Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (July 24, 1903)
'W*fl I* THAT GIRL of JOHNSON S By JEJK.J* JtAT£ LVDLVM. Author of "At a Girl', Mercy." Etc. Entered According to Act of Concrete in the Year ISOO be Street & Smith. In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. CHAPTER III—Continued. * That night his comrades at the tar* ern had told him of this; they taunt ed him with it; they laughed at the girl. They did not like her—not one of them. Narrow natures dislike and distrust that which they cannot under stand. Young Green also had aroused *iis fears. Green had an education; .ie had asked where the girl obtained her education, therefore she must have an education. To-night he was assured of this. He kicked the hnnk contemptuous ly, and muttered, under his breath, an oath against young Green. If ever he came there again it would be a sorry day for him. Dolores said nothing. A sudden frenzy seized him. He stooped and snatched the book from the ground. It was an old astronomy. She had been reading the book, for she preferred it to any of her moth er's books, and when young Green saw it the day he was there he wa3 much surprised, and promised to take a volume on the subject the next time he went that way. She thanked him, and it was the first time she had thanked any one since Betsy Glenn died. That was two weeks before, and ho had not come again as he said he would, but she watched for him, feeling sure that he would keep his promise to her, feel ing strangely glad when she thought of him. She had perfect faith in him. Her father's face was lurid as he snatched the book from the ground. His small eyes, close set, were full of brute cruelty; the veins of his forehead were swollen. In his hands, used to wiekling the heavy hammer, the book was a toy; his fingers closed over it, and in an instant it lay in shreds at her feet. For a moment she did not compre hend what had been done; she looked from the book to him and back again. Then she arose; her face was white, and her eyes flashed. She looked at him, and he cowered before her. She was tall and stately; he had never be fore appreciated her dignity. Now he appreciated it to the full. The book was the dearest thing in the world to her; he could have wounded her In no other way. Mechanically he gathere 1 up the scattered iragments and as she held out her hand for them he gave them to her without a word, without even glancing at her. For the time she was more than his daughter; her eyes were on his face, and her spirit ruled his. Then they strayed away to the mountain top veiled in haze. The fire died out of her eyes; her hands, mecnanieally holding the torn leaves of her book, fell listlessly at her side; her shadow lay long and dark behind her. There was a sense of mystery about her which her father could not under stand; he shrank from it and from her, and passed away up the dark More Listless Than Usuual. bank heavy with the shadows of the pines that swayed in the faint breeze, and again silence fell around her. CHAPTER IV. The Mare. "I have come a^ain,” said young Green, laughing. ' He stood In the doorway of the shop, holding the black mare by the trridle. Johnson had been sitting on a bench outside of the shop, smoking a clay pipe. An the young man spoke he arose and advanced toward the mare. “Another shoe so soon?” he queried, shortly. “Ycb,” said the young man, lightly. “Her right shoe this time. Come, Bess; come, my girl!” There was a sudden, sullen glow oh Johnson's face as he took the bellows and blew the fire into a lierce blaze. He laid the Iron on the Are and rais ed the hammer. Young Green began to talk. He spoke of the dry weather and the hewd roads; he told the news of the town and of the trial that was to come off of a notorious horse thief who had been caught attempting to steal Bess. The blacksmith listened in sullen ■ilenoe between the blows of the ham* mar. By and by young Green left him and went up to the house for a drink. Johnson was not the only silent one that day. His daughter listened mute ly to the young man's conversation. If anything she was even more list less than usual, though a strange color tinged her cheeks as he talked. He left the promised book with her; he had not forgotten it, he said, but had been unable to take it before. For a moment her faco glowed w ith pleas ure. and the silken lashee lifted swift ly, but fell ere their eyes could meet. She thanked him in a few simple words hi her low, sweet voice; then her gaze wandered away to the hazy mountain top in the distance. Ho left in a few minutes, deeply disap pointed in her, and yet strangely In terested and puzzled. Had he mis taken her? Was she incapable of the thought ho believed she possessed? Had she not, after all, the ambition to be more than an untaught village girl? Did her thought end with the blue line of the mountains and the hamlets scattered along their sides? Dolores disappointed him; he thought her so much better than site had proveef herself, and yet under it all there was a sting in the thought which he did not understand, student of character as he was. “She was positively stupid," he said regretfully. “Yet her face shows such possibilities." He was walking slowly down the narrow path to the shop, his hands clasped behind him, his fair head bent slightly forward. Dolores was watching him, but he did not know It. He never guessed of the wistful brown eyes following him down the stubbly path. Bess whinnied shrilly when he came in sight. She was restless and snappish, hut when he mounted and rode out of the shop she grew gentle again. As he rode away Johnson called after him that she must have gone some distance without her shoe, for her foot was tender. Dolores watched him with her far seeing eyes as he rode up the moun tain, then her gaze went down to the shop. Her father was standing In the doorway also watching the rider. He had forgotten his pipe; his face in the hazy sunlight was full of sullen hatred, and he looked capable of committing almost any act. His mut tered threat of the previous evening returned to her clearly and distinctly. Her eyes widened with nameless fear. She looked up the mountain again to where the black mare was bearing her rider proudly along the yellow thread of road; she was no longer listless; her faco was white, her lip3 quivering with excitement CHAPTER V. Whose Was the Deed? Dolores was waiting for'something to happen. A vague terror possessed her; she could not have defined it had she tried; she did not try. Young Green’s face seemed to haunt her. She watched her father continually while ho was in the house, for a sort of fascination was upon her, and she could not keep her eyes trom his face. She could not explain the terror that possessed her. but her whole listless nature was aroused. She was different, and her life was somehow different, she knew not how. The slow days passed, it seemed to her, with even more slowness than was their wont. Every morning the red sun arose out of a veil of haze from the mountain Iwyond the val ley; every evening he sank behind the gray peaks in the west. Nothing happened after all; life was stagnant; the sun arose and set; the haze hung more dense and thick over the mountain peaks. No rain fell; nothing happened. Nothing hap pened until— One day the rumor floated across the mountain that young Green’s mare, one cf the choicest breed in the country, valued at what seemed to the simple villagers a fabulous sum. had gone lame. And this was discov ered the mcrntr.g after she was shod by Johnson. To most of the villagers this fact meant nothing. That the one had anything to do with the other never entered their heads. They had no cause for suspicion. But to Dolores the rumor came like a blow. It seem ed to her in a strange, far-away fash ion that this was what she had been expecting. This was why the kindly blue eyes were always looking into hers, and the pleasant face was for ever in her thoughts. Her eyes wore on her father when the news was *jold by one of the neighbors. A nail was driven into the mare's hoof ard she was dead lame. The hostler had found it when he examined her hoof, which was not until the morning following the day Green was at the settlement. It was a hard blow to the young man, the speaker said, for he had thought as much of her as though she were a woman. Conjecture was rife as to who had done the deed. Suspicion rested particularly in one direction, and the suspicion was pretty well founded, but the young man would wait until there could be no doubt. And here the Story ended. Dolores had listened silently, as was her habit, no one noticing her. The memory of her father’s words the other day returned to her with a force she could not account for. Over and over, mingled with tha memory of the b'aok mare and her rider, the words were driven In dally, as though by the strokes of a ham mer—even, dlstb-et, deafening, most terrible to the gin in the darkness. "Ef ever thet young feller kerns hyar agen et'U be a sorry day fer hem!” CHAPTER VI. A Neighborly Gift. *‘Et hev been so dry I ’lowed mebby ther gvardlng hyar dedn’t 'mount ter much, bein’ as ye air up so high, so I bringed ye some strawb'rles outen our gyarding. Dolores." “Thank you; cur garden didn’t amount to much," Dolores said, gravely.. She looked at her neighbor without a sign of interest in her face; she spoke in her usual listless man ner; but under the listnessness and apparent carelessness was the con sciousness like a sharp sword, ttiat the gift was the forerunner of some thing to follow else than her pleasure. She emptied the berries out of the basket into a dish and stood regard ing them. Mrs. Smith said afterward she looked as though she were trying Dolores Watched Him. to discover if they might be “tetch ed.” In reality the girl did not even see them. She was wondering vaguely what the woman would say about the mare That she had come for some purpose outside of bring.ng the fruit was clear to her. She waited with a sink ing heart and strained ears for what the woman would say. She knew well that something must follow. That it was in regard to the mare of young Green she ..ad not a doubt. Perhaps the suspicion in regard to the guilty party had become a fact. Perhaps this woman had come to tell her— perhaps— (To be continued.) HABIT IN READING PAPERS. Almost Every Person Has One Part He Turns to First. “Very old persons,” said an observ* er, “nearly always, on unfolding their newspaper, turn to the column of ‘Deaths.’ This is because, in the first place, they are most likely to find news of their friends there than in the column of ‘Marriages,’ or any other part of the paper, and because, in the second place, they are interest ed in death—they have it much in their minds. "Young girls turn first to the sccl oty news and weddings, and after that to the fashions. Young men of the healthy, open-air serf, turn first to the sporting news, while boys universally turn to this page first. The actor, of course, reads the dramatic columns, and the writer the book reviews, but neither of these departments, I fancy does any part of the disinterested public consult first of all. “The elderly gentleman of a pom pous appearance reads the editorials first, while his corpulent, cheerful wife reads the recipes on the ‘house held’ page. Some clergymen read the wills of the dead, to see what charities have been remembered with Bequests. There are many people who read the crimes, the scandals and the shocking accidents first. Poets, as a rule, will not read the newspapers at all.”—Philadelphia Record. Advantages of Early Christiana. Bishop Potter is telling a story of a dear old lady who recently asked him how It was that Solomon was allowed to have so many wives—not to mention the other ladies. He explained that the manners and customs of Solomon’s days were dif ferent to those of the present era, whereupon she replied earnestly, “Oh, don’t you think those early Christians enjoyed great privileges?”—New York Times. Admitted His Guilt. “Do you not at times have soulful yearnings which you long to express In words but cannot?” asked the fair maid who had a leaning toward the sentimental. “Yes, I was up against something like that once," admitted the youth with the noisy tie. “I wanted to tel egraph home for money and didn't hare the price of a Marconi.” Strategy. "It’s lucky I’m a dentist," ebuekled the tall student. “Why so?” asked the friend. “Well, last night every time I kissed Clara she screamed. When the old man came down I told him I was mere ly trying to pull a tooth.” UNCLE SAM STANDS PAT IN THE WORLD’S GAME. GAINS ALL ONESIDED CANADIAN IDEA OF A RECI PROCITY ARRANGEMENT. It Is to Limit the Bargain to tho Free Interchange of National Products, Whereby the Amer-an Farmer Would Find Himself a Loser. The millors of St. Paul anil Minne apolis favor reciprocity so they can get their wheat cheaper, and we pre sume other interests affected would favor reciprocity for the same reason. While declaring that they wish re ciprocity because It would be an ad vantage to this country, the fact is they want it bccaase it would benefit themselves. Do they pretend that this cheaper Canadian wheat. If admitted free, would benefit the American wheat grower as well as the Minne sota millers? They have not the face to make such a declaration because they know It would be laughed at They are after cheaper wheat, r.ot dearer, and cheaper Canadian wheat moans cheap American wheat. This is also true of oats, barley, potatoes, poultry, eggs, cheese, butter, hogs, cattle, sheep, wool, vegetables and fruits. They are all much cheaper in Canada than in the United States, and their free entry into this country would most assuredly cut down prices now paid American farmers for those staples. .Let us look at the situation as it really Is. The Canadians are trying by every means In their power to bnild up their country and develop Its resources. This is right and proper, and altogether commendable. But they find that to attract peoplo to the gTeat Northwestern territory from the western shores of Lake Superior to the Pacific, markets must be assured lor the products they won Id raise. Un der present conditions their market is Liverpool, and thousands of miles must be traversed by railway before a shipping port Is reached, which Is certainly a great handicap to the Bot tlers who may go there, and has pre vented the rapid settlement of that big country. Now, if those settlers could market their grain and live stock across the border i*. the United States it would be of great advantage to them financially, and settlers would flock there by the thousands. Even as it is, a good many American farm ers have moved to that country, and thousands more would take advan tage of its cheap lands could a mar ket for their products be assured over the border. The cost of tiansporting their products to the markets of Great Britain eats up all the profits and leaves nothing for the producer. It is to give the farmers of the Do minion a better chance that reciproci ty with the United States is desired by Canadians, not to help American producers. They know quite well tbat the staples produced in the Canadian provinces are those that can be pro duced in endless quantities in this country. They also know that the cheap lands and virgin soil of the Canadian Northwest could compete advantageously with the high priced lands in the older states, more or less denuded of their original fertility. Reciprocity, therefore, would simply mean the development of the Cana dian Northwest and older provinces at the expense of American producers, and with that development would come the milling industry and com peting lines of transportation that would finally rob the Minnesota miller of the advantage he would enjoy for a few years. And ho would be aiding all the time in the development of his finally successful competitor. The Canadian Northwest is so im mense a country that if fairly popu lated it could grow all the grain re quired by Great Britain and the im porting countries of Europe. It would he suicidal for Americans to aid in putting that country in a position to do «o.—Michigan Farmer. Of What Avail? Senator Hanna’s expression of fer vid faith In a protective tariff as a means of promoting prosperity seems to have jarred upon the nerves of the New York Evening Post. No free trader likes to hear or read that kind of talk. So the Evening Post snecr ingiy says: "With his praise of Mr. Roosevelt, he mingled greater praise of the hiph tariff. It was a miraculously perfect thing. It was the cause of all our prosperity. Of what avail was it for the Creator to give us forests and mines, until the party of protection came along and offered Americans a tariff bounty to work them?” To be perfectly frank with our free trade neighbor, we don’t mind saying that “until the party of protection came along’’ the people of tills country were not realizing much out of the unout timber and the unmined ores with which the Creator had so plenti fully endowed this favored land. It was after “the party of protection came along,” and not before, that la bor and capital began to And work and wealth in our forests and mines. Thai is a fact in history. OHIO IDEA OF THE TARIFF. It Is That Enemies of Protection Keep Hands Off. Following the collapse of the "Iowa Idea” revision scheme, the Ohio Idea of what should be done with the pro tective tariff system will be received with applause. The Ohio Idea, as set forth with simplicity and force in the state platform of the Republican party, is to let well enough alone. In contrast with the Iowa idea of tin kering with the schedules, with the “reciprocity" Idea of driving wedges into the pillars of protection and with the free trade idea of tearing down the whole splendid structure on which the national prosperity rests, the Ohio idea stands out in grateful relief: “We oppose all atiacks upon this policy (the protective tariff policy of the Republican party), whatover the pretext, as tending to bring back the disastrous days of Democratic tariff revision and free trade.” The Ohio idea, continued, is that “changing conditions and the possible benefits of reciprocity may call for timely readjustments of schedules, but protection as a principle and as a policy must be administered by the friends of American prosperity and must not he sacrificed.” The position taken by the Ohio Republicans is in full harmony with that of all but a selfish cr misguided fraction of their party in the nation. Their idea, too, is that no part of the prosperity struc ture should be touched by the hands of other workmen than those who builded it. The conntry Just now is satisfied with its strength and earn ing power. There Is no call for its disturbance save from the importers and shipping interests and wreckers In "high finance” and the demagogues of both parties. When the country de mands a readjustment of the tariff schedules the Republican party will listen to its request. But there is no sign yet that the country is dissatisfied with prosperity. And it will be a long time, we hope and we believe, before the country either will clamor for a modification of the tariff or Intrust the care of the protective Bystem to the Democratic party. The Ohio Republican idea of “hands off the tariff” is the idea of the Re publican party and the idea of a vast majority of this prosperous and con tented nation.—New York Press. Why Eve Plucked the Apple. Theodosia Garrison was dining out the other night, and the conversation turned upon various kinds of food. The gentleman who had taken her in to dinner, and who prided himself on knowing as much as a doctor about foodstuffs, declared that apples w6re excellent for the vitality of the brain because of the phosphoric acid which they contain in large quantities. “Oh, then it is quite clear,” said the poetess, “that Eve only plucked that apple to supply Adam with a few ideas.”—New York Times. Corner in Soup Bones. It Is rather mean of the Democrats to blame Cleveland for the soup houses which were in fashion during his administration. Soup bones would be cornered, no matter what Demo cratic free-trader or visionary tariff revisionist was elected to the pres idency. Mr. Cleveland "never meant to;" he was only a sure enough Dem ocrat.—Donald8onville (La.) Chief. Protection insures Prosperity. The calnmityites are peering through their pessimistic telescopes for the least sign in the break of prosperity, but in vain. Our present good times are based on a condition that is not affected by droughts, strikes or other temporary causes. So long as we are enabled by protection to do our own work, so long will we continue to be prosperous. Actual Results. The protebtive tariff policy of the Republican party has made the United States the greatest industrial nation; ha» added vastly to oirr foreign com merce, greatly Increased the prosper ity of the farmer, and has advanced (a bor to the best scale of living ever at tained.—From the Ohio Republican platform. Prices Still Declining. Dun’s index figure of prices, pro portioned to consumption, was on May 1 98.561—lower than for 17 months with one exception. And yet wages are constantly advancing, much to the net advantage of the Income earner who gains both ways under the splendid operation of the Dlngiey law. THE SCIENCE OF BUILDING. Exactitude Which Characterizes the Construction of Skyscrapers. Many of the great steel structures that are being built in every city are tre planned and molded in some dis tant city—like the material for Solo mon's temple of old—hundreds ol miles away. It Is In some rolling mill town of Pennsylvania that most of the gigantic framework for the modern skyscrapers are built. All that re mains to be done Is to put them to gether, and the building risos up like a house of blocks. Every piece Is fitted together and cumbered before it is taken away from the steel mill. So exact are the measurements that not even the drill ing of a hole is necessary for fitting the rivets which fasten the plates and girdens together. The watchllke pre cision with which these parts are made was shown In the construction of one of those buildings which is now being erected in Chicago. One of the large cross girders was missing in the framework of the sec ond floor, and though it did not inter fere with the placing of the frame work on all sides and above it, the contractor was worried to know what had become of It. When the frame work had grown as high as the sixth or seventh story and the missing piece had not been found around the railroad yards or heard of from any other source, ho wrote to ihe steel mill, describing it as closely as pos sible, ordering that it be duplicated. By the return mail he received the following reply: “As ground space is more .valuable In Chicago than here in the country, we are storing missing girder for you. We knew that you would need a steel derrick on that floor, and kept the girder out so you would have room. Will ship it after the remaining stories have been completed." The mill men had figured correctly on the building hundreds of miles away, and the girder could rot have been placed in position, even if it had been on the ground, on account of the derrick. STORY OF THE GOOD BOY. No “Honesty Is the Best Policy" for Him Any More. A newsboy picked up a flO bill in front of one of the big hotels yester day. Another young artist of the brush that is black, but artistic, saw the pick-up and guessed it was money. He made a loud plead for a division. “Halvers, or I’ll squeal," he yelled. While Red was hesitating an elder ly, benevolent-looking man stepped out of the hotel and gazed at the pave ment in an inquiring manner. Red saw the man and guessea that It was his money. He impulsively ran to him and ipqulred: “D'd you lose somethin’, mister?" “Why, yes, little man, I just dropped a bill. Did you see It?" he replied with a winning smile. “This it?” said the boy. extending a grimy paw In which was gripped the bill. The other boy stood the picture of alarmed astonishment. The old man took the bill and said: "That Is It, little man. I am glad to have It, but it affords me greater pleasure to know that there is such an honest, bright boy In the lowly oc cupation which Is your start in life. I predict that you will be a gTeat man some day. Honesty Is the greatest of virtues. Thank you, my good boy.” Red stood very still until the old man had entered the hotel. Then he said things. The things he said show ed the perfection of his training In the slums. They were emphatic, but un printable, and the end of tho long sentence was “an' I t’ought I'd get half of de X and make a reppytashun for bein’ honest, and beat Swlpsy out o’ de cut.” And Swlpsy looked at him in silent scorn several seconds before he stalk ed away, leaving the good boy to meditate—and—swear. — Kansas City Journal. The Colored Band. Wen de coin’d ban' come* ma'ohln' down rlc street You kin hyenh de ladles all erroun' re peat: ‘'Ain't dey handsome? Ain’t dry gran’? Ain't dey splendid? Goodness. Ian’! W'y, day’s pu’fect f’om dey fo’heads to dey feet!” An’ Rich steppln' to de music down de line, ‘Tain t de music by Itself dat meks It tine; Hits de walkin’, step by step. An’ de keepln’ time wld "Hep.’’ Dnt meks a common ditty soun’ divine. Oh. de white ban' play hits music, and hit’s mighty good to hyeah. An’ It sometimes leave a ticklin' In yo’ feet; But de hea’t goes Into business Fu’ to help erlong de eah. Wen de coin’d ban’ goes ma'chln down de street. —Paul Laurence Dunbar In New Orleans Times-Democrat. Would Solve Servant Question. A certain West PhiladelpLia family has an invariable rule that the chil dren shall take turns in saying a grace before meals. This grace fol lows a set form, but at the Sunday dinner, when papa is at home, an ex tempore addition or enlargement is re quired. The household had been suffering from a long succession of incompe ent cooks, and th» other Sunday, as the family assembled at the table, the mother lamented that she feared the dinner was spoiled, and that unless a good cook could be obtained imme diately a contemplated tiip to the counte-y would have to be abandoned. It was little Krnest’s turn to say grace, and he echoed the prayer of all present: ‘‘Bless, ofc, Lord, this food for our use, and us to Thy sei-vice, foi Christ’s sake. And Lord, please send j us a good cook before Friday."
