. /T XV
fir I
SYNOPSIS.
Til* acene at the opening of the story la
laid In the library of an old worn-out
southern plantation, known aa the Bar
ony. Tha place la to be eold, and Ita
history and that of tha ownera, tha
Qulntarda, la the aubject of dlacuaalon by
Jonathan Crenahaw. a bualnaaa man, a
Stranger known aa Bladen, and Bob
Taney, a farmer, when Hannibal Wayne
Haaard. a myaterloua child of the old
southern family, makea his appearance.
Taney telle how he adopted the 6oy. Na
thaniel Ferrla buys the Barony, but the
Qulntarda deny any knowledge of the
boy. Taney to keep Hannibal. Captain
Murrell, a friend of the Qulntarda. ap
pears and asks questions about the Bar
ony. Trouble at Scratch Hill, when Han
nibal Is kidnaped by Dave Blount. Cap
tain Mutrell'a agent. Taney overtakes
Blount, gnua him a thrashing and eecurea
the boy. Bfancy appears before Squire
Balaam, ant la dlacharged with costs for
the plaintiff. Betty Malroy. a friend of
tha Ferrtees, has an encounter with Cap
tain Murrell. whe forces hla attentions on
her. and Is rescued by Bruce Carrlngton.
Betty sets out for her Tennessee home.
Carnngton takea the aame stare. Taney
and Hannibal disappear, with Murrell on
their trail. Hannibal arrivea at the home
of Judge Slocum Price. The Judge receg
of Judge glocum Price. The Judge recog
nises In the boy, the grandson of an old
ttane friend.
CHAPTER Vll—(Continued).
"Boy, don't be afraid. Look on ms
•a a friend," urged the Judge.
"I reckon I'll be glad to stop," an
swered Hannibal.
"Such confidence is Inspiring. Are
jrou hungry?"
"Yea, air," replied Hannibal.
"What do you aay to cold flahr'
the judge smacked his lips to Impart
s relish to the Idea. "I dare swear
I can find you some corn bread Into
the bargain." He began to assemble
the dalntlea be had enumerated.
"Here you are!" he cleared his throat
Impressively, while benignity ahone
from every feature of his face. "A
moment since you allowed me to think
you were solvent to the extent of
fifty cents —" Hannibal looked pus
sled. "I wonder If you could be In
duced to mske a temporary loan of
that fifty centa? The sum Involved
Is really such a ridiculous trllle 1
don't need to point out to you the ab
solute moral certainty of my return
ing it an early date."
It was not the loss of his money
that Hannibal most feared, and the
coin passed from his possession Into
his host's custody.
'Thank you, my boy! I must step
down to the tavern—when 1 return,
please God, we shall know more of
each other." While be was still
speaking, he had produced a Jug from
behind the quilt that screened his
bed, and now took himself off Into the
night.
Left alone, Hannibal gravely seated
himself at the table. What the
Judge'a larder lacked In variety It
more than made up for in quantity,
and the boy was grateful for this fact.
Presently he heard the Judge's heavy,
shuffling step aa he came up the path
from the road, and a moment later
his gross bulk of body Oiled the door
way. Breathing hard and perspiring,
the Judge entered the shanty, but hla
•agerness kept him allent until he
had established himself in his chair
beside the table, with the Jug and a
cracked glass at his elbow. Then,
bland and amlllng, he turned toward
his guest.
"My tendereat regards, Hannibal!"
and he nodded over the rim of the
cracked glass his shaking hand had
carried to hia lips. Twice the glass
was filled and emptied, and then
again, his roving, watery eyes rested
meditatively on the, child. "Have you
a father?" he aaked suddenly. Han
nibal ahook hla head. "A mother?"
"They both of them done died
years and years ago," answered the
boy. "I can't tell you how long back
It was, but I reckon I don't know
much about It I must have been a
small child."
"Ho—a amall child!" cried the
Judge, laughing. He cocked his head
on one side and surveyed Hannibal
Wayne Hazard with a glance of com
ic aerlousness. "In God's name what
do you call yourself now?"
"I'm most ten," said Hannibal, with
dignity.
"I can well believe it," responded
the Judge. "Where did you come
from?"
"Prom across the mountains."
"And where are you going?"
"To west Tennessee."
"Have you any friends there?"
"Yea, sir."
"You've money enough to see you
through?" snd whst the judge intend
ed for a smile of fstherly affection
became a leer of infinite cunning.
"I got ten dollars."
"Ten dollsrs —" the Judge smacked
his lips once. "Ten dollsrs—" he re
peated, and smacked hia lips twice.
The purple flush on the judge's
face, where the dignity that belonged
to age had gone down in wreck, deep
ened.
He quitted his chair and, lurching
somewhat aa he did so, began to pace
the floor.
\ "Take me for your example, boy!
You may be poor, you may possibly
bi hungry—you'll often be thirsty,
but through ft all you will remain
that splendid thing—a gentleman!
RJY THE
WM PRODIGAL
JM JUDGE
KESTER.
■ ' I LUVSRJYUWFSBYDLMELVILC
Perhaps you'M contend that the old
order Is overthrown, that family has
gone to the devil? You are right, and
there'a the pity of it! The social
fabric la tottering—l can see it tot
ter—" snd he tottered himself as he
said this.
"Well, I'm an old man—the spec
tacle won't long offend me. I'll die
presently." He waa so profoundly
moved by the thought that he could
not go on. His voice broke, and he
burled his face in his arms. A sym
pathetic moisture had gathered In the
child's eyes. He slipped from his
chair and stole to the Judge's side.
"I'm mighty sorry you're going to
die."
"Bless you, Hannibal!" cried the
Judge, looking wonderfully cheerful,
despite his recent bitterness of spirit.
"I'm not experiencing any of the pangs
of mortality now. My dissolution ain't
a matter of tonight or tomorrow —
there's some life in Slocum Price yet,
for all the rough usage, eh? 1 think
you'd better go to bed."
"I reckon I had," agreed Hannibal,
slipping from his chair.
"Well, take my bed back of the
qujlt. You'll find a hoe there. You
can dig up the dirt under the shuck
tick with it —which helps astonishing
ly. What would the world say If it
could know that Judge Slocum Price
makes his bed with a hoe!"
Hannibal retired behind the quilt.
"Do you find it comfortable?" the
Judge asked, when the rustling of the
shuck tick informed him that the
child had lain down.
"Yes, sir," said the boy.
"Have you said your prayers?" In
quired the Judge.
"No, sir. I ain't said 'em yet."
"Well, say them now. Religion is
as becoming in the young as it la re
spectable In the aged. I'll not dls
M Hla Grandson Is Back of That Curtain, Now—Aaleep In My Bed."
turb you tonight, for It Is God's will
that I should stay up and get very
drunk."
CHAPTER VIII.
Boon Companions.
Some time later the judge was
aware of a step on the path beyond
his door, and glancing up, saw the
tail figure of a m*n pause on hla
threshold. A whispered curse slipped
from between his lips. Aloud he
said:
"la that you, Mr. MahaffyT" He
got no reply, but the tall figure, pro
pelled by very long legs, stalked Into
the shanty and a pair of keen, rest
less eyes deeply set under a high, bald
head were bent curiously upon him.
"I take It I'm Intruding," the new
comer said sourly.
"Why should you think that, Solo
mon MahaffyT When has my door
been closed on you?" the Judge asked,
but there was a guilty deepening of
the flush oa his face. Mr. Mahaffy
glanced at the Jug, at the half-emptied
glass, lastly at the Judge himself.
wmm—mmamm—B
"You seem to be raiting flrstrate
hell all by yourself."
"Ob, be reasonable, Solomon. You'd
rone down to the steamboat land
lnc," Bald the Judge "plaintively. By
way of anawer, Mahaffy shot him a
contemptuous glance. "Take a chair
—do, Solomon!" entreated the Judge.
"When did I ever sneak a Jug Into
my shanty T" asked Mahaffy sternly,
evidently conscious of entire recti
tude In this matter.
"I deplore your choice of words,
Solomon." said the Judge. "You know
damn well that It you'd been here 1
couldn't have got past your place
with that Jug! But let's deal with
conditions. Here's the Jug, with some
liquor left In It —here's a glass. Now
what more do you want?"
Mr. Mahaffy drew near the table.
"Sit down," urged the Judge.
"I hope you feel meant" said Ma
haffy.
"If It's any satisfaction to you, I
do," admitted the Judge.
"You ought to." MahafTy drew for
ward a chair. The Judge filled his
glass.
"What's the news from the land
ing?"
Mahaffy brought his fist down on
the table.
"I heard the boat churning away
round back of the bend, then I saw
the lights, and she tied up and they
tossed off the freight. 1 uen she
churned away again and her lights
got back of the trees on the bank.
There was the lap of waves on the
shore, and I was left with the half
dozen miserable loafers who'd crawled
out to see the boat come In. That's
the news six days a week!"
By the river had come the Judge,
tentatively hopeful, but at heart ex
pecting nothing, therefore immune to
disappointment and equipped for fall-
i ure. Br the river had come Mr. Ma
' haffy, as unfit as the Judge himself,
And for the same reason, but sour and
bitter with the world, believing al
ways In the possibility of some mir
acle of regeneration.
At the Judge's elbow Mr. Mahaffy
changed his position with nervous
suddenness. Then he folded bis long
i arms.
"You asked if there was any news,
Price; while we were waiting for the
i boat a raft tied up to the bank; the
fellow aboard of it had a man he'd
L MP OUt Of the rtvar B ""l
who'd been pretty well cut to pieces."
"Who was be?" asked the Judge.
"Nobody knew, and big wasn't ton
scious. I shouldn't be surprised If he
never opens his lips again. When
the doctor had looked to his cuts, the
fellow on the raft cast off and went
on down Elk."
It occurred to the Judge that he
himself had news to impart. He must
account for the boy's presence.
"While you've been taking your
whiff of life down at tbe steamboat
landing. Mabaffy, I've been expert-
•nclng a most extraordinary coinci
dence. When I went to ths war of
'IS, a Hazard aocompanled ms as my
orderly. His grandson Is back of that
curtain now—asleep—ln my bed I"
Mahaffy put down his glass.
"You were like this once before."
he said darkly. But at that Instant
the shuck tick rattled noisily at soma
movement of the sleeping boy. Ma
haffy quitted his chair, and crossing
the room, drew the quilt aside. A
glance sufficed to assure him that in
part, at least, the Judge spoke the
truth.
There was a hoof-beat on the road.
It came nearer and nearer, an.l pres
ently sounded Just beyond ths door.
Then it ceased, and a voice sal-l:
"Hullo, there!" The Judge scram
bled to his feet, and taking up the
candle, staggered into the yard. Ma
haffy followed him.
"What's wanted?" asked the Judge
holding his candle aloft. The light
showed a tall fellow mounted on a
handsome bay horse. It was Murrell.
"Have either of you gentlemen seen
a boy go through here today?" Mur
rell glanced from one to the other.
Mr. Mahaffy's thin lips twisted them*
selves Into s sarcastic smile. Ha
turned to the Judge, who spoke up
quickly.
"I)ld he carry a bundle and rifle?"
he asked. Murrell gave eager assent,
i "Well," ssld the Judge, "he stopped
here along about four o'clock, and
asked his way to the nearest river
landing."
• •••••••
"Hannibal —" the Judge's voice and
manner were rather stern. • "Hanni
bal, a man rode by here last night on
a big bay horse. He said he wag .
looking for a boy about ten years old
i —a boy With a bundle and rifle."
There was an awful pause. "Who was
that man, Hannibal?"
"It were Captain Murrell." The
Judge raised his flat and brought It
down with a great crash on the ta
ble. "We don't know any boy ten
years old with a rifle and bundle!"
he said.
"l'lease —you won't let him take me
away. Judge—l want to stop ( with
you!" cried Hannibal. He slipped
from hla chair, and passing about the
table, seized the Judge by the hand.
The Judge was visibly affected.
"No!" he roared. "He shan't have
you. Is he kin to you?"
"No," said Hannibal. "He tried to
get me away from my Uncle Bob."
"Where 1b your Uncle Bob?"
"He's dead." And the child began j
to weep bitterly. The judge bent
and lifted him Into bis lap.
'There, my son—" ho said sooth- \
lngly. "Now you tell me when he j
died, and all about It."
"He were killed. It were only yes- j
terday, and 1 can't forget him. I
don't want to —but It hurts —It hurts j
terrible!" Hannibal burled his head in i
the Judge's shoulder and sobbed j
aloud. Presently his small hands |
stole about the Judge's neck, and that j
gentleman experienced a strange thrill
of pleasure.
"Tell me how he died, Hannibal,"
he urged gently. In a voice broken
by sobs, the child began the story
of their flight, a confused narrative.
The Judge shuddered. "Can such
things be," he murmured at last. Then '
he remembered what Mahaffy had !
told him of the man on the raft
"Hannibal," he said, "Solomon Ma
haffy, who was here last night, told
me he saw down at the river land
ing, a man. who had been lisned up i
out of the Elk —a man who had been j
roughly handled."
"Were it my Uncle Bob?" cried
Hannibal, lifting a swollen face to J
his.
"Dear lad, I don't know," said ths j
Judge sympathetically.
"It were Uncle Bob! I know It
were my Uncle Bob! I must go find j
him!" and Hannibal slipped from the
judge's lap and ran for his rifle and
, bundle.
"Stop a bit!" cried the judge. "Now, I
If it was your Uncle Bob, he'll come
back the moment he Is able to travel.
Meantime, you must remain under my i
protection while we investigate this
man Slosson."
It was Saturday, and In Pleasant- '
ville a Jall-ralslng was In progress.
During all the years of Its corporate
dignity the village had never boasted
any building wbere the evil-doer could
be placed under restraint; hence had
arisen its peculiar habit of dealing
with crime; but a leading citizen had
donated half -an acre of ground lying
midway between the town and the
river landing as a site for the pro
posed structure, and the scattered
population of the region had assem
bled for the raising.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Turned Her Gold Into Nugget.
Mme. Couly of Romortln, Franc*
who had concealed S4OO In gold in her
kitchen grate during a brief absence,
forgot all about It on her return, and
lit a Are which converted her whols
fortune into a gold nugget.
LAND OF THE LONG LEAF PINE
i
The Latest News of Qeneral Interest
Collected From Many Towns and
Counties of ths State.
Durham. —The matter of electing a
new health officer for the city of Dur
ham was postponed until the June
meeting of the board of health. The
proposition to employ a policeman to
patrol the watershed of Enoe river,
the source of Durham's water supply
was discussed and two men made ap
plication for the job.
Raleigh.—Judge Connor In the Fed
eral court here gave warning to the
itnlted States commissioners of his
district that he will not countenance
the practice of trumping up cases for
making or selling whiskey where It
appears the state courts have had the
defendants before them for the same
offenses.
Charlotte. —The congressional con
vention of the Ninth district will as
semble at Llncolnton at noon June
12th, for the purpose of formally nom
inating Hon. E. Y. Webb to succeed
himself In the house of representatives
in Washington. Little other business
of Importance Is scheduled for con
sideration.
Wilson.—A. B. Deans, former clerk
of the superior court of Wilson coun
ty, was seriously lnjurnd when his
automobile and that of Affle Parker
collided about three miles from here,
Mr. Deans was the only occupant of
his car which turned over and rolled
down a 16-foot embankment failing no
him.
Klnston.—Dr. C. 8. Strosnlder. of
the North Carolina Hookworm Com
mission. Is in Klnston making prepa
rations for beginning a four or five
weeks' csmpalgn against the disease
In Lenoir county. The work will be
begun In the near future. Dr. Strosnl
der has been conducting a dispensary
In Greene county.
Raleigh.—C. B. Btlnson, of Bear
Creek, on the railroad between Wil
mington and Greensboro, was on trial
In the federal court here for selling
brandy and It developed that the evi
dence was of the sllmest sort and
that there had, furthermore, been an
acquittal In the state courtß on the
same. Judge Connor ordered the case
dismissed.
Raleigh.—Commissioner of Insur
ance Young reports that there have
be&i 128 convictions In various parts
of the state for burnings since the
department of Insurance was organ
ized up to January 1, 1912, and that
since January 1, there have been 8
convictions with 23 persons now \in
der indictment of burnings. These
are in New Hanover, Buncombe, Co
lumbus, Union, Craven, Haywood and
Montgomery counties.
Italelgh.—The trustees of A. & M.
College In their annual session here
expressed, unanimous opposition to
the proposed merger of the state de
partment of agriculture and the col
lege as was proposed in a bill urged
upon the last legislature. There was
a commission appointed to Investi
gate and recommend for or against
I the proposition by the last leglslo-
I ture. This report will come to the
I 1913 session.
I
Thomasvllle. —Prospects are bright
I for Thomasvllle since tHe recent rail
road deal which took place here when
W. N. Coler & Co., of New York,
bought the Piedmont Kailroad, a line
j from Thomasvllle to Denton. The
road will certainly not remain as It
| Is and In all probability there will
be a change and extension. It has
not been given out yet what steps
will be taken, but It ,b rumored that
the road will be continued and con
nect with the Southbound.
Newton. —• Mrs. Fannie Hansom
Williams, at the head of the organlza-
I tion of the Daughters of the Confed
eracy In North Cwollna, has Issued
! the following to the members in the
' state. "Monday, June 10, the fifty
first anniversary of his death, the
Norh Carolina division of the U. I).
■ C. will unveil In the Capital square
In Raleigh their monument 10 Henry
;■ -Wyatt, our 'First at Bethel.'" This
I monument has been erected through
your efforts. Your committee secur
j ed the gift from the state to aid In
j the work, and the completion of the
j monument brings Joy to every North
Carolina Daughter's heart. It is
I therefore nothing but right that mem
bers of you should be present.
| Morganton. The annual meeting
of the board of directors of the
North Carolina School for the Deaf
J took place at Morganton. The board
passed upon tha work of the year
! and ordered the necessary repairs
made during vacation.
Wilmington.—J. Edgar Gibbes Suggs
j the 8-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs.
| Charles W. Suggs, was drowned In
I the old rock quarry Just east of the
city, when he stepped in a hole over
his head. Only two small boys were
with him at the time and were unable
to go to his help when they saw him
going down.
Scotland Neck.—At a meeting of the
irtnnnty Democratic executive meeting -
Hon. E. L. Travis, corporation com
missioner, was unanimously re-elected
chairman. Mr. Travis has served In
this capacity continuously since 1896.
WlnstonrSalem. —Fire, believed to
have been of incendiary origin, dam- ,
aged the five-story brick building and
Job printing plant of Stewart Bros. In
the heart of the city. The confllag- ,
ration Is being Investigated by Assist- i
ant State Insurance Commissioner (
Scott. The building and plant were |
valued at $45,000 and insured for i
$41,000. __ |
HELD FOR MURDER
SENSATION UNEARTHED IN CALD
WELL COUNTY SEVERAL
DAYB AGO.
MRS. HOLCLAW BEING HELD
Accused of Being Mother and Mur
derer of Baby—Coroner's Jury Rec
ommends Holding Her. —To Be Tried
at Next Term of Court.
Lenoir. A sensation occured
when the body of an unknown Infant
male child was found buried in the
woods near Valmead, a little more
than a mile north of Lenoir. The body
was found In an old hollow stump
and from all appearances it had been
there several days or a week. Sheriff
Icard was immediately notified of the
gruesome discovery and went to the
soene. Upon a hasty examination the
officer decided that murder had been
oommltted and summoned Dr. Mc-
Nalry to examine the body of the
child and the doctor told the officer
the child had lived and breathed and
in his opinion had been killed.
A woman by the Dime of Mrs. Anna
Holaclaw was arrested on suspicion.
When the officer appeared to take
the woman into cußtody she denied
any knowledge of the affair, but she
was taken to jail to await the action
of the coroner's jury. Coroner Aus
tin was called, a Jury Impaneled and
an inquest held in the court house.
Twelve witnesses, including two doc
tors, were called and testified before
the jury. The actions of the woman
as seen by the witnesses and the
testimony given by the doctors justi
fied the jury in bringing ia-ihe fol
lowing verdict after a short delib
eration: "That the Infant child, un
named and unknown to the jury, came
to its death by the act of, and was
murdered by one Anna Holßclaw, the
said woman being the mother of the
child."
Upon the foregoing verdict of the
jury the woman was bound over to
the next term of Caldwell's criminal
court on the charge of willfully mur
dering her offspring. The witnesses
all swore practically the same story
and the case seems to be an ugly one
against the woman charged with the
crime. There is some belief that
some one else will be brought into
the case before time for court to con
vene In August.
Wind Storm Does Damage In Union.
Monroe, News has just reached
here that much damage was done by
wind storms in the county. A barn be
longing to James Leonard in Lane's
Creek township was destroyed, as
well as a great quantity of timber In
the same vicinity. At the home of L.
B. Snipes in the same township a
flower house and a smoke house were
blown down and a good deal of tim
ber also. In Buford and Monroe,
township the damage was nearly as
severe. At M. R. Pigg'S residence a'
tree was blown down, striking one ot
his children and severely Injuring
him.
Accultted of Chargt of murder.
Fayettevllle. G. W. (Buck) Fann
was acquitted of the charge of first
degree murder for killing Joe Salmon,
a fellow hack driver, on January 5,
by superior court jury here recently,
after the jury had deliberated twenty
minutes, while later in the day Will
Bryant, a negro was found guilty ol
murder In the second degree, for kill
ing Will Evans, another negro, at the
latter's home In Seventy-first town
ship, this county, In February. Fann
pleaded self-defense, while Bryant
submitted to a second degree murder
and was sentenced by Judge Peebles
to 30 years In prison.
A Costly Fire at Belheaven.
Washington. A very costly and
destructive fire occured Jn thejown of
Belhaven, tills county, abouf 15 miles
from this city when a large portion
of the Immense manufacturing plant
of the Interstate Cooperage Company
was destroyed. The fire was first dis
covered in the" box factory of the
company and rapidly spread to the
lumber shed and dry kilns, all of
which were consumed.
'Defendants Protesy Innocence.
Hendersonville. Protesting their
innocence of the murder of Myrtle
Hawkins, George Bradley, Abner Mc-
Call and wife, Beatrice Mc Call, tes
tified in their own behalf and under
went a long and gruelling cross-ex
amination. Bradley denied having
any knowledge of the dead girl's con
dition but admitted that they were
good friends and that he called on
her regularly almost until his mar
riage, which was about a month be
fore her disappearance. He denied
that he had ever made love to her.
Man Killed By FalHng Ttmber.
Wilmington. E. J. Taylor, a car
penter, 57 years old, was almost in
stantly killed when a building on
which he was work at Sans-Souci
farm near the city collapsed. He was
caught by falling timbers and , his
neck was broken and other bone*
fractured. He lived only a few mom
ents after the arrival of an ambul
ance and a physician. His 15-year- ,
old son was nearby and heard the
falling timbers. He rushed to the
spot hut found his father unconci-
DUS.