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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 1917)
|P~^S^Z52S2S2ScScS£S?SZSZSHS2SESZ5gSg5g525gSg5E5ZSc5£5g5aSZ5Z5s|fc I The Protector of Finance | 3 Tales of Resilius Marvel, Guardian of Bank Treasure % By WELDON J. COBB jjj OPEN FOR RATING 1 I a 1_I s }J1 Coprrijfct. W G. Chapman ?! H|3C3£3SZSE52S2E?S2S2S?S^£25^32SHSiSHSZSHSHS25H£HSS5HSHS,5SZ5Z5H5?iB Wtii.N' The president of the Atlas National bank sent fur Resiling Marvel I was selected as his messenger. When I returned freu- the office of the United Bankers' *!Y.t- Tive association with its active 1- ad :n my company I »vas. quite nat urally being the private secretary of the :,e and the closest friend of the other, motioned to remain. I sank into one of the sumptuous easy chairs which crowded the inner sanctum of the greut k.:.g of finance, Mr. Robert I Yew feeling sure that I was about to l:*ten to something new and impor tant. Re* l.iis Man-el looked easy-minded and to eptive I fancied 1 detected a very slight smile pass over his face as his eye fell upon a heap of bonds outspread and held down by a paper weight on the desk directly before Mr Drew The serious, somewhat irritat ed face of the bank president indicated that he was ill at ease mentally, that he had sent for Marvel much as might a man who had bungled over mending a braised finzer and had been com pel.-d to ca.. in skilled surgical aid He t- 1 • p.. eff-handed as he select ed one of tne bonds and passed it over for the inspection of the man when. 1 had seen do so many clever th:ne-. whom I had come to recognize us the grand pdat-master of foresight and efficiency in the hank mysteries line -What do you know about these bonds. Mr Marvel?” was the question pat Ev. rythlng was the prompt reply, •o speedily given that its enunciation and a bare careless glance at the broad black letters. "Jebel River & Great Jangeh Railroad Co..’ were si multaneous That is good.' said the president. <ju.t~ grat- tuily clearing his throat and looking hopeful- ‘This is a special matter you understand and confiden t.al I shall be sorry or glad that the bank bolds over $0'“0.000 of those se euri'ies after I have heard what you have to say." "You will be sorry." bluntly replied Marvel The whole proposition is a dream, perhaps a fraud- The securi ties are waste paper, unless—" Yes—unless?” pressed Mr Drew eagerly, almost piteously, with a face grown many shades paler Unless I am able to locate the man who signs them as president of the road—h.s royal highness of Jaa geh " I was struck with the extraordinary words Marvel had placed the bond on the c -sk It was within my reach, and as ’.' obtrusively as i could I drew k towards me Several of the bonds of this S'sue had passed under my eye cacuall) n the regular course of busi ness of the bank during the past two months, but I had never scanned them particularly Now I read the signa tures Zwun Zhi. King of Jangeh, Pres.dent; Napoleon Lucroix. Imperial Treasurer, Secretary ” Half of these bonds.” spoke Mr. Imew, placing an unsteady hand on the heap. ' are collateraled. Over tdOO, 000 however, represent a direct pur chase of the bank.” "At what price?” inquired Marvel. 'Prom ? j to 92 " "And ’hey dropped 15 points this morning recour.*ed my well-posted Triecd They will go down to 40 to day before the Stock Exchange closes,” I caught a convulsive click in Mr. Drew s throat. His fingers were beat ing a rapid tattoo on the crisp, gaudy secum.es The sound appealed to me like the ominous swish of dry leaves In harvest time, preceding a storm. "You see.” he managed to speak, there seemed no doubt of the secur ity. While Jangeb is a barbaric king dom. its resources are tremendous, ivory, gold, diamonds and immense droves of cattle. Ail the country lacks is some thoroughfare to the coast The idea was to build a line -t from l eanda on the Victoria Xy anza. a large inland lake, beyond An gora to the Jebel river. Hie na T --es co d then float their cattle and other products down the stream, t*nnsfer 'o th* Coast road, and reach Za- .bar through German East Africa. It ked as favorable as the Cecil Hi. -u-s d> t-.opment schemes or the recent Soudan exploitations.” Yes. so the frospectus said.” nod d* * Marvel dryly. The deed of trust,” went on Mr Drew- in almost feverish haste and with a shade of pleading unction in hi* lone, -covers nearly Z <>00,000 acres of land two palaces, fifteen native cities, half a dozen gold mines—alto gether valued at some fifty millions of dollars. The bond issue is a bare mil l >a Another point: Ralston A Co., hatters, have the construction con traet, and guarantee the payment of Int-rett principal on these bonds " ’Again the prospectus—you have a good memory. Mr Drew," said Marvel quietly A hy. see here.” resumed the bank fires .d-nt more like a man defending a cl:-at han asking for information. “look at this ” Very animatedly he drew over to him the big rating book His nervous finger* fumbled the leaves and then ran over the initial index. Here it is: Ra..-- n A Co. GAA. a million and aver, the b gfcest capital and credit rating possible. I cannot understand the flurry in those bonds. Ralston & Co stand behind the proposition on a strong guarantee ” He looked at Marvel in some de -The latter took the challenge :* :ly His hand went <nto an inner pocket and drew forth a slip of tissue He passed this to the bank president. * Mg' the day before yesterday.” w* v>< -*> c-cmmercial agency tor a report on Ralston A Co. Yon observe what the agency reported: •Ow?n for rating ~ It was not the first time Mr. Drew had heard that technical agency phrase. In a vague way it was gen erally understood to indicate an inves tigation pending, a lacking verifica tion of antecedents, or anticipation of a promised statement. "As you know,” observed Mr. Drew, j closely scanning the bit of flimsy,! "they are a comparatively new firm Very often a rating is withheld or suspended awaiting a reorganization, or for some other transitory confc-j tion.” "Today." pursued Marvel steadily, j "I have learned a somewhat peculiar fact. The reporter who held that rating open the next day went to the office of Ralston & Co. to receive a promised statement. He withdrew the rating owing to some suspicions he did not impart to his chief. He has never been seen since. His name is Clinton Durham, and he has mys teriously. utterly, disappeared.” ' And you infer from this—?” ques tioned Mr. Drew. “Blackmail, briefly, or foul play, for last evening Ralston & Co., which means Bernard Ralston, drew out every dollar they had in the local banks and have evidently closed shop.” The bank president sprang to his feet. “1 had not heard of that," he said huskily. You will, in the afternoon r-"p^rs.” explained Marvel. "The laggard in terest money, suspicion, a sense of in security, have caused the first raid on the Jebel River bonds. Y’ou can fancy what the Stock Exchange will ; do when the disappearance of Rals ton is public property." The bank president was pacing the floor in sheer agitation. Always hitherto he had posed to me as a great man handling big events and never showing the white feather. Just now he disdained all self-restraint or ego tism. IX) somethnjg: he said in a hoarse broken tone. "I intend to." replied Marvel. "You have done all the talking so far—let me do some. I will tell you what very few know. "The bonds were invalid in the first place; a signature is lacking. I think I can obtain it. If I do, the bond holders will not lose. As you quoted from the prospectus, the physical se curity behind the deed of trust is am ple—provided the title is right. It is quite the reverse, but I hope to rectify it.” Marvel was done. Too many times had Mr. Drew consulted him not to know that. He drank a glass of water in feverish haste. Then he took up : his check book. “You understand—of course—" he began significantly. ‘ When the case is through,” inter rupted Marvel. "I want our friend here for a week," and he placed his hand on my arm. "I need some help.” I smiled at Marvel in deprecation I had been so fortunate as to be his companion in several cases he had worked up. To speak of help—and from me! I laughed outright. The only suggestions I had even ventured to make to him had been based on stupid deductions. "I don't think you understand," he said, locking his arm in mine as we left the bank. "Metaphysically I have found you a silent but willing buffer in the midst of developing ideas. I sometimes think you are valuable in : catching them, and by some telepathic sense extracting their values. They percolate through your mentality and come back to me clarified. That is j the real transference of thought, you know.” i nere was always something inter esting going on at Resilius Marvel's office. On the present occasion I looked around it to catch any indica tion there might be of a suggestion >>f the unusual. Its proprietor motioned me to a chair in the outer apartment. In less than a minute Loti, his handy man. servitor and assistant, came from a side room. He greeted me with his usual reserved yet graceful obeis ance. Lying on a table was a cane : and a woman's handbag I watched him as he halted where they lay, then touched them. I noticed those deli cate nostrils of his quiver, contract | and relax. A strange man this Loti,! gifted in his peculiar sense of smell, 'till more remarkable in the theories j he adduced from an exercise of it. I ‘ had known him to scent the germs of j pestilence in a closed packet. I had heard of his analyzing ownership, by j the same highly developed trait, of a roll of disputed bank bills. I augured that the cane and the handbag be longed to present visitors in the pri vate office. The cane was such as a born dandy might carry. The hand bag was crude in material and clum sy in shape. It was made of alligator , hide and was ornamented with shiny,1 mottled scales of some gaudy trop- j ical fish At one side of Marvel’s desk and within Its shadow was a woman. I could only divine this from her ap parel. Nothing of her features show ed. for she was deeply veiled. I made j out that she must be squat to the I point of obesity. Her hands werej splay, but stumpy. I wondered what | the handbag and cannibals could have ! to do with her. ' This is my friend.” spoke Marvel shortly, and did "not even look up from some writing he was engaged in. The man straightened up with an elaborate gesture of courtesy. He j was a natural poseur, his manner showed It is my service profound to the friend of a friend.” and he kissed the tips of his fingers towards me. “Be brief,” came curtly from Mar vel's lips. The Frenchman made a slight grim ace of hur* Mgnity and reproach. Tata ua reacted vlthin the fashion ably modeled coat he wore and brought out a tattered and Indented card case. Its dislocated hinge came loose as he opened it He extracted daintily and with infinite care what it contained. This was the dirtiest card 1 had ever seen. He handled It as carefully as if It was some treasured heirloom. He tendered It gingerly, tiptoeing to reach me. “If monsieur will read and return,” he said. The card was not illuminating. With infinite pride the Frenchman re ceived it back from me, and then with sorrowful intonation remarked; "Once honored, I, Lefort—in the grand days of the cantatrice, the mod els of Worth, of duchesses, while now —alas!” He embraced the squat figure in shadow, mute and ominous as some veiled sphvnx, within a sweeping in clination of his hand. Then a dimin ishing crescendo of his nimble, airy fingers seemed to indicate leagues of space, something too immense to de scribe, and far away. "The House," he finally resumed— “Vine, Ropstcrff & Bledha. The one-* the only. And Vienna—the center of metropoli, of grandeur, of sublimity.” He sighed deeply. His eyes grew moist. "And I. Lefort. representatif. That was nearly two years ago. Since then”—again the hand wave, despair ing and dismal, embracing the uni verse—and always the squat, veiled figure included. "Of the House, what is there to tell? Institute W. Schimmelfing, Berlin, the credit dictator of the world, has al ready told. Dolls—that speak, that walk, that waltz—and live! And the apotheosis of art attained when the great Sophia Voltmar model was reached!" I understood that the House with three names were doll makers ex traordinary; that he, Lefort, was their representative. “See you, even royalty came to view, in the brilliantly illuminated fected great interest in my forlorn condition. He advised that I remain on board the schooner until Cape Town was reached. Thence I could cable to the house, explaining all. "My first care was the doll. Except where a dash of rain and salt water had slightly discolored the dress, its beauty, its grandeur, were apparent as ever. The string of false pearls was gone—wrenched from place by the robbers, who supposed they had se cured the famous Damon gems. “My blow had been a bad one, and I was a convalescent for some time.' The schooner lined the West coast We entered the Gulf of Guinea just as the typhoon season came on. The grain coast of Liberia, the ivory coast of Ashantee, the gold coast of Daho mey, the slave coast of the bight of Biafra—all these we passed in safety, and then, one tempestuous night, the schooner went to pieces, blown upon a rock by a gale that drove every man on deck overboard. “Peste! Canaille! sortie de cie! It was the traitor Ducroix who was my partner in a wild swim for the shore. An empty water barrel for our buoy, we landed on a barren coast. By some strange fate we drifted inland. As I learned later, we must have crossed all of the French Congo. We arrived at the Jebel river, we penetrated Jan geh. Our first sight of humanity was of the tribesmen of Zwun Zhi, the king.” Lafort made a wry face. Again his glance, bitter and resentful, wandered towards the squat, veiled figure. Then he mouthed rather than articulated the gruesome word "Cannibals!” 1 reflected: Jangeh—was it there the veiled woman came from0 “Through wreck, hardship, perils on land, I never lost sight of my case, of the peerless Sophia. She was a re minder of the glorious past. We were taken before the king. In the gleam ing. hungry eyes or his servitors I noted the greasy unction of festive ap petite: in his own. only indifference, the lazy curiosity of a man lulled to content by half a hundred wives and hi i ^ s m i ‘ONCE HONORED. l.LEFORT-IN THE GRAND DAYS OF THE* CANTATRICE.THE MODELS OF WORTH .OF DUCHESSES WHILE NOW- ALAS I* show window, Sophia Voltmar. The miniature latest creation of Worth in which the doll was garbed cost 3,000 thalers. About its neck was the Da mon string of pearls. It had taken coast fisherman two years to gather these, mated from the center from a hazel nut size to that of a pea, and listed at 12,000 pounds sterling." From all this I began to understand that the racy Sophia, founder of the celebrated "Cobra" dance known over two continents, had been duplicated in doll fashion and exhibited to the Vienna world as a most artistic speci men of the exclusive handicraft of the House. "I was deputized, honored with the commission, to convey this latest pro duction of the House to Paris,” pro ceeded the volatile Lefort. "When it was ready for packing the Damon string of pearls was removed. There was substituted a cheap imitation necklace. It was unfortunate that in my pride, my desire to show this marvel of the House to some friends at Marseilles, I did not proceed direct to Paris, where the doll was to be placed in a case before the Grand Opera House, where Sophia Voltmar was the attraction. I found my friends at t. e seaboard city absent at a wed ding. Always my precious case with me, I strolled about the harbor. It was one of those royal evenings, the air pure wine, the sky a vaulted sap phire. the lovely Mediterranean a sheet of liquid gold. I took a row boat, my case ever at my side. Just as dusk came up a yawl holding three men. They ran into me. I later guessed that these bandits must have followed me from Vienna and were after the Damon pearls, which they believed had remained on the doll. A blow, insensibility, and it was a long, dull dream of many weeks for me. v% nen x came to myself again the world was nearly a month older. I bad been picked up, I and my case, by a schooner in the African trade. My pockets had been ransacked. There was nothing to indicate who I was when the schooner found me. The card I showed you I later discovered in the lining of my coat. A storm had driven the schooner out of her course. They simply kept me aboard because they made few landings. There was i passenger who probably recognized that I was a gentleman of culture, pos sibly of means. This was one Na poleon Ducroix.” I gave the speaker an intense stare. The pen with which Marvel was writ ing made a splatter just here. It was purposeful, to emphasize what I nat urally had discovered, that N'apotecr. Ducroix was the name attached to tb6 lebel River & Great Jangeh bonds. "Ducroix learned my story. He af 1 superabundance of food, lie was curi ous enough to inspect my case, and then—” "To be brief," he continued, “the king roused up like a man drawn by a ! magnet to some fascination irresisti ble. He was smitten with the coun terfeit presentment of the peerless Sophia. He appropriated the doll and I was left to mourn. I know not how the infamous Ducroix wormed his way into the confidence of the king. I know not how by signs he made his majesty know that the original of the doll was alive and could be found, and that he could lead him to her. I only know that one month later, with the royal exchequer looted, the infatuated monarch and his confidant. Ducroix, ! secretly stole away from the palace. “The king had deserted his wives; they soon realized this. Only one queen, his first wife, mourned. It took me two months to learn sufficient of the Jangeh gibberish to make her un derstand all the merits of the situa- j tion. It took Queen Ibi Zwoa only two minutes to engage me to accompany her in a world girdling chase of his recreant highness. "Therefore am I here. What I have lear&ed has been through our host,” and he pointed at Marvel, "to whom we were directed by the French con sul. Admirable direction! Estimable man,! We have told him all, but—we have not found the king.” Marvel arose. I noticed a switch of the veil, and the woman it covered also arose. It was a signal that the conference was ended. She could not have been more than four feet in 1 height. With some querulous gibber ish, in a voice that might have be longed to a child, she lifted her veil. It was only for a moment that I had a sight of the face of Queen Ibi Zwoa, but I shall never forget It. I was sent on a variety of missions during the ensuing several days, the j real purport of which I did not fully i understand at the time. I realized! that I was taking helter-skelter i stitches only in a network of which; the master hand held the main warp I and woof. I also knew that Marvel had notified the civilized world to find and detain Bernard Ralston. Beyond that he had local emissaries and outside corre-. spondents on the trail of King Zwun Zhi. “The king," he announced to me one I evening, "is in hiding, or dead. It! seems that he and that clever agent' of his. Ducroix, followed Sophia Volt-! mar clear across the continent. I hear of gifts to that peerless beauty be yond the purse of a king. Lured on, I but never so much as touching the j hem of her garment, this fatuous ad mirer has been encouraged, duped and beggrred The railroad schema was evidently an afterthought of Ducroix when their money gave out. I find they sold the entire issue to Ralston j for a mere song. The proceeds went in the main to the conspirators who acted for Voltmar. If King Zwun Zhi j is in hiding, I have reason to believe , that he is in this city. I shall soon j know.” It came sooner tn&n I expected. It was a drizzling, gloomy evening, that on which I accompanied Marvel to the Cosmos cafe. It was a second-rate j place, mostly visited by men. As we entered the door I noted Loti in the ' background. He made a sign to Mar vel, and it seemed to me to indicate a man lounging carelessly against an old piano. Just beyond it four men were play ing cards at a table, and the man I have mentioned was in a position to look over the hand of the player whose back was to him. As if in a casual way, the man at the piano struck three of the ivory keys in suc cession with his finger. A moment later he struck four notes, and then Quickly a single note three times. Marvel was watching him narrowly. Of a sudden he turned half way around. He simply fixed his eye on Loti. The latter disappeared. In about five minutes he re-entered the ' place, two men with him. These men approached the man at the piano. What they said to him I do not know, but he fidgeted, changed color and with evident reluctance accompanied them from the place. "Come with me,” directed Marvel, following on their heels. "That man. I believe, is Napoleon Ducroix. We shall soon find out. He*must have had a royal time helping Zwun Zhi sqSan-' der his fortune. He has got down to the level of a professional card sharper now, it seems. Did you notice his playfulness with the piano? Those careless key taps read, first 'A-C-E next, F-A-C-E.’ informing his friend in the game that his adversary held the ace and four face cards in his hand.” It was to the captain's room at the nearest police station that they took the man from the piano. When we arrived there Marvel looked him over critically. “Take off his shoe, Loti,” he said simply. This was done, with some re sistance on the part of the prisoner.! To the ankle the bared member j showed a peculiar reddish brown. "You are Napoleon Ducroix," spoke Marvel, "and there is no need of send ing for Emil Lafort to prove it. He tells me your distinguishing marks are ! a pair of feet marked still from your old service in a Parisian dye factory. Shall we go any further on that score, my friend?” "Yes, I am Ducroix." acknowledged the man, sourly. "What of it?" "Detention, complications, perhaps a prison sentence, unless you assist in helping me clear up a situation.” "About what?” “King Zwun Zhi. You know where he is? Then tell and you are free to pick up some new victim." Ducroix was silent for a minute or two. He eyed Marvel in a studious way. Those unlovely eyes of his showed boldness and defiance on the surface, but there was a Sicker of fear in their depths. "The game is played out, I guess,” he said finally. "Where is the king?” “In pawn.” This man spoke truly. He had, in deed. played the game to the limit This bold knave had exhausted the last shred of revenue available from the monarch of Jangeh in their extra ordinary jump around the world. If he had not been a spendthrift he would have been a millionaire. At last my eyes rested on the self exiled, butterfly-chasing. stranded king. As I first saw him he was crouching over a blazing oil stove in a squalid room behind the shop of a pawnbroker. If his wife's face had re sembled dusky mahogany, his own was more of the hue of ebony. He was thin and wasted, a furtive, frightened look in his shrinking eyes. The des peration of the prodigal down to his last husk was expressed in every linea ment of his shrunken face. In some way Ducroix had induced the pawnbroker to advance a small sum on his majesty. The latter had insisted on retaining personal posses sion of the collateral. Warm as was the weather, the thin, tropical blood of the king demanded constant heat, and in the bill which Marvel paid there was an item of "Kerosene, $4." In a corner of the room, a marred wreck, was what was left of the fa mous doll. It was to the office of the United ' Rankers’ Protective association that the king was at once conveyed. Du croix accompanied us, and Lafort was immediately sent for. The two fiery Frenchmen came very near to blows, but Marvel sternly held them down to the importance of the occasion and to strict business. I was sent to the home of the presi-1 dent of the bank, and brought him i back with me. The institution was visited, certain documents pertaining to the Jebel River & Great Jangeh Railroad company secured, and a new deed of trust was made out. "If you can influence Queen lot Zwoa to sign that,” observed Marvel to Lafort, "she can come and see her husband here. If not, she will see him behind steel bars.” It was all arranged within a few hours—the possession of an absolute ly valid deed covering the Jangeh property. And that meant a new pro motion, and the saving to the bank ol its ill-advised original investment. The president could well afford to be liberal, and Ducroix went away with enough in his pocket to stake him till he found a decent job, if that was his inclination, which it probably was not. Lafort was ecstatic over the possession of a thousand, and it was arranged to get King Zwun Zhi i and his wife back to their home pos sessions in a respectable way. l «as with Resilius Marvel when he . wound up the last strand of this re- I markable case. It w as at the desert- ! ed offices of Ralston & Co. We found, fallen behind one of the dust-laden desks, a man s cap, and written in red ink on the inside lining was the name: “Clinton Durham.” The big safe ®f the defunct promo ter held nothing but useless office rec ords. the vault in which it stood only ; equally valueless litter. The climax, J however, arrived when a second vault was opened. Upon its floor lay a prone, figure. It was the owner of the misplaced cap. dead—dead for many days. We could only conjecture from a crumpled document in his cold hand what it all meant. The unfortunate mercantile reporter had become sus. piclous, had suspended the rating of Ralston & Co., and had revisited their office for proofs to sustain his judg ment of the condition of the concern. The paper in his hand was a private balance sheet, showing the house in solvent. He must have had an op portunity to slip into the vault to se cure it. He had been discovered, probably by Ralston, with the indis putable evidence of the insolvency of the concern in his possession. The door of the vault had been crashed shut, and then, within twenty-four hours, gathering up all he could lay his hands to, Bernard Ralston had vanished. A week later Resilius Marvel showed me a telegram from Loti, dated at Los Angeles. He was on the trail of Ralston, who was aiming to get out of the country. There was a longer wire two days later—again from Loti, close on the track of the absconder. The latter, hemmed in, had tried to escape over a narrow mountain road. A wrong turn sent the automobile and its driver three hundred feet below to the bot tom of a rock-strewn canyon The ma chine had turned turtle, shutting out from sight the frightful end of the man who had been Open for Rating. Think of a Wheelless World. If a Supreme Being, moved to wrath against humanity, desired to deprive it of one of its vital assets in life, it would be sufficient punishment to take away the wheel, and make it impos sible to continue it henceforth, says a writer in the current issue of Ameri can Motorist. Imagine, for a moment, the world without a single wheel' There would be no transportation ex cept that performed by beasts of bur den or sailing craft, and all machinery would be at oiy»e reduced to a few hand tools. The clock would throw up its hands and pass its job over to the sun dial and the hour glass. In short, once the wheel was taken from man, instantly he is put back practically into prehistoric conditions. Think the matter over, and you will realize that the debt of civilization to the common wheel is beyond computation. If the world could only ascertain who the discoverer of the wheel really was. it should erect to him the most splendid monument ever built by man. because no man since Adam has done so much for human progress as the original wheel man. whoever he was. The Girl That Counts. There are cloudy days and days of sunshine. The cloudy days have their limitations ; for certain conditions they are acceptable and we welcome the gray sky, the heavy rains. But the day of sunshine has no limitations; it is always welcome, always joy bear ing. The sick, the helpless, the laborer, the weary, all hail the day of sunbeams, and this is just what hap pens to the girl who scatters sunshine. The gloomy girl is given standing room, but the girl who leaves a ray of sunshine everywhere is the girl that everyone welcomes. The girl who works with a smile, the girl who looks on the bright side, who always has a cheery word, who can find time to take a bunch of flowers to a friend, or write a word of sympathy to the one in need —in short, the girl who can transform sadness into gladness, by the force of her sunny presence, is the girl that counts wherever she may be found.— Exchange. Brotherhood. Your task is to form the universal family, to build the City of God. and by a continuous labor gradually to translate his work in humanity into fact. When you love one another as brothers, and treat each other recip rocally as such; when each one, seek ing his own good in the good of all, shall identify his own life with the life of all, his own interests with the interests of all. and shall be always ready to sacrifice himself for all the members of the common family—then most of the ills which weigh upon the human race will vanish, as thick mists gathered upon the horizon vanish at the rising of the sun.—From "The Book of the People," by Robert de Lamennais, French philosopher and re ligious reformer, 1782-1854. His Fall Not Unchecked. Two Insurance agents—a Yankee and an Englishman — were bragging about their rival methods, says the At lanta Journal. The Britisher was hold ing forth on the system of prompt pay ment carried out by his people—no trouble, no fuss, no attempt to wriggle out of settlement. “If the man died tonight,” he continued, “his widow would receive her money by the first post tomorrow morning.” “You don't say?” drawled the Yankee. “See here, now; you talk of prompt payment! Well, our office is on the third floor of a building 49 stories high. One of our clients lived in that forty-ninth story and he fell out of the window. \Ye handed him his check as be passed.” Didn’t Care to Ride. In a small Southern city the first airship exhibition was about to be held. A large crowd was on hand, among them being an old negro man. The aviator inspected his machine for the last time, took his seat, started hie motor and was soon soaring above the crowd. The old negro gazed up ward very thoughtfully for a minute and then was heard to exclaim: “Sho think dey don't need no Jim Crow cars on dem things.”—Everybody's Magazine. Was Only Shopping. “My heavens. Jack." said the lady who had been waiting in the Claridge lobby. “What was the matter? Where have you been?” “Nothing th' matter, m'denr,” was the reply. “Not a thing in th’ world. Jus’ been doing a li’l shopping aroun’ some saloons."—New York Letter in the Cincinnati Timea-Star. BUMPER CORN CROP IF FROST HOLDS OFF YIELD WILL BE GREATEST EVER. CROPS IMPROVED IN AUGUST Wheat Yield Better Than Expected. Oats, Rye, Potatoes and Other Products Are Promising. Washington, D. Sept. 10.—Corn, the country's greutest crop, ueevU only a few weeks' freedom from frost to mature into the largest production ever known in the history of the na tion. Tiie government’s September crop report forecasts a production of 3,24t>,000.000 bushels, which is 124. UOU.OUO bushels more than produced j in the record year, 1P12. Corn prospects improved to the ex- , tent of 53,000,000 bushels as a result j of good weather during August, the,; Kansas crop showing Improvement toj the extent of almost 4o.ou0.000 bush els, and Missouri 23.000,000 bushels. Declines were recorded in other j states. Spring wheat yields are turning ont lietter than expected and the Sep tember forecast showed an increase ; of 14,000.000 bushels over the produe-j tion forecast in August, with a total of 250.000.000 bushels. Adding thei winter wheat production, a total yield! of 66S.000.000 bushels of wheat this year was announced. Besides the record crop of corn, larger production than ever before will be harvested in oats, with 1.533.- j 000.000 bushels; rye. with 50.000.000 bushels: potatoes, with 462.000.00Qr bushels: sweet potatoes, with KS.200.- 1 000 bushels; tobacco, with 1.211.000.- 1 000 pounds, and hay, with 01.700.000 I tons. Oats prospects increased 79.000,000 bushels during August, but tobacco lost 49.000.000 pounds. Plot to Thwart Government. Washington. D. C.. Sept. 10.—Nu merous indictments for conspiracy to thwart the government's war plans appear to be in prospect as a result of the nation wide raid Wednesday of industrial workers of the world offices ;by department of justice agents. Evidence is said to be fast accumu lating to support the belief that a gi gantic conspiracy has existed for some time to cripple the government in carrying on the war. that its rami fications have extended into virtually .every state and that numerous anti war activities, which appeared to em anate from many souees in reality had their fountain head in a single group of conspirators. Anti-draft demonstrations, crippling of war industries by so-called labor disturbances, burning of crops and continuous preachment of anti-ally ; sentiment, intended to embarrass the government and retard the exercise of i its full strength in prosecuting the war. appear, from recent disclosures, to have heen included within the . scope of the alleged conspiracy. Grand juries in virtually every large city in the country will hear evidence against these conspirators and many Indict ments are exjtected. _' Pledred to Down Romans. Udine, Italy. Sept. 10.—Ahou* .'{n.nnO prisoners have been taken to date by the Italians in the present offensive while the total losses of the Austrians is estimated at 120.000. Recent Austrian counter attacks In which the best fresh troops were | launched column after column, re gardless of the enormous losses, is ex plained by a council of war held re cently under the presidency of Field Marshal Conrad von Hoct7,endorff and attended by the ablest Austrian gen erals including Field Marshal von Koevess and General Rorcevic. They are reported to have taken an oath to drive the Italians from Austrian territory. Refuse Accused Preacher Bond. Red Oak. la., - Sept. 10.—Bond for $.->0,000, signed by the mother of Joe Moore, the father of Mrs. Moore and other relatives and close friends of the murdered Moore family was of fered Judge Boies Friday as ball for rhe Rev. Lynn .T. <». Kelly, on trial here as the Villlsca ax murderer, hut the court refused to consider rl> • re quest that the preacher lie liberated during the trial. Fair Attendance Record Breaker. Lincoln. Neb.. Sept. 10.—Nebraska's greatest fctate fair, which closed Fri day. beat all records for attendance and receipts. Over 200.000 Nebras kans attended the big exposition, with the record at 193,000 in 1916. Only Invasion Will Move Dutch. * Washington. I>. Sept. 10.—Noth ing less than an invasion of her s »il will drive Holland into the war. ac cording to members of the Nether lands mission, hero to take tip tit • matte: of food exports with th • American government. The Dutch have known hunger in Hie past an i have suffered hardships enough to know how to hear them, tin* eoniniis sioneks say. and although shiqis may l>e sunk and supplies cut off they will not enter the war unless their front iers are crossed. May Seize Neutral Ships. Washington. I*. Sept. 10.—Short age of ocean going tonnage may cause the United States to seize some 400. 000 tons of neutral shipping now in American ports. Dutch and other Scandinavian ships which are loaded with foodstuffs may he required, it is said, to discharge their cargoes and go to Australia and Java for wheat and sttga". International law. officials point out, gives belligerents the right to com mandeer ne Ural ships whenever the dfciergency tf war requires it.