Nebraska Newspapers

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THE HEBRASKA ADVERTISER
W. W. HANUKKS, I'ublUher.
-NEMAHA, NEBRASKA.
THE OLD DACHELOR.
Ho Is portly, but very ersct,
And always to somewhat digress
Artlstlr, and nultc circumspect
When It comes to n question of dress;
.A lover of whist and of chess,
And a little Inclined to be gny,
Yot 1 pity him. nevertheless
The old buchelor over the wny.
.For I know when liln lite I dissect,
There Is lack, of tho wifely caress,
.No children around li tin collect,
Ills home-coming nightly to bleaa;
.And to 3can him again 1 confess
He's a trifle Inclined' to bo gny,
In Bplto of hln eoclal success
The old bachelor over the way.
.And I feel my surmise Is correct,
When I look at him closely and. guess
"That when lie takes time to retlcct
IIo misses the true happiness;
'T'or the lack of a homo will depress,
And his boyhood' was happy, theyisay;
'! fancy that dreams must oppress
The old bachelor over tho way.
K.NVOY.
What, marrled7 This morning, no less.
For who shall-King Cupid gainsay?
"Well, well, he Is In for distress
The old bachelor over the way.
JCrnest McGnffcy, In Woman's Homo
Companion.
ICopyrlght, i&)9, by S. S. McClure.
CHAPTEIl 1 1. CoNTixvnn,
And now the roar of the storm could
be -heard as the line of foam swept on
over the darkened sea with frightful
velocity. Louder and louder came the
noise, nnd the surface of the water bc
fhlnd the advancing line warlike a vast
sheet of snow flattened down by the
force of the wind.
Nearer and nearer came the ghastly
.:linc, while every man stood, at his post
in silence. Suddenly the captain
roared :
"Hard up your wheel! Hard up!"
The two men who grasped the spokes
had barely time to obey the order when,
with shriek of wind and a rush of boil
ing water, the white line struck the
hark and pressed her over until the
yards touched the surface to leeward.
The storm staysail and maintopsail
were rent to ribbons, but the head sail
held, and, as the stanch bark slowly
righted, this caused her to pay slowly
off, and she gathered headway at the
same time. Slowly at first and then
with increasing speed she bounded
along before the hurricane.
And now the sen began to rise in all
its majesty. The masses of water
swept in wild waves before the hur
ricane, their crests blowing off into
spray as they met the full force of the
-wind. After several efforts the crew
succeeded in loosing a few inches of
the. furctopsall, nnd for awhile thisheld
nobly. Then came a stronger puff
than usual, and the sail was' torn bod
ily from the bolt-ropes, disappearing
in the gloom like some huge white
bird.
There was nothing to be done but
run before the gale, and, nfter send
Ing the mate and half the crew below,
the captain advised Tom and Avery to
'retire, which they did, somewhat re
assured by the collected bearing of the
skipper, who seemed to take it all as
.a matter of course, especially as. the
wind was sending his vessel just where
he wished to go.
in this manner three days and nights
passed, until it seemed to Tom that the
world was made up of wind, waves and
darkness.
On the fourth morning the wind be
.gan to abate and the sun appeared, en
abling the captain to ascertain his po
sition. He found that the Seabird had
made 11 knots an hour during the en
tire period since the storm struck her.
which caused his satisfaction to show
itself in his round face unmistakably.
Sail was now made, and ten days, later
the Seabird was sailing proudly on the
bosom of the Pacific, having rounded
Cape Horn with the "greatest slant of
wind" the old skipper had ever experi
enced. The vessel's1 head was pointed
to the north, and Tom began to com
pute the days before they could hope
'to reach San Francisco,
CHAI'TEH III.
"I GIVE MY SHARK TO YOU."
Good, luck and fair winds followed
-our adventurers until they reached the
storm- Gulf of California, where an nc-
eident occurred which greatly affected
Tom's future plans.
It was an hour before sunset and the
two passengers were leaning over the
stern watching the water lly swiftly
under the counter, when a loud shout
from aloft attracted their attention.
Tvooking quickly up they hud barely
time to spring aside when a heavy block
struck the deck beside them with ter
rific force. A rope attached to it hit
Tom's companion across the chest,
sending bin: backwards, nis heels met
the wheel ropes nnd the next instant he
struck the wntcr astern and disap
peared from Tom's sight.
It hnd all happened so quickly that lie
hardly realized what hnd occurred until
the sailer aloft shouted:
"Man overboard! Man overboard 1"
With the promptitude of a sailor the
man at the wliccl sprang to the rail and
cut adrift the life preserver, which was
always ready for use, and at the same
time the captain rushed on deck and
ordered the ship novo to.
Then Tom tore off his coat and shoes
and leaped over the ruil before the cap
tain could detain him.
Like most Cape Cod boys, he had
learned to swim nt an early age, and a
pond in Merrivalc had enabled him to
indulge in the exercise in late years, so
that when he came to the surface he
felt no anxiety for himself, although
the vessel was some distance nway.
He struck out with all his might in
the direction of the vessel's wake, and
soon caught a glimpse of a white face
attend rising and falling on the waves.
"Keep up till 1 rench you!" he shout
ed to encourage Avery, who was fully
50 yards away.
There was no reply, nnd when Tom
was within n dozen strokes of his friend
the hitter suddenly threw up his arms
and began to sink.
Tom reached the spot just in time to
grasp his. hair nnd drag him to the sur
face, where he buy utterly unconscious
and unable to assist himself. Tom sup
ported him ns best he could, but his
clothes soon begnn to drag him down,
and his limbs felt like lead. He was
nearly spent when something while
swept before his eyes on the top of u
sea,, and he saw that it was the life
buoy. With a last effort he struck out
and succeeded in grasping it.
In the meantime the Seabird had been
brought to the wind and a boatlowered
with all possible speed, but it Is a slow
operation at best, and the craft was a
half mile distant before the boat struck
the water with Capt. Collin in her stern.
Although the buoy supported Tom
easily, he found it no easy task to keep
the unconscious man's head above the
surface, and when the1 boat reached
them he was pulled from the water in
a state of utter exhaustion.
Avery showed no. signs of lifp, and
when the vessel was reached he was
taken to his berth, where the old cap
tain gradually resuscitated him, Tom
having changed his clothes in the mean
time and regnined the use of his limbs.
When he reached the stateroom he
was shocked nt his friend's face. There
was a look there which comes but once
to humanity, and which froze thewords
on his tongue.
"Seott, sit down," said the old miner.
"I can see by your face what you read
in mine, I have no time to waste. I'm
a dying man, Scott. Something has
given out inside and my time is up,
Don't interrupt me, please. I must tell
you something while 1 have time."
He paused an instant to press his
hand to his side, saying:
"When that, hit mesoinethingsnapped
in here. I think a rib is sticking into
my lungs. Take off my belt, Scott.
Hurry up! Don't stop to ask questions,
now!"
Tom obeyed, and with trembling
fingers the dying man drew forth n
folded' bit of paper, whispering:
"It's yours, and it means n fortune
to you! Get me a pen and paper and
then write what I tell you!"
Ills request was soon complied with,
and with a faint voice he dictated:
"I, John Avery, being about to die,
give my share in the gold mine discov
ered by my partner, Dick Heed, to the
bearer, Thomas Scott, who has risked
in life for mine twice."
When this unique will was on paper
he added:
"Give me the pen. There needn't be
nny witnesses. Dick Heed knows my list,
and he's ns square as a die. Thispaper is
a map to tell me how to reach the mine.
It's a secret trail leads to it, and only
three men know of it. You will be rich
if you live to reach it. Trust no one,
but go by yourself. Take the money in
my belt, too, and use it as you please.
You may find my brother Hill at the
mine. He was senWor, too. You'll get
my share "
A violent fit of coughing interrupted
him, and before it ended the handker
chief he pressed to his lips was stained
with his life blood.
Tom hastily summoned the captain,
but the old miner snnk into an uncon
scious state, und before morning Tom
was the only living occupant of the lit
tlcstnteroom. Hut behind the thin partition which
separated it from the mate's room sat
that worthy himself with a look of tri
umph on his evil face.
"There were no witnesses, and what
is to prevent my being Mr. Tom Scott
and becoming a mine owner," he mut
tered to himself. "I must have that pa
per If I have to kill him to get it!"
On the following day the remains of
the old miner were consigned to the
deep, and as Tom saw the weighted
canvas disappear beneath the blue wa
ters, his grief outweighed every other
sentiment and drove all thought of his
inheritance from his head. He had
grown to love the rugged old man like
a brother, and it was the first time he
had been brought face to face with
death.
That night ns he was about to retire,
he remembered the slip of paper given
him by his dying friend, nnd which he
had not yet examined. He had placed
it in the belt and tossed the hitter into
his chest nt the time, nnd a huge lump
swelled in his throat now as he lifted
the lid nnd drew it forth.
Carefully nrranged In the various
compartments were bills to the amount
of f3,000, nnd these he transferred to
his own belt nt once. The paper was
evidently torn from a blank book, and
contained these lines in n bold hand:
"Old 1'nrtner: If you haven't forgotten
tho old days nnd tho bargain wo made,
ccmo out nnd shnro my Hnd with mo.
I liavo struck It rich. I have written, to
Rill. I have n new chum with me, too.
Como to Uyen nnd tnko tho old Dnlton
ti all. No 0110 uses It now. It goes Just
west of Arkell lake nnd runs straight for
Fort .Selkirk. It's almost dead north by
tho compass, About CO miles boforo It
renchrs tho fort It splits off to the left,
j big white cliff faces tho trail. You can't
mistake it. Tho main trail keeps on to
tho right. Tnko tho other. It only goes
about CO miles nnd leaves you nt tho en
tinnc of u big gorge. Camp thoro nnd
mako n big smoU. If you linvo to bring
nnyono to help, bo sure of your man. We
liavo grub enough to Inst till spring, and
then my partner, Joe Tarbox, Is coming to
Dyea for supplies. He'll got thcro In April
or Mny, 1 expect. There 1b gold hero by
tho ton if wo only hnd water to wash It out
I am sending this from tho fort by nn In
dian packer. Came hero after candles nnd
Hour. Your old friend,
"DICIC TAYLOR."
Tom's heart was beating like a trip
hammer as he finished the letter, for he
now realized that the old miner's words
were not of light Import. The note bore
the imprint of truth in every line, nnd
for awhile he could scarcely realize
what he had read.
He had no suspicion that the mate
was at that moment gluing his eye to
a crack in the bulkhead nnd vainly try
ng to get a glimpse of the paper of
which lie had' heard the dying man
speak the night before. In his villain
ous heart, ho had sworn that Tom Scott
should never grasp the golden treasure,
but how to prevent him was the ques
tion. Clearly ho must obtain possession
of the precious paper, but how was this
to be done?
His peephole was too smnll to enable
him to tell where Tom keptit, but as he
heard the lid of the chest closed he
drew a long breath and muttered:
"It's in his donkey! I'll find a way o
have a peep inside of it before we get to
'.Frisco. It would never do to trouble it
now. He'd suspect me the first thing of
he missed it. 1 must rig some kind of
II derrick on him, that's sure!"
For the next few days he cudgeled
his brains for some safe means 01 nt-
c li ?Vs '
-.
" I must toll you something while I have timo."
Inining his ends, but without success.
Then chnnce did what he had failed
to do.
"Land ho!" was the welcome cry
from aloft, one morning just after sun
rise, while the captain and second mate
were asleep, the mate was stumping
the deck and Tom, who had turned
out earlier than usual, was standing; on
the topgallant forecastle watching a
school of fish piny about the bows. He
ran up the forerigging at once to catch
a glimpse of the welcome sight.
"Now's my time," snid the mate, un
der his breath, ns Tom went over the
forctop and began to swarm up the
topmast rigging. "He'll go clean up to
the man on the 'gallant yard before he
sees it."
The next moment he had stolen soft
ly down the cabin stairs, entered Tom's
room and tried the lid of the. chest.
To his surprise it was not locked, and
there on top, half hidden by the sleeve
of an old coat, lay . I ohn Avery's belt, be
fore him. His fingers trembled as with
feverish haste he pulled it open, and
then a furious oath came through his
bristling benrd.
The belt was empty!
A rapid- search convinced him that
tho object he sought wus not in the
chest, and habtily rearranging the arti
cles as he hnd found them he closed
the lid and stepped out of the room to
meet dipt. Collin fnce to face in the
narrow pnssngc.
"What are you doing in there?" de
manded the latter.
"We're going to wash decks and the
porthole was open," he stammered, "I
just stepped down to close it,"
Whatever comment tlm old skipper
was about to make was interrupted by
the man aloft, who again gave that long
drawn out. Indescribable cry, so dear to
the sailor's heart:
"Land ho!"
The captain forgot everything else
instantly and sprang on deck at once,
exclaiming:
"It's the Golden Gate or I'm a lub
ber! I've made a record passage this
time for the old bark! We're only 93
days from lioston nnd we'll keep it
down to two figures if the wind holds
and have 11 day to spare! Slap the
ennvah on her, Mr. Hider! There's let
ters and fresh r;rub waiting for us over
the starboard bow! Sweat her for nil
she's worth!"
His orders were promptly obeyed,
nnd as Tom rcnehed the deck and camo
nft the captain added:
"We'll soon be ashore, Mr. Seott. If
my reckoning's right, that Is the en
trance to 'Frisco harbor nnd we ought
to be tied up nlongside the dock to
night. You've never been there, have
you?"
Tom replied In tho negative and the
captain continued:
"Well, see here. I don't know how
you're fixed, but I iilwnys live aboard
when I'm in port. It's cheaper nnd 1
keep n good, cook by her. If you like
you can stay with me nnd it won't cost
you a red. I've mndo a rattling trip
and you are welcome."
"Thank you," said Tom. "I'll do so
until I start north, 1 shall be glad to
have a fnnlllar face with me. This is
my first trip, you know."
"He's going to live aboard," chuckled
Obed Klder, who wus standing close by,
"and it'll be queer If he doesn't run Into
tronblo coming down through Tnrfint
some dark night. Things are coming
my way nil right. The fool must enrry
thnt paper somewhere about him nnd
1 can easily find some one to help me
in the job."
Without the slightest, suspicion of
what was passing in the mate's mind
Tom watched him bustling about the
deck and congratulated himself that In
a short time he would see the Inst of
the red-faced sailor who had brought
the only taint of disgrace Into his life.
Early that, evening the .Seabird wns
anchored in the magnificent harbor of
San Francisco, and the long voyage was
over.
oirAivrisK iv.
WAYLAID AND ROI1I1HD.
When Tom Scott went ashore in
'Frisco lie found the city wns Klon
dike mud. On every hnnd were huge
posters calling attention to the su
perior merits of some particular routo
to the fields of gold, nnd men of nil
walks in life, were straining every nerve
to be among the first to reach the Yu
kon with the advent of spring. Several
steamers were loading at the piers, but
every Inch of space on board had been
engagud months ahead. After consult
ing with Capt. Collin he determined to
go by rail to Seattle and trust to luck
to secure a passage from that port,
He. made no mention of the singular
secret bestowed upon him by the old
miner, but frankly told the captain of
the money ho had received from the
same source, nnd the latter promptly
gave him some good advice.
"Ik'lter not. be drifting round 'Fris
co with all that stuil in your pocket,"
lie said. ."I've got 11 good little wife
lure and you're welcome to use It.
There's, some desperate characters on
the water front here, nnd plenty of 'em
would kill a man ten times over for half
your pile. They've nil got the gold
fever now. My second mate is going to
leave me. He's got it, too. Hope the
mate doesn't follow suit."
Tom was wise enough to listen to the
warning and. left tlie larger part of his
money in the safe, 'but he kept the two
precious papers in his money belt, 11
proceeding which he wns to regret very
soon.
He found there wns a special excur
sion advertised, to leave Hie following
morning, and was just in time to secure
a ticket. After taking in the sights of
.the city during the afternoon he pro
cured his supper in a restaurant nnd de
cided to spend the evening u( n thenter,
for it must be remembered that he was
country reared anil with few rare ex
ceptions, when he had visited Roston.n
theater lrul. been beyond. his reach.
He tlioioughty enjoyed the perform
ance and started down toward the wa
ter front when it was finished without
a thought of any danger as he strode
rapidly along the well-lighted thor
oughfares. While he is thus engaged
let us take a look at Obed JMdcr, the vil
lainous mate of the Seabird, dud see
how his schemes aro progressing.
While Tom was wntchlng the foot
light favorites Obed Ilidcr was sitting
in a little drinking saloon near the
wharf where the Scablid had been
docked. Ilefore. him wits a bottle of
liquor and a glance at hisfao wus suffi
cient to show that he had been indulg
ing deeply. His small, bloodshot eyes
were fixed upon vacancy, and he was
apparently meditating deeply,
"He'll be olT to-morrow," he mut
tered, savagely, "and then 1113' chance Is
gone. I must have those papers and
money enough to get nn outfit. Idas
sent get anyone to lend me 11 luyid, for
then the cat would be out of the bag.
If I had that paper the old man give him
what's to hinder my going audi claim
ing to be Mr. Scott? There's a fortune
in it, but it's ugly busbies?."
Filling his glass ngain he drained It
at a gulp as if trying to screw up his
coinage to the necessary point for some
icsolve. Then he looked, at his watch
and said:
"ten o'clock. No time to lose. First
to see if he Is on board yet."
TO WJ CONTINUnn.)
An Indorsement.
"The phrenologist," said the proud
father, "said he had a head you see on
very few boys."
"So he has,"'rei
nlied the nroud fa
ther's friend. "In fact I don't believe I
ever saw that head on any other boy."
N. v. World. .
MISSOURI DEMOCRATS.
rhn Htntn Convention Nominate It Ticket
nnd Adjourn A SynopnU of tlm l'lut-
form Adopted.
KntiRas City, Mo., dune 7. For over
ten hours the 1,21,1 delegates that
made up the democratic state conven
tion of Missouri labored yesterday
In tho big tent In Shelley park. Hut
as 11 result the convent ion turned out
11 vast amount of work, it finished
what it had to do nnd adjourned.
The following Is the ticket nomi
nated: For governor A. M. Mockery, of anltn
tln. Lieutenant governor John A. Lee, of
St. Louis.
Secretary of state Stun 11. Cook,, of
Mexico,
Auditor-Albert O. Allen, of Now' Mad
rid. Treasurer R. 1 Wllllnmn, of Fnyctte.
Rnllrond nnd warehouse commissioner
Joseph Herrlngton, of Bednlln.
Kloctors-nt-lnrgo James A. Reod, of
Kansas City; Wllllnm A. Rothwell, of
Moborly.
District electors First district, K. M.
Rlohmqnd, of Macon; Hecond, C. C. Rig
ger, Carroll; Third, J. W. Sulllnger, Gen
try; Fourth, W. T. Jenkins, l'iutto; Fifth.
W. M. Groves, Lnfayotto; Sixth. Kil
Mnnn, Dado: Hovonth, Herman l'ufnhl,
Polk; Klghth, A. A. Walker, Cooper;
Ninth, O. H. Avery, Lincoln; Tenth. Wll
llnm Jones, St. Louis; Klevonth, R. IX
Lancaster, St. Louis; Twelfth, II. Marks,
St. Louis; Thirteenth, F. F. Mnnsllold,
Wright; Fourteenth, Jesse Shepherd,
Ripley; Fifteenth, Hugh Dabbs, Jasper.
A synopsis of the platform is ns
follows:
ICainil rights to nil, local self-government
nnd Income tnx favored; tho Chl
cngo pint form reiilllrinod; trusts de
nounced; ndhoHlon to the MonrooVdoc
trlne; expansion of tindo favored, but
the establishment of dependent colonies
denounced; construction of Nicaragua
ennal favored; tho upbuilding of our
merchant nmrlne favored; sympathy
extended to tho Uoers; Wllllnm J. Uryun
Indorsed for tho presidency; Missouri
congratulated on tho progress mndo un
der demoerntlo rule by the lessoning of
the state dobt and the fostering of tho
public school system; good roads and tho
taxation of corporatu franchises ndvo
cuted; arbitration In labor disputes fa
vored; tho St. Louis fair approved.
THE DISTURBANCE IN CHINA.
Friend of Amerlruit MlHloiiurleit Ilecom-
lug Alurmed Development t.'liMuly
Wiitelind liy tin, United Mute.
Washington, .June 7. Tho friends ot
the American missionaries in the tils- ,
turbed zone in China aro becoming
ulurmcd nnd the state department is
beginning to feel the pressure of their
efforts to ndopt an nggresslvo policy.
Yesterday inquiries were made us to
the reason for the passive attitude ol
the United States naviil forces in
Chinese, waters while the Hussiuim
are reported to have promptly sent
out military expeditious from Pekln
for the rescue of Hiissian, French mid
Ik'lglnn subjects whose safety was
jeopardized. It was argued that tho
United States murines should havo
been likewise dispatched to the as
sistance of the American missionaries
nt I'no-Tlng-Fu. Meanwhile this de
velopments are. being closely watched
nnd if the next plui.se should be still
worse it is probable that, In addition
to the Ilelenu at least one more war
ship, with a full battalion of murines,
will be ordered up the I'el-Ho river to
Tien Tsin. So far the proposition to
call upon MucArthur for troops to
make up a landing party has not been
broached to the war dopurtment, niid
it. is not. expected that, such a step
will be tnkoii, save as 11 last resort,
for it Is felt, that; it would mark an
entanglement of the United States
in the European designs respecting
China from which it would be cl i 111
cult or imposslblu to sccuru release.
A DISASTROUS FIRE.
Forty ItiilldlngH Horned ttt HiiHunvllIn, fa!.,
from u Illiixe Ktitrtcd In Hluok- ,
mnlrii (Shop.
Iteno, Nov., .Tune 7. A apecial to
the Gazette from Sustinville, Cnl.,says:
Fire which started In Stark's black
smith shop, south side of Main street,
between Lassen and Hoop streets,
cleaned out three blocks, except tho
brick store of Nathan and Schmidt
and the stone store of Alexander &
Knock. It was discovered nt 11:15
o'clock yesterday morning and
spread with great rapidity. Tho
water supply Is good, but no hose or
other facilities for fighting fire wero
to be had. Forty buildings wero
burned. Loss cannot bo estimated
now.
BLOWS FEATHERS OFF FOWLS.
I'ltekliiulioniio Finployrt lit Ktiinun City In-
Yntti Muelilno Thnt Tiikei I'luiuugn
from L'lilcknnii In Hliprt Order.
Kansas City, Mo., June 7. One of
the employes in u local packing-house,
has invented a device for plucking
the feathers from the carcasses of
chickens that is nn improvement over
tho old way of picking them by hand.
The chickens are treated much in tho
way that wheat Is rid of Its chuff.
There is a receptacle in which tho
fowl Is placed after being killed, and
into this is turned several cross-currents
of air from electrical fans re
volving at the rate of o.OOO revolutions
per minute. In the twinkling of an
sye the bird Is stripped of Its feathera
wen to the tiniest particlo of down.
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