, in my turn, gestured my visitors
to resume their seats. So far I had
not spoken, but mentally I had been
busy. Frankly, I distrusted Yup Sing,
and I questioned how much of his ex?
planation, whatever it might be, I
could afford to aceept. Fortunately,
however, I now had some basis for
Judgment. I felt that, so far as it
went, the letter from Miss Clement
could be relied upon absolutely, if
the merchant's story coincided, then it
would perhaps be safe to assume the
correctness of added details. If it did
not coincide, I was in possession of
valuable material for cross-examina?
tion.
"I am an advocate of the policy of
reciprocity, Mr. Yup," I said at length.
"If, in return for your service, I can
render a service to you, you have only
to command me."
I chose a chair between them and
the door, and sitting down assumed an
attitude of attention.
"What I tell you," began the mer?
chant, his body erect, his shoulders
squared, his chin lifted, "Mr. Chen will
verify." And once more Mr. Chen en?
dorsed his friend's assertion by a
grave forward sweep of his head.
"When you came to me, Mr. Clyde,
with the story of your friend Mr. Cam
eron'i annoyance and subsequent ab- '
duction, I was inclined to the view
that you were, yourself, in some way
deceived. What 1 have learned since,
corroborates that impression. As you
say here in America, your friend, Mr.
Cameron, did not play fair with you."
Under ordinary circumstances I
might pessibly have permitted this as?
sertion to go unchallenged. I am not 1
as a rule truculent; more often than
not I hid it advisable to ignore pre?
liminary Inaccuracies of narration, the
quicker to reach tlio vitals of the nar?
rative. Hut on this night I was con
trarily disposed. The inscrutable coun?
tenance and the superior, almost pat- ,
rOBlsJng manner of the speaker chafed
and irritated me to the verge of en- !
durance; and so, without hesitation, I
Interrupted him with a contradiction. 1
"If all that you have learned is no ,
more reliable than this corroboration," j
I declared, warmly, "we might as well j
end the interview here and now. Of
Mr. Cameron's fairness at all times
gad under all circumstances there can
be no question. V.o is my friend, tried
and trusted, end Incapable of deceit, i
On that I would stake everything I
hold most dear; and wa may as well i
have it clearly understood at the out?
set." j
A white man would either have in?
sisted or apologired. But the yellow
man has a way of his own. Yup Sin^
remained silent until I had finished, j
Hut whether or not he heard me was
manifested neither by word nor sign.
Without change of facial expr? Bslon or i
alteration of tone, he placidly proceed?
ed, choosing his phrases with Infinite i
care and rounding his periods with a
faculty that for an Asiatic was little
short of marvelous. Had he been
any one else in the world I should 1
have admired him. As it was, his clev?
erness only added to my aversion.
"There is a i tory." lie went on, "a
true story familiar to all Chinamen;
to some Chinamen especially it is a
very hitter, a Very pathetic story, bo
i Quse it has to do with the passing of
their kinsmen?their fathers, th'lr
brothers, and their sons. Death some*
1 times is glorious, as we all know. To
die for one's country, or for one's hon?
or, is to be privileged, To die of pes?
tilence or famine- is deplorable. Hut
to die by treachery is to leave a poor
legacy to those who follow?a legacy
of unrest until vengeance has been
wrought."
n< paused for Just a moment and I
moved Impatiently. But If I thought
i to disconcert him by my action I was
not rewarded.
"It is possible, Mr. Clyde," he con?
tinued, "that you are familiar with
the history of the trade In coolies be*
i tween your country and mine?"
I nodded. "Yes," I answered, "pass?
ably familiar. I kn OW that at one tinn*
it was black with outrages. I kn >w
that in 1882 a Chinese exclusion act
I was passed and thai In 1892 the Geary
law follow*; tf "
I ' H'tt von <i;d not 1 noa, perhaps,
! b-it in spih of your laws, the Btnug
| r.\ ug of ( binamen of < 'hint se labor*
ers?Into this country, ha? L- on al?
most continuously practiced?"
"It Is quite possible, I dare say. I
do not know the facts, however."
"The facts in a general way are not
matt rial," Yup Sing assured me. "But
I shall inform you of a single specific
case. Sixteen years ago there ap?
peared in Canton a white man, sup
pi scdly a Scotchman, calling himself
Donald Mc>'lsh, and representing, ac?
cording to his own statement, certain
large American interests. Through a
native ag< nt it became known that
McNish was in search of coolies. Very
soon, circulars appeared throughout
the district, worded somewhat after
this faahicn: 'To the countrymen of
Ah ?!. o. Laborers are wanted in the
land of California. Great works to be
done there, good houses, i>lenty food.
You will get $20 a month and good
treatment. Passage money required,
$45. I will lend the money on good
security, but I cannot take your wife
and child in pay. Como to Canton,
and I will care for you until the ship
sails. The ship is good.' Ti e circular
was signed by Ah Shoo, the agent. In
response to it, exactly ninety-seven of
my countrymen, having left good se?
curity for tho required passage money,
were led stealthily aboard a sn:all
coasting vessel cne night, and tho ves?
sel slipped quietly down the Chu-Kiang
to the open sea, with McNish himself
at the helm, and a Eurasian named
John Woo, in the galley."
The Vice Consul was now consult?
ing a slip of paper bearing, as I could
see, certain Chinese characters.
"If I am In error," said Yup Sing,
addressing his companion, "I pray you
to correct me." Whereat Mr. Chen
Biok smikd reassuringly.
"You are in all particulars accu?
rate," he announced; and the Mott
street merchant, thus encouraged, pro?
ceeded.
"The vessel, you understand, Mr.
Clyde, was what is known in those wa?
ters as a lorcha. It was not so largo
as a junk and it differed in other re?
spects as well. It?"
"I think I have seen a rude, but
more or less effective representation
of it," I interrupted.
"I know to what you refer," was the
speaker's rejoinder. "But that was
more or less conventional. As I told
you, every child draws boats like that.
However, the lorcha was to be used
merely to convey the passengers to
McNish's steamship, which had al?
ready cleared from Hong Kong, and
which waited off the coast well out of
sight of prying cruisers. Such, at
least, was the explanation. Whether
McNish ever had a steamship is a
matter for conjecture. Whether a
United States cruiser of the Pacific
Squadron, having received a hint as
to his purpose, bore down upon him.
as has been said, is likewise open to
question. But of the truth of the inci?
dents which followed there can be no
dispute."
lie hesitated long enough for the
Vice Consul to echo: "No dispute,
whatever, Mr. Clyde," and continued:
"On the second morning after leav?
ing Canton, an hour after dawn, when
he at least pretended to see the cruiser
in full chase, he ordered his passen?
gers below, declaring that their safe?
ty depended upon th?ir keeping out of
sight. No sooner, however, were they
below decks than ho battened down
the hatches, and imprisoned the cook
in his galley. A white fog prevailed
and the sea was very calm, both of
which were conditions favorable to
McNish's purpose. Lowering the
lorcha's two boats he cut one adrift,
and entering the other, which he had
previously stocked with stores, he
made his way in it along the lorcha's .
side to her prow."
At this juncture, Yup Sing slowly
rose to his fret.
"And now," he said, "I want you to
picture what followed. Standing up,
axe in hand, Donald McNish began his
diabolic work. With strong arm he
?wung, and close to the water line
the blade bit deep into the timbers of I
the lorcha's bow. He swung again; j
and again tho blade bit deep. Once
more, and still once more the axe rose
and fell. Frantically, with fiendish
purpose he plied his weapon, until .
there opened a gaping hole through
which, upon those ninety-seven
trapp- d souls, rushed the bitter waters
of dca:h."
It was a very dramatic recital. Un?
accompanied though it was by a sin?
gle gesture, the shaker's voice lent it
belf most effectively to the tragedy.
And though I disliked and distrusted
him, I was c-rtainly more or less im?
pressed by the set ne he painted.
"McNish escaped, I presume?" I
asked the question more to r< Heve the
tensity of the silonee which ensued,
than because of any doubt on this
point.
"McNish escaped." he e hoed.
"And no one else?"
"The Eurasian cook escaped, too.
I!o 1 ?'' s out of his galley. Hat tily be
patched together a raft and reached
land a week later, more dead than
alive."
"And nil the re^t?those nir ;y-sev
en deluded, tricked countrymen of
yours?perished?"
"To a man."
"Then the graphic description you
have Just given me, came?how? Prom
whom? Certainly not from the cook,
v.ho v.as locked In the galley ?"
"Parti] from the COok, yes," lie an?
swered, unmoved. "And partly from
one to whom McNish, himself, de>
scribed his ow n crime."
The Vice Consul h< :c added a word.
"Moreover." hi> s :ifl, and his accent
was in marked contrast with the mer?
chant's perfect Rngllsh, "we have cor*
rnboratlve evidence. It hi ppened that
the lorcha i ai k In what you call
shoal water. Sis months later, she
was declared a numace to shipping.
1'i'drr ordinary conditions she would
have been dynamited where she was,
rju< because of the tragedy, ihe w.?s
raised, and examined; and the hol*? In
her bow proved the truth of what we
had heard."
In spite of the seriously impressive
manner of ruy informants I was far
from credulous. Such a crime might
have been perpetrated, but 1 ques?
tioned that the perpetrator, for his
skin's sake, if for no other reason,
would ever have admitted the deed,
much less have truthfully detailed the
manner of us commission.
But, even admitting that there was
neither invention nor misrepresenta?
tion in the narrative, I was now more
than ever convinced that Robert Cam?
eron had no part in it, and that in
placing even the slightest blame upon
him an egregious error had been ccni
mitted.
' What you tell me," T said, at length,
"is very interesting, but I do not seo
just how it applies to my tortured and
now missing friend."
The Vice Consul in an unguarded
moment forgot himself.
"You no can see?" he queried, laps?
ing for the nonce into the vernacular.
"I certainly can not."
Mr. Yup Sing indulged In the sha low
of an icy smile.
"Your friend, Mr. Clyde," he said,
with a brief impressive pause between
tu"h word, "and Donald McNish are
one and the same mau."
Up to this point I had maintained
my poise. I bad listened with feigned
respect and denied myself the satisfac?
tion of interruptions. Hut at this pre?
posterous claim, I could contain my?
self no longer. Before the slowly
spoken sentence was complete I had
sprung up, restless with impatient in?
dignation, my blood throbbing in my
temples, my hands itching to throttle
an honest man's traducers.
"That," I orio'l, hoarse with exas?
peration, "Is a damnable lie!"
If I expected retaliation I was disap?
pointed. Yup Sing's seamed yellow
face continued an immobile mask for
whatever emotion he may have felt,
and Chen Mok placidly consulted his
memoranda.
"Robert Cameron," I went on, my
passion whetted by their indifference,
"has been a gentleman of leisure and
fortune always. Of all men in the
world he is the last to be accused of
such a crime as this. A seafaring man!
A smuggler of coolies! It is too pre?
posterous even for discussion. And
I want to tell you now, Mr. Yup, and
you, too, Mr. Chen, that I shall leave
no stone unturned to bring to justice
those who are guilty of having >made
this unthinkable mistake. Hitherto I
have been unable to get a clew. But
what you have said tonight does away
with that difficulty. Both of you shall
answer, now, to the authorities."
As I spoke I edged toward an elec?
tric push-butto i, at the side of the
chimney-piece, and at the last word, I
pressed it.
That Checkabeedy, following my in?
structions, had remained within close
call was demonstrated by his prompt
appearance.
"Telephone the police station," 1
commanded, "to send two officers here
at once."
(TO BE CONTINUED)
Mr. J. E. White who has for sev?
eral years held a position aa sales?
man with Bultman Broe., has severed
his c nnection with that Arm and will
in the future be found at the Sumter
Shoe Store, as manager of this new
organization.
Accepts the Rebuke.
A reel ! >nt of an English city has
made hi .. el! a marked man by in?
sisting on saying "nought" instead of
O" when he Cl 11a a telephone num?
ber having ciphers In it. The tele
pone operator usually corrects him
when he says "three double naught"
by saying "Three double O." The
Oth< r nighl he called up central and
said. "He?lo,' and the girl replied:
"Hell-naught." He accepted meekly
the "quiet rebuke.*'?Springneid Re?
public?.!1.
New England Romance,
From Boston comes the story of a
wOUChing phonograph romance. The
manager of a store became Infatuated
with the voice of a young woman
whose singing ho heard reproduced
frequently in the machlnea, wrote to
.ler for her pictures, and the acquaint*
tnce speedily ripened into marriage.
The bride, by the way, was intending
to study In Paris for grand opera, but
has decided to settle down In \'ew
England.?San Francisco Arge:::aut.
FNeati i in Clothing
Loud ...... ench Indue*
try v ' r.frn . ?; ss It is tliat
of t'.; t>t.o\ peur The word refers tc
the art ? ? ling clothes. In Paris
the "?topi ur" la well and favorably
known Supposing u gentleman tears
hi- coat or burns a hole with his cigar*
ette i.i Ma rousers, ih< garment is
conveyed to the 'atoppeur," who in
mysterious was reconstructs the
material, hi .; ime way thej seem to
weave In th ? stuff Joining up threads
>f a bit of cloth cut fr. another
oai t
What We Are Made Of.
The av ragt man contains the in
gredients to make fat for seven bars
of soap, iron for u tu ilium-sized nail.
BUg; :? t<- till a small 1 ..v. 1. salt to All
!i shaker, lime to whitewash a chicki n
coop, phosphorus to make 2,200
match tips, magnesium for a dose of
magnesia, sodium to neutralize a pint
and a half of water, potassium to ex?
plode a t<<\ cannon, sulphur to rid a
log of (leas and albuminoids 1 > make
ii case of eg| n VmerK Wim?
Press
?rim: w vter" to fishes.
Two Cart founds of Liquor Ponred
Out TucMUt) Afternoon a; Dump
i ? round.
The City < t Sumter la poorer, ? ?t
richer, Wednesday morning than it.
was Tuesday morning by th? loss i>l
two can loads of "perfectly good li
cjuor," for Tuesday afternoon iust
that amount of "tire water" packed
?way In bottles, jugs and casks, was
taken out to the city dump ground
near the brick yard and deliberately
wasted, whi r .t might run down
into < ne of the holes and Intoxicate
the Rebes which tasted u.
For many months, possibly years, all
liquor which has been seised by the
police has been pack, d away in the
guard house as soon as the case
against the liquor owner has be< n
heard end the stuff has been grad?
ually accumulating during that time,
until of lute the amount of it was of
such propotioii that it began serious?
ly to be In the way. especially as all
had to be destroyed at some time
sooner or later.
A few days ago Chief of Polic-- J.
R. Sumter asked Council for per?
mission to eh stroy the liejuor and he
was instructed to do away with all
i f it according tu law. So Tuesday
{ fterne>on all of the stuff, not wanted
as evidence in < sees now up in court.
Which had been seised more than
thirty clays ago was placed on the
city dump earts and taken out to the
dump ground. Here two negro men
with axes despatched the bottles,
casks and jugs < f whiskey, gin and
rum ami other Intoxicating bever?
ages, once purchased by various blind
tigers. Chief Sumter and Police Of?
ficers McKagen and Ward saw that
the ceremonies over the "old sol?
diers'' were- fittingly carried out with
proper diligence.
356.0? I BALES or LINTERS.
Obtained from Reginning Cotton Seed
ol i!>^ Crop.
Washington, Jan. 28.?Linters ob?
tained by the reginning of cotton seed
from the crop Ol prior to Jan?
uary I, 1913. amounted to 356,074
bales, the C nsus bureau announced
today. The number of establishments
engaged in crushing cotton seed during
that time was s 4 .*> and the quantity
e>f seed crushed amounted to 2.7?il.
39 4 tons.
Negro Molests Ladles.
It was reported Monday and Tues?
day afternoon, late, two ladies were
molested by s negro as they were
returning home In the southwestern
part of the city. The laelics had
stopped in a little store and the ne
gTO approached them from the rear
s> on afu r they left the store. He
came up close behind one e>f the la?
dies, reaching out his hand and
catching her arm. Both of the young
ladies screamed and the negro at
once took to his heels. It is supposed
that tbat negro wanted to rob the
young lady of a purse which she was
1 arrying In her hands at the time and
which, it is understood, she had open?
ed while in the store. The negro ha*
not be en arrested.
Mr. Asa Moneyham Head.
Blshopvllle, Jan. J 7.?Mr. ASS
Moneyham. of Wisaeky, this coun'.y.
died Friday night after being con?
fined to his bed for several weeks.
He leaves B Wife and eight small
children, the oldest of which is onl)
about 1 L' years.
Mr. A. s. Harhy, for sonu time past
the popular and efficient stenogra?
pher in the offices of Kelly a Hinds,
Esq. left Klngstree yesterday for
Sumter, where he has taken s posi?
tion In the office of L. D. Jennings.
ISsq. We are sorry to loss th's proi
Ising young gentlemen, but are i <?:,
soled with the belief thai Klngstree'*
loss will be Sumter's gain. Itr. P. x
Becton, of North Carolina, succeeded
Mr Harhy in the offices of Meeen
Kelley \ Hinds and comes to them
with the highest n i ommendations.
We welcome Mr. Itecton and trust
that he will lind his position and our
town entirely t-> h:s satisfaction ?
Kingstr? ? lb cord.
One of th lire department hors is
at Marion died ver> suddenly Satur?
day, after having been out on a run
to a lire, The horse was. perhaps,
the ^t atest Are hors< In the State
and was one which the Sumter boys
feared most In tournaments. Thej
tre extremely sorry to hear, how?
ever, uf th.< loss sustained by theii
neighboring city's lire department.
Mr <'?. ,| Bn i ley, on< of the s? n<
lor's in the high s< h< ? ' is ona of th?
corn club boys to itend the Kations
l 'orn Fxposit ion at Colui i R<
?