Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / April 22, 1908, edition 1 / Page 7
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THE CHARLOTTE rfEWS, APRIL 22, 1908 1 1 C. A. M faterin e Girdle f tt mm DVE-LENDIR Th G hi in f : 1$ i A A STORY OF THE NEW SOUTH By John Jordan Douglass ----o Copyright 1908 All Rights Reserved. CHAPTER XXV. 'The Mills of the Gods." 1)1,0 who chanced to see Mr. Hector !:oDonald on a certain day in July would have noticed striking changes in bis appearance. His smooth-shaven :aio was thinner than usual and no vlct aidy wrinkled and careworn. Much 01 his cool, calculating attitude had invu lost; he was almost a nervous wreck. The strain of the desperate -;4me which he had been playing with tune and misfortune had sapped his strength. The Wall Street specula tions had long been going against him; he had reached the ebb of his golden ide. Still, like the desperate gambler, i.o was always hoping for a lucky turn, comforting his perturbed spirit with original proverbs, such as "It's an ill Lau that growls nobody good," etc. For another reason, too. the banker hud continued to speculate; that when t wr one gets entangled in the intri rate- meshes of the great Wall Street iK- one neve;- knows how to get out. :ui .uacDonaia naa aenenuea on a fortunate rise in cotton. "We must make a big throw today," ho said to Gabriel one morning. "Ev s ; -vthing is ripe for it. We'll yet make a hit,- haul. What say you?" "It's high time we were doing some ihing." growled Gabriel, who had just vi ceived a rebuff from an-unexpected (iiarter and was, therefore, in no great yood humor. Accordingly, the banker cast his V'ank bills, or the bank bills of his de positors, upon the "water." He was confident of a "big haul." He had su preme confidence in "Poindexter & Co.." his agents. They were old and reliable. They knew all the wiles and whims of the "Bulls and Bears." They had always kept Mr. MacDonald fully posted. But shortly after this deposit (which was bv far the largest he had made with them), "Poindexter & Co." went to the wall. The news came to Mr. "MacDonald like a thunderclap from a clear sky. It almost prostrated him. His eves receded in his head, his face became colorless and flabby. He knew that he wjis doomed. The figures on the wall-paper of his sanctum changed form again; this time they became long bars of white and black, like the stripes of felons. Almost on the heels of The Willi Street disaster the State Bank Examine acriyed An Ansjouville.. He was the pale cashier whom Mr. .MacDonald had discharged, and the iank-.?r new what the rigid examina tion would reveal. Owing to the lateness of the train, it was night when the Bank Examiner arrivtd, and the examination was, Hieitfore, postponed 'till next morn incr. Mr. MacDonald, having learned from Ananias Blake that the Bank Ex aminer had arrived, hurriedly sum moned Gabriel to his private office. "We've got to get away from here, or else go to the Penitentiary," said Mr. MacDonald with a strangling sigs! "We have only $500 in the bank. Let's divide and skip." "Hold on, old man," observed Ga briel brutally. "You haven't toted fair with me. You got me into this busi ness: you got me to ruin my old daddy, and you ain't offering me but $250 fcr it. You've frequently promised to make Maxine marry me and as fre quently broken your word. Marriage with her is now my only means of get ting any money. She's got property JM'iart from what you embezzled from her" the banker's pallid face showed a stain of. color at this charge "and i am going to have it." Ho suddenly rose and pressed a pis tol to the banker's temple. "Now, whined the banker catching at the last straw. ''Haven't I?" cried Gabriel, pulling an official envelope from his pocket, well, this tells another tale. Come on, Maxine," he continued, "I am not going to have any foolishness tonight " Ho took a step forward. "You earth' scum!" she cried, her beautiful eyes aflame with infinite bcoin. jjo you think you can frighten j me, euwara: tier nand fell swiftly to her side, and from her girdle she removed an expuisite pear-handled pen knife. "I do not fear death. Why should I fear you? Only this death is preferable to you." "Maxy! Maxy!" remonstrated Mr. MacDonald, his face purple from the nervous strain he was lindprp-niTiP- 'try to be reasonable, dear. Gabriel! only means to do right. He loves you " "I hate him!" she exclaimed, stamp ing her foot. "I would sooner love a frog." "You hate me, then!" Gabriel cried, a terrible expression in his eyes. "Take that back or die!" Ho drew a pistol and leveled it at her heart. Ananias Blake's earth-colored face faded to a lifeless gray; he stood rooted to the Roec paralyzed in every limb. But the banker, with a last noble impulse the supreme cleaving of blood to blood grasped Gabriel's arm and, with all his feeble strength, sought to wrest the pistol from him. In some way, wh ether intentionally or not was never known, the weapon discharged, the ball entering the banker's breast. He sank to the floor with a groan, the blood weltering from the wound. He tried to speak, but his voice sank with a gurgling gasp. A convulsive shudder passed through his frame, and he was dead. He had robbed the pale cashier of his triumph, and gone up to face his record on the greater book. Maxine had fainted and lay upon the floor. Gabriel threw the pistel beside her and, in company with Ananias, rushed from the room arid ran rapidly down the street. Near a crossing they passed a man who was coming towards the banker's house. In the glittering glare of a nearby street lamp they recognized the Bank! Examiner. He recognized them, too, but beneath the cover of the night they were soon far from possible pursuers. & a i- ' The Coroner's Jury summoned to hold an inquest over the banker's body reported : "We find that Hector MacDonald came to his death from . a pistol-shot wound at the hands of one Gabriel Allen.' The conclusion was reached by the jury on the evidence given by the State Bank Examiner and the merchant who had sold Gabriel Allen a pistol and cartridges. It was further substantiated by the Register of Deeds, who swore that Gabriel had purchased a mar riage license the evening before the tragedy. Neither Gabriel nor Ananias Blake could be found. Maxine was theretore tully exoner ated from even a suspicion of compli city in the crime, it being generally known that she had repeatedly refused to marry Gabriel. A careful examination of the bank revealed the fact that Doctor Allen and other large depositors had been robbed of all they had on deposit. The doctor was almost beside him self with rage. He had recently de posited a large sum, having mortgaged Rocky Heights to buy a valuable body of timber land, which he meant to sell to a syndicate. The owner of the land was down South on business and Doc tor Allen had merely deposited the money for safe-keeping. The mortgage on Rocky Heights was held by a crusty old miser who would certainly foreclose. The doctor dis covered later that the Brandon Place had been "salted" and possessed no gold-bearing quartz at all. He was eventually forced to giye up Rocky Heights and move to Ansonville, where he spent the remainder of his days in a little tenement house. Shortly after the banker's burial Maxine had received "a letter from Ma jor Graves, urging her to come to New York and make her home with him. His house was kept by a maiden sister a most companionable woman, de spite her spinstership and Maxine consented to go. It was not without a severe struggle, however, that she turned her face from the South. It was doubly dear to her her birthplace and birthright. More over, it was the land of his hone. Fate had been cruel to her had by unusual circumstances plucked from her the idol of her soul. Very sadly she packed her trunks, lingering over every little faded flower, every little keep-sake, bedewing them with tears. (To be Concluded Tomorrow.) Special to The News. Lenoir, N. C, April 22. A large number of the business arid profes sional men of Lenoir met at the graded school auditorium Monday night to dis cuss ways and means incident to or ganizing and maintaining a Young Men s (jmistian .association tor our town. The movement was enthusiasti cally endorsed by nearly every man present and several speeches were made by some of the most influential men of our town in favor of this or ganization, urging the necessity for an early establishment of an institution of this kind. For two weeks past Messrs. J. B. At kinson and A. V. Miller have circulated two papers asking tjic support of all who were interested in a movement of this kind and succeeded in securing over 200 names pledging - themselves to support this movement, and, if or ganized, to help maintain the organiza tion, thereby assuring the promoters of this good work that they will do their several parts toward making an institution of this character as part of the town of Lenoir. HOW IS YOUR STOMACH? Easy Way to rices ON Kitcheo C abkets You no doubt have been wanting one for a long while, but have delayed your purchase because of price. This sale clears the way of that objection and makes it possible to buy a The Year and the Calendar. After Julius Caesar corrected the cal endar the year was still 11 minutes 14 seconds too long, amounting to one day in 12$ years. As the centuries passed the Interval between the com mencement of the year and the spring equinox grew less. It was not, how ever, until 1582 that anything was done about it. Then Pope Gregory XIII. set out to remedy the difficulty. This he did by directing the suppression of ten days outright. In order to provide for the future he ordered that all century years (1700, 1800, etc.) which would ordinary be leap years should be com mon years unless they were multiples of 400. This arrangement, which still holds good, leaves only one day too much in 3,400 years. A French scien tist has proposed dropping an addi tional day in the year 3,200 and repeat ing the process every 3,200 years. This would leave us short one day every 30,000 years, which may be considered correct enough for all practical pur poses. At any rate, the matter is not pressing. New York Post. . Wigg "Bejones has joined a suicide club." Wagg "I suspected as much; I saw him buying a chafing dish the other day." Philadelphia Record. $20.00 .... 32.50 35.00 ...... 36.50 Ccibiiriot for $15.00 24.00 26.50 27.50 Strengthen It and Get! Well, ' A good digestive system, one that acts so that you do not know that you have a stomach, is God's birthright toi I If digestion is weak, if food turns in to gas, if you suffer alter eating, if you are sleepless, nervous and out of sorts the the stomach is diseased and prompt action should be taken. W. A. Ennis, a well known builder in Syracuse, tells an easy way to strengthen the stomach and get well when he writes: "Mi-o-na Stomach i. ctuitJLS nave nunc uiuic iui iiic m uuc , 1 1 1 If CI' 1 j . -i week than all the doctors the two and you should avail yourselr or this great opportunity to supply your r urniturc wants. Lome years I was under tneir care i nanus and look oyer the stock. i ou Will find many things that will interest you. tr TVTir-nn T rati wnrlc rmriA rnnrp thp o first time in over a year." It is an easy thing to strengthen the stomach and cure indigestion by using Mi-o-na. Get a 50-cent box from Woodall & Sheppard with their guar antee to refund the money unless the remedy does all that is claimed for it. Only a Few and They Must Be Sold. Now is Your Chance You should not forget that our entire stock, shown on our second and third floors, which includes an immense stock of a great variety of goods, is now being offered at A Tremendous Reduction in Prices Tell a woman she is clever and she will like you; tell her she is beautiful and she will be your friend for life. NEIGHBORHOOD FAVORITE. Mrs. E. D. Chaiies, of Harbor, Maine, speaking of Electric Bitters, says: "It is a. neighborhood favorite here with us." It deserves to be a favorite everywhere. It gives quick relief in dyspepsia, liver complaint, kidney derangement, malnutrition, nervousness, weakness and general de bility. Its action on the blood, as a thorough purifier makes it especially useful as a spring medicine. This grand alterative tonic is sold under guarantee at Woodall & Sheppard's drug store, 50. Furniture 1 Company Allan's Magnetic Cough Syrup Cures Coughs, Colds, Grippe, Made By WOODALL & SHEPPARD 'Phone 69. ig caving on Library and Parlor Tables f' nie right along and tell that con trary niece of yours what she's got to do. I'm a desperate man, and if you cross me you die." Mr. MacDonald started visibly, his flabby jaw dropped, his teeth chat tered. "Why what has possessed you Gabriel?" he gasped. The devil you but don't possess me any mre. I'm going to be my own boss awhile and Maxine's." He took the bariker roughly by the shoulder. "Come on and lets hx up 'he fun. We'll take along Ananias Blake, J. P." Mr. MacDonald arose tremblingly, Picked un his hat and followed Ga briel out into the street. At the corner they were joined by Ananias Blake. Gabriel's stride and that of Ananias was steady and strong, the banker's faltering and feeble, his rne careening on the loose boards of the sidewalk. They silently entered the banker's house like black birds of ill-omen. Maxine was seated in the parlor f ading a magazine. She rose stiffly as they filed in. "Maxine," the banker began, abrupt Iv, summoning up all his failing strength, "we've tome to marry you to Gabriel." "To marry me to Gabriel?" she echoed. "You are thoughtful ,iincle. It is kind of you- to tell me. I might not have had time to arrange my trousseau." : Tall and graceful she confronted them, her fair cheeks shot through with color. ' Oh, it doesn't matter about the trousseau,". Gabriel broke in impatiently- "Come, Ananias, get your cere mony ready." "What ceremony, sir!" Maxine cried, her bosom heaving, her eyes ( blazing i A wiin naif controlled anger. l am aware of no ceremony in which I am in the slightest degree interested. I am surprised, uncle," she went on, turning to Mr. MacDonald, "that you allow me to be insulted in your own house, and before your .eyes." "You haven't any license, Gabriel," No woman's happi ness can be complete without children ; it is her nature to love and want them as much so as it is to love the beau tiful and pure. The critical ordeal through which the OEpeEant mother must pass, however, is so fraught with dread, pain, suffsriag and danger, that the very thought of it fills her with apprehension and horror. There is no necessity for the reproduction of life to be either painful or dangerous. The use of Mother's Friend so prepares the system for the coming event that it is safely passed without any danger. This great and wonderful remedy is always ap plied externally, and has carried thousands of women through the trying crisis witnout sunenng. S2BEir ggj Send for free book containing information of priceless value to all expectant mothers. The BradSeld Regulator Co., Atlanta, 6a. During tbo Remodeling Sale pric es are cut to the lowest point on everything and in our immense stock, we have a large variety oi. i arior ana Library Tables which has also come under tne Knne. Beautiful Mahogany Parlor Tables, $7.50, Beautiful Mahogany Parlor Tables, $8.50. Sale Price $ 5.75 Sale Price $ 6.50 Beautiful Golden Oak Parlor Tables, 13.50. Sale race Beautiful Golden Oak Parlor Tables, $18.00. Sale Price. Beautiful Golden Oak Library Tables, $12.50, Sale Price. Beautiful Golden Oak Library Tables, $14.50, Sale Price. Beautiful Mahogany Library Tables, $16.50, Sale Price, . Another large shipment of Mattings just received. . . .$ 2.50 ...$13.75 . .$10.00 .'.$11.75 . .$12.25 T. McCOY CO r Hi""- " Odorless Now is the time to oegin thinking about, getting a f 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. Refri gerators It costs more to make them this way, but we sell them just as low as other makes. : Let us show you our line. 1 . Irtcrriiiig & Mntoini Charlotte, N. C. The ONLY REAL Odorless Refrigerator on the market. No taste and no smell on any kind of eatables, even though you have 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. AH sizes from one pint to 20 quarts. 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. 16 N. College Street. Weddmpn Hardware Co (INCORPORATED) Phona 65. 29 East Trade St. lelt -Mattress Shipped Anywhere on Approval, Freight Prepaid ize Art Tick n o Our Guarantee We guarantee this Mattress, to be made from pure raw stock. Sleep on it sixty nights and if not satis factory return to us and money will be refunded. This guarantee is sewed on end of each Mattress. Realizing the necessity of a fine felt mattress at a moderate price, we have decided to make this mattress and place it on the market at this remarkably low price. We guarantee the PURI TY Felt Mattress to he as comfortable and as satisfactory as any felt" or hair Mattress on the market regardless of price. It is made from a fine quality of felt and covered with fancy art tick ing and will not pack or get in lumps. Order one and if you are not pleased with it when you see it, ship it back at our expense. Order direct from us, as we do not sell this mattress through agents. CSS Parker -G ardher Company Furniture Carpets Pianos Pianolas esr o o crrr oczzt o c DOC DO ! fs :H Br Sir r, Lit
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 22, 1908, edition 1
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