ji..i.,jpmi iii
W
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RED CLOUD, NXBKAIKA, CHIEF
ROOKIE ATONED FOR FAULT
r.K, J. J
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' ' Wl HBi 1 3)) ?-nr r? (C '111 )J
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I.IXR COllKIGAN looked
from Skeeter's mournful
face to tl bundle of pa
pers under the lud's mm as
the little fellow turned
from u signboard nt the
edge of the alley.
"What joiisu whlnipoiln' nbouj,
y'mutt?" he asked. Then as Skeeter
lingered his newspapers, he added,
Stuck?"
"I are," replied Skeoter sadly, lean
ing against the coiner of the building,
one foot resting on top of the other.
"An' look dure."
llllnk cooked his left eye In the di
rection of Skeeter's nod, and with an
exclamation of hoyi.sh delight beheld
the dramatic scenes portra.ved in hril
Hunt colors.
llllnk was nlckunmod for that defection of Ids
left eye, and readily recognizing that short, un
complicated names were suitable for the needs
of their profession, he laid applied "Skeoter" to
his diminutive younger brother with the authority
of the elder brother of a fatherless family.
"Why Didn't I See Dat Last Week?"
After a few minutes of hard mental labor
llllnk spelled out the woidlng. "Croat Mike!" lie
exclaimed. "Why didn't 1 see dat last week"
Then turning to Skeeter "Say. Sheet, leave us go
tonight, hey? It's de 'Newsboy Detective.' It's
nt de Itegent, an' we ken git In du loft fer l."
cents."
Again Skeeter's face was overspread with sad
ness. "I only got 'nough to buy mudder's Christ
mas piesont. an' six cents over," replied the boy.
"An' people ain't buyln' no more."
"Aw, choke it off; youe ain't on de Job a little
bit." retoited llllnk, although ho knew that the
demand for papeis was decreasing, lie glanced
at Skeeter's big armful and then at his own slim
pile, ami softened'' a lilt. "G'wan now, make a
hurry," he added. "I'll give oiise de foist
'chance."
A customer whistled and Skeoter ran off. llllnk
Jingled the coins in Ids pocket. "I'll help de poor
kid If he don't s,.l enough," he told hlnnolf,
"Sold free." came Skeeter's Mil 111 voice ftom
the corner.
llllnk beckoned to him with wildly waving
arms. "IIe, jouse, pipe yep lights oer dere!" lie
shouted, pointing ucioss the street. "G'wan,
boat It."
Dodging in and out among the wagons and car
riages, Skeoter stnrted across the street on a
run. The street was crowded with trallle at that
point, there was a groat confusion of noises, and
the little fellow did not hear the warning shouts
that preceded n heavy dray drawn by two run-
W'uyjiorses. Suddenly It crashed full Into an
empty carriage, and beneath the torn canvas, the
splintered wood and glass and the twisted iron
lay Skeeter, stunned.
llllnk, too, was stunned by the suddenness of
the accident. Then bystanders helped liini extri
cate both Skeeter and one of the men of the
team. Skeeter revived quickly, but the man was
keveroly Injuied, and whllo lie and Skeeter lay
waiting for the ambulance he held a brief, hur
ried talk with Ids partner.
"Remember, Jim," lie said In a low tone, audi
ble enough to Skeeter, "them two tanks what's
marked Is them what has the gasolwie forced In
'em; other two's plain. The team's all right,
ain't It?"
The limn nodded.
"Then get 'em tip to the- Itegent as soon as you
can," the Injured man continued. "15111 knows
tlio mink, but bo sure'n tell him they're for the
second performance tonight."
llllnk had Skeeter homo by seven o'clock. Vi
sions of the preparations which their mother
nnd Skeeter and lie hud made Tor their Christmas
feast had strengthened his pleadings with the
hospital doctors. They found a badly sprained
ankle nnd a few bruises.
Blink had cast aside nil thought of the theater
nfter the accident, but when his mother and ho
had made Skeeter comfortnblo In bed, Skeeter
Bnld, "Ain't youso goln', llllnk?"
"Ain't no good," returned llllnk, shifting awk
wardly. "Ain't?" repeated Bkeetcr, ills head thrust up
In emphasis. "Dat's nil you knows. Why, dere'a
goln' to bo two performances tonlftht."
Blink's eyes opened wiuo in surprise, "xwor
Rio exclaimed. "Who said so?"
no mnn what went to do Hospital wit' me,"
Laid Skeeter, nnd ho told of the conversion.
"Ilullv Jim I" exclaimed mini: exciteuiy. -uero
trust bo Bomo class to dat show."
r t'lnk eo." Skeoter agreed. "An- say, iiunic,
wnn nn' tomorrer youso kin tell mo nil
bout it."
Blink slapped his kneo nnd Jumped from IiIb
choir., "I never fought of dat," ho said. "I'll
do It."
A long Iluo of eager newsboys stretched from
"Great We.'"Ae excamec. fVry
dicfoZJee ds- ?jf h-cekP" '
the gallery entrance to well down Fourteenth
stieet when Mink arrived.
Step by step ho nioed ulong the line, passing
the brilliantly lighted stores from which shone
an unending array of Christmas things. At last
ii gllttei lug dNplay of suiglcal Instruments daz
zled him: Ills o.vos rested on two long pieces of
polished wood crossed ns a background to the
shining metal pieces and he stopped, wide
eyed and opeu-iuoiithed.
In a moment Mink was nut of the line. In an
other hour he was home, standing before his
mother and holding a pair of cruuhes up to her
astonished g.i7e, with but fifteen cents left In his
pockets.
Haltingly, Mink told his &tory to his mother
and asked her to wait until next week for her
Christmas present, nt which Mr. Corrlgan folded
the boy In her arms until he suddenly straight
ened up, excited.
"Say, look derel" ho exclaimed, pointing
breathlessly to a blight glare In the western sky.
"Gee I Will jez look ut It. Dere's a whoppln' big
Hie somewhere."
It was half past ten o'clock when Mink
reached Broadway. The sidewalks wore filled
with the usual Christmas eve crowd, most of
them unheedful of the lire toward which Mink
was hurr.vlng.
With each step the crowd grew denser the ex
clteiiHiit gi enter. Occasionally a few people
came hurrying In the opposite direction, and from
those Mink heard a lot of mixed rumors. But
what he did hoar made him rush the faster. It
was the Itegent theatei ; an explosion that seemed
to start a the all over the theater at once, n panic,
nnd a score or more of people suppos-ed to havo
been lost.
For n moment Blink shuddered at whnt ho
felt was a narrow escape for Skeeter nnd him
self. But his boyish excitement gave little room
for sentiment, and he became all Intent upon
getting nearer.
"Couldn't You Stop It?"
Presently the voices of two men caused Blink
s to draw farther in. They stopped near by and
one said:
"My God. Gallagher I There's people been
killed. Wasn't there no way? Couldn't you
stop It?"
"Mow could I stop It?" came tlio growling reply.
"I had the two intuited tanks stored away in
'props' room, fixed so's I could turn 'em on last
thing before I left after the house closed. Every
thing was O. K I toll you, until tho tanks we
had on the calcium lights got weak Just In the
burglary seem. The stage inaiiagor got hot and
called for them other tanks. Well, there was
nothln' to It; I had to get 'em out. I was niakln'
slow work so's. the seeno would bo over, but the
stage manager was llery. He had them things
connected In a second, turned 'em on, nnd when
the gasolene spray hit them red-hot limestones
In tho lamp My God I I never seen anything like
It. Both tanks burst together, and you know
the rest."
The two men were silent for a moment, then,
"Where's the manager, Jim?"
"I don't know," was tho reply Mink heard.
"We warned him. Well, It's done now, but I wish
we could have burnt his house without "
"Shut tip, man. Somebody might hear."
A heavy prolonged rumble, followed by n dull
qrash of falling walls, the shouts of firemen, and
an increased crackling of tho flames held the
men speechless for a moment while Mink crawled
to tho edge of the uroaway. Then :
"How about Collins? Ho might blow. Let's go
to tho hospital nnd talk to him. It'll bo safer."
Thero was another pause, then tho reply: "I
never got tho namo of tho hospital. I don't know
whoio ho Is."
"l'ou don't I" enmo tho aBtoundcd voice. "Then
wo will havo to bent 1L This Is no place for mo
and you."
Tho Btory had becotno very apparent to Blink,
nnd beforo tho men Btnrted ho had picked his
way down tho Binoke-fllled alley, turned back, run
ning, purposely stumbled against them, nnd
stood panting for breath.
"Say." ho said, between breaths, "could ynmio
guys tell me where I nuld find Mister Gallagher?"
The men oyd Mini, suspiciously. "What d'you
want with him?" nsknl one of them.
"They's a guy slcl. In the City hospital what
wants to see him rUit away," leturnod Blink.
"They sent mo up here on n dead run."
Another great cnHi and then the smoke In
the alley became blinding. But Blink saw the
men run. and ho fancied ho saw also a grin of
satisfaction.
Close on their heels Blink rnn to the nearest
telephone and called the city editor of the Itecord.
He was not a stranger to that olllclal, and ho
said, "DIs is Mink Corrlgan. Know me?"
''Yes, yes j what Is It?" came n hurried voice.
"I've got soinethln great fer .vouso and the
Itecord about tho lire," answered Blink excitedly.
"Send n man and two plain cops to meet at do
City hospital right away. Tell 'em to wait fer
mo If I don't get dcro ahead of dotn. I'll point
out de men they got to nrrest. Aro youso on?"
"Cause of lire?" questioned the city editor.
"Sure, an' a stunner."
At the hospital Mink stationed himself In the
shadow of one of tho big columns nt the main
entrance. Presently tho two men from the thea
ter appeared. Mink's heart started to sink, but
as they turned to mount the steps the Itecord
man and two headquarters men turned the cor
ner. Blink slid out from behind the pillar, ran down
the steps, and wildly waved his arms to tho de
tectives. "Pinch 'em!" ho cried, ns they hurried
up.
Tlio two men turned about. "What's this for?"
asked one.
Excitedly Blink blurted out the story. It
caused n laugh from the men, looks of Incredulity
on the part of the detectives, and even a question
on the face of the reporter. But Blink, Instead of
losing his nerve, remembered storleH of tho "third
degree," boldly Jerked his thumb over hfs shoulder
nnd said, "No use bluflln'. It's all up wld youso.
He's confessed got scared when he heard of (To
Are."
Mink plucked at the sleeve of one of the de
tectives nnd pulled him aside. "Say," ho whis
pered, "dat was a bluff about him confessln."
"I know it, vou scamp," the olllcer replied ; "hut
he will son, don't you worry."
The, mental preparation of the Injured man
within tho hospital by the police was a slow and
tedious process through which Blink was con
poled by numerous winks from the reporter. It
was long after press time before the detectives
culled upon the newspaper man to take down the
confession, which verified Mink's story. In the
meantime the reporter had written the main fen
tin es of the story In anticipation, waited only for
tho uiillcntlon and motive, nnd when tliev camo
was off In nn instant. Blink followed und'lnld In
n stock of papers, which promised to contain nn
unusual and rnpld-selliiig story.
.They did, nnd they sold taoro rapidly then ever
before In all Blink's professional experience. Only
after tho edition was exhausted Blink went home,
armed with the proceeds In the form of two bun
dles, one for his mother and one for Skeeter.
It was a gloilous Christmas morning. Tho sun
had risen brightly and Blink went In whistling.
Just as ho passed into tho room a messenger nr
rived and handed In an envelopo and a copy of
tho Itecord. It was tho first opportunity Blink
had had to spell out the headlines, and on tho
fiont page In big, black tjpe, supported by half a
dozen suliheads and encircled by a heavy blue
pencil mark were tho words: "A Newsboy Do
tectlve." Mink cast It nsJdo with tho expression, "Slush I"
opened tho envelope, and passed It to his mother
Mrs. Corrlgan lend:
"My dear Blink : Inclose d find check for $50 In
part payment for last night's work. By your
friendliness to us, the delay in securing tho con
fession, nnd tho fact that tho men on tho other
papers were chasing up the malinger of tho Ite
gent In every corner of New York for n story on
tho cause of tho fire, tho Itecord mado tho great
est scoop In history. Therefore, I any, tho In
closed Is In part payment. Please come (o the
ofllco tomorrow night prepared to go to work
"ANDIJIISON, C. E."
Call It "Fisherman's Luck," If You
Will, He Came Out of Scrapo
With Coveted Decoration.
At Alx a strange story was told of
nn Aiiioilcnii soldier who will ,'iobably
abandon llshiug for tho rest of his
life. It seems that tho roouio had
heard It said that one could icadtly
catch llsh with a hand grcmiic, tho
method being to proceed to the lair
of the fish and hurl the hand gruadc
Into the water. The grenade, explod
ing, would kill all the llsh (u the
neighborhood, ami one could gather In
a plentiful harvest. So our hero set
forth one evening and, reaching a not
far distant caiiiil, he threw In tils luiud
grenade. No doubt It killed a llsh or
so, but, utifort tituit it . so Intent was
he on Ills Job that In had not notln'd
u barge hard by. Tin grenade neatly
blew the bin go and the bargee ami
his family out of 1 miicc, anil did
such mighty damage t boat and boat
men that, although fr the moment
flight enabled the culprit to escapo
arrest, It was quite char that, when
dlscoNcred, as ho would lneltalily he,
ho would suffer very severe punish
ment. It cannot he pcitalttcd to blow
French huigca up with Impunity A
couit-martlal and death were the least
that the wietch expected. That night
there was an nttiuk on the Aniorii-nti
sector. Our man went over the top
a 'despeiate rookie. He had deter
mined to die a gtoi bins death rather
than .submit to n shameful end. ihe
result was that, slnglc-hnmlcd, he
killed seven Germans, nnd, seizing a
machine gun, turned It on the enemy,
theieliy saving a ticklish situation.
Picking up the machluo gun. lifter it
had done sulllclent damage, he car
ried it back toward his own lino, but,
en route, he fell Into a German trench
and on top of u Goi-inau postman.
This postman was laden with mall for
the leglmeut or company ousted from
the trench; cigars and other delicacies
were among his burdens. As the olll
cer who told the story said, the looklo
muidored the postman n ml. sollng
several bags of mall, bore them, In ad
dition to his machine gun, back to his
own people. Ills record for the day's
woik was not only doomed sulllclent
to condone for his llshlng escapade,
but to his astonishment he received a
modal for distinguished conduct in
the field. He was decorated ! Fisher
mini's luck with u vengeance I Scrlb
ner's Magazine.
Your Labor Counts every ounce of
work you do help hoiiic noldierl Thin war
was foaglit ns truly in the household and
in tho workshop ns it una in the trcnchen.
Bomo of our Atntrican women art
borne down lihvelc.illy and mcntallr
by tho wcnl.nuRCri of their acx. They suf
i fer from IneUclip, dragging sensation,
bearing-down piiiu, vciy nervous nnd pain
in top of head. If thoy nnk their neigh
bors they will lio told to take a Favorito
Prescription of Dr. Pictco'a which has
been so well and favorably known for th
punt halt century.
Weak women should try it now. Don't
wait! Today U the day to begin. This
temperance tonic nnd nervine will bring
vim, vigor nnd vitality. Send Dr. Pierce,
IlutTalo, N. Y., 10c for trial pkg. tablets.
Kor fifty ycirs Dr. Pierco's Pleisanti
Pellets have been most satisfactory is
liver and bowel trouble
Aurora, Neb. "My mother was always
n reit believer in all of Dr. Pierce's
Medicines nnd when I was a girl slio guy
mu Tnvorite Proscription' when I was in
n rundown, nervous condition nnd it soon
built mo up in lienlth and strength. I am
plad to indora Tnvorite Prccripllon as
Icing n pplendid tonic for girls or women
who sufTor."-Mra. Walter Guard, C03 10th
Bt.
WAS SURELY "ONE GAME GUY"
Those "Boughten Buttons."
Writing of the poet Whlttler, Mrs.
Jnmes T. Fields says that "one of the
poet's most entertaining reminiscences
of his boyhood wus tho story of his
first visit to Boston. William Greene's
mother whs nn Interesting woman of
strong, Independent character and
wide Interests, wonted to the life of
cities, and one of the first, in spite of
bis boyish shyness to appreciate her
young relative. Her kind eagerness,
during one of her occasional visits to
the Whlttlers, that Grcenlenf should
come to see her when ho came to Bos
ton, fell In with his own dreams, and n
high desire to see tho slglUs of tho
grent town.
"One can cnsily Imagine how tills
Imagination must havo glorified tlio
natural expectations of a country boy,
nnd when the time arrived, how the
whole household lent Itself to further
ing so great an expedition. Ho wns
not only to have a new suit of clothes,
but they wore, for the finjt time, to bo
trimmed with iinughten buttons,' to tho
bid's complete satisfaction, his mind
being fixed on thoso ns marking tho
difference between town and country
fashions."
Most People Will Admit That Corporal
Browne's Message to His Wife
Contained Truth.
The American advance was being
mndc In nn open field on tho banks
of the Veslo river In France, where
' the Germans had planted n tunchlno
gun on high ground, which cnnbled
them to deliver a sweeping flro on tho
Americans,
Try ns they might tho Ynnks could
not flank the Germnn position. They
got n pot shot nt Fritz nnd continued
heir advance.
Fritz was not Inclined to expose
himself nnd kept his gun working.
"Sny, sorgennt, gimme Hint gat of
yours," said Corporal Browne.
Browne drew his own pistol nnd,
with nn automatic In ench hand, he
got up on his hands nnd knees nnd
took n peep.
"Sny, boys, tell tho wife for mo that
I wns one game' guy I So long to ull
of you guys I"
Browne went out nfter tho Bodies.
ITo got them, too four of them nnd a
perfectly good machine gun. Stars
and Stripes.
AS SHE FELT JUST THEN
Burning Balloono Don't Explode.
A balloon when It commences to
nurn does not explode, as a great mnny
people seem to think. An lncondlnry
or tracer bullet, when It hits tho bal
loon, goes through It, making two
holes, of course. As the bullet Is flam
ing, being filled with a magnesium
compound, It Ignites tho hydrogen
where It escapes at these two holps.
Hydrogen, or In fnct anything, can
burn only when It combines with oxy
gen, nnd as the hydrogen escapes nt
the bullet holes It combines with tho
oxygen In tho air, and burns llko two
gns Jots. The holes enlarge as tho
fabric Is burned away and the flames
grow larger until tho whole balloon be
comes one mass of flame. As soon ns
enough hydrogen has escaped to make
the weight of the balloon greater than
the weight of an equal volume of air
the balloon starts to drop to the
ground. Lieut. II. K. Mack, It. F. 0
intho Snturday Evening Post.
i Woman Had No Occasion to Smile,
and Wouldn't Do It to Please
Photographer.
The vlllngo photographer was losing
1 pntlence with his lndy patron. "Just a
little smile, please," ho said, dwolllng
somewhat on tho last word. "A smllo
adds so much to the nrtistic effect."
The lady shook her head.
"Of .course, If you'd rather " com
menced tho artist.
"I would that," camo from tho direo
tlon of the head rest. "Our one lnyln
hen died this mornln', bacon's gon
up tuppenco u pound, mother's had a
couple of fits, my boy Georgo hns Just
broke n plate glass window, nnd my
husband 1b In n military hospital with
four or flva pounds o' lead Inside him.
If you think I'm goln' to look llko a
Chcshy cnt when I'm up against that
shower o' blessln's you're scratch!-'
tho wrong pig. You git on with It
nnturnl, mister." London Tlt-Blts.
A man's tnnguo usually outlasts bla
brain.
7Ps?-2SPmvl7fi'ad
I I I
Ireland's Flax Crop.
The flax crop Is engaging the at
tention of agriculturists In the north
of Ireland. Flax pulling Ib giving em
ployment to every hand that enn be en
gngod, and fnctor. workers, clerks and
business men are Joining In this Indis
pensable work. The cadet corps of
tho Koynl Academical Institute of Bel
fast Is also engaged In pulling flux.
Beforo tho war tho price paid for flax
ranged from $1,150 to $2.00 per stone.
Tho highest prlco ever paid Tor llax
was $11 per stone In 1801, during the
Civil war. This year tho flax aupply
committee hns arranged to tnko over
tho whole crop nt prices ranging from
$7.50 to $10 per stone, according to
quality. Tho flax will bo divided Into
six grades.
Proof of Dog's Ownership.
A little dog followed two Biimll boys
until they reached tho parting of tho
ways, when a violent dispute arose ns
to tho ownership of tho pup. Tho ques
tion was finally adjusted to the satis
faction of one of them when ho an
nounced thnt tho do belonged to biro
because It smelted him first.
Tlie real food
elements of
wheat and bap
ley so made as
to be rich in
sugar, and
ready to eat
from package
with milk or
cream.7Jtas
Grape-Nuts
A Substantial
Food
and Economical
& j