North Carolina Newspapers

POLK COUNTY NEWS, TRYON, N. 0. . . i " ' "' " a tor- : r : - . TMeXigMt ; : to- tlie A TALE of the NORTH COUNTRY in the TIME of SILAS WRIGHT; : By IRVING BACHELLER. I ; : - . : .x - Author Of EBEN HOLDEN. D'RI AND I, BARREL OrVTHB BLESSED, . ISLES. KEEPING UP WITH LIZZIE. Etc Etc. . ,f . . CHAPTER X. 11 A Party andMy Fourth Peril? It was a rainy Sunday. In the middle of the afternoon Uncle Pea body and I had set out in our spring buggy with the family umbrella a faded but sacred 'implement, always carefully dried, after using, and hung in the clothes press. We were drenched to the skin in spite of the umbrella. It was still raining when we arrived at the familiar door in Ashery lane. Uncle Peabody wouldn't stop. He hurried away. We pioneers rare ly stopped or even turned out for the weather. "Come in,' said the voice of the schoolmaster at the door. "There's good weather under this roof." He saw my plight as I entered. "I'm like a shaggy dog that's been in swimming," I saidi "Upon my word, boy, we're in luck," remarked the schoolmaster. I looked up at him. "Michael Henry's clothes ! -sure, they're just the thing for you!" I followed him upstairs, wondering kow it had happened that Michael Henry had clothes. He took me into his room and brought some handsome, soft clothes out of a press with shirt, socks and boots to match. "There, my laddie buck," said he, , "put . them on." "These will soon dry on me," I said. "Put them on ye laggard ! Michael Henry told me to give them to you. It's the birthday, night oMittle Ruth, my boy. There's a big cake with can dles and chicken pie and jellied cook ies and all the like 0' that. Put them " on. A wet boy at the- feast would dampen the whole proceedings." I put them on and with a great sense of relief and comfort. They were an admirable fit too perfect for an accident, although at the time I thought .only of their grandeur as I stoodvsurveying myself in the looking glass. They were of blue cloth and I saw that they went well with, my -blond hair and light skin. I wasput ; ting on my collar and necktie when i Mr. Hacket returned. We went below and the table was very grand with Its great frosted cake and its candles, in shiny brass sticks, and its jellies and preserves with the gleam of polished pewter among them. Mrs. Hacket and all the children, save Ruth, were waiting for us in the din lag room. "Now sit down here, all oV ye, with Michael ' Henry,1? said the schoolmas-. vtw. -"The little lady will be impatient Til go and get her and God help us to make her remember the day.1 -. He was erone a moment, only, when he came ' back with Ruth in lovely white dress and slippers and gay with ribbons, and the silver beads of Mary on her neck. We clapped our hands and cheered and, in the excitement of the moment, John tipped over his , drinking glass and shattered it on the 'floor. "Never mind, my brave lad no glass ever perished in a better cause. God bless you!" . We ate .and jested and talked, and the sound of our laughter drowned the cry of the wind in the chimney and the drumming of the rain upon - the windows. Next morning my clothes, which had been hung by the kitchen stove, were damp and wrinkled. Mr. Hacket Came to my room . before I had risen. "Michael Henry would rather see his clothes hanging on a good boy than on a nail in the closet," said he. "feure they give no comfort to the nail at all." "I guess mine are dry. now I an- . swered. - "They're wet and heavy, boy. No son o' Baldur could keep a lifelit heart in them. Sure ye'd be as much out V place as a sunbeam in a cave o bats. If ye care not for your own comfort think o' the poor lad in the green chair. He's that proud and pleased to see them on ye it would be a shame to reject his offer. Sure, if they were dry yer own garments would be good enough, God knows, but Michael Henry loves the look o ye in these togs, and then the presi . dent is in town.V mat evening he discovered a big stain, black as ink, on my coat and trousers. Mr. Hacket expressed the pinion that it. might have come from the umbrella, but I am quite sure that he had spotted them to save me from the last homemade suit I ever wore, save in rough work, and keep Michael Henry's on my back, ' In any event I wore, them no more save at chore time. Sally came and went, with the Wills boy, and gave no heed to me. In her eyes I had no more substance than a, ghost, it seemed to me, although I caught her. often, looking t me. Judged that her father had given her ft bad report of us and had some re grets, in spite of my knowledge that we were right, although they related mostly to Amos, . Net afternoon I saw Mr. Wright and the, president walking back and ' forth on the bridge as they talked together. , A number of men stood inH iront of the blacksmith shop, by the river shore, watching them, as I pwwed, on my wuy .to the mW oa ta Copyright by InringBacbeller errand. The two statesmen were in broadcloth and white linen and beaver hats. They stopped as I approached them. "Well, partner, we shall be leaving n an hour or so,?' said Mr. Wright as he gave me his hand. "You may look for me here soon after the close of the session. ' Take care of yourself and go often to see Mrs. Wright amKobey your captain and remember me to your aunt and uncle." "See that you keep coming, my good boy," said the president as he gave me his hand, with playful reference, no doubt, to Mr. Wright's remark that I was a coming man. "Bart, I've some wheat to be thrashed in the barn on the back lot," said the senator as I was leaving them. "You can do it Saturdays, if you care to, at a shilling an hour. Stack the straw out of doors until you've finished, then put it back In the bay. Winnow the wheat carefully and sack it and bring it down to the gran ary and I'll settle with you when I return." I remember that a number of men who worked in Grimshaw's sawmill were passing as he spoke. "Yes, sir," I answered, much elated by the prospect of earning money. The examination of Amos was set down for Monday and the people of the village were stirred (and shaken by wildest rumors regarding the evi dence to be adduced. Every day men and women stopped me In the street to ask what I knew of the murder. I followed the advice of Bishop Per kins and kept my knowledge to myself. Saturday came, and when the chores were done I went alone to the grain barn In the back lot of the senator's farm with flail and measure and broom and fork and shovel and sacks and my luncheon, in a pushcart, with all of which Mrs. Wright had provided me. It was a lonely place with woods on three sides of the field and a road on the other. I kept laying down beds of wheat on the barn floor and beating them out with the flail until the sun was well over the roof, when I sat down to eat my luncheon. Then I swept ud the erain and winnowed out the chaff and filled one of my sacks. That done, I covered the floor again and the thump of the flail eased my loneliness until In the middle of the afternoon two of my schoolmates came and asked me to go swimming with them. The river was not forty rods away and a good trail led to the swimming hole. It was a warm, bright day and I was hot and thirsty. The thought of cool waters and friendly companionship was too much for me. I went with them and stayed with them longer than I intended. I re member saying as I dressed that should have to work late and go with out my supper in order to finish my stint.- . .j" ;! f. V; T It was almost dark when I was put ting the last sack of wheat into my cart, in the gloomy barn and getting ready to go. A rustling in the straw , where stood stopped me suddenly. I heard stealthy footsteps in the darkness, stood my ground and demanded: ' "Who's there?" I saw a form approaching in the gloom with feet as noiseless as a cat's. I Had Time to Raise My Flail and Bring It Down Upon the Head of the Leader. I took - a step backward and, seeing that it was a woman, stopped. "It's Kate," came in a hoarse whis per as I recognized her form and staff. "Run, boy they have Just come out o the woods. I saw them; They will take you away. Run. 1 She had picked up the flail, and now she put it In my hands and gave me a push toward the door. I ran and none too quickly, for I had not gone fifty feet from the barn In the stubble when I heard them coming after me, whoever they; were. ; I saw that ' they were gaining and turned quickly. 1 had time to . raise my flail and bring Jt down upon the head f the leader t'4 who fell as I had seen a beef fall un der the ax. Another man stopped be yond the reach of my flail and, after a second's hesitation, turned and ran away in the darkness. ' 3 I could hear or see no other motion In the field. I turned ana ran on down the slope toward the village. In a moment I saw someone coming out pt the maple grove at the field's end, Just ahead, with a lantern. Then I heard the voice of the school master saying : , . .. "Is it you, my lad?" "Yes" I answered, as I came up to him and Mary, in a condition 01 breathless excitement. I told them of the curious adventure I had had. "Come quick," said the schoolmas ter. "Let's go back and nna the man In the stubble." I remembered that I had struck the path in my flight just before stopping to swing the flail. The man must have fallen very near It. Soon we found where he had been lying and drops of fresh blood on the stubble. "Hush,", said the schoolmaster. We listened and heard a wagon rat tling at a wild pace down the road toward the river. "There he goes," said Mr. Hacket. "His companions have carried him away. Ye'd be riding In that wagon now, yerself. my brave lad, if ye hadn't a' made a lucky hit with the flail God bless ye!" "What would they a' done with me?" I asked. ?Oh, I reckon they'd 'a took ye off. lad, and kep' ye for a year or so until Amos was out o' danger," said Mr. Hacket "Maybe they'd drowned ye in the river down there an left yer clothes on the bank to make it look like an honest drowning. The devil knows what they'd 'a' done with ye, laddie buck. We'll have to keep an eye on ye now every day until the trial is over sure we will. Come, we'll go up to the barn and see if Kate is there." Just then we heard the receding wagon go roaring over the bridge on Little river. Mary shuddered with fright. The schoolmaster reassured us by saying: "Don't be afraid. I brought roy gun in case we'd meet a painter. But the danger Is past" He drew a long pistol from his coat pocket and held it in the light of the lantern. The loaded cart stood in the1 middle of the barn floor, where I had left It, but old Kate had gone. We closed the .barn, drawing the cart along with us. When we came Into the edge of the village I began to reflect upon the strange "peril out of which I had so luckily escaped. It gave me a Tieavy sense of responsibility and of the wickedness of men. f - I thought of old Kate and her broken silence. For once I had heard her speak. I could feel my flesh tingle when I thought of her qulcc words and her hoarse, passionate whisper. I knew, or thought I knew,, why, she took such care of me. She was in league with the gallows and could not bear to see it cheated of Its prey. For some reason she hated the Grimshaws. I had seen the hate in her eyes the day she dogged along behind the old money lender through the streets of the village when her pointing finger had seemed to say to me: "There, there is the man who has brought me to this. He has put these rags upon my back, this fire in my heart, this wild look In my eyes. Wait and you will see,, what I will put upon him." I knew that old Kate was not the Irresponsible, witless creature that people thought her to be. I had begun to think of her with a liind of awe as one gifted above all others. One by one the things she had said of the future seemed to be coming true. , As we were going Into the house the schoolmaster said: "Now, Mary, you take this lantern and go across the street to the house o' Deacon Binks, the constable. You'll find him asleep by the kitchen stove. Arrest his slumbers, but not rudely, and, when he has come to, tell him that I have news o the devil. ' Deacon Binks arrived, a ,fat man with a big, round body and a very wise and serious countenance between side whiskers' bendingfroin his temple to his neck and suggesting parentheses of hair, ns if his head and its acces sories were in the nature of a side issue. He and the schoolmaster went out of doors and must have talked to gether while I was eating a bowl of bread and milk which Mrs. Hacket had brought to me. ; When I went to bed. by and by. I heard somebody snoring on the little porch under my window .The first sound that reached , my ear at the break of dawn was the snoring of some sleeper. I dressed and went be low and found the constable In his coonskln overcoat asleep on the porch with a long-barreled gun. at his side. While I stoo4 there the schoolmaster came around the corner of the house from the garden. He put his hand on the deacon's shoulder ' and kave him a little shake.' . ,.. "Awake, ye llmb V 'the law," he de manded. . "Prayer la better than sleep. J i hhuserf and cleared lite throat End as sumed an'alrof alertness and said It, was a fine morning, which It was not, the sky being overcast and ,the air dark and chilly. Mr. Hacket removed his greatcoat and threw it on the stoop saying: ' ' ' , - "Deacon, you lay there, From now on I'm constable and ready for any act that may be necessary to maintain the law. I can be as severe as, Napoleon Bonaparte and as cunning as Satan, If I have to be. , . While I was milking the deacon sat on a bucket in the doorway of the stable and snored until I had finished. He awoke when I loosed the cow and the constable went back to the pasture with me, yawning; with his hand over his mouth much of the way. The dea con leaned his elbow on the top of the pen and snored again, lightly, wnile I mixed the feed for the pigs. Mr. Hacket met us at me juicueu door, where Deacon Binks said to him ;. "If you'll look after the boy today ril go , home and get a little rest" "God bless yer soul, ya had a busy night," said the uchoolmaster with a smile. - He added as he tfen$ into the house: "I never knew a man ,to rest with more energy and persistence. It was a perfect flood o' rest. It kept me awake until long after midnight" CHAPTER XI. The Spirit of . Michael Henry and Others. At the examination of Amos Grim shaw my knowledge was committed to the records and ceased to be a rource of danger to me. . Grimshaw came to the village that day. On my way to the courtroom I saw him walking "Awake. Ye Limb the Law." slowly, with bent head as I had seefl him before, followed by old Kate. She carried her staff in her left hand while the forefinger of her right hand was pointing him out Silent as a ghost and as unheeded one would say she followed his steps. I observed that old Kate sat on a front seat with her hand to her ear and Grimshaw beside his lawyer at a big table and that when she looked at him her lips moved in a strange un uttered whisper of her spirit Hei face filled with Joy as one damning detail after another came out in the evidence. The facts herett-bef ore alleged, and others, were prove!, for the tracks fit ted the shoes of Amos. The young man was held and presently indicted The time of his trial was not deter mined. I wrote a good hand those days and the leading merchant of the village engaged me to post his books every ouiuraay at ten cents an hour. Thence forward until Christmas 1 1 gave my 1 free days to that task. I estimated the sum that I should earn and planned to divide it in equal parts and proudly present it to my aunt and uncie on Christmas day. One Saturday while I was at work on the big ledger of the merchant 1 ran upon this item: A " v ... . . . , ; October S.-S. Wrlght-To . one suit of clothes for Michael Henry from measures furnished by S. Robin son ............tllM Shirts to iflatch 1.78 I knew then the history of the suit of clothes which I had worn since that rainy October night for I remembered that Sam Robinson, the tailor, had measured me at our house and made up the cloth of Aunt Deel's weaving. I observed, also, that numerous ar ticlesa load of wood, two sacks of flour, three pairs of boots, one coatv ten pounds of salt .pork and foui bushels of potatoes all for "Michael Henry" had been charged to Silas Wright So by the merest chance I learned that the invisible "Michael Henry was the almoner of the modest statesman and really the spirit of Silas Wright feeding the hungry "and : clothing the nasea and warning the cold .house, in tne absence of its owner. It was the heart of Wright joined to that of the schoolmaster which sat in the green cnair. I fear that my work suffered a mo ment'a Interruption, i'pr just then I began to know the great heart of the. senator. ; its warmth, was In the cloth lng that covered my back, its delicacy in the ignorance of those, who had shared Its benefactions. ' V " ( : (TO BE CON TIN UJlti v ' ; : r its Effcst Ky They say 2e American dotcghnxa is matin s big tit wtth the French," "XG, it's Just cia fcr thxa." - . .v.. y V ' , fTr j Hints for House Cleaning Time. Having cleaned floors, woodwork and furniture, the attention turns natu rally to floor, coverings which need frequent cleaning. Waxed floors should rarely be ; washed except before rewaxing, and . a wood floor can be kept from scratches . If the legs of the chairs and tables have a bit of felt pasted on the bottom. For this purpose old felt hats may be used. . . Care of Rugs. Good rugs can be safely scrubbed, and professional rug cleaners do this work very successfully. It Is a good idea to stipulate that they are to be simply scrubbed with suds when turning them over to the cleaner, for sometimes a bleach is used on them. Scrubbing ' is perhaps the most satis factory method of cleaning a first class rug, but might prove fatal to one made of poor material or dyed with Inferior colors. Nearly all rugs redye well, but this Is work for a professional, and not for the house keeper. Ordinarily all that is needed Is a vacuum cleaner to keep rugs thoroughly clean. If you have none, take your rugs into the yard and sweep them thoroughly r with a broom. This will keep the wall-paper and hangings clean, and you won't have to breathe the dust which you are sweeping. A good sweeping with the carpet sweeper will do in the meantime. To Keep a Rug Flat. 4 When the edge of a rug persists in curling up, lay over It, on the wrong side, a damp cloth, and on this place a moderately hot Iron. Let it stand for a few minutes and the steam will make the rug lie perfectly flat. 'An old corset steel dress-stay, or piece of stiff wire cat-stitched diag onally at the corners, on the wrong side of a much used tapestry rug, will keep it from curl' op- up. J It seems that we cannot say "wrap" this season without meaning "cape" or dolmaa. Yes, the dolman is with us again, along with the cape and with wraps in which the two are combined Into one. There Is reajly a"furore In favor of -these loose hanging, graceful garments and no end to the - variations by . which , designers make them Interesting. Two of them are shown here, one of cloth and one of satin, the first a utility wrap and the second a dressy-but very generally useful wrap combination of cape and dolman. Tins wrap at the left, of heavy cloth may be made of any good coating. It is almost a cape pure and simple, with slits for the v arms to which deep cuffs are set on. It is cut wlfh a -deep yoke, with buttons decorating it at each side in rows. It has an ample collar of the material " and Is , recom mended by being comfortable as well as stylish. It is very, simply designed, as these wraps go, and looks the part of a smart and serylceabie' belonging in the springy wardrobe. :'7r:jJy. - The satin wrap is one of tne many handsome models . in black, some of them haying.- collars and linings , In silks of contrasting colors, always in quiet tones. This particular garment fc all black, with silk embroidery on Gap v.. i,j J1MII1 ,,lfl , corners of men i to t rne some cheap materia ,1 mkH of each corner: th L mM fin xVlV l'Ati . . . . 1 o r.i- cra nf 1 1 l"S ft corners cannot curl. ' The Care of Matting. The broom, pvpn the , t tiro., n. ' ",v '"fieu ona l! ..vt. iwi luaimif;, iiixi neither me irequeiii use or the wet cloth Ty taijjci-owccn, uNeii itordss the 9 . i . m is uetier; anu tne vacuvuu-deaner i of course, best of all. p)Ut in tween the latter two mines the heart brush, which is a life-preserver to matting and a labor-saver to J nouseworKer. 10 go over a mattlm or mese orusnes is a matter of a rew minutes. These brushes, tnus used, raise little dw they -keep the matting and the c ners in proper condition, and thej j' not roughen and Injure the matting surface. Another merit is that tip may be washed without injury if t are quickly dried. To Lay Straw Matting Smoothly. ' This is a hard thing to do as ft! cheaper grades are likelv tv J wrinkled and to wear in ! When you put the matting down, jf! It as smooth as possible ; then, wlflH pall of hot water, to which a enpfe. of common salt has been added, nug and . wash the matting as If it w dirty. , Use the salt water freely, reneiJ lncr oftpn pnoush to keen it hot. with the grain ' of the matting, c laoira rrnlf a Homn Tn flpvinn ft matting will .shrink into place, k salt toughens ftie straw and preved it from breaking. Spring Colors. The warmest of colors are In fas! Ion for spring. All the shades of nf are Included and most of those browns and yellows. Tomato re color and flame are mentioned. the oollnr and in a simple pattef e . i. ..., full. WW1 .i i 1 n nr,i n sash w nuiyie miuni wiini on " satin, that loops over at the fi is finished with flat silk ta the ends. A little excursion throusrh the- In search of wraps, leads one that the end of these rrhef. menus is nowiiere m neany no nmic to u.- teresnng moaeis wun" . . j i . ti.i.v are uu out, auu cnauccs uic ti ai least, uuuuici A cape Is never iri-f;.shionei 1 j nnrl t Vi r HomnnH Is nfW fr viu , ,1 run. tie-like wraps, grace fui u .: that designers can vary t thfIr lncerinltv. o the .1 . '; Flimc and Cloud CM . . .....I thnt.LolM10" jrm. UK t i tunv... flame gown," Is a wonders - i part' crene de chine. The io -k lnt gown is oi uecy the r lanes in coiui iu ,n,v. t. f. tha softest PIU almost white. Just like a u rfoud-and it might be exp gown of flame and cloud eu . U 11 11 1 Ik 0 itflft Wraps (La f, , A