Nebraska Newspapers

    12 THE OMAHA TAlTAr ) BEE : SATUllDAT. OCTOBER 31. 1800. \
AN UNWILLING NEIGHBOR.
BY FRANK R. STOCKTON.
. , by IVnnk n. Stockton. )
I ws abfiitt 25 years old when I began
llfo an fhc'owncr of ft vineyard In western
Virginia. I bought R large tract of land ,
the greater part of which lay upon the
BloplnR sldo of one of the foothills of the
Illtio Illdge , the exposure being that most
favorable to the growth of the vine. I nm
nn enthusiastic lover of the country and of
country life , and believed that I should
derive moro pleasure as well as profit from
the culture of my far-stretching vineyard
than I would from ordinary operations.
I built myself a Rood house of modcrato
size upon a lltllc plateau on the other part
of my estate. Sitting In my front porch ,
smoking my pipe after the labors of the
day , I could look down over my vineyard
Into a beautiful valley , with here and there
tr llttlo curllnfi smoke arising from some
of the few dwellings which were scat
tered about among the groves and spreading
fields , and above this beauty I could Imagine
nil my.hlllsldo clothed In green and
'PUMy family 'consisted of myself nl ° nc. u
Is-truo that I expected some day that there
wcfuld bo others In my house besides my
self , but I was not ready for that yet.
During the summer I found It very pleas
ant to Hvo by myself. It was a novelty , and
I could afrangt and manage everything In
my own fashion , which was a pleasure 1
had not enjoyed when I lived In my father s
lioimo ; but when winter came I found It
very lonely. Kvcn my servants lived In a
cabin at some * llttlo distance , and there
were many dark and stormy evenings when
the company even of a bore would have
been welcome to me. Sometimes I walked
over to the town and visited my friends
there , but this was not feasible on stormy
nights , and the winter seemed to mo a very
loni ! one. . .
Hut spring came , outdoor operations began ,
and for a few weeks t felt again that I was
nll-sufnVlcnt for my own pleasure and com
fort. Then ctme a change. One of those
seasons of bad and stormy weather wlilcli
so frequently follow an early spring settled
down upon my spirits and my hillside. It
rained. It was cold , fierce winds blew , and
I became nitiro anxious for somebody to talk
to' tliiin F had been at any time during the
Ono 'nlglit , when a very bad storm was
raging , I went to bed early , and as I lay
awake I resolved In my mind the scheme
of which I had frequently thought before.
I rtould build a neat little house on my
grounds , not very far away from my house ,
hut not too near , and I would ask Jack
nrnndlnger to come there and live. Jack
was a friend of mine , who was reading law
In the town , and It seemed to me that It
would bo much moro pleasant and even more
profitable to read law on a pretty hillside
overlooking a charming valley , with woods
nnd mountains behind and above him , where
' ho could ramble to his heart's content.
I had thought of asking Jack to como and
Hvo with me , but this Idea I soon dismissed.
I am a very particular person , and Jack Is
not ; he leaves liln pipes about In all sorts
of places sometimes when they are still
lighted. When he came to tea mo ho was
quite as likely to put his hat over the Ink
stand as to put It anywhere else. Hut If
Jack lived at n little distance , and we
could go backwards and forwards to see
each other whenever wo pleased , that would
bo quite another thing. Ho could do us he
pleased In hU own home , and I could deus
us I pleased In mine , and wu might have
many pleasant evenings together. This was
a cheering Idea , and I was planning how
wo might arrange with the negro woman
who mannf ed my household affairs to attend
also to those of Jack , when I fell asleep ,
1 did not sleep long before I was awakened
by the Increased violence of the storm. My
house shook with the fury of the wind ; the
rain seemed to bo pouring on Its roof and
northern side as If the.ro were a waterfall
above us , and every now and then I could
hear a shcwer of hailstones rattling against
the shutteis. My bedroom was one of the
rooms on the lower floor , and even there I
could hear thu poundlnp of the dclUgo and
the hailstones upon the roof.
All this was very doleful , and had a ten
dency to depress the spirits of a waking
man , alone In n good-sized house ; but 1
shook off this depression. It was not agrcea-
blo to bo up here by myself In such u tcrrl
bio storm , but there was nothing to be
afraid of , as my house was new und very
strongly built , Jjuing constructed of logs
wnthcrboardcd outside and sealed within.
It would require a hurricane to blow oft
the roof , and I believed my shutters to be
hall-proof ; BO , as there was no icaaon to stay
nwakc , I turned over and went to sle p. ,
I do not know how long It was before 1
wns awakened again , this time not by thn
taolso Of the storm , but by a curious move
ment of my bedstead. I had once felt thu
Blight shock of an earthquake , and It seemed
to mo that this must bo something of the
kind ; certainly my bed moved under me.
I eat Up ; thu room was pitchy dark. In t <
moment I felt another movement , but this
time it did not seem to resemble an earth
quake shock ; such motion. I think. Is gener
ally In horizontal direction ! ) , whllo what I
felt was nioro llko the slower movement
" of a shlupon | the water. The storm was i *
"its height , the wind raged and roared , anil
< \\c \ rain ( itemed to liu pouring down as
, , Iveavlly as ever.
I was about to get up and light the lamp ,
tor oven the faintest candle ( lame would bo
s'ome bert of company at such n gruesome
jnonicnl , when my bedstead gave another
movement , more shlpllke than before. It
actually lurched forward as If it ucro de-
WIK MOTION OP THE UKU STILL CON
TINUED.
cccmlliig Into the trough of the sea , but.
unlike a ship , It illd not rise QKtilu , but re-
nmliicJ In such a ulaiitltiK position that 1
began to Hlliltt down toward thu { not. I lie *
lli > vu that if It had not lit'oii a btMstcnd
provided with n footboard , I xhould have
slipped out uiau ) the tloor ,
P'tlld not 'jump out of bed : I did not do
.etu'lliliic ; I tried to think , to unilen.tnnd
tlio situation , to flnd out whether T wan
a.M < ift > ( or nwjjfce , when I bccanin nwaro of
no l c In Thu room and all over the ,
vtfilrli , oven throUKh the din of the storm
) fto > H - ( liciUBC'lveH noticed by their pocullsr
Ity. Tables , chairs , everything In the room
icil to bo grntiug and grinding on the
floor , and In u moment thcro vtcis a eijsl ) .
I knew what that wauj It wan my lamp ,
\vilch ) had slipped off the table. Any dautn
on that point would have ben dlnpcllel by
Iho imcll of kerohene which tilled the nlr
cf the room ,
Til"motion of the bet ] , which I now be
lieve uhist have b'run tho'motluu of the
whole IIOIIBO. , tlll contlmie'l : but the gratdiK
nal e In ihr room gradually craitd , from
which I Inferred that the furniture had
brminbl up agaluRt the front v/nll of the
Mo\v , It vw Itupaiulole for we to Ret
* -w.
up and strike a light , for to do so with
kcroseno oil all over the floor and Its vnpor
diffused through the room would probably
result In setting HIP house on ( Ire , so I
must slay In darkness nnd watt. I da not
think I was very much frightened I waste
to astonished that thcro was no room In
my mind for fear. " In fact , all my mental
energies wore occupied In trying to flnd out
what had happened. It required , however ,
only a few moro minutes of reflection and
n few more mlnutca of the grating , bumpIng -
Ing , trembling of my house to enable mo to
make up my mind what had happened ; my
IIDIIBO was slldng down lilltl
The wind must have blown the building
from Its foundations , and , upon the slippery
surface of the hillside , probably lashed
Into liquid mud by the pouring rain , It was
making HA way down towards the valley !
In a flash my mind's eye ran over the whole
surface of the country beneath me as far
as I knew It. I was almost positive that
there was no precipice , no terrible chasm
Into which my house might fall. There
was nothing but sloping hillside , and be
neath that wide stretch of fields.
Now there was a new nnd sudden nolso
of heavy objects falling upon , the roof , nnd
f know what that meant ; my chlmlney had
been wrenched from Us foundations and the
upper part of It had now toppled over. I
could hear , through the storm , the bricks
banging and sliding Upon the slanting roof.
Continuous sounds cf cracking nnd snapping
came to me through the closed front
windows , and these were caused , I sup
posed , by the destruction of the slakes of
my vines as the heavy house moved over
them.
Of course , when I thoroughly understood
the state of the case , my first Impulse waste
to spring out of bed , and , ns quickly ns
possible , to get out of that thumping nnd
sliding house ; but I restrained myself. The
floor might be covered with broken glass , I
might not be able to find my clothes In
that darkness and In the Jumble of furniture
at the end of the room , and even If I could
Oreo myself , It would bo folly to Jump
out In the midst of that raging storm Into u
probable mass cf wreckage which I could
not see ; It would be far better to remain
dry and warm under my roof. There wns no
reason whatever to suppose that the house
could go to pieces or that It would turn
over ; It must stop some tlmo oH other , und ,
until It did o , I would be safer In my bed
than nnywherd- else ; Therefore In my bed
I staid.
Sitting upright , with my feet pressed
against the footboard , I listened and felt ;
the noises of the storm nnd the cracking and
snapping nnd grinding1 before me and under
mo still continued , although I sometimes
thought that the wind Was moderating a
little , and that the ntrangc motion was be
coming moro regular. I believed the house
was moving faster than when It first began
Its strangn career , but that It was sliding
over n smooth surface. Now I noticed a
succession of loud cracks and enaps at the
front of the houce , and , from the character
of the sounds. I concluded that my little
front porch , which had been acting ns a cut
water at the bow of my ship-like house , had
yielded at last to the rough contact with
the ground , and would prabably soon be
torn away. This did not disturb mo , for the
house must ntlll bo firm.
It was not long before I perceived that
the slanting of my bed was becoming Ices
and less and less , and nlso I waa quite sure
that the housu was moving more slowly.
Then the crackings and snapplngs before my
front wall ceased altogether. The bed re
sumed Its ordinary horizontal position , nnd ,
although I did not know at What exact mo
ment the house ecadcd sliding and came to a
standstill , I wns sure that It had done so
U was resting at last upon a level surface
The room was still perfectly dark and the
storm continued.- Thorn was no use for mete
to get up until daylight came so I lay bach
iipon the pillow .ami.tried to Imagine upon
what Icj-el. jiortlou of my farm I had
stranded. While doing this I fell tislcep.
When I awoke n little light was stealing
Into my room through the blinds of my
shuttera. I quickly slipped out of bed ,
opened a window , looked out. Day was Just
breaking , the rain nnd nlud hnd ceased nnd
I could discern objects , bjt It seemed as If I
ncedrd some light In my brain to enable mete
to comprehend what I law. My e > cs fell
upon nothing familiar ,
I did not stop to Investigate , however ,
from my window 1 found my clothes hud
dled together with the furniture at the front
end of the room , and as soon as I was
drcmeii I went Into the hall , nnd then to
my fronl door. I quickly Jerked this open
nnd was about to step outside , when sudj
dcnly I stopped. I was positive that my
front porch had been destroyed , but there I
saw n porch , a llttlo lower than mlno nnd a
great deal wider , and on the other sldo of
It , not more than eight feet from me , was
a fni-a tl-o fnce of a young girl ! As I
stood staring In blank amazement at the
house which presented Itself at my front
door , the face at the window disappeared
nnd I was left to contemplate the scene by
myself. I ran to my back door and throw
It open. Thcro I saw stretching up the
flcldb and far up the hillside the wide path
which my house bad made as It came down
from Its elevated ptjsltlon to the vnllcy be
neath , where It had ended Its onward career
by stopping up against another house. As I
looked off the back porch I saw that the
ground still continued to slope , so that If
my house had not found In Its path another
building It would probably have proceeded
somnwlut farther on Its course. It was
lighter , and I saw bushes and fences and
llttlo outbuildings In n back yard.
Almost breathless with amazement and
consternation I ran again to the front door ;
when I reached It I found a young woman
standing on the porch of the house before
me. I was about to say something I know
nnt what when Bho put her finger on her
lips and sleppcJ forward.
"Pleaso don'tppcnl : loudly , " she said.
"I am afiald It wlirtflahten mother ; she
U asleep yet. I suppose you and your house
have been sliding down hill ? "
"That Is what han h.yipencd , " said I , "but
I cannot understand It ; It seems to mo the
most anmliig tiling that ever took place on
the fnco of ( ho carthi"
"It Is vorv tiucor , " Bald she. "hut hurri
canes do blow nwny houses , and that must
have been a hurricane -wo had last night ,
for the wind was strong enough to loosen
any hoiuo. I have often wondered It that
house \\ould aver Hilda downhill.
"My liouno ?
"Yes , " she said."Soon after It was built.
I began to think fc-h.it a nice , clean vwe
It could makft from , the place where It
seemed to b-i stuck to the .side of the inoun
tain , right down here-into the valley , "
1 could not falk with n girl like thj > ; at
'
least I could not 'meet her on her owii ron-
vc-ivatlnml ground * . I was so ngltntt'O
mjSL'lf that It .seemed unnatural that anyone
ono to whom I should upuidc should not also
bn bgltntt'd. " " . ' '
"Who are you ? " I asked rather bruesquely ;
"nt least , to whom doea 'this house be
long ? "
"Thli la my mother's house. " said oho.
"My mother l.i Mrs. Cfcrfcon. We happen
Just now to bo living hero by ourselves ,
so I cannot call nn any man to help you
do anything. My brother has always lived
"You don't pceni to bo a lilt astonished at
what has happened , " said I.
Sim was rather a pretty girl , of a cheerful
disposition , I fliqiild say , for several times
slm Imd pmlli'd ap she spoke ,
"Oh , I am ajtonlslird , " she answered ; "or
at least 1 w.na , ,1)111 ) I have had time enough
to got over some of | U It wns at leant an
hour ago when I wn awakened by hearing
finmothlhg crack In Iho yard , I wt-nl to a
window nnd lqoKed ; out. and could Just
hxroly HOC that something llko a big build
ing liicil grown up during thp night. Then
1 watched It , and watched .It. iinMl I made
out nf It a whole hnmo. and after ( hat It
wa * no' liipg bofdro .1 piioHfi'd what had hap-
pencd. It sauted , . a simpler , thing to mr.
you know , than Uilli | to you. because I had
often thought ttb(3Ul. ( It nnd probably ynu
nevrr had ! f" *
"You rn right 'Uipicald I carm'atly.
"U wouH have brrrtJippOEslblo for nm tt
Imagine ucH lKlnp' , " " , . ,
At first I thought there 'was nobo'ly | n
the home , " , lalrt rbo "but when I heard
come nun moving' about , I came down to
tell whoever ) ti | arrival ; not to make n
nolni. I Hto. " she added , with another of
her ainlUa. "that loit Ihlnk I am a wry
stranKC person not. tobe more flurried by
what has hnpprnoJ. .but really , I vauuot
think of Anything else Just now except
what mother will say and do when she
cornea down and finds you and your house
here at the back door. I nm very sure she
will not like It. "
"Llko It ! " I exclaimed. "Who on' earth
could ll'-'o It ? "
"Please sponk more gently , " iihe said.
"Mother Is always a little Irritable when
her night's rest linn been broken , nnd I
would not like to have her wakened up
suddenly now ; but really , Mr. Wnrrcn , I
iiavcn'l the least Idea In the world how she
will take this thing. 1 must go In nnd
lo with her when she wakes , so that I can
explain Just what has happened. "
"Ono moment , " I said. "You know my
name ? "
"Of course I know your name , " she an
swered. "Could that house bo up there on
the hillside for more than a. year without
me knowing who lived In It ? " With this ,
she went Indoors.
I could not help emlllng when I thought
of the young lady regretting that there
was no man In the house who might help
ne do something. What could anybody do
in a case like this ? I turned and went
nlo the house. I entered the various rooms
on the lower floor , and saw no signs of any
inrtlcular damage , except that everything
movable In each room was Jumbled together
against the front wall , but when 1 looked
out of the bnck door , I found that the porch
: hero was a gcod deal wrecked , which 1
md not noticed before.
I went upstairs and found everything
vrctty much ns It was below. Nothing
seemed to have been Injured except the
chimney nnd the porches. 'I thanked mj
stars that I had used hnrd wood Instead ol
mortar for the ceilings of my rooms.
' I was about to go Into my bedroom , when
hoard n woman scream , nnd of course 1
lurried to the front. There on the back
> orcli of her house stood Mrs. Carson. Shu
was n woman of middle age , and , as 1
glanced at her , I saw where her daughter
got her good looks , put the placidity nnd
: heerfulncss of the younger face was en
tirely wanting In the mother. Her eyes
sparkled , her cheeks were red , her mouth
was partly opened , and It seemed to me
that I could almost see that her breath waa
hot.
hot."Is
"Is that your house ? " she cried , the mo
ment her eyes fell upon me ; "and what Is
It doing hero ? "
I did not Immediately answer. I looked
at the angry woman , and. behind , her I saw ,
through the open door , the daughter- cross
ing the hallway ; it was plain that she had
decided to let mo have It out with her
mother without Interference. As briefly and
as clearly as I could , I explained what bad
happened ,
"What Is all that to me ? " she screamed.
"It doesn't matter to mo how your houuo
got there. Thcro have been storms ever
since the beginning of the world , and I
never heard of any of them taking a house
Into a person's back yard. You ought not
to have built your house where any such J
thing could happen ; but all this Is nothing
to me. I don't understand now how your
house did get there , and I don't want to
understand It. All I want Is for you to take
it away , "
"I will do that , madam , Just as soon as I
can. You may bo very sure I will do that ,
but "
"Can you do it now ? " she asked. "Can
you do it today ? I don't want n minute
lost. I have not been outside to see what
damage has been done , but the first thing
to do Is to take your house away. "
"I am going to the town now , madam , to
summon assistance. "
Mrs. Carson made no answer , but she
turned nnd walked to , the end of her parch.
Thcro she suddenly gave a scream , which
quickly brought her daughter from the
house. "Kitty ! Kitty ! " cried her mother ;
"do you know what ho has done ? He has
gene right over my round flower garden ;
his house Is sitting on It this minute ! "
"But lie could not help it , mother , " said
Kitty.
"Help It ! " exclaimed Mrs. Carson. "I
don't want him to help tt ; what I want "
Suddenly she stopped. Her eyes Mashed ,
brighter , and her mouth opened wider. . She
scorned to have lost the power of speech ,
but quickly It came back to her. "Llttlo
Samuel ! " she screamed. "Kitty , do you
know I believe ho has scratched up little
Samuel ! "
I looked at her stuplfled without knowIng - .
Ing what she was talking about. "Llttlo
Samuel" again screamed Mrs. Carson , and
she ran about , wildly endeavoring to get off
her porch , but my house had demolished her
steps and It blocked up the opening.
"Tho sldo door , mother ! " said Miss Kitty ,
nnd then , as the older woman disappeared
into the house with a stifled exclamation ,
her daughter said to me : "It Is my little
brother she is thinking about. He died some
years ago and was burled In a small grave
yard back of our garden. She thinks your
house has gene over It and has scratched
him up. " Miss Carson now followed her
mother , and I jumped over the railings of
the porch and ran after them ,
As we hurried along by my house and
Into their garden , which now seemed to
bo unevenly divided Into two parts , scream
after scream came from Mrs , Carson , as
she noticed the absence of sheds , fences , or
vegetable beds , which had found themselves
In the course of my nll-dcatroylng dwelling.
Once she turned her head towards me , her
face pallid. "It you have scratched up little
Samuel ! " she screamed , panting , but she
had not breath enough to finish the , sen
tence , and continued onward with clenched
fists.
'But llttlo Samuel was not scratched up.
My house had not passed within 100 feet of
his resting place. Then wo turned und
went back to the house , or rather to the
houses.
It was now well on In the morning nnd
some of the neighbors had become aware of
the strange disaster which had happcncd ° tome
mo , although If they had heard the news
from Mro. Carwoi. they might have supposed
that It wns a disaster which had happened
only to her. As they gazed at the two
h'ousea so closely jammed together all of
them wondered , some of them even laughed ,
but not one of them offered a suggestion
which afforded satisfaction to Mrs , Canon or
myself. The general opinion was that my
house wa there , It would have to stay
there , for there were not enough horses In
the state to pull It back up the mountain-
aide. To be euro It might possibly be moved
off sldowliso , but whether It was moved one
way or the other a lot of Mrs. Carson's
trees would have to be cut down to let It
pass.
"Which shall never happen ! " cried that
good lady. "If nothing clso can be done It
must bo taken apart and hauled off In carts ,
but no matter how It U managed It- must be ,
moved , and that Immediately. "
MUa Curaon now prevailed upon her
monthcr to go Into the house , and I stayed
and talked to tbo men and fuw women who
had gathered outulde.
When they had said all they bad to s y ,
and seen all thcro was to see , ( lipeo , people
\yent home to tbclr breakfasts , J entered
my house , not by the- front door , for to do
that I would have been obliged to trespass
upon Mrs. Canon's back porch. I got my
bat and wan about to start for the town ,
when I heard my name called. Turning Into
the hall , I saw Miss Carson , who was standIng -
Ing at my front door.
"Mr. Warren , " salJ ahe. "you haven't any
way of getting breakfast , have * you ? "
"Oh , no , " said I. "My servants nro up
there In their cabin , and I suppose they are
too much scared to come down , but I am
going to town to sec what cnn be done
About my house nnd will get my breakfast
there. "
"It'B a long way to go without anything
to eat , " she said , " nd we can Klvo you
some break f ant ; but I Want to ask you some
thing. I am In a .good deal of perplexity ;
our two nerv&nts arcooul at the front of the
house , but they positively refuse to come In.
They are afraid that your houss may begin
sliding nway and crttalt them all , so I shall
have to get breakfast ) but what bothers mo
Is trying to flnd oor well. 1 have been
outside and can goo-no'slgns of It. "
"Whero was yourwrtl ? " I gasped.
"It ought to be somewhere near the back
of your house. " shevtetld. "May I go through
your hall and looktonU"
"Of course you ranjT , " I cried , and I pre
ceded her to my bacld'door.
"Now , It seems tomie , " she said , after
surveying Iho scorns of desolation Immedi
ately before , nnd looking from side to side ,
towards objects whlolt had remained un
touched , "that yourf house has passed dl-
rectoly over our wctlj and must have car
ried away the llttlo-shcd and the pump and
everything nbovo ground. I should not won
der a bit , " she continued slowly , "If It Is
under your porch. "
I jumped to the ground , for the steps
wcro slmtteicd , nnd began to search for the
well , and It wns not long before I discovered
Its round dark opening , which was , as Miss
Carson had imagined , under one end of my
porch ,
"What can wo do ? " she asked. "We
can't have bicakfaat or get along at all
without water. " It was a terribly depress
ing thing to mo to think that I , or rather
my houie , had given these people so much
IT WAS VKHV 1'LEASANT TO HELP TIIE.M GET THEIH GAHDEN IN OUDEU.
trouble , but I speedily assured Miss Carson
that If n'.io could find a bucket and a rope ,
which I could lower Into the well , I could
provide her with water.
She went Into her house to BCD what she
could find , and I tore away. the broken
planks of the porch , so that I could get to
the well , and then , when sliu.camo with
a tin fall' nlHl-a.fcloMieallQOi I- went to'work
with great ardor to ilaul up water and to
carry It to her back tloor ,
"I don't want mother to find out what has
happened to the well , " she said , "for she
has enough on her hilnd already. "
Mrs. Carson was a woman with some good
points In her character. After time she
called to me , herself , and told me to come
In to breakfast , butt during the meal she
talked very earnestly to mo about the
amazing trespass I ihad committed , and
about the means which should bo taken to
repair the damages my house had done
to her property , ! was as optimistic as I
could be , and the young lady spoke very
cheerfully und hopefully about the affair ,
so that we were beginning to get along
somewhat pleasantly I when suddenly Mrs.
Carson sprang to her feet. "Heavens and
earth , " she cried , "this house Is moving. "
She was not mistaken. I had felt bo-
ueath my feet a sudden -tharp shock not
severe , but unmistakably. I remembered
that both houses stood upon slightly slopIng -
Ing ground , my blood turned cold , my heart
stood still oven Miss Carson was pale !
When wo had rushed out of doors to sec
what had happened , or what was going to
happen , I soon found that wo had been
needlessly frightened. Some of the broken
timbers on which my house had been pai-
tlally resting had given away , nnd the front
part of the building had slightly descended ,
jarring , as u uiu BO , [ no olner House agaliisi
which It rested. I endeavored to prove to
Mrs. Carson that the result was encourag
ing rather than otherwise ; for my house waa
now more firmly settled than It had been ;
but she did not value the opinion of a man
who did not know enough to put his house
In a place where It would bo likely to sta > ,
and she could eat no more breakfast , and
was oven afraid to stay under her own
roof until experienced mechanics had been
summoned to look Into the state of affairs.
I hurried away to the town , and It was
not long beforu several carpenters and ma-
eons were on the spot. After a thorough ex
amination , they assured Mrs. Carson that
thcro was no danger , that my house would
do no further damage to her premises ; but ,
to make things certain , they would bring
some heavy beams and brace the front of
my house against her cellar wall. When
that should be done It would bo Impossible
for it to irovo any farther.
"llut I don't want It braced , " cried Mrs.
Carson. "I want it taken away ; I want It
out of my back yard ! "
The master carpenter was a man of Im-
agltatlon and experience. "That Is quite
another thing , ma'am , " said he. "We'll fix
this gentleman's house so that you needn't
bo nfratd of U , and then when the tlmo
comes to move It , there's several ways of
doing that. Wo might rig up a powerful
windlass at the top of the hill , and perhaps
get a steam engine to turn It , and wo could
fasten cables to the house and haul her
back to where aho belongs. "
"And can you take your oaths , " cried
Mrs. Carson , "that those ropes won't break
and when that house gets halfway up the
hill It won't como sliding down ten times
faster than It did and crash Into mo and
mlno and everything I own on earth ? No ,
sir ! I'll have no house hauled up a bill
back of me ! "
"Of course , " said the carpenter , "It
would bo a great deal easier to move It on
this ground , which Is almost level "
"And cut down ray trees to do It ! No ,
sir ! "
"Well , then , " said ho , "there la no way
to do but to take It apart and haul it off. "
"Which would make an awful tlmo at
the back of my house -while you were doing
It ! " exclaimed Mrs. Carson.
I now In word " '
put a , "There's only one
thing to do that I b > arseo" I exclaimed.
"I will sell It to a match factory ! It U
almost all wood aiid > U can bo cut up In
sections about two Inches thick and then
spill Into matches. "
Kitty smiled. 'Hishould ' like to see them , "
Bho said , "takiug < uv y the llttlo sticks In
wheelbarrows. "
"There is no necd-nf trifling on the sub
ject , " said Mrs. Ctrsou. "I have had a
groit deal to bcarrand'I must bear It no
longer than -la nec < uaary < I have Just found
out that In order -to got water out of my
own well I must sojto the back porch of a
stranger. Such tnjii g cannot bo endured.
If my son Gcorgotuoro hern ho would loll
mo what I ought < to do. I shall -write to
him and see what lie advUea. I do no )
mind waiting a llttlJ bit , -now that I know
that you can flx Ml.Warreti'i bouse so that
It won't move any farther , "
Thus the mutter wu left. My bouse wa
braced that afternoon and toward evening I
started to go to a hotel In the town to
spend the night.
"No , sir ! " said Mrs. Carton. "Do you sup.
pose tiat | I am going to stay hero all night
with a great empty house Jammed up
against mo , and everybody knowing that it
Is empty ? It will bo the name as having
thieves In my own house as to have them
In yours. You have como down hero In
your property , and you can stay In it and
lake care of It ! "
"I don't object to that In the least , " I
said. "My two women are here , and I can
tell them to attend to my meals. I haven't
any chimney , but I suppose they can make
a flrc some way or other. "
"No , slrl" said Mrs. Carson. "I am not
going to have nny strange ecrvants on my
place. I have Just been able to prevail upon
my own women to go Into the house , and I
don't want any more trouble. Dear knows.
I have had enough already , "
"Hut , my dear madam , " said I , "you
don't want mo to go to the town , and you
won't allow mo to have any cooking done
here ; what am I to do ? "
"Well , " she said , "you can cat with us ;
It may bo two or three days before I can
hear from my son George , and In the mean
time you can live In your own house and I
will take you to board. That Is the best
way I can nee of managing the thing ; but
I am very sure I am not going to bo left
here alone In the dreadful predicament In
which you have put me. "
We had scarcely finished supper , when
Jack nramllgcr came to see me. He laughed
a good deal about my sudden change of base ,
but thought , on the whole , my house had
had made a very successful move ; It inuat
be more pleasant In the valley than up on
that windy hill. Jack was very much Inter
ested In everything , and when Mrs. Carson
and her daughter appeared , as we were walkIng -
Ing about viewing the scene , I felt myself
obliged to Introduce him.
"I like those ladles , " said ho to me aft-
ciwards. "I think you have chosen very
agreeable neighbors. "
"How do you know ypu like them ? " said
I. "You had scarcely anything to say to
Mrs. Carson. "
"No , to bo sure , " said ho ; "but I ex
pected I should llko her. By the way , do
you know how you used to talk to mo about
coming nnd living somewhere near you ?
How would you llko mo to come and take
ono of your rooms now ? I might cheer
you up. "
"No , " said I firmly. "That cannot bo
done ; as things nrc now , I have ns much
as I can do to get along hero by myself. "
Mrs. Carson did not hear from her son
for nearly n week , and then ho wrote that
he found It almost Impossible to glvo her
any advice. 'He thought It was n very queer
state of affairs ; ho had never heard any
thing like It , but ho would try and ar
range business so that he could conic home
In a week' or two and look Into matters.
As I was thus comptlled to force myself
upon the close neighborhood of Mrs. Carson
end her daughter , I endeavored to make
things as pleasant as possible. I brought
Rome of my men down out of the vineyard
and set them to repairing fences , putting
the garden In order , and doing nil that I
could to remedy the doleful condition of
things which I had unwillingly brought
Into the back yard of this quiet family. I
rigged up a pump on my back porch by
which the water of the well could bo con
veniently obtained , and In every way en
deavored to repair damages.
Hut Mrs. Carson never ceased to talk
about the unparalleled disaster which had
como upon her , and she must have had a
great deal of correspondence with her son
George , because she gave me frequent mea-
cages from him. He could not come on to
look Into the state of alTnirs , but he seemed
to be giving It a great deal of thought and
attention.
curing weather had come again , and It
was very pleasant to help the Carson ladles
to get their flower garden In order at least
as much as was'left of It for my house was
resting upon some of the most Important
beds. As I waa obliged to give up all present
Idea of doing anything In the way of getting
my residence out of a place where it had
no business to be , because Mrs. Carson
would not consent to any plan which had
been suggested , I felt that I was offering
some little compensation In beautifying what
seemed to be , at that time , my own grounds.
My labors In regard to vines , bushes and
all that sort of thing were generally carries
on under direction of Mrs. Carson or her
daughter ; and as the elderly lady was a
very busy housewife , the horticultural work
was generally left to Miss Kitty and me.
I liked Miss * Kitty ; she was a cheerful ,
whole-souled person , and I sometimes
thought that she was not 50 unwilling to
have me for a neighbor as the rest of the
family seemed to be ; for If I were to Judge
the disposition of her brother George , from
what her mother told me about his letters ,
both ho and Mrs. Carson must bo making u
great many plans to get me off the premises.
Nearly a month had now passed since my
house and I mode that remarkable morning
cill upon Mrs. Carson. I was becoming ac
customed to my present mode of living , and ,
BO far as I was concerned , It satisfied mo very
well ; I certainly lived a great deal better
than when I was depending upon my old
negro cook. Miss Kitty seemed to be
satisfied with things as they were , and
to , In some respects , did her mother , but
the la'ier never ceased to glvo me extracts
from some of her son George's letters , and
this waa always annoying and worrying me.
Evidently he was not pleased with mo as
such a close neighbor to his mother ; and It
was astonishing now many expedients he
proposed In order to rid her of my undesir
able proximity.
My son George , said Mrs. Carson one
morning , "has been writing to me about
Jackscrews' ho says that the greatest im
provements have been made In Jackscrows. "
"What do you do with them , mother ? "
asked Miss Kitty.
"You lift houses with them , " said she.
"He says that In largo cities they lift whole
blocks of houses with them and build stories
underneath. Ho thinks that wo can get
rid of our trouble hero If we use Jackscrcws.
"But how does he propose to use them ? "
I asked.
"Oh , ho has a good many plans , " an
swered Mrs. Carson. "He said that lid
should not wonder If Jackscrews could bo
made large enough to lift your house en
tirely over mlno nnd set It out In the road ,
where It could bo carried away without In
terfering with anything , except , of course ,
vehicles which might bo coming along , llut
ho has another plan ; that Is to lift my house
up jnd carry It out Into the field on the
other sldo of the road and there your house
might be carried along right over the cellar
until It got to the road. In that way , ho
says , the hushes and trees would not have
to bo Interfered with. "
"I think brother George la cracked ! " said
Kitty.
All this sort of thing worried me very
much , My mind was eminently disposed
toward peace and tranquillity , and who
could bo peaceful and tranquil with a pros
pective Jackscrck under the very base of his
comfort and happiness ? In fact , my house
had never been such a happy homo as It
was at that time ; the fact of its unwar
ranted position upon other people's grounds
had ceased to trouble me.
Hut the coming son George with his Jack
screws did trouble mo very much , and that
afternoon I deliberately went Into Mrs. Car
son's house to look for Kitty. I know her
mother was not at homo , for I had seen
her go out. When Kitty appeared I asked
her to como out an her back porch. "Have
you thought of any now plan of moving
It ? " she said with a smile as wo sat down.
"No , " said I , earnestly. "I have not , and
I don't want to think of any plan of mov
ing It away , and I am tired of hearing people
ple talk about moving it. I have not any
right' ' to bo hero , and I am never allowed
to forget it. What I want to do Is to go
entirely away and leave everything behind
me except one thing. "
"And what Is that ? " aekcd Kitty.
"You , " I Answered ,
She turned a little palo and did not reply.
"You understand me , Kitty , " I said.
"There Is nothing In the world that I care
far but you. What have you to say to me ? "
Then came back to her her little smile.
"I think It would bo very foollhh for us to
go away , " oho said.
It wiis about a quarter of an hour after
this when Kitty proposed that wo should
go nut to the front of the houto. It would
look queer If any of the servants uhould
como by and sco lu sitting together like
that , t had forgotten that there were other
people In the world ; but I went with her.
We were standing on the front porch , clcs > >
to each other , nd I think we were holding
each other's hand , when Mro. Carson canio
back. As Bho1 approached iho looked at uo
Inquiringly , plainly wishing to know why
we were staodluB side by aide before her
door , as If wo had some special object In § o
doing.
"Well. " nald nhc , as she camp up the
steps. Of course. It was rlnht that I should
speak , and. In an few words as possible. 1
told her what Kitty and 1 had been saying
to each other. I never saw Kitty's mother
look no cheerful nnd so handsome as when
aho came forward and klracd her daughter
and shook hands with me ; she seemed so
perfectly satisfied that It amazed me. After
n little , Kitty left us , and then Mrs. Car
son asked mo to sit by her on n rustic bench
"Now , " she said , "this will atralRhteti out
things In the very best way. When you are
married , you and Kitty can live In the back
building for , of course , your house will now
bo the same thing as n back building and
you can have the second tloor. We won't
have any separate tables , because It will be
n great deal nicer for you nnd Kitty to live
with me , nnd It will simply be your paying
board for two persons Instead of ono ; nnd
you know you can manage your vineyard
Just as well from the bottom of the hill ns
from the top. The lower rooms of what used
to bo your house can be made very pleasant
and comfortable for us all. I have been
thlnklug about the room on the right that
you had planned for n parlor , nnd It will
make a lovely sitting room for us , and that
Is n thing wo have never had , and the room
on the other sldo Is Just what will suit beau ,
tlfully for c guest chamber. The two houses
together , with the roof of my back porch
properly Joined to the front of your house ,
will make n beautiful nnd spacious dwelling ,
nnd It wns fortunate that you painted your
house a light yellow. I have often looked
at the two together , nnd thought what n
good thing It wns that one was not one color
and the other another ; nnd , na to the pump ,
It will be very easy now to put n pipe from
what used to be your bpck porch to our
kitchen , so that we can got water without
being obliged to carry It. Between us we
can make nil sorts of Improvements , and
sometime I will tell you n good many that
I have thought of.
"What used to bo your house , " she con
tinued , "can bo Jackscrcwcd up a little bit
nnd n goo.1 foundation put under It ; I have
Inquired about that. Of course It would
not have been proper to let you know that
I was satisfied with the state of things , but
I was satisfied , and there Is no use trying
to deny It. As soon ns I got over my first
scare , after that house came down the hill ,
and had seen how everything might bo ar
ranged to suit all parties , I said to myself :
'What the Lord has iolned toeether. let no
man put asunder , ' and so according to my
belief , the ntrongcst kind of Jackscrews
could not put these two houses asunder ,
any more than they could put you and Kitty
asunder , now that you have agreed to take
each other for each other's own. "
Jack Hrandlger came to call that evening ,
and when he had heard what hod happened
he whistled a good dcnl. "You nrc a funny
kind of a fellow , " said he. "You go courtIng -
Ing llko n snail , with your house on your
back. "
I think Jack was a little discomforted.
"Don't be discouraged. Jack , " said I , "You
will get n good wife some of these days ;
that Is , If you don't try to slide uphill to
flnd her ! "
For Infants and Children.
Via fit
it oa
tljiiturs
cf
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cretloim. 7iff / rufrrtmf * nr7i/
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For cnlo In Omaha by James Foreytli.02 N.
10th Street.
Kuli" & Co. , 1C til and Douglas Street" .
Drugslste.
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Always look , in buying Silver ,
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And then , the Letter G
?
I
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Chlrlinlcr'n Cncllib Wuraomt Jlrontf.
Orlclnnl ami Only tirnulnr.
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I'tuerl'l for nictttttri / . / ) „ >
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b > fi , tnilM lih MHO rlkbooi TjiLo >
nncthrr * Rtfttt t rfana rt > ! ii iub rtv.
IlHU . and IfilMtlonl , Al DnltlMI , r Ifnd 4v
In it.mjti fir | rclcnl.ri , inllnwaltli > n4
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RAILWAY ME CARD
Lenvc. lUUHMNaTCN & MO. lUVUlUArtiieT
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JWpm..Kunt Mall < for Lincoln ) 'lulu- . . .
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OniulmlUnlon Depot , lOlli ft Mnson 8U. | Oinnha
E:00pm : . ClilciiKQ Vestibule . 800ani ;
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OnmlinlUnlon Depot , 10th \ . Manon Sls. | Omaha
6SOpm : . 7..CliiCBKO . . , . , . . , : :
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Oniulmjl'nlon Drpot. )0th ) & Jlnnon Sts. | Omaha
10:4" am . I.'nii'.frn ixpioi > .i . i. < 0nm
4ilSpm . Vcitlbulta Llmltcil . CilOpin
DWiini : . St. Paul Kxprcsi . OiSOam
CMOnm . tit. TkUi Limited . I'Oulnn
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c:30 : | > m . Omnnu Ciiicnco apeclnl . > :0c.im
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OmaliaUnlun | Depot. ' lOlli * Maaon St .l Oinalia
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] OMOam..AtUnttc CxpriKS lex. Hunday ) . . 5J5pni ;
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l:3Dpm . .Sioux ( . ' ! ) & * p" " nPun. . I . .l
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I ovcTT MIFSOUni PAOiriC. JAfrives"
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* 3JOpm..NebrurTn : A ICnnns : .lmlteil.,17:2Sprii :
9:30iun : . Knnina City Ksprras . 0:00 : m
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Len v"T ] Sibt'X CITT A PAcTl-'IC. JArrive7
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Leaves SIOUX CITY ft PAOIKIC. JArrlvei
OnialiaUnlon | Depot , 10th A Mnron Stn. | Omaha
fi 40ain St. Piiul I'aisciicer llMCpm
7:30am : Sioux City I'nmennir :03r : > m
6Kipm : St. Paul l.lmllfil 80inn
Unvrs I U N11 ON P ACM'K7 JArrlvei
OinahalUnlon Ooiiot , 10th A Magon jlK. ! | C iaii.1
:31nm : Kearney Exprris 4:10pn :
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S'SOpm.llfat'cp & Slronikli'B Kx. lex. Hun ) lZ:05pnj
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a'.Vpm , . . 1'nn Mall . s IQ.iii
ViMVi's 1 \VAIIAKH HAIVAY" I Arrives
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i'.SOr > m Bt Ixiuli Cannon Hoi" . .
[ iA A ii i i iJi { H ? 7SHH THJH { H ?
A NEW SERIAL STORY. J *
I THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE. i
IA Lively Tale of Adventure. 1
$ By CLINTON ROSS. f
* 4 f * *
' Author of "Tho Countess Bottma , " 'Tho Colors of the Lawnmco , " fL
? } T "The Confession of Colonel Sylvester , " Etc. - V. 3 $
III IT BEGAN OCTOBER 25 AND CONTINUES FOUR WEEKS , ij *
PUPPET" is a tale of the Zenda order. It
is a fairy story for grown folks of Dumas's and
Mr. Hope's kind ; but it is not in any sense an imitation.
Robert Gerald , the son and heir of an Irish adven
turer and a successful New York financier , meets , 4 *
on his door step a stranger , young and charming ,
who asks his protection. In granting this lady his roof ,
'Gerald finds himself entangled in the most surprising
chain of circumstances. He is abducted on Wall street ,
drugged , and carried near Biarritz. Going to Paris , he
chances to see his abductor , and he finds that the refugee'
he has entertained is a great lady of Dalrnatia. .There
follows a plot which Gerald embraces for the establish
ment of Beatrice Ramaga as Princess of Dalrnatia. In
success and failure is the theme of the story.
THE OMAHSUNDAY BEE.
A STORY WORTH READING. | |
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