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
