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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (July 30, 1925)
75he I'ROJV HOUSE NOVELIZED BY EDWIN C. HILL FROM WILLIAM FOX’S GREAT PICTURE ROMANCE OF THE EAST AND THE WEST BY CHARLES KENYON AND JOHN RUSSELL “l’oter will have to wait, she thought. “There will he plenty of time for settling down " Her mind drifted hack over their engagement, now three years old. It had not seemed strange for them to go along so. Their mutual friends quite understood how it was, familar witiS her father’s point of view, accenting her own occasional explanation that she felt too young for the responsibilities of marriage. Nor had Jvisson been difficult. From time to time lie had asked her to set a day, but gave way gracefully when she put him off. The t :utli was, Peter .lesson was not permitting his desire for Miriam to interfere with plans . he had mace for the comfortable future of Peter Jcsson. His enthusiasm for the railroad had waned considerably in the years that followed his visit to the White House with Miriam ami her father that duly day in 1862. He had begun to persuade him self that the road was a failure after all, and that his many friends who laughed at the pro ject were wise. As much as he eared for Miriam-and that was V great deal, considering the col 1 and self centered nature of the man—i.e was dominated by ambition, principally the ambi tion for wealth. Of his family estate, once great, only a fra ment remained, with an income barely sulficir.t to maintain his place among the gilded set Morever, his debts troubled him. It was not moral qualms that harassed him, but fear of bankruptcy, social humiliation. He had < lung to the engage ment with Miriam, half in love, but with u keen eye on the chance that the road might be put through, lie felt certain its sin ce s would i nrich Marsh as one of the pioneers and principal builders. He saw no opportun ity so likely t » lift him from cir I'umstan os bath exasperating and dangerous. He visioned himself us a i ich man’s son-in .aw - o ily son-in-law—a very important consideration,. Yes it was worth going on with, if only to l eap ith r suitors at a distance. 11“ said to himself that hn loved her, though there were times when she eeemd tou color* loss—too good. II o tin t if u 1 enough to fire any man’s blood provokiugly feminine to her fin ger tips, her serene innocence sometimes got. on Jcsson’s nerves. He felt that he had never been able to >5ir her, to bring to her great eyes the look that he wanted to see there. It irritated him, stung his vanity, this utter failure to inspire in the girl the passion that often gripped him. “I wish to God she had more fire/' he thought. “She treats me more like a brother than a lover. Well, 1 know where to find the fire when I want it.’’ He smiled as he thought of an extremely private little estab lishment just off Union Square, the expenses of which had no littlo to do with the debts that harassed him. He had brushed up his mathe matics, the theory of engineer ing, finding unexpected pleasure in the task, lie had a good mind, with natural aptitude for engineering science. Marsh had told him he might be assigned to thhe field soon; that Mr. Durant and the other directors, with plenty of funds in sight, were about ready to start traek lay ing; that grading had already begun. 1 have been needed here in organization work,” said Marsh, “and do not expect to go into the field until early neart year, but the time is coming rapidly. I shall see that you have your chance.” But time dragged once more, and it was not until the winter of 1866 that Marsh reported great news. lie said to Miriam: “We must go West at once, next week. I must take charge ns superintendent. General Dodge has sent for me. A tre mendous drive is about to take place. Last year we built 260 miles, but we must speed up or those CaMsmia fellows will.be running over ms. Congress 1ms furred our hand, freeing the Central Pacific from any mileage limit, ft can build eastward un til it. meets our road.” “Why does that make such a difference!’' asked Miriam “It trill be a great race!” said Harsh. “The greatest race the world ever saw! Look at tlx; prize* On the 1,700 miles from Omaha to Sacramento, the government will issue about $5o,000,000 in bonds. We are authorized to issue private bonds for a** equal amount. The value of the public land bonuses will be scarcely less. Think of it! A race for $165,(XX),006! Bonds and public lands will be award ed as 40 utile sections of track are completed, a rich reward for rv stile laid dawn. The more track each read can lay the greater will be its she re of this golden harvest. There has never been anything like it in the his tory of the wor ld. “Our plans are made. Our treasury is running over. We are all ready to start. Expense is no object. Speed m the thing We must drive the Union Pacific westward as fast as men can toil. We most cross Nevada and Utah before the Central Uaeiiic can get over the Sierra. We must lay 500 miles of track next year.” Miram phmged into prepara tions for the journey and for a long stay in the West. Her father had told her that as .superintendent under the chief engineer. General Grenville M Dodge, he would make his home upon the advancing road. A private ear had been built for him by a Mr Pullman, whose little factory in Chicago was bc ginmg to turn out comfortable, even luxurious, homes on wheels W’hen Miriam calmly announced that she was going, Marsh in stantly consented. “With you I shall have n real home,” lie said happily. “Wo will be qu'te comfortable. It is certain to be a wonderful experience for you, with little danger. Gmeral Sherman as sures m the army will guard the rails every mile through the Indian country. Soldi rs will he with us wlierevtr we move.” They traveled westward at the end of «Jaly, Jefison, now regular ly retained as engineer for Marsh, going with them. At St. Ivouns they were caught in the tide of a great human stream flowing up the Missouri to Oma ha, hundreds of brawny men hastening to jobs on the advanc ing Union Pacific. Miriam ob served that most of these men wore army uniforms; former union soldiers, mixed with veterans who had followed the Stars and Bars. “Practically all ex-soldiers,” said her father. “Blue and Gray in another great adventure, but united this time, thank God ! They get along well together, too. Real fighting men don’t hate each other, Miriam, even when they happen to be on opposite sides. They gain re spect for each other, just ns these fellows have done. We couldn’t have better material for the road. They’re rough, but they’re the stuff we can do pend on. What’s the matter, Jesson I You don’t seem to like the looks of our raw material.” I can think of several ob jection* to being chummy with this riffraff,” said Jesson. “All of them look as if they needed a bath. A very pretty crew of hooligans. They act as if they thought they were quite as good as we are.” “I expert a bath wouldn’t hurt any of them,” laughed Hf®taih- “But maybe they got mit of the habit of it in the army. Baths were none too regular. I’ve beard. As for manners, you must remember that they are a rough an.l ready lot, but good metal just the same. You notice how they act when Miriam is anywhere near them, caps off respectful, quiet. As for think ing they’re as good as we are, why, I expect they really think to. A lot of people »n America take the Declaration seriously, the ‘all men are created free and equal,’ you know.” “You are to severe on the poor fellows,” chided Miriam. “I think they’re delightful- Take Mr. Casey and his friends over there. I’ve fallen quiet in love Avith them, Peter. Pat Casey is a perfect circus!” “Corporal Casey would fall over baelovards if he heard you call him ‘Mister’ Casey,” said her father. “But Pat’s an amusing rascal, he and his pals, Sergeant Slattery and Private Schultz.- They Avere mighty fino soldiers and they will be mighty fine Avorkman for the road. I’m taking them with me, as part of my OAvn organization, for the rush .job farther Avest.” I have already enlisted them as my personal bodyguard,” said Miriam. “They are my three musketeers, are Casey, Slattery and Schultz. I won’t have a word said against them. Pat !” She trilled to the corpor al, at that moment entertaining a company in the bow of the boat. “Come here, please.” “There are times when I miss me wings,” said Corporal Casey as he doffed liis old army cap. Neither the blind nor the deaf could ever have been in doubt as to the motherland of Casey. He was thoroughly and impudently Hibernian l'rom the bald head he uncovered to the large feet clad in army brogans. The inimitable Irish twinkle enlivened his quick brown eyes. Devilment sparkled in them- Intelligence and com bat iveness were written in bis weather-beaten face; devotion too. Unshaven, clothed in a dingy, blue uniform that was not new in the last year of the war; with not a handful of silver dol lars left to rattle in his pocket. t.V spirit of Corporal Patrick Parnell Casey soared high above his prospects, lie faced the world with a wink and a laugh lie had an air, had Casey. “Pat,” said Miriam, “I have just been telling father and Mr, .lesson that I have adopted you From now on you and Slattery and Schultz are my special body guard.” “ ’Tis meself that’s honored uid delighted, Miss Miriam,” said the corporal. “Sure an' it comes natural to the Casey’s to be aguarrdin’ queens! In the old days, when there were kings in Ireland and all the Casey’s were earls and jukes, we always commanded the bodyguards.” “All right, Pat,” Marsh laugheU “Report to me at Omaha with Slattery and Shultz and any others you O. K. Ull arrange for your transporation. “Seriously,” he added, as Pat turned from Miriam with a llourish and a salute, “it isn’t a bad idea to have that wild Irish man and his pals on hand to look out lor you. Not that you need a bodyguard, but they’re good men to have around. You seem to have won their hearts.” “If I have, I am proud of it. father,” said Miriam- “I think they’re dears, Pat with his foolishness, Sergeant Slattery looking after Pat like a stern father, and old Sehultzy with his quaint german ways.” CHAPTER XI A SHINING RAPIER THRUSTS AT A SULLEN FRONTIER Union Pacific headquarters had moved on to North Platte, when Marsh, after a final con ference with General Dodge in Omaha, hastened westward in his new private car to quicken the great race for the winning of the west. Miriam was enrap tured with the comfort and con venience of her rolling home, ona o* the first built by Pullman Her room was small, but cheer ful with its rose-silk draperies and bird’s-eye maple, paneled, anil charmingly painted in the light, French manner. The car was attached to a long train of coaches crowded with 200 picked men, most of them fighting Irish, with whom the new superintendent meant to speed up work. Over this lively crew, Miriam’s musketeers quickly estal l'shed ascendancy, for a blow at one meant a com bined attack from all three. Casey was a wildcat in a scrim mage, an Hibernian D’Artagnan, while big Slattery was a verita ble Porthos. Shultz, time-season edand slower to anger, knew how to nse his hard old fists, and was the tactician of the trio. Miriam stared accusingly at Pat one morning as the train waited at Kearney for orders. ‘‘Pat! where did you get that black eyet’’ “ Twas ». prisint. Miss Miriam, from a frind of mine, a big harp named Doolan in ear six.” “Did you whifl i him?” “’Tis a matter of puzzle mint to me,” the corporal ex plained: “yez see, whemn i kira to Doolan, had been carried off, | and I in not dead sure which wan of us was licked.” li was Sshultz who gave her tlie truth of the Homeric battle. Pat, tor once, had minimized his victory. Pig Doolan of car six was unlikely to suggest again that the Casey’s were best known in Donegal for snipping ! cow’s tails in the dark of the moon. 15 kt there was little fighting among these young or middle j aged Irishmen, most of whom l‘»d been born on the Old Sod. Of merriment and rough fun there wag a great deal, and light hearted song by day and night. Miriam’s musketeers and Dinny O I>rien, a strapping lad whom ■‘v had lately honored with h.'s approval, made up a quartet whose voices quavered in the, old Corn-all, Ac’s” As the train sped through the dusk; over the snow-covered prairie, the sheer melancholy of the bah lads brought tears to the girl eves. Even in the jolliest of thq songs there was a haunting un dernote which plucked at heu heartstrings. Their repertoire was inexhaustible from “Thq Exile ot Erin ’ and “Soggarth Aroon,” to “Doran’s Ass” anq “Old Doether Mack.” “I like tq hear them singing,” said her fa, ther, at work o.°r his maps witlj •lesson. “It keeps them good-i natured. Takes the place of re<J liquor to those big children.” It makes an awful yowling when a man is trying to worty out. calculations,” said Jessoq snappish?/. (T 0“ BE PONT INUED) AIRPLANE WHICH CONTROLS SELF IS GIVEN TEST Croydon. Eng.—An airplane which flies itself, keeping on an even keel and maintaining a correct course without any action on the part of the pilot, is being tested here by the imperial Airways. The machine, a Handley-Page bi plane with a Rolls-Royce motor in the bow and two smaller engines on the wings, has a gyroscopic *ontrol< In experimental lllghts carrying cargo between London and contin ental airports the pilot lias boon able to leave his cockpit nn^J go to a cabin, where be has sat'and read v.hilo his mechanic kept a lookout ! and watched the running of the engines. -— VERMONT MAN HUNT TO 3E DRAMATIZED FOR CHILD’S BENEFIT Boston, July 17.—Earl Woodward “hawk of the mountains,” who was recently acquitted in Middlebury, Vt., court of charges of abducting littla Lucille Chatterton, of Granville, Vt., is going to enter vaudeville. He has signed up for an extensive vaudeville tour. The Vermont man hunt, with I.uellle herself and other principals In the scenes, will be staged, accord ing to the plans. Part of every dollar obtained by Woodward from the theaters vviil go to a fund for the education and care of Luleille until she becomes of age or marries, according to the an nouncement. U. S. Urges Powers to Quick Action on China Universal Service Washington, July 16.—Several notes have been addressed to the powers by tho United States strongly urging the immediate appointment of a com mission to consider gradual abolition of foreign extra-territorial privileges in China, it .vas stated Thursday at the state department. For the first time since the Chinese crisis developed, this statement dis closed the tremendous pressure be ing brought on the powers by this government in an effort to adjust China’s difficulties. Ham an’ Makes Inroads On Hardy Scots Menu Edinburgh.—Porridge is disappear ing from the Scottish breakfast ta ble, and the board of agriculture is conducting an inquiry Into the mat ter. For centuries Scotsmen are sup posed to have grown strong and har dy upon porridge and whisky; now both of these products are being con sumed in lessening quantities. Ham and eggs is replacing porridge on tha breakfast table—another hor rible example of the American in fluence. HIT STOMACH PLAY Paris.—A one-act play in panto mime, the scene of which is laid in the human stomach, has been barred from the Parisian stage. The characters in the pantomime are various popular hanquet foods. The p'ay, modeled after a similar Eng lish production, was branded as “in decent.” FROM TRAIN TO THEATER New York, July 17.—To accommo date passengers theater tickets now are being sold on first-class train* arriving here. Divorce Action Brings Out Deep Irritation of Back-Seat Driving From the San Francisco Bulletin Die worm has turned. Some worm, it is true, is always turn ing, but the one to which we refer is the one that sits in the driv er s seat and turns the steering wheel. A man in the East has sued for divorce because his wife is a back-seat driver. His com plaint complains that she tells him when to speed up, when to slow down, when to turn corners, when and where to stop—in short, when and where to head in. He says it humiliates and mortifies him, especially when he has guests. And there is no squelching her. The only escape lies in the severance of those marital ties which at the time they were tied were supposed it hold for this life and the next, to hold, indeed, for-all time. Those eternal bonds he prays may now be eternally disrupted. It is not easy to say whether or not his prayer should be granted. The best of women do it. It is either a gift or a nerv ous affliction; we are not sure which. It was not so general in the age of horses, because, as some sage has observed, “It was the horse that had the sense.” Almost any woman would trust a horse. Now they have a painful—and justifiable—impression that a great many men who are not competent to shovel coal into a furnace without a severe backache are trying to operate these private locomotives, with no rails to guide them. They feel the need of some sort of traveling train dispatcher, and who could do it better? Moreover, in many eases, they arc the responsible custodians of the family funds, and they see damage and disaster around every bend. Perhaps in the words of the old song, they “should be scold ed, but not turned adrift.” Yet back seat driving is a weariness to the flesh and a mortification to the spirit of man. That is to say, it hurts his vanity, and interferes with his steering. And wives should be careful about that. It may be doubted that divorce is the right remedy. It would choke the court calendars. Separation, without privilege of r< marriage, WNuld seem better, because, for example, this man evi dently is a marrying man, having done it once, and if he is set at liberty he will probably do it again, and the second wife will be a back-seat driver, too. It might be better just to let him keep on with the one he has. He is used to hoi. We believe in the eman cipation of man, but it ought to come about gradually. PuKgent Paragraphs Africa has the bigger copper mine, but campaign year indicates that America holds all records in brass.— Nashville Banner. it is only a question of time until the higher civilization must stop and wait for the courts to catch up.— Baltimore Sun. J'-d Tunkins says he doesn’t have to go to any shows to be shocked. The billboards are riskay enough for him. —Washington Star, What the fellow who calls it a furnished house really needs is a dic tionary.—Vancouver Sun. How can anyone possibly tell whether the ZK-3 and Shenandoah have any military value until we are advised whether the crew wear Spurs?—Detroit News. And now it is only a question of time until the barber shops must have male manicurists.—Jersey City Jersey Journal. You can’t expect a mere man to understand a sex that thinks a three coronored olive sandwjch a square meal—S'andusky Kegister. Of what avail is it to know your neighbor’s income tax if you don’t know how he arrived at it?—Buf falo Evening News. Insipid Sentimentality. From Police Magazine. We are a sentimental people, and too often the clamor of our heart throbs muffles the saner thought beats of our brain. Sentiment is a beautiful, sometimes a sacred, at tribute of character; but mere senti mentality is the symbol of moral and intellectual weakness. More especial ly is this true when evidenced in the masculine mind. Perhaps the most common manl [ festation of insipid sentimentality is found in the expression, verbal or printed, of a certain type of person when some notorious lawbreaker appears on the scene and meets his just deserts. It would seem, at times, that the greater the offense com mitted against society the greater the outcry of maudlin sentimentalists. The murderer has many times been regarded by this hysterical type more as a hero than as a civic men ace. There are those today who would abolish our prisons, or, fail ing that, would convert them into establishments of ease or even joy ous entertainment. To segregate the evil-doers caught In the commission of their evils is abhorrent to these ■ silly, if sometimes well intentlonea folk. It is strange how some men and women will give themselves • over to sheer stupidity where the emotions aione are mvoivea. There is neither sense nor logic in pampering criminals. The indi vidual wh i willfully breaks the code established for the common good must pay the price provided for his transgression as formulated by the wise men who conceived that code. The perpetrator of a brutal and re voking crime should certainly not be • he recipient of love letters and bon bons. The emotional outcry of per sons and the press against the proper punishment of those lawfully impris oned is an absurdity, appalling in its implication of cerebral blindness. The individual responsibility of the lawbreaker is seldom taken into con sideration by these tearful objectors to justice. The morally deficient, the congenitally preverse, the tough and accustomed criminal can never he, in any reasonable degree, true ob jects for vindication and the aim of silly men and women to ease their lot in prison would be laughable were not the efforts made in this direction so earnest and widespread. Prisons aro built primarily for punishment, and crime is something meriting punishment with every degree of hardship laid down by the law. As our population grows it is in evitable that transgressions of the law by individuals should increase. Condensed. From Everybody’s Magazine. , Visitor: What small girls you employ in your dairy! Foreman: Yes. those are our con densed milk malds._ The department of commerce an nounces that the 1323 death rate for Missouri was 1,221 per 100.000 population as compared with 1,125 in 1322. This in crease in 1023 is largely accounted for by increases in the death rates from influenza (from 30 to 68), pneumonia (from 107 to 120), diseases of the heart (from 120 to 130). measles (from 1 to 10). and whooping-cough (from 3 to 11). Among those diseases showing decreases in the 1023 death rates are diphtheria (from 16 in 1022 to 12). tuberculosis, all forms (from 05 to 03). small pox (from . 2 to 0.1), and malaria (from 5 to 4). WAS IT YOU? Pearl Halloway. An old man limped along life’s way. His grief-bowed head was crown ed with gray; Somebody cheered his dreary day. I wonder—Was it you? A lonely child, devoid cf guile. Looked up, and tears bedimmed its smile; Smebody stopped to play awhile. I wonder—Was it you? There’s always someone needing aid. Some trembling heart ulo.ie, afraid, Some load that could be lighter made. Can they depend on you? To some extent frail humanity domi nated by Its passions can be guided Into paths of rectitude by those as signed to the ministration of right eousness. But all said and done, the one great corrective of criminal tendencies Is fear of punishment. If that punishment is not forthcoming and of drastic character, if Ihe evil doer is to be coddled and wept over, law and order might as well bo ban ished once and for all from the scheme of civilization. French Premier’s Clothes Ridiculed in Germany Berlin.—The Germans are picking on the French again. This time it's a fashion journal, too. “The Tailor,” published in Hannover. And the object of the attack is Her riot, premier of France. “Tlie Tailor” accuses the Fnnch premier of wearing badly tailored, illfitting clothes—so bad, in fact, that his clothes could be almost mistaken for “ready-made.” As pleasing contrast, “The Tailor” presents President Bbert, of the Ger man republic, who is always dresseu “properly and tustely, as benefits the leader of a cultured people." The particular defects of Harriot's sartorial appearance, “The Tailor” notes as follows: The coat fits badly, is wrongly bal anced, and Is apparently worked without horse-hair lining. The vest has too many folds and wrinkles. The trousers are cut wrong, and —horrors!—show no signs of press ing. “Herriot does little honor to the land of elegance,” the journal re marks, but excuses It with the fact that he is a burdened politician who neglects his appearance over h s ideals. -- o. Moving cf Boy’s Heart New Feat of Surgery London.—An astonishing surgical operation has been successfully per formed at West J ' /.don hospital, Hammersmith, on a 15-year-old boy named Kdgar Heath, of Hanw rth, near Hanwell. Heath, while wr.kirg ,n ' ■■ porch of a house, fell ,n t j an crnamentai iron fence. Onj of the spear-head i penetrated his left /ide over Do heart, jiushing the bcart over lo the right-hand side, bit: not puncturing It. Part of the boy’s shirt was push ed around a lung, end the spear-head then broke off, 'savins; nine inches of iron embedded, in bis body, with only the butt p-otruding. The surgeoM, afte- administering an anaesthetic, succeeded in extract ing the sper.r-hoa'. and disentangling Mia Status. From the Kansas City Star. “So young Pens uith is succeeding as a poet?” asked v.ith a rising inflection Prof. Pate. "Yes,” replied old Festus Pe3ter. "I understand that a great many per sons think he has no inferior.” The birthplace of I Fenlmore Cooper is to he saved by the Burlington (X. J.) Historical Society. A portion of his library, his writing desk, his chair, the bellows that stood by the fireplace and other mementos of the days that Cooper has made so memorable have been preserved. Next door is the birth place of Captain James I-avvrence, tvh > said “Don’t give up the ship, ’ when too Chesapeake battled the British frigate Shannon off the shore of Boston during the war of lots L