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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1906)
3! 2 One Man's Evil r p0 Bv EFFIE K OWL AND W CHAPTER I. The scene was lonely enough, yet not wi'iiout a touch of beauty. For mile around not n habitation could he Keen; everything was silent mill wolitiir.v ; in fnct, there was something incongruous in the gloaming metals of tlio railway that Mound Itself, snake-like, through the verdure-clad country, and the llttlo wayside station liad a very desolatv air save when fOine his express train drew up for a few minutes to board tlio miimII mail-hug or mich stray passengers as the nearest set tlement beyond the IiIIIh had to Bend on the road to civilization. There were only a man and n youth In charge of thin depot, yet on thin particu lar day the rough platform had a fair complement of people. Strange-looking Individuals they were, all dad alike In a ombrr kind of uniform, and Hitting or the most, part in n Ktolld, gloomy faHhlon. H wan only when they moved In obedi ence to, the sharp, rough voice of a man who seemed to be guardian to the whole party that the clink of iron revealed the fact that these men were prisoner.". The man in charge of the little railway sta tion had eyed the gang dubiously as they had alighted from a special carriage In the hiHt ox press. ''It seems mean," he said to himself, "to eat. when maybe It's hours since they have tasted food. There's one of them," he mused on, glancing toward the end of the row, "that looks fair done out. Not a bad face that, neither; must have been handsome. At any rate, he don't look like the others." The man about whom he mused was sit ting with his hands olascd between his nicer and his eyes fixed almost abstract edly oti the. distant beauty of the land scape. At first it would hnve been easv to have classed him In witli the rest of Ids companions, but the eyes of the north- countrymen has been acute. There was n d'Htinct difference in this one prisoner from the others. He was a slighter, more Vlclleato build, and, though his face had n worn, sad expression, there was nothing evil in It." ' lie seemed to be one by himself, for the man further noticed that, as the warders jmssed to ami fro, or stood speaking to each other, there seemed to be a kind of mute conversation passing between their charges. The thought flashed through the mini! of the station master that it was a dan- colons looking gang, that upon which hi was gazing, and even while this thought crept Into definite form he sprung to his loct. ill A iV t if.. . iin ui umcc mat line 01 gray-clad au tomata was a moving mass. The still sum iner air was broken by discordant voices and brutal cries. The two warders wen fuirrounricd. The attack had been so swift, so unex pected, that they were taken .off their guard. Before they had time to get at their revolvers their arms were pinioned, jipd the weapons had been dragged from tin In. The station master was not one to stand by and see such things without joining in. lie rushed from his ollice across the line. Everything passed in horrid, con fused fashion Iwfore his eyes, yet he had Instantly noted that the man who had at tracted his attention as being different from the rest was not one of those who liad brought on the assault. This man was standing apart, leaning In n half-dazed fashion against the shed. Ills feet were chained together, yet all at once, ns the man from the ottice, sprang on to the platform, he, too, moved for warl. Swift as lightning he pushed him pelf Into the struggling throng. With Kiieh heavy loads about his ankles it was not easy for him to move, yet a kind of superhuman strength passed Into his veins ns ho pulled off the man who was trying to choke the life out of the poor creature lying at his feet. "No !" he cried, and his voice sounded drained and hoarse, and yet was full of authority. "ou shall not murder him! Ho has done you no harm! What do von w.mt your freedom? Well, take it while you can ; but don't stain your hands with an innocent man ti blood ! Ills words were greeted by a storm of cries, some menacing, some exultant. It looked for a moment to the station mas ter as If he, too, would lie on the ground beside the salf-strangled man who, but a moment before, had been guardian to this unruly crowd; but the common sense that lay beneath his words struck home siul- utuiy. Having robbed the warders of their keys, as well as their weapons, it was an tuny matter to unlock the chains from the feet of all the prisoners, and in an in credibly short time the station platform new none oi uiem save that one who. at risk of his own life, had stood between his late comrades and murder. Not knowing exactly how to act, the fetation master had watched these pro cecdings standing aloof. He was ready to have rushed to the warders' assistance had he not been forestalled in this. As It v.as, he busied himself pouring hot water between the pale lips of the younger ol tnc two warders, who had been less badly mauled than his companion, and whl'e he did so, his eyes went with ad miration to the figure of the convict who villi knelt beside the other man, endeav oilnfi to give him help. Ulrt'n a brave lad. und no mistake," .said honest Hen Coop to himself. "I was right to have picked lilin out from the rest. Whatever brought him to thW, hen not fit to 1m- wasting his life out in a prison yard, that's pretty sure!" And then lien awoke to the gravity of the situation. He looked about lilin for tiie Ind that generally helped him; but at the first sound of the struggle this boy had disappeared. There was no one but himself and the convict to give aid to the two warders till the traiu arrived. It took him a very little time to drag tin' warder from the ground to the bench, and the other man sat and looked at him :tc he moistened the lips and the brows of the injured man. The prisoner recovered his strength and his calmness. He swal- ovwd a mouthful or two of food that had been given to him, not lycnuse he cared in ihe least to vat it, but because he had been touched by the kindness shown him, and It was a natural instinct with him to return courtesy for courtesy. Aftei a few minutes lion turned to him again. "He is come to," he said; "hut I don't c li ink he will be lit for much this day or two. It was pretty quick work, and I 'iin sorry for this bit of land, with all those scoundrels loose upon It." "Where will they goV" asked the con vict, in a low voice. I lis eyes wandered around Ihe land scape, that lay so placid and beautiful in the sunshine. "I expect," Hen said, thoughtfully, "this was a put-up thing. There must have been one of them as knows their ways about here. The town, as they call it, lies a good three miles away; but they will mr.ke their way to It. You didn't go with tin in," Ben said, suddenly. "Why?" The faiutest of faint smiles parsed over the face of the convict. ".My path is not with them," he said. "Besides," he added, with terrible bitter net.i, "I am content to be what I am, to stay where I am. Freedom Is a dead wotd to me." "Ay, man," exclaimed Hen Coop, not wllhout emotion, "but that Is u terrible thing to say." lie felt his heart moved more and more ly this strange man. As the time drew mar for the traiu to approach lien went up to the prisoner and stretched out his hand. "I feel all tin' better for having known you," he said. "I hope some day I'M nee you in different straits to this. If ever you need a friend, lad, make your way iice; there will always be a bite and sup for you wherever lien Coop is." For an instant a great change passed over the face of the convict; the cold de spair dropped from it; the eyes seemed ;o thine and the lips to smile. "Thank you, friend!" he said. "And Gol bless you! It does me good to bear you speak, for 1 believe you come from the same part of the old country as I do." I am Lancashire, sir," Ben hurried to ay. "I was a pit lad, working since I 'an icmember in the mines of the Mill Jioss estate." The light all went out of the other man's eyes, and the lips grew cold and white. He paused a moment, and then he spoke, deliberately and most bitterly. "There is a name struck out of the an nals of the Mill Cross family; there Is one missing who is not mourned, one who Is (Had In honor, though living still. If ever you go back to the old country, ask them to tell you the story of that lost man, Ben Coop, and when you hear it think of me." The traiu whizzed up to Ihe little plat form ; the young warder ranged himself beside his prisoner. In an instnnt there was i. group of ear men clustered around him, listening to what had happened. Ben was called upon to give his testi mony, and half a dozen hands were put forwnrd to carry the wounded warden to u berth in the traiu. There was no more tinia o. oriportu nity for ,Ben Coop to snatch a word with his fellow countryman, lie watched the prisoner pushed into a kind of van, and heaid the bolt of the lock with a cold sensation at his heart. f i . .i i.i . j ir peuormuu nis usual uutich in a far-off, dazed manner; and then the train moved slowly out of the station, and Ben was left alone, with only the memory of thtr pale, sorrowful face to remain with him. CHAPTER II. In sunny .lime London wears its pleas antest aspect. There may he a vast amount of selfishness, callous extrava gance and other uucharitubleness cloaked beneath the gayety of a London season: neveitheless, at no time in the rest of the year is there that indescribable sensation of life, and the enjoyment of life, found floating In the atmosphere. And there are some twople who seem born simply to live in this atmosphere of perpetua atnutement and whirl of fashion. Such a on was Lady Betty Mnrehmont. She came of an old Irish family, am possessed nny amount of cousins am nieces, who were only too ecchanted to spend a few weeks with her; but she had not been very successful as. a chaperon The world would not take her seriously in this light ; and after a little while her various chiirgcB gradually realized that It was not such a pleasant thing as they hnd imagined to pass n Beneou in town .with "pretty Aunt Betty," When tile laat of her debutantes had gone back to the country, Lndy Betty had declared to herself that Mhe would have no more girls. But she mnde it a point of Appearing very ym pathetic nnd 1 chnrmltiK to her hu-linud; and when she ha I lu'iinl all lie h.ui to soy on n particu lar ffctudon, kJio quite delighted him by the ready way in which she fell In with wii.it he hrtd arranged. "My dear Ned!" she cried, "of coursn viiir lirother's child must come here. Why h.id she never been before' An heiress, you tell meV Well. Mint's something very desirable in this particular age; nnd no doubt she Is beautiful, too." There was a degree of sarcasm in this remark, which, happily, escaped Mr. Mnrehmont ; he did not notice thnt his wifeV bright eyes had glanced up and do vn at his tall, ungainly figure an sh said these words. Mr. Marchmont looked over his blue spei taeles at his wife. , "I don't think Antonln has any inten tion of marrying," he said seriously. "A I explained to you, my dear, I have asked the girl to come to us, liecause I have leu tned that she has n very dull and dreary life up In the North. You must not expect to find her frivolous." Lady Betty groaned in spirit. She felt th.it slie could quickly conjure up a pic tmo of this unknown girl. Fortunately, she wns going to a very bright luncheon party, and the necessity of making herself look as pretty as possible helped to dispel the vision that her imagination had con jimd up of the girl, who, lieforo nnothcr 'vi ek had gone, was going to be under her (ntf. Nevertheless, she could not livi without sympathy, and a few ho lm later she found herself demanding th's sympathy from the man who sat besido her at lunch. Lady Betty had more than n penchant for Gerald Tenby. She always had two or time handsome young men dangling after he, and her vanity had been extremely gra'ilied when Mr. Tenby joined the ranks of her admirers for (Icgald Tenby was a man about whom society was beginning to talk. The money that would come to him was counted by the world as something fabu lous. Everylwdy knew that the Mill Cross estate was no mere bagatelle; that apart from the coal interest the head of the family possessed w alth that rolled from thousands into something like millions. It w.'is no wonder, therefore, that Gerald Tenby found himself a society favorite. You must be very kind to me to-day, she said to him, as she- ate a dainty lunch and caught a refreshing glimpse of herself fr-uu time to time in one of the many n tors. I have hail a great shock. "1 hope nothing has happened," he Mini. "Nothing has happened except the unet- pectid," Lady Betty replied. "My dent oil husband has recalled himself to my existence In the most annoying manner, for he wants me, just when I had d 'tri mmed not to be bothered with any of 1115 owe liiesonie relations, to play the (Imp erii! to tune lump of a count 'y girl, whose existence I hail comfortably t'os got ten till it was recalled to me this illum ing.' "Ah ! this is, indeed, a heavy blow." "It's all very well for you to laugh, Gerald," she said; "hut you don't have to bore yourself from morning to night with 1 stupid bumpkin who does not know the difference between the moon and n green cheese. What induced me to give in to Edward this morning 1 really don't know. He took me by surprise, and before I knew where I wns he had disappeared to send a telegram, and tell this creature that she c mild come as soon as she liked. So therj's in end of all my fun. I know she's go- in,; to be simply awful!" Lady Betiy r''(d. "Her name is enough to gi" one the shivers! Did you ever hear of .1 girl being called Antonia before'" Gerald Tenby had been smiling amusrj- ly. scarcely hearing what his companion s.iui. 1 1 is thoughts were not very ii':i u!,.c or very serious, but nt the men ; t of the name "Antonia" he sudden;-,' he came rigid, and the smile froze on his lips. "Antonia V" he repeated to himself. "An tonia Marchmont? What strange fate is this'" It was strange, yet true, that Tenby had never dreamed of associating Antonia with the pretty little society woman whom he saw so frequently, although the simi larity of name might havo led him to do .. a 1 . m so. there was certainly a wiue worm 01 difference between tliat girl who lived in the bleak north country and Lady Betty Marchmont. Tenby could not nt the first outset rec oncile his memory of Antonia with the surroundings and the kind of life lived by all those many people among whom ho now moved. Ho felt irritable and almost uneasy at the thought of her coming to London. He had tried so hard to forget her this last year or two, and he had al most succeeded in doing so. Even when he had gone north on his frequent visits of -duty to his uncle, Sir Maurice Tenby, ho had always managed to avoid coming in contact with Antonln. Her home lay not many miles distant, and Gerald could well remember the day when Antonia had been almost a daily visitor at Mill Cross Court. There was nothing to take the girl thero nowadays at least, that was what he said to himself, savagely, for he did not sup pose that Antonia would care to waste much time in paying visits to an old man, and since the marriage of Bertha Tenby, her girl friend, and the sudden disap pearance of Hubert Tenby, there had been no one to share Sir Maurice's solitude. Gerald only went to Mill Cross becauso he was obliged to go, but he hated going. There was an atmosphere of sorrow In the old place heavy as a pall, and, though his uncle was alwnys courteous and seem ed much Interested in his doings, Gerald Tenby never could rid his mind of the feeling that the proud man in his heart secretly resented his coming. (To be continued.) More wives would respect their hus bands If they were not so well ae- 1 Qiuiintcd. TOPICS OF THE TI HMDS. A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER ESTING ITEMS. (.'ominciitn and Criticism Honed Upon the ilnppctitiiKN of tlio Day Jllbtori cut nnd Ncwn Note. Stolon sweets arc often hard to ill- Bust. The crop of optimism In Snn Fran cisco apparently escaped damage from any source. Vict litis of the lmblt clnim that cigar ottos contain tobacco, but you can't be lieve nil you see In the pnpers. When Hon Franklin decided In favor of the turkey as the national bird he had heard little about the American hen. Life In n good deal like billiards. It Is the fate of most people to do their best when it will not go into the rec ords. "One does not care to lMindy words with the President of the United States." II. II. Rogers. You bet one doesn't. The folding bnliy carriage 1ms arrived for the benefit of flat dwellers. Now let genius run riot until a baby is Irr vented Unit enn be shut up. Probably the earthquake left the old mission churches as an example to the Snn Franciscans of the difference be tween good and bad building. Uncle KusscJl Sage expects to retire from business. There is no truth, how over, in the report that lie is a candi date for United States Senator. Maxim Gorky traveled 11 'very short route In this country to the ranks of men that the free and enlightened peo ple of the United States have not much use for. The story that there is a sponge trust hns been denied. But it is susceptible of proof that the stock of a sponge company is sometimes fearfully wa tered. Tiie Countess do Cnstellnne insists on having an absolute divorce. It real ly looks as if Bon! will have to look around for some other means of gain ing a livelihood. Probably tlio reason marriage li censes were In such demand In San Francisco Immediately after the tiro was because tlio girls wanted husbands who were well broke. At Wyckoff, NV J., a wealthy farmer committed suicide because he was nfraid of dying poor. His heirs must have convinced him that that is little short of a criminal offense. The word obey is omitted from the form of marriage service In the new Presbyterian Book of Worship. The compilers evidently sought to bring the f-ervlco into closer con'fornilty with the actual conditions of married life. Scotty, the Death Valley miner, has gone on the stage In a sensational drnma written around his own exploits. Ho Is supported by several dogs that aro said to be highly Intelligent and worth the price of admission. The nian ngemcnt Is to be congratulated. Next to a penitentiary experience Is that of being quarantined at homo be cause of some contagious disease. It moans n taste of how It goes to be without friend. People walk hurriedly by, and look at the one quarantined as If he were some sort of a dangerous chnracter. It Is bad enough to have one's children down with a dangerous disease, hut add to this temporary ibnndonnient by friends, and you have the limit. It Is plainly the duty of every state In the Union so to distribute the de posit of its funds that the suspension Of any small number of banks will not cause serious trouble. Kansas litis been suffering difficulties and thou sands of her employes have been wor rying because the money to .pay them for work done for the State was put in an unfortunate Institution which has closed ltn doors. Surely there have Doom instances enough of bad banking In the history of this country to warn fvery State not to put too much faith In the careful management of a single place of deposit. "Lo, the jKior Indian, whose untu tored mind" makes him the easy prey of the white sharper, but whose mind tutored in a law school nnd stimulated by the atmosphere of the national capi tal Is capahlo of attaining contingent fees of unprecedented dimensions! Robert S. Owen, a Cherokee, has won a ult for his nation forSn.OOO.OOO aealnst the United StitfeB, being the cost of the irlbe's removal from Georgia to the In linn territory sixty-eight years ago. Of his he Is to receive 15 per cent. For linnlng another case this snme cop-icr-Uued attorney got $205,000 from tho JhlckuBnws nnd Choctaws. Tho mem icrs of the Washington bar must .bo nicking thempelvos that they never pro cured a law requiring Indian tribe tr, employ only white lawyers. It has been deemed of sufficient pub lic importance to be cabled acroas tho Atlantic that .1. Plerpont Morgan dined In Ixjudou the other nlxht on brown bread, llsh and vegetable it appears, that a rich man's stomach Is nu more plutocratic than that of a poor man. Alexander the Grout Is said to have wept and drunk himself to death be cause there were no more wolds for him to conquer. In the same spirit tho multimillionaire must sometimes shed tears In secret over the fact thnt, with all his iKiwcr to command dainties and luxuries, ho Is physically incapable of any more wants to be gratified than are possessed by the poorest. The new-ly-rlch may think they can revel hi ex cesses. But outraged nature soon brings them up with a sharp turn. It Is nil old and true saying that the world owes every one a living. It is a part of the same truth that the world owes no one the living or thousands. A liv ing Js all that anyone can have. Mor gan's millions are to him useless sur plus. He can't eat them ; lie can't wear them ; he can't in any way consunio them in this world; and he can't tako them with him to any other. Nature Js Inexorable. In all her wise and com plete laws there Is no provision for a millionaire. The decision of western railways to muke'jow rates to hoinescekers weekly insures a heavy passenger traffic west ward tills season. Among the army of homeseekers will be many of the for eigners who are pouring into the coun try by hundreds of thousands. Most of Uie Immigrants were farmcra In tltelt native land and prefer to become so here. Those who stay in cities usually do so becauil; they get stranded there. Another blgjjyass that will take advan tage of tho-frutos will be composed of the sons of prosperous middle western farmers. The fathers have made their fortunes by "taking up" new laud mid holding it wiiile it grew In value nnd the sons are ambitious to do likewise. Many land owoners also will, sell out and go west to buy mo.ro and cheaper acres. There isn't so much good soil to be got almost for the mere asking us there was a quarter century ago. Tho Middle West, once the promised land of the liomeseelcer, Is now pretty well settled. There is still a great deal of such soil, however. There is still some of it in as old States as Missouri and Arkansas. There is some in western Kansas and western Nebraska. But most of it is in the Northwest and Southwest ; and for these sections a ma jority of tho homeseekers will buy tick ets. A largo part of them will settle in Texas, where there are many thousands of fertile and unfilled acres. Anoth"r large part will settle In Minnesota, the Dakotas, Oregon, and Washington. .Many others w ill be induced to follow former neighbors to Hie Canadian Northwest. Land hunger has long been one of the strong appetites of men. it has done more to populate the exten sive territory of the United States than any other force. It has been the chief cause of ninny foreigners coming here and has been the sole cause of most Easterners moving west and of most Westerners moving farther west. That. It is more potent sometimes than even love of country is shown not only by the numerous foreigners who have come- to America but by the many Americans; who are going to Canada. Most men who haven't land would like to have some, and those who have some want more. Land hunger will continue to send forth tralnlonds of honieseekers every year, until all the cultivable soil on the continent is taken. Probably not until then will It bec'onx' possible to get the Intensive system of farniing widely substituted for the extensive system. Men enjoy the ownership of hind as well as its produce; and as long ns they can become owners of many acres will not try to see how much they can grow on a few. InU-nislvc fu no 1 11 u1. Hilda possessed a hot temper and an aching tooth, and when she had endur ed the pain of the one as long as she could, she took both to the nearest dent ist. "I can't tell until I look at It." said lie, "whether to pull or to till it." The dentist wis at no time renowned for gentleness, and on this occasion he handled Ids Instruments with what seemed to Hilda very much like un necessary roughness. With her blue eyes blazing with wrath, she bore the torture as long as she could, hut a badly aimed turn of the drill finished her. Leaping from the dental chair, she tore the rubber dam from her swollen countenance, hurled it at the dentist, and exclaimed, as she made for the door: "Farmer! Plowman! My wut' Is no garden ! Mys toot' Is no trees ! You can't pull heem, nor you shan't full heem. Go buy vone beeg farm If you vlll dig potatoes!" TJtlerlr Trnrcaaormblc. Mamma Don't you like Auntlo Prue? Johnny Oil, she's very kind, but Khe'd expect u boy to keep quiet on Christinas. 1