North Carolina Newspapers

VOL. XV. PLYMOUTH, N, ; C, FEIDAY, 'DECEMBER 30. 1901. . UNCHANGEABLE. OIj, t he world is srowins older, but the heart of love is young; AH the wooing songs we whisper are the songs for ages sung; Arid the .softly murmured story in the maiden's ear to-day Is of Paris' love for Helen, told in just another way; 'lipid's eyes are bright with laughter and the shafts of merriment Fly as straight and true as ever: for the barbed arrow sent Through the heart of lad or lassie, driven high or driven low, Is the same that cupid tipped with love a thousand years ago. Oh, the moonlight's spell is changeless and the soft skies overhead Lead love's footsteps in the pathway where the steps of ages led; In the eyes of maidens lifted to the pleading eyes of men Flash the shyly timid glances that nave leaped and died again When the earth was in its cradle, while the love-impassioned tongue Tells to love the blissful story that was told when time was young; For the shyly whispered answer, told in trembling tones and low, Is the speech that tinkled golden on the harp of long ago !4nd the bowl remains unbroken though the sped years sap the wine; Though the grapes of love be gathered, springtime thrills the budding vine; And the path by lovers trodden in the ecstasy of song Is the path the ages followed, through a leafy way and longi ou tne skies breathe benediction .Swell and tell a bridal chorus as the troth is plighted there; "fis the song through untold ages by the chorused angels sung, For the world is growing older, but the heart of love is young. OVER THE WIRES By S. Annie Frost. 'Ill' i'rzrfreM IRST, I must tell you, who ts?V& i am, and how I came to jjl jjj be ia the Baysville Bank in the "wee, axaa. hours" vft Trll one dreary December night, some three years ago. ; My name, then, is Olive Hudson, and I was. seventeen years old-tbat same December night .Mid so very small that Mrs. Knight's Dollie, who was not twelve, was half a head taller than myself. ' We were rich folks dnce, but father died and left us very poor. Mother struggled along iu a weary hand-to- hand right with poverty till J was sixteen,-and died. ShV had rented two rooms of '.Mrs. Knisrhr' .1 widow' also. with. two stalwart sous, an aged father .and two daughters. After ro.oth.er died, I was adopted by the Knights', and although' I was earning a support as music teacher in the Baysville Acad emy, I was like one of the family whea I was in my good "landlady's home. They were all in good positions, al though by no means r.n aristocratic family. John, the eldest son, was in New Yorfv'in a wholesale sugar house; Tom was the night watchman of the Baysville Bank Building, and grandpa tv a .ill htm rrvn 1 1 ;1 n 1 IVfl i tf!p. jjrnph operator of tlie town, while Mary was a milliner, and Dolly still at school " . Baysville Bank Building was a large granite structure, containing the post office and bank on the first floor, the telegraph office and a number of pri vate law offices on .he second floor, and other "private offices on the third floor. In the basement were post office rooms for sorting the mail, and also the large bank vaults. I knew the building well, for I was fond of telegraphing and spent half my leisure time perched up beside grandpa iu his office, sending and re-i-civlng messages, while he slept peace fully or read the newspapers. And that was the beginning of ray amusement at Dryden, the next sta tion, roe operator at uryueu was u wit, and flashed nonsense to our office when business was dull. It fell flat when grandpa was in the office, but if l worn thprf. T sent back lost for iest. and sometimes an hour slipped by like a minute as we talked over the wires of every topic under the sun. He called himself Lion, and I, for non sense, signed myself Elephant, laugh ing while I did so at the reflection of my" tiny figure in the office mirror. . Beyond Dryden, and only five miles ; from Baysville. was C ; a large com-1 mercial town, the nearest railway sta tion, and. where an office was always; kept open for the accommodation of travelers. As I have said, Tern Knight was the jiight watchman of Baysville Bank Building and a lonely time he had of It." The last mail came in by stage at :4 o'clock in the afternoon, and the jiostoffice was vacated at 0. The bank closed at 3, and by 0 every office was deserted for the night. At "."Tom was on duty, and grandpa, twho was restless at night, was in the iliabit of taking down some coffee and. luncheon, as the building was only a stone's throw from our house. On the December night I have al ready mentioned, it had stormed heavily- all "day, and I had taken a new 'lass at the Academy, coming home later in theday than usual, and excited uyoy my increase, of salary. J.Cverybci'y 2lse bad gone to bod, and and the muses of the air J. W. Foley. .ill. III T I was lingering over the kitchen fire with Mrs. Knight, dreading the plunge into my cold room, where I had al lowed the fire to go out. The clock struck 12, and Mrs. Knight, lifting her face from over the fire, said: "Do call grandpa, Olive; he's asleep on the, sofa in the sitting room. I'll have Tom's basket ready by "the time grandpa has his hat and coat on. I hate to call him, for he yvas complain ing of rheumatism to-day i ' and -..the ground is very wet, although the storm is over." , s . "Let him sleep," f said; "I'll run over with the basket. It is not a step.' "But it is so dark. Are you not afraid?" "Not a bit. I'll slip on my water proof and rubbers, and draw the head of the cloak over my head." ' "Well, if 'you will Though I am afraid Tom will scold, at my letting you go." "I'll put the basket on the table and run, and he-will, never know who left it." . I "Go into the rear basement door. He leaves that open for grandpa." "Iknow." I grasped the handle of the basket, hurried across the space between the building and the house', and stole softly in at the basement door, in pursuance of my plan to drop the basket and run. . . ' : In my rubber shoes my steps were noiseless, and I had scarcely passed the threshold when I stood rooted to the floor in terrified amazement. Somebody was talking. . I crept forward and listened. There were men in the bank vault, and a light shone under the door, j While I listened some one said: "There's a confounded draught here. Did youkhut the door, Smith?" "Yes, but the wind may have blown it open." I had just time to dart under the staiease and crouch down, when the door of the vault opened and a man came jo.ut. He crossed the entry, drew th two heavy, noisy bolts, fastening' the door by which I had entered, and returned without closing the vault door. - I could look in by the dim light to see two men working at the safe locks by the stream of light thrown from a dark lantern. . There was the. outline-of a man bouud and gagged upon the floor, but I could only conjecture it was Tom, for I could not see distinctly. There . I was nicely caged, , for It would be impossible for me to draw those heavy bolts 'without attracting notice. And the bank was being robbed,, that was evident. How could I prevent it? I could not get out, I could not reach Tom. Suddenly I re membered the telegraph office on the second floor. If I could summon help from C. . It was only five miles, and there was a long job for the bur glars before they could open the safe. Could I creep around the staircase? If one of those busy men turned his head I was lost. I softly crept out on all fours, slowly watchfully, and gained the stairs. Up I darted, bless ing my India rubber shoes, till I gained the door of the telegraph office. All dark ttcre, and I dared not strike a match. I listened, and ihen, leaving the door open, gropea my way to tne wew knowu desk, and gave the signal at C . I could hear my cwn heart throbs as I waited for the answer. It came! Still working in the dark. I sent this message: '"Burglars in the Baysville" Bank vault! Watchman bound and gagged! Can you send help?". Again the agony and suspense of listening, but at last the sound reached me: "Will send help immediately!'' I crept to the head of the stairea"so, afraid the clear ring of the instrument had been heard in the vault; but no one came upstairs. The window of the telegraph office-faced the street, so I returned, bolted myself in safely, and sat down to watch. The town clock" "gave "one resonant stroke, breaking the deep silence, and no signs of life were visible on the long stretch of road leading to C . I was numb, with cold, wishing heart ily that I had not left Tom's basket under, the staircase; thinking regret fuly of my own cosy bed, when I heard afar off the sound of horses feet. No sister Anne, in Blue Beard's tower, was ever more watchful than I was then. Would the burglars take the alarm? The building' made a corner of two streets, and I saw eight mounted men dash up the road," separate,' and while four dismounted in front, four went to the rear. The burglars .were unprepared for this flank movement, for while, the police in front were thundering at the main' entrance, the robbers rushed to the rear, basement door, right into the arms pf the police stationed there. I could hear the hubbub, pistol shots fired, the shuffle "of feet, cries, oaths, and general confusion, and I slipped down stairs out of the " now deserted main entrance and home.' . - Everybody was abed and I went td my own room, had a good crying spell,: and 'comforted my half 'frozen body in double' blankets4, where I soon fell asleep. -t-- - ' All this was pn .Friday, night and I had no'teaching to do" until Monday, so I slept late; but on coming down, found all the family prepared to make a .heroine of -me.' ' "I never knew until mother told me this morning," said Tom, "that it wasn't grandpa who sent the telegram to C- . By Jove! Olive, you're spunky, if you are little. I gave up when four of thera pounced upon me from one of the upper rooms." They must have got in through the day and hid there." I tried to make the Knights promise not to tell my adventure, but could not. Before night all Baysville knew how Olive Hudson caught the burglars. I was in the office with grandpa, when over the wires came this message: ' iWhat does Olive-Hudson look like? Everybody in Drydea is talking about her great exploit." I flashed back: " "What do you suppose such a woman would look like? She :s nearly six feet, broad-shouldered and loud-voiced, a perfect Elephant." '"Was it really yourself. Elephant?" "Dear Lion, it really was!" ' "Do you kuow, I want to see you. I am going to New York. to-day, but I'll be back next spring." If he came to Bavcville, he. did not see me. I ran away in a fit of shy ness.?" " In March a wonderful "thing hap pened. My mother's brother, who bad been seventeen years, nearly all -my lifetime, in Cuba, came co New York, found me out and. took me into a life Of ease and luxury, making me his pet in his splendid house. He was a bachelor, over fifty years of age, and with large wealth. , . . "He introduced me to old friends. of his own, and my circle of acquaint ances widened every Cay. I was en tirely happy. ; One day UncIeGeorge brought home to dine a stranger, whom he intro duced as: "The son of an eld friend, C live, Mr. Roberts." I made myself agreeable, as in duty bound, to Mr. Robers, a man of thirty or thereabouts, with a face that was downright ugly, but pleasant from- the expression of frank good humor and intelligence upon it. We talked of ev erything, and I was surprised at the congeniality of taste that we soou dis covered. In a:i .animated discussion of heroines, Mr. Roberts, turning to Uncle George, said: "Yon were kindly inquiring 'his morning about my fortune since father died, but I did not toll you' one littb episode. Before I was fortunate enough to obtain my present lucrative situation, I was for a timo telegraph csivatot iu a err r.ll nlr.?e all;! Prj- den, and there I heard of a real hero ine of whom the world will probably never hear." ' . I knew what was coming, but I kept my face perfectly composed to listen. When the story, 'was finished, giving Uncle George a sly pinch to keep him quiet, I said: "What kind of a looking person was the wonderful heroine?" "I never saw her; for'although Bays ville was the next village to Dryden, I never went there. But she was de scribed to me as tall,' strong and mas culine." , "In short, my dear Lion," I said gravely, "she was a perfect Elephant." 'Such a stare as greeted me I am certain never came upon Leo Roberts' face before or since that hour. His eyes dilated until I thought they would pop out of his dear; ugly face, and his mouth opened in utter amazement. Finally he gasped: "Pardon me, I wasMt really you?" "Uncle George," I said, "will you please introduce me properly to Mr. Roberts? I believe he thinks your niece must share your name." With a flourish Uncle George arose, and gravely introduced: "Mr. Leo Roberts, Miss Olive Hud son Miss Hudson, Mr. Roberts." After that we could not certainly be straugers. Mr. Roberts came "many a time and oft" to dine with Uncle George. ., And one day; there was a wedding, where the bride was very small, buried in lace and orange blossoms, and the bridegroom was ugly and good natured; but it was a true love 'match, a fit end ing for the flirtation commenced at Dryden and' Baysville, over the wires," Waverley Magazine. . , r ' ' 1 "... . l Ksiains Submarine Boats. , : A method-of raising suubnia vine, tor pedo boats by .acetylene is being 'ex perimented upon by the German naval authorities. Large tanks are bull tin, the boat, with a sea connection; when these are filled with water the boat will sink, and to raise her again these, must be emptied, which process, done in the ordinary way, requires power ful pumps and complicated mechanism. It is evident that multiplication of ma chinery Js particularly objectionable in a submarine craft, and the German method avoids all necessity for pumps. When it is desired to raise the boat, a charge of calciiiiu carbide of the right size is placed iu an acetylene genera tor, which is connected to the water tanks, an immense volume of gas is formed, and on opening a cock this, rushes into the water tank, forcing out the water through the sea con nection, and the boat rises. By a slight change, this method could be used for the raising of sunk en vessels. Tanks filled with water could be sunk in the ship's hold, and when the number was sufficient to float her when empty the water could be driven out by acetylene and the ship would rise. A charge of carbide might be introduced into each tank and form the gas there, or a separate generator connected to the tanks might e used, Wht He tVa Up To. "Do you know of the only Irishman who ever committed suicide?" asked W. B. Tollard, of Jersey City,. who was at the Fifth Avenue Hotel last night.' "You know it is said that Irishmen never commit suicide, and when the ar gument was advanced in a crowd of that nationality he was so unstrung that he decided to shew his opponents that Irishmen da sometimes commit a rash act. He accordingly disappeared. and the man who employed him started a search.. When got to tho barn he looked up toward the rafters cud saw his man hanging with a rope around his waist; "'What are you up to, Tat?' he asked. "'Oi'n hanging ncself, begobs, the Irishman replied. " 'Why don't yor. r.ut it around ycur neck?' ' "'Faith, Oi Cid, but Ci couUn't braythe,' was the unsmiling reply . of tho ruau from the Emerald Isle." Louisville Courier-Journal. Reason of Preference For Kult FlshUui;. Ono in a while cue f tho Sunday extorters on the Common ctarties tho crowd with his hits. A well-known old spellbinder was onparincr the xiees and amusements cf various countries? and the relation between the two. In particular he described 'br.ll fighting ia Spain and puiliciu ill this ccuntry. "An I don't know but what bull fighting io the better," he roared. "God -.IrnigMy made the bulls for beef. But when you kill a pugilist, what v.s is h; .3 aDjjaoT Boston Rscard. JUBILEE TIME IN GEORGIA; It's the jubilee time in Georgia,, now th' crops are done laid by An' you hear the songs of falltirae every where; There's the "Bob White" of the partridge - in the sedge, fields all aroun.' An the dronin' of the bees ia in the air; The folks is all a-flutter an' u-fixin' np their best ' , Aa'' makin' for the arbor made of bushe3 an' of trees, An' the baskets of provisions a regiment would feed, An' there's happiness an' laughter in th ' - breeze. It's the jubilee time in Georgia not a car ' in all the world, . There ain't a worry that we'd. call our . own; ' : . The crops are all a-makin' an' the harvest oin't far off. An' it's as easy for to laugh as 'tis to groan. The potatoes are a-waitin' for the silver frost to fall, An' the corn is baxdenin' faster every day, : " " An' the killin' time's a-comjn' an' the hogs are gittin' fat, An' the harvest time in Georgia's on th way! ' It's the jubilee time in Georjia an' the trees '11 all soon turn . An' their yellow leaves '11 scatter on the groun', i An' possum an potatoes '11. be floatia'"" ' through our dreams An' there ll be a dozen smiles for every frown. An' way off in the distance you can hear the fiddler's call . An' the soun' of trippin' feet upon the floor, An' the country's just as happy as a cooin' babe in arms, 'Cause the jubilee time in Georgia's hera once move! v , Atlanta Constitution, flburem saf s It only takes a cent to run his auto! ft. mile," "I always won-; der,ed what theseeat lor." Cleve land Plain Dealer. . .?, Mabel "Mamma 'says our con sciences should, tell us when we are naughty.' :Kittie-"YetrV but 1 don't lithen to gossip!" Harper's; Bazar. v Hope on, hope evei once" was thought To stimulate life's bustle But now, to such a pace we're wrought, . 'Tis hustle eror.hustle. Cincinnati 'Commercial-Tribune. The Hare 'Your reputation for slowness gives you a great advantage at election time." The Tortoise "la what way?" " The Hare-'They can't accuse you. of being a repeater." "My ancestors came ovtr in the May flower," said the : young- womaa who boasts. "Yes," answered Mis. Pack inham of Chicago; "I understand that travel was very cheap on that boat." Washington fetar. ... ; . Giffle "Did you ever actually know: of a man making a mountain out of a molehill.' Spinks" Well; the proprie tor of ne hotel I stopped at last sum mer' came very near doing it in his prospectus." Puck. , ,. 'Isn't that orator always saying something he will be sorry for?" "It's worse than that," answered the poli tician. "He is always satisfied with what he says. His political friend are sorry." Washington Star. His feelings he tried to disguise The girl, though, began to surmise, ' ; y : That something like, wooing ; Was certainly doing; Because of his looka and deep suisc. Cleveland Leader. "But," said the Rev. Dr. Broadley. you must remember the Bible tells ua to love our neighbors." "It's quite impossible,", replied Mrs. Upperten, "I simply hate mine.". "Well er then ha to them i- moderation " Thiladei phia Press. ; ' 1 Little Rodney 'Tapa, what Is the CilTerenco . between .climate and! weather?" Mr. Way out (of Dismal-hurct-ou-the-Clink) "Climate, my son is what a locality has when you are buying a toine there, and weather i what is has afterwards." ruck. "I certainly did enjoy your sermon." said the hard case, who seldom at tended church. "Indeed f replied the? Rev. Mr. Tawker, "and, which part didt you enjoy the most?" "1 guess it was tho part where I dreamed I had a mil lion dollars." Philadelphia Ledger. A yueer Creature. .The South American , amphisbena a queer creature, and td affix its spe cies has been a stumbling block to many naturalists. To look at it any one would take the creature for a large earthworm. It has no ears, as other lizards have. No eyes are apparent, and it progresses with equal case for ward or backward iu its subterraneaa burrows. .