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^^^^ AS Tino boat pointed Its nose to? ward th i city, tho solitary man at the prow turned his baok on freedom and gazed longing? ly at the grayetone penitentiary, which seemed to be slipping away from him and growing smaller and oosler as distance lent tho enchant* Bent of perspective to his loneliness. For Mulcahy. dazzled by liberty, was very lonely Indeed. Every mo? ment that the water widened between him and the prison It lessened the distance from tho city, and In * wo minutes more the man know that the metropolis, bristling with antogonism, cold and strange and busy with its holiday season, would bo upon him, and It filled his heart with a name loss dread. But,' after all. ho had only himself Xo blame for his liberty. "Good be? havior"? that was the thing that had turned him loose from a comfortable home, three square moais a day, and his companions of the quarry. If he had only transgressed a few laws, broken a simple rule or two, all might havj been well. He might have eaten Christmas dinner w'.th Jerry the Spike. Dottles, Hank and the whole ~appy crew who had contrived to speed another Christmas In the "pen" through trifling indiscretions committed in dj hauen ot tho keepers. These NBTMUOBI WfM Interrupted by the sharp teeth of tho wind snap? ping at his legB throt gh tho thin trousers and the threadburo coat. He shivered an thv boat docked, and then took a Ion?: bftttb tfl he walked up the gangplank and cur into?was this freedom striking tcrrof to his soul? Why was he trcsibling? He was free at last, but fret to do what? Free to kill himself befo e he starved to death, free to w?nde:* the uncom? panionable streets and gize upon tho happiness that showed itself in the faces of fugitive passers-by. He was only free to go anywhere; but these people had their homos to go to, each his separate "peniten? tiary." where there wero warmth and food and human things to talk to. Ho shut his eyes for an instant and started bravely up tho hilly street that led to First avenue. Tl en suddenly a str?ng" thing happened. Ho forgot bis misory and his wretched home? sickness. At first ho couldn't realize what the Influence was, th"i he rec? ognized the soothing and thirst-inspir? ing smell of hops that powicd over him like a hot brea'h from Um brow ery on the next streot. TM3 promote:! a thought which Wfsf inrncdlatt'y fol? lowed by a sharp movement. Mulcahy minded htut of tho faded five-dollar bill in- b vl in his pock- '. the last bounty of the rood home across the river. He pulled it out and looked at It. It represented two wc.ka and a half of life; that is. he calculated that while he was looking for a job it would provtdo food and sheKot for him. If he couldn't find a j I -but that thought ended with a look toward the river; and again ho saw tho "pen,* and another thought oowurtd M bin, If be didn't find anything to do. ho could go back to the "pm" and beg them to take him In. No, he couldn't do that. Ho squared his rugged shoulders as If trying to rise superior 4o th* thought, for there was a rem? nant of prido In Mulcahy, albeit Hast and a desperate strugglo to keep his feet on tho globo hau frayed its edges. No. he determined to go back th- ro I aorably, as ho had lett. Ho mh.ht get a Job shoveling snow? but alus! It wss ono of thoso cheerloss Christ Biases, and nature had net even sup? plied tho peoplo oat of work with snow to shovel. Mulcahy had worked all his life. He was fifty now, and. as he unroll* d the long catalogue of calamity which other psoplo might havn called ids career, he found that tho only year of his life that had been a happy ono was his last In Jail it had started merrily even, for, aft? r* his outraged pride had revolted at tho Idea of be? ing arrested for his slight connection with tho robbery, comfort ruin | wlft ]y with the thought that ho was being punished for on o Am tgUMf than commission. These thoughts and the haunting smell of hops brought Mult; / to Fouth afentie and a sale >n. R Wkl twelve o'clock, and Msjsjtf beef and cabbage-b af being slated f >r lunrh on m blscsboard under a RatyrisU look? ing bock and a life-sized "schoon'u, determined tlm m?in, and ho ,->te;,| ? 1 Inside. Tho story ulll move much Mere rai ldly If wo do not. follow M n- i and "Aalt for him to eat his torned hcef and philander with a spirit BOft t.f his Ilk than any he has met for the lsst yesr, a spirit that seemed al? most fabulous Vksjf dr. an d of in the pen -tow.t, Hi" bail?nd"r. ?*ut look Where Mulcalry emerges half an hour later, tho inner man lulled by tho succulent cabbago and , but a melancholy gnawing at tho outer man, whoso clothes aro slight, protection against tho increasing wind. As tho day drew h?r portal? slowly I ther ho fell to trembling aqain. How was ho going to faco tho night? Gazed Longingly at the Cirayetone Pen. A'l alore in Ott of those ten-cent bed! which promise bo much to a woary body that soon discovers tho eggshell substance of tho promise? He shuddered and hurried down a side street of Amer.cnn-hanemsnt houses, with their daint> Boston ferns and yews, pretty windovs with OOttly curtains that sealed happy homes from tho profano eyes of the public. And this atmosphere gave Muicahy hope. The inspiration jorn of dot* pglf took root. Mr Intended to abandoi all thouguta of getting work until warm wentrver. It was worso than hopeless to think ho could get work uo'v?why, tho weather, h'a age, all were against it. He would go back to the "pen" 11 he had literally to MtttalM his way back. Tho thing to do now wis to conjure up 8omo reasonable o.Tenso, some trifling transgressior. that would open tho Iron gates of the prison, as dif? ficult of entrance as It was of exit, and tldo him over tho winter months. But what cculd ho do? Not a einglo misdemeanor suggested itself t j his overwrought brain. If lie could only steal something long enough to get arrested and sent to tho inland! But how? When, and nbuvo all where? Broadway and Thirty-third Etreet, with its trianglo of shops, answered that question. It was very late, but he knew that a week bctoro Chrlst BM| tu - shops would bo open until lato. tu tho hopo that his clothes would contribute their help toward arousing tho suspicions of tho storo deteettfen, ho quickened his steps f'\ ? irtihty, blgJdf the shop was warm, brilliant, and Jammed with people. The incom? ing und outgoing crowds Jostled and pu Mulcahy as if ho were a rub t. ???? MHavi You Seen My Mamma?" hub of a ber-wnaber be tween the v. b< el and the linoh pin. Preten iy he fovnd hlmteU at tho notion eonntefi awept there by tho tide of customers. He wondered at the t n Idenee or the storekeepers, who tooh no trouble ta proteet their i u i ?( t fowth in Nttlo oontpnrtmente? No\v he was ba< l< d into a litt hi NN ol toothahflah< 4- He felt his tin I re oloee on so met hi mechanical" iv he placed the thing In in* pocket, and then let himself drift Along v.itu the crowd. iio had stolen gomethlngl Was it a . ike of gonp?perhaps; hot with ;i slekenlog tenentton ol impotence ho remembers d thnt one eake of soap hi not unlock tho iron gnto of the ' pen." Muleahy sighed? Now wni in tb?> j .?!ry u'pattiu'nt. Jt yielded vast possibilities an Tar as valaubleo woro concern*. (!, but theso were care? fully protected by glass cases. True, there were somo little trays of gold lilled pins and bracelets scarcely worth the effort of attainment. And yet a handful of these trifles, flagrant? ly abstracted, might attract tho at? tention of a detective. , Perhaps there were no detectives, after all. This thought smote to him in the j ct of reaching out a trembling hand toward a delicate gold-filled bangle. Then he paused, and in that moment of hesitation ho felt a twitch nr nil coat, and, turning to face what , ho felt must bo authority either in plain or blue clothes, ho perceived at his sldo a very pretty littlo girl. She was wall dressed; and after tho ttrtt shock he felt on looking into her clear blue eyes, Mulcahy saw a beautiful locket and chain clasped around her neck. In tho mean time she has possessed herself of his coat-pocket as if it were hiii hand, and clung to him as she 1 asked: "Have you seen my mama?" Her voico Wal smothered by tho crowd that pressed around her, and Mulcahy had to lift her up in his arms to make himself heard. "No," he replied, his face close to her pretty neck and ear. "Shall wo go and look for her?" ho added, touchod by tho sudden moisturo that blurred her eye*;. As he spoke he carried her to tho revolving-door. Once out in tho street, she told him that she had been shop? ping with her mother and had got lost. She lived, she said on Fiftieth street, betwetu liadicon and Fifth avenue. She didn't know the number, but there were gTeen trees at tho door, nnc1. it was a white house. The man assured her that they would find it together. You mu3n*t think that this esca? pade diverted Mulcahy from his origi al scheme. Only ho wanted to be of use to the child, and he also saw a much belter way of obtaining his ar? rest and entrance to prison. The locket and chain he knew would servo his purpose, for he in? tended stealing them as soon as ho had found her home. Thero were four dollars and ninety cents left from tho "pen's" munificence, but he spent enough of it in a candy-store to have provided for himself for two days. Over a congenial glass of Ice cream soda tho littlo girl gave him her name ?Violet Van Twiller. The telephone book did tho rest in the matter of lo? cating tbo Van Twiller mansion, whither Violet was escorted by her ragged friend. Afterward, when Mulcahy left her standing at the door of her home waving at him and smiling in her eweet, frank way, ho wondered how he had found it in his heart to steal tho necklace; but thero it was in h!s hard, still warm from contact with her throat. Then he darted away from the street, and, clasping the locket tightly, flew tc the first police station and gave himself up. Tho judso did not conceal his dis? gust when ho learned that Mulcahy had robbed a child; and when he Utteted sternly, "Siv months on the i land for him," ho marveled a: the brutality of a man who could sm.lo at tho sentence, II. Meantime, Violet Van Twiller had been received with the tears and re? joicings of a hysterical and loving fam? ily and diligently Interrogated con? cerning the events of tho evening. Over and over again she repeated tho story of the "kind, ragged gentle? man" who had bought her candy and f (?da and had found her home lor her, Later, Mr. Van Twiller discovered that Violet had mysteriously lost her locket; but, though he suspected her ?trange fritnd, ho was so grateful to tht! "ragged gentleman" that the next day ho advertised in all tho papen that ho wished to reward the pv ion who had restored his daughter to her family. But Malcahy never learned of this golden apportunity which might have given him a now start in lifo, though 1 e gave the otlicer who accompanied 1 fan to the island tho name and ad dress of the little owner of tho r.cck 1 tee, and it was sent to her. Tho next day saw Mulcahy sr.fely aboard tho Fidelity and headed for the "pen." At the end of tho week ho was sit? ting at the Christmas dinner which had scorned a fantom on that dread? ful day he was set at liberty. Between mouthfuls of fat turkey and cranberry sauce ho boasted to Jerry the Spike, Hank, and Bottles of how he had hoodwinked justice. When he reported for work, a few days later, tho keeper who presided over the men engaged In breaking stono remarked casually to a fellow kr- per: "1 b< q Mulcahy is back on the Job." "Yes," tho other replied; "he was liberated a week ago, and now he's back b H In. 1 tell you this place i3 a Cinch for those fellows. They're do? ing lifo on the Installment plant If y->u dun ped the whole caboodle Into the Beat river and told them to swim to New York, they'd all turn like b lot ol rata and Bqueak to come bach, to the 'peu. " (Copyright) Work and the Weather. The it diese day a are here. All >ut doom |n\ \\cH \\n and our work becomes a conscious effort and a bore. It la the time v. hen we are most in sym pathy with Jerome k. Jerome In hla con fem Ion as follows: "I like work; it fasclnrti b me, I c.Mi sit and look at it for hours, I love to keep It by me; the idea of getting i id of it i Barl? breaks n y heart" .-= BEGINS- -= FRIDAY, DECEMBER 26th ^?^ For One Week Only ^??: V Sumter, South Carolina assault in mm. BUCK HILL, ALIAS Bf'LEOD, IDEN? TIFIED BY THE VICTIM. Trailed with Doge and Captured by Sheriff?Wife of Confederate Vet eran Attacked In Her llomc During Husband's Absence* Columbia, Dec. 24.?Yesterday about 12 o'clock Buck Hill, alias Buck McLeod, a nemo, assaulted a white '.vornan while she was at her home near Brown's chapel, which is ten miles southeast of Columbia on the Leesburg roat The negro was trail? ed by the bloodhounds from the State penitentiary and captured about 1.30 o'clock by sheriff McCain, Coroner Scott and the members of s posse who left Columbia In automobiles at l o'clock for the scene of the crime, the negro was lodged in the Richland county Jail last night. The negro's Victim, who is about '?'?'> years old .is the wife of a Confed? erate veteran, a man of excellent standin? In his community, she was alone In the house at the time tho crime was committed. Her husband came to Columbia yesterday on busi? ness and did not leave for home until Lbout 2 o'clock, lb- was Informed of the affair after he had Kotten ? few miles from Columbia. There were threats of violence against Buck Hill after he was cap? tured. While sheriff McCain talked to the crowd which had been aiding In the m in hunt, the negro was put In the automobile of Coroner Scott and brought to Columbia. The crowd, svhlch grew rapidly as the news of the crime spread over the Brown's chapel section of the county, was not dldlcult to handle, but Sheriff McCain t ? ok Ihu precaution of getting the ne ,r ? away from the scene as soon as possible. The unfortunate woman Is said to bo In a serious condition as a result of the negro's assault upon her. she was badly bruised about the face and neck, while one of hei* band? was hurt in the struggle with the negro. The sheriff's office was notified by t( lephonc of the crime about i o'clock by Mr. Gaston, the principal or a school near Brown's chapel, who was one of the first men to go to the scene. After geling the dogs from He- pen? itentiary Sheriff McCain left imme? diately in au automobile, taking Quard Robblns, Officer Henry Dun? ning and It. .1. E, Heise with him. The bloodhounds readily tool: the nogro's trail away from the dwelling bouse in which the crime was com? mitted. The dogs followed the tracks for some time, then became confused by cross trails, but nfter a little thej carried the tracks to Hills house, which is only a mile from the seem of the crime. Tin negro Hill ?alias McLeod, was found in the house with several other net-iocs, lie was ar? rested and taken before the woman on whom 'be crime was committed. According to Sheriff McCain, the wo? man positively Identified the negro as tin- one who committed the assault upon h< i*. W hen the uro was arrested at hit house by the sheriff, he Insisted thai in- musl allowed to change hi clothes ami shoeg before he !? ti home, ii?- wns > 'l i u before tie- woman dressed iast as he was, it Is sold thai the sin?'s ho Wore wi re of Ihe pnm< , as the footprints leading nwnj from t be s< en<" of i h<> assault. Ii was W l 111 last Hi-.,hi that the no "in, who :>; now In 'be Richland Jnl ihnrged with criminal usstiulti ha* ? , i n nrr< led once before on a situ liar charge but was released for lack, of e\ Idence against him. sixkkaky OF INTERIOR UK POHTS. Lane Outlines l*< li y of United States Towards Alaskan ic*'ritory. Washington! Dec -3.?Outlining b proposed land policy for Alaska, which' in' ludes an administrative board having charge of all the national re? sources of the territory, the annual report of Secretary of Interior Frank? lin EC. Lane was made public today. Fully half of the twenty-six pages in the report deal with the Alaskan situation, which in the opinion of the Bt cretary is of the utmost importance t<. the country. The withdrawal of lands In Alaska and their reservation by the government, following the dis? covery of natural resources had pre? cluded the development which should have taken place in the territory, ac i?< rding to tho secretary. The report says: " Tlie largest body of unused and neglected land in the United Sttaea is Alaska. It is now nearly half a cen? tury since we purchased this terri? tory, and it contains today less than Itl.iMKt white inhabitants, less than 1,000 for euch year It has been in our poas< tslon. The purchase was i: ade as n means of protection against the possible aggression of a foreign nation and without the hope that it would be even self-supporting. In tho intervening 46 years we have -riven it little more than the most cas? ual concern, yet its mines, fisheries and furs alone have added to our wealth tlie grand sum of $500,000, 000. "in my judgment the way t?> deal with the problem of Alaskan re i ir. es is to establish a board of di? rectors to have the work in charge. Into the hands of this hoard or com? mission 1 would give ail the national arseta in that territory, to be used primarily for her Improvement in in r lands, fisheries, Indians, Eskimos, seals, forests, mines, waterways, rail? roads? all that the nation owns, et res for, controls <.r regulates. Con? gress should determine in broad out lino the poin ics which this board in :: liberal discretion should elaborate and ud min ister, much as is done as to the Philippines. This hoard would of course have nothing whatsoever to tit) with the Internal affairs of the organized territory of Alaska, for it1 would exercise no powers save such as congress granted over the property ol the United States In Alaska." According t?? the secretary, the plan of opening the vast landa of Alaska to the public should ho pursued under a j 1? ising and royalty plan similar to that under Which the State ol .Min? nesota leases its ore lands, and the states of Colorado and Montana their coal lands. These plans provide that any lands leased must be developed and not merely held for an Increase in value as has been tin- case in Alaska and with timber and coal ami mining lands in many of our western States. The seen tary would also extend thi plan to the petroleum, phosphate an I potash beds in our western States, and to the lands suitable for agricul? ture. The money derived from leasing or mich lands should be tain ed back into them in ;i great man> cases in the form of power sites and irrig i<'ii projects, while I he govern? ment still retains the title to them. This plan, the secretary bellevea would effet 11\ ely put a chi ck I > the mono* pol ism t ion of our resources, by giving tin. small promoter ?? chance t?? ac> iiuirc a propert> under a lease, auch as would not entail the expenditure of a large amount of money, and by making every property so acquired a productive property. COLORED FARMERS' CORN PHIZES. A Word to the Farmers of Stumor County by Farm Demonstration Agent. People's "harmac;, Inc., successor to Birnie's Drug Sto:*e, has given to the farmers three rrizes: $5.00, $10, and $15 each. Sumter Capers, of Daisell, IX. F. D. No. 1, received the tint prise; D. It. Drown, of Sumter, 11. F. D. No. 3, was awarded the see ond prise and T B. Wright, of Item bert, R. F. D. No. 2, was giv<m tho third prize. The prizes were given to the farmers who made the most corn to tne acre. The number of bush? els made by the three winners were as follows: 81 bushels and 5 quarts; S3 bushels, and 72 bushels. Another prize will be offered to the farmers for 1914. Who will be the winners? The following are a few bints as to how to win: 1st. Have contidence in yourself. 2nd. Put humus in the soil, such as barn yard manure .rotten leaves of the forest, muck from the swan.ps ami ditches; corn stalks and any vegf table matter that will decay. 3rd. Turn under the humus from 7 to 10 inches deep. 4. Harrow the same with a disc harrow and then with a tooth harrow. 5th. Plant a winter cover such as Rye or Oats and turn it under when you are ready to plant corn. Gth. Use 1,000 pounds or more of commercial fertilizer to the acre. 'ah. Do not cut the roots of the corn. Now It the time to begin to prepare \eir land and keep the above rules. Yours sincere ly, R. W. Westberry. I". S. Demonstration Agent. BURGLARS PLOW SAFE. Secure Several Thousand Dollars From Hank of Presoott. Prescott, Ark., Dec. S3.?Burglars blew the safe of tile PresOOtt Hank this morning and secured several thousand dollars. The explosion wrecked the building. The burglars escaped on a hand car. A posse arc pursuing them. Heal Estate Transfers. I. C. Strauss to J. W. and J. R. Norton, twenty-five acres on Pocatal igo swamp. $S50. Minnie Simpson to Jod Davis, one third interest to 1-2 acres in coun? ty, .*125. M. l.. Hodge to Tansy J. Hodge, acres in county. $*>,Mb R. w. McCallum to M. E. Hertot, lot and buildings on Lartlettc Street, 11 .?;."??>. Sim n London to I. C. Strauss. 2G res in county, $11*> and other eon* : |d< ration* Marriage License Record. Licenses have been issued to Wil? li .Ii ttradley and Mary Gayte, Wedge ? i<i; Lucius IfoCanta, Sumter, ami Mario Hudson, Mayesvitte; James Held, Jr., Btateburg, ami Janle Choice, Claremont; Sam Singleton ami Sarah Prlerson, Dalxell; Sammle Gedson, Wedgefleld, and Katie B own. State burg; Jesse Sheila and Minnie Wilson. MayosvUle; Lot! Riehardaosi and Sarah Jane Gamble ,Shlloh; Stephen Qarnetl ami Linie DeLane, Wedge inhi.