THE POLK COUNTY NEWS, TRYON, N. 0.
fcferfio)6 & C D Ehoctes
COPYRIGHT 1914- VOW, AEAC 3 COMBAT
20
CHAPTER XVIII Continued.
He was In no better mood than my
self to encounter insult, and what had
been a simple' difference between us
flamed into a quarrel which reached
its culmination when he mentioned
Oliver's name with a taunt, which the
fcoy, for all his obstinate clinging to
his journalistic idea, did not deserve.
Knowing my own temper, I drew
back into the Hollow.
. He followed me. .
I tried to speak.
He took the word out of my mouth.
This may have been with the intent
of quelling" my anger, but the tone
was rasping, and, noting this and not
"his words, my hand tightened insen
sibly about the stick which the devil
(or John Scoville) had put in my hand
Did he see this, or was he prompted
by some old memory of boyish quar
Tela that he should give utterance to
that quick, sharp laugh of scorn! I
shall never know, but ere the sound
had ceased the stick was whirling over
my head there came a crash and he
fell. My friend! . My friend!
Next moment the earth seemed too
narrow, the heavens too contracted
for my misery. That he was dead
that my blow had killed him, I never
doubted for an instant. I knew it, asJ
we know the face of Doom when once
It has risen upon us. Never, never
again would-, this lump of clay, which
a few minutes before had filled the
Hollow with shrillest whistling,
breathe or 4 think or speak. He was
dead, dead, dead! And I? What was I?
The name which no man hears un
moved, no amount of repetition makes
easy to the tongue or welcome to the
ear! . the name which I had
Sieard launched in full forensic elo
quence 'so many times in accusation
.-against the wretches I had hardly re
garded as being in the same human
class as myself rang in my ears as
though intoned from the very mouth
of hell. I could not escape it. I should
never be able to escape it again.
Though I was standing in a familiar
rscene a scene I had known and fre
quented from childhood, I felt myself
;as Isolated from my past and as com
rpletely set apart from my fellows as
the shipwrecked mariner tossed to
precarious foothold on his wave
dashed rock. I forgot that other
criminals existed.
In that one awful moment I was in
my own eyes the only blot upon the
xmiverse the sole inhabitant of the
new world into which I had plunged
the world of crime the world upon
wh?ch I had sat in judgment before I
knew
What broke the spell? God knows;
all 1 can say is that, drawn by spme
other will than my own, I found my
glance traveling up the opposing bluff
till at its top, "framed between the
Tagged wall and towering chimney of
Spencer's Folly, I saw the presence
I had dreaded. th6 witness who was
to undo me.
It was a woman a woman with a
little child in hand. I did not see her
face, for she was just on the point of
turning away from the dizzy verge, but
nothing could have been plainer than
the silhouette which these two made
against the flush of that early evening
sky.
As long as I could catch a glimpse
of-this woman's fluttering skirt, as she
retreated through the ruins, I stood
there self-convicted, above the man I
bad slain, staring up at that blotch of
hlhing sky which was as the gate of
bell to me. Not till their two figures
bad disappeared and it was quite clear
again did the instinct of self-preservation
return, and with It the thought
of flight.
But where could I fly? No spot In
the whole world was secret enough to
conceal me now. I was a marked man.
Better to stand "my ground, and take
the consequences than to act the cow
ard's part and slink away like those
other men of blood I had so often sat
in judgment upon.
Had I but followed this Impulse!
Had I but gone among my fellows,
shown them , the mark of Cain upon
my forehead and prayed, not for in
dulgence, but punishment, what days
of gnawing misery I should have been
spared! ,
The horror of what lay at my feet
drove me from the Hollow. As my
steps fell mechanically into theHrail
down which I had. come in innocence
and kindly purpose-only a few minutes
before, a startling thought shot
through my benumbed mind. The
woman had shown no haste in. her
turning! There had been a natural
ness in her movement, a dignity and a
grace which spoke of ease, not shock.
What if she had not seen! What if
my deed was as yet unknown! Might
I not have time for for what? I did
not stop to think; I just pressed on,
saying to myself,-"Let Providence de
cide. If I meet any one before I reach
my own door my doom is settled. If
I do not"
And I did not. As I turned into the
lane from the ravine, I heard a sound
far down the slope, biit it was too dis
tant to create apprehension, and I
went calmly j on, forcing myself into
my usual leisurely gait, if only to
gain some control over my own emo
tions before coming under Oscar's eye.
That sound I have never understood
It could not have been Scoville, since
in the short time which had passed he
could not have fled from the point
Where I heard him last into the ravine
below Ostrander lane. But, if not he,
who was it? Or if It was he,, and
some other hand threw his stick
across my path, whose was this hand
and why have we never heard any-,
thing about it? It is a question which
sometimes floats through my mind,
but I did not give it a thought then.
I was within sight of home and Oli
ver's possible presence; and all other
dread was as nothing in comparison
to what I felt at the prospect of meet
ing my boy's eye. My boy's eye! my
greatest dread then, and my greatest
dread still! In ray terror of it I walked
as to my doom.
The house, which I had left empty,
I found empty; Oliver had not yet re
turned. The absolute stillness of the
rooms seemed appalling. Instinctive
ly I looked at the clock. It had
stopped. : Not at the minute I do not
say it was at the minute but near,
very near the time when from un
innocent man I became a guilty one.
Appalled at the discovery, I fled to
the front. Opening the door, I looked
out. Not a creature in sight, and not
a sound to be heard. The road was
as lonely and seemingly as forsaken
as the hou3e. Had time stopped here,
too? Were the world and its inter
ests at a pause in horror of my deed?
For a moment I believed it; then more
natural sensations intevened, and. re
joicing at this lack of disturbance
where disturbance meant discovery.
I stepped inside again, rewound the
clock, and sat down in my own room.
My own room! Was it mine any
longer? Its walls looked strange; the
petty objects of my daily handling,
unfamiliar. The change in myself in
fected everything I saw. I might have
been in another man's house for all
connection these things seemed to
have with me or my life. Like one
set apart on an unapproachable shore.
I stretched hands in vain toward all
that I had known and all that had
been of value to me.
TBut as the minutes passed 1 began
to lose this feeling. Hope, which I
thought quite dead, slowly revived
Nothing had happened, and perhaps
nothing would.
Men had been killed before, and the
slayer passed unrecognized. Why
might it not be so in my case? If the
woman continued to remain silent; if
for any reason she had not witnessed
the blow or the striker, who else was
there to connect me with an assault
committed a quarter of a mile away?
No one knew of the quarrel; and if
they did, who could be so daring as
to associate one of my name with an
action so brutal? A judge slay his
friend! It would take evidence, of a
very marked character to make even
my political enemies believe that.
As the twilight deepened I rose from
my seat and lit the gas. I must not
be found skulking in the dark. Then
I began to count the ticks measuring
off the hour. If thirty minutes more
passed without a rush from without I
might hope. If twenty? if ten? then
it was five! then it was
Ah! The gate had clanged to. They
were coming. I could hear steps
voices a loud ring at the bell. I
moved slowly toward the front. I
feared the betrayal which my ashy
face and trembling hands might make.
Agitation after the news was to be
expected, but not before! So I left
the hall dark when I opened the door.
And thus decided my future.
For In the faces of the small crowd
which blocked the doorway I detected
nothing but commiseration; and when
a voice spoke and I heard Oliver's ac
cents surcharged with nothing more
grievous than pity, I realized that my
secret was as yet unshared, and, see
ing that no man suspected me, I fore
bore to declare my guilt to anyone.
This sudden restoration from sound
less depths into the pure air of respect
and sympathy confused me; and be
yond the words "Killed! Struck down
by the bridge!" 1 heard little, till
slowly, dully, like the call of a bell
issuing from-a smothering mist. I
caught the sound of a name. It struck
my ear and gradually it dawned upon
my consciousness that another man
had been arrested for my crime and
that the safety, the reverence and the
commiseration that were so dear to
me had been bought at a price no trten
of honor might pay.
But I was no longer a man of honor.
I was a wretched criminal swaying
above a gulf of infamy in which I had
seen others swallowed but had never
dreamed of being engulfed myself,
never thought of letting myself go
not at this crisis not while my heart
was warm with its resurgence into the
old life.
Ahd so I let, pass this opportunity
for confession. Afterwards it was too
late or seemed too late to my demor
alized judgment
My first real awakening to the ex
traordinary horrors of my position
was when I realized that circum
stances were likely to force me into
presiding over the trial of the man j
Scoville. I feigned sickness, only tc j
realize that my place would be taken i
by Judge Grosvenor, a notoriously
prejud iced man.' If he sat, it .would go
hard with the prisoner, and I wanted
the prisoner acquitted. I had no
grudge against John Scoville Of
course I wanted to save him, and if
the only help I could now give him
was to sit as judge upon his case, then
would I sit as judge whatever mental
torture it involved. ;
Sending for Mr. Black, 1 asked him
point blank whether in face of the
circumstance that the victim of this
murder was my best friend, he would
not prefer to plead his case before
Judge Grosvenor. He answered no,
that he had more confidence in my
equity even under these circumstances
than in that of my able, but 'head
strong colleague, a.nd prayed me to get
well. He did not say that .he expected
me on this very account to show even
more favor toward his client than I
might otherwise have done, but I am
sure that he meant it; and, taking his
attitude as an omen, I obeyed his
injunction and was soon well enough
to take my seat upon the. bench.
What men saw facing them from
the bench was an automaton wound up
to do so much work each day. The
real Ostrander was not there, but
stood, an unseen presence at the bar,
undergoing trial side by side with
John Scoville, for a crime to make
angels weep and humanity hide its
head; hypocrisy!
But the days went by and the inex
orable hour drew nigh for the accused
man's release or condemnation. Cir
cumstances were against him so was
his bearing, which I alone understood.
If, as all felt, it was that of a guilty
man, it was so because he had been
guilty in intent if not in fact. He had
meant to attack Algernon Etheridge.
He had run down the ravine for that
purpose, knowing my old friend's
whistle and envying him his watch.
Or why his foolish story of having
left his stick behind him? But the
sound of my approaching ste'ps higher
up on the path had stopped him in
midcareer and sent him rushing up
the slope ahead of me. When he came
back after a short circuit of the fields
beyond, it was to fincThis crime fore
ctalled and by the very weapon he
had thrown Jnto the Hollow as he
went scurrying by. He had meant to
attack Etheridge. It was the shock
of the discovery ' of the body, height
ened by the use he made of it to se
cure the booty thus thrown in bis
way without crime, which gave him
previous io ILi moment I found my
self upon the brink of this new gulf
before the dizziness of my escape from
the other had fully passed. Do you
wonder that I recoiled, sought to gain
time, put off delivering the sentence
from day to day? I had sinned sinned
Irredeemably but there are depths of
Infamy beyond which a man cannot
go. I had reached that point.
What saved me? A new discovery,
and the loving sympathy of my son
Oliver. One night a momentous one
to me he came to my room and. clos
ing the door behind him, stood with
his back to it, contemplating me In a
way that startled me.
What had happened? What lay be
hind this new and penetrating look,
this anxious and yet persistent man
ner? I dared not think. I dared not
yield to the terror which must follow
thought. Terror blanches the cheek
and my cheek must never blanch un
der anybody's scrutiny. Never, never,
so leng as I lived.
"Father" the tone quieted me. for I
knew from its gentleness that he was
hesitating to speak more on his own
account than on mine "you are npt
looking well; this thing worries you.
I hate to see you like this. Is it Just
the loss of your old friend, or or "
He faltered, net knowing how to pro
ceed. "Sometimes I think." he recom
menced, "that you don't feel quite sure
of this man Scoville's guilt. Is that
so? Tell me. father?"
I did not know what to make of him.
There was no shrinking from me; no
conscious or unconscious accusation
in voice or look, but there was a de
sire to know, and a certain latent re
solve behind it all that marked the
line between obedient boyhotfd and
thinking, determining man. With all
my dread a dread so great I felt the
first grasp of age upon my heart
strings at that moment I recognized
no other course than to meet this in
quiry of his with the truth that is,
with just so much of the truth as was
needed. No more, not one jot more.
I therefore answered, and with a show
of self-possession at which I now won
der: "You are not far from right, Oliver.
I have had moments of doubt The
evidence, as you must have noticed, Is
purely circumstantial."
"What evidence would satisfy you?
What would you consider a conclusive
proof of guilt?"
I told him in the set phrases of
my profession.
"Then," he declared as I finished,
"you may rest easy as to this man's
right to receive a sentence of death."
I could not trust my ears.
"I know from personal observation,"
he proceeded, approaching me with a
firm step, "that he is not only capable
of the crime for which he has been
convicted, but that he has actually
committed one under similar circum
stances, and possibly for the same
end." '
And he told me the story of that
night of storm and bloodshed a story
which will be found lying near this,
in my alcove of shame and contrition.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
SCAR MARKS EVERY FACE
Mysterious Affliction That Is Common
to All the Inhabitants of
Bagdad.
He Was Dead, Dead, Dead and I?
What Was I?
the hang-dog look we all noted
That there were other reasons that
the place recalled another scene of
brutality in which intention had been
followed by act, I .'did not then know
It was sufficient to me then that my
safety was secured by his own guilty
consciousness and the prevarications
into which it led him. Instead of
owning up to the encounter he had so
barely, escaped he confined himself to
the simple declaration of having heard
voices somewhere near the bridge,
which to all who know the ravine ap
peared impossible under the condi
tions named.
Yet, for all the Incongruities and
the failure of his counsel to produce
any definite impression by the prison
er's persistent denial of having whit
tied the stick or even of having car
ried it into Dark Hollow, 1. expecteM
a verdict in his favor. Indeed. I was
so confident of it that I suffered less
during the absence of the jury than
at any other time, and when they re
turned, with an air of solemn decision
which proclaims unanimity of min
and a ready verdict, I was so prepared
for his acquittal that for the first
time since the opening of the trial I
felt myself a being of flesh and blood.
with human sentiments and hopes
And it was: "Guilty!"
When I awoke to a full realization
of what this ntailed (for 1 must hav
lost consciousness for a minute
though no one seemed to notice), the
one fact staring me in the face was
that it would devolve upon me to pro
nounce his sentence; upon me. Archi
oaia usiranoer, an auion:aion no
longer, but a man realizing to 'the
full his part in this miscarriage of
justice Chaos confronted me and it.
contemplation of it, I fell ill
Somehow, strange as It may appear
I had thought little of this possibility
An uncanny, pernicious pest called
the "date boil" scars the face of every
human born in Bagdad, writes a cor
respondent of the National Geographic
Magazine. Children invariably have
this dreadful sore on their faces
Throughout the middle east this mys
terious scourge is known by various
names "Bouton d'Alep," "Nile sore.
"Delhi button." etc.
Its cause and its cure are unknown
First a faint red mpot appears, growing
larger and running a course often
eighteen months long.
White men from foreign lands have
lived years in Arabia, only to have
this boil appear upon their return to
civilization, where its presence is em
barrassing and hard to explain.
Maybe it was "date boils" that Job
had! Once a British consul at Aleppo
lost almost his whole nose from one
of these boils. Nearly every Bagdad
native you. meet has this "date mark"
on his face
The Likeliest One.
The late Admiral Mahan, at the be
ginning of the war, was arguing'with
a lady at a luncheon about the British
navys
"But my dear madam," satd the ad
miral, "it is hard ta argue with you
because you are so er, pardon me
so ignorant
"You remind wo of the young wife
who said to her brother about her
volunteer husband:
" 'Isn't Jack just wonderful?
Think he's already teen promoted to
field marshal.'
' 'From private to field marshal in
two months? Im possible.! said the
brother. M
"'Did I say4leld marshal?' , mur
mured the young wife. 'Well, per
haps it's court-martial. I know it's
one or the other.' " New York Tribune.
PASTEURIZED MILK IN FAVOR
Great Advantage in" Process Is to In
sure Freedom From Disease
Producing Organisms.
said:
"I thought I got dat ar m
"Didn't you?"
"u. sau; Dllt 1 ' Hr-
. . f 1 1 A -.
The great advantage in pasteurizing i ms nai ana clapped his
market milk is to insure its freedom
from disease-producing organisms.
This is a point which is constantly
brought forward in favor of pasteuriza
tion of milk. Of course the pasteurized
milk will have better keeping quali
ties than the same milk' that has not
been pasteurized and of course this
is an advantage from the standpoint
of the milk dealer, and is also an ad
vantage to the milk consumer.
Outside the cost of the process,
there are practically no disadvantages
connected with the pasteurization of
milk. This is especially true with the
way pasteurization is conducted today.
There is absolutely no doubt but that
milk properly pasteurized and prop
erly handled subsequent thereto is
just as healthful a food for children
as well as for adults as is raw milk.
Most of the commercial pasteuriza
tion of market milk at the present
time is done by heating the milk to
145 degrees for approximately thirty
minutes. This temperature and time
of exposure does not change the milk
physically or chemically to any appre
ciable extent. If milk is heated to
higher temperatures or rt or longer pe
riods of time, the creaming powers
of the milk will be influenced that is,
the heated milk will cream less rapid
ly and somewhat less completely than
the raw milk. The milk will also ac
quire, which is objectionable to many
people, what is known as the cooked
taste. It is not probable that the nu
tritive value of the milk 4s injured;
in fact, at the present time many phy
sicians advocate the heating of chil
dren's milk to the boiling point.
CSrefiiffylVe
-
M 'I -I I
foundation .of serious
the other hand, it is wltU 5j
ally dose delicate Uttla1 to cL0
temal medicines o7 gSS?
always indoors. p cfi
Plentv of
good application of Yick3
. r' turoac and CW suto
sign of trouble, will keen tfcl 2
free from colds withon?L&
fc"""""3- wc, or SI w
He Got It '
A negro boy, while ain
the street, took off his n?t anif
at a wasp. He turni 1 . a str
top of his head, squatted
said:
"Blame. 'f I didn't git dat
hatched
ole
HAD PELLAGRA;
IS NOW CURED
Daily Thought
I seek no thorns, and 1 catch the
srrall joys. If the door is low I stoop
down. If 1 can remove the stone out
of my way I do so. If it be too heavy
I go around it And thus ever: day I
find something which gladdens me.
Goethe.
Ages of Various Trees.
The ivy lives 200 years, the elm
300 ? to 350 years, the Jinden 500 tc
1. 000 years, ihe locust tree and the
o?k 40 years, and the fir 700 to 1,206
IMPROVING THE DAIRY HERD
Sell All Animals Which Have Failed
to Pay for Their Keep Breed
Cows to Purebred Bull.
(By GEORGE HUMPHREY. University
of Wisconsin.)
1. Treat cows gently and avoid ex
citement.
2. Be regular in time of milking.
3. Keep stables clan, well-lighted
and ventilated.
4. Weigh the milk of each cow at
milking time.
5. Get your neighbor to share with
you in owning a Babcock milk tester,
and test the product of each cow.
6. Discard the animals which have
failed at the end of the year to pay
for their keep.
7. Breed your cows to a purebred
registered dairy bull from a family
Purebred Holsteins.
having large and profitable 'produc
tion of butterfat.
8. Raise well the heifer calves from
cows, which for one .or , more genera
tions have made large and profitable
productions of milk and butterfat.
9. Breed heifers to drop their first
calves at 24 to 30 months of age. Give
cow six to eight weeks' rest between
lactation periods. 1
10. Join a dairy cattle breeders' as
sociation. It will help you to keep
posted and in touch with the best and
most modern ways of managing your
dairy herd.
Hillsboro, Ala.-J. W Turner 6f
k'i oajo. j. uugnt to hsve
you two weeks ago, but failed to
i got weu and then forgot to writ
I can get about like a in.,..
you ought to see me run around and
f.r TriT7 farm T n j
71 t . aay lust H'
w voaU1U, W KQ0W,
' - peopfej
There
uuuul m
lagra can be cured. Don't delar .j
it is too late. It is your duty to con
the resourceful Baughn.
The symptoms hands red like gunW
skin peeling off, sore mouth, the. lip.
throat and tongue ' a flaming red, wit!
much mucus and choking; indigestion and
nausea, either diarrhoea or constipation.
There is hope; get Baughn's big Fret
book on Pellagra and learn about tht
remedy for Pellagra that has at last beta
found. Address American ComnounHi
Co., box 2090, Jasper, Ala., remeraberini
money is refunded m any case where tht
remedy fails to cure. Adv.
Those Queens Again.
It I dreamed last night I took the
classiest queen on the campus to tht
prom.
She Did I dance well?
To Fortify the System
Against Winter Cold
Many users of GROVE'S TASTELESS chili
TONIC make It a practice to take a number of
botties In the fall to strengthen and fortify tht
system against the cold weather during tht
winter. Eyeryon'- knows the tonic effect of
Quinine and Iron which this preparation con
tains in a tasteless and acceptable form, li
purifies and enriches the blood and buUdi a
the whole system. 50c. Adv.
Heard Down the Line. .
Hobo Gimme er loaded acrobat
Barkeep Wot's dat?
Hobo Tumbler full o" whisky. See!
Not Gray' Hairs bat Tired Eyei
make ns look older than we are. Keep joar
Cijes young ana you win jooh. yuuag. mi
the Movies always Murine Your ye
Dont tell your age.
- : : ,
. The fact that the fool killer neglects
his business contributes much to th
safety of most of us.
To keep clean and healthy take Dr.
Pierce's Pleasant Pellets. They regulatt
liver, bowels and stomach Adv.
More often f than not the inside tip
falls to win out.
IMPORTANCE OF DAIRY COW
Most Economical Producer of Human
Food of All Domestic Animals
She Is Here to Stay.
(By N. J. FRASER, Illinois.)
- Since the cow is the most econom
ical producer of human food of all our
domestic animals, and as she -can live
and produce milk on a ration com
posed entirely of roughage, she will
he the, animal that will be resorted to
in order to convert half of the energy
of our common crops, which Is other
wise unavailable, into human food.
Another reason why the cow is here
to stay, and will always be of vital
importance in sustaining human life,
is that babies and invalids cannot be
nourished on commeal mush alone.
For these reasons, even after the
time comes that there is an actual
struggle for human food, the dairj
cow will still be a vital and abiding
factor in a system of permanent agri
culture, if we are to retain a higu
degree of civilization.
"Every Picture
WIVUM a awry
Answer the Alarm!
A bad back makes a day's work twice
as hard. Backache usually comes from
weak kidneys, and if headaches, dizzi
ness or urinary disorders are addea,
don't wait-cet help before dropsy,
gravel or Bright's disease set in. ioan
Kidney Pills have brought new life ana
new strength to thousands of worwnn
men and women. Used and recommend
ed the world over.
A South Carolina Case
t. w Garrison.
,1510 S. Main St.. An
derson. S. C MJ
I was In terrible
, shape with kidney
Plaint Often the
pain seized me in w
back and down
rwould go. having jo
be helped up. TW
kidney secret!
nnea wiui
and I had awfu 1 dB
poxes ui i-- .
puis cured me
and I haven't suffered since.
a VIC kidN v
pills
FOSTER-MILB URN CO- BUFFALO. 1M
Backacfie
rheumatism, neuralgia,
chest pains disappear mj- h
magic when treated externa
Yager's Liniment.
LINIMENT
Is a safe and sure remedy
"The Relief Was Inttartj.
IB my id..Rubnd relief
your liniment It enureij
Appeared."
At all dealer. JU eight ounci
bottle for 25c. PreiaredW
Gilbert Bros. & Co., Inc-
Baltimore, Md.
1a
"ii"