Jasper Weekly Courier, Volume 51, Number 15, Jasper, Dubois County, 25 December 1908 — Page 6

The Godless Heathen

By CA.HLTOJ T)AWE

He was an unctuous, stolid, sliteyed son of Asia, as free of mitigating circumstances as a murdorer caught red handed. Yet that Inconsiderate husband of hers, fully aware of her antipathy to all colored folk, returning on a certain occasion from ono of his periodical visits to the town whore he sold his farm produce. limiicrht tlin I n com n roh an si hin Ah

Quong in his train. At first she could scarcely believe her own eyes, and though her husband shouted a joyous greeting to her, she scarcely ventured to return his salutation, but walking around to the back of the buggy, looked up into the stolid face of the impassive Quong. There he sat. as unconcerned as any old joss, and

not unlike one. she thought. His nt-

llke a llttlo chfld, and for nbout the first tlmo in twenty years something like a tear glistened in his eye. When she had gone to bed he lit his pipe

atresn and went out and told It to the stars, and whispered it to the stolid old gums until the very air seemed full Of the irrnnd sweat news.

And then she grew weaker, and as the Boss had to make his periodic Journeyings for the purpose of buying and selling, he always bestowed the following Injunction on the attentive Celestial before setting out: "Look after the Missis. Quong. If anything happens to her I'll bolt the life out of you." And Quong. grinning In his silly Chinese manner, as Invariably answered, "My make om all II,

Boss. He was not a man of ninnv

iiui uuiiM' uur, out? kiiuuui. jiid tit-i uwoo. nv nua iiui it mail ul iiiauj I .. .) , ....... ...... . . HAlt..nAv ' un..lc , I ,. ( . 1.1- r.. ...4

UlUUo OS UHU Ul Ilt'llht'lll.C, nuilta. IIIIO IlliJl'l I II I it 111 V VUUII, Ulli and to her uncompromising stare of; the Boss seemed satisfied with his .11.. .... . W. I.IImI.a-I mm I ... . . . . I .. n..M tltnlodt nooMMtiM.

uiBuak lir uiitifvtru nit itiipuaaitv """"n" uaaut aunt.-. ioslty. His feet, dangling over the And then the great event happened, tailboard of the buggy, were unshod, ' Quong was sitting up that night bewhile his dress was a curious mixture J cause the Boss was restless. He of heathendom and Inrriklnlsm. On j watched him pass in and out of the . V. . A t 1 .. . . . .11 . . nHr. tlnyw n iIiim.im I ..... . . 1nA1. .... I.

Hl WJP Ul a IU"K JCtlUW UllUill Bä! v.u. u IHIIU3, lUUh Ul ill UlU affixed a head quite remarkable for i stars, fill his pipe, light It, walk up ttL. I.At Af t.ru...-. ...V. IK. Ii finil ilnti-n ai.lfla hotv .....I

IW IftVIY Ul UCIIUI t, UHU UUM U ,1IT . " "Uli ItllO.J 3lllllJ.). tlllll hack of his groasy, blouse hung a long J generally behave In a manner inconblack "pigtail," which romlnded her ; ceivable in one of his weight and of nothing so much as a venomous , Inches. The doctor man from Wansnake, garatta was inside, also the wife of a

he wore were burned or singed bevonil repninltlnii. But tut war ti'ii.

dorly bathing her face with wator drawn from the creek, and spoamng to her in a coaxing, singsong fashion Just as he soothed tho "pleceo kid," In its most turbulent moments. "Quong!" It was both an exclamation and nn Interrogation. "All II, Missis. 'Ave got." He pointed to a scorched and blackened blanket by her side. The "plecee kid" looked up at her and crowed. Not a hair of his head was singed. Tho Sketch.

MYSTERY OF BLOODY FEUDS.

Contest of Race Elements at the Bottom of Many Crimes.

BUYERS SPENDING MILLIONS. Thousands of Merchants In New York Show Returning Prosperity.

The husband, flinninir tho ruins on

the horse's buck and slowly dismounting, came round to her. "What's the matter, Jess? ' ' Him!"

She stared fixedly .nto the Impas- j

distant neighbor. Quonc wondered

why they should make such a fuss

over a common happening.

les, of course, it was a boy it couldn't well be anything else to a

man jme tne Boss and from that

aim ru ii.vi.-ui.' '.Htu iuv iwiPiu- j .v. me uiras unit iiuiii mitt slve yellow face, but made no other moment Quong's allegiance alternated sign f movement. j between father and son. Jess was Oh. Hint's Quong. , You've i heard j weak for a long time after, ami tho me spt-ak of him? Was cook up at ; fanner's wife had her own affairs to ft- . .) t . i a.a . . .1 mfml K. . . f ...... .. . l . . t

liiniriKiha in uie oiu uays. a guuu . """. uui vuumk aiuppeu lniu me

old 5ss stick. Isn't he?"

' What's he doing here?"

breach, and added nurse to that of

his other duties. If. hitherto he had

iiliais ur uwug uei I' . "vi uuura, ll, llliuuiiu lit; mill ' I Jinnitrht him lojttr to hln von. revered the father, he now nilnrnil thn

- - ------ - T "-""i' m - . . - . a . a. . onm TMI. 1 a

.uer mm over ai jiangaraua. itainer,0"- uh-k uru ino lenow nau ueen down on his uppers, as yon can see; , a woman in another life, and truly In fact he seems to have neither sole no woman could have played her part nor uppr. Asked for a job, and and j with greater care and assiduity.

Ana so twelve months passed on.

ana tne child grew and prospered, and

-wt-1!. old eirl. von know vou'll be

weaker w-tore you re better.

He looked at his wife lovlnclv. He , with It prospored the little household.

was a tug man. with big. strongJms, Dick Junior was now a lusty young and th shoulders of a prize ox; but ; rogue, tumbling about and stuttering as his clear brown eyes ran over the , a few words in pidgin English, which woman by his side they grew soft as . shocked his mother inconceivably, a girl s. and she might have seen the , "t made his father roar with laugh-prlii.-and hive glistening In them had ter. "Little beggar!" he said, ."he's she turned for a moment from the J as bad as old Quong." And then he yell w man. would lecture him on the iniquities "You know I hate Chlnkies," she o' the yellow man. to nil of which said the child would listen with wide, won"Ah. but you won't bate old Quong. ; dering eyes those eyes which seem-Tht-U-gtar nursed mo up Tararooka ed to draw the soul out of the father, wsj wh-n I was down with the fever.! Al,d he could touch him now without It was a clow thing. Jess. But for toar of breaking the little bones, and that viiow image there I should , toss him nbout as though he were a never have known you." t ua". all of which the child bore with "Still. I don't like the breed. I don't never a whimper, want him. and I won't have him." I The day came round for Dick's acHe flung a big arm round her aand ; customed Journey to the town, but drew her to him. this was to be a journey which would "You shall have Just what you ' 1)0 marked with a red letter In the wanL my dear, so don't worry that ; history of their lives; for things had pretty head of yours." j prospered with them, and he was goHe caressed hor with both voice in& lnto th? town to complete the and hand, as one would a spoilt child; j purchase of a larger tract of land, and and. like a child, she nestled to him. ! he intended to murk the occasion by In this woman lay all his Joy. all his returning with presents for his bohope, and he knew that women in Jved ones- The parting Injunction her condition are prone to whimsies. , ha(1 an addition now, but It always

i auuiii no a iiui a ueamy, ne con- mc- a.uuu , i,uun lln...l v . . I fl f f ilr tha 1laa nnrl 1. 1.1.1.1.. -v..

iititiuu cuo.iiiji v, uui i uwe mm one, i -1 "- muuj, vuuug. and I know you wouldn't have me 1 If anything happens to them I'll belt

play the dog. even on a Chlnkle. Be- he I,fe oul of yo " And Quong sides, the poor beggar was on his last ' ohnked his invariable reply. ' Me legs, and he's got grit In him. in spite 013,40 em all H. Boss." The promised

wt uia mrai. t n.-icai, i taniiutl UU ' " - ' " iiu uuici less than bring him along; but we'll tnouBht It necessary, but on the whole give him a week or so's trial, and If . ne ,,ked !t- showed that the Boss -lt. - t, ., a tnnlr nn Intnllliront lnnmn In t.l

Ju vult I Bllirt UUJ Iliuru Ul UIUI, WO 11 I vni. auii.-ii.-ai in nun. nl. 1. 1 . Ä .. I rilrlr tt'nnt nit-o.. ..n 1 nn i .

put:i uiiu uu. I cuii ua usual, nun She shook her head, repeating ' QonS. who had some work down bv stodlly. almost mechanically, "I don't ! ,the creek, returned-to it after dinner.

"Neither do I In the lump. But 1 1 Young Boss awav in his little crib for rather think Quong is a bit excep-1 the afternoon sleep. His work was tional." I nly a quarter of a mile or so away.

Closer that big .arm pressed her. It " ne monted the little hill behind

was something like the grin of a boar. 1 tno treea ne coul see the house

but she didn't seem to mind iL Ter-! qutlte Pla,nly. )mn eho ratViat- tllrn.1 , -tt I He had Worked for nnrhnnq n full

ing. rough caress. I nour wnen he scrambled out of the He turned to the impassive Chow. ! hoIe he was d'ßß'ns to take a few who all this tlmb had snt blinking ' vutts at ,1,s P,ne- but J,,Bt as he was

uuiiqueiy at uio woman, apparently ) ; ,v "l e""s up iiappuueu cuninnlr I .1 1 M, . .t. , . tO lOOk mil till nnH KntV n trnmon nr.

"vimwij itiuiitcivuL ia iu in resuii i i - """ i" of their cogitations. ! Proaching him from lower down the

"Now. then. Quong. look alive and ' cref K- l IlrBl ne ",d not quite make yourself useful. Get down and ' roa,lze who " ws- nor did he underput up the horse." j stand her W,,J gesticulations or her "AH 11. Dick." cr,es- But as she came nearer he

"And. hark ye. my friond; no 'Dick. kn,w, " t0 be the MIsbIs. and In his If you please. I'm the boss nov.-" I s.t,ld 'wa' he std Winking at her

"All II. boss." 11,1 sne approached. Then he saw that "And something more, Quong; this 1 her ,ace ,was Jeathly white, her eyes Is the missis, you undorstand. What j 8tartInff fr,m her head and that she ahn cava i ana-. .i,ni k .t-ii. , I reeled In her stens like ono nlmnf tn

' " " "nut, ouv 111 1 11 KS 4 a. t . aa- a . think." j fall. Indeed, he knew that nothing

.f nil ,., h... ! mu a supreme effort of will prevented

the imne ürbäble OunrZ K$"2J "??.c:..

ped from the bugg sidled up to the q''" ZüiiJSdW hi. horse's head and softlr led It

ü, . -TV V i. V . , ",""fcips. Her minii. however, was workTit h,Laa,?h,fJ ifP hy and seizing h.m

in the wilderness.' roiling fr m st I S 'h?.PU. Ä U"1" ??sc the trees. He 7nnJ.ar!i

' "r"Vi ,. v 3 B""-,the wooden race Riiddenly grew anl

. . . . ' , eneu ine oniiniie eves

Ten thousand business men and women from the West and Southwest nre In town spending, it is estimated. $100,000,000. They have driven pessimism from the great down-town Jobbing district with stories of nssured prosperity and ore spreading Joy and cash among the hotels, theaters and

other amusement places. This is the annual buying period for the spring trade, and reduced rates on the railroads are bringing merchants here front the small towns in far-away Texas as well as from Chicago, St. Louis and the big centers. The registration at the Merchants Association is within a hundred odd of tho phenomnal registration last spring, when prosperity was at Its height. Up to yesterday nearly 2,000 buyers, or their representatives, about one-half of whom are women, had registered. They are coming nt the rate of neariv

200 a day. As only a portion take advantage of the special railroad rates, It is estimated that the total number of buyers at present here Is about 10,000. Every hotel that caters to the out-

of town custom is crowded, the big hotels have all they can bundle, and tho family hotels are turning hundreds of people away. The huvors are h.incr

entertained at clubs, dinner parties, theaters, nnd with automobile trips by the merchants who are receiving the benefit of their trade.

S. C. Mead, secretary nf tho nr.

chants' Association, said yesterday of

me innux or buyers:

"It means that the country is all

right. The men who are comlnir to

New York now to lav In tholr

spring stocks are mainly from tho

west and Southwest. I have nnt

heard one of them talk about hard

times. They laugh at the idea, and I tell you their ontlmism is having n hii?

- a " a

enect nere in xcw York nur mnr.

chants rather had the Idea that trade

was going to be dull this spring, but they have changed their oninlon in

the past few days. Buyers have reg

istered nere rrom towns of not over

1.000 population in Texas thn now

State of Oklahoma, and tho inMr.

Southwest, as well as from Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit and other big cities.

"The most oncournelne: rennrts nr

brought from Texas, Oklahoma and

Arnansas, wnere the crops have been good. I have been surprised at tho number of now faces and have I

told that scores of new business houses are springing up." New York American.

that tho sun had not touched. Then

he began to think seriously of life. And so ho saved a little and borrowed a little, and took up his selection, and on It he built a house, lovingly, tenderly, because she had promised to come and look after It for him. Most of the furniture he made with his own hands, rough stuff, to be sure, yet shaped and smoothed

wuu loving angers; nut tho cane

"The plecee kid!" she shouted.

"Yos yes." The words came from

her Hps In a fierce gasp of agonv "My cli!"

Kicking off his old shoes he flung

irom nor line a Hash of lightning. She

trieu to tonow him. She called on heaven, on her lndomltnhl nntiirn

but in vain. The earth sprang up to meet her. Once It stnirk Jinr vininn.

ly In the face. She scrambled to her

L-1 . Yu . -ir weight ot all the wor d seemed to had been tho dream of his life. He press her down. Now she was TgVon fancied he could see Jess sitting in It ing wildly on her hands an 1 knees on winter nights the glow of the Are toward the burning house, the smoke ,n h.lr luT a.ml 7 !he.ml of hor; of which glared blood rod in "the I !in mouth. Then the wind might roar as 1 The great masses of her hair fell over" wildly as it pleased the rain come; her face and blinded hor That too down in torrents. He thought the Vemed a blood red haze thro S rain would sound pleasant with Jeu which she saw a world on flre on one side of the fire and him on the , 0tler. .t .... ! With the return of consclotisnnia And then one day she told him. told she found herself supported I y the KS Z 8ii?' ttBViiBreaJt "PN 1 most grotesque looking creature In that he was. ho did not grasp hor the world. His face was b ack and Si In'n? n?Ä U ,nU. bec?,me torod. he had not a scrap of h clear to his intelligence he trembled j pigtail loft, and even the few clothes

TOWN OF OBERLIN.

Has More Church Members Than Any

Place of Its Size in the Country.

Probably no town of equal size In the United States contains as many church members as Oberlin. Ohio, the seat of Oberlin College, which this yeai will celebrate the seventy-fifth year of the anniversary of its birth. Students in the Theological Seminary finished In December a religious census of the commuulty. The town was divided into districts, and every house was visited. A canvass under the direction of the Census Bureau at Washington could not have been more thorough. Information was obtained from 5.22G men, women and children their names, addresses, religious preference, church aflillation ana attendance. Sunday school connection, and so on. Of the 5.22C, 2,110 nre members of churches in Oberlin nnd 1.21C are members of churches in other cities and towns. Practically all of tho 1.21C are students and teachers In Oberlin College, who attend church In Oberlin and retain 'membership in their home churches. The total number of church members in tho community Is 3,320, or G4 per cent, of the entire population. If children of 10 years and under are deducted the whole number of church members Is SO per cent of the population. Over and above the 3.32G church members there are 507 nonmembers, who report that they attend church services, making a grand total of 3,893 who go to church. This Is morn th.nn

three times the average for towns of this size. In tho report Is a list of 1,333 who are non-church-goers, nnd this list Is divided Into two groups, those who oxpressed a preference for some church in town, and those who ilenllnnri tr

express any preference for any partic

ular cnurcn in town there are 519 names. And, the report adds, the pastor of each local church will I. r.ir.

nlshed a duplicate copy of tho "no-

protorence list." The Inference is that the pastors will now rnrmi.ir.r

especially the RIO. American Mncn.

zine.

Tho tragic end of James Hargls at Jackson, Ky., culls attention ouco ignin to the peculiar conditions of lifo which linvo rnarU.'d it Hinte Intitr

known as "tho dark and bloody ground." That a man who had takon everal llvos in tho courso of a bitter feud should die by the shots fired by his own sou only emphasizes tho trangoness of a soclnl organization whore life Is hold so cheap Hnd whoro the guilty so often escape tho punishment provided for by law. It has been a puzzle which no ono has solved. Why these feud conditions should prevail In thnt ono section of the country far more than anywhere else Is hard to understand. Why men meet In n public place and slash each other with knives or shoot each other as docs nre shot Ik n nimn-

lion which has aroused tho wonder of many a student of American social life. Some of them have traced the spirit

back to od Virginia, where the rougher forms of English sport found early lodgment. The fox-hunter, horse-racing, cock-fighting Virginian, who loved to wrestle with his opponent or took Jellght in the game of gouging whoro the fl3t ceased Its attempt to push out tho eye only when the cry, "King's cruse," was heard may havo been the ancestor of the Kentucky feudist as ho was of the Kentucky nlonner.

The ever-ready rlllle of tho wilderness hunter who crossed the mountains, pierced the gaps, or floated down the stream Into rhe Western country may have been the legitimate predecessor of the murderous gun of the later generation of Kentucklans. The facility In the use of firearms and the common training to shoot straight and sure which were absolutely necessary in the days of Boone and men of his type may have brought Its own natural development In the quickness In handling the triccer which has

marked the fights of a century. The contest of different race elements as the men of the East of the old English blood met In the struggle for the possession of the land with tho hardy pioneers of Scotch. Irish and

German extraction who pushed their way southward along the mountains and through the valleys to turn asido toward the attractive lands In Kentucky may offer some explanation. The division of families brought about by the Civil War, may havo added its element of discord. The peculiar conditions which developed in the border states when the war broko out are well remembered. Neighboring families made different choices. One followed the flag of the Union. Another wont with the South. In many cases the breach was never healed. In some one of these theories. In a combination of them or In none of them the origin of tho Kentucky feud and the cheapness of human life in that Commonwealth may be discovered. There is a practically unworked field for the future Investigator of social conditions. In a state whose history from many points of view Is more interesting than that of any

otner in tne united States this unsolved problem remains one of tho most puzzling which have been presented to those who have tried to understand and Interpret the peculiar phases which have combined to make

me story ot tne American peopl Chicago Tribune.

l Chrifimas "Bridal

Hy ETTA W. riEKCE

A girl stood at tho door, with a red shawl pinned across her bosom, nnd In a shrill voice sang:

"Carol, brothers, carol; carol, Joyfully. Carol tho good tidings; carol merrily, And pray a glndsome Christmas For all good Christian meti. Carol, brothers, carol, Christmas comes again!"

Periodicals. A well-known netor savs thnt- u-hii

his company was totirhiir Dm ,,1,

not long ago, he went Into one of the "clubs" In a South Caroll

whoro the dispensary system is In

vogue.

"What have you In tho h nnn nt

periodicals?" the nit? vor nskmi nr",

dusky attendant.

"Corn llnuor. sab."

swored the attendant. "1 lenr. nml n-l.w.

but mostly corn liquor, sah." Har

pers weoKiy.

Greatness Overruled. Knicker Tho Colnaco Commit tn

has voted to nut tho tnnti

- "vn UJI the coin.

Bocker- Hut If It wr.nhi

the coin back In the pocket New

lorK suu.

FATHER'S MANIA. It Was a Good One for Keeping Out of Trouble. "See what 1 can do, daddy," said Lucie, showing him a page covered with good imitations of his own signature. He paused to look at It. "Clever work, daughter," ho said, "but I wouldn't copy other people's signatures. We send men to the penitentiary for doing that, you know." Lucie shrugged her shoulders a little as he left the room. "Father's so cautious It amounts to a mania," she thought, as she wroto his name again, making a special effort to reproduce the elusive flourish that followed the middle lnltlnl.

A month or so later at high school she was unexpectedly summoned to the principal's office, where she was informed that Maud Hogarth, one of her classmates, had Just been expelled from school. "She hasn't been doing good work this year, Miss Dowhurst." the principal said to Lucie, "and last month the marks on her renort worn ko low thnt

Bhe was ashamed to take It home for her father to sign. So after worrying about it for a few days, she dared Chester Barnes to get a blank report

earn lor nor out or the drawer where her room teacher, Mr. Favrlle, keeps them; and Chester did It, not bellevInc. he says, that she would really make use of it. Then Miss Hogarth made out a new, flattering report for herseir. placed Mr. Fnvrile's name In full at the foot, and took that home for her father to sign. At the same tlmo sho copied hor father's signature on the real report card, and handed that back to Mr. Favrlle." "Oh! "and Lucie gasped. "You're surprised, and no wonder. To put It plainly, she committed fori.

ery. That Is the reason I sent for you. When I was questioning her It came out thnt that which first put It Into her head to do this wns sitting behind you one day In the study room when you had vour ronnrt mri tn.t

against your Inkstand and was aniusInB yourself by copying the signature 'Louis F.avrlle' over and over. "Walt. I don't hold you responsible for what she has done. I havo takon some pains to Inquire, and all your teachers tell mo that you are a younx. lady of the highest honor. But I do wnnt to say this: You'vo boon warned now by this unfortunate occurrence thnt It's a safe plan to let other people's signatures alone; and after v have otico been warned we aro rcsnon-Blble'-Youth's Companion. P

The Maid and the Count. "My face Is my fortune, sir," said she But tho Count sho didn't embarrass

-"j ttiiiu is my loriune, ne replied "For It will win me an heiress,'' '

"In heaven's name, who Is that creature?" said Cedrlc. His easy chair, pushed Into tho bow window, commanded a view of the garden walk and the singer. His crutch leaned against the wall besldo him; his blond head rested languidly upon a crimson silk cushion. "I haven't an idea," 1 answered, ns I put tho last touches to the Christmas

pine above the high carved mantel. "A tramp, evidently. Do von llkn tho nf.

fect of Christmas roses in silver bowls,

ueuricr

"Arrange yotr roses in silver bowls r f .

ur in lrou oouini buckets, just as you like, Beth," answered Cedric, peevishly. "I hato weddings they aro even

worse than burials. Cannot you see

mat you are all riding, roughshod, over my heart?" He raised himself on the arm of his chair and looked out at tho figure before the door. The bleak December wind was blowing through the girl's thin gown. Her face, which bore traces of beauty, was livid now with cold, and perhaps illness. "Sho is the Imago of despair!" he cried. "I feel a fellowship with her. Go, Beth, bring hor in give her meat nnd drink, nnd whntover else you may

nae at your marriage feast. Cedrlc was the most unreasonable of human beings. I was always afraid of him when he was In his dnrk moods. I ran out of the room. But a third person had heard tho singing and, as I reached the hall, lo! there was Jacqulta, gliding down the shining, shallow stair Jacquita, with her dusky hair and creamy skim and great Southern eyes she whoso bridal had filled our old Plymouth house with hustle and expectation. For years we had been elnas mntes

in a young ladles' school. Sho was of

tne not South, I of the cold North. Yet we loved each other devotedly. Proud was I when, at the end of our school days, Jacqulta came, an honored guest, to the old house overlooking the graywaste of Plymouth Bay proud was I when all hearts went down before her there, and that callant sailor. Cant.iln

Dacre Holme, hastened to lay himself

umi ins nuure at nor feet; and. alas! sad was I when I found that sho had also made wild havoc of my poor crippled Cedrlc's peace. "That girl looks sick and heartbroken," said Jacquita. as she stepped lightly down into the hall. She flung back the hall door. The eyes of the vagrant fell on her with an expression that I shall never forget. An unspeakable hatred and despair blended In the look. "Here Is a Christmas gift for you, poor girl." said Jacqulta, and she held out the goldplece. A wicked look flashed into the wayfarer's face. She took the money, spat on It, flung It on tho ground. Then, seeing my rising wrath, she snatched it again and slipped It Into her pocket. "For luck!" she mumbled. In apology for her strange action, and then added, curtly, reluctantly, "Thank you, miss." "Have you traveled far?" asked Jacquita. "A good bit." replied the girl. "And where are you going now?" "To find my man," sullenly. "He

promised to marry me. but he went away he didn't keep his word I'm looking for him." I led the girl to the kitchen and directed the servants to provide for her needs. I went away soon after to dress Jncqulta for her bridal. Guests came trooping in and filled the house. Under an arch of Christmas pine, with the mellow wax lights shining lovingly upon her. Jacquita, in tulle and laco and satin, stood by the side of her bronzed young viking and took the vows which made her his, and his only till life should end.

Throughout the ceremony Cedric kept his chair and made no sign. Sho was married she was Dacre's wife! Then followed n hubbub of congratulatlons and farewells a confusion of friendly tongues; and presently Jacqulta, In a Paris traveling gown, with soft bands of fur nbout her throat nnd eyes brimmlntr with hn

and knelt by Cedrlc's chair. "Good-by," she said, lifting her beautlful face to his reluctant gaze. "You may kiss me, Cedrlc, if you like " "You belong to Dacre." he answered bitterly. "I do not want to kiss you. Good-by." AVc saw them enter the carrlago together both young and beautiful and wildly happy. We flung the rice and shoes after them; the horses pranced down the drive; the guests departed, and Cedrlc and I were left alone. Darkness hail fallen rh t

,. . . u tutu wildly up and down the curving Plymouth shore; tho bay was white with foam. I turned with a shiver to the leaping wood fire. "What a dreadful night for a wedding Journey?" I said. In the red glow of tho logs Cedrlc's face looked like gray stone. i,,ke ,storm." he said, savagely. "That pair Is too happy to know whether the sun Is shining or a norther raging. Beth, sweep those flowers out of the room their odor stifles ma." "Where." he asked quickly, "Is the girl that sang tho Christmas carol at tho door? Was she warmed and fed as I directed?"

Us Cook set her a good dinnw and when wo were rushing about busy to notice, she Just sll,,,' 3? without a won! of thanks to a,m pk4." r ,,,,Uo cook ,ound a S "Why, that must havo boon tu money which Jacqulta gave her! l, ! very odd! Evidently the girl ,( ! soul above goldploccs." said Cedn! I drew a stool to Cedrlc's si,,. a,(. sat down In tho light of the bUiS brands. An oppressive hush had fail,? on the house, T..c riot nf u-it.,1 "

alono disturbed us. Cedrlc's eye vt.'r fl V Oll n at I. . 1 1 "

t,,. im, ,uu Core or the fire hit heart, as I well knew, was follo im after the bridal carriage and its freist,, of happiness and hope." 1 "She will go with him around ha world, Beth!" he

onco I have heard her say that eh was a bad sallor-that she oared noh Jng for the sea; but her love for Da. re has changed all that. And but for an accident. Beth-a blow from an rJn f7"a lere Jr-I ould have her, In spite of a hundred Dncre8--x..H but for that I might have been lt. i -u place this night!" It was his one bitter, constantly recurring thought. 1 stroked his ul,, shoulder ' Wh,Ch h hnA ,ald 0,1 '"T "By this time they hM-e reached tho train, whirling farther and fanl,.r from us- l isten! There is sora, ,, coming up tho walk. I s.nvi ,, V

steps!" ' It chanced that tin nnn hrwl i

to lock tho main door of the house afu'r

me uepanure of our guests. Now

neiru u open violently. There was rush through the hall. A hand n'm'i aside the curtain at the parlor ihr. -t old. Cedrlc uttered a sharp cry nn,! niado as If to rise from his chair for there, before our astonished eye Jacquita. tho bride of an hour, hertr.u ellng dress all stained and disonl. tnnd powdered with the snow that ww' beginning to fall, her face like th ta.of one who had looked on some shaMiv thing and frozen with tho horror i.f it "In heaven's name, what has happened. Jacqulta?" vrled Cedrlc. She held out her hands; they .re

icu im oioou. uer wnite Hps mowd We heard her say; "Down there, at the base of the hill near tho station, in the shadow of t trees, she was waiting for us th tirl who sang the Christmas carol v tho door. I saw her by the light of carriage lamps. Something hrijsht u -u shining in her hand. Sho wrench, j open tho carriage door she glar.-.i ,n on us. She hurled a terrible accusal n at him at Dacre my husband. Th'-n she fired, and he fell back dead. ...ik at my hands! This blood Is his! Tn. y are bringing him after me my husband dead!" With the last word Jacquita r and fell face forward on the floor. Then love for a moment conquered thInflrmity of the flesh, for. regnrdt. of the crutch which had been his constant support for months and year. Cedrlc leaped from his chair and with a terrible cry rushed to the widowed bride and knelt beside her.

Two years later, Ina terrific, Mnur storm, an English bark was wmked on a neighboring beach. Several bodies drifted ashore, and among them was a sailor ifmi. r

young, beardless. When found bv the patrol a little life still lingered In him.

ne was carried to the station among the rocks and every means which Mirf-

men Know was employed for his rt uscitation. Only once, however, did the wild eyes of the boy open, nnd then they chanced to fall upon Cedrir. ho had hurried to the scene of the disaMer and was standing with the life t,awr In the warm, brightly lighted station. What memories did the face of my brother conjure up before this stranct r lad? He tried to clutch at Ce.lii. storm coat. My brother bent down and looked nt him. "Great heaven!" he cried. "This it no boy. but the woman who killed Dacre Holme!" At this accusation the young sailor heaved himself up on the supimrtin nrm of a surfman, and in one shnd ler-

ing scream his soul passed Into the night. I stood in the bow window of the parlor, peering out Into the darkmw. when Cedric returned from the tat ion. The lantern in his hand shone brightly. His erect figure advanced siuMlly through the tempest of wind and snow. He had grown hardy and strong In the last year. His crutch was now a thin of the past; of the Injury only n shsht limp remained. As his familiar halting step rea.ho.l the door Jacqulta sprang up front th hearth, where she had been feeding the flre with dry pine cones, and flew to meet Cedrlc. For three months she had been his happy wife. "Oh," she cried in alarm, "how grave and strange you look, Cedrlc! Some

thing has happened." He dashed down the lantern and pressed her to his heart with passionate tenderness. "Tell me," he said, huskily, "do you love mc, Jncqulta? Does the past seem to you like a nightmare dream?" "Yes," she faltered; "oh, yi. yes"' "Then you shall know the truth. That girl is lying dead at the station. She came ashore from a wreck, disguised as a sailor. Don't, tremble, darling you must forget that jwrtlon of your life altogether. You are rrme now mine! And I mean to love and cherish you till tho end of my days." People's Home Journal.

The Sweetest Bells. The bolls ring clear at Christmas tide

i-rom steeple and from tower; All hearts with lövo are beating high Love is their Christmas bower. There Is no tlmo in all tho yenr When hearts aro more atuncs Tho Christmas bells to winter nro What roses are to June. But steeplo bells nnd tower bolls Ring not for B.nlnt or sinner, A sweeter note than bells of homo That calls to Christmas dinner.

No Cause for Joy. Photographer (taking family group Now, then, Mr. Houseful!, the expressions nre all right hut your. Try and look happy remember thnt Christwas Is coming. Älr. Houseful (despondently) Confound It, man, that's Just what I W thinking about! Finicky. Guest You're early In the water today. Bather Yes; I hato to bathe after so many others. Philadelphia Lcdctr.