THE OMAIIA DAILY BEE : FBI DAY , AUGUST 18 , 1890. 0 i 1 : UNDER THE KOPJE. A Story of IJurly Days in South Africa. JJy P. Y. I1LA.CK. Author of "Tho Test Chaplain , " "A LoU Sensation , " "The Outcast * . " Ktc ( Copyright , 1KB , by B. 8. McClure Co. ) The guard over the convicts \\ho worked on the village roads looked up from the work wearily. Ho removed his broad foil hnt arid brushed the ducat from Ma reddened 1 brow and his checks and neck , sunburned \ jr nlmoot to blackness. Ills KalHr charges { halted In their task and their gaze followed his. In the clearly bright African air the threatening gray Btono walls of the strong Jail , built commantllngly on a high , big- bow Idcrcd Kopje , looked close nt hand , al though a good mlle away. Vryburg , the tiny capital of the British territory , lay t < > the left , hill-bound , silent , street deserted In the furnace heat , two rows of glaring houses with TOO fa and walls of galvanized Iron. Suddenly a quick-eyed Kafllr cried : "Ua- ors ! " and pointed to the flugstaft In front of the Jail. With a grunt of relief the -while man swung his rlflo to his shoulder , and the Kafllra threw their tools Into the uhoolbar. rows. There fluttered up the head of the flaeotaft a red ( lag , the sign to all outside working parties to return. Hut today work ceased at 4 o'clock , and the convicts were not marching directly to the Jail , but to a small lake beneath the Kopje , \vhero twice a week they laved themselves. An Instant change took place In the manner of the prisoner * . They Joked as they left their bar rows In a shod and trotted forward so quietly as to Inconvenience their warden. A big , glossy black man , his fine flguro con cealed by the prison clothes , led the wny. humming as ho went , In low , ding-song , plftftiinnt melody , a , chant of ur times. The others took It up ; one throw bis bands warden shouted to him to halt , but Six pence ran more swiftly , yet not In a direct lino. In a llghtnlng-llko zigzag course he darted from right to left obliquely , always onward , but In such short , snlfe tacks that he was an almost Impossible target. Five guns were aimed at him ; five guns uwervcd momentarily right and left to find a mark before they were fired. Sixpence waved his hand merrily over hU head and din- appeared beyond the bluffs , unhurt. A Zulu servant led down two saddled horses , but the warden looked at the setting sun and shrugged his shoulders. "No use , " he said. "It'll bo dark In ten minutes , and the black fellow will bo hidden somewhere. I suppose you know ho was In for manslaughter ? " The village guard uung his head. " 0 , I don't blame > ou , " said the warden. "Older hands than you can be taken In. I supncao ho 'burled ' himself tn the mud. Of course , there will > bo an Inquiry. " There was , but a very short one , held In the Jail. In the middle of It n thundering demand for admittance was made with a knobkerry on the outer gate. The guard who optraed the wicket led Sixpence before the court of Inquiry , ns cheerful and fat and with as broad a smile OR ever. He ex plained to the court that ho had been home , had suffered from homesickness , had enJoyed - Joyed himself and was gladly back again. "Very UHlo food over there , " ho said , pointing to the north , "but plenty 'scoff1 here. " So the bewildered officials took him In , to his great content , and , after giving him l/W. 1/ . . . ' J.X flfjjf * S t * - * a / 11. 1. * * I r "IS HE DEAD ? " above Ills head and skipped a step of the wardance. , "Easy , Sixpence ! " growled the guard. "Easy , you big rascal ! " The big Kaffir In the lead slowed up and turned with . grin to the white man , pointIng - Ing a finger down a great red throat. "Ba-a-os ! Tabao ! " ho murmured. The guard throw Mm a piece of tobacco , which the Kaffir cleverly caught and slapped Into bis mouth. At oiico the four or live other Kaffirs of the gang turned , and , readIng - Ing good nature In their sentry's face , held out tholT hands mutely. ' 'Like babies for candy , " mused the Kng- llalimnn as ho distributed the small luxu ries. "They're a rum lot. Not one of them In for less than three years , and that fellow Sixpence a lifer , and by Jove , to ECO them laughing now , without a handcuff In tliu crowd of 'em , you'd think them , schoolboys going la swimming. " They reached the little lake , shallow at the banks , deep In the center , whore a rushy , marshy Island lay , more water than mud. The other working parties had fore gathered and Sixpence and his comrades , each armed with a ploco of soap , soon Joined tbo crowd In the water , swimming , spluttering , playing In the cool pond Ilka boys. The white guards , leaning on their rifles , stood at Intervals around the bank. In tbo shallows a group of blacks danced a mock war dance , naked as monkeys , ad vancing and retiring with fantastic arms , crooning the hum of the Impls. Then It wan difficult , almost Impossible , for the guaiita to distinguish each bis , own men. In their convict cl9thcs each prisoner bad some dis tinguishing mark ; stripped , bobbing their black and woolly heads In the water , thera was a tantalizing likeness among all the swimmers. After a tlmo they began to conio out , .one by one , and dress. Then a guard made hts gang frill In and marched them up the kopje to the prison gates. Another fol lowed , and another , until the village guard was left last to bring In his men. Ho was young and recently employed by the town ; ha could not talk the native dialects , and now bo was much perturbed , for ho could give to himself no explanation of the evi dent fact that there was none left iu the water , and yet ho was ono man short , The Kaffirs only chattered and laughed nt him , enjoying the excellent Joke. His eye anx iously searched tbo surface of the lake ; there was nothing there. The rushes on the mud bank could barely have concealed a rabbit. Hoping that Sixpence , the missing man , toad , In mischief for the Kaffirs abounded In malicious trlcKs slipped away with another gang , the guard hurried the others to the Jail , where ho reported what had happened. The warden of the Jail received the report - port without comment or rebuke , but promptly seized a rifle from the rack , loft the otbw prisoner to bq shut up la the cells by a few guards and took the rest at a run to the lake. Meanwhile the gang bad hardly left the bank of the pond before , In the gathering dusk , there -was a rustle among tlio scant rushes of the mudbank , The mud stirred , and from the soft bed where It had b en entirely Immersed , leav ing only the face to the air , arose the black form of sixpence. Sllmtly be slipped Into the water and swam ashore , aa silently , hla broad face stretched In a Joyous grin. Ha stayed for no covering , but crtuvlcM up the elep banks , stooped down as low JIB ha could and ran away across the stony bluffs which surrounded the prison. He had not gone 100 yards before the guards came run ning down to the lake end saw him. The \ . twelve lashes for the trouble ho had caused , allowed the man who preferred prison to freedom to resume his former life. He never , alter that , behaved otherwise than as a model prisoner , save once again , twc years later , when ho escaped and returned as ibeforo , taking bis lashes with perfect good humor and eating a iblg supper Im mediately after them. Ho became a privi leged character , an uncommissioned assist ant about the office , until , In ten years , with African self-complacence , ho lookei' upon himself as Tar above all other prison ers and rather as a permanent semi-official permitted even on occasion to hold the keys Indeed , ho had committed murder under the greatest provocation , and his good humor his strength and his faithfulness to tbo only home ho had ever known , where meals were certain all the year round , made o him a favorite iwlth the warden , to whom he attached himself as a kind of body servant. Now , In these days , -when the land woi very youuc and white men were few am white women were unknown , the methods o disciplining the unruly Kaffirs were primi tive. Yet there was a greater Intimacy ant n closer Intercourse between the whites and the blacks than there over will be again They fought frequently and were guilty alike of savagery , the one to the other. The white man , of course .was the victor always In the end , but the Kaffir , on the surface at least , bore little malice , and , having been knocked down , arose with some adralratloi In his heart for tbo man who had thrashed him. Sixpence had fought with his tribe ant been conquered ; had committed a crime and had been promptly punished for It. Par from sulking over his misfortunes , ho was possessed with a ep'lrlt of respect for the Invaders of his country. The only tlmo the negro over sighs Is when bo wishes ho was white. Ixponco "wished BO bard and BO often , and Imitated the white people BO earnestly , that , save , when ho thrust his broadly laughing face at a mirror , ho was convinced that ho was pretty nearly white Ono man , however , was his Ideal , his mat. tcr , his demigod the warden. His attractions were such as to draw to him perhaps a dog , and he fed and thrashed Sixpence llko a dog , His accomplishments appealed to the convict. Ho was a crar ! shot with revolver or rlllo ; ho rode dar ingly ; ho could , throw an assegai as well as Sixpence himself , and ho had mysterious powers over pen and Ink which awed Six pence , crouching In a corner of the nrT.te Do Jough was an Afrikander ; his father iat been a discharged English eoldler UU mother no one Knew. Ho bad won his war- dcnshlp by ferocious lighting In the terri tory and by the respect bis prowess galnet for him among the natives. His sullen reti cence and sudden furies had won him ene mies ; never bud he called any man a friend. Therefore the life prisoner's dogllke affection for him , after abusing him ai first , in the slow movement of the months dragged from him a feeling as near akin to regard as la that of a school bully for the fcinall boy whom he dally thrashes , but whom ho will allow no other to threaten. It was his privilege to select from the convicts a personal servant , and ho chose Sixpence , even taking him away on a lonely hunt , even trusting to him to safely guide bin : homo after a debauch. Periodically he drank , and In excess , no ! In the Jail , nor In tbo village , but In n lonely roadside tavern some miles away. Then for months be was sullenly abstemious , cruelly strict and unapproachable. Sixpence wel comed these Intermittent frenzies of the warden with glco , for In them the man's nature swung about , and he was boister ously Jovial. Then the Kaffir held high bis head and wan filled with pride , because ct the great cordiality and friendship th drunken white man evinced for the utterly unsophisticated and faithful black. These outbreaks lasted about two dajs ; then the Kaffir would lead his master's horse home , the warden slouching heavily In the saddle. Reverence , affection for something , however poor the Idol , Is good for man , savage or civilized. Tbo raw Kaffir In his kraal re veres nothing , loves nothing. Therefore , though such a prison life would have de graded a white man beyond hope , It was good for Sixpence ; ho learned to love. Ho became human. After such a debauch , ono night when the sun had gene down , the two went home ward. The warden was singing and abusing Sixpence , who tried to sing also , for not keeping the tune. They made n horrid noise , a hearse and hideous bellow that spread far from them over the veldt , until It seemed to disturb tbo solemn echoes ot the distant grimly darkening hills , and si lence , above the plains , the gentler voices ot the southern stars. Sixpence had hid sham of drink , and It took but llttlo of that to turn hl.s foolish brain. The moon , also , was not yet risen and , for these reasons , as they passed along the trek and were un aware of all but their own discordant music , 1 a man stood tn front of them and blocked their path before his approach was noticed It was the resident magistrate , an English civil servant , Just out , and a patron of the 1 warden. The latter , when ho saw whs | stopped him , strode to sit erect and profit * > a salutation , but the effort only unsettled his balance and let him tumble sprawllngly n the roadway. He looked up In an almost sober spasm of shame and by starlight saw duskily the gentlemanly face of the magls- rate looking down upon htm with deepest disgust. "Again , Jlr. Do Jough ? " the high official said , coldly. "In splto of warnings ! Tht.i Is too bad. It Is Impossible that this can go on. " Do Jough staggered to his feet sullenly. "Do as you like ! " he cried , sulkily. "I can't stop It. I've been warden ot the Jail or 5 ears and no man can say I have not lone my duty. " "I grant It , " tbo magistrate answered , al most gently. "I grant It but this cannot go on , you know. " "It's got to go on. It can't bo stopped , Do jou think I haven't triad to stop my- elf ? " The poor wretch thrust his face fiercely n front of the other's. The magistrate drew > ack with n shudder from that horrid > rcath. Then ho said , firmly : "I am sorry for you , but It can't go on. Tou are under arrest. " Do Jough gasped , In sudden sobriety. Ar- cst ? Inquiry ? Dismissal meant ruin. The official stepped forward In the night. Six- > enco was standing , vacantly grinning at the lorso's .head , understanding nothing of what was said. In bis hand he carried a knob- terry , which the warden , as a defense , al ways allowed him on their night expeditions. Do Jough snatched It , a heavy-headed club , studded with nails. The magistrate slowly walked away. Do Jough took a quick step after him , and the club crashed Into the of- Iclal's skuir. Do Jough dropped the stick as the man fell and stood , still shaking with passion , staring at the body. Then the frenzy inssfKl , but < he trembling continued , tbo chill of awful dismay. Ho lurched to the road side and sat down on a dead anthill. The night was quite still. The late , round , big African moon was elowly rising above the all walls on the kopje , more than a mlle away. The lonely trek was soundless of the Icet of passengers , the low of iwagon oxen , .ho lash-snap of the driver. In that lonely wilderness there was no traffic. The Kaffir etlll held the horse , still stared vacantly , hla drunken grin not yet dead on his lips. Do Tough looked up and met bis servant's eyes , lo motioned to him , and called faintly for a drink. Sixpence went to the eaddlebags and brought a bottle , and his master drank jreedlly. Then his gaze was diverted to the body in the path , and be was conscious of thankfulness that it bad fallen face- down ward , so that the eyes were hidden. He spoke in "taal" to Sixpence. "Is Is ho dead ? " The Kaffir slipped the horse's rein. Into his master's hand , went to the body and felt of It , and stirred It with bis foot as be might have done 'that ' of a horse not from con tempt , not from hate , but because a dead thing is a dead thing to a Kaffir , and llttlo more. "Ba as , " ho said , In broken English. "Htm very dead. " Do Jough gulped another drink and soon the trembling ceased. He was far from be ing a stranger to death by violence and soon ho was able to collect bis wits and think , his face burled in his hands. But the face of Sixpence underwent a change as he re- THB WAIL DIED ON HIS TONGUE sumed charge of the horse and looked down upon the warden. The black man's slowly acquired Ideas ot right and of wrong , of the superiority of all white people to all black were suddenly upset. This thing which the warden had done was what he himself had done , what many Kaffirs had done , but a white man to another white man ? It was a surprise. Slowly Sixpence's brain awoke to the horrible fact that Do Jough his master , his model , whom he had so deslret to Imitate , was no better than himself. The warden looked up at last and eaw the Kaf fir's bewildered , saddened face , saddened as a'dog's eyes are saddened when it misses something that is cone and cannot under stand , Sixpence's Ideal was dead/ ; dimly and with dull pain he felt that there was little to choose between belnjr white or black. "What ara wo to do ? " the warden asked. "We can't no back to the Jail ? " Sixpence bad not thoucht of that , but be at once understood. He bad escaped hangIng - Ing for manslaughter by a narrow edge , be cause the Kaffir be had slain had been In the wronir , but how could the warden es cape banging ? "To the kraals , " he said , his mind re verting , childlike , to Its affection for and obedience to his master. He suddenly grov elled at the warden's feet , and began to how ] softly , speaking in his nathe dialect. "They shall not hang the master ; rather me , Sixpence the Bccbuana. Am I not black and of no use ? But the baas , bow shall his children In the Jail live without him ? But they shall not catch usl Know the way through the big desert , Kallharl ; I will show tbo baai the path to the kraals , and my people will hide us and protect us. " With a sudden , prolonged wall ho recol- ectcd the delights , the plenty , the com forts of his prison home. "In the kraals , " he moaned , " -A-O starve ) n the Jail there Is plenty 'scoff. ' " For a moment tbo warden's face bright ened. Ho know as well as Sixpence that he would bo hanged If caught , and he knew that he could trust himself implicitly to ho Bechuana's guidance , Ibut his eyes gloomed airaln. Would not hanging be bet ter than that ? To live among savages , to starve and bo cold of nights and suffer rom fever ? Surely some other way. Something In the moonlight by the dead man had drawn the Kaffir's notice. The magistrate's left hand lay spread on the road , the fingers pointing reproachfully at his murderer. On one finger gleamed a llamond ring. A Kaffir , dying , would hove strength to steal a diamond. Forgetting everything else , Sixpence passed the reins again to his master , sitting on the antheap , thinking , thinking In a panic of fear and doubt. Sixpence dropped by the body and seized the dead man's hand. Dully , the warden watched him and , as a lightning lash reveals the hidden things , BO a sudden , urld thought banished the mist from his brain and showed him what to do. Ho con sidered rapidly. The convict had brought ils horse to him and met him on the road. No one had seen them together that night , save the magistrate , and he cnuld not tell. It could all bo explained , easily explained , to the authorities. In his coat Docket he felt his revolver , a little bulldog thing , but quite , quite big enough. Sixpence knelt by the body. The -warden sprung upon him and grasped him toy the shoulders , so that the black man looked round at him In dumb amazement. "Baas angry ? " he asked , like a child. Then the look In the warden's eyes ter rified him. "Baasl The Baas ! " ho walled , but be- 'ore the wall died on his tongue the pistol lad cracked close to the nipple on his black jreast , and ho fell back besldn tbo magls- , rate. In his hand he grasped the ring. Do Jough seized the blood-stained knob kerry and put It besldo him. Then the white man leaped upon his startled horse and gal oped away. "A simple ending , " ho thought , with a torrid chuckle. "Of course he murdered .he chief for the diamond ; of course , com- ng home , I found him rifling the body ; he resisted , and I shot him. The poor beast- well , It's only a Kaffir. " In the moonlight , face up , they found Sixpence , whru the guards from the Jail came down the kopje. His face was not distorted at a1. ! , but rather tbo reflection of a pained surprise , as ho thought , In the moment ot dying , that ho had been de ceived. MACAllA.Y'S ) IOUAS OF AMERICA. Extract * from the Glttcle Collection nf I.otterM ut IliiRnlo. The Cluck collection of manuscripts and autographs In the Buffalo public library con- : alns much that Is interesting to the stu dent of history and letters. The collection includes a number ot poems by great au thors , which are not Included In ordinary collections of their works. Thomas Campbell - boll ta represented ; so are Keats and Leigh Hunt , each by a sonnet. The Keats manu script Is dated January 16 , 1818 , and Is en titled , "To Sirs. Reynolds' Cat. " Mrs. Rey nolds was the mother of Keats' friend , John Hamilton Reynolds , and of the wife of Thomas Hood. She gave the sonnet to Hood , who published It in the Comic Annual for 1830. It is given in the "Poetical and Other Writings of John Keats , " edited by Forman , but does not appear in ordinary editions. It Is as follows , the spelling , capitalization and punctuation of the manuscript being followed : " ir - TO MRS. REYNC-LDS'S CAT. Cat ! who hast paat thy grand Climacteric , How many mice and Rats , hast in thy days ( Destroyed ? how many tit bits stolen ? Gaze "With those bright , languid segments green and prick Those velvet ears but prythee do not stick Thy latent taions in me and upraise Thy Eentle inew , and tell me all thy fravB Of Fish and Mice and iRats and tender ohlck. ( Nay look not down nor licit thy dainty wrists For all the weezy Asthma , and for all Thy tail's tip Is nicked off , and though the fists Of many a Mold has given thee many a Still is "that " fur eo soft as when the- lists In youth , thou enterd'st on glass bottled wall. There ore two manuscripts by Leigh Hunt ; one"a report of a lecture by Carlyle on Ger man literature , the other the following eon. net , "which Is not found in ordinary edi tions of Hunt's poems. " TO FAME. Oh , Fame , -what art thou ? Who can know , alas ! His claim to any sharp In thee or thine. Till ho has pass'd that dim and awful line. Which no man ever pass'd or e'er shall pass. Prizing 'thy ' gifts ! Rare , beings still amass Treasures that after ages count divine : Yet ere they pass from earth thou glv'st no sign That they In nwmory sfcall outlive the mass. How oft , In life , they pine for very bread , Whllo wordy critics smirch their lays with blotsn How oft above each unremember'd head , Year after year , the dock or hemlock rots ; And then thou nam'st their love , or woe , or mrth ! ; And towns that let them die , boast that they gave them birth. There Is a characteristic letter by Macau- lay , Tvrltten from London March 25 , 1849 , to an American ifrlend in response to a letter of congratulation on his "History of Eng land , " the first two volumes of which were Just published. The letter to a curious reve lation of the historian's conception o ; American taste and habits : My Dear Sir : I have received a very kind and welcome letter from you , which It.woulc t > e ungrateful In mo not promptly to ac knowledge. What you tell one of the recep tion which my 'book boa /found / In the United I States gratifies mo much , but at tbo Game tlmo surprises me. For it neeins to mo tlmt ( very few books have In as high a. degree the merit or demerit of toeing Intensely English and I should have thought that this pecu liarity , which has conduced not a llttlo to the success of my volumes here , would have made tbom seem dull to a people wbo have never Been anything resembling our court , our bishops , our country gentlemen , our country clergymen ; to a people who are strangers to the feeling of loyalty to a fam ily , respect for an aristocracy , zeal for the privileges of an established church. I should have thought that our disputes about the patriarchal theory of government , the divine right of kings , regency , abdication , and so forth , would have been as uninteresting to you as the controversy between the follow ers of Omar and the followers of All , I am glad to find that I was mistaken. I should greatly enjoy a trip to the United States If I could be sure that I should be as free and as obscure as I am when I go to Paris or Brussels , that I should bo at liberty to choose my own associates , and that I should never be forced to make a show of myself at dinners and public meet ings. But my dislike of exhibition , which waa alwaja strong , and which never yielded , except to clear public duty , has , since I quitted politics , become almost morbid. And what I hear of the form in which your coun trymen show their kindness and esteem for men whose names are at all known deters mo from visiting you. I need not tell you that I mean no national reflection. Perhaps the peculiarity to which 1 allude is honor able to the American character ; but it must cause annoyance to sensitive men. Broug ham and O'Connell would have liked nothing better. But Cow per would bave died or admlrexe , and have been shot or tarred and iq pounsni eAtjq pjno.M uoaXfi ! pum 01108 feathered ; and , though I hao stronger ncrvre than Cowptr's , and , 1 hope , a bet ter temper than Byron's , I should suffer much pain and give much offense. I assure rou that I and many others re member your vlalt to us with pleasure , and hope to see you hero again. Wo have gene through rough times , but n. quiet season seems to bo before us. But I must stop. Ever yours truly , T. 11. MACAULAY. The collection contains , and this remark able catalogue prints , several long letters of distinct value to students ot American history. There Is a heretofore unpublished letter by George Washington , addressed to "tho President of Congress , " and dated New York , September 12 , 1776 the day o ? that consultation of Washington and his generals , which decided the evacuation ot New York. A I.Y.NC1I1MJ THAT I'All.UD. Trlii of a MlnltiK Coiiipnnj Trrnatircr S ml lie nly Cut Slinri. The miners employed by the Annlrunl Gold 'Mining company were getting out of humor , says a Montana letter to the New York Post. Their wages were long overdue and the store refused further credit to them and to the boarding house * The manager had been keeping the wire hot , and finally the treasurer came on. This was his third day In camp. Ho had met tha men and dis cussed the situation. And now the case reeled. If there had been a city council , It would have ordered the saloons closed , sworn In special constables and done other things to Increase the tension. The sheriff was forty miles away. The treasurer was a stout old German , the head of a largo con cern , and ot some importance In his own city in the cast. It 'was ' his first visit to a mining camp , and ho wished that ho had not come. This was not the kind of strike lo which ho was accustomed. Ho missed the bright uniforms and brass buttons tbat held In check the eastern labor troubles. It was about dusk when ho lighted his cigar and sauntered calmly about tbo camp. No one ; xxlil much attention , and ho strolled donn : o the station. In the course of twenty minutes or so ho came out and sat down to read his paper. After a while ho folded It , and , yawning once or twice , rose and stepped down upon the tics. His gait was even and slow at first , but when ho reached the turn ho walked faster and then with a slanco over his shoulder broke Into a trot. Bcforo his breath was quite gene ho came to two men sitting on a log. "Veil ! Good efenlng ! " he said , somewhat startled , but not stopping. "Good evening , " ono replied. And the other added quickly : "Come , sit down ! " The Invitation was given as ono would say , "Come , have a drink , " but ho came and sat down. The two men grinned and chuckled , but no ono made any remark. After a whllo ono said carelessly , "Lot's go back , " and back they started. They stopped at the station , where the treasurer countermanded the special that he had or dered , and the two proceeded to the camp. The whole population had turned out. The treasurer Inwardly shrank from such an ovation. Ho felt himself helpless in the lands of lawless men. But his face was as blank as that of a poker player. They took tilm to the hotel and placed a guard around the building. A drunken man Is rather a rare eight In Pony , but that night the men were reckless , and two or three times a big Fellow staggered , gun In hand , into the treasurer's room. The next morning everybody was tired and out of sorts. The manager tried to stand the men oft until the sheriff could get there , but It could not be done , and at last ho led a committee into the presence of the treasurer. They knew Just what they wanted. The manager , disgusted with bis chiefs attempt to leave him In the lurch , had gone over to their side. The treasurer was to slgn _ a dispatch to , his partner. . In Boston to deposit with a certain bank to the credit of the Pony store an amount equal to the full pay roll. Whe > n the store company received a message that the de posit had ibeen made bo could go. Ho signed the dispatch with solemn stolidity and leaned back in bis chair. When the committee had retired bo turned to the manager and asked : "Veil , vet vas dcy goln * too do ? " "They were going to hang you. " The treasurer struck a match and lighted a otgar. After a moment ho asked thought fully : "And vet good vould dot do 'em ? " So the boys got their money and had their IfltiRh. In moat any other camp than Pony there would have 'been trouble. But there Is no more orderly community In the world than thla little gold camp , and you cannot get ono of us to bellevo that the man was tn any danger. Ho know that tbo men ought to have their money , nd "con- wlcnco doth make cowards of us all. " .MILLIONS OK DICK. They Arc Mntle of Vnrlonn Mnlcrlnls ntul Solil In lnrnr Auttilicr * . The bone dice used tn the United States , reports the New York Sun , ro all Imported from France , though It may bo that the bone of which they are made came orlgV nally from this country. They arc made In a manufacturing district not far from Paris In which are produced various articles ot bone , and also things partly ot bone , us , for Instance tooth brushes. Bone dice arei made In eleven sizes , from 0 to 10 Inclu- elvc , and In each of these sizes they are made both square and round cornered , as are all other kinds ot dice. In all kinds of dice thcro ore sold of the square cornered variety ten times , perhaps twenty times , as many as of these made with rounded cor ners. Round cornered dice are often used In playing backgammon ; they wear n board lota than square cornered dice would and roll easier. Thcro are made some black bono dice with white spots , but the sale of three Is comparatively very limited , The great majority of the very largu number ot bone dice sold are In the form of the familiar white cubes with black spots. Celluloid dice , which are made In this country , are of both opaque and transpar ent material. The transparent dice are made In saffron color , In magenta and In green ; the opaque in imitation of Ivory. The Imitation l\ory dice lire finished n various ways as to color ot the spots , some with spots of blue and some with red spots. The spots on tbo various transpar ent dice are made 'white. These various kinds of celluloid dice are made In seven sizes. There are made In celluloid two styles of poker dice , ono octahedron shaped and containing on He eight faces representa tions of the se\en , eight , nine , ten , Jack , queen , king and ace of ordinary playing cards ; the other poker dice Is cube shaped , containing on Its faces , Instead ot the spots , numbering from one to six , as seen on common dice , representations of the ordi nary playing cards from the nine spot to the ace Inclusive. Dice nro made In various sizes of vege table Ivory , of Ivory and of pearl ; the most costly dice are these of pearl , a set of five of medium size would cost at retail about $7.50. Some of the bono dice are very cheap , dice of small slzo selling at retail tor a cent apiece , or 10 cents a dozen. A considerable number ot dice ot one kind and another nro Bold for use In the house hold. All cabinets made to hold cards and counters and so on have a compartment for dice , which are part ot the equipment , and many dice for such use arc Bold sep arately. Take It altogether , the consumption of dlco In this country amounts to millions annually. SupemtldoiiH Mnii Toil CIMI < N Alicnd. Last week Mr. Horace Parks , a young farmer , residing In the Red House neighbor hood , called on Mr. John Donolson , the loadIng - Ing carriage manufacturer of this city , for the purpose of settling his soml-annual oo- count , relates the Richmond ( Ky. ) Citizen. Air. Donelson examined his books and stated to Mr. Parks that his bill was $13. After some hesitancy Mr. Parks remarked : "This number seems to have started with me , and continues to occur In all I have to do or that may affect mo so as ever to refresh my mind with Its connection , wllh my oxlslenco I was born on the 13th dny ot the month , was the thirteenth child , my mother dies ! when I was 13 days old and my father died when I was 13 years of age , and now my bin la $13. Mr. Donelson , In consldcrablo excitement , said : "I won't collect the bill. Give mo $12,00 and your bill Is squared. " All weak places in your system effectually rlo d figalnst dl ease by DcWItt'a Llttlo rCnrly Risers. They cleanse the bowels , promptly euro chronic constipation , regulate the liver and nil you with new Dto and vigor. Small , pleainnt sure : never crlpo. AHOUT I1.\\AXAS. Onntitltlrn of tlir Km It CuiiHiiiiicil lit TlilH Country. "Thcro Is no fruit , either of domestic or foreign growth , for which thcro Is such a steady demand at all seasons throughout the Vinlted States , as the banana , " said a lending wholesale dealer In fruit In Now York to ft Washington Star writer the other day "Indeed , the banana , llko the peanut-eating bablt , seems to Increase In this country an nually. Ten years ngo 0,000,000 bunches of bananas would satisfy the American de mand for the fruit , but last year the twenty or more Importers of bananas sold as many as 1C , 000 , 000 bunches. Of thai quantity about -4,000,000 bunches , chiefly ot the jol- low-sklnncd variety , wore alone consumed In New York City. * "Whllo the yellow-skinned fruit Is now- more abundant , cheaper and more exten sively eaten than ever before , the red- skinned banana grown In Cuba Is both scarce and hlgh-prlccd. Such bananas are at pres ent only shipped In comparatively small quantities nnd arc selling readily at from 5 to 8 cents each , retail , The Cuban prod uct Is limited , owing to the fact that many ot the larger banana plantations were > > o badly ruined or neglected during the re cent war thai they do not yield the great amount o fruit that they formoly did. In the matter of taste , however , the Cuban variety Is In no way superior to the com mon yellow sort , but the red-tinted banana Is by Borne considered more ornnnfontnl lo place on the table and for that reason It In a favorite. "Bananas como from Union , In Costa Rica ; Santa Marta. In the United States ot Colombia , nnd also from the Island of Ja maica , where Is perhaps grown Iho finest quality and largest quantlly of the rc'llow- skluncd frull. The banana irco yields 'mil every month In the year. Each tree boars from ono to three bunches of the frull , con- lalnlng from 100 lo 200 bananas. The fruit Is not allowed to ripen on the tree. It Is gathered whllo still green and given BO many daya to ripen on the steamer on which It Is shipped to , market In this counlry. "When buying bananas never purchase Iho long , ihln ones , unless jou want fruit which will pucker your mouth. No mailer how well ripened thceo Ihln bananxs may appear lo be , they will always bo found both sour and acrid. This Is because the bunch which contained tbom was picked too soon. The banana grows fastest at first In length. When it has reached its full development in that direction it suddenly begins to swell and In a few days will double Its girth. It Is at the end ot this tlma that It begins to ripen naturally , and the effort of the ba nana Importer Is to have the fruit gathered at the Mast possible moment , and yet be fore the ripening has pi-ogrcsscd oven enough to tlngo the bright green of tbo fruit with yellow. A difference of twenty- four hours on the trees at this time will make a difference In tbo weight of the fruit of perhaps 25 per cent nnd all the differ ence In Its final flavor between a inickery sour and Ibo eweclnccs and smoothness which arc characteristic ot the ripe ba nana" " An Honest Malt Tonic that is decidedly pleasant to take , and may be depended upon to build up a depleted system , producing flesh , strength , blood and sound nerves. Should you wish such a tonic be particular to state clearly to your druggist that you want -a non-intoxicant. ) Awarded Diploma and Gold Medal at Trans-nisslsslppl and International Exposition Omaha. Prepared by VAL BLATZ BREWING CO. . Milwaukee , U.S.A. Omaha Branch : 1412 Douglas St. Tel. 1081. Nebraska's A History Returning of the Heroes T2eginning with the issue of August Gallant * " " 6th will be published a series of the best pictures of the gallant First Nebraska Regiment. It will be a worthy souvenir of the celebration of first their return. In order to obtain this pictorial his tory complete , subscribe at once for Nebraska The Omaha Regiment Illustrated Bee from IT WILL INCLUDE The Farewells at Leaving Home , Fighting the Insurgents. Gamp Life at Lincoln , The Return to San Francisco , Photographs Life in Camp at San Francisco , Nebraska's Reception to Her The Trip Across the Pacific , Sons , Nebraska Boys In Philippines , Portraits of Nebraska's ' Heroes , On the Field and in Gamp , Pictures of the Companies , 5 Cents Per Copy. With the Sunday Bee , by Mail $2.00 per year. Subscribe at Once. The Bee Publishing Co. , Omaha , Neb. ShftfiOMraxxx )