University of South Carolina Libraries
SYNOPSIS. -5?APTER L?John 8tuart Webstermining engineer, after cleaning up a for Ui\* In ??ath Valley, Calif., boards a UHif I?'1* .E^*t" He b?fHeads a young trounclng?Uve ?. L? nMM,her' thoroughly CHAPTER II.?At Denver Webster receives a letter from Billy Oeary, his closest friend. Oeary urges fa Ira to come to Bobrante, Central America, to finance and develop a mining claim. He decides to go. CHAPTER III. ? Dolores Ruey, the youna woman Webster befriended, and who nae made a deep Impression on him, as he baa on her. Is also on the way to Bobrante. CHAPTER IV.?At Buenaventura, capl. tal of Bobrante, Billy Oeary, 111 and penniless, Is living on the charity of "Mother Jenks," keeper of a dramshop. She receives a cablegram from Dolores, telling of her Coming. CHAPTER V.?Dolores* father, Rlcardo Ruey, president of Sobrante, had been killed In a revolution led by Sarros, the present executive. Dolores, a child of eight, was smuggled out of the country by Mother Jenks and supported by her , In the United States. The old woman, ashamed of her occupation and habits of life, fears to meet Dolores and sends Geary to the boat to say she has gone to the United States. CHAPTER VI.?Webster, on his way to 6obrante, Is taken 111 on the train, and is In a hospital at New Orleans two weeks. Geary bungles his mission. Dolores easily seeing through his story. She Keets Mother Jenks as her friend and nefactor. Geary falls desperately In love with the girl. (Continued from last wcc?.) CHAPTER VII. Webster reached New Orlcnns at j the end of the first leg of his Journey, ' to discover that he was one day late j to hoard the Atlanta?a bonono boat ; of the Consolidated Fruit company's j line plying regularly between New Or- i leans and that company < depots at I.lmon and San Buenaventura?which i necessitated a wait of three days for the steamer T.a Estrelllta of the Caribbean Mull line, running to Caracas and way ports. He decided to visit the ticket ofllco of the Caribbean Mall line Immediately and uvoid the rush in cusp the travel should he heavy. The steamship office was In Canal street. 'The clerk was waiting on two well-dressed and palpably low-bred sons of the tropics, to whom he had Just displayed a passenger list which the two were scanning crltlcnlly. , Their Interest In It was so obvious | that unconsciously Webster peeped 1 over their shoulders (no difficult task ' for one of his stature) and discovered It to be the passenger list of the steamer La Estrelllta. They were eonversing together In low tones and Webster. who had spent many years of his life following his profession In Mexico, recognized their speech as the bastard Spanish of the peon. He sat down In the long wall seal and waited until the pair, having completed their scrutiny of the list, turned to pass out. He glanced at them casually. One was a tali tnin man wuu? bloodshot eyes were Inclined to "pop" n little ?Infallible evidence In the Lutln-Aincrlcan that he Is drinking more hard liquor than Is good for him. His companion was plainly of the aame racial stock, although Webster suspected him of a slight admixture f negro blood. He was short, stocky, and aggressive looking; like his companion, bejeweled and possessed of a thin. ra?efully cultivated moustache that seemed to consist of about nineteen hairs on one side and twenty an the other. Evidently once upon a time, as the story books have It, he had been shot. Webster suspected a Mauser bullet, fired at long range. It had entered his right cheek, Just below the malar, ranged downward through his mouth and out through u fold of flabby flesh under his left Jowl. It must have been a frightful | wound, hut It had healed well except at the point of entrance, where It had j tendency to pucker considerably, | thus drawing the innn'8 eyelid down , 0:1 tils cheek and giving to that visual J organ something of the appearance of j a bulldog's. Webster gazed after them whimsically as he approached the counter. "I'd hate to wake up some night and find that honihre with the puckered eye leaning over me. By the way," he continued, suddenly apprehensive. "do you get much of tjiat paraqueet travel on your line?" "About 80 per cent, of It Is off color, air." Webs'er pondered the 80-per-cent. v probability of being berthed In the same siaterooin with one of these people and the prospect was as revolting to him as would he an uninvited negro guest nt the dining tnhle of a southern family. He had all a Westerner's lie trod for the breed. "Well. I want a ticket to San Buenaventura." he Informed the clerk, "hut I don't !eli*1i the Idea of a tireaser In the same stateroom with me. I wonder if you couldn't tannage to fix me U-.ih <1 oil ?., " least arrange It so that In the event of entn|)aii.v I'll draw a white man." "I'm sorry, air, hut 1 cannot guarantee von absolute privacy nor nnv kind of white man. It'a pretty mixed travel to all Central Aruerlcun porta." "How many bertha In your firstclass staterooms?" "Two." , Webster smiled brightly. He had found a way out of the difficulty. "I'll buy 'em both, soft," he announced. "I cannot sell yon an entire stateroom. sir. It's against the orders of the company to sell two berths to one man. The travel la pretty brisk k' and lt'tt liArdlw f*lr tA th* nnKll(< vnn I Mill III i??? li | LBSTER |! 4N'SMAN | % :terB.Kyne . j iuthor of "Cappy licks," "The Valley ' if the Giants," Etc. i . QirnWXWW^^twiJ , added brightly, "1 haven't engaged the valet yet and even should I do so I wouldn't be at all surprised If the rascal missed the boat!" The clerk glanced at him with a slow smile, and pondered. "Well," he | said presently. "If you care to buy a ticket for your valet, I'm sure I shouldn't worry whether or not he catches the boat. If my records show that the space Is sold to two meti and the purser collects two tickets, I think you'll be pretty safe from Intrusion." "To the harassed truveler," sail Mr. Webster, "a meeting with a gentleman of your penetration Is ns refreshing as a canteen of cool water In the desert. Shoot!" and be produced a hundful of gold. "I will?provided I have one empty cabin," and the clerk turned from the counter to consult his record of berths Hircuuy 8<uo ana otners reserved hut not paid for. Presently he faced Webster at the counter. "The outlook Is very blue," he announced. "However. I have one berth "The Outlook It Very Blue." In No. 34 reserved by a gentleman who was to cull for It by two o'clock to-dny." He looked at hlg watch. "It Is now a quarter of one. If the reservation Isn't claimed promptly at two ^ o'clock I shall cancel It and reserve | for you both berths in that room. If you will be good enough to leave me your name and address I will telephone you after that hoar. In the meantime, you may make reservation of the other berth In the Raine stateroom. I feet very confident tlu*r the reservation in No. 34 will not be called for, Mr.?er " "Webster?John S. Webster. You are very kind, Indeed. I'm at the St. Charles." "He there at a quarter after two, Mr. Webster, and you will hear from me promptly on the minute," the elerk assured hlra; whereupon Webster paid for one berth and departed for Ills ho?el with a teeling .that the clerk's report would he favorable. True to his promise, at precisely a quarter after two. the ticket clerk telephoned Webster at his hotel that the berth In No. 34 had been canceled and the entire stateroom wan now at bis disposal. "If you will be good enough to $1ve me the name of your valet," he con- j eluded, "I will fill In both names on my passenger manifest and send the ; tickets to your bote! by messenger fhi- | mediately. You can then sign the tick- 1 ets?I have already signed them as * witness?and pay the messenger." j "Well, I haven't engaged that valet i as yet," Webster began. f "What's the odds? He's going to ] miss the boat, anyhow. All I require ' la a name." "That ought to he a simple request ; to comply with. Let me see!" 'h read a book once, Mr. Webster, and the vnlet In that book was called Andrew Bowers." "Bowers Is a fine old Kng!l?b name. ( Let us seek no further. Andrew Bow- I ers It Is." i "Thapk you. All you have to do ' then Is to remember to sign the name, j Andrew Bowers, to one ticket. I>on'i. I forget your valet's name now. and hall I everything up," and the clerk hung up, laughing. Half nn hour Inter n hoy from the Htenmshlp office arrived with the tick- 1 eta, collected for them, nml departed, I leaving John Stunrt Webster slngu- | lnrl.v pleased with himself and at j pence with the entire world. A "large" dinner at Antolne's that ; night (Wehser had, hen rd of Antolne's . dinners, hoth large and small and was J resolved not to leave New Orleans un- j til he had vlslto/1 the famous restaufant), and a stroll through the picturesque old French quarter and along tTie Ipvpp n/*tt tfluv holnntl ti? mnmnr kl? enforced stay In New Orleans delightful, interesting, and Instructive. For Sunduy he planned an early morning visit to the old French market, around j which still lingers much of the pic- I turesque charm and colorful romance ; of s day that Is done?that echo of ; yesterday, as It were, which has left i New Orleans an Individuality aa din- 1 tlnct as that which the olden, golden, j k.?KlUu(s days have left upon Han Fran- ' bbbmh ftduhu asleep inside, nt the curb In front of the hotel; gave the latter his Instructions, and climbed In. i Opposite Jackson Square the cloy- I Ing sweetness of palmetto, palm, and | Tig burdened the nlr. Above The rumble of the taxi he could hoar the dlatnnt babel of voices In the French market across the square, so he haltei^the taxicah, alighted, and banded the driver a bill. "I want to explore this square," he said. He had recognized It by the heroic statue of General .Tackson peeping through the trees. "I'll walk through the square to the market, and you may proceed to the market and meet me there. Later we will return to the hotel." A Creole girl?starry-eyed, beautiful, rich with the glorious coloring of her race?passed him bound for the cathedral across the square, as Webster thought, for she carried a large prayer hook on her arm. His glance followed the girl down the walk. Presently she halted. A young man rose from a bench where he -evidently had been waiting for. her, and boiyed low, his hat clasped to his breast, as only a Frenchman or a Spanish grandee can bow. Webster saw the Creole girl turn to hlui with a little gesture of pleasure. She extended her hand and the young man kissed It with old-fashioned courtesy. John Stuart Webster with revereut and wistful eyes watched their meetli r. "Forty years old." he thought, "and I haven't spoken to a dozen women i that caused me a second thought, or ; v ho weren't postmistresses or biscuit slooters! Forty years old and I've ! n -ver been In love! Springtime down j t' it little path and Indian summer In !* "* old fool heart. Why. I ought to ' b arrested for failure to live!" The lovers were walking slowly, arm In arm, along the path by which the girl had come, so with a courtesy a id gentleness that were Innate In h'in, Webster stepped out of sight be1 nd the stntue of Old Hickory; for I ? did not desire, by his mere prest ice, to Intrude a discordant note In t*>. e perfect harmony of those two human hearts. He knew they desired t'at sylvan path to themselves; that evidently they had sought their early i ornlng tryst in the knowledge that t .e square was likely to be deserted ft l t lllc linnr I The young man was speaking as tliey passed; his voice was ricli. pleasant. vibrant with tbe earnestness of what be bad to say: with a pretty little silver mounted walking stick he flashed at spears of grass alongside the path; tbe girl was crying a little. Neither of them bad seen hint, so he entered a patii th:it led front tlietn at right angles. He had proceeded but a few feet along tliis trail when, through a break in the shrubbery ahead of hint, he caw two men. Brief as was his glimpse of them. Webster instantly recognized the two Central Americans lie had seen in the steamship ticket nflice two : days previous. They were not walking as walk two men abroad at this hour for a constitutional. Neither did they walk as walk men churchward hound. A slight, skulking air marked their progress, and caused Webster to wonder Idly what they were stalking. lie turned Into the path down which the two men iiad passed, not with the slightest Idea of shadowing tlietti, but because Ills destination lav In that direction. Both men had forsaken tbe graveled path and were walking on the soft velvet of blue giass lawn that fringed It! "Perhaps I'd better deaden my hoof beats 2. so," John Stuart Webster soliloquized, and followed suit Immediately. Fie had scarcely done so when the men ahead of him paused abruptly. Webster did likewise, and responding ?subconsciously, perhaps, to the remembrance of the menace In the glance of the man with the puckered eye?he stepped out of sight behind a broad oak tree. Through the trees anil shrubbery he could still see the lovers, who hud halted and evidently were about to part. Webster saw the young man glance u-flrllv flhnill * iKon Anno-nnUt. "A*1" " j MWWU1 9 v?av.^a^ U I V II CI J na HO" fled there was none to spy upon them, he drew the girl gently toward htm. Drew the Qlrl Gently Toward Him. She flung to him for nearly a minute, sobbing; then he raised her face tenderly. kissed her, pressed her from him, and walked swiftly away without looking hack. It was a sweet and rather touching little tableau; to John Stuart Webster, Imaginative and possessed of a romantic strctik in his nature, It wus more than a tableau. It was a moving picture I "I suppose her old man objects to the young fellow," he muttered to himself sympathetically, "and he can't nor me nouae.i..ey*e met here for the fond farewell, and new! the young fellow'* going out Weat tcr^ mitfce hit fortune, ao he can come back I j ^ If h? yanta , I know Wliht those two pa~raqueets are i up to. One of them Is the father of that girl. They've been spying on the 1 lovers, und now they're going to eor- j ner the young fellow and shingle him ; for his nerve." The girl had stood for a moment, j gazing after her compnnlon, before she turned with her handkerchief to her eyes, and continued on her way to the ! cathedral. WebRter heard her sob- i hlng as she stumbled blindly by. and he was distressed about her, for all i the world ?loves a lover and John Siuart Webster wus no exception to this universal rule. "By Oeorge, this Is pretty tough," he reflected. "That young fellow treated that girl with as much gentleness and courtesy as any gentleman should, nnd I'm for him and against ! this Idea of corporal punishment. Don't you worry, TUlie, my dear. I'm going to horn into this fame myself j lr it goes too far." The two dusky skulkers ahead of j him, having come to another crosspath, turned Into It and came out on ! the main path In the rear of the young j ma?. Webster noticed that the pulr , were still walking on the grass. He ' pudded gently along behind them. | The four were now rapidly ap- ! proachlng the old French market, and j the steadily rising babel of voices I speaking In French, Italian, Spanish, Creole patois and Choctaw, was sufficient to have drowned the slight noise of the pursuit, oven had the young man's mind not been upon other things, and the Interest of the two Central Americans centered upon their Quarry, to the exclusion of nnv thimirht of possible Interruption. Webster felt Instinctively that the j two men would rush and make a con- I eerted attack from the rear, lie | smiled. "I'll Just fool you two hombres a 1 whole lot," be thought, and stooping, picked up a smnll stone. On the instant the two men, having approached within thirty feet of their quarry, made n rush for him. Their charge was swift, but though It was, the little stone which John Stuart Webster burled was swifter. It struck the .voting man fairly between the slioulderblades with a force sufficient to bring him out of his sentimental reverie with a Jerk, as it were, lie whirled, saw the danger that threatened him, and?sprang to meet It. "Bravo I" yelled Webster, and ran to his aid, for he bad seen now that It was to be knife work. Tragedy Instead of melodrama. The man with the puckered eye closed in with such eagerness it was apparent to Webster that here was I work to his liking. The young man raised his light cane, but Pucker-eye did not hesitate, lie merely threw up his left forearm to meet the expected blow aimed at his head, lunged forward and .slashed viciously at the young man's abdomen. The latter drew hack a step, doubled like a Jackknife. an i brought his cane down viclor.s'., across the knuckles of his assailant s rluht hand. "So it is thou. sou of a pig," ho cnlV.I pleasantly lit Spanish. "1 fooled you that lime, didn't I?" he added In Kngllsh. "Thought I would aim for your head, didn't you?" The 'blow temporarily paralyzed the assassin's hand; he'dropped the knife, and as he stooped to recover It with his left hand, the young man, before retreating from I'op-eye, kicked Pucker-eye in the face and quite upset him. "Stop It I" shouted Webster. Pop-eye turned hiB head at the outcry, The man he was attacking fell into the position of a swordsman en garde, and thrust viciously with the ferrule at the face of the pop-eyed man, who, disregarding Webster's approach, seized the cane in his left hand and | with a quick, powerful tug actually j drew his victim toward him a foot he fore the latter let iro the stick. Before he could give ground ngnln j Pop-eye was upon htm. He grasi>ed j the young man hy the latter's left ! nrm and held htm. while he drew hack j for the awful dlsembowlllng stroke, j As his long arm sped forward the hook | of John Stuart Webster's heavy cane j descended upon that flexed nrm In the crook of the elbow, snugging It cleverly. The knife never reached Its destination ! WEAK, NERVOUS, All Dim nnu/u HLL nuR-uuvvn Missouri Lady Suffered Until She Tried Cardui.?Says "Result j Was Surprising."?Got Along Fine, Became Normal and Healthy. Springfield Mo.?"My back was so weak I could hardly stand up, and I would have hearing-down patnB and was not well at any time," says Mrs. D. V. Williams, wife of a well-known farmer on Route 6, this placo. "I kept getting headaches and having to bo 10 uea. continues Mrs. Williams; describing the troubles from which she obtained relief through the use of, Cardul. "My husband, haying heard of Cardul, proposed getting it for me. "I saw after taking some Cardul . . . that I was Improving. The result was surprising. I felt like a different person. "I^ater I suffered from weakness and weak- hack, and felt all run-down. I did not rest well at night, I was so nervous and cross. My husband said he would get me some Cardul, which he did. It strengthened me ... My doctor said I got along fine. I was in good healthy condition. I cannot say too much for It." rrv. ? - ^ - - - x uousannH 01 women nave suffered as Mrs. Williams describes, until they found relief from the use of Carduf. Since It has helped so many, you should not hesitate to try Cardial^ troubled with womanly allme^tfMH For sale sTerywhsr^^^^fl^^^H "You would, would you?" satd-Web- .. ster reproachfully, and Jerked the fel- j low violently nround. The man he had 1 rescued promptly struck Pop-eye a terrible blow in the face with his left ] hand and broke loose from the grip thnt hud so nearly been his undoing; ? then Webster tapped the assassin a meditative tap or two on the top of his 1 sinful head for good measure and to awaken In him some sense of the Impropriety and futility of resistance, ] after which Webster turned to dis- 1 (Uiuc m ultti line nnnu * !.? > ?f |? CUUIIH1 i|%icmiwu Ml Clllira Willi j Pucker-eye. < The scnr-cheeked man was on his knees, groping grogglly for his knife, ! for he had received n severe kick under the chin, and for llie nonce was ' far from dangerous. Stooping, Web- ' ster picked up the knife;, then with < knife and cane grasped in his left 1 hnnd he seized Pucker-eye by the nape with his^rlght and Jerked him to his feet. The assassin stood glowering at him In a perfect frenzy of brutish, Inarticulate fury. "Take the knife away- from the Other fellow before he gets active ! again," Webster called over his shoulder. 'Til manage this rascal. We'll march them over to the market and turn them over to the police." He spoke In Spanish. "Thanks, ever so much, for my life," the young man answered lightly, and In English, "hut where I come from It Is not the fashion to settle these arguments In a court of law. To call an officer Ih considered uncluhllke; to shoot a prisoner In this country is considered murder, and consequently I have hut one alternative and I advise you, my good friend, to have a little i of the same. I'm going to run like the ! devil." And he did. He was In full flight before Webster could glance around, and In an instant he was lost to sight among the trees. "That advice sounds' eminently fair and reasonable." Webster yelled nfter him, and was about to follow when hi^ observed that the young man lunQr abandoned his pretty little silverchased walking stick. "That's too nice a little stick to leave to these brigands," he thought, and forthwith possessed himself of It and the pop-eyed man's knife, after which he tarried not upon the order of his going but went, departing at top speed. The young man he hail saved from being butchered wns right. An entangling alliance with the police wns, decidedly, not to John Stuart Webster's liking, for should he unfortunately, form such an alliance, he would he haled Into court as a witness and perhaps miss the steamer to San Buenaventura. He had planned to spend an hour In the market, drink a cup of cafe noir, smoke a cigarette, and return to his hotel In time for a leisurely brenkfnst, hut his recent bout with grim reality had blunted the edge of romance. He ordered his driver to take him hack to the hotel, sprnng Inside and congratulated himself on bin lucky escape. CHAPTER VIII. Webster's trunk went aboard - the steamer early the following morning, and at noon he entered a taxi with his hand hnggage and was driven to the levee where La Estrefllta lay tugging gently at her mooring lines. Owing to the congestion of freight and traffic the chauffeur stopped his cab a little distance from the gangplank, where Webster discharged him with a liberal tip. The latter, however, swung his passenger's hag and suitcase to the ground, picked them up and started for the gangplank. "Never mind my baggage, lad," Webster called after him. "One of the de"k hovs will care for It." The chauffeur turned. "Ytyi've been generous with me, sir," he answered "so I think I had better carry your baggage aboard. If you penult a deck boy to handle It, you merely have to give another tip, and that would he sheer wanton waste. Why shouldn't I earn the one you save me?" "I hadn't figured It out that way, son, so here's another half dollar for being the only existing specimen of your aperies In captivity. My stateroom Is No. 34, upper deck, port side," Webster answered, smiling. The man took the tip eagerly and hurried toward (he gangplank ; the quartermaster on duty shouldered a way for him and Marled aboard. Webster followed leisurely. At the gangplank t'.? purser's clerk hnlted him. etamined his tickets and punched them. ( "Where is the other man?" he asked "You have tiro tickets here." "Oh. that blamed vnlet of mine," Webster answered, and glanced around as if In search of that mythical functionary. "It would he like the stupid fellow to miss the boat," he added. "When he comes?" Webster ceased speaking nhruntlv. He was looking straight Into the malevolent orbs of Pucker-eye, who was standing just behind the clerk at the foot of the gangplank. "I wonder If Pop-eye's around, also," Webster thought, and he faced about. Pop-eye was standing in hack of him, leaning over the railing of the gangwuy. "Which Is the valet?" the purser's clerk asked, scanning the names on the tickets. "Andrew Powers." 1 "All right. Mr. Webster," the other answered, with thai genial camaraderie that seems inseparable from all of his j calling. "When Andrew conies I'll send hlni aboard." < lie started to pass the tickets hack (To be continued on last page) J. ARTHUR KNIGHT Attorney-at-Law Office in Courthouse Chesterfield, S. C. TROTTI & PARK, ^ a Surgeons -IB . . . . .. . , .. . A I Wamble Hill National Farm Loan Association Is authorized to take and file aDDlication? with ? . . >vii me r cuersi Land Bank of Columbia. Rate of interest 6 per cent. Loans made on improved farm lands. The Federal Land Bank will loan 50 per cent, on land and 20 per cent, on insurable improvements. Filing your application with Wamble Hill N?tir?nni Vo? t _ i auu uuail Association is the first step taken to secure a loan through the Federal Land Bank of ColumbiaThe bank will complete all loans as fast as it can sell bonds to make the money available. The bank desires to meet the needs of the farmer, and an early application will insure you to get your loan quicker. The Wamble Hill National Farm Association is entitled to do business in the entire county, and it charges 1 per cent for its ; i * services 11 loan is made, otner wise all is refunded except actual jost. Bring your land deed for inspection when making application. B. J. Douglass, Sec. Treas. Wamble Hill N. F. L. A. Office in Rear of Bank of Chesterfield Building =======^^==== /mi . n * ' 1 uiampion Barred Kocks , Jgk Won Everything in ^?UD^ meehans fine flock ,/. 7\ndxr WE HAVE IT! Do not forget that we have a lni'gc and well assorted stock of all kinds of Belting, Pipe, Valves, Fittings, Iron, Steel, Shafting, Pulleys, and Hangers, Bolts, Nuts, amd Washers and anything elsef'you may need in the way of Machinery Supplies at present Low Pric ?s. Try us. B COLUMBIA SUPPLY CO.j 1 823 West Gervaia St. Colun bit, S. C. fl = rn/> a n a t7m rx -?^ ^ ? -? LUCiAS AUTO COMPANY 1 CHALMERS DORT (ORD f Care, Parts Service -Care, Parts, Service Cars, Parts, Service Repairs on All Gars All work thoroughly and promptly done - er Authorized Ford Sa lea and Service Station Hardware, j Furniture, \ Farming Tools S Going At Greatly Reduced Prices m Farmers Hardware Company Hay Grain And Ffififl Arrivinri We are now doing business in a warehouse just back of itand, where new goods are arriving by the carload^fl^^BHHHj prices?and more cars on the way. Come to see ut^S^ffiNjD find us doing business on the same old scale?Large quick sales at close pricesH mm Farmers LViercantile 1 oni|^^H| SUa&flAifckncl ReJfl settinj y 15.