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Show himself master s' C!onel John proceedfonuw up the advantage by a of quick movements that were prove demoralizing to the en- m and In a measure if the ed to series apt to my. No sooner had darkness come upon the scene than the Federal changed his position and fired a shot In the direction of a sound that was .lv caused by one of his moving. Then he instantly changed his quar- s yu CHAPTER XXI. Continued. "A man is the plaything of fate, major. I married to save my life, and now I am to lose the same because I stood up on that occasion. That is a rule that works both ways, but it strikes me as hard upon the innocent party." "I admit your act was forced on on you, and though furious enough that night to have taken your life, I would have probably recovered and let you live, seeing that Mollie could get a divorce, had you gone away and never shown up again. The fact of your presence here, in daily contact with the girl whom fortune has made your wife gives me to believe that you mean to strive after her heart. She is romantic like most of her sex. It is the fear that after all you may win her heart that makes a devil out of me, for I tell you, Ridgeway, I worship Mollie. and I've sworn no one else shall ever win her love." He was aroused by his feelings and Colonel John actually felt a certain admiration for the man who would fight for what he believed to be his own, though his title to the property was certainly hazy. He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you've got the whip-hannow. my dear fellow, that's positive." "At the same time Colonel Ridge-way- , I admit that I feel above this manner of making way with a rival. I am a gentleman, and we Southern people lay claim to peculiar qualities in that line. I will give you a chance tor your life." Colonel John looked at him quickly. "What are the conditions?" "That you swear on your honor to get a transfer and never again seek cut Mollie Granger, the girl made your wife by the fortunes of war. You understand what I mean?" "I do most assuredly," replied the colonel. "Well, what is your answer?" "I refuse to sign the bond," calmly, d - court shall be carried out. You have now just fifteen minutes to live. 1 have written afew lines which I am about to send to Mollie by a special messenger. They will give her satisfaction, since they save her the slow legal process of separation. Perhaps you would like to hear them." He took out a paper and read: "The finding of the drumhead court over which I had the honor to preside, has been carried out. Colonel John Ridgeway, the spy, was executed at exactly eleven o'clock. Allow nie to congratulate you on your freedom from an odious Federal husband. "BASIL WORD EN. "Major C. S. A." "You are banking heavily on the belief that Mollie hates me. Perhaps you may be surprised in that respect. However. I have nothing more to say. If I have less than fifteen minutes to live and my cigar half burned, kindly leave me to finish it alone with my thoughts." "With pleasure." So saying the major wheeled and stalked away. Colonel John sat down on the floor. He seemed to be wrapped in meditation, for his head was bent forward. Some persons claim to tell the state of mind of a smoker by his manner of sending out the rings of smoke. If there is truth in this Colonel John must have been thinking at a furious rate, for he puffed vigorously at his cigar, and surrounded himself with quite a cloud of smoke. There was deep design back of his action, as he carried out a brilliant scheme that had flashed into his mind some time before. The rapid smoking created a glowing spot of fire at the end of the cigar, and as John bent forward he raised his hands, applying the burning end of the cigar to the cord. Fire has accomplished wonderful before now, and it served things John's purpose. MM ters. He held the advantage, for his foes numbering at least four, couid not be sure that their fire was directed at the daring Federal, while all John had to do was to make his shots count when he could. This singular duel in the dark was kept up for the space of several minutes. Shouts arose, shouts that were significant of rage and pain, for Colonel John was not doing all this work with out some result, and the satellites ot the major, perhaps even that worthy himself, had ere this tasted of his lead. Such a mimic battle within the Confederate lines was apt to draw attention, and John had especial reasons for desiring to make a speedy exit from the room before a squad of fresh enemies arrived on the scene. His later efforts were therefore directed toward discovering the position of the door. As eyesight was of little avail in that smoky atmosphere he found himself compelled to depend upon his sense of touch. Groping along the wall he presently came in contact with the object of his solicitude. To open was but the work of a second, and slipping through the narrow space he found himself breathing the pure air. It was a relief from the smoke of the interior. The last sounds he heard were the groans of those who nursed their wounds, and the loud though husky voice of the doughty major calling for light. Once free from the building Coionel John made his way to the road. He could hear the voices of men who were running in the direction of the house, and found it a difficult matter to avoid the detachment of Confederates from a neighboring camp. They were drawn in that direction by the loud cries, accompanied by the revolver-shot- s of quick percussion that throbbed upon the air, for such things do not occur without a meaning, and in war times that meaning can be readily understood. Colonel John had already beea experience through a considerable during this night. To few men in a year's time do ad ventures come such as had been 35 portion since old Phoebus dropped k glowfng face behind the hills thavl. to the west of Atlanta. His was a warrior nature, however, and one that could not be overwhelmed. 1FTA IX The Federal had reached the blazing flambeau. sending out a few rings of smoke. One might imagine he was discussing the price of flour in Northern markets, such was his coolness, yet his life hung in the balance. "You recognize the inevitable consequences?" "Oh, yes," with a glance at the swaying rope and its ghastly noose at the end. Major Worden looked at him in a peculiar way. It was as though he hardly knew whether to let admiration or hate get the upper hand. This man astonished him. Gradually a black frown crept over his face. were "I see that my suspicions right. Faith, I didn't nip this matter in the bud any too soon. You've reached the point where you've fallen in " love with "My wife." "Yes, that's true, confound you, Ridgeway." "Can you blame me, major?" "Perhaps not, but all the same I'm determined you won't cross my path I've known Mollie much longer. many years and have sworn to make her my wife. I've stood guard all thfci time, ready to challenge any Southern suitor who might appear, and you can depend on it I don't mean to let a Northern man carry off the prize from under my nose, because he chances to come along at the time the fooliRh old squire has an idea." "The squire has a long head and don't you forget it. He knows enough to get in out of the rain, and that's more than Rome people do. As to priority of claim on Mollie Oranger, I think I can outdate you." "How so, sir?" "She promised to be my wife Just sixteen years ago, so you see she has only kept her word." she was a child then." "Nonscnst "Jnst so, and my little playmate. I saved her once when she fell Into a brook. Being ten years her senior I called her my little sweetheart. This peculiar event Is after all but the h ind of fate shaping our destinies " now "I remember your cousin Crockett told me you lived In the It does not mathonoe that burned ter. The finding o' 'he rurahei The cord was burned, and his hands ready to become free. No wonder he experienced a thrill of satisfaction and made up his mind that the finding of the court would not be carried out on this particular occasion. The messenger had gone with the note it was the old darky, but unless his mule made better progress returning than in coming to his place John had little fear regarding his ability to overtake the courier. So he smoked on, and watched and planned. They had robbed him of his revolver, but he knew how this could be remedied. His cigar was exhausted. John still remained in the same position, as it was his desire to conceal the fact that the cord had been burned almost through. At length there was a stir, and the major was seen looking at his watch. Then the men advanced. The time for action had come, and Colonel John shut his teeth with a snap as he watched their advance, knowing how fraught with importance were the next few seconds, for him. "Come, It is one minute of eleven. Have you any message to semi to your people or Mollie?" said the major, grimly. "Yes. but I prefer to take It myself." They were close to him now, and his quick eye had noted Its opportunity. One of the men was actually and carrying the colonel's the temptation proved irresistible. With a quick movement John's hand shot out, and his fingers snatched the weapon from the Confederate's belt. There were cries of amazement, of consternation, and then with a leap the Federal had reached the blazing flambeau, torn It from the wall and dashed it to the floor, bringing dark ness upon the scene. CHAPTER XXII. Out of the Tolls. The scene was one of gnat confusion, and kal idosccph changes. Having thus deftly secured a wenp Misfortunes might come thick and fast, by fair means and foul, but John' Ridgeway would never yield himself a prisoner until every endeavor that lay in his power had been made. So, when he heard these Confi ('.prate soldiers rushing in the direction of the house, he realized that his course was blocked by their coming, the Yankee officer had to bring to his aid that diplomacy which on other occasions had served him so well. It did not desert him now. He desired no encounter. (To be continued.) No Mystery at All. of strange and "Speaking unac- QUALITIES Byron OF GREAT ' POETS. Had and Wordsworth Thing in Common. GREAT A,r Cannon Invented to Drive Mist Away from London. One Byron and Wordsworth have this at least in common. Each alike was filled with righteous indignation at aocial and moral wion;s. Kach was a deiuo-rat before democracy, eager to admit he people to the heritage from which they had been shut out by the selfishness of class Interests and the apathy of industrial conditions. But while Wordsworth's temperate zeal took the gradual and the longer way of a basic leconstructiou of social practice, build ing it up afresh on arguments tested by experience, and deeming no record too trivial to serve the architect's design, Byron's more ardent mood burned for instant reform, and would not brook the restraints which the tactician imposes on the fighter. "The moment he reflects he is a child," was Goethe's verdict on Byron, who, though he was moved by the same impulse as Wordsworth, and obeyed the same order of revolt, followed throughout his short life the path of action, not of reflection. His poetry carries us forward, in the sense of his own dying cry, "Forward, forward, follow me." It exhibits, as Swinburne tells us, a "splendid and imperishable excellence of sincerity and strength." He believed intensely in his cause c i A scheme to disperse fogs by currents of air shot over Iondon from projectors" six miles away has been laid before the public control committee of the London county council, and M. Demetrio Moggiora, the invento , is ready to start experiments. M. Moggiora says his apparatus has already been subjected to severe tests at Milan. Italy, where fogs, clouds and hailstorms were quickly dissipated. Willi his projectors, or "air cannon," placed within a radius of six miles from the house of parliament, he says he will clear away the worst fog in London within 20 minutes. "The theory is that the fog hangs over London simply because there are no air currents to carry It away," said M. Moggiora. "Now, my projectors, acting like cannon, furnish the necessary currents of air." Fach projector, says the London Daily Mail, is about 60 feet long. An explosion is caused as in a cannon, and the concussion has an effect for six miles. Thus, if ten or more of these were ranged over London from different directions the fog would be lifted immediately to an altitude where the wind would blow it away. After the apparatus was permanently in- - Appropriate Surroundings. "Toil will find this flat, ma'am, qulto pern In Its way." "But It's so dark, and we are goIfaltl ing to do Mcht hnturfraaplng more American. 'A 1907. iCopyrigllt, A Ml I V lf by Byron r 111 Williams.! Tragedy. Stubble and Fatty and Billy and Ms We went that nlte 2 iliee Btfl Xmu tree! it was a oful tine Tree, very high lnail.il with Candy nd I'reasanta, O mi! Stub sot a mutter 'I wear on his neck, Kat got a vest with a very big check. Hilly got mittens and things. As fer Me. i gut sum skates and sum l ist lets, by geI It will a very Nice time! Say thee Gurls looked very Sweet In their Kibons and curls! While we wus walking away from the church rite In thee front of May Brown and Kuth Birch, Stub scd' lie d dare me 2 walk for a Lark out on thee Ice of the Pond in thee Bark, it is thee place where thee Fountain shunts up tilling thee Basin around like a Cup! woodn't take any Dare of this kind when SHE wuz walking along close i Jumped on2 thee Ice with a crash with a Teribul ileen through smash! they took me home and mi mother she sed: "take a hot Bath now and go strate 2 Bed!" woke up they wuz burrs In ml when Throte, coodn't Speak knot a Tall not a note! so 1 going I 1 JUSTICE HARLAN, FAMOUS KENTUCKIAN her coodn't swallow a thing hut sum win 'fraide. it wood turn ln2 Croop (1 what h Terllml, Teribul loss: think; f thug TUItkey and cranbery I Soup-mot- Baucfj! Say did vew ever spend Christmus in BED? awl covered up from your Toes 2 your Hed? Awl of thee time? When thee Scents of thee Day gist cum a driftin' 2wards you that way? then cum thee Party that nlte at Maud Hurd's Stubbie walked hoam with ml Uurl afterwards! that is thee Meanest and scoundrelest thing Stub ever did 2 a feller, by Glng! helping me on2 thee ice with a Shove, then walking Hoam with thee Uurl that I Love! wait til git over this and git Stout I will give Stubble a licking, by Krout! I It wuz a very sad Christmus Fate wuz against we will fer Me, I kin that much me sea. Knot have Turkey now for a while-K- not for a Year served In that kind of Style! sumtimes i feel that they's No use 2 try, losing a Dinner like that Maikes me sigh-b- ut there Is won thing, I bet yew my hat next Christmas Day, I will make up fer that! S W JOSTCf-JOfi7V-7T-- J Justice John Marshal Harlan of the United States supreme court, who was honored at the banquet of "The Kentuckians" of New York in that city He has recently, is one of the most distinguished jurists in the country. been associate justice on the supreme court bench since 1877. stalled the cost would be seven pence for each explosion, and 20 explosions would rid the metropolis of its densest forg. The cost for original construc600. tion would be the common cause of his age, the emancipation of man from physical and moral bonds and he employed whatever weapon came foremost to convince others of the truth. Laurie Magnus in T. P.'s Weekly. Due Process of Law. At the time of the famous Eastman trial in Cambridge, Mass., two Irishmen, standing on a Btreet corner, were overheard discussing the trial. One of them was trying to enlighten the Uses of Salt. Few people realize the many uses of salt. Its use for flavoring food, which makes it absolutely indispensable in the kitchen, is, while the most important, only one of its many uses. If it is put on a cut immediately the cut will heal up without being sore. If tired eyes are bathed in a strong solution of it, they find quick relief. If it is sprinkled over spilled claret on table linen there will be no stain. A small amount taken on the tongue will relieve indigestion and sometimes cure a sick headache. And then, of course, if you sprinkle it on the tail of a bird, you can catch the bird, whether It be an eagle or one of those little hot fellows that come with a cold bottle. What to Eat. other concerning a jury. "Bedad!" he explained. "You're Thin if ye gets th' shmartest lawyer, ye're lnnocint; but if tlf other man gets th' best lawyer, ye're guilty." countable experiences," remarked the man with the bulbous nose, "I am reminded of one that happened to a friend of mine in the summer of '!"3, while he was at the Columbian expoHe was in the Fine Arts sition. building, looking at the picture called 'Breaking Home Ties,' when he heard a voice behind him say distinctly, 'That's what is happening at your He house, over on the west side.' turned and looked to see who it was Lived in a Boomerang. that spoke, and there was nobody A citizen of Tennessee recently built near him." a handsome country home on Lookout "Is that all?" asked the man with mountain in bungalow style. Some of the fishy eye. his friends, anxious to see the new Is "No; the strangest part residence, inquired the way of a party When he went home in the evening of small boys and girls, saying: "Can he found that his youngest brother show us the way to Mr. G's you and! had eloped with the hired glr! house?" gone to St. Louis. It had taken place, "Yes, sir," was the response, "but too. at the exact moment when he it isn't a house." heard the voice. How do you explain "What is it, then?" quizzed one of that. I'd like to know? Was It tele- the gentlemen. " stammered pathy? Or what was It?" "Why, It's a it's a "H'mph! Who tells that story?" the boy, "it's a boomerang!" "The man himself Ike Strlngham.'' "O, Strlngham t"lls It, does he? Why, you gounlhead. that's the MEETING PLACE Cold Water. He held out his hands to her In an Impulsive and appealing gesture: "I would give " And ah. how that deep voice, tremulous with passion, thrilled her very soul. "Dolores, I would give the world to call yoti mine." Her bosom heaved. It may be that her eyes became suffused. But rfily for nn Instant only for the nonce. Then reason resumed Its sway again, and she made answer In clear, cool tones: you "No, may think yon would, but you wouldn't. You rould not, you know. Hardly a spoonful of the world could be purchased on a sMnry of $!) a week." SCHEME TO KILL FOGS. p. Life. Haphazard Thought. Dire effects from infinitesimal discords are common. The hand made snowball on the mountainside may roll an avalanche into the valley. The thorns which tear a man most usually are of his own planting. The present Is all the past brought down to date. For all the bad things in life that we do, we receive back, not only the principal, but compound interest, as well. Evidently the trusts, which are largely responsible for the present sluggish business situation, are trying to show us that the Roosevelt cure is worse than the disease. There is absolutely no grain of pity in consequences. To appeal to them for quarter Is absolutely useless. We must go back to the cause of conse quence and right that, to correct the evil. Is everything. A The beautiful house on a faulty foundation, will be a failure, no matter how much money is expended In making it. This Is as true of men and character as of houses. Without the foundation of honesty and truth and gentleness, no amount of money, or polish or education can make a good man. Unless the end justify the means, the labor Is lost. To burn Rome to cook a steak, would be an example of this truism. The Modern Child. Robert, aged four, the chubby ar.d pretty son of a scientist, had lived in the country most of his short life. One city, day a caller from the near-bwishing to make friends with the little fellow, took him on his knee and asked: "Are there any fairies in your woods here, Robert?" Christmas Bills. "No," responded Robert, promptly, Ah, the bills are coming In "but there are edible fungi." Harper's Calls for "tin"! Now, a world of things to pay for Weekly. 1 begin. Through the livelong hours of day, Comes a messenger: "Please pay!" Bills for this and bills for that And then some more. Oh, git out I tell you: scat! I a tn ore! The Safe Way. During a spell of had weather, when the water supply was unusually muddy, a young woman of Philadelphia asked Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, the famous author and physician, how she could best Say. my family went mad! glad safeguard herself in drinking the local AllMaking the folks they ever knew, turns beverage. sad. "First boll It," Dr. Mitchell an My account Is overdrawn. Watch and diamond pin In pawn; wand, 'then filter It, and afterward Still the bills In every mall. drink ginger ale." And all for me, Keep on coming. Must I fall? Shall it be? OF CONVENTION I me Darn the custom anyhow! Must we lww To a habit that Is causing such a row? Will I pay this bill toilay? NO I WON'T! D'ye hear me say? You get out of here, young man. And leave thnt bill. Or I'll hit you when- I ran. Hit to KILL! - I Still the hills are coming i- nCalls for "tin." Now to pay for Christmas presents I begin. Goodness know, where I shall end. In the at the bi nd Or Insolvency at best. Vor I am sup I was never quite so piess'd, Or so poor! hug-hous- e Ms Nib I MTTiS-T!' c" lla i Iff : ' I a ue HP Which the Democrats of the Nation Will Nominate Auditorium at Denver Their Cand dates and Declare Their Platform. in But we had n lot of fun Darn that dun! And we stayed in finish all that we'd begun' Somehow, suppose t tin t 1 Will pull through this needle's eye, And pay every thing thnt's due And have some hack! 'Rah for Santv and his crew I'lck-pack! |