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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1905)
THE MASTER OF APPLEBY | ! i • ..- By Francie Lynda. ■ ■ '-■ ■ -"»■-'■■■■• -'. ' % i »»« ««»»0****^***i***OAAA^*/tAAA»A»A*<» CHAPTER XXXI.—Continued. Bat when tne strain was off and DM wan up and lit again, the misery eg It al] came back with added goad tngs. 1 had never dreamed how cut ting sharp 'twould be to see these two together day by day; to see her loving, tender care of him, and to hear him bahMe of hla love for her in his fever ish vaporings Tet all this I must en durm. mud with it a thing even harder. Bor. to make It worse, if worse could he. the shadow of complete estrange ment had Mien between Margery and m True to her word, given in that meanest when I had besought her not t« apeak aloud for her own safety’s oaka, she had never opened her lips to mo; and for aught she said or did I might have been a deaf mute slave be neath her notice. •a she drew away from me, »ne to draw the closer to Richard aur, nursing him alive when he _ at his worst, and giving him all the womanly care and sympathy a sick mss longs for. And later, when he was fit to tide again, she had him always at her side in the onward faring. Am I have said before, this was all aa I would have it. Yet it made me •tck In my soul's soul; and at times I nut needs fall behind to rave It out la aelltude, cursing the day that I was bora, and that other mlsfortunate day when 1 had reared the barrier Impass able between these two. What wonder, then, that, as we asored the fighting field of the great war, I grew more set upon seizing the llrot chance that might offer an honor able escape from all these heartburn ings? Twai a weakness, If you choose; I set down here naught but the simple fact, which had by now gone as far beyond excuslngs ns the underly ing cause of It was beyond forgiveness. *Twas on the final day. the day when we were riding tantivy to reach Qn sens borough by evening, that my deRvorance came. I say deliverance because at the moment It had the look mt o abort shrift and a ready halter. Wo had crossed our own Catawba •ad were putting our horses at the steep bank on the outcomlng side, when my saddle slipped. Dismounting to listen the girth. I called to the others to pfees on, saying I should overtake them shortly. Tbs promise was never kept. I scarce had by head under the saddle gap before a couple of stout knaves In homespun, appearing from I know not whose; had me fast gripped by the anas, whilst a third made sure of the "A dispatch rider," said the bigger of the two who pinioned me. "Search him, Martin, lad, whilst I hold him; then j well pay him out for Tarleton’s hang ing of poor Sandy M’Gulre.” I held my peace and let them search, •ea-tug the threat for a bit of soldier bsByragglng meant to keep me quiet. But when they had turned the pockets mt my borrowed coat Inside out and tipped the lining and made It otherwise as much the worse for their mis handling as it was for wear, the third man fetched a rope. "Did you mean that, friend?—about tfce hnnglng?" I asked, wondering If this should be my loophole of escape ' from the life grown hateful. ] "Sure enough," said the big man, * coolly. “You'd best be saying your I psnyers." f I laughed. "Were you wearing my ; eeat and I yours, you might hang me '■ and welcome; in trutn, you may as it i la Which tree will you have me at?” | The man stared at me as one de mented. Then he burst out In a guffaw. "Damme, If you bean't a cool plucked one? Tve a mind to take you to the cdond.** “Don't do It, my friend. Though I sun something loath to be snuffed out by the men of my own side, we need net haggle over the niceties. Point out your tree." “No; by God! you’re too willing. What’s «t the back of all this?" “Bathing, save a decent reluctance to spoil your sport. Have at it, man, and let’s be done with It.” Tfot If you beg me on your knees. YePlI go to the colonel, I say, and he may hang you If he sees fit. You must he a most damnable villain to want to die by the first rope you lay „eyes on.” “That Is as It may be. Who Is your colonel?” "Nay, rather, who are you?” ] gave my name and circumstance and was loosed of the hand-grip, though the third man dropped the cord and stepped hack to hold me covered with his rifle. “An Jreten, you say ? Not little Jock. •urely!” “Wo. big Jock; big enough to lay you •B your back, though you do have a hand as thick as a ham.” He Ignored the challenge nnd stuck to bis text. “I never thought to see the bsw of old Mad-bull Roger wear tag a rad coat.” he said. “That Is nothing. Many as good a Whig as 1 am has been forced to wear a red coat ere this, or go barebacked. But why don’t you knot the halter? In common justice you should either hang me or feed me. ’Tts hard upon noon, and I breakfasted early.” “Fall in!” said the big man; and so : 1 eras marched quickly aside from the road and Into the denser thlcketlng of ; the wood. Here my captors blind Mded me. and after spinning me around to make me lose the compass potato hurried me away to their en ' component which was Inland from the ttnua though not far, for I could still bear the dlstance-minished splashing ; of the water. ■ When the kerchief was pulled from mr eyes I was standing In the midst of a mounted riflemen’s halt-camp, face to flare with a yoUng officer wearing the | bbWsshj of the colonelcy In the North OjuoHss home troops. He wras a hand some young fellow, with curling hair ■ end trim side-whiskers to frame a face j fine-lined and eager—the face of a gen tleman well-born and well-bred. “Captain Ireton?" he said; by which ; I guessed that one of my capturers had 1 run on ahead to make report. (j “The same.” I replied. “Amt you are the son of Mr. Jus Bee Baser Ireton. of Appleby Hun ; dredr !{ “I have that honor. He gave me his hand most cordially. j| "Ton are very welcome, Captain: 1 Davie Is my name. I trust we may' tame to know each other better. You j are In disguise, as I take It; do you I bring news of the army?" J; “On the contrary. I am thirsting for avWB," I rejoined. "I and three others : feave but now returned from pursuing 1 a British and Indian powder convoy f feta the mountains to the westward. hare been out live weeks and j. more” He looked at me curiously. "You and \ three others?" he queried. "Come apart ' and te® me about It whilst Pompey Is ; broiHng the vgnlson. I scent a whole I Iliad In that’word of yours. Captain1 * Ireton." “nee thing first. If you please. Col - I •net r'nyfe." I begged. "My compan ions are faring forward on the road to: Queensborough. They know naught of my detention. Will you send a man to overtake them with a note from me?” The colonel Indulged me In the most gentlemanly manner; and when my note to Jennifer was dispatched we sat together at the roots of a great oak and I told him all that had befallen our little rescue party. He heard me through patiently, and when the tale was ended was good enough to say that I had earned a com- \ mission for my part In the afTalr. X laughed and promptly shifted that burden to Ephraim Yeates’ shoulders. | "The old hunter was our general. Colonel Davie. He did all the planning and the greater part of the executing. But for him and the friendly Catawba, It would have gone hard with Jennifer and me." I "I fear you are over-modest captain, was all the reply I got; and then my kindly host fell amuse. When he spoke again 'twas to give me a resume In brief of the military operations north I and south. | At the north, as his news ran, affairs remained as they had been, save that now the French king had sent an army to supplement the fleet, and Count Roehambeau and tbo allies were en camped on Rhode Island ready to take the field. In the south the distressful situation we had left behind us on that August Sunday following the disastrous battle of Camden was but little changed. Gen eral Gates, with the scantiest follow ing, had hastened first to Salisbury and later to Hillsborough, and had since been busy striving to reassemble his scattered foes. A few military partisans, like my host, had kept the Held, doing what the few might against the many to retard my Lord Cornwallis' northward march; and a week earlier the colonel with his handful of mounted riflemen had dared to oppose his entry Into Charlotte. " 'Twas no more than a hint to his lordship that we were not afraid of him,” said my doughty colonel. "You know the town. I take It?” "Very well, indeed.” "Well, we had harassed him all the way from Blair’s Mill, and 'twas mid- j night when we reached Charlotte. There we determined to make a stand and give him a taste of our mettle. We dismounted, took post behind the stone wall of the court house green and un- j der cover of the fences along the road." "Good! an ambush," said I. "Hardly that, since they were look ing to have resistance. Tarleton was sick, and Major Hanger commanded the British van. He charged, and we peppered them smartly. They tried It again, and this time their Infantry out flanked us. We abandoned the court house and formed again in the eastern edge of the town; and now, bless you! 'twas my Lord Charles himself who had to ride forward and flout at his u.en for their want of enterprise." "But you could never hope to hold on against such odds!” I exclaimed. "Oh, no; but we held them for a third charge, and beat them back, too. Then they brought up two more regi ments and we mounted and got off In tolerably good order, losing only six men killed. But Colonel Francis Locke was one of these; nnd my brave Joe Graham was all but cut to pieces—a sore blow to us just now." The colonel sighed and silence fell upon us. 'Twas I who broke It to say: "Then we are still playing a losing hand In the south, as I take It?" “ 'Tls worse than that. As the game stands we have played our trumps and have not so much as a long suit left. Cornwallis will go on as he pleases and overrun the state, and the militia will never stand In front of him again un der Horatio Gates. Worse still, Fergu son Is oft to the westward, embodying the tories by the hundred, and we shall have burnings and hangings and har rylngs to the king's taste.” I nursed my knee a moment and then said: "What may one man do to help. Colonel Davie?" He looked up quickly. "Much, if you are that man, and do not value your life too highly, Captain Ireton.” "You may leave that out of the ques tion," said I. “1 shall count It the hap piest moment of my life when I shall have done something worth their kill ing me for." Again he gave me that curious look I had noted before. Then he laughed. "If you were as young as Major Joe Graham, and had been well crossed in love, I could understand you better, captain. But, jesting aside, there Is a thing to do, and you are the man to do it. Our spies are thick In Cornwallis’ camp, but what Is need is some master spirit who can plot as well as spy for us. Major Ferguson moves as Corn wallis pulls the strings. Could we know the major's Instructions and de signs, we might cut him off, bring the tory uprising to the ground, and so hearten the country beyond measure. I say we might cut him off. though I know not where the men would come from to do It." "Well?” said I. when he paused. "The preliminary Is some better In formation than our spies can give us. Now you have been an officer In the British service, and—” I smiled. "Truly; and I have the honor, if you please to call it so, of his lordship's acquaintance. Also I have that of Colonel Tarleton and the mem bers of his staff, the same having tried and condemned me as a spy at Appleby Hundred some few weeks before this chase I have told you of.” His face fell. "Then, of course, it Is out of the question for you to show' yourself in Cornwallis' headquarters." I rose and buttoned my borrowed coat. "On the contrary, Colonel Davie, I am more than ever at your service. Let me have a cut of your venison and a feed for my horse, and I shall be at my lord's headquarters as soon as the nag can carry me there.” CHAPTER XXXII. IN WHICH I AM BEDDED IN A GARRET. " 'Tts a very pretty hazard. Captain Ireton. But can it be brought oft suc cessfully, think you?” "As I have said, It hangs somewhat upon the safety of my portmanteau. If that has come through unseized to Mr. Pettigrew at Charlotte, and I can lay hands on it. 'twill be half the battle.” "You say you left it behind you at New Berne?” "Yes. Mr. Carey was to forward it as he could." Colonel Davie had given me bite and sup. and I was ready to take the road. My plan, such as it was. had been de termined upon, and to the further ing of it. the colonel had written me a letter to a friend in the town who might shelter me for a night and make the needed inquiry for my belongings. | Also, he had given me another letter. 1 of which more anon, and had pressed upon me a small purse of gold pieces—; a treasure rare enough In patriot hands In that Impoverished time. When all was done, two of my late captors were ordered to set me straight In the road; and some half-hour past1 noon I had shaken hands with the big fellow In homespun who had been so bent upon hanging me without benefit of clergy, had crossed the river, and was making the first looping In a de-t tour which should bring me into Char lotte from the westward. 'Twas drawing on toward evening,, and I had recrossed the river a mile or more-below Appleby Hundred, when I b^gmi to meet the outposts of the British army. I was promptly halted by the first of these; but my borrowed uniform and a ready word or two pass ed me within the lines as a courier rid ing post to headquarters from Major, Ferguson In the west. The lieutenant in command of the first vedette line was not over-curious. He asked me a few questions about the major's plans and dispositions—ques tions which, thanks to Colonel Davie’s Information, I was able to answer glib ly enough, swallowing my tale whole, and was so obliging as to give me the password for the night to help me through the lnnter sentry lines. Thus fortified, I rode on boldly, and having the countersign the difficulties vanished. When I was come to town It was well past candle lighting; and the patrol was out In force. But by dint of using the password freely X made my way unhindered to the house of the gentleman to whom Colonel Da vie 8 letter accredited me. Here, however, the difficulties began. Though the camp of the army lay just without the town to the southward, tha officers were quartered In every house, and that of Colonel Davie's friend was full to overflowing. What was to be done we knew not, but at the last mo ment my friend’s friend thought of an expedient and wrote a note for me whilst I waited, half In hiding, In the outer hall. " 'TIs a desperate chance, but these are desperate times," said my would be helper. "I am Bending you to the town house of one of our plantation seigneur’s—a man who Is fish, flesh op fowl, as his Interest demands. I heap he came In today to take protection, and there is a chance that he will shelter you for the sake of your red coat and a gold piece or two. But I warn you, you must be what you ap pear to be—a soldier of the king—and not what this note of Colonel Davie’s says you are." Seeing a wide field of danger-chances In this haphazarding, I would have asked more about this trimming gentle man to whom I was to be handed on; but at that moment there came a thun dering at the door, and my anxious host was fain to hustle me out through the kitchen as he could, catching up a black boy on the way to be my guide. "God speed you," he said at parting. "Make your footing good for the night If you can, and we’ll see what can be done tomorrow. I’ll send your port manteau around in the morning, If so be Mr. Pettigrew has it." With that I was out In the night again, turning and doubling after my guide, who seemed to be greatly afeard last I should come nigh enough to cast an evil eye upon him. 'Twas but a little distance we had to go, and I had no word out of my black rascal till we reached the door stone of a familiar mansion but one remove from the corner of the court house green. Here, with a stuttering "D-d dis de house, Massa,” he lied and left me to enter asr I could. Since the street was busliy astir with redcoat officers and men coming and going, and any squad of these might be the questioners to doubt my threadbare courier tale, I lost no time in running up the steps and hammering a peal with the heavy knocker. Through the side lights I could see that the wide entrance hall was for the moment un occupied; but at the knocker lifting I had a flitting glimpse of some one—a little man all In sober black—corning down the stair. There was no Immedi ate answer to my peal, but when I would have knocked again the door was swung back and I stepped quick ly within to find myself face to face with—Margery. I know not which of the two of ua was the more dumbfounded; but this I do know; that I was still speechlessi and fair witless when she swept me a low-dipped curtsy and gave me my greeting. "I bid you good evening. Captain Ireton,” she said, coldly; and then with still more of the frost of unwel come In her voice: "To what may we be Indebted for this honor?” Now, chilling as these words were, they thrilled me to my finger tips, for they were the first she had spoken to me since the nlghtof my offending In the black gorge of the far-off western mountains. None the less, they were blankly unanswerable, and had the door been open I should have vanished as I had come. Of all the houses in the town this was surely the last I should have run to for refuge had I known the name of Its master; and It was some upflashlng of this thought that helped me find mv tongue. "I never guessed this was your fa ther's house,” I stammered, bowing low to match her curtsy. "I beg you will pardon me, and let me go as I came.'* (Continued Next Week.) Stimulants and Nerves. Collier's Weekly: The canteen It defended by medical authorities and by leading army officers, and opposed mainly by people to whom temperance is a matter less of scientific than of senjt-rellgloue thought; and the army canteen is the only national temperance Issue at pres ent, although states and towns are ex perimenting with various aspects of prohibition and license. We have Just been reading some Italian statistics wlilcn undertake to show that children with nervous diseases are usually the issue of parents who drink. The statis tician found that 39 per cent, of the children whom he examined were ab normal nervously, a fact which he at tributed In part to the stress of moaern life, but more especially to stimulants taken by the parents, and among stim ulants primarily alcohol. Facts, as he remarks, are more eloquent than De mosthenes, and he is satisfied that the facts connect drinking with the ner vous diseases which he deems peculiar to our times. Actually the evidence about the effects of stimulants in mod eration is still insufficient. That drink is a frightful evil nobody denies. Whether to the temperate nature stim ulants In general, coffee, tea, liquor, to bacco, are good or evil, is far from i proved. People living amid the city rush, in the center of excitement, ap | parently live as long as their relatives I in the country, and are as likely to bo j healthy. Nervous diseases may be less ! the product of modern haste than the | discovery of modern science. We are i all the time discovering new diseases, and all the time the death rate grows less. We live longer as we understand i more. While it is clear, therefore, that stimulants of any kind are dangerous, it Is not clear that nervous diseases are more frequent than they were before they wer.e discovered, and it Is not clear that the general excitement of life is | unhealthy. Jeweled Combs in the Hair. From the New York American. » In the hair this winter women will wear two combs in the back, the lower one smaller than the upper, and both jeweled at the top. These will be varied by the old colonial type of comb, lor a | different style of coiffure, and it is I more than probable that the colonial comb will share favor with its twin sister, the Spanish comb, high and broad and intended to be used effect ively In draping the mantilla upon the head. As mantillas will be among the smart autumn and winter styles, the Spanish comb will be practically in evitable, although as yet not in vogue. Taking Precautions. From the Minneapolis Journal. Governor Blanchard, of Louisiana, was describing the precautions that a certain veteran physician had taken against the spread of a contagious disease. "Knowing the people he had to deal with," Governor Blanchard said, "he saw that his rules were carried out before one of these people left their homes. They had tricked him in the past. He would not be tricked again. He was like the Camden clergyman of my boyhood. "This clergyman once married a certain huckster who, after the ceremony, de clared he was unable to pay a wedding fee, and so, willy nilly, the clergyman had to let him off. "Some years later the good man found the same huckster before him with an other woman. His first wife had died. Now he desired to yoke with a second. "The minister was willing enough to remarry the man, but this time he would take precautions. "So, leading the bridegroom to one side, he held out his hand and said in a low voice: " ‘My fee.’ " ‘Oh, yes, of course,’ said the huskster confusedly, and he placed a banknote in the clergyman’s palm. " ‘Thank you,’ said the clergyman, with a bland smile. ’That is for the first time. Now we will have the fee for this occasion, llease.’ ’’ Six Doctors Failed.' South Bend, Ind.. Sept. 25.—(Spe cial.)—After suffering from Kidney Disease for three years, after taking treatment from six different doctors without getting relief, Mr. J. O. Laude nian of this place found, not only relief but a speedy and complete cure in Dodd's Kidney Pills. Speaking of his cure, Mr. Laudenian says ‘‘Yes, I suffered from Kidney Trou ble for three years an t tried six doc tors to no good. Then I took just two boxes of Dodd’s Ividney Pills and they not only cured my kidneys, but gave me better health in general. Of course I recommended Dodd’s Kidney Pills to others and I know a number now who are using them with good results.” Mr. Laudeman’s case is not an ex ception. Thousands give similar expe riences. For there never yet was a case of Kidney Trouble from Backache to Bright’s Disease that Dodd’s Kid ney Pills could not cure. They are the only remedy that ever cured Bright's Disease. For Sewing Woman’s Comfort. From Good Housekeeping. Whoever provides these things against the stressful times of sewing will find* her seamstress rise up and call her blessed. First, a sheet of light crash or un bleached muslin stretched smooth over the floor and held In place with drug get pins. Second, a big wall pocket for patterns exclusively, the patterns to be folded fiat and slipped each into a big envelope, plainly marked outside. Third, a string of spools of basting cotton, fastened so securely to the post of the sewing chair they cannot possi bly be mislaid. Fourth, a hanging pin cushion upon the sewing chair’s oppo site post—the cushion to be kept always generously full of pins. Fifth, another hanging pin cushion, fastened to the wall close beside the mirror, with an emery bag pendant from It, and a ser viceable needle book fastened to the back. Sixth, a handy scrap basket, not too light. Seventh, a press board, cov ered with flannel, and further provided with two clean white «|lps. Eighth, a tiny oil or alcohol stove, with an Iron to heat over It, both to be kept In a small wooden box that makes an excel lent rest for the stove when In use. Ninth, shears with cutting edges and easy rivets that are yet not too loose. Tenth, blunt,pointed scissors for trim ming out armholes and so on in the process of trying on—also a hook in the mirror frame from which to hang the scissors so they cannot possibly get out of place. Eleventh, a folding table with deep drawer, the drawer given up to unmade stuff, or linings and find ings, Twelfth, plenty of the handy portable hooks whlcn come already fastened to boards, and can readily be attached to the wall without much defacing It—they are for hanging things new and old out of the way. Lastly and mostly, a good sewing machine, well cleaned, well oiled, in thorough repair, and a great plenty of needles and of thread In all colors, of all sorts, sizes and conditions. ■ ■ A GET POWER. The Supply Comes from Food. If we get power from food, why not strive to get all the power we can. That is only possible by use of skil fully selected food that exactly tits the requirements of the body. Poor fuel makes a poor Are and a poor Are is not a good steam producer. “From not knowing how to select the right food to At my needs, I suf fered grievously for a long time from stomach troubles.” writes a lady from a little town in Missouri. “It seemed as if I would never bo able to And out the sort of food that was best for me. Hardly anything that 1 could eat would stay on my stomach. Every attempt gave me heart burn and tilled my stomach with gas. I got thinner and thinner until I literally became a living skeleton and in time was compelled to keep to my bed. “A few months ago I was persuaded to try Grape-Nuts food, and it had such good effect from the very begin ning that I have kept up its use ever . i-e. I was surprised at the ease with wuleh 1 digested it. It proved to be just what 1 needed. All my unpleasant symptoms, the heart-burn, the inAated feeling which gave me s. much pain disappeared. My weight gradually in creased from 08 to 110 pounds, my Ag ure rounded out. my strength came back, and I am now able to do my housework and enjoy it. The Grape Nuts food did it.” Name given by Postum Co., Battle Creek, Mich. A ten days’ trial will show anyone some facts about food. “There’s a reason.” THE RESCUE OF THE CHINA1 And Some Front Porch Vaudeville. From the Kansas City Star. Before the receiver was half way to Mr. Blither's ear he could distinguish the eXclted voice of his wife almost shrieking: "Call Mr. Blithers to the phone, please. Oh, Is that you Blithie dear? Come home right away and unlock ths door and oh! burry. Don't lose a min ute! I'm outside and I know he’ll break the cut glass tumblers," and bang! went the connection leaving Mr, Blither’s face a study In questioning amazement. Knowing that his wife never called him "Blithie dear” except In stressful moments, he decided to go at once and so boarded the first Brooklyn avenu* car. ' As he turned the corner a very un usual sight greeted him. Mrs. Blithers in dusting cap and apron, the center ol a group of neighbors all cutting thi most extraordinary capers on the lawn, now tapping on the pantry window, and making "faces,” now playing peep boo behind their hands, Mrs. McCorkle dancing impossible steps to Mrs. Blith er’s elaborate patting. On closer in spection, he discovered the face of his 2-year-old son pressed against the pane from within, highly amused by the unusual entertainment. "Oh, I’m so glad you’ve come, at last. We’ve kept him amused at the window for a half hour and I’m nearly dead, You see, I was dusting the china cab inet and stepped out to shake my dust er, when the babv slammed the door after me.” hurriedly explained Mrs. Blithers as her husband'was reaching for his keys and fingering the bunch for the proper one. "Do hurry, for all the china is out on the table and oh— uh—I’m sure I heard something break ing.” But Mr. Blithers was by now trans fixed with despair. His latch key was In his other trousers, safely locked In the house. “If you hadn't had those horrid snap things put on all the doors and win dows this never would have happened. If he breaks my daffodil plate or the Tiffany vase I shall never speak to you again,” this with a tearful sniff. "My dear," calmly replied her hus band .“those horrid snap things were put on because you were afraid of burglars. But this is no time for tears or sarcasm." How to get in and save the treasures from the little vandal hands was the question. After a careful tour of every nook and cranny, it was discovered that the house was as Impregnable as the Rock of Gibraltar. The antics of the group at the win dow were palling on the little prisoner and something must be done and’ done quickly. Fortunately it was a modern house, modern to the extent of the ice box paving an opening through the wall through which the iceman filled it. This was the only hope; but such a meager hope. The opening was for a hundred pounds of ice and Mr. Blither’s girth fivas what one might term ample. “You must do it. If you don’t I will, and how will that look for you to stand by and me to crawl in head first?" Mrs. Blithers grew fairly hysterical. At the picture her huband hesitated ho longer. Off came his coat and cuffs. . “Keep up the show around there. We'll be in in a jiffy," called he as cheerfully as if he hadn't just dropped h chunk of ice on his new Panama. : The ice all removed it was next his (wife’s turn to take out the provisions, and surely never before had the box peen so filled with “eatables.” It cer tainly seemed she could not come to (the bottom. After surrounding herself f.vith a goodly row of cantaloupes, Itomatoes, cold meat, yeast, cream, milk, jcheese and innumerable dainties, she jarose with a relieved look. ‘ "Now, dear, all we’ve to do, is to open (the door.” ; But to open the refrigerator door jlocked on the other side! All efforts proved in vain. At last Mrs. Blithers (brought the clothes prop and heroically said: “Break it in; I don't care.” Mr. Blithers gave a confident “chug,” but no result, and with each successive "chug” the good-natured smile which had so far wreathed his face faded un til when the door at last gave way, those behoind noticed an angry red even behind his ears. Now came eight different suggestions as to the method of procedure from eight interested neighbor women, borne in dignified though omnious silence by the leading actor. Then politely but acidly he intimated that he preferred a smalled audience for the rest of the en trance. First he tried head foremost. That wouldn’t do. He couldn’t get any use of his arms that way. It must be feet first. In he sllppe^ them, steadied by his wife, and thenltvRh a gentle boost he made good progress, until his belt refused to pass over the floor of the chest. At this interesting point Mrs. Mc Corkle ran hurriedly around the corner of the pantry. “He won’t stay at the window any longer and I heard a dreadful crash just now. Do hurry, Mr. Blithers!” 4 Hurry! That was the last straw. Hurry, to a man caught in an aperture the circumference of which was two inches smaller than his waist measure. Although his breath was very short he managed to say something that sound ed like “empty headed chatterbox" and .“giggling Idiots,” for Just as his dis comfort was about to refit itself in more explosive words he was greeted J»y shrieks of laughter. The banished onlookers had been peeping, and when they discovered him stuck in the hole it was too much to restrain their merriment. In a moment a deep bass ha-ha Joined them from the unfortunate man, who could not but see the ridiculous in the situation. Laughing heartily they each lent a willing hand to boost. Either this, or his own laughter dislodged his belt, and in he slipped. A radiant face greeted Mrs. Blithers as she burst in through the now open door. “Why, dear, the pantry door was closed and he hasn’t been near the china; he was playing with a boxful of pieces saved from your other broken dishes. That was the crash you heard.” and they covered the aston ished Billy with kisses._ Undoubtedly. "Papa, what Is the meaning of the ex pression ‘animated bustle?’ " “Where did you see it used?” "This story says: ‘At the picnic there was all at once an animated bustle.’ ’’ "Oh, someone undoubtedly sat on an ant hill." _ For the Military Expert. George," said Mrs. Dovekins, "I wish you’d tell me something.” •What is it love?” "If it's always such a serious thing when one army turns another flank— and it seems that they are always bound to do it—why do they have Hanks?”—Chicago Record-Herald. Soldiers in France are allowed to cultivate gardens in any spare ground about barracks, and to help out their rations by growing vegetables. About 1.500.000 persons are employed in the coal mines of the world CHRONIC ERYSIPELAS Sured by Dr. Williams’ Pink Pill*, Although Whole Body was Affectod. Erysipelas or St. Anthony's fire is a most uncomfortable disease on account of the burning, the paiu and the dis figurement ; it is also a very grave dis order, attended always by the danger of1 involving vital organs in its spread. The case which follows will be read with great interest by all sufferers as it affected the whole body, nnd refused to yield to the remedies prescribed by the physician employed. Mrs. Ida A/Col bath, who was the victim of the attack, residing at No. 19 Winter street, New buryport, Mass., says : “ In June of 1903 I was taken ill with what at first appeared to be a fever. I sent for a physician who pronounced my disease chronic erysipelas and said it would be a longtime before I got well. “ Inflammation began on my face and Bpread all over my body. My eyes were swollen and seemed bulging out of their sockets. I was in a terrible plight and suffered the most intense pain through out my body. The doctor said my case was a very severe one. Under his treatment, however, the inflamma tion did not diminish and the pains which shot through my body increased in severity. After being two mouths un der his care, without any improvement, I; dismissed him. “Shortly after this, on the advice of a friend, I began to take Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People, two at a dose three- times a day. After the second box had been used I was surprised to notice that the inflammation was going down and that the pains which used to cause me so much agony had disappeared. Af ter using six boxes of the pills I was up and around the house attending to my household duties, as well as ever.” Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills are sold by all dealers in medicine or may be ob tained direct from the Dr. Williams' Medicine Co., Schenectady, N.Y. Road Linked with History. From Everybody’s Magazine. A hundred years ago the eyes of America were on the southwest. We were on the edge of war rvith Spain over the closing of the Mississippi; and1 under orders from Washington, Wil kinson, in command of Fort Adams, held solemn conclave with the Indians, who owned the east bank of the big river, and by treaty established a sa cred postroad through their country. It left Nashville on the old Buffalo trace, crossed the Tennessee at Col bert’s ferry below the Mussel shoals, and striking the hills back of the Big Black, came down to Natchez and on to New Orleans, with a branch to the Walnut hills. The road was more than • a military necessity, for so many pi rates infested the Mississippi that mer chants returning from New Orleans needed the safer route home with their money. After it was opened it became all things to the southwest. Methodism went down that way in the person of Tobias Gibson; later, Lorenzo Dow fol lowed him with the camp meeting spirit. Old Hickory marched his army down to Natchez over this route in 1813, and marched it back again the next spring. And from that day till nearly our own it has been the great center of that country’s activity. Now the railroads have come, the settlers have moved down into the valleys' and opened up poorer roads in the beds of branches and through swampy low lands. But the Trace is still there upon its ridges, the best road of them all. _ DEATH SEEMED NEAR. How a Chicago Woman Found Help When Hope Woe Fast Fading Away. Mrs. E. T. Gould, 914 W. Lake St., Chicago, 111., says: “Doan’s Kidney Pills are all that saved me from death by Bright’s Dis ease, that I know. I had eye trouble, backache, catches when lying abed or when bending over, was lan guid and often dizzy and had sick headaches and bearing down pains. The kid ney secretions were too copious and frequent, and very bad in appear ance. It was in 1903 that Doan’s Kid ney Pills helped me so quickly and cured me of these troubles and I'va 'been well ever since.” Foster-Milburn Co., Buffalo. N. Y. For sale by all druggists. Price 50 cents per box. — ----*- L. Business Necessity. From the Chicago Tribune. Customer—Boy, I don’t see any news of that 'bloody battle' and 'many ljves lost’ that you're telling about, in this paper I have just bought of you.” ■ Newsboy (dropping his foghorn voice to a whisper)—Pard, If you w-as as bad !ly stuck on papers as X am this after jnoon you’d kill a whole blamed army to get rid of ’em. All about the bloody -battle! Many lives lost!” Mount Aconcagua, the giant peak of ,the Andes. Is 23,080 feet high. CASTOR IA For Infants and Children. The Kind You Have Always t'ught Bears the Signature of