Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 206, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1914 — Page 2

WELTON, THE TRAITOR

By WILLIAM J. JACKSON.

(Copyright.) ‘‘There is somjething strangely familiar about that figure!” Thomas Arkley, real estate broker, 'was fighting his way home to supper through the deep snow and the bluster of a squally winter night At the Baptist church corner he glanced across High street before going over. On the other side, in the half shelter of a wall-angle and under the glare of an electric light, he saw’ a tall, heavily built figure of a man, slouch-hatted and awkwardly bent over. He was minus an overcoat, and stood with his hands thrust deep in his pockets, the collar of his sack coat futilely' turned up against the storm. Possessed with the notion that he knew the man, Arkley passed close to him. “A bad night, friend,” the broker essayed genially, at the same time peering keenly into the face that was lifted slightly at the sound of his voice. "Jim Welton’*’ he ejaculated, with sudden recognition. “Well, of all the meetings in the world! How are you, Jim?” Arkley’s hand had been thrust out ■with instant and genuine cordiality. Jim Welton was one of the lads Arkley, by sheer force of kindliness, had drafted into a Sunday School class •In former years; He did not forget those boys, good, bad, or indifferent, and though it was five years since he had shaken hands with Welton there was no hint of strangeness in his greeting. Welton’s hand came out of his pocket very, slowly. Arkley understood ■ perfectly. When a man has been in prison for five years he is, to say the least, apt to be shy. But the hand came, nevertheless. No one had ever been able to resist the whole-souled broker. Welton not only shook hands, but, when Arkley linked arms with him, suffered himself to be led. “You’re coming right home with me to supper, Welton,” he declared. “I won’t take ‘No’ for an answer, unless,” he qualified—"unless I’m making a nuisance of myself. You haven’t anything on hand that It would interfere with, have you?” “I was just on my way to see—a friend,” Welton admitted slowly. “But I guess our business can wait for a while.” • He appeared content to let matters shape themselves. “Good!” Arkley approved. “We’ll have a nice supper together and afterward we’ll smoke and talk over things. I want to hear all about you.” Mrs. Arkley was ignorant of the very first detail in the life of Welton. To her he was only a business acquaintance of her husband. When the two, after a meal in which Welton did not talk much, retired to the comfortable room where the broker had business conferences on occasion, she did not intrude. "Welton, I always believed in you,” Arkley insisted, as he passed the cigars round. “I always thought you innocent,” he said. “Let’s talk on that basis.” Welton nodded his understanding and murmured his thanks. “There are some who don’t think so,” he grimly commented. “I met Mrs. Greene this afternoon. She recognized me and stepped off the sidewalk so quickly she nearly fell. You would have thought a bumblebee had stung her, the way the expression of her face changed. Tom Gardner knew me, too, but you wouldn’t have thought it from the way he didn’t look at me/’ Welton continued. It was an unhappy subject for discussion. Arkley hastened to change IL

/‘What are you going to do?" he Queried. “I don’t ask out of mere curiosity; I want to help you if I can.” • Welton, puffing hard on the cigar, got up and strode across the room before he replied. As he turned about he burst out impetuously: *‘l have partly tested that question. Been —been out now about three months. Had a place clerking for a contractor for a week. At the end of that time I knew from his expression when he paid me off that some pious rascal had given him my pedigree. That has happened twice. Three times I have lost places just suited to me for. the want of references, and lour jobs have been taken from me because I wasn’t competent," Arkley ventured a grunt of sympathy here and there as Welton talked; but he let the ex-convict go on without any more decided interruption. > _ "To tell you the truth, Mr. Arkley," he confided, as he sat himself down suddenly in front of his old teacher, "I had given up when I met you tonight Of course," he grinned in selfpity, “I’ve had lots of flfiances to make money in the way jailbirds are supposed to prefer. Made some business acquaintances during my sojourn, and they’ye been generous with their suggestion of partnership.” "I take it," Arkley drawled, “that •this friend you were going to see was one of the gentlemen who had offered a partnership.” The broker sent a curl of smoke toward the ceiling as he leaned back, musingly in his chair. “Just so,"' Welton admitted. "The partnership papers had been signed, so to speak. He said ha knew where to get enough money to declare a very comfortable dividend. We were going after HL I have never stolen a

penny in my life; but I meant to do It tonight” Arkley made no comment immediately. For a while they smoked in silence; and then Arkley avoided the subject for a while. It was sufficient for him that. Welton was content to remain as he found himself. A knock at the door was answered with a cheery invitation to enter. Mrs. Arkley opened the door far enough to apologize for the disturbance. “Mr. Masterson has just called,” she explained. “He brought those papers on the Brooks property and some money. H 6 is sorfy he didn’t get it to you before banking hours; arid he would rather not keep it in his own house. Do you want to speak to him?” “Ahem! Tell him, all right,” Arkley begged his wife in bland tones. On the whole, he would rather not have had the money in the house under the circumstances. It was not that he exactly doubted the honesty of Welton; he simply felt a sort of an ability to get superstitious about the coincidence. Of course, he couldn’t do such an obvious thing as to send the money out of the house, with Welton to overhear. He thought of going out, excusing himself to Welton, and asking Masterson to take it elsewhere. But all he did, after all, was to ask Mrs. Arkley to take care of the money. After a little more talking, and a suggestion finally from Arkley that it were better to postpone further consideration until the morning, Welton was shown to his room. He had accepted an invitation for the night while at dinner. Arkley chided himself mentally for the anxiety that took possession of him after separating from Welton. He honestly believed in the man, but the chain of coincidences held him the captive of worry. Masterson had never been afraid to keep matey overnight before. fiV Arkley did not dare his wife what kept him wakeful. If she had but the inkling of an idea that an exconvict was in the house —Arkley didn’t know just what she would do—so he kept the matter to himself. He was obliged to make a pretense of sleeping to keep the good lady from suspecting something unusual; but he lay awake a long while, wondering and at times listening. It was only what might have been expected, however, that after a very wearing day he fell asleep in spite of his fears. With his nerves on the alert, he roused quickly in the middle of the night. His wife slept on peacefully as he opened his eyes and saw, outlined against the dim light of the moon penetrating the shutters, a big figure stealthily rummaging the bureau drawers. It had not been Arkley’s practise to sleep with a revolver under his pillow, and, out of regard for his wife, he had not that night deviated from his rule. So he could only lie still for a moment, pondering the wisest method of dealing with the situation. When he had made up his mind to spring from bed and trust to good fortune in frightening away the intruder, he was surprised by the gentle opening of the room door. The newcomer did not make a sound. He was fully within the, room before the rummaging rascal suspected. In spite of the mask, Arkley had no trouble in recognizing the second person as Welton. He had supposed till then that of course the first was his ill-fated guest. Simulating sleeps he watched. The first intruder turned slowly about, and looked into the barrel of a revolver. Neither spoke nor made a sound; but Welton, with his thumb pointed over his shoulder, invited the first burglar to withdraw. . t Arkley waited until he thought he heard a door close downstairs. Then he quietly got up, half dressed himself, prepared to explain, if Mrs. Arkley should awake, that he was going downstairs for a drink. Arming himself, he stopped at Welton’s door. The ex-convict came quickly and quietly to open. He was fully dressed. “Did you hear any unusual noises?” Arkley queried innocently. Welton nodded. “My partner has been here,” he explained. "I was expecting him.. He evidently traced the money Masterson had turned over. You can go to sleep. I’ll watch the rest of the night” Arkley felt the anxious tension relax as he climbed into bed again. As sleep came subtly seeking a victim, he muttered to himself: “I’ll never be able to look that burglar in the face after making his partner turn traitor!”

He Couldn't Make It Out

A typical case of the confusion caused by the buying methods in vogue was mentioned by a dry goods man the other day. For a month or more he had noticed the expression of despondency on the countenance of a friend who attends to the Western business of a large Worth street house. They met a couple of days ago and the latter was asked as to the condition of business. “I don’t know what to make of it," said he, “but it seems to me It has been pretty bad.” To this followed the query: “How do your sales show up?" “That’s the queerest part of it I have figured them up three times to make sure I was not mistaken, but my sales are $16,000 ahead of last- year’s. I simply can’t understand it" Before making his calculations the man had been convinced that his business showed a large falling off.

The Changing Styles.

"I was a barefooted boy once." “Well, I haven't always worn whits socks.*'—Detroit Free Press,

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

YOUNG PLAYERS BREAK INTO MAJOR LEAGUE

James Leary, First Baseman of St. Louis Browns.

Looking over the scores of the major league teams you will notice that many fine young players have broken into the game this year. They include Robertson of the, Giants, Gilbert of the Braves, O’Mara and Riggert of the Dodgers, Oschger of the Phillies, Niehoff and Von Koenitz of the Reds, Beck and Snyder of the Cardinals, Wares and Leary of the Browns, Kavanagh and Burns of the Tigers, Scott, Johnson and Foster of the Red Sox, Ayers and Shaw of the Washingtons, Alcock and Daly of the White Sox, Bowman and Hagerman of the Naps and others.

BUCK WEAVER GIVEN TRIPLE

President Johnson Rules That Player Must Not Be Penalized for Misplay of Coacher.

A distinction has been drawn between giving the player the credit when he hits the balls and when he attempts to steal a base. When a, player starts to steal he cannot be* given credit for a stolen base should Tie touch the base, elide over it and be touched out. He can only get a stolen base by actually holding the bag. The fact that he touched the base before being put out’ does not get him the credit. The other day Weaver of the Chicago White Sox knocked a long drive. As he uas rounding third -base Kid Gleason, who was coaching, stopped Weaver. For this offense against the new coaching rule Weaver was called out. The question then came up as to whether Weaver should get credit for a double or a triple. It-was contended that as a player did not get credit for a stolen base until he actually held the base, a batsman Should not be given credit for a triple on a hit until he held the base. President Johnson of the American league was appealed to. He ruled that Weaver should be given a threebagger, as it was not fair to penalize him for the act of the coacher.

MWTK Wilbert Robinson, manager of the Lowly Brooklyn Dodgers, has a fielding star in Cutshaw, his second baseman. • • * Davey Robertson, the Giant outfielder, who is creating considerable of a stir in baseball circles, was formerly a pitcher. " • • • Duffy Lewis of the Red Sox has stolen more bases this season than in any one year since coming into the American league. • • « “All this talk of Ty Cobb going to jump to the Federal league is the veriest rot,’’ said Frank J. Navin, president of the Detroit club, recently. • • • Considering the length of time Jim Sheckard remained with the Cubs after the newspapers had traded him, Heine Zlm’s Job is good for several years. • • • Bayless of the Venice club is Ping Bodie’s successor as champion«fencebuster of the Pacific Coast league. He is leading the league in home runs and triples. • * •. Delos Brown, the infield recruit from Millikin university, has been released by the Chicago White Sox to the Decatur club of the Three-I league for development. * * * John Titus declares that being hit on the head by a pitched ballj hasn’t hurt his batting eye at all. “It only made me more careful in looking them over," said he. Muggsy McGraw says he sees little real opposition in the way of a, fourth pennant Muggsy says the Giants will have easy sailing, providing their pitchers hold out to form. • « * The Pirates will take a chance on another college star. It is Pete Palsey, left fielder of the Tale university nine, who graduated in June. He is twenty-two years of age and a lefthanded thrower and batter.

REFUSES BOX SEAT AT GAME

President Lannln of Boston Red Sox Likes to Get,Among Real Fans * and Hear Their Comments.

“Sit in a box?” queried Joseph J. Lannin, sole owner of the Boston Red Sox at Cleveland the other day. "I should say not. I like so get out among the real fans and hear what the supporters of the game think about my team. Some days I go out in the bleachers and sit among those who know all the players by their first names. "How did I happen to break into baseball as a magnate? Because 1 have wanted to own a baseball club ever since I was a bellboy in Boston. I used to sneak. Into the games then every chance I got, and if one of the players let me carry his bat I was the happiest little Irish kid in all Boston, and there were a lot of happy Irish lads there at that. After I got in a position to buy a club I announced that I was in the market First I tried to buy the Phillies, but Fogel placed such an exorbitant price on his outfit that I passed it up. Then came’ the trouble at Boston and I bought in. Now I own every share of stock, and that is the only way a ball club should be owned. "Do I enthuse? Well, you bet I do, but not as much as when I used to pay my 50 or 75 cents or |l. Then I would yell my head off. Now I am more subdued. My hat smashing days are over, but I- enjoy a game just as much.”

HOBBY FOR COLLECTING BATS

Buck Weaver of White Sox Has Gathered Assortment of Clouting Rods of Many Players.

Buck Weaver of the White Sox la engaged in gathering together a collection of assorted bats that will be so valuable that it couldn’t be purchased for money, marbles or chalk. This aggregation of clout rods will consist.of bats once grasped by the

Buck Weaver, Captain and Shortstop of Chicago White Sox. '

stalwart hands of Cobb, Speaker, Jack* son. Baker and other mian who, have helped make the base bit famous. Each bat will be autographed by the man who used it for swatting. Weaver is gathering these for the express purpose of presenting them to- Ed. R. Maier, president of the Venice club.

IRISHMEN ARE VERY SCARCE

Real Son of Erin Cannot Be Found on . Washington Team—lrish Stars Are Comparatively Few. A recent fanning bee developed the fact that there is not a single Irishman on the Washington baseball club. Can you beat it? Thirty-odd ball players and the only Irishman in the lot is half German? Griffith, himself of Welsh extraction, has a team of all nationalities, including a Cuban, yet he cannot produce a real son of Erin. Germany leads in the Washington ranks, with Schaefer, Altrock, Moeller and Engel as charter members. Johnson is of Scotch-English extraction, and the club has several members of this ancestry. This state of affairs brings out an important question. Are the Irishmen fading out of the big league? There was a time when almost every star in the game was of Irish extraction, with maybe a Dutchman or an Englishman thrown in for good measure. How few Irish names do you find among the stars of today. Look over the list of the real big fellows: Cobb, Speaker, Jackson, Johnson, Mathewson, Rucker, Tesreau, Bender, Plank, Alexander, Evers, Daubert, Baker, Konetchy, Wheat, Zimmerman, Oldring, Doyle, Chase, Archer, Meyers, Mclnnes. There is a sprinkling of Irish in that list, but they are greatly in the minority. Eddie Collins’ name would indicate that his ancestors hailed from Erin, though Collins comes from an old Tarrytown family. Evers is of Irish stock, and, of course, there is no German in either Larry Doyle or Stuffy Mclnnes. As for Archer, he was born in Ireland, which also was the birthplace of two fellow club maskmen, Roger Bresnahan and Tom Needham. Yet contrast the list of the stars of today with some of the stars of the past, such as King Kelly, Buck Ewing, Mickey Welch, Tim Keefe, Charlie

Nap Rucker.

Comlskey, Tiernan, Hanlon, O’Rourke, Bennett, Dunlap, Duffy, Joe Kelley, Meekin, Tebeau, Burkett, Thompson, McAleer, Brouthers, 'Delehanty, Jennings, McGraw, Jim Collins and Mike Donlin. ; However, while the Irish stars of the game seem to be passing out, It still takes the Irishmen to run the teams. One-half of the major league managers are Irish, and the Irish managers include John McGraw and Connie Mack, who have more or less monopolized the world’s series spoils the last fqw years. The others are Hugh Jennings, Red Dooin, Jim Callahan, Bill Carrigan, Hank O’Day and Wilbert Robinson. “Robby” Is mentioned last, as we are not absolutely certain that he is Irish.

Another Queer Play.

Here’s another queer play from the Federal league: In a game between thfr Brooklyn Feds and the Indianapolis Feds, the latter had Vandagrift and.Kauff on third and second respectively, Laporte lUt for a round of bases and in coming home Kauff passed Vandagrift on the lines. Manager Bradley claimed Kauff should be out for passing the runner ahead of him, but the Fed umpire could not see it that way, so Bradley protested the game.

Fun for Kenworthy.

In one afternoon against the Tip Tops Kenworthy of the K. C. Feds managed to fill in between idle moments with a versatile display. * He made two home runs and a single, scored three times, accepted eleven chances In. the field without an error, was In two double plays, made one sacrifice hit, stole three bases and helped his team take two gambs. Otherwise he was a dead weight to the Packers.

Zabel a Life-Saver

Zabel is developing into one of the best life-savers of the, Chicago Cubs. He has delivered the goods every time he has been called on of late.

The QNLOOKER

By HENRY HOWLAND

FOOLISH • OLD EXCUSE

He "didn’t mean to do it” when he burned the barn that day; He was Innocently playing with some matches in the hay; It was very wrong to blame him for the loss which was sustained When he didn’t mean to do It, as he afterward explained. He didn’t mean to do it when he made his sister "blind, He was merely getting practice with a dart he had designed;, It was very wrong to blame him for her lose and for her woe, When 'he didn’t mean to do it, and <t merely happened so. He didn’t mean to do It when he forged another’s name; He was muddled from much drinking, and was Innocent of blame; It was wrong of them to rob him of his freedom or to think That he ever would have done It if It had not been for drink. , He didn’t mean to do It when he broke his mother’s heart. He supposed that as a “rounder" he would be considered smart; It was very wrong to blame him for the suffering he brought When It all resulted simply through a little lack of thought. He "didn’t mean.,to do It!" And you never mean, my boy, To be called upon to answer for the gladness you destroy; You ’are merely seeking pleasure In a reckless, ■ thoughtless way, Putting off until tomorrow truths that you should learn today.

Her Mind Relieved.

"Dp you think,” asked the sweet June bride, “yriu will ever grow' weary of me?” “Of course, I never shall,” the bridegroom eagerly replied. “But Ijshall not always be as yonng and beautiful as I am now.” “You will always look young and beautiful to me, darling.” ‘Tm so glad to hear you say that. If you hadn’t I should have worried awfully. All my married friends have told me that their husbands said It to them.”

A Stubborn Brute.

“My husband Is one of the most stubborn men In the world.” "He can’t be more stubborn than mine." . “Oh, yes, I’m sure he must be. Yesterday I had an engagement to meet him at three o’clock.” “Yes?" •‘Well, it was nearly 4:30 when J got there, and he won’t admit yet that the rest he got while he was waiting did him good.”

USELESS.

any good at all. She refuses to coiv cede that I have a mind.”

Sure Thing.

When lovely woman stoops to folly And gets the man, she tries to kill. The jury soothes her melancholy And sends her into vaudeville,. ■ --Cincinnati Enquirer. And then as one we flock to see her. Who cannot sing or dance a Mt, - But, 'cause the jury wished to free her. Upon the stage has made a hit. —Birmingham Axe-Herald. . . "v-, ■’ • b’ ■’ ’ . > But this will all be changed, my brothers. When women get to trying cases; Our wives, our sisters and our mothers Will sock It to the "angel faces!”

Others Barred Out.

"She is his second wife, isn’t she?" “No, I think she Is his fifth. Why did you think she was the second?" “For no particular reason, except that he has a picture of another woman over his desk in his den.” “That Is a picture of his third wife. She happened to die.”

Skepticism.

The man who thinks he can by knocking on -wood keep off trouble would psobably scoff if he were told that he could by “shooing" it cause water to run up hiU.

“Why don’t you make up your mind to cease permitting your wife to henpeck you?” “I have made it up half a dozen times, but it doesn’t seem to do