&he 9
Ragged Edge J
Harold MacGrath 1
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“All I want is to bo happy!”
ahe said aloud> as if she were ask
ing for something of such ordina
ry value that God would readily
accord it to her because thero
was so little demand for the com
modity.
Thrilling, she began to dance,
ww’irled, glided, and dipped.
Whenever ecstasy—any kind of
ecstasy—filled her heart to burst
ing, these physical expressions
eased the pressure.
Fate has two methods of pro
cedure—the sudden and the long
drawn-out. In some instances
elie tantalizes the victim for years
and mocks him in the end. In
others, she acts with the speed
and surety of the loosed arrow.
In the present instance she did
not want any interference; she
■did not want the doctor’s wisdom
to edge in between these two
young fools and spoil the drama.
€o she brought upon the stage
the Reverend Henry Dolby, a
preacher of means, worldly-wise
and kindly, cheery and rotund,
with his wife and daughter,
arrived at the Victoria that
morning. Ruth met him in the
hall as he was following his fami
6ty vindp the dining room. She
""recognized the cloth at once, way
laid him, and with that directness
of speech particularly hers she
explained what she wanted.
•“To be sur el will, my childi I
will be up with my wife and
daughter after lunch.”
We ll be waiting ror you.
You are very kind." Ruth turn
ed back toward the stairs.
Later, when the Reverend Hen
ry Dolby entered the Spurlock
room, his wife and daughter
trailing amusedly behind him,
*nd beheld the strained eagerness
on the two young faces, he smiled
inwardly and indulgently. Here
were the passionate lovers 1 What
their past had been ho neither
■cared nor craved to know. Their
future would be glorious; he saw
it in their eyes; he saw it in the
beauty of their young heads. Of
course, at home there would have
been questions. Were the parents
-agreeable? Were they of age*i'
Had the license been procured?
But here, in a far country, only
the velvet manacles of wedlock
were necessary.
So, forthwith, without any
{preliminaries beyond introduc
tions, he began the ceremony;
■ and shortly Ruth Enschede be
came Ruth Spurlock, for better
-or for wors-\ Spurlock gave
bis full name n*;11 tremblingly
inscribed it upon the certificate
of marriage. The customary
gold band was missing; but a
*oft gold Chinese ring Spurlock
bad picked up in Singapore—
the characters representing good
luck and prosperity—was slipped
over Ruth’s third finger.
lherc is no fee, said Dolby.
“ I am very happy to be of service
to you. And I wish you all the
happiness in the world.”
Mrs. Dolby was portly and
handsome. There were lines in
her face that age had not pul
there. Guiding this man of hers
■over the troubled sea of life had
■engraved these lines. He was the
true optimist; and that he should
prooecd, serenely unconscious of
treefs and storms, she accepted
the double buffets.
This double buffetting had
sharpened her shrewdness and
insight. Whero her husband sa>v
•only two younsters In the mating
mood, she felt that tragedy in
some phase lurked in this room—
if only in the loneliness of these
two, without kith or kin appar
ently, thousands of miles from
home. Not once during the cere
mony did the two look at each
other, but riveted their gaze upon
th^ lips of the man who was forg
ing the bands: gazed intensively,
as if they feared the world might
vanish before the last word of
the ceremony was spoken.
Spurlock relaxed, suddenly,
and sank deeply into his pillows
Ruth felt his haud grow cold as
it slipped from hers. She bent
.down.
■“You are all rightt”~anxious
Ty.
“Yes , . . but dreadfully
t. tired.”
Mrs. Dolby smiled. It was the
'moment for smiles. She ap
proached Ruth with open asms;
and something in the way tho
child came into that kindly em
brace hurt the older woman to
the point of tears.
These passers-by who touch
us but lightly and are gone, leav
ing the eternal imprint 1 So long
as she lived, Ruth would always
remember that embrace. It was
warm, shielding, comforting, and
what was more, full of under
standing. It was in fact the first
embrace of motherhood she had
over known. Even after this
woman had gone, it seemed to
Ruth that the room was kindlier
thun it had ever been.
Inexplicably there flashed into
vision the Chinese wedding pro
cession in the narrow, twisted
streets of the city, that first day;
the gorgeous palanquin, the tom
toms, the weird music, the ribald,
jeering mob that trailed along
behind. It was surely odd that
her thought should pick up that
picture and recast it so vividly.
At half after five that after
noon the doctor and his friend
McClinock entered the office of
the Victoria.
“It’s a great fworld,” was the
manager's greeting.
“So it is,” the doctor agreed.
“But what, may I ask, arouses
the thought?”
The doctor was in high good
humour. Within forty-eight
hours the girl would be on her
way east and the boy see-sawing
the South China Sea, for ever
moving at absolute angles.
“Then you haven’t heard 1”
“Of what?”
“Well, well!” cried the man
ager, delighted at the idea of
surprising the doctor. “Miss En
schede and Mr. Spurlock—for
that’s his real name-wjre mar
ried at high noon.”
Emptiness; that was the doc
tor’s initial sensation: his vitals
had been whisked out of him and
the earth from under his foet. All
his interest in Ruth, all his care
and solicitude, could now ba
translated into a single word—
love. Wanted her out of the way
because he had been afraid of
her, afraid of himself 1 He, at
fifty-four! Then into this void
poured a flaming anger, a blind
and unreasoning anger. He took
the first step toward the stairs,
and met. the restraining hand of
McClintock.
“Steady, old top! What are
you going to do?”
“The damned seroundrel!”
“I told you that child was
opal.”
“She? My God, the pity of itl
She knows nothing of life. She
no more realizes what she has
done than a child of eight. Mar
riage ! . . . without the least
conception of the physical and
moral responsibilities I It’s a
crime, Mac!”
'But what can you do 7” Mc
Clintock turned to the manager,
“It was all perfectly legal t”
“My word for it. The Rever
end Henry Dolby performed the
ceremony, and his wife and
daughter were witnesses.”
“When you heard what was
going on, why didn’t you send
for met”
“I didn’t know it was going
on. I heard only after it was all
over.”
"If ho could stand on two feet,
I’d break every bone in his
worthless body 1”
McClintock said soothingly:
“But that wouldn’t nullify the
marriage, old boy. I know.
Thing’s upset you a bit. Go
j easy.”
“But, Mac . . . 1”
“I understand,” interrupted
McClintock. Then, in a whisper:
“But there’s no reason why the
whole hotel should.”
The doctor relaxed. “I’ve got
to see him; but I’ll be reasonable.
I’ve got to know why. And what
will they do, and where will they
got”
“With me—the both of them.
Bo far as I’m concerned, nothing
could please me more. A married
man!—the kind I’ve never been
able to lure down there 1 But
keep your temper in check. Don’t
lay it all to the boy. The girl is
in it as deeply as he is. I’ll wait
for you down here.”
When the doctor entered the
bedroom and looked into the
faces of the culprits, he laughed
uroxemy. nvo cmrnren, who
had been caught in the jam-eloet:
ingratiating smiles, back of which
lay doubt and fear.
Ruth came to him directly.
“You are angry!”
“Very. You don’t realize what
you have done.”
“My courage gave out. The
thought of going back!—the
thought of the unknown out
there” with a tragic gesture
toward the east. “I couldn’t, go
on I”
“You’ll need something more
than courage now. But no more
of that. What is done cannot be
undone. I want to talk to Mr.
Spurlock. Will you leave us for
a few minutes?”
“You are not going to be
harsh?”
“I wish to talk about the fu
ture.”
“Very well.”
She departed relunctantly. Tho
doctor walked, over to the bed,
folded his arms across his chest
and stared down into the un
abashed eyes of his patient.
“Do you realize that you are
several kinds of a damned scoun
drel?” he began. This did not
affect Spurlock. “Your name !•
Spurlock?”
“It is.”
“Why did you use the name oi
Taber?”
“To keep my real name out of
the mess I expected to make of
myself over here.”
“That’s frank enough,” the
doctor admitted astonishedly S9
far the boy’s mind was clear.
“But to drag this innocent child
into tho muck! With her head
full of book nonsense—love
stories and fairy stories! Have
you any idea of the tragedy she
is bound to stumble upon some
world is known to you. I can
see that you were somebody, in
. . . It’s a damnhble busi
ness!”
day! I don't care about you. The
another day. But this child!
that which had happened—the
probability older than her
“I shall defend her and protect
her with every drop of blood ia
my body!” replied the Flagel
lant.
The intensity of the eyes and
the defiant tone bewildered the
doctor, who found his well-con
structed jeremiad without a
platform. So he was forced to
shift and proceed at another
angle, forgetting his promise to
McOlintock to be temperate.
' When I went through your
trunk that first night, I discover
ed an envelope filled with manu
s-rifts. Later, at the bot^un of
that envelope I found a letter.”
‘‘To be opened in case of my
death,” added Spurlock. From
under his pillow he dragged
forth the key (o the trunk.
‘‘Here, take this and get the
letter and open and read it.
Would you tell her . . now?”
his eyes flaming with mockery. <
CHAPTER XVIII
The doctor reached for the key
and studied it sombrely. The act
was mechanical, a bit of sparring
for time: his anger was searching
about for a new vent. He was
to start any thunder which was
to start any thunder which was
not based upon fairness. He had
no wish to go foraging in Spur
lock’s trunk. He had already
shown the covering envelope and
its instructions to Ruth, and sht
had ignored or misunderstood
the warning. The boy was right.
Ruth could not be told now.
There would be ultimate misery,
but it would be needless cruelty
to give her a push toward it. But
all these hours, trying to teach
the child wariness toward life,
and the moment his back was
turned, this!
He was, perhaps, still dazed
by the inner revelation—his
own interest in Ruth. The hasto
to send her upon her way now
had but one interpretation—the
recognition of his own immediate
danger, the fear that if this ten
der association continued, he
would end in offering her a
calamity quite as impossible as
love of a man who was in all
father I The hurt was no less in
tensive because it was so ridicu
lous.
He would talk to Spurlock,
but from the bench; as adjudge,
not as a chagrined lover. He
dropped the key on the counter
pane.
“If I could only make you re
alize what; you have done,” he
said, lamely.
“I know exactly what I have
done,” replied Spurlock. “She
is my lawful wife.”
“I should have opened that
letter in the beginning,” said
the doctor. “But I happen to
be an honest man myself. Had
jou died, 1 should have fully
obeyed the instructions on that
envelope. You will make her
suffer.”
“For every hurt she has, I
shall have two. 1 did not lay any
traps for her. I asked her to
marry me, and she consented.”
“Ah, yes; that’s all very well
But when she learns that you art
a fugitive from justice.
“What proof have you that 1
am?”—was the return bolt.
“A knowledge of the ways of
men. I don’t know what you
have done; I don’t want to know
now. But God will punish you
for what you have done this
day.”
“As for that I don’t say. But
I shall take care of Ruth, work
for ho§ and fight for her.” A
prophecy which was to be fulfill
ed in a singular way, “Given a
chance, I can make bread and
butter. I’m no mollycoddle. I
have only one question to ask
you.”
“And what might that be?”
“Will MeClintock take us
both?”
“You took that chance There
has never been a white woman
at MeClintock’s.”
He paused, and not without
malice. He was human. The
pause lengthened, and he had the
satisfaction of seeing despair
melt the set mockery of Spur
lock’s mouth.
You begin to have doubts,
eh ? A handful of money between
you, and nothing else. There are
only a few jobs over here for a
man of your type; and even these
are more or less hopeless if you
haven't trained mechanical abili
ty.” Then he became merciful.
‘‘But McClintock agrees to take
you both—because he’s as big a
fool as I am. But I give you
this warning, and let it sink in.
You will" be under the eye of the
best friend I have; and if you do
not treat that child for what she
is—an innocent angel—I promise
to hunt you across the wide
world and kill you with bare
hands.”
Spurlock’s glance shot up,
flaming again. ‘‘And on my /
part, I shall not lift a hand to ,1
defend myself.”
‘‘I wish I could have fore
seen.”
‘‘That is to say, you wish you
had let me die?”
‘‘That was the thought.”
This frankness rather subdued
Spurlock. His shoulders relaxed
and his gaze wavered. ‘‘Perhaps
that would have been best.”
(TO BE CONTINUED)
GIANT AIRSHIPS
MAY BE BUILT
Britain Considering Scheme
Of Trans-Empire Passen
ger Air Service
London.—An official announce
ment concerning the establishment of
a state subsidized commercially-run
trans-empire airship service will bo
made shortly. It Is understood.
It Is unlikely that Commander
Dennis Burney’s scheme, which was
drawn up by him and presented for
Government consideration nearly
two years ago, will be accepted In
full.
A compromise will be effected—at
least during the experimental phase
of the Investigations.
This will Include the building and
testing of two giant airship liners,
one of 6,000,000 cubic feet oapaclty,
to represent the commercial Inter
ests Involved by Commander Burn
ey’s scheme and the other to be pure
ly a government craft.
This, when built by the air minis
try, will be handed over to the ad
miralty for experimental purposes.
The commercial craft, to be built
on luxurious lines, with sleeping
berths, bathrooms, and dining cars,
will be designed to carry not less
than 200 passengers. In a "ship”
of this nature It should be possible
to reach India three days after leav
ing London.
The government craft, it la stated,
will have an effective radius of 20,
000 miles, and be able to transport
fighting planes, together with the
personnel necessary for their oper
ation.
Both airships will be constructed
at Cardington.
The date of the formation of this
empire air service depends upon the
speed and the success with which
the experimental work Is carried out.
Commander Burney declined to
discuss his scheme or its recVptlon
by the special committee appointed
by the cabinet to consider.
"My attendance at the special
committee meetings makes It Im
possible for me to speak,” he said.
“No doubt If and when the cab
inet come to decision they will Is
sue an official communique. So far
as I am concerned I put my view*
officially on record In a speech !
made in the House of Cammom
March 20.”
BABY PUZZLES
N. Y. DOCTORS
Must Decide Question of
Life or Death For
Abnormal Children
BY EARL L. SHAUB,
Universal Service Correspondent
New York, Sept. 29.—The question
of what shall be done with the week
old baby of Mrs. Walter Friedmann
is being pondered by physicians and
authorities.
The baby was born a week ago
and is said to be doomed to idiocy
if it lives. It is of the Mongol type,
without brains and with no provi
sion in the back of its head for es
sential glandular growth.
Two nurses told the authorities
that Dr. Oscar Spier, the physician
in attendance, had ordered them to
let it starve to death. This they
refused to do, they said, and when
the physician said that his orders
were being violated he took the child
away in his instrument case.
A dozen detectives were sent to
search for the baby, dead or alive,
and to question the physician. Both
were found, the child in another
hospital, still alive.
“It should die,” said the doctor.
"But the police are wrong this time
I did not kill it. However, I took it
away so the mother might not see
it. Otherwise she would die from
horror.”
The father, who accompanied the
physician when he took the child
away, was not found, although de
tectives looked for im.
The case gave rise to the old ques
tion of whether a physician or any
one else has the power of life and
death over an abnormal child.
DAVIS TO INVADE
MIDWEST AGAIN
Plans More Than Score of
Speeches Before Election
Day
BY SEARS TAYLOR,
Universal Service Correspondent.
New York, Sept. 29.—John W.
Davis will leave here Tuesday on
a second whirlwind tour of the west
ern states in his campaign for the
presidency of the United States.
During the next month Davis will
make more than a score of speeches
in as many different cities, in addi
tion to a large number of short ad
dresses from the rear platform of his
special train.
The candidate’s party will leave
New York at midnight Tuesday for
Frederick, Md„ where he will speak
Wednesday afternoon. In the eve
ning he will deliver aa address at
Baltimore and return to New York
Thursday morning.
Thursday night he will speak be
fore a mass meeting at Madison
Square Garden. Governor Smith of
New York will also address the meet
ing.
Madison Square Garden also will be
the scene of the close of the Davis
campaign. He will make his last
appeal for the return of the demo
cratic party'to power in the Garden
on the Saturday night before election
day.
Davis is leaving this city confident
of his success. He points to the
demonstration accorded him in
Bunceton, Mo., and other ciUes dur
ing his recent western tour as evi
dence of the fact that his campaign is
attracting more than ordinary at
tention.
Man Given Five Years On
Charge ot Embezzlement
Five years in the state prison at
Fort Madison, la., was the sentence
imposed on George Pendergrast
when he plead guilty last Monday,
to an indictment charging embezzle
ment before District Judge Miles W.
Newby. He was specifically charged
with misuse of $116 belonging to his
employer, Byron E. Brown, piano
dealer.
Another indictment, charging
forgery, aiso brought on complaint
by Brown, was quashed by the court
on motion of O. D. Nickle, assistant
county attorney.
Denies Exclusive Council
Authority to Change Taxes
Des Moines, la., Sept. 29. (Special)
•—The state executive council has no
power to change, assessments, once
certified, except to correct errors,
and changes of valuation cannot be
made, Attorney General Ben Gibson
ruled in an opinion which had been
requested by the executive council.
On September 12, the council revised
the assessments of the Fort Dodge
Telephone company and of the
Western Electric Telephone sys
tem, on condition that it had auth
ority to make the changes. Attor
ney General Gibson held that the
change should not bo made.
Steal Auto From Detective
Who Arrested Them Before
Waterloo, la., Sept. 29.—Because
Emil Steffans, city detective here, ar
rested them on a previous occasion,
Wilbur Brewster of Des Moines and
P^/ Elliot of Waterloo, stole his light
coupe and started for Chicago. They
were arrested at Galent, 111., charged
with robbing a store there. Steffans
is bringing the pair black to this city
for trial in the auto stealing case.
your stomachto^*
H get rid of poisonous gases
■ and fermenting foods.
■ Master that catarrhal ■
■ condition of the digestive I
tract with the remedy
which has proved its use- I
■ fulness over a fuU half ■
I PE-RU-NA I
A, Splendid Tonic
|g For Spring and
1 Summer f|
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“Imagination in Business**
Hardware Merchant—I tell you, that
new salesman we put on is a corker—
he’s got ideas!
Traveling Salesman—What’s he
done?
Hardware Merchant—He’s sold that
big lot of old-fashioned washing ma
chines we had In the warehouse—the
ones that work by hand, you know—!
just tpld the stout woman who came
In that the pretty girl he had showing!
them used this plan to reduce her
weight.—Good Hardware.
Whale of an Infant
According to Mr. Henry Nesbit, an
American authority, the whale is a
mammal, and the feraile bears one
whale calf a year. Until the young
fish Is six months old It Is nursed by
the mother Just as any land baby of
the mammal type Is. A mother whale
has been seen to swim through the
water with its young cradled in its
flippers.
Love’s blindness Is not Incurable.
Otherwise there would be no breach-of
promlse suits.
He who will not stoop for a pin
shall never be worth a pint.
Weak and Miserable?
Are you dull, tired and achy—both
ered with a bad back? Do you lack
ambition, suffer headaches and dizzi
ness—feel “all worn out’’? Likely your
kidneys are to blame. Lameness, sharp,
3tabbing pains, backache and annoying
urinary disorders are all symptoms of
weakened kidneys. Don’t wait for
more serious trouble. Get back your
health and keep it! Use Doan’s Pills,
a stimulant diuretic to the kidneys.
Thousands of folks tell their merit.
Ask yjour neighbort
An Iowa Case
| Mrs. Albert
K 1 u c k, Seventh
Ave., and Four
teenth St., Eldora,
Iowa, says: "My
back ached and I
couldn’t do my
work during the
| day and at night
Ithe pain was worse
and I didn’t know
what it was to get
a night’s rest. My
kidneys acted too
frequently and I
had headaches and
dizzy spells. Doan's
x ins arove away tne trouble.
DOAN’S *5“
STIMULANT DIURETIC TO THE KIDNEYS
^Mtor-MilburnfojjMfgjChemjjBuflajOjNjY.
lIO\S— Sell neckties. Big profits. Easy
spare time money. Send $1 tor 3 samples.
Cl&rklrk, Ambank Bldg., Kansas City, Mo.
I
FREE Sr, Humphreys* Manual.
(112 pages.) You should read it. Tells about
the home treatment of disease. Ask your
druggist, or, write us tor a copy,
f Dr. Humphreys’“77.” price 30c. and tl.OO.
at drug stores or sent on remittance (our
risk) or C.O.D. parcel post.
HUMPHREYS’ HOMEO. MEDICINE CO.
77 Ann Street, New York.
TRY THE
ATCH
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Teach Children
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Cuticura'
Soothes and Heals
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