The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, September 14, 1915, Image 2

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    THE SEMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE, NEBRA8KA.
CM
s '
L By FRANCIS LYNDE Illustrations by C. D. RHODES J
PmiriimriTiri
SYNOPSIS.
Kenneth GrlHWold, nn unntccrflnful
writer because of HnclnllHtlr tndenclm,
mips with lils frlond Hulnbrldge at C'liati
dloro's restaurant In Now Orleans and
declares that If necessary h" will hihhI tn
keep from starving. Ho holds tip Andrew
Galbralth, president of the Huyou St.ite
fieeurlty, In his private ofllco and phpupoh
with $100,000 In caah. By orlKlnul methods
h escapes tho hue and cry.
CHAPTER III Continued.
"Tho dragou may havo tectli ami
claws, but It can neither seo nor
Bmell," ho said, contemptuously, turn
ing hlii stops rlverward again. "Now
I havo only to chooso my route and go
in peace. How and where are the
only remaining questions to he an
swered." For nn hour or more after his ro
turn to tho riverfront, Orlswold Idled
up and down tho lovco; and the end
of the interval found him still undecid
ed as to the manner and direction of
his flight to say nothing of the choico
of a destination, which wa3 even more
ovaslvo than tho other and more im
mediately pressing decision.
His first thought had been to go back
to Now York. But thoro tho risk of
detection would bo grcnter than else
where, and ho docldad that there was
no good reason why ho should Incur
It. Besides, ho argued, thoro wore oth
er fields In which tho sociological
studies could bo pursued undor condi
tions moro favorablo than those to bo
found In a great city. In hid mind's
eye ho saw himself domiciled In sotno
thriving Interior town, working and
Btudylng among people who were not
unlndlvlduallzod by an artificial en
vironment. In such a community
theory and practlco might go hand In
hand; he could know and bo known;
and the monoy at his command would
bo vastly more of a' molding and con
trolling Influence than It could possi
bly bo in tho smallest of circles In
Now York. Tho plcturo, struck out
upon tho InBtnnt, pleased him, and hav
ing sufficiently Idealized it, ho adopted
It enthusiastically as an Inspiration,
leaving tho moro geographical dotall
to arrango Itself as chance, or subse
quent ovonts, might dotormjno.
That part of tho problem .disposed
of, thoro yet remained tho choico of a
lino of flight; and it was a small thing
that finally doclddd tho manner of his
going. For tho third tlmo In tho hour
of aimless wanderings ho found him
Bolf loitering opposlto tho borth of tho
Hollo Julio, nn up-rlvor steamboat
whoBo boll gavo sonorous warning of
tho approaching momont of departure.
Tolling roustabouts, trailing In and out
llko an endless procession of humau
ants, woro hurrying tho last of tho car
go aboard.
"Poor dovlls! Thoy'vo boon told
that they nro froo mon, and perhaps
they bellovo It. Hut surely no Blavo
of tho Toulon galloya was over In bit-
loror uonungo. . . . ireov yen,
froo to toll and sweat, to boar burdens
and to bo driven llko cattle undor tho
yokot Oh, good Lord! look at that!"
Tho ant procession had attacked tho
final tlor of boxos In tho lading, and
ono of tho burden-bearers, a whlto
man, had stumbled and fnllon llko a
crushed pack animal undor a load too
hoavy for him. Grlswold wau beside
him In n momont. Tho man could not
rise, and Orlswold dragged him not tin
tenderly out of tho way of tho others.
"Where aro you hurt?"
Tho crushed ono sat up and spat
Iblnotl,
"I don't know: inside, somo whores.
T been dyln' on my feot any tlmo for
.& year or two back."
"Consumption?" queried Qrlswoldi
durlolly. I
J "I rockon so."
."Then you havo no earthly buslnoss
In a deck crow. Don't you know
that?"
Tho man's smllo was n ghastly faco
wrinkling. i "Reckon I hnjn't got any business
anywheres out'n a horapltal or a holo
In tho ground, nut I kind o' thought
I'd llko to bo planted 'longsldo tho
woman and tho chlldor, If I could mako
out boiuo way to git thoro."
"Whoro?"
Tho consumptive named a small riv
er town in Iowa.
In QrlBWold impulse was tho doml
innt chord always struck by an appeal
o his sympathies. Ills compassion
wont atrnlght to tho mark, ns It was
euro to do when his pockets wero not
empty.
"What Is tho faro by rail to your
town?" ho Inquired.
. "I don't know: I novor asked. Somo
whores between twenty and thirty dol
lars, 1 reckon; and that's moro monoy
than I'vo seen eonco tho woman died."
Grlswold hastily countod out a hun
dred dollars from Ills pocket fund and
thrust tho monoy Into tho man's hand.
"Taka that and chango places with
me," ho commanded, slipping on tho
mask of gruffnoss again, "Pay your
faro on tho train, and I'll tako your
Job on tho boat. Don't bo a fool!" ho
added, when tho man put his faco In
Ills nnnds and began to choko, "It's
a fair onough exchange, and I'll get as
much out of it ono way as you will
tho other. What Is your name? I
may havo to borrow it."
iCopyriKiit by Guana
"OavItt John Wesley Qavitt."
"All right; off with you," said the
liberator, curtly! and with that ho
shouldered the sick man's load and
fell into line In tho ant procession.
Once on board tho steamer, ho fol
lowed his fllo leader aft and mado
It his first caro to find a snfo hiding
plnco for tho tramp's bundle In tho
knotted handkerchief. That done, ho
stepped Into tho lino again, nnd be
came tho sick man's substitute In fact.
It was toll of tho shrewdest, and ho
drew breath of blessed relief when tho
last man staggered up tho plank with
his burden. Tho bell was clanging Its
final summons, nnd tho slowly Ybvolv
Ing paddle-whecl3 wero taking tho
Btraln from the mooring lines. Being
near tho bow lino Grlswold was ono
of tho two who spring auhoro at tho
mato's bidding to cast off. Ho was
backing the hawser out of tho last of
its hnlf-hltqhes, when a carriage was
driven rapidly down to tho stngo and
two tardy passengers hurried nboard.
The mate bawled from his station on
tho hurricane deck.
"Now, then! Take a turn on that
spring lino out thero and get them
trunks abourd! Lively!"
Tho larger of tho two trunks fell to
tho lato recruit; and when ho had set
It down at tho door of tho designated
stateroom, ho did half absently what
John Gavltt might havo dono without
blame: read tho tacked-on card, which
boro tho owner's name and address,
written In a firm hand: "Charlotte
Farnham, Wahaska, Minnesota."
"Thank you," said a musical volco
at his olbow. "May I trouble you to
put It Insldo?"
Grlswold wheeled as If tho mlld
toned request had been a blow, and
was properly ashamed. Hut whon he
saw the speaker, consternation prompt
ly slow all tho other emotions. For
tho owner of tho tagged trunk was tho
young woman to whom, nn hour or so
earlier, ho had given placo at tho pay
ing tollor's w'lckot In tho Bayou State
Security.
Sho saw his confusion, charged It to
tho card-reading at which she had sur?
prised him, and smiled. Then ho mot
her gazo fairly and became sano again
whon ho was assured that she did not
recognize him: beennio sane, nnd
whipped off his cap, nnd dragged tho
trunk Into tho stateroom. After
which ho went to his placo on tho
lower dock with a great thankfulness
throbbing In his lioart and nn Inchoato
resolve shaping ltsolf In his brain.
Lato that night, when tho Bollo Julio
was well on her way up tho great
river, ho flung himself down upon tho
sacked coffee on tho engine room-guard
to Biiatch a llttlo rest botweon land
ings, and the rosolvo becamo sufficient
ly coamlc to formulnto itself In words.
"I'll call It an ornclo," ho musod.
"Ono placo 1b as good as another, Just
so It Is Inconsequent enough. And I
am suro I'vo novcr heard of Vaha3ka."
Now Grlswold tho social rebel was,
bofore all things else, GrlBwold tho lm
uglnntlvo literary craftsman; and no
noonor was tho question of IiIb ultl-
mnto destination settled thus arbitrari
ly than ho bogan to prellguro tho placo
and Its probablo lack nnd havings.
thib process urougnt nun uy onsy
stages to pleasant ldcallzlngs of Miss
Charlotto Farnham, who wbb, tlniB far,
tho only tangible thing connected with
tho destination dream. A llttlo farther
She Saw Hla Confusion, and Charged
It to tho Card Reading.
along hor personality laid hold of him
nnd tho idoallzlngs boenmo purely lit
erary. "Sho is a magnificently strong typo!"
was his summing up of hor, mado
whllo h.o was lying flat on his back
and staring nbsontly ut tho flitting
uhndows among tho dock bonniB over
head. "Hor faco is ns roadablo as only
tho fnco of a woman instinctively good
and puro in honrt can bo. Any man
who can put hor between the covers
bcriDnti aoiu,
of a book may put anything else he
pleases in It and snnp his fingers at
the world. If I nm going to live in tho
same town with her. I ought to Jot her
down on paper before I lose tho keen
edgo of the first Impression."
Ho considered it for a moment, and
then got up atld went in search of a
pencil nnd a scrap of paper. The doz
ing night clerk gave him both, with
a sleepy malediction thrown In; and
ho went back to tho engine room and
scribbled his word plcturo by tho light
of tho swinging Incandescent.
Ho rend It over thoroughly when It
wns finished, changing a word hero
and a phrase there with a craftsman's
fidelity to the exactnesses. Then ho
shook his head regretfully and tore tho
scrap of paper Into tiny squares, scat
tering them upon tho brown Hood
surging past tho engine room gangway.
"It won't do," ho confessed reluct
antly, as ono who sacrifices good liter
ary" material to a Btern sense of tho
fitness of things. "It is nothing less
than n cold-blooded sacrilege. I can't
make copy of her If I write no moro
whllo tho world stands."
CHAPTER IV.
The Deck Hand.
Charlotto Famham's friends their
number was tho number of those who
had seen her grow from 'childhood
to maiden and womanhood com
monly Identified her for Inquiring
strangers as "good old Doctor Bertie's
'only,' " adding, men nnd women alike,
that sho was as well-balanced nnd sen
Blblo a3 sho was good to look upon.
Sho had been spending tho winter
at Pass Christian with her aunt, who
was an invalid; and It was for the
Invalid's sake that she had decided
to mako tho return Journey by river.
So it had coino about that their
staterooms had been taken on tho
Bollo Julio; nnd on tho morning of
tho second day out from Now Or
leans, Miss Gllman was so far from
being travel sick that alio was able to
sit with Charlotto in tho shade of the
hurricane deck aft, and to enjoy, with
what quavorlng enthusiasm thoro was
In her, tho matchless scenery of the
lower Mississippi.
At Baton Rouge tho New Orleans
papors came aboard, and Miss Farn
ham bought a copy of the Loulslanlan.
As a matter of course, tho first page
leader was a circumstantial account
of tho daring robbery of tho Bayou
Stato Security, garnished with star
tling headlines. Charlotto read It,
hnlf-nbsontly at first, and a second
tlmo with Interest awakened and a
quickening of tho pulse when sho real
ized that Bho had actually been a wit
ness of tho final act in tho near-tragedy.
Her llttlo gasp of .belated horror
brought n query from tho Invalid.
"What Is It, Charlie, dear?"
For answor, Charlotto read the news
paper story of tho robbery, headlines
and all.
"For pity's sake! In broad daylight!
How shockingly bold!" commented
Miss Gllman.
"Yes; but that wasn't what mado
mo gasp. Tho pnpor says: A young
lady was at tho teller's window whon
tho robbor enmo up with Mr. Gal
bralth ' Aunt Fanny, I was tho
'young lady'!"
"You? horrors!" ojaculatod tho In
valid, holding up wasted hands of dep
recation. Charlotto tho well-balanced, smiled
at tho purely personal limitations of
her aunt's point of view.
"It is very dreadful, of course; but
It la no worso just because I happened
to bo thoro. Yot It seems ridiculously
Incredlblo. I can hardly bellovo It.
ovon now."
"Incredlblo? How?"
"Why, there wasn't anything about
It to suggest a robbery. Now that I
know, I romomber that tho old gentle
mnn did scorn anxious or worried, or
at least, not qulto comfortnblo somo
way; but tho young man wns smiling
pleasantly, and ho looked like anything
rather than a desperate crlmlual."
Miss Gllmnn's Now Kuglnnd conscrv
ntlsm, unweakoned by hor long rest
donco in tho West, took tho alarm at
onco.
"But no ono 'In tho bank know you.
Thoy couldn't trnco you by your fa
thor's draft and lottor of Identifica
tion, could thoy?"
Charlotto was mystified. "I should
suppose thoy could, If thoy wanted to.
But why? What If thoy could?"
"My donr child; don't you soo? Thoy
aro suro to catch tho robbor, sooner
or later, and If thoy know how to find
you, you might bo dragged Into court
as a witness !"
Miss Farnham was not less averso
to publicity than tho conventionalities
demanded, but sho had, or bollovcd sho
had, very clear niftl woll-doflned ideas
of hor own touching hor duty In any
mnttor Involving a plain question of
right and wrong.
"I shouldn't wait to bo dragged,"
alio assorted quietly. "It would bo a
slmplo duty to go willingly. Tho first
thing I thought of was that I ought
to wrlto at onco to Mr. Galbralth, giv
ing him my address."
Thcroupon Issued discussion. At
muvj
the end of tho argument tho conserv
ative ono had extorted a conditional
promlfio from her niece. Tho matter
should remain in abeyance until tho
question of conscientious obligation
had been submitted to Charlotte's fa,
ther and decided by him.
An hour Inter, when Miss Gllman
was deep In tho last installment of tho
current serial, Charlotto let her book
Blip from her fingers and gavo herself
to tho passive enjoyment of tho slowly-passing
panorama which Is tho chief
charm of inlnnd voyaging.
From where she was sitting she
could seo the Btcamer's" yawl swinging
from Its tacklo at tho stern-staff; and
after many minutes It waB slowly
borne In upon her that the ropeB wero
working loose. A man came aft to
make the loosened tacklo fast.
Something half familiar in his man
ner attracted Charlotte's attention,
nnd her eyes followed him as ho wont
on and holstod tho yawl Into plnce.
When ho camo back she had a fair
sight of his face and her eyes met hlB.
In the single swift glance half-formed
suspicion becamo undoubted certainty;
she looked again and her heart gave a
great bound and then seemed sud
denly to forget Its office. It was use
less to t.ry to escape from tho dismay-
The Niche
Between the Coffee
Was Empty.
Sacks
Ing fact. Tho stubblo-bearded deck
hand with tho manner of a gentlomna
was most unmistakably a later rein
carnation of the pleasantly smiling
young mnn who had courteously mado
way for her at tho teller's wicket In
tho Bayou Stato Security; who had
smiled and given placo to her whllo
ho was holding his pistol aimed .at
Prosldont Galbralth.
It was said of Charlotto Farnham
that sho was sensible beyond her
years, and withal strong and Btralght
forward In honesty of purposo. Nono
tho less, sho was a woman. And whon
sho saw what was beforo her, con
science turned traitor and fled away
to give placo to an uprush of hesitant
doubts born of tho sharp trial of tho
moment.
She got upon her feet, steadying her
self by the back of her shalr. Sho felt
that sho could not trust herself If sho
onco admitted tho thin edge of tho
wedgo of delay, The slmplo and
straightforward thing to do was to go
Immediately to tho captain and tell him
of her discovery, but sho shrank from
tho thought of what must follow. They
would selzo him: ho had proved that
ho was a desperate man, and thero
would bo a struggle. And when tho
struggle was over thoy would bring
him to her and Bho would havo to
stand forth as hla accuser.
It was too shocking, and sho caught
at tho suggestion of an alternative
with a gaap of rolief. Sho might write
to President Galbralth, giving such a
description of tho deck-hand as would
enablo tho offlcors to ldontlfy him
without her personal help. It was
llko dealing tho man a treacherous
blow In tho back, but sho thought It
would bo kinder.
"Aunt Fanny," sho bogan, with her
faco averted, "I promised you
wouldn't wrlto to Mr. Galbralth until
after wo reached homo until I had
told papa. I havo been thinking nbout
It slnco, and I I think It must bo
dono at onco."
. , .
Grlswold had como upon Miss Farn
ham unoxpoctodly, and whon ho pasBod
her on IiIb way forward ho had seen
tho swift chango In her faco betoken
Ing soma sudden emotion, nnd tho rec
ollectlon of It troubled him.
What If this clear-oyed young person
una recognized him? Ho know that
tho Now OrleniiB papers had como
aboard; ho had soon tho folded copy
or mo iwouisianinn In tho nvalld's Inn
Consequently, Miss Farnham know of
tho robbery, nnd tho lncldonts wero
fresh lu her mind. What would Bho
do If she had penetrated his disguise?
Ho had a shock of genuine terror
at this point and his skin prickled as
at tho touch of something loathsome.
Up to that momont ho had suffered
nono of tho pains of tho hunted fu
gitive; but ho knew now that ho had
fairly entered tho gates of tho out
law's Inferno; that however cunning
ly ho might cast about to throw his
pursuers off tho track, ho would never
again know what It was to bo wholly
freo from tho terror of the arrow that
flleth by day.
Tho forco of tho Scriptural Blmllo
camo to him with startling emphasis,
bringing on a return of thp prickling
dismay. Tho stopping of tho paddlo
whcels and tho rattling clangor of tho
gang-plank winch aroused him to ac
tion nnd ho shook off the creeping
numbness and ran aft to rummage un
der tho cargo on tho engine-room
guards for his precious bundle. When
Ills hand reached the place whoro It
should havo been, tho blood surged
to his brain nnd set up a clamorous
dinning in his ears llko the roaring
of a cataract. The niche between tho
coffee sacks was empty.
CHAPTER V.
The Chain Gang.
Whllo Grlswold was grappling
afresh with the problem of escape, and
planning to desert tho Bcllo Julio at
tho next landing, Charlotte eFarnham
was sitting behind the locked door of
her stateroom with a writing pad on
her kneo over which for many min
utes tho suspended pen merely hov
ered. She had fancied that hor re
solve, onco fairly taken, would not
stumble over a slmplo matter of de
tail. But when sho had tried a dozen
times to begin the letter to Mr. Gal
bralth, tho simplicities vanished and
complexity stood in their room.
Try as she might to put tho sham
deck-hand into his proper place as an
Impersonal unit of a class with which
society Is at war, ho perversely re
fused to surrender his individuality.
At the end of every fresh effort sho
was confronted by the inexorable summing-up:
in a world of phantoms thero
wero only two real persons; a mnn
who had sinned, and a woman who
was about to make him pay tho pen
alty.
It was all very well to reason about
it, and to say that he ought to be
made to pay tho penalty; but that did
not mako it any less 'shocking that
she, Charlotto Farnham, should be the
ono to set tho retributive machinery
In motion. Yet sho knew sho had tho
thing to do, and bo, after many , in
effectual attempts, the letter was writ
ten and scaled and addressed, and she
went out to mall it at the clerk's
office.
As It chanced, tho engines of the
steamer wero slowing for a landing
when she latched her stateroom door.
Tho doors giving upon tho forward
saloon deck were open, and she heard
the- harsh voice of the mate exploding
In sharp commands as tho steamer
lost way and edged slowly up to the
river bank. A moment later she was
outside, leaning on the rail and look
ing down upon tho crew grouped about
tho Inboard end of tho uptllted landing
stago. Ho was there; tho man for
whoso destiny accident and the con
ventional senso of duty had made her
responsible; and ns sho looked she
had a fleeting glimpse of his face.
It was curiously haggard and woe
begone; so sorrowfully changed that
for an Instant she almost doubted hla
identity. The sudden transformation
added fresh questionings, and she be
gan to ask herself thoughtfully what
had brought It about. Theri the man
turned slowly and looked up at her a3
If tho finger of her thought had
touched him. There was no sign of
recognition in his eyes; and site con
strained herself to gazo down upon
him coldly. But when Belle .Julio's
bow touched the bank, nnd the wait
ing crew melted suddenly into a tenu
ous line of burden-bearers, sho fled
through the deserted saloon to her
statoro6m and hid tho fatal letter un
der the pillows in her berth.
That evening, after dinner, sho went
forward with somo of tho other pas
songers to tho railed promenade which
wns tho common evening rendezvous
Tho Bello Julie had tied up at a small
town on tho western bank of tho great
river, and tho ant procession of rousts
bouts was in motion, going laden up
tho swing stage and returning empty
by tho foot plank. Left to herself for
a moment, Chnrlottc faced the rail
and again sought to single out tho
man whose fate sho must decide.
Sho distinguished him presently; a
grimy, perspiring unit in tho crew,
tramping back nnd forth mechanically,
staggering under tho heaviest loads,
and staring stonily at tho back of his
fllo loader In endless round; a 'picture
of misery and despair, Charlotto
thought, and sho was turning away
with the dangorous rebellion against
tho conventions swollln? again In her
heart when Captain Mnyfleld Joined
her.
"I Just wanted to show you," ho
said: and ho pointed out a gang of
men repairing a slip In the leveo em
bnnkment bolow tho town landing. It
was a squad of prisoners In chnlns
Tho figures of tho convicts wero
struck out sharply against tho dark
background of undergrowth, and tho
reflection of tho suusot glow on tho
river lighted up their sullen faces and
burnished tho use-Wvfn links in their
log-fetters.
"Tho chnln-gnng," said tho captain
briefly. "That's about whoro tho fel
low that rpbbcd tho Bayou Stato So
curlty will bring up, if tnoy eaten mm
Ho'll havo to bo mighty tough and
well-seasoned it ho lives to worry
through twenty year of that, don't
you think?"
But Miss Farsnani could not an
swer; nnd even the unobservant enn
tatn of river boats saw that sho was
moved nnd was sorry ho had spoken.
In any path of performance thoro
Is but ono atop which Is Irrevocable,
namely, the final one, and In Chnrlotto
Farnhnm's bosotment this stop was tho
mailing of tho letter to Mr. Galbralth.
Many times during tho evening she
Wrought herself up to the plunging
point, only to recoil on tho very brink;
and when at length sho gavo up tho
tho struggle and went to bed, tho
sealed letter was still under her pil
low. Now It Is a well-accepted truism that
an exasperated senso of duty, like
remorao and grief, fights best In tho
night watches. It was of no avail to
protest that her Intention was still
unshaken. Conscience urged that de
lay was llttlo less Culpablo than refus
al, since every hour gavo the criminal
an added chanco of escape. The min
utes dragged leaden-winged; and to sit
quietly In the silence and solltudo
of tho great saloon becamo a norvo
racking Impossibility. When It went
past endurance, sho roso and stepped
out upon tho promenade deck.
Tho Bollo Julie was approach
ing a landing. Tho electric search
light eyo on the hurricane deck
was just over her head, and its great
whlto cone seemed to hiss ns It poured
Its dazzling Hood of fictitious noonday
upon the shelving river bank and tho
sleeping hamlet beyond. Out of tho
dusky undorglow camo the freight car
riers, giving birth to a-filo of grotesque
shadow monsters ns thoy swung up tho
plank into tho field of tho searchlight.
Tho foot plank had been drawn in,
tho steam winch was clattering, and
tho landing stage had begun to como
aboard, when tho two men whose duty
It was to cast off ran out on the tilting
stage and dropped from its shore end.
One of them, fell clumsily, tried to rise,
and sank back into the shadow; but
tho other scrambled up tho steep bank
and loosened the half-hitches in tho
wet hawser. With the slackening of
tho lino the steamer began to movo
out into tho stream, and the man at
tho mooring post looked, around to
see what had booomo of bis com
panion. ,
"Get a movo on youso!" bellowed
tho mate; but instead of obeying, tho
man ran back and went on his knees
beside the huddled figure in the
shadow.
At this point tho watcher on the
promenade deck began vaguely to un
derstand that tho first man was dis
abled in some way, and that the other
was trying to lift him. While she
looked, the engine-room bells Jangled
and the wheels began to turn. Tho
mate forgot her and swore out of a full
heart.
Sho put her fingers In her ears to
shut out tho clamor of abusive pro
fanity; but the man on tho bank paid
no attention to the richly emphasized
command to como aboard. Instead, ho
ran swiftly to tho mooring post, took
a double turn of the, trailing hawser
around it and stood by until tho strain
ing lino snubbed tho steamer's bow to
tho shore. Then, deftly casting off
again, ho darted back to tho disabled
man, hoisted him bodily to tho high
guard, and clambered aboard himself;
all this while McGrath was brushing
tho Impeding crew aside to get at him.
Charlotto saw every move of the
quick-witted salvage In the doing, and
wanted to cry out in sheer enthuBlasm
when it wa3 done. Then, in the light
from tho furnace doors, she saw tho
faco of tho chief actor; It was the face
of the ra,an with the stubblo beard.
Sho could not hear what McGrath
was saying, nut she could read hot
wrath in his gestures, and In the way
the men fell back out of his reach.
All but one: tho stubblo-bearded whlto
man was facing him fearlessly, and he
appeared to bo trying to explain.
Grlswold was trying to explain, but
tho bullying first ofllcor would not let
him. It was a small matter; with tho
money gone, nnd the probability that
capture and arrest were deferred only
from landing to landing, a llttlo abuse,
more or less, counted as nothing. But
ho was grimly determined, to keep Mc-I
Grath from laying violent hands upon
tho negro who had twisted his ankla
In jumping from tho uptllted landing-
stage.
"No; this Is one time when you
don't skin anybody alive!" ho retorted,
when a break in tho stream of abuso
gave him a, chance, "You let tho man
alone. Ho couldn't help it. Do you
suppose he sprained an ankle purpose
ly to give you a chnnco to curse him
out?"
The mate's reply was a brutal kick
at the crippled negro. Grlswold came
closer. f
(TO HE CONTINUED.)
Cynical Recipe for Success.
Oliver Onions, author of "Mush
room Town," etc., recently remarked:
"A cynical friend told me tho other
day that tho secret of success was to
get a name for Incorruptibility and
then go ahead and corrupt It for mucU
gold. I'm suro thero's n weak spot la
this somewhere, but Judging from a
good many, both of writers and poli
ticians, perhnps there's something in
It. Only unfortunately I can't apply
tho recipe to my own work, becauso
I havo too much fun writing to think
about corruption ono way or tho
other."
"Cozy" Is Hardly the Word to Use.
"Of course," said Mrs. M.T. Cack
lor, "It is real nice In tho newspapers
to describe tho now Muehlebach ho
tol as cozy and homellko, but I should
call a building with a tea furore and a
cafo centurion, with marble floors and
pillows of Inpsus linguae and male
faction, and with gleaming chanti
cleers Impending from tho doomed coll.
Ings, a great deal moro rotund than
I cozy." Kausns City Star.