South Bend News-Times, Volume 37, Number 214, South Bend, St. Joseph County, 1 August 1920 — Page 19

TrlE SOUTH BEND NEWS-TIMES

Law and Order-By o. Henry

I FOUND mysrlf in Te xas recently, revisiting old places and i-vta". At ;i shee p ranch where I Lid sojourned many years a so, I :npppl for ;i wpck. Anil, as all viMtors dt, I heartily rdunsed Into thy luyinc-j-H at hand, wnich h.ipI ened to b that of dipping the threp. Now, this process js so differont from ordinary human baptism that it deserves a word of itself. A vast lror cauldron with half the firrs of Avernuü beneath it is partly filled with w.-ttor that snon bolls furiously. Into that is caat concentrated lye. lni. and sulphur, which is allowed to stcv. and fumo until the witches' broth is strong nouh to scorch the third arm of I alladino herself. Then this concentrated brew is mixd In a Ion,, deep vat with cubic pallons of hot water, and the sheep are caught by their hind legs and fhinjr Into the compound. After boln thoroughly ducked by means of a forked polo in th hands of a jrentlernan detailed for that purpose, hey arn allowed to clamber up an incline into a corral and dry or die. os tho Jta'e of th?ir constitutions may decree. If you ever caught an able-bodied, two-year-old mutton by the hind lepa and felt tho 7 50 volts of klckinq that he can send throuKh your arm 17 times before you can hurl hini into tho vat, you will, of course, hop that ho may die InEtcad of dry. nut this is merely to explain why I"tud Oakley and I pladly stretched ourselves on th bank of tho nearby charco after the dipping, plad for the wplrorno Inanition and puro contact with the, earth after our muscle racking labors. The lloek was a email one. and we finished at three in tho afternoon; so liud brought from tho morral on his saddle horn. roffp and a. coffee-pot and a big fcunlc of bread and some eido bacon. Mr. Mills, the ranch owner and my old friend, rode away to the ranch with hia force of Mexican trabajaoores. While th bacon was frizzling nicely, there was tho pound of horses' hoofs behind us. IJud's six-shooter lay !n its scabbard ten feet away from his hand. Ho raid not the Fliehtest heed to the approaching horsemen. This attitude of a Texas ranchman wes ko different from the cld-timo custom that I marvelled. Instinctively I turned to inspect the possible foe that menaced u. In the rear. I saw a horseman dressed In black, who mlfcht have be?n a law. yer or a parson or nn undertaker, trotting peaceably along the road b tho arroyo. Hud noti.ed my precautionary movement and smiled sarcastically find sorrowfully. "Vou'vo been away too long," said h. "You don't need to look around any more when anybody gallops up behind you in this state, unless something hits you in the back: and even then It's liable t" be only a bunch of tracts or a petition to sign against the trusts. I never looked at that hombro that rode by; but I'll bet a n-?art of sheep dip that he's some iöubl-eyed son of a popgun out rounding up prohibition vote." "Times have changed. Hud," mid I, oracularly. "Law and order is the rule now in the south and the south

west." I caught a cold gleam from Dud s palo blue eyes. "Not that I" I began, hastily. "Of course you don't." said Bud warmly. "You know better. You've lived here before. Law and order, you say? Twenty years ago we had 'em here. We only had two or three laws, such as against murder before witnesses, and boing caught stealing hors'-s, and voting the republican ticket. Hut how Is it now? All we gt is orders; and the laws go out of the state. Them legislators st up there at Austin and 'don't do nothing but make laws against kerosene oil and tchoolbooks being brought into th state. I reckon they was afraid som man would go home some evening after work and light up and get an education and go to work and make laws to repeal aforesaid laws. Me, I'm for the old days whn law and order meant what they said. A law was a law, and a order was a order." "Hut " I began. "I was going on." continued Hud. "while this coffee is boiling, to describe to you a case of genuine law and order that I knew of once in the times when cases was decided in the chambers of a six-shooter instead of a supreme court. "You've heard of old I?en Kirkman, the cattle king? His ranch run from the Xueces to the Hlu (Irande. Those days, as you know, there was cattle barons and cattle kings. The difference was this: When a cattleman went to San Antone and bought beer for the newspaper reporters and only Kivo them the number of cattle he actually owned, they wrote him up for a baron. When he bought 'em champagne wine and added in the amount of cattle he had stole, they called him ;i kinp. "Luke Summers was one of his range bosses. And down to the king's ranch comes one day a bunch of these Oriental people- from New York or Kansas City or thereabouts. Luko was detailed with a squad to rido about with 'em, and see that the rattlesnakes got fair warning when they was coming, and drive the deer out of their way. Among the bunch was a black-eyed girl that wore a number two shoe. That's all I noticed about her. Hut Luke must have seen more, for he married her cne day before the caballard started back, and went over on Canada Verde and set tip a ranch of his own. I'm skipping over the sentimental stuff on purpose, because I never saw or wanted to see any of it. And Luko takes me along with him because we was old friends and I handled cattle to suit him. "I'm skipping over much what followed, because I never saw or wanted to see any of it but three years afterward there was a boy kid stumbl'ng and blubbering around the galleries and floors of Luke's ranch. I never had no use for kids; but it seems they did. And I'm skipping over much what followed until one day out to th ranch drives in hacks and buckboards a lot of Mrs. Summers's friends from the east a sister or so and two or three men. One looked like an uncle to somebody: and one looked like nothing; and the othr one had cn corkscrew

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pants and spoke In a tone of voice. I never liked a man who spoke in a tone of voice. "I'm skipping over much what followed; but one afternoon wh n 1 rides up to the ranch hous to get some orders about a drove of beeves that was to be shipped. I hears something like a popgun go off. I waits at the hitching rack, not wishing to intrude on private affairs. In a little while Luke comes out and gives some orders to some of his Mexic; hands, and they go and hitch u, sundry and divers vehicles; am', mig.i.y soon out conie'j one of the sisters or so and sonic of the two or three men. Hut two of the two or three men carries between 'em the corkscrew man who spoke in a tone of voice, and lays him Mat down in one of the wagons. And they all micht have been seen wending their way away. " 'Hud. says Luke to me, 'I want you to tlx up a Ititjo and go up to San Antone with me. " Let me get on my Mexican

spurs. says I, 'and I'm you company.' "One of the sisters or so seems to have stayed at the ranch with Mrs. Summers and the kid. We rides to l'ru inal and catches the International, and hits San Antone in the morning. After breakfast Luke steers me straight to the oirice of a lawyer. They go in a room and talk and then come out. "h. there won't be any trouble. Mr. Summers' says the lawyer. Til acquaint Judge Simmons with the facts today; and the matter will be put through as promptly as possible. Law and order re'gns in this state as swift and sure as any in the country.' " Til wait for the decree if It won't take over half an hour.' says Luke. " 'Tut. tut.' says the lawyer man. 'Law must take its course. Come back day after tomorrow nt half-past nine.' "At that time me and Luke shows up. and tho lawyer hands him a

folded document. And Luke writes him out a check. "On the sidewalk Luke holds up the paper to me and puts a finger the size of a kitchen door latch on it and says: "'Decree of ab-so-lute divorce with cus-to-dy of the child.' " 'Skipping over much what has happened of which I know nothing,' says I, 'it looks to me like a split. Couldn't the lawyer man have made it a strike for you? " 'Dud.' says he, in a pained style, 'that child is the one thing I have to live for. She may go; but the boy is mine! think of it have cus-to-dv of the child " 'All right.' says I. 'If it's the law, let's abide by it. But I think says I. 'that Judge Simmons might havo used exemplary clemency, or whatever Is the legal term, in our case "You see. I wasn't Inveigled much Into the desirableness cf having infants around a ranch, except tho kind that feed themselves and sell for so much on the hoof when they

trow up. Hut Luke was struck with that sort of parental foolishness that I never could understand. All the way riding from the station back to tho ranch, he kept pulling that decree out of his pocket and laying his finger on the back of it and reading off to me the sum and substance of it. 'Cus-to-dy of the child. Bud.' says he. 'Don't forget it cus-to-dy of the child.' "But when we hits the ranch we finds our decree of court obviated, nolle prossed. and remanded for trial. Mrs. Summers and the kid was gone. They tell us that an hour after mo and Luke had started for San Antone she had a team hitched and lit cut for the nearest station with her trunk and tho youngster. "Luke takes out his decree once more and read off its emoluments. '"It ain't possible. Bud.' says he. for tills to be. It's contrary to law and order. It's wrote as plain as day her "Cjs-to-dy of the child."' " 'There Is what you might call a human leaning says I, "toward smashing 'em both not to mention the child " 'Judge Simmons goes on Luke. 'Is a incorporated otHcer of the law. Sho can't take the boy away. He belongs to me by statutes passed and approved by the state of Texas ""And he's removed from the Jurisdiction of mundane mandamuses' says I, 'by the unearthly statutes of femalo partiality. Let us praise the Lord and be thankful for whatever small mercies I begins; but I see Luke don't listen to me. Tired as ho was, he calls for a fresh horse and starts back again for tho station. "He come back two weeks afterward, no, saying much. " 'We can't get the trail says he; 'but we've done all tho telegraphing that the wires'll stand, and we've Kot these city rangers they call -detectives on the lookout. In the meantime , Rud.' says he, 'we'll round up them cows on Brush Creek, and wait for the law to take its course.' " And after that we never alluded to allusions, as you might say. "Skipping over much what happened In the next 12 years, Luke was made sheriff of Mojada county. He made me his office deputy. Now, don't get in your mind no wrong apparitions of a ofHce deputy doing sums in a bok or smashing letters in a cider press. In them days his job was to watch the back windows so nobody didn't plug the sheriff in tho rear while he was adding up mileage f.t his desk in front. And in them days I had qualifications for tho Job. And there was law and order in Mojada county, and schoolbooks, and all tho whisky you wanted, and the government built its own battleships instead of collecting nickels from the school children to do it with. And as I say, there was law and order instead of enactments and restrictions such as disfigure our umpire state today. We had our office at Bildad. the county seat, from which we emerged forth on necessary occasions to soothe whatever fracases and unrest that might occur in our Jurisdiction. "Skipping over much what happened while me and Luke was sheriff, I want to give you an idea of how the law was respected in them days. Ltike was what you would call one of the most conscious men in the world. He never knew much book law, but he had the inner emoluments of Justice and mercy inculcated into his system. If a respectable citizen shot a Mexican or held up a train and cleaned out tho

safe In the express car nn1 Luke ever got hold of him, he'd pive the guilty party such a reprimand and a cu?sin' out that he'd probable never do it again. But once l-t somebody steal a hors (unless it was a Spanish pony), or cut a wire fence, or otherwise impair the peace and indignity of Mojada county. Luke and me would be on 'em with habeas corpuses and smokeless powder and all the modern inventions of equity and eti juctte. "We certainly had our county on a basis of lawfulness. I've known persons of eastern classification with

little spotted caps and buttoned-up shoe to get off the train at Bildad and cat sandwiches at the railroad station without being shot at or even roped nnd drug about by tho citizens of the town. "Luke had his own ideas of legality and Justice. He was kind ot training me to succeed him when h? went out of office. Ho was always looking ahead to the time when he'd quit sherithng. "What he wanted to do was to build a yellow house w 1th lattice-work under the porch "and have hens scratching in the yard. Th one main thing in his mind seemed to be the yard.' " 'Bud.' he says to me, 'by instinct and sentiment I'm a contractor. I want to be a contractor. That's what I'll be when I get out of office.' " 'What kind of a contractor? says I. 'It sounds like a kind of a business to me. You ain't going to haul cement or estabüsh.branchcs or w ork on a railroad, are you?' 'You don't understand says Luke. 'I'm tired of space and horizons and territory and distances nnd things like that. What I want Is a reasonable contraction. I want a yard with a fence around it that you can go out and set on after supper and listen to whip-poor-wills,' pays Luke . "That's the kind cf a man he was. He was home-like, although he'd had bad luck in such Investments. But he never talked about them times on tho ranch. It seemed like he'd forpotten about lt. I wondered how, with his ideas of yards and chickens and notions of lattice-work, he'd seemed to have got out of hlü mind that kid of his that had been taken away from him. unlawful, in spito of his decree of court. But he wasn't a man you could a5k about such things ns he didn't refer to in his own conversation. "I reckon he'd put all his emotions and Ideas Into being sheriff. I've read in books about men that was disappointed in these poetic and fine-haire and high-collared affairs with ladles renotincing truck of that kind and wrapping themselves up into some occupation like painting pictures, or herding sheep, or science, or teaching school something to mako 'em forget. Well. I guess that was the way with Luke. But. as he couldn't paint pictures, he took It out in rounding up horse thieves nnd in making Mojada county a safe place to sleep in if you was v.cll armed and not afraid of requisitions or tarantulas. "One day there passes through Bildad a bunch of these money investors from the east, and they stopped off there. Bildad bing the dinner station on the I. fc CJ. X. They was Just coming back from Mexico looking after mines and such. There was five of 'em four solid parties, with cold watch chains, that would grade up over two hundred pounds on the hoof, and one kid ihout seventeen or eighteen. "This youngster had on one of

them cowboy s!t! foots brir-.g st w: cou'.d s he was .i couple f Indiir.s or two with the II:

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l;c.-p rin ye cn rh. out.'.t and see that th-y didn't locate any Ian. I or oire the cow po-.l's hitched in f:ont of Murchlson's store cr act otherwise unseemly. Luko was away after a ring cf cattle thieves d'n on th- lYio, ar.d I always lcoke I after the law und cri"r when hi wasn't there.

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down the platform ready to ?hODt all antelope, '..ens, or private citizens that might endeavor ta most or come too near him. He was a goodlooking kid: only he was like all them tenderfoots he didn't know a law-and-erder town when he saw it. "By and by along carries l'elro Johns nn, the proprietor of the Cry stal Palace chlll-con-carne stand In Bildad. 1'edro was a man who liked to amue himself; so he kind of herd rides this yourcster, laughing at h:m. tickled to death. I was too far away to hear, but tho kid seems to mention some remarks to Pedro, and Pedro goes up ar.d slaps him about nine feet away, and laughs harder than ever. And then the boy gets up quicker than he fell and Jerks cut his little pearl-handle and Mng! bine! hing! Pedro gets it three times in special and treasured portions cf his carcass. I taw the dust fy off his clothes every time the bulle's hit. Sometimes them little thirty-twos caufft worry at closo rarpe. "Tho engine bell was ringing, and the train starting off slow. I goei up to th kid and places him under arrest, and takes away his gun. But tho first thing I knew that caballard of capitalists makes a break for the train. Or.o of 'em hfaitates In front of m for a second, and kind of smile and shoves his hand up agair.M my chin, and I fort cf laid down on the platform and took a nap. I never was aXrald of fjune; but I don't want any r?r5on fx cept a barber to take liberties lik' that with my face again. When I woko up. tho whole. out2t train, boy. and nil was roup. I asked about Pedro, and they told me th doctor raid he would recorer provided his wounds didn't tum out to be fatal. "When Luke got hack thTt dar later, and T told him about it, ä was mad all over. " 'Why'n't you telegraph Ran Antone.' he asks, 'and havo the bunch arrested there?" 'Oh. well says I. 1 always 13 admire telcpraphy; but astronomy w.is what I had took up Just then That capitalist sure knew how to gesticulate with his hands. "Luke got madder and madder. II investigates and finds in the depot a card one. of the men had dropped that gives the address nf some hombre called Scudder in New York city. " 'Bud rays Luke. Tm rolr.ff after that bunch. I'm going there, and ct the mar or bey, as you Fay ho was. and bring him back. I'm sheriff of Molada county, and I shall keep law nnd order In Its precincts v hile I'm able to draw a gun. And I want you to go with me. No eastern Yankee ran shoot up a respectable and well-known citizen of Bildad, 'specially with a thirty-two calibre, and escape the. law. Tedro ( CONTIN1TD ON FA OH PEVF.NV

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It will give your sons and daughters a training that will greatly increase their chances of becoming sensible men and women. And to make sensible men and women out of boys and girls is the problem that gives parents their greatest concern.

It is, however, plainly evident that when young people learn to do practical things have come to realize the value of discipline, work, money, service, etc. and have been placed among the most successful men and women, whose success have been founded upon these very characteristics, there is no longer a question about doing the right thing either by themselves or by their parents, nor will there be any question about future positions, income, or associates. Those who take a "common sense" attitude toward life always come out all right. It is this "common sense," practical education that tne South Bend Business College gives its pupils. They're learning to earn, to be useful, to step at once into a responsible position. They are taught right, and soon become efficient. The position as soon as graduated is a certainty. This practical view of a practical education by practical parents will produce practical sons and daughters.

Although business executives of this city are willing to pay unusually high salaries, and are offering rapid advancement to efficient, trained office workers, it is universally known that it is impossible to secure enough help in oiTices. This school's enrollment the past year was 33 1-3 So above any previous year, yet calls come in in such numbers that it is overwhelmed and unable to supply more than a fraction of the openings reported. The stupendous industrial expansion of South Bend means a still greater demand the coming year. Young people of this city and community are overlooking a wonderful opportunity by failing to get the training which will admit them to these greatly desirable positions. Be assured that out-of-town young people are not blind to these splendid advantages, and hundreds are flocking in to fill positions for which you would be fitted, if you had a business training. You have right here at your very door a business training school recognized locally and nationally as the best to be found anywhere. Its courses are standard, and approved by the Federal Commissioner of Education. Its quarters and equipment are adequate, and all that could be desired. A faculty of specialists insure good instruction. In fact, we are becoming especially noted for producing surprisingly fine results in a remarkably short time. This is done by extensive methods of individual instruction.

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Those considering an education its cost, the time required for graduation, and later what definite job that education will enable you to do, will do well to consider this unquestioned fact: "A business education, for the time and money spent in ite acquisition, and the net results in earning power and opportunities of advancement, is the best education in the world for any young man or woman." It is the short, certain means of immediate employment. It offers unlimited chances of unusual success to the average person. It means independence, a good livelihood. It lacks every element of uncertainty of employment. It is the one sure road to ultimate preferment. It is the first and most "common sense" solution of the parents' question of "What shall I do for that boy or girl that he or she may be able to earn a living in the world without drudgery?".

Cut Out and Mail Today

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Bern.

ficömblem fllaenl School

"College Building," Corner Michigan and Monroe Streets. DAY AND NIGHT SCHOOL. TELEPHONE MAIN 551. CALL OR MAIL COUPON Ofnco Open Every Week Day 8:00 A. M. to 5:00 P. M., Eveningo 7:30 to 8:30 Fall Term Begins Monday, August 30th

Attend an Accredited School, the best Business T raining Schools have been Accredited by affiliation with the National Association of Accredited Commercial 5choola of which the COUIBCI of ßtudy. methods, policies, etc., have been approved by the Commissioner of Education, Washington, D. C The S. B. B. C. is the only such ACCREDITED SCHOOL in this district. The emblem which only Accredited schools are permitted to display is shown herewith.

The South Bend Business College South Bend, Ind. Gentlemen: Please send me without obligation your Catalog and Accredited School Booklet, I am interested in Day t-r. t . v.-. . t School. Evening Name . . .-. . ... . Street or R. F. D Post Office v

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