The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, May 24, 1913, Image 2
the Worth |
TJfc LOVE STORY %f
A GRAY JACKET
By Randall Parriih
i Author? r*
ILLUSTRATIONS BT
ARTHUR R. WILLIAMSON
1 turned toward w>*rn the little
gtaat bsd been Bitting, but bo was not
to be soon. However, tbs sound of my
voice aroused Marls to s full sense of
ear danger, nor was she a woman
to u sei t?te in Auch emergency With
n single stride she crossed the nar?
row room, caught tbs white-faced hero
?IPs Heeses," the Said Harshly.
by the collar of his shirt, dragged him
tgaouilniously forth from beneath the
table where be had sought rsfuge.
eeeok him as shs would shake a toy
dog. until his teeth rattled, and than
flung him out of the door leading into
the back shed. It waa dona so oy>
seditiously that I could only gasp.
"Now later thsr hole with ys, Jed
Bungay?you as yer dorgs," aha
panted furiously. "An' you uns foliar
bim. I reckon I'm able tar handle that
lot out tnar. even If it should bs Rad
Lowrle aad his gang."
Catching firm bold of Mrs. Bran
nan's band I sprang down the single
step and closed the door tight behind
us. Jed had scrambled to his feat,
and rubbing blmsslf vigorously with
one bsnd. utilised the othsr to drag'
outward a rough cupboard, which ap?
peared to be a portion of the house
Itself As It swung open there wss re?
vealed behind It a falr-atsed openlug
eitending Into the face of the hill. It
was a most ingenious srrangement,
doubtless finding frequent use in those
troublesome times. Its presents par
tlally esplslned how Jed had thus far
escaped the conscription officer. Into
this bole we entered one st a time,
and wbsn the heavy cupboard had
aeon silently drawn back Into place,
found ourselves enveloped in such
total darkness as to make any move- J
moat a dangerous operation. I felt
the clasp of ray compaaion's hand
tighten, snd knsw that bar whole form
was trembling from lntsnse eicite
"Do not permit the darkness to
alarm you," I wbisperad soRly, bend
lag down as I spoks until I could
feel her quick Ireathlng against my
cheek. "Our visitors srs not likely to
remain longsr than will be necessary
to get somethlLg to eat. Thsy need
never suspect our presence, snd all
we have to do Is to wait patiently
until they move on I only wish I
could disco, it something upon which
you might sit down."
"Pray do not think ma a coward,"
she soswered. ' but I have heard of
this man Lowrte in the Fedsrsl camps,
aad I would rather die than fall Into
bin haada '
I had heard of hire also, and of his
outrageous treatment of women The
toeuiory caused ma to cdaap my hand
warmly over hers, and set my teeth
hard
"It mar not prove to be Lowrle at
all." 1 said soberly: "but all these
gantry are prstty inu.n alike. I fear.
However, I promise that you shall
never fall alive Into the hands of sny
of their breed "
Before she could answer ms other
tksn by a slight nestling closer in the
darkness. Bungay whlapersd: This
ysra hols, Csp, leads dowa ter the
right, an' comes out in a sort o' gully
'bout a hundred feet back Thar's
light 'aough ter aee ter walk by a'ter
ye turn the corner, 'bout twenty
feet or so. Ton uns kin go on down
tear If ya'd rather, follerla' ther dorgs,
but 1 reckon ss how I'll stay right
yore an' sorter see how ther ol' woman
comae out.
M<Where, where was Roderick then?
One blaat upon hl* b?uTle horn
Were worth s thousand* nen '
If you uns like ter see a durned good
flgbt maybe ye better stay tew- ther
ol woman Is plssn If she once glta her
dander up "
His voice was eiprssstve of great
eapswieUoea, aad 1 bad reaaou to be
liave bis fatth tu Maria would be
Justified Before any of us, however,
had time to change our positions we
heard the fellows cooie stamping
roughly into the cabin. The thin slabs
which divided ui scarcely muffled
their loud voices.
"Well, old woman." exclaimed one in
voice 10 gruff as to seem almoct as*
mined, "pretending to be alone, are
you, with all those dishes Bitting out
on the table; just been eaten off, too.
Have n't seen no strange paity along
the road this morning, have ye?"
"Nary a one," said Maria, and I
knew from her voice she was standing
close beside the fireplace.
"Are you Mrs. Bungay?"
"I reckon I am, If It's any o* ygr
business."
"Don't git nifty, old woman, or we're
liable to give you a lesson in polite?
ness before we leave." The leader
dropped tbe butt of his gun with a
crash on the floor. "Where Is the lit-1
Ue sneak, anyhow?"
"Whet do you want of him?"
"Want him to go 'long with us;
we're hunting some parties, and need
a guide. They tor us up the road a
bit be knew every Inch o' these yere
mountings."
There was a pause, as If Maria was.
endeavorlr* to decide at to the hon?
esty of the sneaker. Her final answer
proved the mental survey had not
proven satisfactory.
"Wal, I reckon," she said calmly,!
"at you uns Ml be more likely ter
find him down 'bout Connersvllle."
"Then shut's all these yere dirty
dishes doing oj the table7"
"Hod sum Ya ikee officers yere: they
Just rode on Iowa tber trail at you
unr cum up."
"Like bell!" ejaculated the fellow
with complete loss of temper. "Set
here, old woman, we're too old birds
to bt caught with any such chaff.
We'll take a look around the old tb#>
bang anybcw, and while we're at it
you put something on the table for mt
and my mattt to eat"
The voice and manner ware rough,
but I waa impressed with a certain ac?
cent creeping Into the man's speech
bespeaking education. More, in spite
of an appartnt effort to make It to, hit
dialect waa not that of tboae moon
taint.
Even aa he uttered these ittt wordt,
throwing into them a threat more In
the tone than the language. I became
aware of a thin ray of light pene?
trating the aeemlngly solid wall jutt
in front of me, and bending silently
forward could dimly distinguish the
elliptical head of Bungay aa he applied
one aye to a tmall opening he had
industriously made between the logt.
Oratplng Mrt. Brennen firmly by the
hand ao that we should not become
separated, I crept across the Interven?
ing blacknett, and reached hit side.
"Holy smoke Cap." tbe little man
muttered in tuppresaed excitement, as
he realised my presence, "it's a goln'
ter be b'ilin' hot In thar mighty toon.
Mtrlar't tteam It a rltln'."
He silently made room for me. and,
bending down to aa to bring my eye
upon a level with his, I managed tc
gain some slight gllmpte of the tcent
within the cabin.
Mrt. Bungay stood with her back,
to the fireplace, an iron skillet firmly
gripped In one hand. Her face was
red with indignation, and there was
a look In her eyes, together with a
defiant tet to her chin, which prom-1
teed trouble. In front of her, care
letsly renting on the table, hit feel1
dangling in the air, wat a sturdy
looking fellow of forty or to, wlthi
red. straggling beard covering all the
lower half of hit face, and a weather?
worn black hat pulled to low as al?
most to conceal his eyes. His attire1
was nondescript, as though he hadj
patronised the Junkshop of both
armies. In bis belt were thrust a re?|
volver and a knife, while withlu easy
reach of hit hand a mutket leaned |
agalntt a chair. Two others of the
party, younger men, but even more
roughly dressed than their leader,
were lounging between him and the
door.
Bungay chuckled expectantly.
"0 Lord! if they only git the o!'
gal Just a little more riled," he whis?
pered hoarssly, jumping up and downj
on one foot in his excitement, "they'll
hev tber fight of their life."
"Do you know the fellows?" I atked.
"Is that Red I,owrie?"
He shook his head.
"Never laid eyes on any of 'em
afore, but ye bet they're no good.
Reckon they're a part o' his crowd."
The man who posed as the leader of
the party picked up the empty cof?
fee-pot beeide him and shook It.
"Come, now. Mrs. Bungay he com?
manded, "I tell you we're hungry, so
trot out some hoecake and fill up this
pot. unless you want to reckon with
Red Lowrle."
The woman stood facing him, yet
never moved. I could see a red spot
begin to glow In either cheek. If I
had ever doubted it, 1 knew now that
Maria possessed a temper of her own.
"You ain't no RnU Lowrle," she re?
torted
The fellow laughed easily.
"No more 1 ala't, old woman, but
I reckon we ain't so durn far apart
when It comes to getting what we go
after. Come, honett now, where It
the little white-livered cur that runt
thlt shebang ? '
Whatever Maria might venture to
call her lord and master in the
privacy of home, It evidently did not
soothe her spirit to hear him thus
spoken of by another.
"If .led Bungay wus hum," she aa
swered fiercely, her eyes fairly bias?
ing, "I i" < kon you would n't be sprawl
in' oa thet thar table fer long."
"Wouldn't I, now? Well, old hen.
we've fooled here with you about as
loag as I csre to. Bill, go over there
I tug pUt seats ef that Bacoa ou to fry
If she doesn't get out of the way T'll
give her something to jump for.'* And
he patted the stock of his gun.
instinctively I drew my revolver,
snd pushed its black mussle into the
light under Jed's nose.
"Shall 1 give him a dose?" I asked
eagerly.
"Not yit; 0 Lord, not yit!" he ex?
claimed, dancing from one foot to the
other In excitement "Let ther ol'
gal her a show. I reckon she's good
fer ther whole three of 'em, less they
shoot."
Bill came up grinning. He evident?
ly unticlpated some fun, and as he
reached oui a grimy hand for the slab
of bacon, took occasion to make some
remark. What it was I could not hear,
but I noted the quick responsive flash
in the woman's eyes, and the next
instant with a crash she brought the
iron skillet down with all her strength
on top of the fellow's head. Without
even a groan he went plunging down,
face foremost, in front of the fire. In
another moment shs was battling like
a wild fury with the other two.
It waa a Quick, intense struggle. The
man near the door chanced to be the
first in, and he received a blow from
the skillet that most assuredly would
have crushed his skull bad he not
dodged; as It was It landed upon his
shoulder and he reeled back sick and
helpless By this time the fellow with
the red beard had closed upon her,
and wrested the sklllst from her hand.
Struggling fiercely back and forth
across the floor,. Maria tripped over
the body of the dead dog and fell,
but as she did so her fingers grasped
the red beard of her antagonist. It
yielded to her hand, and bare of faoa,
save for a dark moustache, the man
stood there, panting for breath, above
her. Then suddenly, almost at my
very aai, a voice cried,
"Prank! Frank! I am heral"
CHAPTER IX. I
In the Handa of the Ins my.
In the first surprise of that unex?
pected joyful cry ringing at my very
ears all my senses seemed confused,
and I stood motionless. Then 1 heard
Bungay uttar a smothered oath, and
knew he bad wheeled about in the
darkness. Unable to distinguish the
slightest outline of his figure, I was
yet Impressed with the thought that
ha was endeavoring to muffle the girl,
to prevent bar uttering a second cry.
Impelled by this Intuition I flung out
my arm hastily, and by rare good luck
It came in contact with his hand.
"None of that, you little cur!" I mutr
tared sternly, unmindful of his efforts
to break away. "No hand on her,
mind you! Mra. Brennen, what does
this mean?"
She made no attempt to answer, but
I could hear her now groping her way
through the darkness toward the place
of our entrance. Bungay detected the
movement also, and made a violent
effort to break loose from my grip,
thst he might hurry after her.
"You lit go o' ma," he cried ex*
cltedly, "er, by goll', I'll uae a knife.
Sha ll give this whole thing away If
she aver glU out."
For answer I hurled him backward
with ail my strength and sprang after
the fleeing woman. But I was already
too late to stop her, even had that
bsen my Intention. With strength
yielded her by desperation, she thrust
With a Crssh She Brought ths Iron
Skillet Down With Ail Hsr Strength.
j
aside the heavy cupboard, and as the
light swept in, sprang forward into the
rude shed. With another bound, gath?
ering her skirts as she ran, she was
up the steps and had burst into the
outer room. A moment Ister I also
stood in the doorway, gazlug upon a
scene that made my blood like firs.
The fighting had evidently ceased
suddenly with her first cry. Maria
stood panting In one corner, the dead?
ly skillet again in her hand, her hair
hanging In wisps down her back. Still
unconscious from the blow he had re
calved, one fellow lay outstretched on
the floor, his head barely missing the
hot ashes of the fireplace; while his
companion nursed his bruises and
scowled from a safe refuge behind the
table. The unshaven faces of several
others of the gang were peering curl
oualy in through the open door I
know now 1 aaw all this, for the
picture of It la upon the retina of
memory, but at the moment every?
thing 1 appeared to perceive or hear
occurred tn the centre of the room.
The man who had posed as the lead?
er stood there alone fncing us. his
expression n strange mixture of
amazement and delight. He wna n
powerfully built mnn, with keen gray
eyes deeply aet In their sockets. His
right hand rested heavily upon the
hilt of a cavalry sabre, the scabbard
I of which was concealed beneath the
folds of the loug brown coat he wore.
\ Aa Mra. UTsauau burst Uuuugh the
doorway he stepped eagerly forward,
hia eyee brightening, and they met
with clasped hands.
"Is It possible-?KdIth?" he cried, ai
i: the recognition could scarcely ho
credited.
"Oh. Frank!" she exclaimed, eager?
ly, "It seems all too good to be tree.
How came you here?"
"Hunting after you, my fair lady.
Did you suppose you could disappear
as mysteriously aa you did last night
without my being early on the trail?
Have these people injured you in any
way?" And he glanced about him
with a threat In his gesture
"Oh, no, Prank," hastily ; "every one
has been most kind. It was a mere
mistake. But how strangely you are
dressed! how very rough you look!"
He laughed, but still retained hie
warm clasp of her bands.
"Not the pomp and circumstance of
glorious war which yon expected,
girl?" he aaked lightly. "But we have
all sorts of conditions to meet down
here, and soon learn in Rome to do an
the Romans do."
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Till: COTTON PLANTED.
Report Shows Difference Between
June and July.
Washington, May 19.?The area
planted to cotton in the United .State?
last year and which was under cul?
tivation at the end of June was 669,
000 acres more than the department
of agriculture estimated in its pre?
liminary report in July. A special in?
vestigation waa made by the depart?
ment, and with the assistance of the
Census bureau's report on the quantity
of cotton ginned, it reached the con?
clusion that the area planted was 34,
766,000 acres instead of 34,097,000
acres the preliminary estimate. The
area picked is estimated at 34,283,000
acres, indicating that the area aban?
doned was less than 1.4 per cent. The
revised figures will be used by the
department in making its cotton acre?
age estimates this year in July.
Revised estimates place the acreage
yield at 190.9 pounds instead of 193.2
1 pounds as preliminary estimated.
S. C. a I. CLOSES SESSION.
Sum ter Hoys Do Well, Winning Sev?
eral Prizes.
Edgefleld, May 20.?The graduat?
ing exercises of the South Carolina Co
Educational Institute were held in
the college auditorium on lost even?
ing. There were twenty-one gradu?
ates in the literary department, five
in bookkeeping and eight in steno?
graphy and typewriting. Miss Ruth
Cain of sumtrr read an essay on
"Margins," Miss Katharyn Campbell
of Augusta, on "Mirrors;" Miss Nell
Jones of Edgefleld on "The Power of
Music,'' and Miss Ida Lou Morgan of
I Edgefleld on "Power oi Natural. Beau?
ty." Hr. Hey ward Burgess of Sum?
mer delivered an oration on "The
Cause of Political Strife in South Car?
olina."
Mr. Edens, M., of Kumter was
awarded a gold medal as the best
drilled recruit. Mr. Edens, C, of Sum
ter won the O. Sheppard medal aa the
best drilled cadet. The medal for the
best drilled private was won by Cros?
by, D. of Chester. The medal given
; bp the cadet corps v^a tvou by Ivil
jgore, A., of Orlando, Fla,
State Senator B. E. Nicholson de?
livered the literary address which
I was an intellectual treat to all pres?
ent.
! Ex-Governor J. C. Sheppard deliver?
ed the diplomas to the graduates In a
short, well chosen speech. He then
I spent some time in eulogizing Col.
Bailey and faculty and tpoke of the
I great benefit the town of Edgefleld
had derived from the S. C. C. I. and
its ennobling influence. He said in
conclusion that he was sure that he
expressed the sentiments of all the
well thinking people of the town In
saying that it was with a feeling of
j great regret and loss that they saw
the Institution moved from their
'midst to Greenwood at the dose of
the present .session.
1??-"
jar AVAL CADETS TAUGHT A LES?
SON.
i,
Unusual IVna.lty Imposed on 23 for
Infraction of Regulations.
-
i Annapolls, Md., May. 20.?Punish?
ment of rather unusual nature was
today meted out to twenty-three mem
bera of the third class at the Naval
Academy. The youths had joined in
a petition to the Secretary of Com?
merce asking him to intercede in a
case of a classmate who had been
found deficient in his conduct grades.
As their action was In violation of
naval regulations, tho offenders in?
stead of enjoying the usual shore I
liberty during the summer cruise, are
t.? undergo special Instruction in the
regulations, When they return to the
Academy after the cruise they are to
be denied the usual summer vacation
atoi will have to pass an examination
in the .subjects they have been study?
ing on durklg the cruise.
Secretary) of the Navy Daniels, ir.
referring the matter to Superintend?
ent Gibbons tor action, severely cen?
sured the younw men
I
-?.??
kT. R." TO PUSH LIBEL SUIT.
Publisher Charge*! That Colonel
Curses, Me* and Get* Drunk.
New York, May 21.?Theodore
Roosevelt will leave Saturday for
Marquette, Mich., to press the libel!
suit he has brought against George',
Newett, publisher of the lshpemlng
Iron Ore.
Mr. Roosevelt will he accompanied
hy many men of national note, among
whom are Robert Bacon, ex-Secretary
[of State; William Loeb, Jr., Glfford
Pinchot and Jacob Rlis.
The cause of the libel suit was a
statement published in the iron Ore,
a trade journal, to the effect ihat "he
(Roosevelt) curses, lies and gets
drunk frequently and all his friends
know this."
i
The defense will try to prove that
Mr. Roosevelt was drunk when he
made one of his three speeches in
Duluth.
The Colonel announced today that
he expects to spend his vacation this
summer in Arizona. He will leave
here early in July, taking with him
two of his sons, and will hunt four
or five weeks In the Southwest, most
of the time in Arizona. The trip is
to be purely a pleasure trip.
LOYAS TO THEIR GOVERNMENT. |
Claimed Japanese Do Not Care to Be?
come American Citizens.
San Francisco, May 2U?Of fifty
Japanese born in Honolulu and eli?
gible to American citizenship, only
fifteen have availed themselves of the
opportunity, according to the state?
ment of Gilbert D. Metzger, a Hono?
lulu contractor, who arrived today.
"It has been my observation,' he
said, "that Japanese are absolutely
loyal to their own government and
do not care to become American
citizens or permanent residents even
When they may."
The Hawaiian Islands have a pop?
ulation of Japanese laborers estimat?
ed at 75,000.
ARMOR PLAN CROOKED.
Daniels Denounces Plan CmhI by De?
pertinent in the Past, ^
Washington May 21.?Responsi?
bility for Price agreements among
manufacturers furnishing armor nlate
for American warships was placed dl*
rectly upon the navy department itself
today by Secretary Daniels. In a
statement following his announce*
ment yesterday of his Intention to
submit a plan for a government armor
plate plant, the aecretary declared the
policy of the department in dividing
plate contracts among all bidders at
the lowest figure ottered "makes all
pretense of competitive bidding to get
the lowest market price a fares that
can not possibly deceive any one ac?
quainted with the facts."
Mr. Daniels said he was glad the
resolution for an investigation of this
matter, introduced recently by Sena?
tor Ashurst, was before congress and
that it only anticipated a formal state?
ment which he proposed to prepare
requesting relief from "an intolerable
situation."
GREAT RUSH FOR CHINESE LOAN
- '1
Everybody Anxious to Lend Baby
Republic Money.
London, May 21.?So great was the
rush of the public to secure a por?
tion of thf new Chinese loan, whk-h
was opened for subscription today
that the issuing banks closed their
lists at 11 o'clock this morning. Then
it was announced that the loan had
been largely over subscribed. It was
quoted at 1 per cent premium by
sellers. i
Germany's Share Over-subscribed.
Berlin, May 2a.?The portion of
the Chinese loan alloted to Germany
was heavily over-subscribed today,
the entire amount issued being cover?
ed by non-negotiable subscriptions
alone.
The Contestants and How
They Stand
District Number One. f*ff*
This district Includes all territory within the incorporate limits
of the City of Sumter. At least two prises will go to this district
with opportunity of winning one or both of the grand prises.
Miss Kathryn Stubbs, 11 Washington ?? .101.290
Mrs. Richard Wilder, Magnolia St.. ?? ?.?* 9Ml*
Miss Georgia Beetham, S. Salem Ave. ?* ?. 63.695
Mrs. Jullau D. WUder, Magnolia St.. 69.660
Miss Mabel Myers, w. Bartlette St.. 46,026
Miss Boucher DeLorme, Bartlette St.*.? ?? 7,030
District Number Two.
District Number 2. All territory north of the Columbia branch
of the Coast Uno R. R., on the west of Sumter and tbe Darling*
ton branch of the Coast Line R. R. on the east of Sumter. At
least two prises will go to this district with opportunity of Win?
ning one or both of the grand prizes,
Wstptii I'ltppr
Mrs, Clinton Dixon. r 41,060
Miss Nonle Scarborough.? *. ?5 J
6T. CHARLES.
Miss Juanita Wilson. 69,330
Miss Jennie McCoy.a* be ?? ? 38,160
Miss Bertha Tallons. 0,200
REMBKRT
Miss Mary Harllee.. 100,760
Mrs. W. J. 8pencer.. ? ?1.090
Miss Juanita McLeod.?? m ?? . 66,260
OSWEGO.
Miss Melle Brown. ?5,376
WEDGEFIKLD.
Miss Bessie Ryan. 14,700
HAGOOD.
Mrs. Crawford Sanders. 101.060
WISACKY.
Mm. W. W. DesChamps.?. 16,400
SUMTER No. ft
Mrs. Docla M. Josey. 96,060
DISTRICT NO. THREE.
District No. 3. All territory south of the Columbia branch of
the Coast Line R. R., on the west of Sumter and the Darlington
branch of the Coast Line R. R.. on the East of Sumter. At least
two prizes will go to this district with opportunity of winning
one or both of the grand prizes. t ^ g | 1 ^ ^ tis *
PAXVILLE. >?f|ft4ef|M
Miss Pearl Prltchard.. ... mm ksj +m ad sss sss Oo.&.ft
Mrs. Ben Pack. ?. ?? ?? ?? aa sat an f.oM
PTNEWOOD.
Miss Leo Broughton.. .. ?*'m ?? m M w ?? ??"??**? ?o.Hej
Miss Bessie Geddings. ?* m ?-? O*3*
MAYKSVIDLE. ..
Mrs. J. H. Wilson.?. 68.130
Miss Minnie Chandler. 46.000
Mrs. Hugh Wltherspoon.?. 49,176
Miss Carrie Anderson.?. 7,490
REM3NL
Miss Alma Felder.? 8,586
LYNCUBCRG.
Miss Docla Keels. 86,026
DURWOOD.
Miss Coro Truluck. 90,720
O&ANTA.
Mise L. Bell Moore, R. F. D. 66.216
ELLIOTT.
Mrs. J. O. itodgers. 90,126
SUMTER, lt. V. D. NO. L
Miss Lessle Jones.????...??.? 22.090
TUHBEVILLE.
Miss Pauline Jones. , tl $8 " 1 70,e30
BROGDON.
Miss Kate Brogden.gjee sj as ? ismsi