Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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5? The Batiie-Cty AniM ay Chartas Hernie Atfhe scan! welcome of ale greeting youe? Milt nYcBrlar stiffened a little msg bead to foot, though he had not sjHlaJnataa' anjr |reat degree of cordial* Kg* He climbed the stile and walked eeroge the moonlit patch of trampled dar to where the girl stood leaning, was* kneed wit) fright, against the MgJMfcd frame of th? door. "4jh." he seid slowly to the boy, whofchad stepped down Into the yard. *Tao*g sir ys?" Then, turning to Down, withv his hat In his hand, he greeted her gravely. Bat the son of the murdered man stood gtjll mad rigid and repeated in a herd voice: "What ther heU does ye want Teyarr *T come over hyar ter see Dawn,1 ?was the calm response, and then, as the girl convulsively moistened her dry lips with her tongue, she saw her hrother*a hand sweep ander his coat aad come oat gripping a heavy revol Jsh had never gone armed before that night when Flstch fell. Now he waa never unarmed. Doa\ Job!" she screamed in a traasport of alarm, as she braced her self aad summoned strength to seise tie head that held the weapon. Jeh shook her roughly off and wheeled again to face the slitter with the aamqtmn of a side wise leap. He had expected that the other boy would aae thai moment ol interference to eraw aie own weapon, hat the young MeBtiar was standing In the same at tttuee. holding his hat In one head white hs reaasared the glrL -^ont fret. Dewa; ther eaint aoth tn' |gr worry aeoeL" he said; then, fnetTaf the brother, he wept on la a volea of cold aad almost scornful eonv 9^?t hahVt ther first Urne ye've seed ape fceroet the sights of a gun. la it, Hfhat does ye meant" The other went brick-red and he low with a sense of sadden 1 heered shoot how old Bah ye a paaaal of lies ? ebeet ana. aa' how ya eome acrost ther ridge aae day. 1 reckon I hin guess the tmt" pf hitr Jeh stood with m jeasiai now hanging at ale side, hie eyes stlU glowed the fire of feaWbt this." young htcBriar went on: t got no gun oa me. I alnt even jnckkalfe. I lowed that ye i right smart Incensed at com In' hyar aa' I come without no m oa pmrpoee. Ef ye hain't of me whoa I'm unarmed. I ye Ida'gat your own gun bach MeNash slowly followed the tad the a coming forward the two hoys stood eye to eye, m deliberate accents: *T reck doat low I'm skeered of ye." reckon not" Young Milt's tone almost cheerful, "I reckon ye sir Jest about aa much skeered of me ee I em of you?an* that ain't none" -What dose ye waat hyar?" persist sd Jeh. -I wanu first to tell ye?an' I hain't never lied ter no feller yit?tbet I goat know nothin' more about who kilt flstch than yon does. If I did. so help me Oed Almighty, I'd Uli ye. t hain't try In' ter shield no murder There waa a ring of sincerity in the lad's vrlee that carried weight even lato the bitter skepticism, of Jsb's heart?a skepticism which had refused to believe that honcr or truth dwelt east of the ridge "| reckon, ef that's true." sneered the older boy. "thar's them In yore house thet does know." At that Insult It was Young Milt whose face went first red and then very, white. "Thet calls fer a fleht. Jeb." he said with forced calm. "1 can't harken ter things like thet But first I wants ter say this: I come over hyar ter tell ye thet 1 snowed how ye felt, an' thet I didn't eee no reason why you an' me had ter quarrel. I come over hyar ter see Dswn, because I promised I wouldn't try ter see her whilst she stayed down at the school?an' be? cause 1 wants ter see her?an' 'lows ter (\> hit. Now will ye lay aside yore gun an' go out tbar lu ther road whar hit hain't on yore own ground, an' let me tell ye thet ye lied when ye slurred my folks?" The two boys stripped off their coats In guaranty that neither bad hidden a weapon. Then, while the glr). who wss really no longer a girl, turned back Into the flrellt cabin and threw herself fees downward on her feather bed, they silently crossed the stile Into the road and Milt turned to repest: Jeb. thet war a He ye s?oke. an' 1 wants ye ter fight me fa'r, fist an skull, an' when ws gits though, ef y< feels like hit. we'll shake bands. You an' me ain't got no cause tor qusrrel." And so the boy In each of them, which was thj manlier jmrt of each, ciime to the aurtace, and into a bitter . and long-!ought battle of fiita and wrestling. In which both of them rolled In the dust, and each of them obsti? nately refuted to tty "ecough," they submitted their long-fottened hostility to one fierce debate. At last, at the ts'o lay panting and bloodied there in the road, it waa Jtb who rose and held out his band. I "So fur et the two of ut goes, Milt," I It said, "unless ther war busts loose erfln, I reckon we kin be friendly." Together they rose and recrossed tho etile and wtthed their grimed faces. Dawn looked from one to the other, and Jeb said: "Milt, set yore self a cheer. I reckon ye'd better stay all night It's most too fur.tar ride bask." And to, though they did not realize it. the two youtht wjbo were to stand some day near the heads of the two factions, had set a new precedent and had fought without guns, as men had fought befpre the feud begun Jeb kicked off hit shoes and lay down, and before the flaming logt sat the Htvey girl and tht MoBrlar boy talking. CHAPTER XVIII. When winter hat come tad tettled down for Ut long liege in tbe Cumber lands human life shrinks at d shrivels late a shivering wretchedness, and a spirit of dreariness steals into the hu? man heart The house of old Milt McBrlar was not to dark and cheerless a hovel as the houses of hit letter neighbors, but tt that winter closed in hit heart was blttnr and hit thoughts were black. In a roundabout way ha had learned of Young Milt's visit to the McNaah cab? in. Hit ton was the apple of hit' eye. and now he waa teeing him form em? bryonic affiliations with the people of hit enemy. Ycung Milt had visited Dawn; ho had watched with Anse Havey. The father had always taken a natural pride in the honesty that gleamed from hit son's alert eyes, and the one person from whom ha had concealed hit own. way a of guile and deceit most studiously waa the lad who would tome day he leader in hit stand. There were few things that this old Intriguer ftaral but one there was, and now it Wat 1 racing Unat of care and. anxiety in the visage that had always been so maskUke and Imperturbable. If hit ton thould ever look past his outward self and catch a glimpse of the inner man, the father knew that he would not he able to sustain tht ucorn of those younger eytt. So, while the lad, a ho had gone back to college in Leziniiton. conned hit books, his fath? er tat before tht blaze of his hearth, hit plat tight clamped between his teeth, hit heart festering In bit breast, and hit mind dangerously active. The beginnings of all tht things ' warnt ha dtplmd. Und meant to pun ?a> witnt back to the ettabllahmtnt of a tchcol wim a "fotched-oh" teacher. Had Dawn MoNaah not come there, his bey's feat would not hare gone wandering waatward over the ridge, stray lug out of partisan pathii. Tht sllmness at her body, the .lure of her violet eyes, and tht dusky mashes of her dark hair had lad his own son to guard the roof that sheltered bar against the head of arson the father had hired. But lA? I. Anse Havey waa re tpontibl Havey who hud per? suaded lut ton to make common cause with th* enemy. For that Ante Havey must die. Heretofore Old Milt had struck only at lesser men, fearing the retribution of too audacious a crime, but now his venom waa acute? and even such grave considerations ss the danger of a holo? caust mutt not halt its appeasement. Btlll the mind of Milt McBriar. the elder, had worked long In Intrigue, and even now it could net follow a direct lint. Bad Anse must cot be shot down in the road. His taking off must be accomplished by- a shrewder method, and one not directly traceable to so palpable a motive as his own hatred Such a plan his brain wss working ont. but for Its execution he needed a hand of craft and force?such a hand at only .Luke Thlxton'could supply? and Luk* was out West It wtt aot hit Intention to rush hast? ily into action. Some day he would go down to Lexington and Luke should come Eatrt to meet him. There, a hun? dred and thirty miles from the hills, the two of them would arrange mat i tart to his own satisfaction. Roger Malcolm had gone back, and I ha had not. after all, gone back with a conqueror's triumph. He was now dis? cussing in directors' meetings plans looking to a titanic grouping of inter? ests which were to focalize on these hills and later to bring developments. The girl'u school was gradually mak? ing itself felt, and each day saw email classes at the desk and blackboard? small classes that were growing larger. Now that Milt had laid the ground? work of his plans, he was nut king tho field fallow by a seeming of general beneficent o. His word had gone out along tho creeks and branches and in? to the remote coves of his territory that it "wouldn't hurt folks none tor give their children a little l'arnin'." In response to that hint they trooped In from the east, wherever the roudn could be traveled. Among those who "hitched an' lighted" at the fence wen' not only parents who brought tin Ii children, hut those who came Impelled by that cu.-loaity which lurks In lonely lives. There were men in Jeans and hickory shirts; women in gay shawl and linsey-woolsey and calico; ptopl< from "bacli of beyond," and Jutrilt. ftlt her heart beat faster with tbo hop* of success. "I hear yo've got a right plentiful gatherin' of young barburlans ovoi &V* At tbe college these, days/' said Hit Pipe Clamped Between Hie Teeth, Hie Heart Fettering In Hit Breast. Ante Have? one afternoon, when Uiey met up on the ridge. Her chin came up pridefully and her 'eyes sparkled. "It baa been wonderful " she told him. "Only one thing has marred It" "What's that?" he asked. "Your aloofness. Just because I'm going to smash your wicked regime," she laughed, "it no reason why you should remain peeved about it and sulk, in your tent." Ho shook his head and gazed away. Into hit eyes came that troubled look which nowadays they sometimes wore. "I reckon It wouldn't hardly bo hon? est for me to come. I've told ye I don't think the thing will do no good:" He was looking at her and hlB hands slowly clenched. Her beauty, with the enthusiasm lighting her eyes, made him feel like a man whose thirst was killing him and who gazed at a clear spring beyond his reach?or, like the caravan driver whose sight Is tortured by a mirage. Ho drew a long breath, then added: "I've got another reason an* a stronger one for not comin' over there very often. Any time ye wants me for anything I reckon ye knowt I'll come." "Whet It your reason?" the demand? ed. "I ain't never been much Interested In any woman." He held her eyes to directly that a warm color suddenly flooded her cheeks, then he went on with naked honesty and an uncon? cealed bitterness of heart: "When I {rata myself In the way of bavin' to ore One, 111 pick a woman that won't hare to be ashamed of me*?some mountain woman." For an instant the stared at him In astonishment, then she exclaimed: "Ashamed of youl I don't think any. woman would be ashamed of you, Mr. Havey," but, recognizing that her voice had been overserious, she laughed, and once more her eyes danced with gay mischief. "Don't be afraid of me. Ill promise not to mako love to yon." "I'm obleeged," he said slowly. "That ain't what I'm skeered of. I'm afraid ye couldn't hardly stop me from makin' love to you." He paused, and the badinage left her eyes. "Mr. Havey," she said with great t seriousness. "I'm glad you said that I It gives us a chance to start honestly, I as all true friendship should start In some things any woman is wiser than any man You won't fall in love with me. Yo* thought you were going to hate me, but you don't" "God knows I don't" he fiercely in? terrupted her. "Neither will you fall in love with me. You told me once of your superior age and wisdom, but in some things you are still a boy. You are a very lonely boy, too?a boy with a heart hungry for companionship. You have had friends only in books?comrade? ship only In dreams. You have lived down tb/~re in that old prison of a house with a sword of Damocles hang? ing always over your head. Because we have been In a way congenial, you are mistaking our friendship for dan? ger of lovo." Danger of love! He knew that It had gone past a mere danger, and his I eyes for a moment must have shown i that he realized Its hopelessness, but Juanlta snook her head and went on: "Don't do it. It would he a pity. I'm rather hungry, too, lor a friend; I don't mean for a friend i:i my work, but a friend In my ili'e. Can't we be friends like that?" She stood looking into his eyes, and slowly the drawn look of gravity left his face. He hud always thought quickly and dared to fuce realities. He was now facing his hardest reullty. He loved her with utter hopelessness Her eyes told him that it must always he just ih.it way, and yet she hud appealed to him?the hud suld she noeded hi? friendship. To call It love would make it pjecettary for her to decllno it Henceforth life lor Anse Havey was to mean a heartache, but if she want? ed his allegiance she might cull It What nhe would. It was hers. Swiftly he VOWCd In his In art to set a seal on his Hps und pluy the part she had assigned to htm? "I'm right glad ye aaid that," hp an surcd her. "1 reckon ye're right. I reckon wt can go on fight In' and belli friends. Yo son, no 1 said, I didn't know much about womenfolks, an' because i liked JTt I was worried." . ?ue nodded uudtn standingly, Suddenly be bent forward and bis words broke impetuously from his lips. "Do ye 'low to marry that man Mal? colm?" He came a step toward her, then raising his hand swiftly, he add? ed: "No?don't answer that question! That's your business. I didn't hare no license to ask. Besides, I don't want ye to answer it" "It s a bargain, isn't It?" she smiled. "Whenever you get lonely over there by yourself and find that Hamlet Isn't as lively a companion as you want, or that Alexander the Great is a little too fond of himself, or Napoleon is overmoody, come over here and well try to cheer each ether up." "I reckon," he said with an answer ing smile. "I'm liable to feel that way tonight, but I ain't oomin' to learn civi? lization. I'm just comin* to see you." CHAPTER XIX. Once, when Anse Havey had been tramping all afternoon through the win? try woods with Juanita, he had point? ed out a squirrel that sat eroct on a branch high above them with Its tall curled up behind it He had stopped her with a touch on the arm; then, with a smile of amusement, he handed her his riflo with much the same man? ner that she might have handed him a novel in Russian, and his eyes said banterlngly: "See what you can do with that" But to his surprise she took the gun and leveled it as one accustomed to its use. Bad Anse Havey forgot the squir? rel and saw only the slim figure in its loose sweater; only the stray wisps of curling hair and the softness of the cheek that snuggled against the rifle stock. Then, at the report, the squir? rel dropped. She turned wAh a matter-of-fact nod and handed back the gun. "I'm rather sorry I killed It," she said, 'but you looked so full of scorn that I had to show you. Tou know, they do have a few rifles outside the Cumberland mountains." "Where did you learn to shoot?" he demanded, and she answered casually: "I used to shoot a rifle and pistol, too, quite a good bit" Ho took the gun back, and uncon? sciously his hand caressed the sppt where her cheek had Ijald against its lock. He had, fallen into a reverie out rt which her voice called him. They bad crossed the ridge Itself and were overlooking his place. "Why are they clearing that space behind your housef Are you going to put It in com?" "No," he laughed shortly. "Corn would he Just about as bad as laurel." He was Instantly sorry he had said that He had.not meant to tell her of the plans he was making?plans of de? fense and. if need be, of offense. He had not Intended to mention his pre? cautions to frevent assassination at his own door or window. But thb girl understood, and her .voice waa heavy with anxiety as she demanded; "Do you think you're in danger, Anse?" "There's never a day I'm not In danger," he replied casually. I've got pretty well used to It" "But some day" she broke out "they'll get yon.* . He shrugged his shoulders. "May be," ha paid. As Juanita's influence grew with Bad Anse Havey, so it was growing at the school. She had, to* turn away pupils who had come across the mountains on wearisome Journeys because as yet she had only limited room and no teachers save herself and Dawn to care for the youngest I At the front of the hall which led into the main school building was a rack with notches for rifles and pegs for pistols. She told all who entered that she made only one stipulation, and that was that whoever crossed the threshold must leave his armament at the door. At first some men turned away again, taking their children with them, but as time went on they grudgingly acquiesced, and at last, with a sense of great victory, she persuaded three shaggy fathers, who were coming reg? ularly with their .children, to ride back home unarmed. Disarmament was her idea for the great solution, and when Bad Anse came over?and he came every aight now?she led him with almost breathless eagerness to the racic and showed him two modern rifles and one antiquated squirrel gun. "What's the idea?" he asked with his skeptical smile. He found it very difficult to listen always to talk about the school In which he felt no inter? est and to regard his vow of silence as to herself whom he dumbly wor? shiped. "Look around you, Anse," she com? manded. "Do you see any dirt or dust anywhere? No; we are teaching cleanliness and sanitation, but there is just one place here where the spiders are welcome to come and spin their webs unmolested. It's that rack of guns. Did you ever hear of the shrine i at Lourdes?" I "I reckon not," he confessed uneas? ily. Of late he had become a little ashamed of the things he did not: know. I "Well, this is going to be like It, Anse. It is told that when the lame and halt and blind came to Lourdes to pray they went away straight and strong and clear of vision. There hang at the shrine there numberless crutches and canes, discarded because the men who were carried there went away needing them no more. Some I day your old order of crippled things here in the mountains is going to be come straight and strong, and these guns will be the discarded crutches." He looked at her, and If no response wab elicited to her prophecy, at least jho could not; contemplate witbout a surring or entnusiasm tne (lubiied race 1 and glowing eye with which she spoke jit was all worth while if it could bring that sparkle of delight to her counte " ance. I "It's right pretty, but it won't hardly work,' he said. "These men will leave them guns just so long as they don't need 'em. I'm glad to see ye pleased ?but I don't want to see ye disap? pointed." I i e e e e e *e e A little before Christmas old Milt McBriar went to Lexington, and there he met a heavily bearded man In rougb clothes who had arrived that morning from the West. They conferred in a cheap eating house which bears a rag? ged and unwholesome appearance and is kept by an exile from the moun? tains. "Now tell me, Milt," suggested Luke Thlxton briefly, "what air this thing ye wants me ter do. I'm done with these hyar old flat lands thet they talks so much erbout." But Milt McBriar's eyes had been vacantly watching the door. It was a glass door, with its lower portion paint* ed red and bearing in black letters the name of the proprietor. "Damn!" he exclaimed violently,but under his breath. "What's bitin* ye?" asked his com? panion, as he bolted his food. "I Jest seed Breck Havey pass by that doer," explained the chief. "But I reckon he couldn't hardly recognize you this fur back. I don't want no word of ycro comln* ter go ahead of ye." i "What is it I'm a-goin' back ter do?" insisted the exile doggedly. "Oh," commented Milt McBriar, "we've got ter talk thet over at some length. Ye're a-goin' back ter git Anse Havey, but ye hain't a-goin' jist yit" 1 One morning as he eat over his breakfast at the kitchen table, Anse's cousin, Breck Havey, rode up In hot "There Is Just One Place Here Where the Spiders Are Welcome." haste to rouse him out of apathy and remind him that he must not shirk his role as leader of the clan. The Havey from Peril came quickly ' to the point while the Havey of the back woods listened. "I was down ter Lexin'ton yesterday, an' as I was passln' Jim Freeman's deadfall I happened ter look In. Thar war old Milt McBriar an' Luke Thlx? ton, thar heads as close tergether as a pair of thieves. Luke hes come back from the "yVest, an' I reckon ye kin Ag? ger out what thet means." ; Anse grew suddenly rigid and his face blackened. So his destiny was crowding him! I "What air ye goln' ter do?" demand* ed Breck with a tone of anxious and impotent pleading. Anse shook his head. j "I don't know-?quite yet," he said "Let's see, is the high ccte'in ses? sion?" Breck Havey nodded his head in per? plexed assent. He wondered what the court bad to do with this exigency, i "All right. Tell Siderlng to have the grand jury indict Luke for the Mc Nash murder an' Milt McBriar as ac? cessory?*' "Good God, Anse!" burst out the other Havey. "Does ye realize what hell ye turns loose when ye tries ter drag Old Milt ter cote in Peril?" "Yes. I know that." The answer waa calm. "I'll give ye a list of witnesses. .Tell Siderlng to keep these true bills secret I'll ride over and testify my? self, an' I'll 'tend to keepin' the wit? nesses quiet I don't know whether we'll ever try these cases, but it's just as well to be ready along every line." Breck Havey stood gazing down at the hearth with a troubled face. At last he hazarded a remonstrance. "Anse," he said, "I hain't never ques? tioned ye. I've always took yore coun? sel. Ye're the head of the Haveys, but next to you I'm the man tney harkens to most If any man has got ter dis? pute yer, I reckon ye'd take it most willin'ly from me." (TO UE CONTINUED.) BO Hales on tl-llorsoFnriii. About ?O hales of cotton from a six h<?rsc farm will be the record made on the Watts place north of the city this year. This particular record is made On that part of the place cultivated by T. I. Bwygert and BUI Fisher with U. If. Mills as overseer. Mr. Mills stated .Saturday that he had already ginned 87 hales and OXpected to ?in several more, bringing the total up ti? about 90 bales.?Laurens Advertiser. NEW KIND OF COTTON. Discovered Through Chance in Geor? gia, is of Fine Texture and Closely Resembles Wool. Augusta Chronicle. By what appears to have been the merest chance in the world, a new kind of cotton has been discovered and developed in Georgia, in which the government has interested itself. A couple of years ago a man by the name of A. G. Spilled, Pike county, farming near Bamesvllle, received a shipment of goods from Europe and in the packing were several seeds having much the appearance of cotton seed. [Out of curiosity he planted them and {from the first planting grew what was la peculiar stalk of cotton. It was carefullp cared for and the seed were planted the past season. Out of the second planting other stalks were 'grown and from them was gathered about 25 pounds of lint cotton. It Is of a very fine texture resembling close ly wool, s The staple has been exhibit? ed to a number of people, among them agricultural experts, and has attracted a great deal of attention. From a number of sources where the cotton had been heard of, or by those who have seen It, Mr. Splller was offered a dollar each for the seed, but he de? clined to sell. The matter was brought to the at? tention of the agricultural depart? ment in Washington, and announce? ment is now made that experts are to be sent to Pike county to make a survey of the soil and an exami? nation of the product and conditions under which it was produced. In or? der-to make further experiments it is said the federal department will, if It finds It necessary, to trace the ori? gin of the seed, secure a lot of them and find out what can be done with the new cotton In this section. GROWING PIGEONS FOR MARKET Climate of South Carolina Fine for Producing Squabs, Says Clemson Poultryman. Clemson College, Dec. 30.?The cli? mate of South Carolina Is Ideal for growing pigeons, according to the poultry husbandman of Clemson Col? lege. The winters of this section are not too cold, nor are the summers too hot for the production of squabs on a commercial scale. It Is only in the molting period that the number of eggs and young pigeons will be de? creased. . * No special pigeon house is necesmry in this State. An open-front chicken house, 10 feet long find 8 feet wide, and with a height of 7 feet in front and 6 feet In back, will accommodate 30- pairs of pigeons. The house should face south and should have the east, north, and west sides boarded tightly, as described In Farmers' Reading Course Bulletin 16, of Clemson Col? lege. To complete the plant, erect in front of the house a frame 16 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 6 feet 6 inches high, using 2x2-inch posts and lx3-lnch boards. Cover the frame with 1-lnch mesh wire netting. This ?,^y*, gives the pigeons the necessary exercise and the small wire keeps out sparows. Good varieties are White King, White Homers, White Swiss Mon dalnes, and Red. Yellow, or Splashed Carneaux. White pigeons are prefer? red because they can be sold alive at good prices whon a surplus of stock arises. For some time the demand for good breeding stock will take care of the supply and the squabs can also be killed, chilled, packed in ice, and sold in Atlanta and other markets. A mixed feed consisting of equal parts of peas, cracked corn (free from mold), sorghum or. cane seed, and wheat produces excellent result*. Small or broken peanuts may be sub? stituted for peas. The Important thing to remember Is to make one-fourth of the mixture either peas or peanuts. These foods take the place of cotton? seed meal In an egg mash. They sup? ply protein and without one of thorn very few eggs and young pigeons will be produced. Feed the grain In a hopper or liberally twice daily. Hop per feeding is best. Keep in the flying pen at all times ja supply of grit, small oyster shells, irock salt, and water. Pigeons enjoy* and require a bath twice weekly. A dlshpan half filled with water Is all that Is needed. For further Information, write to tho Extension Division of Clemson College for a bulletin on squab raising. Indeed! Mistress: "What did the lawyer say to you Bridget?" Bridget: "Shure, the old haythen, ho axed mo did Ol know there was brass enough In me face to make a good sized kettle, an' Ol tould him thero was sauce enough In his tongue to fill it."?American Maga? zine. The next meeting of the Bible Class Federation of the City of Sum tor will he held at the First Baptist Church on the afternoon of the first Sunday In February, the 6th. at 4 O'clock:. Prof. s. H. Edmunds will make the address.