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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 1900)
X sr ar S', cr ” ar ar- ar cr- -=r w < • w- ^ «r. <r- s ^ HIS WORD OF HONOR,; A Tale of the Blue and the Gray: BYE. WERNER. Copyright, 1834, by Robert Bonner s Sons. i CHAPTER V. But Florence was silent. She only east a beseeching glance at Edward; but the latter knew his advantage too well. He was aware that there v/o.i still one means of parting the two lovers, and did not delay using the weapon. "You have come at an unfortunate \ time, Mr. Roland.” he said, with eu; ting scorn. "I shall he at your service for the explanation you will probably demand at any hour tomorrow; today ! 1 restot that it is Impossible. At my uncle's urgent desire, my marriage with his daughter takes place this very day; all the arrangements for the ceremony are completed; the justice of the peace will arrive In an hour. You probably understand that our affair must be de ferred for the present." Roland had turned deadly pale; lie scarcely heard the last word3; his eyes rested only on Florence. At last, wit!) a violent effort lie murmured, almost unintelligibly: “You heard. Wlint have you to say? Answer!” Florence stood as if utterly crushed. For the first time she realized how un pardonable her weakness had been, and that the decision which she had regarded as a sacrifice to filial love was really on act of treason to the r.mn to whom her promise and her faith were pledged. In the consciousness of this guilt, she did not even attempt to defend herself, hut, instead of an swering, hurst Into passionate weeping. “I know enough!'’ said William in a hollow tone. "Farewell!" A flash of triumph blazed in Ed ward's eyes, hut he exulted too soon. The moment when William turned from her broke the spell which had trlgue was .snatched from him at the last moment, yet lie did not quit the field like a vanquished man. The menacing glance which rested on the young couple ought to have warned them; it was the look of a r.ian sure of his vengeance and his ultimate triumph. CHAPTER VI. As the door closed behind her cousin, Florence uttered a sigh of re lief. She had feared an Instant out break of the quarrel, which seemed at an end, at least for the moment, hut the last threatening words of the two men had not escaped her notice. “What are you to do?” she asked anxiously. “What is the meaning of the concealed threats you exchanged with Edward? William, I beseech yen—” “Say no more,” he Interrupted grave ly, almost sternly. “This i.s a mailer which concerns us men alone. You hear that no explanation will take place at present. Let that suffice.” Florence looked timidly at him. The dark cloud on his brow was not caused by the dispute with Edward; she knew only too well what had occasioned it. "You are angry witn me—still! ’ she said, softly. “No, I understand that you were de ceived by the intrigue,' th.-.t a father’s Inst wish has a powerful influence, hut I had expected my affianced wife to show more resolution, more coniidence. I, too, remained for months with no message from you; I, too, heard that you assented to the separation your father decreed: but I did not believe it for an instant. What urged me hither was merely the torturing uncertainty, a vague presentiment of misfortune. VSAA^W^/VSAAAWVWWVWWWW IT WAS THE LOOK OP A MAN SURE OF HIS VENGEANCE. held the young woman captivo. She knew that If he crossed the threshold she would lose him forever, and, ere he reached It, she rushed forward, clasp ing his arm with both hands. "William, don’t lenve me so! You eco that I was deceived, ensnared, nnd that unfortunate promise was extorted from me beside ray father’s tick-bed. They gave me no choice, and constant ly told me you had given me up, unii! I believed It." The young officer paused; Ills voice still sounded harsh and bitter, but at least he lingered. "Then choose now,” ho said. “Now the net that ensnared yon is torn, and no one shall prevent your free decision. Choose whose wife you will be." “Yours! Yours!” cried Florence with passionate fervor, as she rushed into his arms. "Protect me, William! You do not know how they have tor tured me!’’ “Yes, I see It,’’ he said, bending to ward her. His resentment could not endure against this touching entreaty. Clasp ing her hand In his, he turned reso lutely to Harrison. "My fiancee’s explanation la sufficient for me, and, I hope, for you also. As she has been the victim of a fraud-—” Edward started at the insult, and was about to answer, but Roland save him no opportunity. “Well, call It delusion, If the word sounds better. The fact remains the same, and also the part which you have played In It. You probably will not refuse to account to mo for It. even though there must be delay. In this house and at the hour when the man •who also was a father to you lies on his death-bed, such a dispute cannot be settled. So I yield to necessity nud shall wait a more fitting season.” Edward looked as if he~wer™on~tli'iil" point of rushing upon his enemy. The icy contempt in Roland’s words en raged him even more than the insults themselves, but by exerting all his strength of will, he controlled himself. •“'A more fitting season!”’ he re peated. “You are right, Mr. Roland. I, too, can wait, and perhaps the hom for settlement will come before you expect It." He turned slowly toward the d*;or. His game was lost: the prlxe for whose sake he had humoled himself to In Had I arrived a few ’lours later, I should have found you another’s wife.” Florence bowed her head In con scious guilt. Sho had so dreaded this fate, yet had not had courage to boldly resist it. But for tills Intervention, she would Indeed have fallen a victim to it. "I am brave only when you are at uiy side,” she confessed. “Do not re proach mo, William! I was so utterly deserted; but now you are here again, and all will be well.” He gazed silently at tho pale, sweet face raised so imploringly to his, and the reproof died on his lips. He loved this tender, yielding creature, with her gentle unselfishness, and It new that she was capable of any sacrifice as soon as a strong hand guided un i directed her. “Then show me that you can be brave and steadfast when only my love, not my presence, protects you," he re plied. “I cannot stay with you as you expect: my leave of absence gives me only a few hours more. I must rejoin my regiment today, and God alone knows when I shall be permitted to see you again.” At his first words Florence's fea tures expressed vague anxiety; now she started In sudden terror. “You are going? You will leave me?” ' I must. I gave my colonel my word of honor to return at sunset. This was the solo condition on which he would permit me to ride here. I must keep this promise.” "And leave me alone, exposed to the full fury of the storm which Edward will raise. You mortally insulted him, fluug the word ‘fraud’ into his face. He will avenge himself for it, and on me, if you are out of reach.” "Then come with me,” said William, with desperate resolution. “Cast every thing behind ”you ~ancl~f6TIow~'Hre~'S:f once. Our marriage has long been agreed upon. We shall find within our lines a Justice of the peace and a priest, | will perform the ceremony. Day after tomorrow—tomorrow even—you can be my wife. Then come what may, at least nothing can separate us.” < "And my father?” replied the young girl, with a trembling voice. “Must he, In his last hour, call In vain for his child? Must a stranger's hand close his eyes? So long as he breathes, my place is at his side.” "You are right! ,1 forgot. You are hound; but. bo, too, am I. You hear. I gave my word of honor, and where duty calls—" “Duty? To whom? Your first, most sacred duty Is to protect me. I shall stay. I have not the heart to leave my father. You will go, when you see that I ding to you in mortal anguish? Wil liam, cur love is at stake!” "And so is my honor! Florence! Merciful heaven! Hear me! Do not torture me longer by your entreaties! Do you not understand that I must go, even though the whole happiness of xny life depended on my remaining!” She really did not understand. The spoiled, idolized daughter of the rich planter could not believe that anything could be more valued than herself. She had had before her eyes the dan gerous example cf a passion which ret aside duty and honor to gain her hand. Only an hour before she had heard the confession from Edward's lips. From William she always heard of honor and duty; and the old suspicion that there was a lack of love stirred in her heart. And yet, her whole soul drew her to the man who seemed so hard and un yielding—she would not lose him. “William!” There was no reproach in her voice now. The tones were sweet and persuasive. “William, do not leave me; you do not know what 1 must encounter during the next few hours. My father will demand the ful fillment of my promise. If I refuse, the excitement will perhaps cguse his death. Then I shall be wholly In Ed ward's power, and you do not know him as I do. He has a fiendish will, which can overcome all resistance. During his suit I have often felt likn the bird spellbound by the gaze of the serpent. It knows that it is going to destruction, yet flutters into its jaws. Have you courage to leave me to this power? I—fear it.” With feminine Instinct, she had touched the right chord. William's jealousy, blazed up at the thought of the possibility suggested. He, too, knew Edward, and was aware that Ed ward would make every effort to wrest from him the prize which he had just regained. Florence was not created for a heroine. To leave her now was In deed to loose her. Torn from the shel tering trunk, she would flutter help lessly, like a vine in the storm, and become a prey to the tempest. Roland made no reply, but a ter rible conflict was raging in his soul. Now, for the first time, he understood the warning of Colonel Burney, who had been unwilling to let him go into temptation. He had manfully resisted It, when Harrison assailed him; but It was very different to stand face to face with Florence, listen to her entreaties and see her tears. The young officer loved her with all the passion of his four and-twenty years, and his strength threatened to forsake him. Florence saw the conflict in his face, and, clinging to him like a timid dove, she pleaded more and more fervently, while the temptation stole nearer and nearer. After all, why was it neces sary that he should return today? There was no battle in prospect; the soldier would not bo missed from his post. What if he should stay merely until the morrow? Much—nay, every thing—would be decided by that time. Death was already knocking at the door, and, as soon as Mr. Harrison passed from earth, his daughter would lie free to follow her lover. Until tomorrow! A pretext was easily found. Spring field was within the enemy’s lines. The way might be obstructed; return im possible; any one of the hundred perils which threatened the daring rider might intervene. It was but a word which stood between him and his hap piness—true, his word of honor. (To be continued.) Paving Stones and Devolutions. The reasons why another reign of terror was not recently Inaugurated in France is thus stated by the Chicago Times-Herald: “One hundred—fifty -twenty-five years ago these things would have set the mobs going. They would be throwing paving stones at one another! Paving stones? Ah, there is the secret of the whole matter. The mobs have been robbed of their am munition. The people stand ready to hoist the red flag and run riot, but what are the bare hands against maces and muskets? The rioter stoops to pick up a paving stone, and his fingers scratch vainly along the smooth sur face of the asphalt with which most of the streets of Paris are now paved, Ciel! He is helpless! He straightens up and stares vaguely about him for a moment, and then some commissary of police runs him In. Men and women follow, shouting and shaking their fists, but there are no paving stones for them to hurl. So the Republic continues to stand. It is wonderful! A little bit of asphalt prevents the killing of people by the scores, and history is robbed of whole chapters of bloody details. Vive le tar barrel!" Dangerous Friction. An insurance adjuster was sent to a Massachusetts town to adjust a loss on a building that had been burned. “How did the fire start?" asked an “acqtTiTTntntTce -who-eaet-feha- ©ft-fa-is homeward trip. “I couldn't say certainly, and no body seemed able to tell,” said the ad juster, "but it struck me that it might have been the result of fric tion.” “What do you mean by that?" ask ed his friend. “Well,” said the insurance man, gravely, “friction sometimes comes from rubbing a ten-thousand-dollar policy on a flve-thousand-dollar build MCTOBAL CONTRASTS DIFFERENT CONDITIONS UNDER TWO ADMINISTRATIONS. nisraal .Scene* of I’overtjr ;i nt Suffering Hire (More to (irntifyiuj; Representa tion of tlie Splendid 1’rospnrfy Vleible on Krrrjr Ifaud. This wpek's American Economist presents two Illustrations w'hich preach a sermon and tell a story of peculiar interest and significance. The first, a photographic reproduction of a scene of actual occurrence, brings into view a condition which existed in Jan uary, 1894, less than a year after the Inauguration of Grover Cleveland as president of the United States. The ad ministration of President Cleveland was distinctly committed to the policy of free trade, and from the moment the result of the presidential election of November, 1892, became known, the country began to feel the stress and stringency of the changed industrial and economic outlook. A year and a quarter later, the period at which the scene portrayed In the first picture occurred, the wage earners of the Unit ed States were brought face to face with the disastrous consequences in volved in the triumph of free trade. Out of work, out of money, their wives and children suffering for lack of food and clothing, eagerly thronged the places where relief was dispensed. One among these numerous places was tho New York Herald building, corner of Broadway and Ann street, where free clothing was handed out to the needy. It was a charity which honored the generous proprietor of the Herald and which went far toward mitigating the sufferings of the poor In that never to-be-forgotten free trade winter of 1893-1894. The charity was the wor thier on the part of the Herald, be cause of tho element of reparation en tering into It. we uuw iu Lilt; aecuiiu yaiiuvi which appears in the New* York Her ald of Dec. 5, 1899. Three years and a month have elapsed since the ver dict of the people at the presidential election of November, 1896, was made known in favor of a protective tariff. Instead of the dismal scenes of poverty seeking the dole of free soup and free clothing, we have a picture of Uncle Sam, his features expressing supreme gratification, standing by the side of a chimney in whose dense mass of escap ing smoke are seen the outlines of the word “PROSPERITY,” while a huge placard announces the fact that During the past week the wages of 36,700 operatives In Fall ltlver, Lowell and Now Hertford have been advanced 10 per cent. The New York Herald was for many years a strenuous advocate of free trade for the United States. It is not so strenuous now. Otherwise it would hardly have furnished the second pic ture of a pair which tell so vividly and so convincingly the story of contrast ing conditions under two administra tions. BARGAIN COUNTER THEORY. Our Products Not Sold Abroad for Less Than at Home. One of the arguments most generally urged against the protective tariff sys tem by its opponents is that American products are frequently sold to foreign consumers for less than they are sold at home. The same objection might be urged against the bargain counter sales of the American merchant. He has a surplus and cannot afford to hold it over until the next season, to be put up in competition with new and fresh goods, even of the same manufacture. The bargain day sales of the mer chant do not affect the salaries of his employes, they are of some benefit to those who buy, and although they may not add to the profit side of the mer chant’s account, they at least save him from loss. The manufacturer cannot exactly es timate the quantity of goods he can sell during the season, but he knows he must have enough, and he further more feels that he is in duty bound to furnish his employes full employment, and therefore lets his mills go full time. If he has a surplus and can dis pose of it at cost in a foreign country it saves him from loss, helps the pur chaser to the extent of reduction in price, and above all, enables him to give his labor full employment. Is there anything wrong in the FREE TRADE MEANT FREE CLOTHING. Result of the New \ork Heralds leaching—The Distribution of Free Cloth ing in the Herald’s Ann Stree t Building, January 19, 1894. transaction? The thinking man will say no. The fact of the matter is, however, that American products are never sold in foreign markets for less than they are at home. That they are sold, however, at less price than the foreign manufacturer can produce them for, is an acknowl edged fact. This is the misfortune of the foreigner. The superiority of our skilled labor and improved labor saving machinery enables us to-do this, and we do it. Can any one find fault with us for doing so?—St. Louis Star. FREE TRADE BOSH. The Assertion That President McKin ley Leant Toward Cobtlenigm. The New York Times seems to be taxing its resources to save the Demo cratic party. It sees that Mr. Bryan and all that he stands for on silver, trusts and expansion can only make that party less popular with the people, j It has finally hit upon a scheme by which the party can be reinstated and the country saved from untold disaster, namely, by abandoning its position on silver, trusts and the Philippines, and standing for the simple issue of tariff destruction. Let the party declare for putting all trust products on the free list and make “a determined assault upon the 52 per cent Dingley tariii" and its popularity with the people is assured. It takes the recent remarks by President McKinley and Postmas ter-General Charles Emery Smith, favoring foreign commerce, as certain evidence that t.he administration is rapidly getting in line for free trade, and warns the Democratic party that if it docs not hurry up and get upon this anti-tariff platform the Republicans will be ahead of it, and then its j chances of success will be gone for another generation. Mr. Bryan may j lack political insight in adhering to the 16-to-l proposition, but in his wild est moments he has never exhibited such mental chaos as is revealed In the notion that President McKinley and his postmaster-general have turned their backs on protection, and that free trade would be a popular issue for 1900. Such a notion can only be entertained on the assumption that the American nation is composed of sev enty-five millions of people “mostly fools.” Besides this deliverance Mr. Bryan’s talk really sounds like states manship.—Uunton’s Magazine, Decern her, 1899. No Tariff Tinkering. Representative Payne of New York, chairman of tho house committee on ways and means, is certain that the present congress will do no tariff tin kering. “The Fifty-sixth congress has important work on its hands,” said he in a recent interview. “There will be no tariff legislation during the present session. The condition of the country is today thoroughly prosperous and^ will continue so unless ill-advised and radical legislation affecting the busl up?fNl'GT*TWE~ PAST ^ WEEK THE WAGES £ ,j| ^OF 56,700 OPERATIVES FallR i ver , Lowell -§F~AND New BEDFORD <5- HAVE BEEN ADVANCED ff|0 per. CENT. '13 -—New York Herald, Dec. 5, 1899. ness and financial interest of the na tion is enacted during the next few years. “The country demands and should have a settled and assured policy in re spect to those questions. The Dingley law as a revenue producer has more than satisfied those responsible for its enactment, and has proved gratifying to the people of the country gener ally. “It has furnished ample revenue to carry on the government from the mo ment the sugar and wool schedules be gan to operate. I am convinced that | the happy results it has produced will be permanent.” Representative Payne is right. The Dingley law has proved so satisfactory and in all ways beneficial to the coun try that the people have no desire to interrupt its operations for some time to come. Protection and the Gold Reserve. The treasury statement for October 13 shows that the gold reserve in the treasury stands at $257,746,906. The Democratic “endless chain” seems powerless to draw the gold out of the treasury during a Republican admin istration. When we had free trade, or tariff reform, the Democratic adminis tration sold over $262,000,000 in inter est bearing bonds to obtain gold with which to maintain the gold reserve and to pay current expenses of the govern ment. There has been no drain on the gold in the treasury since the Repub licans were placed in charge of it, be cause the people have full confidence in the financial ability of the Republic an party. If the Democratic party was placed in power tomorrow our un paralleled prosperity would vanish, our gold reserve would melt away like snow in August, and before six months had passed the “endless chain” would be doing business at the old stand, bonds would be sold to pay expenses and maintain the gold reserve, busi ness would be paralyzed and before a year had passed the country would be swept by a panic, and labor would be thrown out of employment.—Benton (111.) Republican. Historic Phrases A la Atkinson. From the Mobile Register: If the fashion prevails of bewailing our na tion’s effort to maintain the dignity of Its flag in the face of the enemy, we will have to revise the saying of those who once were national heroes and ask our children to study them in the fol lowing shape: Give up the ship.—Law rence. Be sure you are right, then apologize for it.—Davy Crockett. We have met the enemy, and ours are theirs.—Oliver Hazard Perry. Wait un til you see the whites of their eyes, boys; then run.—Andrew Jackson. Don’t hold the fort; I’m running.—W. T. Sherman. Damn the torpedoes; take a sneak.—David Glasgow Farra gut. I propose to get out of this line if it takes all summer.—U. S. Grant. There stands Jackson like a stone wall, but he is a fool to do it.—Gen. Lee. „ When you are ready, Gridley, you may skedaddle.—Dewey. Doing Very Well. The offer of the treasury department to redeem $25,000,000 worth of govern ment bonds Is an unmistakable indi cation of the flourishing condition of our national finances. The lack of readiness shown by the holders of bonds to take advantage of the offer of the secretary of the treasury Is an equally reliable indication of the very satisfactory condition of commercial affairs throughout the country. The Dingley law seems to be doing pretty well, both by the government and by the people generally. Ob, the Sadness of Prosperity! “Everything seems to be lost for the time being in the whirl of money-mak ing—the pursuit of money.”—John R. McLean, in Cincinnati Enquirer. This is the pathetic way in which the candidate defeated on a platform of calamity and discontent describes general prosperity. The situation, as Mr. McLean de scribes it, may seem sordid, but it is all right.—New York Sun MuMore Favorable. No other word than triumph does justice to the results of the Dingley law. No matter where the test is ap plied its workings are far more favor able than any tariff ever devised by a i Democratic congress.—St. Louis Globe Democrat.