w i m k sr - ifr 1p CdfMCT CKM11 FMffiTTIMi Ar MULWtt Mr CHARLES MORRIS 3UTJLER jjfofiQr of 77te creno of Perre 27 7eienct 7fpedys4ifojEc Copyright 1905 by Charles Morris Butler CHAPTER VIII Continued We can run no chances you know Doc laughed Pearson insinuatingly then as if in apology for his act be sides it will be to your own interest in case the haunt was discovered If you do not know where it is you at least will not be held responsible for any harm that may come through the discovery see We kill traitors said the matter-of-fact Sharkey complalsantly It may save your life said Pear son as ho satisfied himself that the doctor was completely blinded But Jie took no pains to insure the doc tors comfort for he placed a pair of handcuffs upon his wrists I am obliged to do this he said as he changed places with the boy and sat upon the seat with Schiller driving the team so the boys wont think me unmindful of the duiy I owe them in protecting them from possible danger from treachery The doctor sat in silence for quite a time meditating vpon the strange ness of his adventure Oft and anon from the distance could be heard the Laying ofaogs so that the doctor knew Jie -was being driven past farm Aouses now and then But they met no one At last the team came to a halt and the doctor was assisted to alight The trio left the roadway and the doctor heard the team drive off Pear son walked arm in arm with Schiller guiding his footsteps so that the doc tor did not fall into any of the numer ous ruts or bark his shins against any of the snags in the underbrush Shar key followed on behind carrying the doctors case of instruments Again Doctor Schiller lroke the silence What kind of a place are you taking me to he asked This time Pearson condescended to keep up the conversation Did jou bound together in the state described however places them on a footing with the rest of us Whether all do anything contrary to the law or not all are held accountable to the law for what the few have done under stand Yes I believe I do What you mean to say is that the law never forgives you what you have done at any time no matter how right you live after wards Thats it But we live in open defiance of the law That is we have manufactured laws that conflict with the laws of the United States For in stance we shoot a man for interfer ing with another mans wife If there is any law we do respect it is the law of marriage Most all of our penal ties are death A man is compelled to be honest to another if he desires to live We are not justified in taking life we are not the law but it can not be otherwise with us How do you live That is how do you obtain your supplies asked the doctor We have agents who supply our wants They have many acres of fine agricultural land supplied with mod ern machinery and plenty of help to till the soil What we do not raise we buy or in extreme cases like the present we raise by force You talk of schools I should think there would be no need of such a thing as an educational institution The country cannot exist it will be depopulated through poverty if noth ing else You certainly have not been in existence long enough to have rais ed children to the age of schooling Not so We have existed for twenty years or more unmolested We are self supporting We dig gold from the mountains We have manufactures in a remote form for the making of shoes and supply a large portion of Pearson walked arm in arm with Schiller ever hear of the Jonesboro Bank rob bery he asked Yes You mean the time when President Jones was killed by about twenty mounted desperadoes while at tempting to protect the banks prop erty The same Well we are going right to the cave in which the des peradoes took refuge when pursued by the citizens So asked the doctor 1n surprise Yes I dont mind telling you Dr Schiller that we are only a foraging party for a colony of convicts it is a hard term to call a company of men convicts but that is what we are We have formed a colony built a city protected ourselves against cap ture and mean to live in peace if we can But Doctor I dont think you will find us such a bad lot of men after all I dont know whether you are in sympathy with crime or not though you once did commit a crimi nal offense Even your class will nev er realize what a life such men as I have led in infancy youth and man hood and the need of protection from ourselves and the world It must be an interesting com munity said the doctor So it is You would hardly be lieve that we compel one another of the motley group of citizens to live upright and honest lives would you Composed a3 It is of all the different shades and grades of criminal out casts Hardly was Ine incredulous an swer Such is the case however replied Pearson enthusiastically We respect one anothers rights carry on busi ness honestly support schools and while our colony as you can well im agine is not founded on a religious basis we recognize something of the sort honorable marriage or duty to our neighbor Barring a few neces sary raids such as we are out upon now we live very ordinary lives You are not all hardened then you cannot be We are not all criminals of course not But most of us have done some thing some timor other to merit pun ishment from the government There are many like you who have paid the penalty of their sins and only asso ciate with us because they cannot bear to parade themselves before the -world as having fallen once- Being one of the states with this article In fact our treasury is on a sound basis better to day than it ever was Why do you divulge to me the secret of your existence asked the doctor For the simple reason my dear doctor replied Pearson complaisant ly that it is my wish that you take up residence with us We are in need of a few professional men like your self to make life pleasant for us You are one of our kind an outcast and have nothing to lose by joining us As for a money consideration we can pay you a salary princely in magni tude in comparison with your pres ent income The doctor was somewhat prepared for the offer All I want is money and revenge in this world he said as if assenting Money to be happy revenge on the man who is the cause of all my- trouble You can command money in plen ty said Pearson what kind he did not say Revenge depends upon your self Whom have you such bitter feel ings against A doctor who was instrumental in sending me up How and in what way do you mean to accomplish your ends How I dont know nor care But I want to make him suffer as I have suffered Disgrace him before the world as he has disgraced me Re duce him to poverty and want Ruin him imprison him do anything to make him feel what it is to be damn edan outcast of society That is my only aim and desire CHAPTER IX Dr Schiller Initiated Into the Con vict Society The time may come said Pearson insinuatingly to Dr Schiller as he helped that worthy over a log lying across their path if you join our forces -when you can do even more than this You are a man of intelli gence and will undoubtedly command influence in time There is no reason why in the future you could not or ganize a band kidnap the gentleman and incarcerate him alive in a living tomb The chance was readily grasped by the doctor I accept he said I have everything to gain If you desire my presence among your clique you can depend upon me To show you that I am sincere I will do all In my power to aid you in any undertaking you may engage in To show the people whom I come in contact with that I will do right by them If human hands can save your comrade I will put him on his feet again We will soon be at the rendezvous and can then be convinced of the sin cerity of your resolve said Pearson They walked on in silence the bal ance of the journey At last the party came upon a little clearing By aid of the moon which was shining now a mans form shown up in the dis tance Halt Who comes there was the challenge Citizens friend sentinel who have with them a doctor was Pearsons re ply and at the same time he made a mystic sign with his fingers The trio traveled a short distance further and were again halted Again they passed a sentinel and at last stopped before the door of a dugout situated in a ravine The door stood partly ajar through which came the glimmer of a light created by the burning of a pine knot suspended from the ceiling of the room which was about eight feet square A sentinel armed to the teeth guard ed the door but upon receiving the password allowed the party to pass Hewed logs at the rear of the room formed a blind door which led into another room twenty feet long and six teen feet wide along one side of which bunks were arranged after the fashion of berths on a steamboat and from the number of these at least thirty persons were finding sleeping accommodations in the abode In one corner of the room on a lower berth lay the wounded man Up to this point the doctor had not been relieved of the bandage frsm his eyes This was now taken off together -with the handcuffs The room was dimly lighted by a candle stuck in the neck of a bottle The doc tor first rubbed his eyes then his wrists while he accustomed himself to his surroundings A groan from the direction of the corner berth made him look toward it There were two villainous looking men sitting at the side of the bunk holding the hands of a wounded man The doctor threw off the covering which was over the man who lay stretched upon a rude mattress a bandage roughly tied around his waist and over one limb He was soaked in blood A basin of warm water said Schil ler to Pearson Hand me my instru ment case he said to Sharkey With one hand on the wounded mans wrist he was counting the number of heart beats to the minute This being done the doctor opened his case and laid out a package of clean bandages and selected several instruments to have them handy After the water arrived he bathed the hurt with a sponge and examined the wound made by the bul let We will administer a little chloro form said the doctor as he satu rated his handkerchief with the fluid taken from his case When the man was thoroughly under the influence of the drug he was lifted upon the table The doctor then began probing for the bullet and succeeded in locating it almost imme diately It was but the work of a mo ment to remove it and to thoroughly cleanse the wound jjvith a preparation taken from his case The flow of blood was stopped as well as possible and the wound bound up The patient was placed upon the bunk again be fore the chloroform was taken from him To be continued BEATEN AT HIS OWN GAME Sure Thing Gambler for Once Gets the Worst of It There was a sure thing gambler down in Mississippi named Gamble good name by the way said John Sharpe Williams He never made a bet unless he was sure he would win He was out at a country fair staying at a hotel One morning a man who was in the sporting line himself got up early and looked out of the win dow He saw Gamble carefully meas uring with a tapeline the hitching post in front of the hotel He knew something was up and When Gamble went out to the fair he went out and measured the hitching post himself Then he took a sledge hammer and drove the post into the ground an inch and a half That night after supper while they were sitting on the hotel porch Gamble craftily led the conversation around to the difficulty of judging dis tances and heights Now he said theres that hitch ing post out yonder Ill bet a hundred I can come nearer its height than any body here How high would you reckon it is said the sledge hammer artist who after a lot of conversation had put up the hundred with Gamble Oh said Gamble Ill take it at 30 inches Oh no replied the other man you are wrong Ill bet it is less than 29 They measured and it was 28 Gamble hasnt smiled since that day Rehoboth Sunday Herald Heard of Osier She They say the Kongo dwarfs six specimens of whom have been brought to London by Col Harrison never reach a greater age than 40 years He What do you suppose does it chloroform Japans Specie Reserve Japans specie reserve stood at 225 000000 American gold value on Jan 1 1905 after eleven months of costly war FROM THE PENCILS POINT As a man thinketh before breakfast so is he Reverence is the foundation of last ing love Life loves best those of her children who laugh Righteousness is a lot more than re spectability A smooth tongue has caused many a man to slip Killing time is a sure way of spoil ing character The sense of duty is a sign of the divine in man The sense of duty is a sign of the divine in man He was a cynic until one day he met a little child Hatred often comes from only know ing half of a man Hatred often comes from only know ing half of a man No words of faith have force until they become flesh Ardent lovers dont always make amiable husbands It Is hard for the leek to see why people prefer the lily The only sure thing about a lie is that it will never die If you have horse sense you should know when to say neigh Women v should take their cues from Cupid and be blind Whoever heard of a man being sor ry for what he didnt tell Christs yoke is built for two and so becomes a bond for him and you When his goods are his chief good a man is likely to find little lasting good When Love takes up the harp of life the neighbors still complain be cause the airs are all sentimental New Orleans Picayune UNSIGHTLY BALD SPOT Caused by Sores on Neck Merciless Itching for Two Years Made Him Wild Another Cure by Cuticura For two years my neck was cov ered with sores the humor spreading to my hair which fell out leaving an unsightly bald spot and the soreness inflammation and merciless itching made me wild Friends advised Cuti cura Soap and Ointment and after a few applications the torment subsided to my great joy The sores soon dis appeared and my hair grew again as thick and healthy as ever I shall always recommend Cuticura Signed H J Spalding 104 W 104th St New irork City What three women know the whole neighborhood knows Storekeepers Hotel men and all householders will be interested in Acetylene Apparatus Mfg Co an- nouncemrrT ripni Never hit a man when he is down Hit him when his friends are down Here is Relief for Women Mother Gray a nurse in New York dis covered a pleasant herb reined for womens Ills called AUSTRALIAN LEAL1 It is tho only certain monthly regulator Cures female weaknesses and Backache Kidney Bladder and Urinary troubles At fsts or by mail 50 cts Sample mailed REE Address The Mother Gray Co LeRoy N Y Why it is impossible for any barber to work on any mans face without working on his own liTTT rrciirii ii I l EMI 11ILE Ill lytila E Plnkhams Vegetable Compound is a positive cure for all those painful ailments of women It will entirely cure the worst forms ot Female Com plaints all Ovarian troubles Inflam mation and Ulceration Falling1 ad Displacements of the Womb and con sequent Spinal Weakness and is pecu iarly adapted to the Change of Life Every time it will cure Backache It has cured more cases of Leucor rhoea than any other remedy the world has ever known It is almost infallible in such cases It dissolves and expels Tumors from the Hterus in an early stage of development That Bearing down Feeling causing pain weight and headache is instantly relieved and permanently cured by its use Under all circum stances it acts in harmony with the female system It corrects Irregularity Suppressed or Painful Menstruation Weaknessof the Stomach Indigestion Bloating Flooding- Nervous Prostra tion Headache General Debility Also Dizziness Faintness Extreme Lassitude dont care and t atone feeling excit ability irritability nervousness sleep lessness flatulency melancholy or the blues and backache These are sure indications of Female Weakness Borne derangement of the Uterus For Kidney Complaints and Backache of either sex the Vegeta ble Compound is unequaled You can write Mrs Pinkham about yourself in strictest confidence LTDU E PttiEHlH 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