The Alliance herald. (Alliance, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1902-1922, May 29, 1903, Image 7

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How Thompson's Witch Cost
Him a Wife.
BY WILLIAM BL08B.
(Coprrfeht, 1JM, by Dally Story Pub. Oo.)
"Goatleinen or the leisure claaa
don't carry watches, nowadays," said
our host, Thompson, dogmatically,
pausing to light a second cigarette
"James, slnco Captain Barry wishes to
ho exact, you may look at the library
clock and tell him what timo it is."
"It is striking eight o'clock, sis,"
replied James, respectfully, as ho
quietly filled tho Captain's glass.
There ws a snug party of six
lounging over their wlno and tobacco
after dining regally at Thompson's
bachelor board. Barry had to catch
a train for at. Paul at 9 p. m. Ho
wanted to stay just as long as pos
sible before summoning a cab to tako
him to tho depot, and upon consult
ing his watch for tho hour had been
seized by forebodings as to tho ac
curacy of tho hands. His Inquiry afl
to tho "right" tlmo had led to tho
host's remark.
Barry flushed a llttlo as it foil. Tho
assertion seemed to his mind super
cilious and barbarously un-American.
Barry himsolf was a man of tho peo
ple, and was proud of It. So, too, was
Thompson, or had been, once.
"What do you mean by 'gentlemen
of tho leisure class,' you gray-haired
fraud," ho demanded, in half anger.
"Do you mean to say I am no gentle
man because I carry a watch and like
to know what time It Is when I have
a train to make?"
"Certainly not," replied Thompson,
with plucidlty. "Of courso not. You
aro a gentleman because you aro a
man of education, Intelligence, good
breeding and some ancestry "
"Huh!" grunted the mollified
Barry, "What then?"
. "But you aro not," continued tho
host, "a gentleman of the leisure class,
because you busy yourself with your
commercial affairs and ovon at your
ago continue "
"At my age! I'm full five years
younger than you are."
Thompson waved the interruption
aside as Irrelovant "I was going to
say that if you quit business and bo
came a loafer '
"As yiu have."
"Yes, as I have, then you might ac
count yourself a gentleman of tho
leisure class."
"When I was a young person," con
tinued Thompson, "just beginning lifo
on the Board of Trade, after leaving
Ann Arbor, my Uncle Jackson Thomp
son, who had sent mo to school and
had In fact reared me from boyhood
as his own son, with much ceremony
one day presented mo with a time
piece known as tho family clock, and
told me, with molbt eyes, to cherish
it as the apple of my eye; always to
bo as exact and reliable, as truo to
duty, as honest, a3 Industrious, as it
was itself.
" 'Tom,' said he, 'You know how
much we Thompsons think of this
watch. It belongp I to your great
grandfather. He bought It in Liver
pool before the revolution, and it has
been In the family and running, too
most of the time, ever since. Tako It,
my boy, and remember to live up to
Its principles.'
"I was much affoctei., naturally, for
I know Uncle Jackson regarded that
watch as his chief est treasure. I mado
all sorts of protestations of good be
havior and careful solicitude for the
ancient horologue. Undo Jackson
went back to his Michigan farm
and I went to work among tho bears
and bulls hero In Chicago, on tho old
board.
"The watch, as you remembered,
Carroll, was an enormous 'bull's eye,'
and weighed half a pound, easy. But
I wore it, and laid aside my own more
modern timepiece. The hoys used to
laugh at It a good deal, and got In
the habit of asking me what tlmo It
was. just to see me lug It out, and
It went down, bo great wna my A
eteraotloa, but finally was content to
hire two rlrer roustabouts to try to
recover K, with tha promlaa of a big
reward. Then the ooat cost otf her
linos, and I started ,for to Hon s
mouth, wondering what t'nd of a lie
would go down with trnclo Jackson.
Ho always wanted to sae the old
watck, about the flrrUrUi'ng. when 1
wont-over to vtolt him en Sunday.
"After deep thought I concluded to
say It was in a jeweler's ham1s for
repairs, trusting thnt my cumteur
dlvors would recover it for me by
tho tlmo I returned. 1'eraaps I fal
tered a little In detail when I told hlin
this tale. Ho was vory lnqulsltlvo
about It, and It seemed to me unduly
suspicious. Nevertheless, he affected
to bclicvo me, and at last I brcathod
freely; then ho confounded me again
by announcing n deslro to return with
mo on Monday morning to Chicago.
"As the boat landed my divers met
mo gleefully at tho wharf, watch in
hand, claiming their reward. They
hnd recovered tho old turnip at tho
first effort, I learned afterwards, but
they prated much of their desperate
search in tho dirty river, and insisted
upon receiving tho promised ?G0. I
was caught red-handed, bo to spenk.
Uncle Jackson took In tho situation
at a single look. Ho was very grave.
" 'I could have excused your heed
lessness, Tom,' ho said, 'but I hate to
Filibusters.
"Have you brought tho watch?"
gasped sternly.
ho
have you Ho to me. Don't do it again,
my sou. Remember the old watch.
It never told a lie in all Its life.'
" BY FRANK H. 8WEET.
(Copyright, 1902. by Duty Btory Pub. Co.)
A croup of Spanish officers wore
standing In front of t&e mesa quarters
at Bahln Hon. Thoy hod juet como
In from Havana and on tho morrow
woro to start across tho mountains
toward Cristobal ou special service.
It had been a loug, hard march, and
they woro laup-y and tired. In splto
of all that was hohlnd and of what
might bo ahead, their ono thought was
of the meal whoso savory odors woro
issuing from tho hastily Improvised
mess qunrtors. Tho sun was not yet
down, but tho shadows of tho dato
palms lay thick about thoir foot.
They watched thorn listlessly, waiting
for tho moss cnll, and thon ready to
seek tho low thatched building whoro
they were to sleep. From tho shad
ows of tho samo dato palms a group
of rngged, emaciated boys watched
them keenly. Thoy, too, woro mindful
of tho odors thnt camo from tho moss
quarters, for they sniffed eagerly, and
from tlmo to tlmo they whlspored to
ono another and pointed toward tho
building or tho ofilcers. Presently a
boy of nlno or teu, with keen, simp
pit g black oye3, stolo to a palm troo
tlu.t was but a fow yards from whoro
the ofilcers stood. In tho filiaJow of
this ho waited until his companions
had circled round to tho shelter of a
clump of bamboos on tho otl.er sldo,
and very near to tho entrnnco of tho
mess quarters. Thcro thoy paused, as
though for a sigtinl.
And it wns not long coming. With
a sudden wild whoop tho boy with tho
snapping eyes sprang forward into
tho very midst of tho ofilcers, swing
ing his arms and dancing about as
though he were mad. In nn Instant al
most, and before they had recovered
from tho surpriso of tho unexpected
onslaught he had snatched a sword
from ono of tho scabbards and bound
ed away. At tho oanio moment a cry
of consternation cairo from tho mess
quarters.
But tho ofilcers did not notico that.
They were too amazed, too angry at
tho audacity of this rnjramuffln, who
had stopped a few yards away and was
now brandishing tho scrd defiantly
in their very faces. With exclama
tions of anger they sprar forward to
n man, and tho ragamur, Instead of
trying to escape, dodged t lis way and
that, under tho outstret" led arms ot
one, behind another and almost be
tween tho legs of a third, all the tlmo
taunting them and daring thorn on.
Ho was liko an eel that b iiiirincd out
thousand Men couldn't And tfc bc?i
now. Thty know bUlng paacca your
toldtoa nevor dreamd of."
Tho oEoer In command looked at
him curiously.
"There In something behind thla,"
ho said thoughtfully. "You are otd
enough to understand the conse
quences of such an act, and too wlee
to throw away your llfo for a little
meat and a fow lonvos of broad."
Tho boy's cycB began to flash and
for tho first tlmo his fnco lost Us
grinning derision.
"1 hnvo risked my llfo for a little
moat and a few loaves ot bread," he
declared quickly, "and I do understand
just what tho consoquonccs aro. But
what Is llfo when my mother le sick
and starving, nnd whon my sisters and
grandfather and grandmother aro all
starving. I would risk it, and lose it,
too, a hundred times. Tho boys liavo
rood enough now to last them a
month," his olco ringing with exulta
tion. "You may kill mo If you want
to. But you haven't soldiors enough
to got tho food back. And it wasn't
stolon, cither. You hnvo destroyed
our crops and taken our cnttlo and
fruits, nnd thoy would pay for this o
thousand times ovor."
Ho throw his head back and looked
Bquarely Into thoir eyes.
"Thoro is another thing I don't mind
'Ho went homo that very afternoon, t,ic'r Ln(ls GVe" nfter ioy caught
wearing a severe countenance. I was J or " mm was anjwuereux.
full of gloom. All my worldly pros- ept whero they thought It. Flvo
nootR i,nn.r i,nnn Tlnnio jnnkson's nood minutes passed in exasperating doilg-
wiii Thnt ,.i.?h n,it nf thn nurp nor. 8 and ('oulillng bo7oro they succeed
..-? wv w ---w j..-- '
The watch plunged Into the
Chicago river.
to pretend that I had been solected to
decide disputes as to tho exact hour
and second, and all that sort of nui
sance, you know. But I didn't much
care. Uncle Jackson oould have any
old thing ho wanted from me then.
He was getting old and he had a
bushel of deods to good Michigan
land.
"One Saturday afternoon, hurrying
on to tho boat, going over to visit
Uncle Jackson, I took out my match
to see If I had time to run back upon
some trifling errand I had forgotten.
Tho ancient chain partod a link, the
watch rolled from iuy hand, fall upon
the gangplank, quivered there an in
stant, and then plunged with a mall
rw plunk pnd eurglo Into tho di
versity which makes a man do the
wrong thing when ho should bo pur
suing only tho right one, I began a
wild Epree. the f-?t and last ono of
my lifo. It lasted a wholo week.
When it was over my watch had dis
appeared and I had no knowledge of
Its whereabouts.
"At my lodgings, when I returned,
I found a telegram, two days old, from
Uncle Jackson, summoning me to
Michiga-. It was brici, but suffi
ciently pointed:
" 'Am taken with pneumonia. Como
at once. Bring tho watcn.'
"Now wouldn't that have given you
a chill? There was another communi
cation as well. It was from Ethel.
Ethel was the girl I was going to
marry. She said she had become ac
quainted wltn my reckless conduct,
that she perceived my indifference,
nnd that our engagement, sir, was at
an end forever. You can Imaglno I
was sufflclendy dispirited, as I hur
ried with my aching head and
wretched, deblle body to take a Mich
igan Central train for tho other side
of tho lake.
"I found Uncle JackEon wuu the
Angers of death at his throat, but his
mind was clear enough. 'Have you
brought tho watch?' ho gasped, stern
ly, as 1 bent to embrace him.
"I was about to murmur sorao
maudlin excuses, but he checked mo
sharply. His lawyer was present
They wero awaiting me, it Eeemed.
My uncle called for his will. Under
It was a clauso leaving mo $50 000 of
his modest fortune. He grimly di
rected tho cutting down of this neat
sum by tho excision of a cipher. Tho
will thon gave me $5,000 Instead cf
?50,000. Tho ?45,000 bite thus taken
from my plum was given to Ethel, on
condition that she marry my cousin
Cnarl'e, whom I hated with truo cous
inly rancor. Uncle Jackson calmly
signed the altered will; then he
turned his face to tha wall ami quietly
departed for a better world."
The story-teller ceased, and onco
more raised his half-filled glass with
a gesture of invitation.
"What in tho world do you suppose
became of tho old watch, anyway?"
demanded Cusack, who possessed an
Inquisitive mind.
"Huh"' answeied Thompson "When
I got home again a saloon-keeper
sent ran word ho bad my watch in his
safe, waiting for me. Ho had taken
It away from me ono night In fear I
would lose it while on thnt costly
spree. Ho knew Its story and wanted
to protoct me."
"And then?"
"Then? As soon as I got ray hands
on It again I walked deliberately to
tbo Wells street bridgo, anil a eecond
time conslGued it to tho Chicago river.
It's there yet, I hope.
Liquid Air Test.
A report of tne test of the Hampson
liquifler for making liquid air, by Prof,
fcrank Allen, at Cornell Univorslty.
states that the oxpenditure of ono
horse power continuously for ono hour
producos just enough liquid air to
produce, when utilized in a perfect
-r.Hpp. one-liorse power for ono min
ed in d-'gglng him back, struggling
nnd grinning to the mess quarters.
And it wns not until afterward that
It occurred to them that he nad mado
no real -effort to escapo.
As tho excitement of the chaso and
capture began to subsldo thoy noticed
for tho first time that their mess cook
and his boy assistant wero shutting
about wringing their hands.
"What aro you doing here, Garcia?"
ono of tio ofHca.j demanded Impa
tiently. "Go back and hurry up sup
per." But Garcia continued to wring his
hands.
"Thero is none," he walled. "No
meats, no breads, no fruits. Oh,
sonors! oh, senors! What shall wo do?
!Me and my boy Tose woro nnlshlrg a
bpautirul supper oh, so beautiful!
and a hordo of wild creatures rushed
in nnd threw flour Into my fnco and
tripped Jose, and when we recovered
there woro no meats, no breads, no
fruits. Oh, Ronors! oh, senois!"-
Two or threo of tho officers rushed
into tho mess room. Whon they re
turned their faces wero blank.
"Garcia's right," they said, "tho
place is stripped as clean as though
visited by locusts."
Then they stopped abruptly, as
rWWmm '
4F .
vi 1 . v
3s12Sr--J
Snatched a sword -from ono of tho
scabbards and bounded away.
though making a discovery, and
glanced at tho captive. "You are re
sponsible for this," ono of them de
clared. Tho boy grinned. "Si, sonor," he
said composedly, "why not?"
Thoy starod at him and at each
other. Was tho boy mad? If so, It
was a mndnoss that must bo puni&hed.
"Shooting is too easy for a thing
liko that," scowled tho one who had
lost his sworn. "It's a case for hang
ing." "No; hanging's too oasy," declared
another, gloomily. "You don't know
how hungry I aid. But thoro goes tho
pursuit," as they saw soldiers scat
tering among tho palms. "Perhaps
tbo supper will be recaptured."
The boy sniffed. "Five minutes'
start," ho grinned slgnlflrantly. "A
The best work
Is the cheapest
D yro know who does it?
" "D V PPPVFS The Painter PaPcr Hanger and
V. I. UliJjIlJU, Decorator. Work guaranteed.
FHONH 3SE.
Harvey's Bowling Alleys
Heathful exercise and amusement for
ladies and gentlemen ....
THREE FIRST-CLASS ALLEYS.
F. T. HARVEY, Proprietor.
East Side of Main Street.
WW
NJGLSON lTJL.ICrUCIIICTfc
FIRE INSURANCE AGENT
REPRESENTS THE FOLLOWING
INSURANCE COMPANIES.
Hartford Fire Insurance Co.
North American of l'liihulolpliin.
Phoenix of Brooklyn, Now York.
Continental of New York City,
Niagara Fire Insurance Co.
Now Yoi k Underwriters, Now York.
Commercial Union Assurance Co.,
of London.
Liverpool, London and Globe In
surance Co.
German American Insurance Co.,
Now York.
Farmers and Merchants Insurance
Co,, of Lincoln, J
Columbia Firo Insurance Co,
Philadelphia Underwriters.
Plioonix Insurance Co,, of Hart
ford, Conn.
Office I'p-Stnlis,
Hotelier lllocU.
AAtA
Alliance, Nebraska.
kfAAAAi
"Let thla bo a lesson."
tolling you," ho went on sturdily; "my
father's away fighting, and 1 would bo
nwny fighting too, If I wero old
enough. As It is, wo boys look after
tho family." Hero tho grinning deri
sion returned to his face. "Tho hordo
of 'wild creatures' your cook tells
about wero Just my three brothers and
two of my cousins, tho oldest only
thirteen. They'll look after tho fam
ily now, and whon this food is gono,
they'll find somo wny to get moro.
Now kill mo If you want to. I'm not
afraid."
A curious expression had been com
ing into their eyes. Abovo all things
a soldier respects bravery.
"Como, gentlemen," said tho officer
in command grufy, "wo must settlo
this at once. Camp will bo broken
early, and thero will bo no timo then.
Tho case is a flagrant one, and calls
for severo punishment. But I will
leave tho sentence to you. Do Guise,"
to tho officer whoso sword had been
taken; "as tho most oggrioved of us;
tho first vote belongs to you. What
punishment Is adequato to tho of
fense?" Tho ofllcer scowled. "I wc id con
demn him to perpetual banishment
from us," ho answered harshly.
"And you. Bourmont," to tho officer
who hnd confessed ho was hungry.
"Do Guise is too mild, too mild,"
this officer snld, scowling also. "I
would add that In addition to his sen
tenco tho condemned bo made to carry
away' a sack of flour as largo as him
self as largo as a man can lift."
"And you," "and you," to tho other
officers.
"I consider tho scntenco Just, and
recommend it," said one.
"And I," "and I," said others. "With
perhaps a llttlo moro added to tho
burden," finished tho last Judiciously.
"A prisoner of this kind should bo
crushed."
"Very woll, gontlomon," said thq of
ficor in command, "you will seo that
tho sentonce la carried out to tho let
ter. And you," turning sovorely to
tho wondering boy, "lot this bo a les
son Nover do a thing unless you aro
ready to do It with your wholo heart.
If you had shown a white spot, I would
have had you shot."
Humphry Undertaking and
Embalming Company
Hearse a n d
Carriages
furnished
when de
sired
Residence
Phone 269'
o-v4HHE3HKfi?HIHIIK
J I ih WlWftv-iiV1
Opposite Kee
ler Bros.'
Barn
SCSI
.Calls answer
ed promptly
C. HUMPHRY, Undertaker.
Alliance Cash Meat Market.
C. M. LOTSPEICH, Proprietor.
ONE DOOR SOUTH OT OPERA HOUSE.
FresSi and Salt Meats,
Ui"
FISH AND OYSTERS .
Cash Paid for Hides.
Phone 28
HOLSTEN'S PHARMACY.:..
Is One of the Most Up-to-Date Drop
Jitoreh in Nebraska.,. ...
TDnnfirtin'viirtvio (n -i--Pii lltr
i J.COUlipOiUllk) KJCbl. OIUU t j-t., -fr.
:m ti Tim 1 t 1 1 1 ur . i -"
yiiXUV lUAViVUt
-St.
A SELECT.
STOCK OP
Watches and Diamonds.
"A- &
Alliance, Nebraska.
Fine Watch Repairing
a Specialty.
P. E. HOLSTEN,
Proprietor
Did Not Sound Right.
Tho rural choir in ono of tho up
country villagos, which has become
somewhat of a summer resort, had
been a success for many yoars. But
this season, in order to Impress tho
"city folks," it wns datermlned to in
troduce somo improvements. Tho
older members of tho congregation
opposed this, but tho young pooplo
won a partial victory, and it was do
cldod that ono song at least should
bo sung in up-todnto fashion. All
would have gono well had not tho
choice of tho hymn been unfortunate.
In this particular hymn tho lino oc
curs: "And bow before Thy throne."
According to what tho consorvatlvo
mombors called in disgust "new-fan-glod
notions," the tenor and soprano
woro to hold tho notes on thlB lino
until tho lost of tho choir came In on
tho alto and bass. The result was
that the lino was sung In this rather
startling manner:
"And bow-wow.wow-wow-wow-wow-
w uw wow-wow-w ow,
And bow-wow-wow before Thy
throne,"
Somehow tho effect on tho congre
gation did not iieem edifying. Th
choir has gone back to the old-foah-lonod
method of singing.
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UWW
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