fit !f
: J OtlJ 0 ill J
ta.oo a Year, la Advance.
" M)R OOP, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH."
Single Copy, 5 CtnU.
VOL. XV.
I'LYMOUTH, N, C, FUIDAYv4ANrTAK 27, 1905.
NO45.
-
NEVER MIND
I.
&f yer mind the.old tirnes---
I key were bright and sweet ;
Ninny skies above you
Violets at your feet;
, m1? ,lfiw -'mes wear a smilm" face
'I hat's mighty good to meet.
An you'd bettor find the light that makes
the inurnia'i
A RACE FOR LIFE
; - WW
By RUTH RANSOM. .
KCTOlt and Seiirn are tired
ide, Bertha," said Annette
Maynard to her young
m3mx$m friend, Bertha Hilton, as
they stood together on' the porch of a
plain brick house in Brownsville, Tex.
Bertha was the motherless daugh
ter, and Annette the orphaned' sister,
f two as brave border officers as ever
drew a sword Both girls had grown
up on the frontier, and were familiar
w ith the crack of a rifle and the fierce
j-vil of the Indian.
I'ertha looked off toward the chapar
ral, but made no reply, and Annette
continued:
It is a fine morning. Suppose we
lake a gallop to the battlefield of Re
saca? We can be back in half an
!mur.'
"Yes, but fatlur said it was not safe
r us to venture out alone. You kuortv
die road is dangerous even for armed
men," rejoined more prudent Bertha.
"But .(hey " will not molest us. Se
iint ca-n. ou travel anything on the bor
if r"-,
' "That may be. Still. I have no de
sire to put your option to the proof.
Mexicans, you know, are not noted
Tor their honesty, ov their civility to
I.h dies," laughed Bertha.
"Oh, bother the Mexicans!' impa
tiently exelaimed Annette. "I have
lived all my life on the plains, and wit
'sepsed many a Land-to-hand encounter
with savages, and it's come to a piti
rul pass, indeed, if we are to permit
Use fear of meeting a few Mexicans to
interfere with our pleasure. Colonel
Hilton and brother Ned are at Iiing
'pold Barracks, and won't he back for
a week. They turely can't expect us
t he housed up all that time. Why. I
hould die of want of exercise,' em
phatically declared Annette.
Both girls were excellent riders and
fearless as they were quick wittcd
i;d handsome Full of health and
spirits, and at: home in camp and
lipid, . they rode with the regiment
lu whatever post of duty it might
be assigned, with never a murmur
st the numerous, perils and hardships
which : continually besot the nomadic
" life of a soldier. ..-
"j;1V' said Annette, to a diminutive
roiijh, who was lolling under the china
ti-firjs at ihe gate, "saddU Selim -.and
Hector, and bring them around right
away."
'Deed, Miss Annette. Selim ain't
out ot de stable for mo"au' two
day?, an' he'll be too frisky' i'o' you to
hoi, saab!" cautioned 'Jim.
-Never mind his frisking.
(iinuJ, and Sel'm. if he has
i in I. vicious.".
Silenced on. the one point,
I'm not
spirit, is
Jim ven-
lured to utter a word iu warning in re
tard to the danger of. riding alone
iiny great distance from the town.
"Picase, Miss Annette, you will not
on the -Brazos road, 'cause it's
mighty skeery dar 'deed it is. Dat
iir' boss of Major Maynard is watched,
pud dem Jlei- '
-. -(Yd, nonsense" mterrunted has ims-
?' tress. '"We are going to ride just
"where we please, and no doubt the uat-
Jural Evwithn us will lead us exact
ly ia the jflirectkm. where we ought net
jit go,, and all through your unwise
warning. Ypii get ' the horses "ready,
and we -will take care of oUrseives.,' - '
:.Hm'tobeyed-.nd soon-brought around
the-horses.... Selim wajtbrtjpet courier
tit A nnette8 brgthera high stepping.,
beautiful , Morgan brown, ami .widely
v known as' the best bit of blood on the
frontier.
The young Indies, iu tasteful ridmg
habits, came down the steps, laughing
merrily as "the birds -were singing iu
the trees overhead. ,
Hector, a stout iron gray cavalry
r.v;, was a very ordinary animal lv.sMe
' ru. z'o coated. inW-'sut
THE OLD TIMES.
II.
Never mind the old times;
They were great, I know;
Old friends that loved us
Friends that we loved so!
But the new times sing the eong of hope,
Where sweeter roses grow,
An' you'd better find the ligkt that makes
the mornin'!
' Atlanta Constitution.'
charger; but Hector was the hero of
many border fights, and bore his scars
royally.
Bertha loved him for the danger he
had passed, and used to say that she
always felt perfectly safe with sedate,
steady going old Hector.
The girls, notwithstanding Jim's
muttered remonstrances and rueful
face, gaily mounted and leisurely can
tered off in the direction of the Brazos
road. ,
"Dai am' no use warning wimmin
folks," philosophized Jim "no use at
all, for dey am sartin to go jus wat
you tell 'em not t. I ought to "tor
'em to go on de Brazos pike, den dey
is boun' to take cle odder way."
The road wound "through a dense
labyrinth of chaparral, or mezquite, as
it is called in native parlance, thickly
Interspersed with the thorny pined cac
tus and fan leafed palmettt.
They had bat just crossed the nar
row way, where two faint bridle paths
diverged on either baud, leading- into
what seemed an impenetrable thicket
of mezquiie,"' when Selini showed un
mistakable signs of disliking to go on.
Bertha, too, noticed that old Hector
pricked up his ears, and seemed shy
of advancing. She was about to re
mark as much, whea, with a furious
snort, Selim bounded to one side, and
there, in the middle of the path, direct
ly before them, stood n swarthy Mexi
can, armed to the teeth, and as cruel
and crafty looking as any Indian.
They were nearly three miles from
town, on a lonely little traveled road,
where all sorts of crimes had been com
mitted, where brave men had died by
the assassin's hand and thieves
prowled at pleasure, unrestrained by
either law or conscience, but they wise
ly gave no evidence of alarm, and
boldly confornted the bowing intruder.
"Good morning, senora," he said,
.with his snaky eyes downcast, in as
sumed humility, lifting as he spoke,
his dilapidated sombrero.
Miss Maynard acknowledged his sal
utation by a slight nod. and slowly
rode ov.. as outwardly calm and un
concerned as if. the ill-looking Mexi
can 'were no more toy be feared than
the most harmless hare that ever found
shelter in ihe tangled mezquite.
Bertha' glanced anxiously at the
dark foliage within which he had dis
appeared, and said, in a low tone:
"Let's go back, Annette. Did you
notice the peculiar expression of 'his
little beady, black eyes? He intends
us no good, I feel sure of it, and cer
tainly he envies you the possession of
Selim."
"Perhaps we had better return, al
though I hate to show the white feath
er within three miles of my brother's
regiment." reluctantly asseuted the
major's sister, bringing her horse to a
standstill.
.Hector turned willingly about, but
Selim was nervous, and did not obey
so readily. While his young rider' was
coaxing him into submission she was
startled by a quick, alarmed cry from
Bertha:
'Good heave!?, Annette, we are surr
rounded!''
It -was true. A doxen Mexicans stood
between Arineffcj and Bertha, complete--ly
cutting off Ar.natte's retreat to
BroVvns'vi'lle: a "4 v - '
Au u e tt e i u stau tly com t'ireh ended the
peril' .of her pusitioiK -nid the motive
yvIdt-U iuduced the. Jow. -browed yascs.
to, make her their vlctlai instead of
lirthu. .
"Blde4)ack to townl'' she cried. "Ride
back as fast as ever you can! It's Selim
thoy. want. I'll make a run for ' the
open "prairie; it U my only chariee for
life.
In a second the gray was dashing
for Brownsville, followed by a jeering
l.-iugh from ihe Mexicans, avIio did vox
Annette shook the rein, and, -with
a free head, Selim flew down the nar
row road.
The Mexicans, as she "well knew, bad
their tough'little ponies concealed near
by, and were soon in hot pursuit of
the flyinjf girl.
Her heart grew faint within her
when she saw the deadly lariat coiled,
ready for instant use, at each saddle
bow, knowing, as she did, the dexteri
ty of the murderous hands that used it
with such fatal effect.
"The wretches mean to steal you.
Selim," she whispered, as if the ani
mal could understand her words; "but
they shall not, for you shall die un
der my weight before I'll see you be
come a prisoner to such cruel cap
tors!" Just as she ceased speaking, Selim
gave a tremendous bound to one side.
At the same moment a sharp, whizzing
sound was heard close to her ear, and
something that felt like the lash of a
whip grazed her cheek.
A Spanish curse immediately "there
after, mingled with the clattering of
hoof beats, telling the dauntless girl
that through the timely shying of her
horse the lasso had missed its mark.
The noble creature recovered its feet
in an instant, and came to the-road as
straight as an arrow, and at a speed
that sent the chaparral -whirling by,
a mass of indistiguishable foliage.
"Do your best, Selim, !''t .she urged.
"It's death behind; the' river and safe
ty before." . ( . -
But Selim was doing ids best. Every
muscle that like a network veined his
dripping neck and. breast stood out
like whipcords, attesting the desperate
effort he was making to distance his
bloodthirsty pursuers, yet the fleet
hoofs did not falter. On they sped un
til they struck the'prairie.
Five miles-of grassy level broke sud
denly into view, and the gallant horse
bounded at headlong speed on the open
plain.
But there a new danger menaced
the bravo girl. Her pursuers separat
ed to the right and left, with the evi
dent intention of surrounding their
helpless victim . and making he: ah
easy 'prey before she could reach the
river. .
..Still cool and self-possessed, An
nette caught up her heavy riding skirt
to ease as much as possible the labor
ing lungs and foaming flank of her
now panting steed. She felt him
straiuing at every nerve.t and with
hand and voice she strove to cheer
him on. .
The heat, which was killing the finer
animal, had little effeet on the horses
of the foe. They could not match the
thoroughbred in speed, for he had kept
the advance so far as to defy the dread
lariat, but the hardy, long haired pon
ies of the Mexicans were natives of
the soil, and did not greatly mind the
sultry t atmosphere, or the suffocating
clouds of dust -which arose, gray and
blinding, before them.
Koweled on by their fierce riders,
they kept steadily in pursuit, appar
ently not much the worse, for their
long race, while poor. Selim's wide
open mouth was dropping foam at
every step, and his smoking sides quiv
ering painfully under' Annette's slight
weight.
An abrupt tarn in the road, near at
hand, would bring them in sight of the
Half Way House.- Five minutes more
and they would be safe. But alas!
where she had-hoped to find safety
stood three dark, savage looking men,
whose object in being there it was not
at all hard to guess. Yet they would
scarcely dare to murder her so near
the American forces encamped oppo
site the Half Way House.
The thought gave her new courage,
and, when the foremost of the three
villains would have seized her bridle,
she struck him a" blinding blow across
the eyes with her riding whip. 1 ;
Half maddened by his terrible run,
Selim reared viciously and struck an
other of his would-be captors to the
ground, - leaped over the p'rostrate
body, and was off again like the wind.
But his suddeuonwjjFd Jah was of
short duration; in vain Annette urged
the- noble animal to one more effort.
It was useless. Selim was-staggering
along at a staying,. untalu pace uu,
able to regain tkfs, advantage7 -heV fcjidi
Iost"in the encounter Avlth the three
Mexicans, who, ' anticipating the
chances of "Annette's escape, had beeu
stationed iu the turn of the road to in
tercept her further flight in that direc
tion. Sick and dizzy with the heat, fatigue
and fear of her frantic ride, Annette
felt herself almosst fainting iu the
saddh.
furlcus yet! Croui tlie Hsslcaut
aroused within her heart renewed hope.
She answered the savage yell with a
joyous shout, for directly ahead came
a company of United States troops.
She was a soldier's daughter, and,
when she caught a glimpse of the star
ry banner waving bright through a
cloud of dust, she could not suppress
a glad, wild cheer of triumph.
Not a Mexican was in sight. Every
one had disappeared in the tall grass,
or, hidden by the short curve, were
hastening back to cover in the chapar
ral. Checking ker korse, Annette sprang
to the ground, and was quickly sur
rounded by the amazed and wondering
troops
"Why, Miss Maynard," ejaculated the
captain in command, "what is the
matter."
"I have had a desperate ride. Cap
tain Arthur; a dozen Mexicans pur
sued me nearly all the way from town.
They have but just left me. and must
still be somewhere in the vicinity."
"Let's after them, boys!" cried ths
captain, not waiting to hear more, and
soon a score of well armed horsemen
were galloping in all directions after
the fleeing Mexicans".
' Selim stood drooping by the roadside,
his .-'glossy coat gray' with sweat and
dust,' looking little' like the magnifi
cent charger' that so" daintily pra"ueed
from under the- china 'trees' in -the coot
of the dewy-'merriingV v:. - ''
."Oh, dot-'4et pfcor" Seiiin 'die""'
.pleaded .Anttftte, gcnti.v"' pressing her
baud, overhis: foaming breast. "Pray,:
do sofuething 'to save hinr: Seo how
dull his eyes are, and he breathes so
strangely," she said to the non-ccm-'missioned
officer whom Captain Ar
thur had left as a protector.
Selim turned at the sound of her
voice and feebly neighed a response.
"Keep him going." replied the old
soldier. "I call his eye very good. Ho
is warm and blown, but -not suffering
to any amount."
In less than an hour Annette had the
satisfastion of seeing Captain Arthur
return with five of the Mexican
wretches in custody.
Sitting in 'grim resignation on 'their
jaded horses, they glanced vindictive
ly at the fair girl, and then at poor 'Se
lim as he languidly paced along. Jed
by a young trooper, who scowled dark
ly when he caught their cunningly
treacherous eyes fixed maliciously up
on him, and muttered some very
threatening words in most emphatic
English for their benefit. ,.
The company, with its new acquisi
tion of prisoners and the major's
brave sister, again resumed their
march to Brownsville. They had gone
but a little way when their number
was agreeably augmented by the ar
rival of the party whom Bertha had
sent out to rescue her friend.
Among them was Jim, who shook his
head doubtfully;' and said it would bo
a- wonder if Selim ever recovered from j
stiffness; but whether the horse did or
not, he hoped it would be a lesson to
Miss Annette not to be so self willed
in future; "for Mexicans has done got
no manners, and jus' as leaf murder
wimmin folks as men folks."
Annette thought so, too, and for once
did not venture to question Jim's
homely wisdom. Saturday Night.
A Homely Pre&ident.
The chief executive of France Is a
good, hftnest man; exactly that and
nothing more. He is not brilliant. A
plain, homely man, he is a rational
representative of the French middle
class. In Benjamin Harrison we' had
his equivalent in the United States.
There is no inherent greatness in him.
but he is wise, patient, firm and kind
ly. He has a large measure of tact,
which iu a chief of state is, perhaps,
the most desirable of all qualities. His
political record as clean, though it
shows adroitness rather than any com
pelling force of initiative. His pri
vate life' has been pure and pleasant.
He has all the virtues of the middle
class Frenchman those middle-class,
homely virtues which are the same the
world over j
When' he 'goes his way f rom the Ely
see.th'ere'wm l6 little said of him but
goQd. He! in'thfisjiade'oC .the poplars,
UsejiV1 the od.';feilrtilcidgfai;iu-kDuse
near -Marsaune, may saioke. has pipe
with full content, assured that the
work that came to his hand,he did as
well as a man of his quality could do
it. Vance Thompson, in EveiboJy's
Magaziuo.
The action of the weather has en
tirely washed away the ash-built
slopes of an ancient volcano, ia
Wyoming, leaving cm! the core shuTf-
THE LITTLECOLHTrlY PAPER.'
It's no sixteen-page edition that expresses
big; men's views,
And it's not filled up with pictures, nor
with telegrahpie news, .
It isn't printed daily, with an "eitra"
every hour,
And the editor's not brassing of his in
fluence and power.
It may have faults and errors, but all
these I will forgive.
For it's printed in the country, 'way back
where I used to live.
It is only issued weekly, t'.nd it's not made
up for style,
But when it arrives I g!aJJy. put the daily
by for awhile.
I don't read in its paije what the wi&e
aud great men uy,
But I see that "Siias .l.jargcrs brought.
some wood to town to-day:"
And that' "Grandma Parks is better,", or
that "Old Bill Jones i dead."
And it tells just wlutt the parson in his
Sunday sermon said.
I see again tha fiices tn t'ln'fviends I
used to know
In the dim and distant laFicica of the
happy Long Ago:
And I read up in one corner that the
fall winds howl and blow.
And that ' Uncle Natlum StnitSr predicts
an early fall of snow;"
Or that "our debating -'nh-.vii1 sive a
.sociable ne:;t week
At .which our ielhnv-lowti'wcai!, Abafr
BroiUertou, will speak."
There, are never learned essays on the
qurstions o the day,
"Rvt it says that "folks are looking for a.
other'rise in hay;''
I can 'fee no glaring headlines of the last
election fight.
But it sayg.that "Tom. Shaw marries Ell
. Edgerton. to-night;" . . . - ,
And .my thoughts sonleliov-' grow fonuer
Wiif'n the old folks' 'names I see,
Telling that "Reverend Tpivmk'ms was in
vited there to tea." ",
It may he crude and homely -'that same
lit. tic country sheet,
And the make-up oi" its pases may be
rather obsolete.
It is damp when I unold it, and tue print
is sometimes blurred;
Yet it's always more than welcome, and I
read irs every word.
And 'no read ins to a city man 11 greater
joy can give, . , .' . . T
Than the little country weekly, printed
"where he used .to live." t
Rochester. Democrat and CaromCie.
"Russia must have a big " sinking
fund." "Why?" "I see she's been buy
ing three or four new warships."
Chicago Record-Herald.
Though poems may her Taney strike.
:r The chao who toils and writes them
Xe'cr moves a girl's affectiocs like
The fellow who recites them.
Washington Star.
Denham-"It's a - good thing for
some people that this country never
restricted immigration.'. . Beuham-
"Why?" Denham "They'd have been
rather short of ancestors,'-- Town.
Topics. , '
Mr. Lingerlong "What makes your
little dog" howl so?" Miss Vince
Garr "Ho always howls like that
when he thinks it is time to shut up
the house for the night"--Chicago
Tribune.
How kind it is oi ali the stars
To stay awake at night
And watch us when we go to sieep,
And see that all-is -right!
This i? their work it's alt they've got
To do the st;rs so bright!
M. J. II., in Little Folks.
"My daughter has -developed a per
fect passion for, music," said the
woman next door, v "Yes?". replied Mrs.
Suappe. "I'll bet it isn't a circum
stance to the passion your daughter's
music arouses in uvy husband."
Philadelphia Ledger.
i "Tow, mj child," said the cannibal
mother to her youngest hopeful, "I
want you to be on your good behavior
and not maka a pig of yourself."
"Wnat for?" demanded the young
savage. "Because we're going' to have
that new minister for dinner." Phila
delphia Tress.
Servant "Mrs. Grace, there's a
boy up ia the pear tree, eating pears
at a great rate." Mrs.. Grace "Do
you know who the bav is?" Servant
"It's the Carter boy who.-lives next
door."- Mrs. Gracc--"Oh, well. In that
'case, let the dear little fellow eat all
wants. Those' p'ears arc' hard a
brkkjs." ; :
Fireplace liery whereby .
'As to fireplaces in general, It, is best
to have them in all available rooms,
including chambers, says a writer in
Country Life in America. They are
the .best of ventilators, and, in the late
spring and early fall, serve admirably
to lemove the chill from the housei
in this way they serve to curtail, for a
time at least, the generally excessive
heat of tae furnace aud stcamdieater.
tive vMo cz:?l!cnt I:; siefcness.
.1 u