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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1907)
X CHAPTER VI. Continued. She had drawn his head down closo to her face, and her great hluo oyeB searched his as' though they would go to his very soul. She was a child lu her slmplo appeal for him to allow her to sec his heart, to see that there was nothing black there. As sho gazed her beautiful hands played through his hair as do a moth er's through that of the child sho la Koothing in sickness. "Bob, speak to me, speak to me," she begged, "tell mo there was no dis honor in the getting of those millions. Tell me no one was made to suffer as my father and 1 have suffered. Toll me that tho suicides and tho convicts, the daughters dragged to shame and the mothers driven to the madhouse as a result of this panic, cannot be charged to anything unfair or dishon orable that you have dono. Hob, oh, Rob, answer! Answer no, or my heart will break; or if, Hob, you have made a mistake, if you have done that which in your great desire to aid mo and my father scorned Justifiable, but which you now see was wrong, tell it to me, Bob, dear, and together we will try to undo It. We will try to llnd a way to atone. Wo will give the mlllionB to tho last, last penny to those upon whom you havo brought misery. Father's loss will not mat ter. Together we wllf go to him and tell him what wo havo dono, what we havo lived through, tell him of our mistake, and in our agony ho will forgot his own. For such a horror has my father of anything dishonor able that ho will embrace his misery as happiness when he knows that his teachings havo enabled IiIb daughter to undo this great wrong. And then, Hob, wo will bo married, and you and I and father and mother will be to gether, and be, oh, so happy, and we will begin all over again." "Boulah, stop; in tho nnmo of God, lit tho name of your lovo for me, don't say another word. There Is a limit to the capacity of a man to .suffer, even if lie be a great, strong bruto like myseir, and, Beulah, 1 havo rerached that limit. The day has been a hard one." His volco softened and became as a tired child's. "I must go into the hustle of the street, into the din and sound, and got down my nerves and get back my head. Then I shall be able to think clear and true, and I will como back to you, and together avo will see if I have done anything that makes mo unfit to touch the check and tho hands and tho lips of the best and most beautiful woman God over put upon narth. Beulah, you know 1 would not deceive you to save my body from tho tires of this world, and my soul from the torture of tho damned, and 1 promise you that if I find that I have done wrong, what you call wrong, what your father would call wrong, I will do what you say to atone." He took her hand between his hands, gently, reverently, and touch ing his Hps to her glorious golden hair, ho went away. Beulah Sands turned to me. "Please Air. Randolph, go with him. He is soul dazed. Ono can never tell what a heart Horely perplexed will prompt Its own r to do. Often In tho night when A . IP fi f iiuvu gut iJiysuiL miu a ievor from Mrlnking of my father's situation, I have had awful temptations. The agents of tho devil seek tho wretchec when none of those they lovo are by i Jiavo often thought some of the blackest tragedies of tho earth might have been averted if thoro had been a true friend to stand at tho wrung one s elbow at the fatal minuto of do oision and point to tho sun bohlnd just, when tho black ahead grow un endurable. Please follow Mr. Brown ley than you may be ready, should his awakening to what ho has done be come unbearable. Tell him tho dread ed morrows are never as terrible act unlly as they seem in anticipation." I overtook Bob just, outside the of lice. 1 did not speak to him, for I realized that he was in no mood for company. 1 dropped lu behind, do termined that I would not loso sight of him. It was almost one o'clock Wall street was at Its meridian of frenzy, every ono on a wild rush. The day's doings had packed tho always crowded monoy lane. The newsboys were shouting aftornoon editions "Terrible panic in Wall street. Ono man against millions. Hobort Brown ley broke 'the street.' Made twenty millions in an hour. Bank failed Wreck and ruin everywhere. Prosl sulcldo." Bob gave no sign of hoar iug. He Ktrodo with a slow, measured gait, his head erect, his eyes staring ahead, a man thinking, thinking, think- ng for his salvation. Many hurrying men looked at him, somo with an expression of unuttorable hatred, as though they wanted to attack him. Then again thero wero thoso who called him by name with a laugh of oy; and somo turned to watch him n curiosity. It was easy to pick tho wounded from thoso who shared in lis victory, and from thoso who know tho frenzied finance buzz-saw only by ts buzz. Boz saw none. Where could le be going? Ho came to the head of tho street of coin and crime and crossed Broadway. His path was blocked by tho fence surrounding old Trinity's churchyard. Grasping tho pickets in cither hand he stared at tho crumbling headstones of thoso guardsmen of Mammon who once walked tho earth and fought their heart battles, as ho was walking and fighting, but who now knew no ten o'clock, no three, who looked upon the stock-gamblers and dollar-trailers as they looked upon the worms thut Upon a Bench Sat a Sweet-Faced Mother honeycombed their headstones' bases. What thoughts went through Bob Brownley's mind only his Maker knew. For minutes he stood motion loss, then ho walked down Broadway. Ho went into tho Battery. The benches wero crowded with thut jet sam and flotsam of humanity that New York's mighty sewers throw lu armies upon her inland beaches at every sunrise. Hero a sodden bruto sleeping off a prolonged dobauch, thoro a lad whose frankness of face and homespun clothes and bewildered eyes spelt "from tho farm and moth er's watchful love." On another bench an Italian woman who had a half-dozen future dollar kings and social queens about her, and whoso clothes told of tho Immigrant ship just, inlo port. Bob Brownley apparently saw none. But suddenly ho stopped. Upon a bench sat a sweet-faced mother holding a sleeping babe In her arms, whilo a curly-patcd boy nestled his head in hor lap and slept through the magic lanes and fairy woods of dream land. Tho woman's face was one of those that blend tho confidence of girlhood with the uncertainty of wom anhood. 'Twas a pretty face, which had been plainly tagged by Its Maker for a light-hearted trip through tho world, but It had been soared by tho Iron of the city. "Mr. Brownley-" Sho started to rise. Ho gently pushed hor back with a "hush," unwilling to rob tho sleepers of their heaven. "What aro you doing here, Mrs. V" Ho halted. "Mrs. Chase. Mr. Brownloy, when I went away from Randolph & Ran dolph's office I marrlod John Chaso; you nvy remember him as a dellvory clerk. I had such a happy homo aud my husband was good; I did not have to typewrite any longer. Tht'BC are our two children." "What aro you doing here?" The tears sprang to her eyes; she dropped them, but did not answer. "Don't mind me, woman. 1, too, havo hidden hells I don't want the world to see. Don't mind mo; tell mo your story. It may do you good; It may do me good; yes, It may do mo good." I hnd dropped inlo a seat a few feet away. Both wore too much occupied with their own thoughts to notice mo or any ono elso. 1 could not overhear their conversation, but long after ward, when I mentioned our old sten ographer, Bcsslo Brown, to Bob, ho told mo of tho incident at tho Bat tery. Her husband, after their mar riage, had become infected with thn stock-gambling microbe, the microbe that gnaws into its victim's mind and heart day and night, while over fiercer grows tho "get rich, get rich" fever". He had plunged with their sav ings and had drawn a blank. He had lost his position In disgrace ami had landed In tho bucket shop, tho sub-collur pit of the big stock ex change hell. From there a woek be foro ho had been sent to prison for theft, and that morning she had boon turned Into the street by her land lord I saw Bob take from his pocket his memorandum-book, write some thing upon a leaf, tear It out and hand It to tho woman, touch his lint, anil before she could stop him, stride away. I saw her look at tho paper, clap her hands to her forehead, look at tho paper again and at the retreating form of Bob Brownley. Then I saw her. yes. there lu the old Battery park, lu Holding a Sleeping Babe in Her Arms. tho drizzling rain and under tho eyes of all, drop upon her knees In prayer. How long sho prayed I do not know. I only know that as I followed Bob I looked back and tho woman was still upon her kuoes. I thought at tho tlmo how queer and unnatural tho wholo thing seemed. Later, I learned to know that nothing Is queer aud unnatural in t lie world of human suf fering; that groat human suffering turns all that Is queer and unnatural Into commonplace. Next day Bessie Brown came to our olllco to seo Bob. Not being able to go! at him she ask- ed for me. "Mr. Randolph, n-ll me, please. what shall I do with this paper?" she C!l I A 1 mnt Alti 1 1 Ttn lf In Mtfi I III t. lory yesterday. He saw I was In distross, aud he gave mo this, but 1 cannot, believe he meant It," and sho showed me an order on Randolph & Randolph for a thousand dollars. I In Ocean's Greatest Depths. Pressure of Water That Would stroy a Battleship. De- Mo ro than half the surface of tho globo Is hidden under water two miles deep; 7,000,000 square miles Ho at a depth of 18,000 feet or moro. Many places havo been found llvo miles and more in depth. Tho greatest depth yet sounded is III, 1200 feet, near the Is land of Guam. If .Mount Evorest, the world's highest mountain, wero pluck ed from its seat and dropped Into this spot tho waves would still roll 12,000 feet above Its crest. Into this torrlllc abyss the waters press down with a forco of moro than 10,000 cashed hor check and Bho went away. From tho Battery Bob sought tho wharves, tho Bowery, Five Points, tho hothouses of tho uuder world of America. Ho seemed bout on pick ing out tho haunts of misery In the misery-Infested metropolis of tho now world. For two hours ho tramped and 1 followed. A number of times I thought to speak to him and try to win him from his mood, but I re frained. I could sec thero wan a soul battle waging and I realized that upon Its outcome might depend Bob's salvation. Some seek tho quiet of tho woods, the soothing rustle of tho leaves, tho peaceful ripple of tho brook when battling for their soul, but Bob's woods appeared to be tho sltudowy places of misery, his rustling loaves the hoarse din of tho multitude, and his brook's ripple the tears and tales of the man-damned of tho great idly, for ho slopped and conversed with many human derelicts that he met. on his course. The hand of tho clock on Trinity's ntecplo pointed to four as we again approached tho of fice of Randolph & Randolph. Boh was now moving with a long, hurried atrlde, as though consumed with a fevor of desire to get to Beulah Saudt;. For tho last lft minutes 1 had with difficulty kept him in sight, Hd he arrived at. a decision, and If so, whnt was It? 1 asked myself over and over again as I plowed through tho crowds. Bob went straight to Beulah Sands' otllcc, I to mine. I had been thero but a m6mont when I heard deep, guttu ral groans. I llHtoned. Tho Bound came louder than before It. camo from Beulah SuiuIb' oflleo. With a bound T was at the open door. My (iod, the sight that, met my gazo! It. haunts mo oven now whuu years havo dulled Its vividness. The beauti ful, (inlet, gray flguro that had grown to be such a familiar picture to Bob and me of late, sat at tho flat desk in tho center of tho room, faced the door. Hor olhows rcstoo on tho desk; In her hand was an afternoon paper that sho had evidently been reading when Bob entered. God knows how long she had been reading It be fore he came. Bob was kneeling at the sidu of her chair, his hands clasp ed and uplifted in an agony of appeal that was supplemented by the awful groans. (TO IW3 CONTINUED.) Moorish Idea of Feminine Beauty. Tho amiability of Moorish women strikes mo greatly, says a writer lu tho National Review. 1 visited some tho other day, and thoy wero full of kind ly interest. They liked my fair hair, they liked my clothes; ono old crone suggested how lovely I should bo were I to paint my checks a brilliant red, stain my under lips coal black, adding Ihree black vertical lines on my fore head and ono In tho middle of my chin, also slain my teeth with walnut jidce, my hands with henna! I there fore rubbed my cheeks with my hand korchiof till they turned crimson; that amused them highly, and thoy laughed and said I needed no paint, but did need henna and blucklng! Milk Peddler's Trick. "Of course, in this city," said a Philadelphia milk inspector, "the milk is pure, but I've been in somo towns where impure milk dcalorr, havo played somo funny dodges on me. You know how I work? Snoak along the streets, hold up a milkman, and take a sample right out of the can? Well, It has been a common thing when a milkman has known mo by sight for him to pretend to trip on seeing me coming, fall headlong and upset his can of milk all over the pavement. Yes, that trick worked the first time, and 1 wasted a lot of pity on tho man that played it." Trade with Malaysia. Malaysia that Is, Java, Sumatra and the fedoreatod Malay states Is J of much moro commercial Importance than Ib usually thought. It buys canned apricots, peaches and pears almost entirely from California. Until 19011 tho United Stales supplied three- fourths of the flour, but Australian ' Hour has cut into that trade heavily. ' it til !l 1 II Ill I V'tM if flltwlmiunl i II I 1 from Europo, the United Stales and Canada. Its agricultural implement requirements aro large. Modern mln- J lug machinery Is growing in tiso for tin mining. pounds to tho square Inch. Tho Hlaunehest ship ever built would bo crippled under this awTnl prossuro like an eggshell under a steam rollor. A pine beam, lf feet long, which hold open tho mouth of a trawl used In making a cast at a depth of moro than 18,000 feet, was crushed flat as If It had been passed between roll ers. Tho body of the man who should attempt to venture to such depths would be compressed until tho flesh was forced Into tho Interstices of tho bono aud his trunk was no largor than a rolling pin. Still, tho body would reach tho bottom, for anything that will sink In a tub of water will sink to the uttermost depths of tho ocean. Eugene Wllloughby In The Ocean. MANY HAVE SOUGHT AND NONE FOUND, PERFECT 3Y3 TEM OF SHORTHAND. Desire Was As Ardent In the Days of tho Romans at In Our Own Time Fortune Await the Discoverer. Sir Edward Clarke, In Joining tho ranks of tho Inventors of Bystoma of shorthand, has yielded to a tompta tlon common to great mon of all ages. Tho learned Egyptian who first got tired of writing out a comploto hiero glyphic, and took to suggesting part of It only, was on the way not only to an alphabet, hut toward tho goal reached by Sir Edward hlmsolf. Since that dim period wo havo all been do ing our best to find a royal road to ex pression, and have achieved tho gram ophone. Even Herbert Spencer, whoso father Invented a "Lucid Shorthand," was bitten with tho deslro to con quer time, and ho tells us that an examination of his father's system loft him In no doubt whatever that It wnu the best of all. The fatality or all systems, howovor, is that what seems easy to tho eyo of filial ploty may bo terribly difficult to tho cold gazo of the stranger. Of tho Innumerable systems of shorthand that wore in vogue a contury ago how many survivo today? In spite of Pit man, famo and fortuno still await the man or woman who can invent n sys tem that will appeal to tho reader as offoctlvoly as to tho original writer. Perhaps it we wero to rediscover tho lost shorthand writing of tho ancient IlomauB wo might feel ourselves on tho road toward a solution of tho prob lem. For tho Romans wore on affection ato terms with shorthand. Did not Suetonius, speaking of Caligula, ex press surprise that an emperor of so many promising parts should, never theless, bo an IgnornmuB In short hand; and did not Titus Vespaslanus pride hlmscir on his facility In tho use of stenography both for business and amusement? So fond was ho of the sport that ho dollghted to gather his amanuonses around him In order that they should tilt against each other In the stenographic field. It may bo that hut for tho rediscovery of tho art In our own country toward tho end of tho sixteenth contury the curious Pepys would not havo been moved to write his Diary, says the London Chronicle. The first Impulse to the rediscovery and cultivation of shorthand In mod ern limes may probably bo traced to the desire, at the tlmo of tho Refor mation, of preserving tho discourse of tho preachers of tho now doctrines "To write ns fast as a man spcakoth treatably," tho Elizabethan writing master and stenographer, Peter Bales, declared to bo "In effect vory easy 4 tho shortness whereof Is attained by memory, and swiftness by practice, and sweetness by Industry." But the early systems wore very inelllclont, and this has been considered by crit ics to be one of the causes of the cor rupt rendlngs of the text of somo ot Shakespeare's plays. Contemporary opinion on tho subject may bb gath ered from tho "Pleasant Dialogues and Drammas" of Thomas Heywood (1C37), who says that his play of "Queen Elizabeth" "Did throng tho mints, tho Ijoxck nnd tho HtllgO Ho much ho that hoiho by stenography draw A plot, put It In print, scarce one word true." ' i Neighborly Affection. Thoy met on tho suburban car. They were next door neighbors, but Mrs. Snaggsley aud her family were spending tho summer in the country. Mrs. Snaggsley Have you had pleasant summer, Mrs. Sassem? Mrs. Sassem Oh, yes. But when aro you coming back? Cleveland Plain Dealer. Records Depth of Water. An Instrument hns recently boon In vented for recording tho depth of water, and which makes a pen record something on the principle of the ma chine which records the rough places In a railroad track. A slab of metal attached to a rope Is dragged over tho bottom by a boat moving slowly. The other end of the ropo extends over pulleys to tho charting room, where a pen records tho ups and downs, or peaks and valleys of tho bottom, mak ing a topographical map. Experts know how to translate thoso tracings Into feet or fathoms. Tho results aro much moro accurate and vastly quick er than tho old mothod of sounding with a hand line. The Whole Thing. "It's called a 'loving cup,' you say? My! what a big cup it is! What's it for" , "The runt punch and things like that." "But why Is It called a loving cup?" "Because Its for pcoplo loving cum punch ami things like that."