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About Dakota County herald. (Dakota City, Neb.) 1891-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1911)
ST . at aLs laat-.a - tl I'v, m '4. DAKOTA CITY IIE11ALB JOHN H. REAM, Publisher. DAKOTA CITY, NEBRASKA. nH SANS FAMILLE rl B cam lo Holoomb quietly and unobtruslyelr. with a large tag carefully tied round bis le(t arm bear lng a printed legend which bore evidence of laborious INTELLIGENT DOGS. If ono may Judge by the slzo of the claims presented In the various coun- . ties for snecp Kiuea oy uogs, wo aro rapidly losing the best of our sheep IU IVQUhUUL, OUU U1U MU&O w d..w. . ing an almost numan aiscrimiuauuu In mutton, says the Louisville Cour-ler-JouranL Bheop killed by dogs aro valued, at anywhere from $6 to $12 .L. . . .I.- Ih. aP1ece. (Tom mis u nPPer.r iu.i . alatatailns on th. prt of some on dogs must bo given to killing Cots- I . ., ....ini -uh the En woias ana ssoutnaowns in iuu ueece. In one western Kentucky county !t has been discovered that sheop are yery generally listed for taxation at $4 a head. In the satno county the claims allowed for bucks, ewes and lambs killed by dogB rango from 8 to 12. If the assessor's report Is to be believed, there must be a tromondous lot of scrub sheep In that county to pull down the average to $4 a head, and the dogs must exercise mighty good Judgment in avoiding the "scala wags" when they go forth on a slaugh tering expedition. The does are show ing a marked preference for high class mutton that presently, it is to be apprehended, there will be no blooded sheep left In that particular county. Dead sheep seem to be more valuable than live ones, and It is dif ficult to account for such a situation unless it be that Kentucky dogs are progressing extraordinarily in acumen and in fastidiousness. Under such circumstances It might be well to raise the dog tax or to import a considerable number of canlnos that are not so allflrcd tmaa By ROY NORTON Cmlf kt X r- L' "! To the long list of recipes for at taining old age must now bo added a new on, highly recommendeded by a man not with a Teutonic, but with a Celtic, name. He Is enthulastlc about sauerkraut, which ho maintains will enable any man or woman to llvu century or more. It will conduce not only to longevity, but to happi ness. It is both nutritious and appe tizing. It feeds the body and stimu lates th mind. It is cheap. At least that is -what its sponsor claims as the result oi his personal dally expTlnce with sauerkraut for about 60 years. H does not say bow often one ought to eat sauerkraut in order to become a oentenarlan, but since ho advocate! two meals a day for tho average per sons, he would probably not recom mend eating sauerkraut between meals. A wise Connecticut hen rode on the pilot of an englno as far as a point known as Plymouth Hock which waa her own kind of a hen and laid an egg on the pilot In payment of her fare. There is really no occasion to go fishing when stories like this can be picked up at ono's back door. One of tho writers who sell stories to the magazines complains that he gets only $35 for a story C.000 words long. Well, If he isn't a cripple he can surely And a Job as ditch digger or a farm laborer somowhere, provldod money Is all he wants. The harem skirt for women is not enough, it seems. The Scottish High landers in New York were recently Incorporated with the avowed object of encouraging tho wearing of kilts on the public streets. A ChlcaKo doctor thinks that very one should have his vermiform appen dix removed. Who will be the fire, legislator to Introduce c, bill making the removal of vermiform appendices compulsory T The report is persistent that th queen of England doesn't like Ameri cans. There are a wholo lot of Ameri cans toadying around royalty that we 'in not caro much for elthor. The queen is probably Justified. Wo are advised that in eating grape fruit it is well to uso a range-finder and then deploy the spoon so that tho Juice does not hit the eye. It Is bound to hit the oye of somebody elso at tho table, buwever. A manufacturing company In New Jersey has had a young man arrested for flirting with Its girl employes. His case will perhaps come under the heal of forming a combination In re straint of trade. A St. Louis sword swallower trlod the other day to swallow a fork, and it is going to be difficult for him to recover. The sword-swallower never should fool with pointed tools. Ten thousand alarm clocks were re cently shipped from this country to China, and a Philadelphia paper prints a Joko about the waking up of the Hermit Kingdom. A western railroad is going to put soda fountains on its summor trains. This will, without doubt, add to Its fizz-leal valuation. Hah tongue. It read as follows: Theae ber are nln-yfcr oU asd orphlnff. He fathalre are Michel Lafayette, who rone In uoioomn. Hne-i rar camp in mer le Madre. These boy have billet In en reUopp to go to see hes fathalre. Be tlad and (hove heem alone, s'll vous plait. Km aaaie la Jean Oulllot Lafayette. And Jean Oulllot, a pathetio little Barer, worm by long Journeying In Iteerage, second-class railway coaches and bumping stage, bore ample arks that the Instructions had been Rurally followed and that he had un dergone much "shoring along. He was the last to alight from the Inte rior ef the old Concord when, with rilling brake and loud clattering aalt, it stopped before the "Gold Dig ger," and he was so stlH and sore from constant Jolting that he almost fell when his woodsn sabots struck the ground. He stralghtene himself up, trew his grotesquely big cloak around him, aad peered from beneath his bapeau with bright, fearless, Inquir ing eyes at the group of miners who surrounded him. He waa a curiosity to them, la his Dcasant garb which smacked so strongly of the provinces of far-away France, and beside, he was the first boy to Invade this cam high up la the hills where men wrought for gold, feught for It and then with equal fer vor gambled or danced it away when the day's work waa done. "A mighty little cuss to com so far Uoee," commented the stage agent as he looked from the letter of instruc tion in his hand to the boy. "Alnt Bono of us here, I reckon, ever done so such travlln" "Might git him to give a lecture," lome one suggested, and others passed equally facetious remarks; but through it all Jean Oulllot Lafayette, IUU studying the faces around him, stood mute. The sun had set some time before, painting the to of solemn Old Baldy's enow-cap a warm red and ailing tne rummer air of the dead day with a Insular languorous quietude. Thus it waa that when the stage-agent vented a exolamatlon on reading the tag on the traveler's arm it waa heard by all. He stood away from the lad, shored the brim of his hat back with an awk ward gesture, and stared la pertur bation at the others ef the group. "Good Lord " he ejaculated In dis tress. "Oood Lore I" while the men e th kills leoked at him question- Uisiy. "Bora" he said, "this little feller was sent far," They shifted on their fest, some of them UklPff b stw or two forward, aad waited for th agent to continue. "Mike Lafayette was his father." They grew suddenly quiet "And I eapeet the reason the boy came Is be auss his folks In Prance Is all dead. The tag stya he's an orphan.' "And God knows he's one now, for aura." muttered another. "Anybody here who can talk French T" The silence which followed Indicat ed that no one spoke that vastly for eign tongue. Spanish would have beon at their command, hut French no. "How in the deuce are we to toll him that his daddy you all knew hlin was killed In a cave-In almost a week ago?" the stage agent began; but that dlKoulty was unexpectedly overcome by the boy himself, who poke for the first time. "Set oes to say, moaslour,' he said In painstaking English, "zat I now have no fathalre to meet? That he is saertT My fathalre Michel Lafay ette to keeled T" He had planted himself squarely before the stage agent, selecting him a the man la authority. His capot had been thrown back with one wide appealing gestur until Its two flap ping ends rested across his shoulders, exposing his sturdy brown legs and voluminous breeches of homely drill. His line trembled vaguely and his se rious brown eyos threatened a flood t tears. The sgent looked at htm with a world of kindly sympathy, aad then at the others. Jean stared at them one after auother as If demanding an explanation, and each In turn dropped his eyes before this brave picture of misery. The boy's hands, attar one lmpul Iy haltins movement toward his eyes, waved an expressive, open-flu-gered gesture of despair, dropped back to hit sides and then clasped themselves together. He was learn ing to know and cross palms with tragedy, and with non to help him in his battle. "Eet ees, then, that L Jean Oulllot Lafayette, am sans famllle; that I have nosslng nos-slng no ono. Vollal" There was some bitter, vibrant un rcurrent of grief in the plaintive, precise drawling of the "I have nos slng, no ono," that made a mourn ful appeal for sympathy, and with ono impulse the men surged forward and surrounded him, thoso who wore near est dropping to a knee to bring their statures on a par. The first to proffer compassion and the one to whom the orphan turned after one quick oom- London has a Job lot of mummleti for sale. Since the mummies are not titled oneB they are not likely to arouso much Interest in this country. India has grown 30,600,000 in ten years. It now contains 316,000,009 'n habitants, or enough, such aa they are to make three United States. Iron ore fields have been discovered in the arctics. The iron ought to make good chilled steel prehenalve gl&nco was big Andy Ken dall. Not that Dig Andy waa prepos sessing, for he was of the gray-eyed, loan-Jawed type that would scarcely be selected aa sympathetic. Jean's aplomb gave way to a tem pest of tears as he sought refuge in the strong, shielding arms and burled his face against the broad, out stretched shoulder whose blue shirt pillowed his face. His Ul-sbapen peas ant hat fell off unheeded when ho waa lifted clear of the ground as his pro tector stood erect. "Boys," the miner announced, "I'm goln' to take the little ours He looks good to me, and I've got plenty of room up at my place." It was so like a decision that they felt called upon to nod acquiescence, and opened out for him aa he marohed away up the hillside to his cabin In the dull of the evening, picking his way around boulders and carrying the boy who waa sans famllle. They stood without a word until they saw his door open and close, and then turned again to each other. "Well HI be hanged I" the agent said; and In this they oonourred, find ing great poverty of expression in such an unusual combination of cir cumstances. Besides, they woro not men of much speech. The coming of Jean Oulllot Lafay ette aoted as a damper on Holcomb that night, and In the huge log dance hall the singing el the fiddlers and strumming of the guitars failed to evoke the usual hilarity. Even the games beneath their shaded tin lamps were poorly patronised, and the gen tlemen who dealt them aad garnered much thrift thereby Joined the group which listened to all the stage agent had to Impart. It was scant enough; merely that the boy had been handed over by the railway officials at Los Angeles, to gether with what was left of his ttok- et aad a letter of Instruction which had boen passed from hand to hand in the course of Its travels until It was begrimed and stained by many thumb and linger marks. It was from the village cure of "Montigny sur Vlngeanne," wherever that might be. It was a kindly letter. In which the good old priest bared a portion of his heart in telling of the love he had long felt for "the petit Jean, whom I christened, and whose mother, a very govd femme of excellent family, I had th pleasure of burying." They couldn't qulto understand the use of the word "pleasure, but passed It by as a slip of English. There was an undernote of vanity also In the naive statement that "he's good Eng lish speak, because have not L the cure on Montigny sur Vlngeanne, him taught? I who have traveled far and been to Angleterre?" Up In tho cabin on tho hill the ar rival had sobbed himself to sloop In Kendall's arms long before the moon came up, and the oamp had lost soma of Its Interest and turned back to old er ways in response to tho seductive clicking of the rcu. He-balls and the strident InvltatL oi the strings. iCvon In the shadow of distress it wus neither rating nor natural that every thing should some to a halt because of an unwonted happening. But Andy Kendall didn't oome down from his cabin that night, nor was he thinking of the morrow's work and his "diggings," the most prosperous of all, where twnty men answered his beck and call and tore for him from the earth the scales of potent gold. He sat on his threshold, total ly unconscious of the softened music of th dance hall In tho flat below, and In the wreaths of smoke from his pipe built castles around Jean Oulllot Lafayette. Whea the sun approached In the morning and by Its call awoke tho thrumming life of the hills, Andy tip toed from his bunk, and with stentorl ous apluttertugs washed his face in th tin basla Just outside the oabln door. He waa interrupted by a foreign sal utation, "lion Jour, monsieur," and on peortng up through the caicade of soapy water, which rlvuleted from the brown mop of hair across his eyas, behold his guest "Hello, young feller," he returned, with a kindly grla. "Feelln' better, are youT That's a good boy." And thon, his nose rubbsd to a shin ing ruddiness by the aid of a coarse towel, ho refilled the basin and ex tended a homely invitation for Its use. He whistled as ha buslod himself trying crisp lh 1 slices of bacon for their morning meal, and laughed whon ho discovered Jean watching In open-mouthed amazement the deft ness with which he throw huge flap Jacks Into tho air, turning uud dex terously catching them in mid-flight as they fell. "Ket ees valre clevalre," remarked Jean In frank admiration. "Monsieur is un bon prestidigitator. He Is what you call a zhugglure. Eh, Is It not so! Tres blent" Once again Kendall broke Into a great hearty laugh, but It failed to pro voke so much as a smile from the grave-eyed exile who merely looked astonished They sat down to their breakfast together, and the boy an Bwcrod questions with no abatement of seriousness. Apparently he was studying the problem of this new life into which unkind fate had thrown him, and coming o a conclusion. When his sparing mcnl was finished ho drew his shoulders up with an Inimitable little shrug of rare elegance and began: "Monsieur ah pardon I do not know your namoj" "KcndMI. Andy Kendall," the min er rejoined, staring at his strange In terlocutor with his open mouth pur sed Into somothlng approaching a whlstlo of astonishment, while his gray eyes twinkled humorously. "Ah, merel' Monsieur Amlahken dol, I am now sans famllle. I must tho work get. Tho good cure" and here his eyes suddenly filled with moisture at abruptly recalled memories of home "the good cure said to me when I tho long voyage start: 'Jean, my leetlo son, remember zls: You must always pay as you go. Eet ees a long Journay you take, nil through your life oot cca a long Journay, Sometimes the way ees hard; but mon chor, you must always pay as you go; oven If through your nose" He p ised and bravely blinked away tho gathered tears, while tho miner coughed loudly to conceal his own strangely Intermingled desires to laugh and cry. "Yes," he questioned, "and what now?" "I am without family and must pay aa I go," was tho response In the same precise English. "Don't you worry about that! You are goln to live with mo. You don't have to work. You're to be my son, and " "But eet ees not my fathalre you aro," Interrupted his guest, with a slight tone of wlstfulness, "and and I must pay as I go." Plainly Jean was declining adoption, although It appeared attractive Big Andy made no reply but ate steadily, lifting his eyes between mouthfuls to stare In kindly fashion at the boy who gave on equally frank and un abashed Inspection to his host "Don't you like mo, young feller?" Kendall asked as he folded his arms and leaned dangerously far back on the rear legs of his wooden stool. Jean OulUot Lafayette slowly and you re strong enough I'll give you the Job." Job? Job? What ees you would give me? What you call 'Job,' mon sieur?" "It's a cr a situation. Employ ment." "Ah I Tries blent" "And I'll pay you an ounce a month, and you're to live here with me." Ho fathomed the look of perplexity and hastened to explain. "An ounce of gold Is let mo see I think It's about u hundred francs of your money, un less 1'vo clean forgot all I learned when I was a kid." Tho boy's eyos slowly opened until they were rory big and round, and then relaxed Into such a cmile of do light that they were almost shut. It was a fortune, and the engagement was closed. And thus a water car rier was Installed Into the workaday lifo of the Jumper mine, which at first created much amusement for tho rough but good hearted gang who worked it Truo, tho creek, clear and limpid and cool, ran directly through the ground and nearly always within reach; but whon tho situation was explained the mon went athirst rath er than cause grief and disappoint ment by declining to drink from the bright tin pall. If they resorted to the brook It was surreptitiously, and no one could ever forget the look of anguish In the carrier's eyes when ho discovered this breach of etlquetto; but he said nothing, for he was en tirely undemonstrative and all of life with him was a very serious business. In time he became "the general" by common consent. Onco tho general's Industrious legs grew tired and he succumbed to the Inviting shade of a big fir tree which treacherously sang a song of the free winds and lulled him to sleep. It was hard to forgive himself for this lapso, and that night big Andy Kendall, smo king his pipe and reading one of those rare treasures, a month-old newspaper, heard a few small, wh'lmpertng sobs from hlB helper's bunk. He went over and knelt beside It tenderly reaching a long muscular arm vmfflVBam UUk sit sJmm felL- lmi 'WZSi F1h !' ' '"vrmar "YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK. with exactitude made parallel rows with his knife, fork and spoon across his plate, daintily wiped his fingers on the borders of his somewhat soiled handkerchief and folded and placed It In his pocket before nnswerlng: "Yes, Monsieur Andahkendal, I lak you valre much. You are valro big and kind; but you eat the food wlz your knife." There were great condemnation and reproof in his tone. Andy's arms un folded, and his chair resumed Its nor mal position on the floor while he gaped in open-mouthed astonishment ut his monitor. Then with a shriek of amusement he doubled over the ta ble. The boy, with tho utmost grav ity, as though fascinated by the widely open mouth and firm, whlto teeth, scrutinized him until he gained self control and assumed a look of con trition. "Do you think, General Lafayette," he said, "that if I we.e to utop knife gobbling and try to be civilized again, you could conscientiously adopt m as a father?" And Jenn Oulllot, after Inquiring the exaot definition of the unknown term, agreed that he would consider such a possibility, but politely added that he thought It might take soma time to reach a conclusion. A strnngo dor. mant wisdom of fatherhood must have taught the big miner the right road to the little foreign heart which held him aloof and refused to enshrlno him In a dead man's place, for from that minute he no longer urged the plan of adoption but treated vlth Jean Gull lot on a different basis. He negoti ated with him as a man, only the twinkling of his eyes betraying his discovery of humor in the situation. "I'm a trifle short of help," he an nounced. "Now, you say you want to pay as you go. Well, I'll give you a chance; I'll biro you. Jean Oulllot became all attention, and with an unsmiling face watched him. "I want to hire a man to carry water to tho miners, and If you think YOU'RE TO BE -MY SON." and drawing the general to across him. "What is it old man?" he said In a voice of unaccustomed softness, fancying that desolation and home sickness wore torturing his protege. Perhaps they did have something to do with It. The llttlo hands slid slow ly up around his neck, and he felt his heart beat with sheer delight, but he did not speak because he knew It was not the way. He bided his time until the general, stifling his sobs, vouchsafed an explanation. "You will me no longer like, Mon sieur Andahkendal, because, because I went to what you call pound my dam car." And tho big miner, shuddering with suppressed laughter, assured him with many caresses that sleep was no crime, but was considered a water car rier's Inalienable prerogative and, in deed, a part of his bounden duty. Andy Kendall underwent a subtle change after tho arrival of tho general. Before then he had gambled as did all men of Holcomb. Beforo then he hod been known to drlulc when In tho mood, and had blithely danced when so Inclined; but now the mollow green of the layout and he were atransers. he seemed Immune from drouth, and danced no more. One speech of his, mado but a day or two after the exile's arrival, was long remembered. It was when some of the women of tho dance hall ven tured to protest against his laying full claim to the boy whom many would have taken to satisfy the ever hun gry mother love. They unwisely asked, with reckless taunts and Ill-tuned Jeers, by what right he had taken the lad. "You want to know why I took him?" he snarlod, backing up against the log wall and defiantly staring around. "I did It because I'm titter to care for him than any of you, or any man In this camp." "I took him, too, becauhe I wanted him, and If there's any man here wants to Jump my claim let him speak up now and we'll have It out. W will, so help me God!" The challenge was so vicious that it went unanswered not only then, but from that time on; nor was it Jested about for evon bravo men do not wan tonly trifle with ready death. His guardianship of the kithless ono was thus established and undisputed. Be sides, as a distraction, there came oth er babies to the camp; two of them both tiny girls the elder scarcely more than five years of age, who In soiled pinafores rambled In and out among their mother's tubs, made mud pies on the dumps, and occasionally upset the tenor of the camp by get ting lost. They were tho offspring of a for lorn and dilapidated woman who In troduced herself ai the derelict of "Mike O'Shaughnessy, Mlvln rlst him, as good a la-ad as lver filled two shoos. A man, lvery inch of him, who hadn't a stake of manoness in him as wide as the black of your finger nail." And "thlm 0'3haughnessy kids" dropped into the lifo of Holcomb as completely aa had the general; but tho latter bostowed more attention on them than did any one else. Indeed, his llttlo heart, with Its bur den of working responsibility, had longed for childish companionship, and with a gravely patronizing air be as sumed a very paternal attitude toward the newcomers. That they appreciated his Interest was shown by the fact that they often transferred whole castles of mud to his front door-step, and ovor them all Big Andy would step with solicitous care and n merry gleam of understand ing in his eye. Only once in the long summertime was the lad given a lec ture. "General," the miner said on that memorable evening, "what's this the big O'Shaughnessy girl's tellln' round the camp about your klllln' a snako a few days ago? You ain't never said anything to me about it" Jean Gulllot Lafayette shrugged his shoulders and turned his hands palms outward with an Inimitable gesture, but declined to talk until Kendall In sisted. "Eet was the evening In, Monsieur Andahkendal, and I follow the chil dren up tho gulch." This with an air of bashfulness. "Hah! They stop quickly. So!" And here he demon strated by Jumping to the floor and fixing his eyes with dramatic fervor on a charred spot whereat the miner, carried away by the recountal, also stared. "Z-z-z-z-r-r-r-r-rlp!" the general's ft's rolled qulverlngly. "I r-r-run to them.Eet ees a valre angry salrpont whoso head move so!" Now his slondcr hand wove to and fro in dis tant Imitation of a rattler's head. "I seize the stono! I hurl it thus! Volla! That ees all!" "Monsieur Andahkendall" sat for a long time studying as to how ho might explain tho dauger and death that lay in the serpent with the "Z-z-r-r-rlp" on his tall, administer reproof for such recklessness, but at tho conclusion of his homily was shocked by the discov ery that tho general's vocabulary, by camp contact, was becoming consider, ably enlarged. "Eet ees not Monsieur Andahkendal who would say to Jean Gulllot Lafay ette: 'R-r-run away and let the salr pent eat the young ladies.' No, no, no, no! He, the gr-r-rand monsieur would say" and hero his voice as sumed a great depth of hoarseness "'See him In hell first, Jean; see him In hell!'" The admonishment took the form of a discourse against swearing. The general took to walking on moonlight nights, unaccompanied; and the miner, wondering at these peregri nations, shadowed him only to observe that he strolled tentatively past tho O'Shaughnessy cabin a few times, In the manner of a lovesick swain, and then, satisfied that all waa well, re turned nonchalantly to his home and accustomed seat before tho big fire place which now roared Its cheer in the crisp nights of fall. But the gen eral never told of his adventures and rarely talked of himself. It remained for the days of early winter to bring about the general's most Important move and display his promptness of action. It was when the Widow O'Shaughnessy seized by sudden heart failure, fell to the floor between her tubs, abandoning them forever In the great and last relin quishment. It was Jean to whom the frightened babes appealed, and for once he dropped his pall and ran as fast as his little brown legs would carry him to the tiny cabin; and then, awed and stllleo, and with startled eyes, returned to Big Andy. Tho miner in turn hurried to the cabin, followed by others, and the camp women laid out for hutlal tho first woman to occupy the cemetery at 'the foot of the shielding pines. The camp women also gave houslqg to the weoplng and wondering little girls and, on tho following day, kept them away from the trying scene when tho widow v.'as gntly ylolded to the fra grant eRrth which enfolded her In its breast after all henyears of work and worry and weariness. The general stood beside the grave, calm and un emotional, watching with his unfath omablo eyes the funeral whose sig nificance he fully grasped. With the others he returned to work, but in an unusual mood of list lossncss, and finally, as the day waned, disappeared. The night came and the sluices stopped. The lights glowed from the cabin windows, and all Ihe dance hall music began its callous whining. The moon came peering over the tops of the silent, Impassive forests which bordered Holcomb, lifted above them until It transmitted the snow planes of the peaks Into fields of diamonds which gleamed In splendid ho.ttude, and then an alarm was given by one of the women. The llttlo girls were lost had disappeared from the cabin where they had been left alone for a brief time, and could not b found. Everywhere they searched, even to tho new-made mound out beneath th shadowy pines, but without result Tho camp was Jn a turmoil of anxiety. Andy Kendall, returning from a late trip to his sluices, Joined It the quest but with no more success than tho others, and at last went to his cabin to secure a lantorn. In the doorway of his abodo he dis covered the general who, calm and Imperturbable, was standing with something foreign In his attltudo, some unaccustomed pose of Independ ent determination. Tho miner's quick eye noted tho change. It waa tho first time he bad over seen him with his hands In his pockets and a suggestion of a swagger. He started hurriedly uway with the lighted lantern, and then, In quick Inspiration closely akin to divination, whirled abruptly at tha foot of the steps and faced the boy. "Jean," he asked In a tone of un usual peremptorlness, "do you know whore the little O'Shaughnessy glrli are?" The general paused for a moment beforo answering, which hesitancy was also marked by his guardian; then, wltn slow grace, shrugged his shoulders until the right one was ele vated almost to his ear and answered very truthfully: "Yes, monsieur, I have them." The lantern dropped from Big An dy's hand to extinguishment, while Its globe went tinkling away over the rocks In a cascade of Bllvered glass and he started to say: "Well, I'll ba " then thought better of It Hlght well he knew Jean Gulllot Lafayette. "Would you mind telling me, old man," he said, with kindly condescen sion, "where they are?" Again the general considered for aa Instant, and then gravely beckoned the miner Inside. He took the sputtering candle from the rough pine table, tip toed to his own bunk, carefully de posited It on the edge, shielded the wa vering flame with one tiny hand, and with the other gently drew back tha outer blanket. Soundly sleeping boneath, with theli hair done up In rough little pigtails, clad In their whlto nighties and clasped In each other's arms, were "thlm O'Shaughnessy kids." Big Andy Kendall took one look and ran out of tho cabin and down the trail shouting to all he met: "I've found 'em! I've found 'em!' No need to look any farther." And when the searchers clustered around him with many questions he explained that the missing ones were then In his cabin, and that he would "take care of 'em all right through the night." The miner tramped slowly up the hill to where the general was still standing quietly on the threshold, went In, closed the door quite softly, hunj his white hat on a peg, and re plenished the logs In the fireplace bo fore speaking. "Jean," he said, "you brought them here?" "Yes, monsieur." "What aro you goln' to do wlU them?" "Keep them, monsieur," he respond ed with the utmost gravity, seating liiraaelf on the low a tool which had been made for his especial benefit and watching the sparks that went roar ing up the blackened vault Big Andy waited for a moment and then ventured another question: "How will you care for them?" "On ze money I make my hundalrd franc. Eet ees a fortune, uno bonne fortune." He turned to the big man, peered scroRR the vivid pathway oj light from the blazing logs, and then with great wlstfulness continued: "I, Jean Gulllot Lafuyette, am sans fain illc. I shall adopt a famllle. I shall work valre hard for famllle." "And leave me . Andy spoka very softly and was very curious, fal tering noto of bitter heart-break in his voice; some tone suggesting grievous disappointment that he who so loved the boy should not be taken Into con sideration. Ho had tried, he said to himself, God knew he had tried to win this love and had wooed It with care; but It had always been elusive and unyielding. Even now, after all these months, he was but second In the exile's affections and the barrier seemed unbreakable. He bent suddenly forward and leaned his forehead upon his band, shielding his eyes from tho dancing glare of the flames. For the first time since they had met each other the boy crept over to him unasked, forced himself on tho waiting knee and clasped his a run around the weather-beaten neck. "Monsieur," he whispered as If afiRld to voice his secret aloud. "I want them valre bad; but I could not you leave even for them; because I luf you valre much " Big Andy Kendall hugged him al most fiercely and gulped out: "Well, general, you don't have to leave me. You're my little boy, and If you're hankerin' after 'em you can have the little girls. We'll tako care of 'em, me and you, and welcome. But 1 sup pose," he said ns an afterthought, fol lowing an interval In which they held each other very tightly, "that tha whole blamed camp'll say I've started an orphan asylum." The barrier was demolished now for ever, and they found that, after all, they were very dear to each other. And as the general for the first time snuggled Into Andy's arms to sleep ho turned drowlsly over, and In his great happiness whispered: "Ah, mon pere, I am no longer sans famllle. Ees eet not, Monsieur Andah kendal, what zey call godem good to have a famllle?" And Big Andy Kendall, smotherlnu a chuckle and omitting rebuke, agreed. (Copyrltht. 1910. by F. U Nelson ) FIREBOAT NEW YORKER'S CAT (titty Was Rescued From a Big Water- id Fire That Swept Pier 14 Last 8ummr Th lrbt Nw Yorker has for a fcouse pet In th shore quarters of IU ia at the Battery a oat that waa ret ntd at a waterside fire; the big fire that last Jua swept pier 14, North rivr, at th feet f Fulton street, says th Bun. While the New Yrkr was ranging along In the slip to the south and throwing tons of water there was ien walking back and forth on the string plec a kitten. Death was close to It on both sides, on one hand from the fire and on tho other from the daep wa ter, but whether from Intelligence or Just simply by Instinct th kitten stuck to th strlngplao, drenohed with water. And now th pilot of tha New Yorker sheered her In a littl closer, and as she slid slowly past with all her pipes playing a man stepped up with one foot on tha boat's rail and the other on the strlngplece of the wharf and lifted the kitten safely to the fire boat's deck. After the fire was out and tho New Yorkar had gone back again to tie up at the Battery they took the kitten ashore and Installed her in tha house on the wharf. They have never given her a name; thay called her Kitty when they got her and she's been calld Kitty vr slnco. Kitty Is now a full grown cat and sh Is a trim, good-looking animal. She is at horn everywhere about th house and on the wharf and not a bit shy, but sh likes to take care of herself She has never run away from the house to roam ashore; she always says at home, and It would be hard for her to find quarters mora agreeable. When Exercise Is Harmful. "Office workers should not take ex ercise after their day's work," said Dr. E. A. Walker of Boston. "The root reason Is that though headwork is not exercise la the sense that it de velops the body, it most decidedly Is exercise In that it quickly induces fag and physical lassitude. So it U al most pathetic for a man to expect any good to come from taking more exer cise when the exercise Involved In the day's work has already tired him out "One takes It that young people have had suBclant outdoor exercise reasonably to develop their frames be fore beginning office work. So whan once they have started In the ofllce la earnest It Is much better far them to realize at once that their days of hard physical strain are over and that henceforth thay must confine these ef forts to week ends and holidays. "The bady and system easily attune thomselves to circumstances even to overclvlllzed and consequently rather unnatural circumstances, and Indoor headworkers will soon find that a good state of health oan bs maintained with little or no exercise." attar Ba Careful. "I hope to grow gray In their sarr Ice." "Very laudable ambition, very laud able. But don't scorn the hair dye toe lone. You know there's a fad now- k .(BleiiilliraWajjiiiiiiiiwi MWHpiMWl"""lW"IWtWUM'Wff eitv yk -ram j-,, ; j . '.i . J-. A .