Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / April 7, 1908, edition 1 / Page 7
Part of The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
THE CHARLOTTE blEWS APRIL 7, 1908 7 ----- The G irdle of the Great A STORY OF THE NEW SOUTH By John Jordan Douglass I -- ---- ---o----- Copyright 1908 All Rights Reserved. question throbbing in her heart till she couhl couch it in composure. "And I am Jerome's mother' said the little woman, warmly grasping the girl's extended hand. "Is Mr. Jerome seriously fatally injured?" An exclamation of surprise rushed to his lips when he saw Maxine standing beside Jerome. His florid face assumed the hue of an overripe peach, but he almost instantly recovered his compo sure. "Why, Miss Maxine," he laughed "you've turned trained nurse," and, "by (Chapter VI. Continued.) It was a white-faced fluttering little creatine, vacillating between hope and fear, that gieeted the tall, grizzled fer ryman, when he opened the cottage door. "Moulin' Miss, mornin'," he cried cordially, swinging wide the door, "come in the house is all tore up, but " "How is .Jero Mr. Watkins?" she bioki' in. with a shuddering gasp. Her heart thundered like a trip-hammer in her ears. Dull gleams of uncertainty darted beneath the deep blue of her eyes. She unconsciously clutched at his sleeve, as if she would compel his answer to be favorable. 'In er mouty bad way. Miss' he They took him home 'bout three o'clock. He was still unconscious. My! mi niter seed the ole man's face. side in a very agony of uneasiness. He I rome staring at the wall in helpless is .Mr. Jerome lauuiy mjureu: sue ; hung on her words like a prisoner at misery, interrupted hoarsely, unable longer to j the bar. Beyond a few pleasantries the doctor stand uie Miam oi suspense. , "Well, his mind's clear, Uncle Sam' said little, to Maxine? as thev drove V;il, he wuz mouty much bruised but we don't know the extent of his in-! back in hi dog-cart to Rockv Heights l lie c.uestion was out. And a moth- j the by," he ran on, feeling Jerome s er's ears could no more be deceived i pulse, "you've got his heart going lik by the forced calmness with which it j ety-clip like a scared rabbit." had been uttered than her eyes could ; She blushed, murmured something, fail to read in the younger woman's j and left the room. face the tell-tale tokens. I The Doctor proceeded with his exani- "We hope not," she replied quickly, ination. "Doing pretty well, boy," he "Dr. Allen" she hesitated over the said, adjusting the bandages, "but you name "says it will be some days be-j mustn't talk. And you must be careful fore he can fully determine the extent! next time about the sort of horses of internal injuries." j you ride." Her eyes filled with tears, her voice j Jerome essayed to reply. The Doc became choked. j tor silenced him with a gesture. "No. "Missy, oh. Missy," broke in the old ; no, my boy, you must keep quiet negro, who had all the while been ; your mind isn't exactly clear a slight standing impatiently at the foot of the; concussion a slight clot on the brain steps, "how'se Marse Romey dis morn-! but you'll be all o. k. in a few davs in"?" j If your heart don't give you trouble He shuffled his big feet from side to i With that he was gone, leaving .Te- could not hasten Maxine. Tt w:i fniiv - - - J A VUl J nine o'clock when they drove through the big gate. The train left Ansonville at ten-fifteen. Gabrial would, there lore, have less time than he had anti cipated to present his case. He re solved to make ilie most of it. When they were well out of sight in a monotonous stretch of pine for est, he went at once to the heait of the matter or the matter of the heart. (To be Continued Tomorrow.) ManZan Pile Remedy, Price 50c is guaranteed. Put up ready to use. One application prompt relief to any form of piles. Soothes and heals. Sold by S. L. Alexander. RawFur-Hides Ship the above to M. SABEL & SONS Dealers in HIDES. FUR, PE-LTS. WOOL Louisville, Ky. Established in 1SF6 Reference: Any Bank in Loulsvilltt Weekly Price List Issued Write for it. Not too Early TO INVESTIGATE REFRIGERATORS See Our "STONE-WHITE" "The Chest With the Chill In It." k COLDEST AND CLEANEST. J.N.KIcCausland&Co Stove Dealers Roofing Contractors. 221 S. Tryon. Grand Reduction Sale He's badly bruised and aiiaken a fact for which she was profoundly grateful. Though conscious of no im- .m iiioouieii up. i ne uoc couiun t j juries t L.;u l.ly tell erbout intarnal injoories. j up." 1 :t ,l the boy was Unconscious, but he "Tank Cord tank P.rn-,1 he'3 etill in iirnmiotv shu w:is nPVPi-ihfilns nf k i i i.u callin' Max Max somethin', de lan' ov de libin'," he ejaculated, I fiicted with a. haunting fear lest .Te 1 ,imm: what what's the matter, Miss, "an' I'se ewinter 'rassnl wid de L;iwd i rome should think her w.mtinsr in mod- . , . ! ! . . . f i - I.- ' ' m n r i a, 1 o : i , I mi I 1 Villi l " 'IV diV. I. cau-li'.ng at the girl s arm iv;iu'i! sngniiy 10 one suie. iia all right now can you terry me mother oueried half-hesitatinelv. had seemed the imlv course, to nursiie acres.-: the river I wish to go at once," i "Yes." Maxine renlied almost before ! Then, if ever, she should strengthen he cried suddenly, j ter spare dat chile." as she "Jeiome has asked for you would esty. Yet, she argued to herself, that in his present state of mind or, rath- you see him. Miss MacDonald?" the I er, to be more accurate, of heari it sh.- :;:is.e.l. her face white to the lips,: she had thought. but in i' yes sinning wuu unuenuing plll'M 'SC. " w hen you've rested up er spell an' I'linked er leetle brandy. I keeps hit tor snakebites," he added, as he led the w:iy to one of the front rooms. "I'll be !;!': in er minit," he said, indicating ,i chair. Maxine was scarcely seated before he had reappeared with a brimming glass ei brandy. "Drink some er this," lie time., with rough tenderness. Maxine silently obeyed, and soon felt the warm bl:;od surging back to her heart. Alter a few moments she announced her :eadiness to cross the river in such taint-1 tents that the ferryman aequi feel. "i'.e yen a iiien' er the Watkinses, Miss?" he queried when they had en teie.l the Hat and were pushing off.. "Yes or Mr. .lerome Watkins." "YVal, you'ie my frien' then," ex claimed the ferryman with a burst of enthusiasm. "Everybody what's er tritu' ter Romey Watkins is er frien' ter nie. I caint somehow never fergit him fer pullin' that Bruce er mine out'n this river at ihe risk er his own life. Joe Jeffries aint one ter fergit t:ich things. Poor Romey 1 hope an' pray he won't make er die uv it." Though Maxine's face fully approved his cinde, heart-felt expression, she made no reply. And the ferryman lapsed into silence, giving his atten tion wholly to the management of the Hat. "What's your name, Miss ef you'll excuse an ole man fer axin"?" he quer ied when she had stepped ashore. ".Maxine MacDonald." "What! the one he wuz callin' fer? No, 1 won't take no pay," he insisted as she removed a coin from her purse, "when you're on your way ter se " "lint you must," she urged, "I can't let you " He cut short idl remonstrance by swiftly reversing his course. "The flat'll be ready whenever you want ter cross," he called back. Then she gathered her skirts and luavely trudged up the half-mile slope to iiivei -wood. At the door of the mansion she stood finally, maidenly modesty and a soft.j strange glow in her blue eyes. Uncer tainly master of all. Would they think her indelicate? Her cheeks flamed at the thought. Would he think her over bold? She shuddered; alas, he might never think again coherently. She raised her little clenched fist to rap him. Whv not? He was to be her The mother led the way across the i ideal of the New South her soul's wide, wainscotted hall, softly opened companion . l . i .. i i . l a i . .. rr i i me uooi aim coniiucieu viaxine lino a large, old-fashioned room. The girl's gaze instantly travelled to a distant corner where a gray-haired man sat beside a low armchair, in which, with an attitude of utter pain, half reclined a blanketed, bandaged figure. The old man arose quickly and-came, forward, all the cordiality and courtesy of the ancient Southern gentleman beaming in his face. "Why, isn't this iMiss MacDonald?" he exclaimed, warmly extending a strong brown hand before his wife could introduce them (the colonel riatel formality.) "Ye-?, sir," Maxine gasped. Though trembling with eagerness to see the tigure screened by the colonel's tall form, she was completely won by the warmth and heartiness of the old man's manner. "I've come over to inquire about Mr. Jerome," she added in ii lowered tone, her face full of color. A "Ah, it fs kind wry kind and thoughtful of you," ejaculated the colonel, stepping aside. "There," he continued, turning about and dramati cally pointing to the bandaged figure, "there" his gray moustache bristled and his steel-blue eyes shot fire "there is what some inhuman wretch has done to my son!" And seeing clearly for the first time, Maxine beheld above the white band age a pair of unnaturally bright eyes. Only too plainly they betrayed the con suming eagerness and ovesmastering impatience which throttled his heart and twitched his sealed lips. "You must excuse me," said the colonel with a stately bow to Maxine, "I have an engagement with one of my friends." A moment later the mother, too, found an excuse for leaving, and the twain she who had dared so much and he who" had snatched his life from the jaws of death were alone. "Maxine," he said in a strained, hoarse whisper, "Oh, Maxine, I knew you would come if you only knew " he pulled the bandage still further aside "I said " "Hush," she broke in, coming to his side, "vou mustn't talk. You mustn't remove the bandage." "But, Maxine I want to talk to to you I'm afraid I'm done for." She tenderly placed a soft white hand on the arm of the chair. "You mustn't talk like that," she said brave- on the door. A sudden longing to flea Ay; "it gives me pain. The South needs seized her. She half-turned. A foot step a slow, lagging footstep ar rested her attention. She wheeled you; tne world waits ior you; anu i '"Want you to get well," she added, striving to conceal by looking away about to face an old negro who was the blush which mounted her fair face, coming up the walk. Dejection was j "Four years four years that's too discernible in the-stoop of his power- long to wait even if " ful shoulders. Something more bur-j She silenced him with a wave of pro densome than the incubus of years test. "Listen," "she said; "a certain was weighing him down. court-beauty, to test an admirer's love, "Mornin", Missy," he said, doffing his; once threw her glove among lions and cap quickly, "how's Marse Romey? He awaited her answer, cap in hand, the very soul of respect and courtesy. "That's what I've come to find out, uncle," she replied kindly. She turned again to the door, giving it a sharp rap. "Oh, dat aint Missy 't all," the old negro exclaimed as he drew nearer. "De ole nigger's eyesight am sho'ly git tin' bad stio'ly gittin' bad. Po' lil' Marse Romey," he ran on as if in so liloquy, "all momucked en mud'ud up by dat debblish hoss. De bes' chile ebber bawn on dis ribber. Dest ez t;ho' fer heabea ez de purly gates hangs on de golden hinges." "is he ?" l.at Maxine did not fin hade him recover it.. He did so at the peril of his life, and rightly threw the glove in her face. To test your love" she made a tragic little gesture, and in her beautiful eyes shone the light of the Ancient Scholar "I throw my heart among the Dions of Knowledge. Vou will thank me for the test. Even though you should throw my heart back, as a thing apart from your life and unworthy, it will have brought you none ihe less the Girdle of the Great." She paused, leaning over him so near that her fragrant breath fell like a ! benediction on his bruised brow. He gazed up at her, a great yearn ing tenderness in his dark eyes. "Oh, ish the sentence The door onened Slid-! Maxine," he gasped denly and she was face to face with j Rut the words died on his lips. The an angelic-looking little woman whose'1 door swung suddenly open and Dr. Al gestive of Jerome's. The dark circles j len stood before them, beneath them bespoke the struggles of j a sleepless night. j "I am Miss MacDonald," Maxine fal-i CHAPTER VII. Hied, striving hard to restrain the some surprises. Dr. Allen had a habit of entering the sick-room at unexpected hours, excus ing the liberty on the plea that he wished to note the real condition of his patients before they could disorder their pulses. Being something of a hypocrite himself, he invariably looked for that element in the lives of others. The only redeeming quality about the Doctor's hypocrisy (if that vice can be said to possess mitigating circum stances) was its cheerfulness. tltia Kind You Have Always Bought A, o Bears the Signature Signature of OAHTOKI Roar. rt S9 B Knfl You "avB Alwal,s WW-1 teawthe ' "7" 1 The doctor, too, had his reflections as the dog-cart bumped down the steep slope to the ferry. In early manhood he had dreams of great wealth. Money was his God, and he had stooped to the lowest level to obtain it. Every energy of his virile nature had been consequently sub served to that end. He had studied the wiles cf the chailatan and the ways of the clown. He possessed the faculty of making his patients believe they were .veil. His wealthy patients had every disease in the medical records tand many which were not). while the poor were always afflicted with trifles. The Doctor also made a specialty of thavirg notes and lending money on "giit-edge security." In the latter way he nad gotten the estate of Riverwood in his octopus-like clutches, taking a cruel advantage of the Colonel's neces sity. The doctor's immediate reason for desiring the match between Gabriel and Maxine was a valuable estate ad joining Rocky Heights. While this es- tate was at present in litigation, it re mained in the possession of Mr. Hec tor MacDonald, the president of the Ansonville Bank. Maxine was Mr. MacDonald's natural heir. Before the suit had begun the Doctor had vainly i tried to purchase this estate for a secret purpose: he had attended in ex tremis, that the "Brandon Place" con tained valuable deposits of gold-bearing or. The incident of the morning had therefore grated somewhat harshly on his gold nerves. When they reached the ferry, the Doctor had apparently regained his usual cheerfulness. He gave a merry, winding blast with the signal-horn. In a little while the ferry-flat put out from the opposite shore. The ferry man was not the one who had conveyed Maxine across in the morning. He was a tall, sunburnt youth of perhaps twen ty. His face bespoke rural simplicity and rugged honesty, with a touch of native strength in the lines about the mouth and chin. He saluted his pas sengers with an awkward bow as he drew near shore. He was evidently little used to society women. "Good morning, Bruce," said the Doctor, driving onto the flat. "Fine day." "Yes, sir," responded the youth. "Any news," continued the- Doctor, warily. "Nuthin' in pertickler, sir. How's Romey Watkins?" "Oh, he's doing fairly well." "Powerful glad ter hear it," said the youth. "It's quare, though, how thet hoss cum ter rum erway-with him Must er bin skeered bad by " The Doctor cut him short by asking about the autumn horse-fair to be held at Ansonville. But Maxine's suspicions were aroused and she suspected that the Doctor knew more than he cared to admit. As they were passing the spot where the old road turned into the new, Max ine ventured a question about the run away, but the Doctor adroitly conveyed the conversation into another channel When they arrived at Rocky Heights Maxine was instantly borne off by Mar jorie to a sheltered part of the veranda and assailed with a fusillate ot ques tions. "Did he say anything about me?" she queried, after asking the ex tent of Jerome's injury. "Well, no, I believe not," Maxine stammered. "Not a word?" "No." 1 "O. well. I think I can understand it then. Max," Marjorie said, with a noor little attempt at pleasanry. "You didn't give him the c'aance to say it.' "Indeed I did I" The conversation was ended by the breakfast bell. The meal passed silently almost solemnly save for an occasional witti cism by the doccor, who feared lest his guest should become offended at any marked discourtesy on his part. Gabriel was too chagrined at the affair of the morning to offer any re marks at all. His face betrayed only too plainly the gloomy nature of his thoughts. He had determined, how ever, to make a desperate effort to regain his standing with Maxine as he drove with her to Ansonville. Accord ingly, he hastened the preparations for the departure. Unhappily for him, he Now is the time to oegin thinking about getting a in in tor We handle the Baldwin Line which is the only Refrigerator on the market that has rubber lining around the doors which makes them air proof, and prevents the doors from getting too tight or too loose. It costs more to make them this way, but we sell them just as low as other makes. Let us show you our line. t 16 N. College Street. Charlotte, N. C. J HerrioM & Demtomi o grass ismm ara sr) o cr2? n ft ' Broxes j Skirt Boxes Cedar Chests It is about time to put away your Furs and Winter Clothes and make arrangements to take care of the always pop ular Shirt Waist. We are showing a line from the smallest to the largest and from the cheapest to the best Cloth Covered Box, 27 inches long, 13 Inches deep 52.50 Cloth Covered Box, 30 inches long, 15 inches deep $3.50 Cloth Covered Box, 33 inches long, 17 inches deep $4.50 Matting Covered Box, 21 inhes long, 13 inches deep $4.00 Matting Covered Box, 30 inches long, 15 inches deep $5.50 Matting Covered Box, 33 inches long, 17 inches deep $6.50 Matting Covered Box, 27 incches long, 9 inches deep $6.00 Matting Covered Box, 31 inches long, 11 inches deep $8.00 Matting Covered Box, 40 inches long, 11 inches deep $7.50 Matting Covered Box, 45 inches long, 11 inches deep $9.50 Matting Covered Box, 45 inches long, 11 inches deep.. ..$10.00 Solid Red Cedar Box, 36x15 inches $6.50 Solid Red Cedar Box, 4S inches by 24 inches $22.50 OF- .Fine Furniture $18.50 Sale Price $14.00. In the changes which wTe have re cently made in our business, we are forced to have our floor space greatly enlarged and modern Conveniences in stalled for accommodation of our cus tomers; and we cannot turn the build ing over to the contractors until we make room for them, and we intend to make this room by putting the prices on our mammoth stock of fine furniture so low that the goods will be bound to go. Prices cut to rock bottom on every thing and everything fully guaranteed W. T. McCOY & CO. tart ie Life You and you wife have many things to reckon on that prior to mar riage you never thought of.' For an illustration ugs and Matting Don't let that worry you while we are in business. We can supply your taste at a mice you can afford. For Variety, Quality and Price our stock is second to none and it i-. much to your interest to see us be fore you buy. Lubin Furniture Co. Catch It ance to'Buy Spring Necessities at Our Store Lawn Mowers Refrigerators Garden Hose Ice Cream Freezers, etc. Charlotte Hdw. Company Not How Cheap, But How Good Order the size you want. It will be shipped on approval anwhere you like. Parker-Gardoier Company Furniture Carpets Pianos Pianolas 3C Odorless Refrigerators Tho rvMT.v RFIAT. ndnr1ec! Refrigerator on the market. No Iff taste and no smell on any kind of eatables, even though you have 1! onions and Sweitzer Cheese along with sweet milk and butter. Everybody knows what Peerless and White Mountain Ice Cream Freezers are. They have NO SUPERIORS AND NO EQUALS. All sizes from one pint to 20 quarts. n LAWN MOWERS We have the cheap variety as well as the ball bearing kind. Can suit you as to quality and size. A complete line. Weddington Hardware Co. Phone 65. .'INCORPORATED, 29 East Trade St. Q i O CD O O
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 7, 1908, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75