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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 5, 1912)
PROLOGUE. A young man and a beautiful young woman, lost and alone in a wilderness for months, half starved and in daily peril of death from wild beasts and stilt more savage Indians this is the central theme of the most fascU noting romance that has come from Emerson Hough's pen. Head and you will learn how love came to them; how they conducted themselves in this try ing, unconventional situation; how the man's chivalry and the woman's purity held them stead' fast to the ideals of civilization, and how the strange episode brought tragedies, estrangements and happiness. CHAPTER XX. The Uncovering of Gordon Orme. IT is not necessary for me to state that dinner In the Sheraton hall, with Its dull mahogany and Its shining silver and glass, was bare ly better than a nightmare to me, who should have been most happy. At least there remained the topics of poli tics and war, and never was I more glad to f lunge into such matters than npon that evening. In some way the dinner hour passed. Miss Grace plead ed a headache and left us, my mother asked leave, and presently our hostess I Saw Him Plainly. It Wat Gordon Ormel . and host departed, narry nnd I re mained to stare at each other moodily. I nilniit. I vm? "Inri.whPl fltinll" lie announced his nmnniou 01 reining. A servant showed mo my own room. My restlessness grow upon me so thnt. some time past midnight, not having made an attempt to prepare for stern, I arose, vveut quietly down tlie stair and out nt the front door, to Bee If I wuld find more peace in tlio open nlr. By this time every one of the house hold had retired. I was surprised, therefore, whun I saw u faint streak of light from one of the windows flush out ncross the lawn. Not wishing to intrude, 1 chained my position. Al most Jit that In-t.int 1 saw the figure of a ma li appear from the shrulihcry and walk illreMly toward the house, Apparently headed for the window from which emerged the lllif. I watched him advance, and when I paw Llni reach the heavily barred trel lis which ran up lo the second gallery, I felt confirmed In my suspicion that he was a burtlar. Approaching care fully in the shadow, I made a rapid run at him, and as his head was turned 'at the time, managed to patch him about the neck by an arm. Ills face, thus thrown ln U. was Illuminated by the Hare of licjit. I saw him plainly, it was Cordon Orme! The light disappeared. There was no cry from above. The great house, lying dark and silent, heard no alarm. 1 did 1. tO, rnMir' plo" tq. V"! t'fht- THE WAY OF MAN By Emerson Hough Copyright, Ml, by the Outing Publishing Company enwFiriy" gTfp 'iipoii him" iff so" f eTI a fashion that all his arts In wrestling could avail him nothing. I had caught him from behind, and now I held him with a hand on each of his arms above the elbow. No man could escape me when I had that hold. lie did not speak, but struggled si lently with nil his power. At length he relaxed a trifle. I stood close to him, slipped my left arm under his left along his back, and caught his right arm In my left hand. Then I took from his pocket a pistol which I put into my own. I felt in bis clothing and finally discovered a knife, hidden la a scabbard at the back of his neck. I drew it out a long blnded. Ivory thing I found It later, with gold let into the nllt and woven Into the steel. He eased himself in ray grip as much as he could, waiting, as I knew, for his chance to twist and gropple with me. I could feel him breathing deeply and easily, resting, waiting for his time. using his brains to aid his body with perfect deliberation. "It's no use, Orme," I said to him. "I enn wring your neck or break your back or twist your arms off, and I've a notion to do them all. If you make any attempt to get away I'm going to kill you. Now come along;" I shoved him ahead of me. his arms pinioned, until we found a seat far away In a dark portion of the great front yard. Here I pushed him down and took the other end of the seat cov ering him with his own pistol. "Xow," I demanded, "tell me what you are doing here." "You have your privilege at guess ing," he sneered in his easy, mocking way. "Have you never taken a little adventure of this sort yourself?" "In Virginia we keep the shotgun for men who prowl around houses at night," I said. "What are you doing here?" "You have no right te ask. It is not your house." "There was a light." said I. "For that reason 1 have a right to ask. I am a guest, and a guest has duties as well as a host" "If I give you parole." he asked, 'will you believe me and let us talk freely?" "Yes." said I slowly. "You are a iiar. but I do not think you will break parole." I threw the pistol on the seat be tween us. "What is it you want to know?" I asked. "And again I ask you why are you here when you are supposed to be In South Carolina';" "V have business here. You cost me my chance out there in the west." he answered slowly. "In turn I cost you your chance there. I shall cost you other things here. I said you should pay my debt" lie motioned toward my neck with his slim finger. "Yes. you saved my life," 1 said, "and I have hated you for that ever since." "Will you make me one promise?" "Perhaps, but not In advance." "And will you keep It?" -"If I make It." "Will you promise mo to do one thing you have already promised to do?" "Orme. I am In no mood to sit here and gossip like an old woman." "Oh, don't act ugly. You're done out of it all around, la any case. Belknap, it seems, was to beat both you and me. Then why should not you and I try to forget? But now as to this lit tle promise. I was only going to ask you to do as much as Belknap, or less." "Very well, then." "I want you to promise to marry Grace Sheraton." I laughed In his face. "I thought you knew me better than that. Orme. I'll attend to my own matters for myself. 1 shall not even ask you why you. want so puerile a promise. I am much of n mind to shoot you. Tell, me, who are you. and what are you, and whut are you doing In this country?" "Do you really wunt to know?" he smiled. 1 "Assuredly I do. I demand It." "I believe I will tell you, then,"- ho sold quietly. He mused for a time be fore he raised his head and went on. ' "I am Charles Cordon Orme, mar tiis of Bute and Itayne. Once I lived In Kngland. For good reasons I have since lived elsewhere. I am what Is known as a black sheep-a very, very black one." "Yes, yon are a retrograde, a rene gade, o blackguard and a murderer," I said to blni calmly. "All of those things and much more," headiniUei cheerfully utid calmly. "I nm two persons or more than two. I cau't in the least make all this plain to you in your grade of Intelligence. Per haps you have heard of exchangeable personalities?" "I have beard of double personalities and double lives," I said, "but I liuva never admired them." "..We. will wa!ve your .admiration. IiOt me .i i ,i..v " I ..u Wi llllUgU hi personality. The Jews used to say that men of certain mentality were possessed of a devil. I only say that I was a student In India. One phrase is good as auother. The Swaml llama data was my teacher. I am a raja yogi. I have taken the eight mystic steps. For years even here in this country I have kept up the sacred ex ercises of breath, of posture, oL thought." "All that means nothing to me." J said. "No; it means nothing for me to tell you thut I have learned Y'ama, Nlya ma, Asana, Franayania, Pratyuhara, l)harana, Dyhuna and Samadhi. Yes, 1 was something of an adept once. I learned calm, meditation, contempla tion, introspection, supercousclous reiv soulug how to cast my own mind to a distance, how to bring other minds close up to me. But" he smiled with all his old mockery "mostly I failed on Pratyahara, which says tho senses must be quelled, subdued and set aside. All religious are alike to me, but they must not Intrude on my own religion. I'd liefer die than not enjoy. My religion, I say, Is to play the great games to adventure and abovo all to enjoy. That Is why I am In this coun try, also why I am in these grounds tonight." "You are playing some deeper gam a than I know?" "I always am. How could you ba expected to understand what It took me years to learn? But I suppose In your case you need a few practical und concrete proofs. Let me show you a few things. Here, put your hand on my heart. I obeyed. "You feel It beat?" he said. "Now It stops beating, does It not?" And as I live, it had stopped! "Feel on the opposite side," he com manded. I did so, nnd there was his heart clear across his body, and beat ing as before! "Now 1 shall stop It again." he remarked, calmly. And I swear It did stop, und resumed when he liked! "Put your hand upon my abdomen.' he said. I did so. All at once his body Reemed thin and empty, as a spent c coon. "I drnw all the organs Into the tho rax," he explained. "When one baa studied under the Swaml. as 1 have, he gains control over all his different muscles, voluntary and Involuntary He can. to a great extent, cut off or In crease the nerve force In any muscle. Simple tricks In magic become easy to him. He gains, as you may sup pose, a certain influence over men. and more especially over women. If that be .a part of bis religion. It was not with the Swaml. It is with me!" "You are a strange man. Orme." I said, drawing a long breath, "the most dangerous man. the most singular, the most Immoral 1 ever knew. "No," be said, reaching for bis cigar case, "I was only born without what you call morals. They are not neces sary In abstruse thought . Yet in some ways I retain the old Influences of my own country. For Instance, 1 He as readily as I speak the truth, because It is more convenient; but though 1 am a Mar, I do not break my word or hon or. I am a renegade, but I am still an English officer! You have caught that distinction "Yes. 1 would trust you." I said. "If you gave n" ronr word of honor.!' fie turned full upon me. "By .love, old chap." he said, with a queer note in his voice, "you touch me awfully close. You're like men of my own family you stir something In me thnt I used to know. The word of a fight ing man that's the same for yours and mine, and that's why I've always admired you That's the sort of man that wins with the best sort of women." "You were not worth the best sort of woman," I said to him. "You had no chance with Ellen Meriwether." "No, but at least every fellow Is worth his own fight with himself. 1 wanted to be a gentleman once more Oh, a man may mato with a woman of nny color. He does all over the world. Ho may And a mistress in any nation allty of his own color or a wife in any class similar to his own. He does nil over the world. But a sweetheart and a wife and a woman when a fellow even like myself finds himself honestly gone like that when he begins to fight Inside himself, old India against old England, renegade agolnst gentlemnn I say that's awfully blttcr-when ho sees the other fellow win. You won" "No," said I, "I did not win. You know that perfectly well. Thero is no way In the world that I can win. All I can do is to keep parole well, with myself, I suppose." "You touch mo awfully close," ho mused again. "You play big and fair. You're a fighting man and a gentle man and-excuse me, but It's true an awful ass all in one. You're such an ass I utmost hesitate to pluy the game with you." "Thank you." said I. "But now take a very stupid fellow's advice. Leave this country and don't bo seen about here again, for If so yon will bo killed." "Precisely," he admitted. "In fact. I was Just Intending to arrange a per lminent departure. That was why 1 was asking you to promise mo to hi short, to keep your own promise. There's going to bo war next spring The dreams of this strange new man Lincoln, out in the west, are going to come true. There will be catastro' phles here. That is why I am here War, one of the greatest games, Is something that one must sometimes cross the globe to play. I will be hero to havo a hand in this one." i "You have had much of a hand in It ! already," I hazarded. He smiled frank My- , l os. he said, "one must live. I .admit I hove been what you call a se cret agent. Thero Is much money be hind, tno, bl? ;vIPL'st.Mir commercial niy game and ray task, my duty to my masters, has been to split this country along a clean Hue from east to west, from ocean to ocean, to make two countries of It. You will see that hap pen, my friend." "No one will ever see it happen," I baid to him soberly. "Under which flag, then, for you?" he asked quickly. "The Hag you saw on the frontier, Orme," I answered him. "That Is the flag of America and will be. The fron tier Is free. It will make America frc forever." "Oh, well," he said, "the argument will be obvious enough by next spring in April, I should guess. And what ever you or I may think the game will be big, very big the biggest until you have your re-'l war between black and white and your yet bigger one between yellow and white. I imagine old Eng land will be In that with you or with one of you if you make two countries here. But I may be a wandering Jew on some other planet before that time." He sat for a time, his chin dropped on his breast. Finally be reached me his hand. "Let me go," he said. "I promise you to leave." "To leave the state?" "No, I will not promise that." "To leave the county?" "Yes, unless war should bring me here in the course of my duty. But 1 will promise to leave this town, this residence, this girl In short I must do that. And you are such an ass that I was going to ask you to promise to keep your promise up there." He mo tioned toward the window where the light lately had been. "You do not ask that now?" I que ried. "You are a fighting man," he said suddenly. "Let all these questions answer themselves when their time comes. After all, I suppose a woman is a womnu In 'the greatest of the games, and one takes one's chances. Suppose we leave the debt unsettled uutll we meet some time? You know, you may be claiming debt of me." "Will you be ready?" 1 asked him. "Always. You know that. Now. may I go? is my parole ended?" "It ends at the gate." I sold to him and handed him his pistol. The knife I retained, forgetfully, but when I turn ed to offer it to him ho was goue. (To He ('.nil! imieil.) E Great Spectacle of "Joan of Arc" Has Been Added to Their Great Show. From Saturday's Dally. Ilingling Brothers' circus and newly added 500,0(10 spectacle of "Joan of Arc," will exhibit in Omaha Friday, August, 1). The spectacle in itself Is an attrac tion thai should bring thousands uf visitors from the surrounding country. It is beyond question Hie gncntest production of its kind ever .seen in America. Tin; world's most skillful scenic artists, costumcrs, property mak ers, chorus directors and stage managers were engaged to mount Llie product ion. A stage bigger Itian a hundred ordinary theaters was built and made portable so that it can he conveyed from town to town and erected each morning: in the main tent. Thus the circus proprietors have made it possible for those who live in contributory towns as well ts in the large ctiies to see this magnificent wordless play with its cast, of 1,200 char acters, a ballet of 300 dancing girls, a grand opera chorus of ioo voices, (100 horses and a train load of special scenery, costumes, properties and mechanical devices for producing such stage .elleets as- thunder, lightning, storms, llres nnd the sound of hallle. In the- old market places of notion, Franco, there now stands a monument, by which the F tench of today have sought to redeem their part in the execution of Joan of Ait, who on May 30, 1 i.'il, was burned to death on the false charge of heresy after having de livered her country from I lie English and having restored the crown to Charles VII. History re cords but llie meager fads of this strange heroine of eighteen years, who li the armies of Franco victorious through Ennlish in vasion, and then, descried by all, even the indolent monarch whom she preserved, died by t li cruelest loitiiiv known willi llie name of the master upon her lips. l'n siing in poclVy the name of litis simple pea-ant girl has come down through llie age- o be revered a- that of a sainl, and whose wonderful powers and whose bravery are verily believed to have been of divine inspiration. On the triumphant incidents, lite victorious engagements, the final defeat of tin Fngli-di armies and the coronal ion of Charles VII, nil achieved by Ihe frail Maid of Orleans, has been founded the Inspiring spectacle which gives RINGLING BROS MINS Your business sense and your "trading" appetite ought to be whetted by this offering good clothes for a whole lot less than you've ever bought them before. It's a clearance planned along the lines that have made this store a popular trading place. Not a Suit Worth Less than $20.00 and most of them worth $22.50, $23, J27.50 and $30; now $10, $14. and $18. Hart Schaffner & Marx, and Alfred Decker & Colin made the most of them. Any Straw Hat in the house for HALF PRICE. Manhattan Shirts Ilingling Urol hers' circus a new significance and makes an attrac tion such as the. world in search ing for amusement has never be fore found. ' The regular circus program is more than ever attractive. Its company of 375 foreign artists, its double- menagerie and its new street parade will prove a great surprise lo I hose who attend from I his city. The event is one that should not he missed. Has Resided In Plattsmouth for Thirty Years and Was Born In Bohemia. From Saturday's Dally. James Mrasck, who for thirty years has been a resident of Wintersteen Hill, in Plattsmouth, died suddenly yesterday afternoon at his home on South First street. He was born in llohemia about fifty-nine years ago and came to America when a young man and settled in Plattsmouth. He was married in Europe. Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mrasck, they being Frank of Kansas, James of this city, John of Chiekasha, Oklahoma, and Joseph of Murray. His wife died twenty-two years ago, leaving four small sons, who were raised by different farmers near l'lalts moulh. Since Ihe death of his wife Mr. Mrase.k has lived alone in tin! home he had prepared for his wife and family. For many years ho was in the employ of the' Miirlington, working in Ihe lumber yard, but of recent years he has been in the employ of the city. The funeral occurred at 11 o'clock this morning from Ihe residence, Hov. L. (iade, pastor of the l'roshylerian church, con ducting the service. State Fair. The Nebraska .Stale Fair, Sep tember 2-0, would not tteein. natural without the groat Liberal! Mililary band and (irand Opera Concert company in their daily eoonoorts. This band is without doubt the peer of any like or ganizalion in the United States and music lovers look forward with delight to the rendition of favorilo acts from II Trovolore, Lucia, Cavalleria Iluslicanna, lligoletto, Faust, Carmen and other popular operas. SUDDEN DEATH OF JAMES MRASEK Hi m OIRlILIRl nt tn at Lntrtnnr wrui i: i IIVtlLIU lUYJ $13,000 ' ft A rvnTW am n -"" f nrsri . . . ikrdtjWdnddOrdndOpMU Stetson Hats HE CELEBRATER HIS From Saturdays Dally. While celebrating an Austrian holiday yesterday at Louisville, Louie Miller, an Austrian native, lilled up Nebraska brewed corn juice and carved right and left with his trusty jack-knife. Ha llrst made a dash at Joe Sch mur derer with his knife drawn and threatened lo kill him. Joe waa not ready to die, as the call came suddenly and his business was not in shape for that, and he made his getaway quick. City Marshal Cam Seybert accosted Miller, who drew his knife and slashed tho olllcer on the arm, but was over powered before he could do further injury. Sherill" Quintou was summoned at once and he went to Louisville and brought Miller in and lodged him in the county, jail. Complaint was tiled this afternoon against the accused man and a preliminary heariuu will probably be hold Monday. Cut the Weeds. I hereby wish to call the atten tion of all farmers in Itoad Dis trict No. 27 that according to the now law, they are compelled to cut the weeds along their road or the same will bo cut by the road overseer and charged up in taxes to land adjacent. Also, that all woods must be cut on or before August 15th, or I will be com pelled lo comply with the law. Walter Ilyers, Overseer. 7-2'J-Slwkly H-M- HI-H M-M W-H- Acorn Urand Waists, one 4 of the best on the market, 4 worth from .$1,50 to $5.00, Summer Clearance Sale price, 75e to $3.50. .J. E. O. noVEY & SON. j-HM IH-H JM-M H-H NOTICE! Just received on track, car of extra choice Midland Hay from the Loup river country, and while it lasts we will sell It at $16.00 per ton. This Is a hay of excellent color, fine quality, at the very low price of $16.00 per ton from our hay shed. Come and supply your wants before It Is all gone. Codar Creek Lumber Co., Cedar Creek, Neb. 12 i . . j.t.i,'i'.,'.' J UVV , & V IM RACES m Ai i rm li -n i if . m MM lOcri O UVA ri. i . hi i l u m l . IF it