$i.oo a Year, in Advance.
" FOR GOP, FOI COUNTRY, AND F OR TRUTH."
Single Copy, 5 Cents.
VoL. XII.
PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1902.
N0.5L
YttE CRY
TTe keep foreyer begging time :
When Willie has a task to do
fie puts it olE and puts it off
The old excuse is always now;
'lh just a little while," he cries,
And 80 forgets and playa, and then
Is urged and scolded, and replies:
"In just a little while," again.
The happy maiden asks for time;
She knows she loves, but finds it sweet
To keep the eager, anxious one
A little longer at her feet.
.We make fair plans and then we sigh
For time to do the splendid thing,
And dawdle while the seasons fly
, From spring to fall, ' from fall to
spring,
T
HE Chipmunk was curled up
oa a log in the sunshine fast
asleep, and the Canada Lynx's
- m youngest son, was watching
him. The Kitten's eyes were 'gleam
ing. His ears and his tail twitched
nervously, and he was crawling nearer
and nearer slowly, stealthily, step by
step. And now he gathered himself
lor a spring, crouched for an instant
on the ground and jumped. The Chip
munk struggled for a moment and lay
still, looking up plleously into the ex-
ciil'u ejes mat were giuiuig uvwu
pon him.
"Mother," called the Kitten, "come
here. I've got a nice, fat chipmunk."
.There, was a rustle among the dry
leaves and the Canada Lynx came run
ning through the woods. The Kitten
turncl his head to look at her. His
paws relaxed the least bit, the Chip
munk gave a wriggle and" a twist, and
In another second a little striped body
had vanished down a hole between the
:roots of a birch tree.
. "Oh! Oh." cried the Kitten, "he's
got away."
Ho poked his paws into the hole
-and pretended, that he was still try
ing to catch the Chipmunk, but he
could no more have followed him down
that narrow, winding burrow than he
-could have curled up like a bee in
Side of a moccasin Cower. . He was
ashamed of himself, and rather f right-
f ned, too, for his mother was apt to
be severe with him, and he knew that
;he would be very much disgusted.
"You're a- great hunter, you are."
said she, scornfully. "Can't you hold
onto your game when you've caught
it?" -
, The Kitten began to whimper. "I
wouldn't help it," said he. "I just
looked around to see if you were com
ing, and he wriggled out of my paws."
"Stop that crying," said the Lynx.
I'm going to give you a whipping, and
if you cry I'll whip you all the harder.
"In the first place, you'd no business
to touch the Chipmunk at all, for he
hplon!?3 the Knokwoods Club."
Here she gave him a box on the right
ear that sent him sprawling.
"Iu the second place, when you do
catch things, you must hold onto
them."
Here she gave him a box on the left
ear that sent him the other way.
"And in the third place, you mustn't
call mo to look at your game until
.you've made sure of it."
And here she gave him a good, old
fashioned spumting.
The Kitten took it manfully, but
-when it was done, he said: "Mother,
I don't see why, you should be so an
.gry." "I'm not angry," said she. "I'm only
trying to teach you what you mustn't
do. Did you ever hear about the
.Wolf's uncle, how he called some other
.wolves to eat a deer, and how the deer
was gone when -hey got there, and
.what happened to him?"
,j "No," said the Kitten.
"Well," said his mother. "I'll tell you
fcbout it, and maybe it will teach you
ifco be careful."
And this is the story that the Canada
Lynx told to her youngest son:
"It was a good many years ago, and
tet that time there was a big pack of
solves that -sed to hunt all through
these woods, from here to Lake Su
perior." "Was it the same pack that chased
Ihe Buck and tha Doe?' asked the Kit
ten. .
FOR TIME.
A man, white-visaged, sits alone
And bites his nails and gazes through
A grayish mist upon the note (T
That on the morrow shall be due.
He sees their pity who were free
But yesterday to share his jest
"Time!" "Time!'; he gasps and wretch
edly Feels hope lie dead within his breast. '
We keep forever begging time;
The maid in love, the boy at play.
And he that plans to be sublime,
Each craves a more propitious day;
And when, at last, the sun has set.
He that is old and gray and blind
Still cries "To-morrow ! ,( loth to let
The fading shore recede behind.
-S. E. Kiser.
"Yes," said the Lyn.r, "but you
mustn't interrupt. In winter I often
saw their tracks on. the snow. Some
times I heard them howling, and if I
thought they were coming my way
I would hide somewhere and wait i.n
til they had passed. They got awfully
hungry before spring, and I wasn't
going to take any chances with them.
"One day just after the snow and ice
had melted I was lying in the crotch
of a tree on the north shore of the
Glimmerglass, where the bank rises
'THE DEER
high and steep from the very edge of
the water. I hadn't seen or heard
anything of the wolves for some time.
.and I wasn't thinking of them or of
any other danger, but as I lay there
half asleep I heard a little noise up
the runway, and two men came in
sight, carrying rifles over their shoul
ders. Just then a big buck came up
from -the other direction. When he
saw the men be was so frightened that
he stopped short right there in the run
way. It was only for a second, but it
was just a second too long. Both the
rifles cracked and the deer dropped
dead. The hunters skinned and dressed
him, and then they talked about what
they had better do with the carcass.
They were going to look at some bear
traps, and they did not want to take
it with thein, .
" 'Let's hang it up in a tree out of
the way of the wolves,' said one. 'We
can stop for it as we come, back.'
" 'All right,' said the other, and they
tied the buck's hind feet together with
a piece of his own skin and- hung him
to the branch of a tree that stood on
the very edge of the bank. It happened
to be-the same trte that I was hiding
in, and as soon as they were gone I
scrambled down and began my dinner.
While I was eating I heard the faint
est rustle among the bushes, and there
i
WW
stood a wolf. It was the uncle of the
wolf that you know. I've known the
whole family for years. I think he
was the very leanest, hungriest-look
ing wolf I ever saw, and he seemed
perfectly delighted when he caught
sight of that dead deer hanging from
the tree. But it was too high for
him. By raising himself on his hind
legs he could just touch It with his
forepaws and set it swinging, but that
was all.
"'Don't you wish you could? said I,
and I spat at him and told him to get
a piece of birch bark to stand upon.
The Kitten's eyes sparkled. ,
"I wish I'd been there," said he.
"Be still," said his mother, and he
subsided again. r
" 'Just you wait,' said the Wolf, and
off he went at the top of his speed. I
knew what he was after, and Iate as
fast as I could. He would be back
before long with the whole pack, and
I might have to take to the tree again
to get out of their way. But they must
have been farther away than I had
thought, for it was nearly an hour
before I saw them coming, and by that
time they were too late."
"Had you eaten it all?" asked the
Kitten, eagerly. 1
"Goodness, no!" said the mother.
"You don't suppose I could eat a whole
deer, do you? Now, if you interrupt
me again, I'll give you another whip
ping. The Wolf hadn't been gone but
a little while before I noticed that the
deer's carcass was hanging lower. The
knot which held t to the branch was
slowly slipping. Probably the wolf
himself had started it when 'he set
the carcass swinging. I hung on and
ate as long as I dared, and then I
climbed up to my crotch again. A gust
of wind came along and the tree began
Ml
WAS GONE."
to sway back and forth. The knot
slipped more and more, and at last it
gave way entirely and the carcass
fell to the ground. It rolled over
and over down the hill and tumbled
into the lake with a great splash.
"Well, I sat still in the tree and wait
ed to see what the wolves would do.
A little longer and I heard the .rustle
and patter of their f eetv and then they
came in sight fifteen or twenty of
them. They were not much more than
skin and bones, and they looked as if
they had not eaten anything for a
week. But they thought that they
were going to have a grand feast now.
Their mouths were open and their
tongues were hanging out and you
should have seen their eyes glisten."
The Kitten's own eyes were big and
round; and he "was listening with all
his ears.
"The wolf, who had been there be
fore, our Wolf's uncle, came first, lead
ing the pack, but when he reached the
foot of the tree and saw that the deer
was gone, he stopped short and stood
perfectly still. His head and tail
drooped, and lie seemed to shrivel up
and grow smaller. For a minute there
wasn't a sound. Then he gave a howl,
and in all my life I never heard an
other howl like that. It was fear and
shame and despair. It was the end of
everything for him,' for he knew that
in another minute the pack would set
on him and kill him. Do you remem
ber how that man cried when he was
caught in the bear trap the other
day?"
Yes, the Kitten-remembered, and it
made him shudder, even now.
"Well, it was worse than that. It
made me tremble so that I almost fell
out of the tree, and I hid my face in
my paws and held on with all my
might. I'm sorry for the Chipmunk,
when you had hold of him, if he felt
the way that wolf did."
The' Kitten looked guilty. They both
glanced toward the hole, and caught
a glimpse of the Chipmunk's nose and
the top of his head. He had been
listening, too; but he disappeared as
quick as a wink when he saw that
they were looking at him.
"What became of the wolf?" asked
the Kitten. "Did they kill him?"
"No," said the Lynx. "The whole
pack gave ahowl of disappointment
and rage, and when I looked down
again they were all ready to spring
upon him, but just then there came an
other rifle shot, the lone wolf dropped
dead, and all the rest scattered and
ran for their lives. The two hunters
stepped out of the bushes, and I heard
one of them say, 'Well, I never saw
anything like that before.' 'Neither did
I,' said the other, 'and I don't want
to see anything like it again, or hear
it,, either. I believe I'll have a night
mare for a week.' They skinned the
wolf and pulled the dead deer out of
the water, and in a few minutes :-hey
were gone.
"Well, I learned two lessons that day.
One was not to boast until I vsjq
sure."
"And what was the other?' asked
the Kitten, for his mother had stopped
talking.
"I don't like to kill things as well as
I did when I was young," said she,
speaking rather hesitatingly, as if
she was half ashamed of it. "I have to
do it sometimes, to get enough for you
and your brothers and sisters to eat.
but I don't enjoy it the way I used
to."
"Do you think you'll remember?"
she asked, after a minute.
"Yes, ma'am," said the Kitten, very
meekly.
"You'll be careful about boasting
after this?"
"Yes, ma'am.".
"And you won't touch the Chipmunk
or any one else who belongs to the
Backwoods Club?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then run along home. It's almost
time for supper. I'll come in a min
ute," The Kitten ecampered away through
the woods, and the old Lynx followed
more slowly. The Chipmunk came
out of his hole and climbed up onto his
log once more. The sun wa3 getting
low in the west, but the light still
came soft and warm between the trees,
The Chipmunk felt very safe and
very comfortable as he curled himself
up on a bunch of moss and' went to
sleep again. William D. Hulbert, in
the Chicago Ileeord-IIerald.
Golf Luck of a Greenhorn.
Down on the Wenham golf course a
few weeks ago a new member was
playing around the links for the first
time. It was really his first serious
effort to play golf. He made a pretty
good strike-. off froman elevated tee
across a valley to the top of a hill
about seventy-five yards beyond.
Thinking to have a little practice
across the valley he struck his ball
back toward the green beside the tea
whence he had previously struck off.
The ball sailed gracefully over the hill.
and to his inexpressible surprise the
player heard it go "kerchunk" into the
hole on the green. He had struck a
ball seventy-five yards and landed It
in the hole. Frobably few players ever
d.a such a thing, and this player says
he does not expect ever to do It again.
If he plays golf for a quarter of a cen
tury. It was "the luck of a green
horn." Boston Herald..
How He Got HI Sewi.
New York City's flat dweller is a
man of resources. If he cannot have
his morning newspaper delivered one
way he can another.
One man who must have his news
paper early, before the doors are
opened, hit upon the novel plan of
putting a cord out of the window be
fore he goes to bed. When he gets
up in the morning all he has to do Is
to open the window and pull the pa
per up. This is not quite so excit
ing as pulliug in a bass or a trout,
but the man is satisfied. New York.
Times.
, PA'S AWFUL IGNORANCE . y
Most every day when I'm at school
The teacher tells us thing3
About the birds and animals . '
And presidents and kings, ,
And then, at night, when X ask pa f
If what she says is so, '
He reads his paper right along-
And says: "Oh, I dunno!"
One day she told us that the world
Is round, just like a ball,
And that there's nothing down belowf
It's 8 tan din' on at all.
I ask pa if she told the truth.
He read his paper, though,
'And put his foot up on a chair.
And said: "Oh, I dunno!"
'And once the teacher said the sVy '
Ain't heaven's floor, and tried
To make us think no angels walk ,
Along the other side,
And so that night I ast my pa.
And all he said was: "Oh,
Don't bother me about such things,
I'm busy I dunno!"
One time a bigger boy he said
The doctor didn't bring
My little baby sister in
A box no such thing!
That nijrht I ast my pa if what
That big boy said was so,
And pa he answered: "Oh, keep still
Confound it, I dunno!"
I used to kind of think somehow
That my pa knew a lot
But that was wrong, or if he did
I guess that he's forgot.
Srnre I've got started into school,
Most every day or so
I hear about a hundred thinga
Pa doesn't seem to know.
"Are your sure he loves her?" "Sure
Why, man alive, he lets her beat him,'
at golf '"Judge.
We greet the man who finds no fault.
With praise, and all the rest of it. t,
But the kicker whom we ne'er exalt i
Still, somehow, gets the best of it,'
Washington Star. ,
Muggins "Your wife seeing very in
dustrious." Buggins "Yes; she's al
ways finding something for me to
do." Philadelphia Record.
Lord Foranheir "I can trace my de
scent from John Milton. How's that
for a descent?" Miss Millyuns "It's a;
great descent, sure enough." Tit-Bits.
Mrs. Whyte "She learned to speak
French in six weeks." Mr. Whyte
"I wonder how long it will take th
folks over in France to learn to under
stand her." Spmerville Journah
"Even egotism has its good points,'"
says the Mayayunk Philosopher. "Tha
people who are always talking about
themselves never find time to tallc
about us." xMiiladelphia Keeord.
There was a young lady named Alice, j
fche lived down in Texas, near Dalice. .
She married an earl, .,,
Did this ciever young gear!,
And now she is boss oi his palic.
Baltimore American-.
Insurance Agent "Pardon me,
madam, but what is your age?" Miss
Antiquate "I have seen twenty-two
summers." Insurance Agent "Yes, of
course; but how many times did yoa
see them?" Tit-Eits.
"I wonder why the. baby cries so
much," said the young mother. "That's
easy," answered the bachelor uncle.
"Why is it?" demanded the mother.
"Because it is a baby," replied tho
uncle. Chicago Post.
Tess "I heard him say he felt rather
encouraged because you left the gas
turned low in tha parlor when h
called." Jess "How foolish of him!
One needs a dark room to develop a
negative." Philadelphia Press.
"And what are you making?" we
asked of the intelligent Artisan, as we
admired the play of his brawny mus
cles. fakin cow-catchers tor milk
trains," he replied, without looking up
from his work. Baltimore American.
"What a, sour Individual! Wnat'a
he growling about, anyway?" "O! he
complains that he hasn't got what ho
deserved in this world." "I should
think he'd have cause to rejoice oa
that account." Philadelphia Press.
Smith "Say, we've got a new cook
at. our boarding house." Jones "Any,
better thau the old one?" Smith
"Well, I guess yes. Why, she can ac
tually cook prunes so you can't tell
them from dried peaches." Chicago
News.
Mamma "Since Susie invited you ia
to share her birthday cake last Satur
day, you may ask her iu to-morrow,
and I'll make you a cake." Msie Oh,
wont you make some candy instead?
Mamma "Would you rather have can
dy?" Elsie "Yes'm. Susie never cart
,t muck caudr." Philadelphia Press.