k
The Tribune
F M KIMMELL Publisher
MCOOK
OF
NEBRASKA
The Mystery
CarneyCroft
By
JOSEPH BROWN COOKE
Copyricbt 1907 by Btory Iress Corporation
CHAPTER IX
Two Ghosts
As he spoke MacArdel reached for
his cigar case and my eye followed
his hand to the table beside which we
both stood and where I nad seen him
lay it only a moment before
It had vanished as completely as if
the earth had swallowed it up
Instinctively I sprang back and
closed the door with a bang while
MacArdel was going through his pock
ets in a bewildered sort of a way that
was ludicrous to witness
The things gone said MacArdel
as he finished his search I wouldnt
have taken an even hundred for it
These mysterious occurrences are
usually explained in a very simple
manner when all is said and done
I observed dryly Doubtless well
have no trouble in finding out what
became of it
Oh dry up said MacArdel im
politely as was his wont
The door was only open about six
inches I continued Nobody could
have come in
Or gone out said MacArdel
Well I went on its shut now
Suppose we have a look about
Without any apparent reason we
searched the room high and low for
the missing cigar case peering into
vases and jars moving furniture about
and disturbing things generally until
the place looked like a curio shop in
the middle of housekeeping
Finally we gave up in disgust and
suddenly struck with the ridiculous
ness of our own performances sat
down in the chairs that we had for
merly occupied by the side of the
table
The cigar case was lying under the
lamp where MacArdel had first laid
it down
There was nothing to say and so
we said nothing At length MacArdel
picked it up examined it carefully put
it in his pocket and muttered Lets
get ou of here Ware I want some
fresh air
Once outside the house he contin
ued Thats the most remarkable oc
currence I ever heard of Ghosts dont
walk by day so it couldnt have been
spooks but how on earth do you ex
plain it
I dont explain it I replied Its
just like the note on the bed
Oh nang the note on the bed
cried MacArdel This happened right
under our eyes and noses
Well what if it did I persisted
It isnt any more mysterious and
weve got to get to the bottom of the
whole business before we can let Miss
Carney come back No vacation for us
my boy We must stay here and find
out whats going on
We walked all around the house in
vestigating every nook and corner of
its walls and shaking the cellar win
dows and other subterranean openings
to assure ourselves that they were se
curely fastened Not finding anything
of interest on the outside we returned
again to the interior and beginning at
the top inspected every square inch
of space until we reached the base
ment and were ready to descend to
the cellar I had discovered two can
dles which we lighted for this explor
ation and I confess that my hand
traveled instinctively to the revolver
in my hip pocket as we started down
the stairs
The cellar however disclosed noth
ing of importance though we examined
it thoroughly As we were about to
ascend I noticed the pile of empty
whisky bottles and after finding that
there were exactly two dozen of them
had not a doubt that they were the
ones Mr Carney had ordered and emp
tied during his short stay at Carney
Croft three years before
In brief there was nothing to indi
cate that the house had been disturbed
in any way since it was closed by Miss
Carney and we strolled slowly along
the road to Hoskins for our luncheon
completely baffled at every point
Dont you keep a watchman here
asked MacArdel at length
I wanted to I replied But the
Carneys didnt think it necessary
That night we sat on the veranda
discussing the happenings of the day
while the full moon shone coldly in
the zenith and the river splashed fret
fully against its banks back of the
trees
The town clock in the distant vil
lage had just struck the hour of mid
night and I was beginning to yawn
openly after my long day of excite
ment and exertion when MacArdel
said laughingly
Nows the time to trot out your
ghosts Ware The clock just struck
12 you know
As he spoke I grasped his arm and
pointed to the path leading to the
river Two filmy white figures one
larger than the other were wafted
along under the trees as if they were
part of the air itself and from them
came an odor so faint and yet so over
powering in its fetid oppressiveneao
jj1
-
that 1 could scarcely draw my breath
For an instant MacArdel sat as one
petrified and then with a muttered
cry he sprang over the rail and fol
lowed the fleeting things into the
blackness of the overhanging trees
I was after him in a bound Run
ning with all our speed wo saw the
creatures whatever they were sail
majestically before us as on wings of
air until they reached the river where
in the full glare of the moonlight
they vanished suddenly under our very
eyes
When I overtook MacArdel he was
leaning heavily against a tree trunk
gasping for breath
Ware he said as soon as he
could speak That odor was the smell
of the grave Theres nothing else like
it I tell you man I was a coroner
for too many years and have opened
too many coffins not to know it
He sank to the ground from sheer
exhaustion
A moment later I heard a crackling
in the underbrush not far away and
with a shout I dashed into the bushes
followed by MacArdel Suddenly there
was a glimpse of white through the
leaves and with a warning cry I drew
my revolver and fired twice with care
ful aim The object in white fell to the
ground and we were upon it in an in
stant while the continued crackling of
branches showed that some one was
escaping at the top of his speed
The white object was a bundle of
towels and odd pieces of bed linen and
the articles were permeated by the
same indescribable odor that we had
noticed as we pursued the fleeting
creatures in white down the path to
the river
MacArdel poked the parcel open with
a stick and spread the pieces aboutin
the moonlight as it filtered in through
the branches overhead making bright
V
Wo decided that ro were quite
equal to this task and proceeding to
the stable undertook to hitch up on
our own account
MacArdel did the driving and I sat
on the seat behind him in all the glory
of an escortod guest As we turned
the corner Hnto the road that led to
the station a sudden gust f wind
wafted into my face the
scrlbable odor that had c my
nostrils the night before w ailed
him to stop
Mac I said theres something
wrong here I can get that confounded
smell again
He pulled up his horse with a jerk
and springing to the ground began
with me to peer under the seats of
tho vehicle A moment later he ex
tracted from a pile of hlankets and
laprobes a bundle of white cloths
similar in appearance to those we had
discovered on the previous night and
exhaling the same odor
Put them back I exclaimed sud
denly and cover them up again top
After we get the trunk we can take
them to tho house and see what they
are
Great idea muttered MacArdel
only I was on the point of suggesting
it myself Get in here with me The
airs better up front
I clambered into the sent by his side
and we proceeded on our way to the
station
Who is it that owns this turnout
asked MacArdel Do you know any
thing about him
Nothing more than that he makes
regular trips to and from the trains
I replied Runs a sort of local express
you know between the station and
Hoskins hotel Carries the mail and
passengers if there are any
Did you ever see him and talk to
him continued MacArdel
They Were Wafted Along as If Part of the Air Itself
patches here and there under the
trees Whether because of his startled
remark that this was the smell of the
grave or perhaps on account of the
nervous strain to which I had just
been subjected I was forced to view
this operation from a respectful dis
tance and was glad when the investi
gation was completed
Leaving the rags for such they
were strewn about as MacArdel had
scattered them we returned in silence
to the house and reseated outselves
on the veranda
Mac I said abruptly a moment
later do you know that we left this
place standing wide open and that
some one may be inside by this time
Not much danger of that said
MacArdel slowly Whoever was
around here is as far away by this
Lime as he can possibly get Make no
mistake about it Ware those pieces
of cloth down there have been around
a corpse
I shuddered in spite of myself and
we slept in the same room that night
with the doors and windows bolted
and a revolver under each of our pil
lows
CHAPTER X
Courtship and Business
We breakfasted at Hoskins As we
were rising from the table MacArdel
said Ive got a trunk up at the sta
tion I suppose I can get somebody
around here to take it down to the
house
Theres an old fellow here who
drives what he calls an express I
replied I expect hell attend to it
for you
Hoskins was standing by the door
as we left the room and I asked him
where we could find the stage driver
but his reply was far from encourag
ing
Ye cant find him at all he said
He didnt git in till nigh mornin an
hes abed yet His wagons aout teh
th barn an ef ye want teh hitch up
yerselves an git th trunk yere wel
come to fur all I can see Id send
one o my boys fur it ef I could but
Oh yes I said He was the first
to tell me about the ghosts at Carney
Croft all that story of the Bruce
womans prophecy that the place
would be haunted you know
Humph said MacArdel thought
fully And wheres the Bruce woman
now
She lievs on the place yet I re
plied Miss Carney gives her the use
of a little house and about 20 acres
of land rent free and some man about
here works the property on shares for
her Its that hilly land about a mile
east of the house where the big elm
is You remember I told you the
new golf links would take in that tree
and the land around it
Our return trip from the railway
station took us past Hoskins again
and that individual was sunning him
self in front of the house as we drove
up
By the way Hoskins said Mac
Ardel stopping his horse and beckon
ing the man toward him whats the
name of the fellow that owns this out
fit
Jenks said Hoskins briefly
Sam Jenks th lazy cuss
When js he going to marry the
widow asked MacArdel in a most
matter-of-fact way
Thats jest it replied Hoskins in
obvious disgust You tell me an Ill
tell you Goodness knows hes ben
a sparkin her long enough eversence
baout a month after her boy got kill
ed Spose he felt kinder sorry fer
her at first an then after a time he
began teh git mushy over it I wish
teh goodness hed either marry her or
leave her alone What with his gal
livantin all over the country with her
every week or ten days an not gittin
his hoss in th stable till nigh onto
daylight theres no dependin on him
teh meet th trains or do anything
else fur that matter Here he is now
abed an asleep an ef it hadnt ben
fur you gents a drivin up teh th
deepo we wouldnt ha got no mail
till night in all probability
With this remark he fished out two
mail bags which the station master
must tinvp triccol in- tim ii- -e
theyre all workin to day an I cant fhp J ut
-- tne wagon ts we were drivine awav
git hold1 o one nohow
CTO BE CONTINUED
IN DEATHS SHADOW
LIFE OF RAILROADER SAVED BY
A MIRACLE
Caught on Bridge He Jumped
What Seemed Certain Destruc
tion but His Time Had
Not Come
to
Perhaps no large body of men in
any industry are exposed to so many
dangers as are railroad men Thou
sands of these faithful and heroic
workers are killed every year and
other thousands are saved from death
only by the narrowest margin Some
of these railroad escapes seem almost
miraculous and seeing them many
railroad men comfort themselves with
a fatalism
We cannot die until our time
comes they say and so its no use
to worry
This is the philosophy of most men
who follow dangerous occupations It
is a false philosophy if the men who
compile the chances of life for the
insurance companies have their
tistics right but so long as it sustains
and encourages the men who work
constantly under the shadow of dan
ger little can be said against it
E S Shepard of Deadwood S D
used to be a track walker on the Col
orado Midland On his division at that
time the track inspectors had -no ve
locipedes and Mr Shepard was com
pelled to foot it every day over ten
miles of mountain track His invari
able companion was a big St Bernard
dog named Bruno
One day Shepard was inspecting the
track as usual when he came to
trestle No 4 a long structure across
a gorge He paused at the end of the
trestle and looked at his watch He
had been told at the last station that
the Midland express was an hour late
and this would give him plenty of
time to cross the gorge on the single
track
Man and dog started across without
thought of danger They had reached
TO A
RAILROAD TRAIN
MOUNTAINS
IN THE
The wooded hills stand silently
Awe hushed anddad in sweet repose
No bird is stirring noiselessly
The woodbine clambers with the rose
Sweet silence steeping hill and vale
In sorcerers spell of quietude
Is broken by the echoing hail
Of iron voice in summons rude
And thundering through the just domain
Of Natures proud magnificence
Behold mans sordid greed of gain
His ripe colossal impudence
L S Waterhouse
CAP SAVED CHILDS LIFE
Waving Red Mother
Stopped Approaching Train
While five men struggled mightly
to extricate a girl from the New
Haven railroad track at Stamford
Conn the other day her mothers
pluck and quick wit saved her from
being cut to pieces by a train It
was the childs red
waved as a danger signal that halted
the train within a few feet of her
Nearly half an hour more passed be
fore she was released While Amy
the five-year-old daughter of H J
Lamborns was hurrying from a neigh
bors home to her own her foot was
caught firmly between the planking of
the crossing and a rail Her cries
brought her mother who tugged at
the little ones foot only to hurt her
ankle until she screamed with pain
Mn Lamborns cries brought three
section laborers quickly to the scene
A train was due soon and the men
thought it would be easy to release
small Miss Amy long before that
But they had no implements but
shovels and every stroke at the
plank that held her gave Amy in
tense suffering Not until they heard
the whistle of the approaching en
gine did they realize her danger
Then it was that the mother plucking
Amys red from her
head ran down the tracks and suc
ceeded in stopping the traim
a point near the center of the brltlgo
when the sharp warning signal of a
whistle was heard Sherard looked
up and saw the express coming around
a curve not more tnn a hundred
paces away
I was paralyzed by h i he says
I could not move fosvvwl or back
ward Indeed there va no tne in
moving for the engbj was bearing
down upon me with frightful speed
trying to make up lou time Below
me at least 75 feet from the track
level was the rock strewn bottom of
the gorge It meant death to jump It
was death to stand still
Bruno the dog trembled and
whined- at his masters feel He un
derstood the danger and when the lo
comotive was not more than 50 feet
away the dog turned and jumped off
the bridge Mr Shepard instinctively
followed Brunos example There was
little strength left in his knees but he
stumbled to the edge of the track and
half fell outward and downward just
as the heavy train went thundering by
But some kindly fate was guarding
Shepard that day In the language of
the railroad fatalist his time had
not come Instead of plunging down
to be mangled on the stones at the
bottom of the gorge he was surprised
to find himself hanging head down
ward over the edge of the trestle
His left foot had caught in some
way between two ties just outside of
the rail The framework of the
bridge shook under the impact of tho
heavy train and every instant he ex
pected to be shaken loose In the ter
ror of the moment he became uncon
scious and did not know what hap
pened until he awoke and found him
self being taken out of the train at
the next station
The engineer had seen him of
course and had applied the brakes
When the train came to a standstill
the crew and some of the passengers
ran back and found Shepard still
hanging his left foot firmly wedged
between the timbers His only physi
cal injury was a badly wrenched
ankle but the nervous breakdown un
fitted him for duty for a long time
ENGINEER HAD QUICK WIT
An Expedient by Which a Serious Ac
cident was Avoided
On a single line section of a Scotch
railway the quick wittedness and
pluck of a driver prevented a frightful
catastrophe says Chambers Journal
A goods train was put into a siding to
allow an express passenger train to
overtake it The operations were car
ried out in a great hurry to avoid the
passenger train being delayed and
the line clear signal was given be
fore the whole of the train was in the
siding When the express was ap
proaching it was discovered that the
goods train was longer than the siding
could accommodate so that the en
gine occupied the main line to the ex
tent of several feet It was too late
to stop the approaching express and
a disaster seemed imminent when a
plan of action occurred to the active
brain of the driver of the goods train
which he immediately put into opera
ation by opening his regulator and
putting the power of the engine
against his train This action caused
the spring buffers to compress so
that the train occupied several yards
less space It was now a fight be
tween the power of the engine and
the pent up force of the 100 buffer
springs If once the engine wheels
commenced to slip the springs would
probably gain the mastery and force
the engine on to the main line in the
face of the oncoming express The
driver gallantly stuck to his post
manipulating his engine until the in
creasing roar caused by the approach
ing train told him the express was
close upon him then leaving the
regulator and the sand valves wide
open he leaped from his engine For
tunately his action was successful
A few inches only intervened be
tween the two trains but the express
swept by in safety
Steel Used by Railroads
Railways use up over 2000000 tons
of steel a year almost half the worlds
product
relp Hie Horse
Nn nrtlcle la more useful
shout the stable than Mica
firM Put a little on
Vi cnlnrllM before VOtt hoot
op It -will lielp the horse and
bring the load home quieter
MICA AXLE
GREASE
wears well better than any
other grease Coats the axle
with a hard smooth surface of
powdered mica which reduces
i friction Ask the dealer for
Mica Aile Grease
STM0AEO Oil COMPACT
uwrtxraUd j
PUT RELIGIOUS DUTY SECOND
Stern Laws of Business Come First
Says Austrian Court
An Interesting caso at law which
centered on the observance of an old
Jewish custom was decided in Vienna
recently A merchant says tne Ameri
can Israelite discharged a clerk on ac
count of neglect of duty Among the
charges against him was that he came
to the store lato in the morning be
cause he attended service at the syna
gogue In order to say Kaddish the
prayer for tho dead for his father
The clerk argued that it was his privi
lege and his duty to say the prayer for
his departed father while the mer
chant who was also a religious man
maintained that if Moses had known
that a man had to pay 8000 gulden a
year rent he would have made differ
ent laws The judge would not allow
such an argument but decided in fa
vor of the merchant because the
daily attendance at the synagogue
could not be considered the right of
the clerk without tho consent of the
employer i
Importance of Sleep
We should get up well every morn
ing If we do not we are certain
gradually to run behind in our physi
cal bank account This proves that
sleeping Is quite as important as eat
ing The luxury of sound sleep is one
of tho greatest means given to a man
or beast for restoring and invigorating
the whole system No one should al
low business or anything else to cur
tail this luxury and parents should
promote it in children instead of
drumming them out of bed early
Homeopathic Envoy
Immense African Dry Dock
At Port Florence on the shore of
the great lake Victoria which is the
chief source of the Nile there is a
dry dock cut out of solid rock by na
tives who had never before done much
serious work The dock is 250 feet
long -18 feet wide and 14 feefcydeep It
is 3700 feet above the level of the sea
or nearly three times the altitude of
Lake Chautauqua
MORE BOXES OF GOLD
And Many Greenbacks
nn j v - v
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let stand on stove until real boiling
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Be honest and truthful dont write
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