p
WT
"0 a - v o
i . . . ,
:
I
!'
"P.
,
fcv
By
' vi
THE NEBRASKA ADVERTISER
W. W. HANOKlfi, rubllalinr.
NEMAHA, - NI3I1RASICA.
THE LADY WITH THE SMILE.
ilhull woman vomo to (Jrlve man from Ills
plneo,
And toll whom liu In laboring to-iluy?
Hhull he. nt It'iiKtlr rutlio In illHKrnco
Tu ncriili ami cook and clenr t ho platod
a way 7
. Ah, whatever tlm result at lust tnay lie,
There )t one who Ik In power all the while
"Who will never ceuso from MitliiK you and
mo
Tliu cliarniliiK llltlo woman with tlm
Htnllo,
Tlm woman may he nohle and her mind
May lie a mine of lore withal who ne'er
Lots the man who KA7.es at her vlfluno find
The xhadow iif a simper linking there,
riut, however Kx)d or urucloiiH tJlu; may lie,
There's another to ccllpso her all thu
while,
And thu ohm who conies It over you anil mo
In the foolish onu who has thu winning
Rinllo.
O tlio dlplomntH may lirlriK tin last Irifr
ponce,
They may Mop thu crtiul wars on land
anil sen;
Thn hloodnhuil and the tyranny may ceo bo.
'J'hey may not thu hint henlKhted vudhiu
freo;
Hut In Hpltn of all diplomacy may do,
And In splto of man's world s'lndom and
IiIm KUlln,
lie will never cense from pnylnj? tribute to
The I'ltptlvntliiK lady with the smile.
GIiIciiku Tlnies-Hornlil,
VJH.j..M,Aj.XAA4.J.XXj.AXAXJt--X4
...... .... If
IM TRAMS YAAL DISPATCn.
BY R. E. YOUNO
TYlrTTTTTT-r:FT:FF:r':i'
THANK Heaven, it Is nil over! I enn
brunt liu freely can vaguely grasp
bow that one fatal slip of mine, at u
iiioiiiunl when the scales In the Trans
vaal were balancing ho breathlessly,
might have come near to spelling a na
tional disaster, booking bae), It all
seems dreaiiillke Incredible. My hard
earned holiday 1 had worked In the
Cape government otlleu nearly three
years without one -was not due for six
mouths more- Five minutes before the
chief of my department ealled me In and
banded me (he locked leather ease I
Lad not the faintest idea that I was to
be. let oil' those six mouths and, more
over, to curry a dlsputeb Invested, in
the light of possible events, with tin
importance beyond words.
"There It Is. Von thoroughly un
derstand? Straight to the colonial of
lice, and don't lose sight of it for a
moment, ft may mean war; it may
mean nothing. Whether or no, a dozen
newspaper in Loudon woidd pay any
price to he able to publish It before U
is read In the house of commons if
ever it is. And if that happened !
Your berth has been booked In the Cape
Castle, and you start to-morrow morn
ing." That was It. 1 know I went in u
quiver or Indescribable suspense all the
voyage, partly for fear nuj one might
discover what It was I guarded so jeal
ously in that corner of my cabin, and
partly because l was free free to mar
ry Lottie, whose last quivering words
bad been: "Go, if you must, Milan -if
it means advancement; but I noer ex
pect to see you again I " And hern was
Southampton In sight, and in in.
pocket the superb blue diamond she
was to wear on our Wcddingdiiy. What
an exquisite surprise! She would know
nothing until the moment when I
banded In my card.
The one person In the world hud
dared to trust was her brother, .lack
llamlyn, the oldest and best fvlend I
bad. I had telegraphed to his rem ins
from .Madeira, just hinting that my
luggage, was valuable and telling him to
meet the vessel at Southampton; and
even in that I had taken the precaution
to use u crude ende that we had con
cooled in the old romantic dn.w at
school. His would be safe company
uulll the. dispatch was' delivered, and
thenbut the rest was too intoxicat
ing to bear thinking upon.
At last! The Cape Castle hud kept
her time, almost to tile hour. Keeling
just u trille sick unci strange after the
long suspense, had passed the cus
toms and stood staring round for a
hlght of Jack llamlyn. The telegram
bad surely readied himhe would un
derstand it- he would be here well in
. time? Yes! A few minutes of uncer
tainty and then: "llrlan, old fellow
yes, It is you!" struck on my strained
car.
".lack!" I spuil round almost con
vulsively. Jlimse.lf!-nud ,vct some
how, the llrst thrill over. I 'felt some
thing like a chill of disappointment.
AVns.lt thirt my old chum's lmiul Im.i
i.pjireely the old bear-like grip? In the
lamplight, too, he looked curiously
haggard and aged. I stood, with a sort
of prescience.
"Overcome, llrlan?' I hardly wonder
all this lime! Oh, nye; 1 forgot I've
given up my besird since vou went."
-And we both laughed. "This way; l'm
Hhnply dying to hear all about it'." He
had my arm in the old impetuous fash
ion now; "lieen waiting hours! No,
. uot n soul dreams of your having ar.
. rived trust me! Lottie? . Hi yes,
bite's right enough, i believe."
J'Holieve?" I stopped dead. His voice
bad traHed oV .strangely. "Jack,'.' I
whispered, huskily, "you, look you've'
hQinethlng to tell me! Isn't she--jsut
bhe just thckuuie? Her lutj letter"
"Why, of course!" He htughul ho
boisterously at my whitened face that
the w eight slipped oh" my mind at once.
Nothing had happOucdl "Do you think
I'd tlrcehe you, llulan?" he whs nay
lug. "flic ideal Another 12 hours or
so and yoiVIl have the; Joy of seeing
the old ilusli dance "into her cheeks.
Hut whnl was it vou meant lit the cable
about"
"Twelve hours! " I'm going on by the
first, train -now, at once. I must! Jn
sti uetioiiH straight to colohinl olllce,
you know."
"Hcnllv?" Jt wusdaek'sturnlosfate
now. "Theie, now; and I've taken the
trouble to get looms at the hotel close
here and u good meal all ready fur you,
thinking you'd start home first thing
in the morning. Whv, I doubt whether
theic's any train to-night all the pas
sengers in t stopping. Ilcslde.H, you
couldn't see Lottie till to-nionow, any
how, could you?"
"No, of course not. Only " I stood
n minute, turning It over. One night
could make no different, t:-- the authori
ties would not be in attendance till
morning. I had landed safely, and . lack
was here dear old .lack Hamlyn.
"Come elong, then; vou take the big
box. I'm glad I wired now."
Fifteen minutes later we were sit
ting In ii private room nt the hotel.
The dispatch was wife in my small
trunk. If only Lottie could see us at
that minute how her brown eyes
would widen! If only the Loudon
editors, eagerly computing for informa
tion, had guessed at the contents of
that little leather case!
".lust imagine!" .lack repeated, cran
ing himself over the red coals. 1 had
just told him; there was no secret in
the world I should have dreamed of
withholding from .lack. "JCIi? I'm
looking aw fully queer? I'ooh, it is you
who have taken in a fresh stock of vi
tality out under. Dad and thu others?
yes, all going well and strong."
"AH?" I dropped my voice I wns
touching on the family skeleton here,
"lb you don't include Wilfred, of
course? No change or hope in that di
rection, I suppose? I've never heard
a word of him,"
"And vou won't, llrlan!" Jack whis
pered that witli a hand to his eyes
he hud been the last to taboo that scape
grace biothcr of his. 1 knew. "He
doesn't count :i hopeless outsider we
don't mention his name, if we can help
it. Living? No one knows; at least,
It's sonic days since he last came try
ing to squeeze more money by lies
from me, and -and ou know what
I've done for him in times past. Hut
drop that now. You wrote home about
some dilimonds do show me!"
"Turned them all into cash at a
piolit," I laughed; "all except oile, that
I've had set in a brooeh for you can
guess who. It's in the big trunk; you
can sec It when we go up to bed."
So we chatted on, till an irresistible
drowsiness crept oer inc. I was do.
ing as .lack talked; and soon after nine
o'clock I caught up the small trunk and
declared for bed tiuil ti clear head in
the morning. The morning- the sig
nificant morning! 1 should be thanked
by the colonial secretary himself!
, . . I'p we went.
Oh! my buzlng brain! Try as f
would, tired as 1 felt, I Could uot quite
succeed in losing consciousness. Had
I done wrong in staying here? Might
the delay of even those few hours mean
danger? Wits I quite sure I had locked
that door? Most provoking! Once or
twice I whispered to .lack in the bed
opposite, but only n prolonged
"eh-r-r-h!" answered inc. Finally 1
gave up trying, and lay framing Lot
tie's oval face in that wavering rellec
thin of the gaslight overhead. Heaven
alone knew what it had meant to leave
the woman one longed for, and now--
Oli, what was that? A clock down-,
stairs had just struck 11 times, and nt
the last stroke .lack had swayed silent
ly up in his bed and sat staring across
In my direction. A query wits on nij
lips-, but I could not seem to sound if.
Perhaps my eves were nearly closed,
but I could see enough to make me lie
perfectly still, while a kind of myste
rious misgiving crept through me.
Why, 1 hardl.v knew--! must have been
inspired by sheer instinct. Hut .lack
over there, he had lifted himself, out
of bed with a queer stealth," he had
taken a step and still he stiired across
In that unnerving vva.v. 1 wanted to
spring up and gasp an end to the spell,
but there seemed a iiU'smerlonumbni'ss
In my limbs. Why, on that craned face
of his almost chalk-white it looked
in the low glimmer of the gaslight be
tween us was there an Indescribable
expression of mled dread and evil?
.Merciful heavens! did It mean that
.lack, my oldest and desirest chum, who
had chased buttcrllies an it h me in the
meadows U) years ago
One more stealthy step, as if to make
quite sure of--,ves--of iutv sublime un
consciousness. Now he was hesitating,
like a man welghingall the odds forum
against Home design; now he was slip
ping on his clothe. i-'ullv
dressed hat, boots and all! lie look
something. from his pocket, stole across
quietly and dropped it ever so lightly
across my face-a silk handkerchief.
The lliing seemed too paral.v
lug for sanity. 1 remember I counted
jus.t 00 a' minute of nuiueles horror
for me; liud nut till nfterwaids did I
know why I muric, no sound or sign,
Then my teeth' closed on a fold of the
iilkvund drew It down a lUtle; 1 could
just sec". . lfcvor'a man's heart
Stood all bill still through sick aiifaze
incnt, mine did then. The Transvaala
dispatch! He meant to steal it to .sell
Its signed contents nt a pricc-to set
Knglaud 'ringing with news that inlght
hurry on nn awful oriels! 'l'he key In
my trousers pocket ; he had found It,
opened the, hfiutll trunk- was half way
to the door with the precious, leather
case. He was gone -no he hesitated
again, tip-toed back and was on, his
knot's beside the big box. .lack Ham
lyn, the brother of the woman wjhose
love had been my guardian angel he
nlone knew of my return lie meant to
rob me of my honor and of my valuables
besides.
Think of it! Perhaps n minute
passed and he had not found the blue
diamond. Of course! Another minute,
and lie would remember that, nfter
making it Hash be.foie his eyes, I had
placed it in the belt pocket round my
waist, along with a roll of bank notes.
To come at that lie would need to rouse
me to kill me!
Ami he would do it. Of a sudden he
got to his feet had recollected. And
now did I live a hundred ears longer,
I could never forget how the cold sweat
crawled out upon me at that moment
his hands were plucking back the
bed clothes.
"Thief!"
The one choking word burst from
my lips as I punted up. Thank heaven!
That contact had broken the unac
countable Ictharg.v and for the next
moment I knew nothing except that 1
really had him b.v the throat in an In
sane grip, forgetting all but the one
monstrous fact that he had attempt
ed the most despicable part that a man
could play upon another. What next?
Why, there was a hiief, blind struggle,
deadly shock and h.ilked design on his
part, and Incredulous passion on mine.
And then then I hud send him reel
ing back to the floor in a spasm of
loathing. .lust the one dull bump
there he lay, quite still.
Dead? 1 did uot pause to know.
Dazed, trembling with the reaction,
I had only a wild longing to be out of
the place before he stirred. How I
dressed I shall never know; but in a
minute or so I was at the door, the dis
patch safe, in my pocket. Down the
staircase I went, mid, perhaps luckily,
there happened to he no one at the hotel
entrance to intercept mi-, or worse
might have huppenril. Now i was out
in the sweet night air, hurrying I had
no idea where. Onl.v to leave the place
and that prone scoundrel behind!
Heavens! that struggle was shudder
ing upon me still. The precious dis
patchthe colonial ollice
"Hrian! Hrian it's llrian! Quick
here!"
W what Was that? The wild cry,
from a woman's lips, pulled me up aiid
partially buck to sense before, as it
seemed, I hud gone a hundred yards.
"Hrian!" rang through my confused
brain. Was that was that Lottie's
own dear voice? had the world come to
its end? It was wholly too much for my
strained nerves; there came a sort of
blank. They told me afterwards that
I caught at a railing and slid down be
side it helplessly. Why, yes, think of
It!
A sob, a broken "Thank Clod! Oh,
thank (5od for this!" and my eves
opened. What a dream! .My Lottie
herself, white and sweet, holding both
my hands. Ouitc enough! After that I
know w lint the touch of firm ground to
the feet of a drowning man must be.
"(lot it, dear the diamond for the
wedding!" I recollect whispering up, in
quite a childish ecstasy. "Shines so
beautirul!"
"Hetter, sir?" asked u policeman.
"Aye, better now, old man?" echoed an
other deep voice, that .startled me to my
senses as nothing else could have done.
Why, the man who had been supporting
me in his arms
".1 .lack!" I gasped, staring wildly.
"Yes, yes, we know all or we guess.
Never mind, so long as we're here in
lime. 'Sh, not-a word now, for his own
sake, ir not ours!" He whispered it in
my car- and I knew It was indeed iu.v
.lack Haiul.vn, if only by the touch of
his. heard. "Tell usall afterwards. I've
blundered; and a scoundrel has taken
advantage of it to try on the dirtiest
trick of his contemptible life. Wilfred!
. . . Here, constable, it's all right;
show us to a decent hotel!"
In less than an hour I hud come out
of darkness into sunshine Indeed, and
was able to see to the end of what had
seemed such an appalling mvster.v. .Mv
fatal slip my cablegram In code!
.laek. it appeared, who rented bach
elor apartments near the city, had re
ceived the message from .Madeira in due
course. .Mystified at llrst, he hud nt
length mnungftl to translate the words
into sense, and made arrangements to
be at Southampton to meet the vessel.
On the all-Important day while at
breakfast he recollected some vital
busiiicss'an'air and hurried oil" to catch
his business 'partner, leaving the mes
sage and its solution beside his plate,
and lit that unlucky Interval something
happened.
Wilfred, hi scapegrace-brother, h:ul
ealled there for money, doubtless, iu
lie often did seen tin message, and.
qulek-brnlued as he was uim'rJtpulous,
had tnstantl.v concjL'Ued some idea ()f
meeting me in the' character of .I....1.
and making oiy with the valmihres..J J
mm uiutciiat. How? There wns .lack's
cotVee on the stove the landlady wiid
Mr. Haiiilyn would be hack in.sld'e half
an Jiour the schemer saw his likeliest
chance in a fhiNh. The half hotir had
sufficed. Without know Ifig w by or how,
Jack had come out of a deadly stupor
late In the aftirijoou, to find that the
locked Moor had been forced, unjl Lottie
and a. doctor, sent for by his landlady,
bending over him.
- Drugged! probably with the bulk of
.the very opiate which hud been put into
my own glass lit the hotel hours la tor.
Only recollecting that Wilfred had
bee,li, ami had seen the cablegram,. lack
Instantly went'ofT to catch the even
ing express to SojiUiiunpton and,
needless to bay, nothing in the world
would prevent the wifitiun I loved from
accompanying him. An nnxious tramp
with the policeman through Southamp
ton streets, making inquiries every
whereand then f had rushed by them
like ii ghost.
Yes, It was a clever plot, conceived so
swiftly and carried out with a stag
gering success only that my over
wrought brain had resisted the drug
and turned the scale just in the nick of
time. And not the least strange part
of the affair was that, making inquiry
late that eventful night, we found that
Wilfred Hamlyii had contrived to come
to his senses and slip out of the hotel
unnoticed with only my small tin
trunk and its few contents to compen
sate him for his cunning and risk.
"He is welcome to that!" says Lot
tic, with tears iu her eyes.
And, all things considered, I agree.
Kor, as it turned out, the contents of
that dispatch were never divulged to
the public, In the light of subsequent
events f can only tremble at thought o
whiit might have happened had they
seen the light of day in the columns of
an enterprising news sheet! Tit-Hits.
PIGEON CARRIER SERVICE.
1101111111; HlrilM Owned In Duliilli
lltllUcil Willi (.rent .Suceesx by
IIiisIiii'mn Men.
Homing pigeons, are brought into
practical use iu navigating Lake Supe
rior this season b the Iiooth Packing
company, owners of the steamer Dixon,
which makes triweekly trips between
this city and Grand Marais, a town 1 10
miles up the north shore of the lake.
Last fall during the regular fall storms,
on the same date that three vessels,
the Arthur Orr, Tampa and Harlem,
were wrecked at dill'erent spots on the
north shore, the Dixon, a steamer much
smaller than any of these, was out with
passengers. There is no telegraph line
bet wen here and Grand Marais, hut !
some unknown manner a rumor got
afloat on the night of the storm that
wrecked the three vessels that the
Dixon was wrecked. She had many
passengeis on board njid there was
great anxiety in Duluth for several
days until the steamer returned, safe
and not even injured b,v her experience
with the storm.
It would have saved lots of worry nt
that time if there had been some con
nection, by telegraph or otherwise,
between Duluth and Grand Marais.
As there would not be business enough
to warrant a telegraph line, however,
the Dixon's owners, in order to avoid
a repetition of the trouble of last fall,
hit upon a scheme that doesawaj with
the use of the wires without requiring
the perfection of wireless telegraphy.
Frerker Hrotliers, n firm of Duluth
contractors, use homing pigeons in
their "work, and a number of them have
been purchased by the owners of the
Dixon. At Grand Marais a message is
attached to a pigeon, and it rises to a
considerable height, heads for Duluth,
and two hours later its message is de
livered. The bird thus covers the lit'
miles nt a rate of nearly a mile a min
ute. This has been done several times,
and the birds are gaining in speed as
they learn their route more perfectly,
and it is expected that by the time the
fall storms begin they will be able to
niake better time than they do at pres
ent. Thus if there is an accident to the
Dixon at an. time the Duluth agents
will learn of it son after it happens, 11111'
inmost cases soon enough to send relief.
The system beats the telegraph in that
it will not be necessary to look up u
telegraph ollice to send 11 message. The
birds can be dispatched from tun where
on the lakes and they will iln'd their
way buck to Duluth.
The owners of the pigeons, Frerker
Hrotliers, are doing some stone worl
on the harbor at Old Superior, about
eight miles from their otllce in Duluth
and their quarries are 10 miles up the
north bhore of the lake. 'J he pigeons
are used continually for eominunicn-
nun oeiween inese ditTerent points and
always with great success. This led
to their adoption on the Dixon. Their
success in this capacity ,v j0ll,i Jn
their use in other places on 'the great
lakes. Chicago Times-Herald.
lJensiMinltle.
The reasons lor orthography ,,,-e
among the things which pass man's
undeistnnding. Some explanations
however, have a plausible sound.
A minister was recently called upon
to marry a couple In private, mid had
occasion to ink how the name of one of
the witnesses was spelled. :.
'M-c-H-u-g-li," replied the man. ' '
"Haven't j-ou a sister .Margaret?" in
quired the clergvpmn. '
"Yes, sir.". - .
"Well," taiil the minister, "she .sneli.
Iter name: 'M-e-C-u-c.' v
"ThaU'' said the witness, "is because
y sister and me, we went, to different
schools." YbuUiJb ConipauJon.
SOUTH AFRICAN CLIMATE,
Some K11 of Aliout Temperature and
ItultiH In tuo Trimnviuil iirnl
OrniiKC IlcpuliUcii.
llcccnt dispatches stated that the
Doers were waiting for u couple ofdnya
rain before takings the Held u circum
stance significant of the climatic con
ditions of the Transvaal nnd of South
Africa in general. In most countries
a heavy rain would be an obstacle to
military operations. There it Is neces
sary to them, so that the horses mny
have food and both the horses and men
may have drink. The lloers have no
commissariat system for their horses,
but literally make them live on tlio
country. When the army halts for tlio
night the horses arc turned loose to
forage for themselves, each having ono
front foot tightly strapped up to pre
vent his running away. In early spring
the plain or veldt is almost barren.
There has been little rain during the
winter. The grass is dead and the wn.
tercotirses arc dry. Hut iu that mar
velous climate and on that responsive
soil n few days of rain would fill tho
streams and cover the land with lush,
herbage.
The winter is there the dry season
nnd the summer the rainy season,
though excepting near the coast the
rainfall of tlio whole year is rather
scanty. Throughout most of the Trans
vaal the midwinter months of duly and
August are practically rainless, the fall
amounting to only a small fraction of
an inch. September, too, is usually dry.
Hut with the advance of spring, in Oc
tober and November, the rainfall rap
idly increases, and when, after Christ
mas, summer sets in, there is n copious
supply of from four to six inches a
month. In the whole yenr about one
day in six is rainy. There are, of course,
some regions which are practically arid.
Hut on the whole the country is as well
off for water as, let us say, our own
states between the Mississippi and the
Hooky mountains. What it needs badly
is a comprehensive system of water
storage and irrigation.
The temperature of the Transanal'
and Orange State is moderate ami
agreeable. The climate is classed as
sub-tropical, though part of the Trans
vaal lies within the torrid zone. It cor
responds in latitude with the central
part of Australia, the northern part of
Argentina, Florida, Texas and Mexico.
Owing, probably, to the elevation above
the sea, however, the temperature is
more equable and presents less marked
extremes than that of other countries
in tlie southern hemisphere. The burn
ing heat of Australia is unknown in the
Transvaal. .January is the hottest
month, and its average temperature is
74 degrees Fahrenheit iu the shade,
which is only half a degree warmer
than the .July temperature of New
York. .July is the coolest month, with
an average of 50 degrees, or about !
degrees warmer than January in New
Orleans. The thermometer seldom
rises above 00 degrees at any time or
fallb below U5 degrees. N. Y. Tribune.
CH0CK0PEL0NUS' CASE.
The WheelH of .liiitli-e Ilecome Cine-
Ceil tilth 11 .liivt-IIrcuklue I J lit
ClilMsiuul iSillllV.
"Call the next case," said Justice
i'rindiville in the Harrison street polico
court, addressing the prosecutor for
the city. The justice appeared grave
and dignified, as became his exalted
station, but there was u suspicious
twinkle in his eye.
Attorney Scully glanced complacent
ly at his docket and rose to comply with
the request. Then he hesitated and
looked perplexed. The magistrate re
pressed a quiver ubout his mouth and
turned what seemed to be the begin
ning of a giggle into a deep frown, us lie
repented, sharply:
"Call the next case, Mr. Prosecutor.
The court cannot waste, all day waiting
for you to call your cases."
Attorney Scully was still gazing jn a.
bewildered manner at the docket.
Presently he seemed to rally and said:
"Your honor, I would be glad to call
the next case, but it is 11 physical im
possibility to state it in words. Now, If '
your honor would allow me to play it
on 11 flute or grind it out of a miisio
box I would be happy to comply, if
this is not allowable under the riilcs I
must ask permission to state it on my
fingers iu the language of the deaf
mutes or else take it back to my office
and get it written on a typewriter and .
hand it up to the court to read. Or I
might shoot it out of a gun. Now, if tin:
court would condescend to read tin:
case from the docket all might yet bo
well."
"One more such suggestion like that
will rcsqlt In vour committment for
contempt of court," replied the justice,
sternly. "1 am no buzz saw. However,
We will proceed with the case without
calling it."
An expression of grea.t relief broke
over the countenance of tlu- nttorilcy
and the case was begun, hut the handi
cap wjis so seriuus that the prisoner
could qot be convicted owiilg to.the fact
that nobody could testify against hlin
IjillijBlbly.' . -
tlfs name was Chileopas Cliockope
loous and he was charged with litter-
Inj the street with banana skins, Some.
boi'ly had Jittered the street with
Iftnajia skins, but jo wltuesscouhl pro
nounce flie mime of flic man who did it.
Chicago Inier Ocean. ,
1
v
r
y
r
m
0 O " w
" "
4
JL
v
9
1 e