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< • „ - ' i * ' •* " v \ * ; eS=S==========!! 111 1".' 1" "" w ° i" |t> ^ * ?# >\ isfeif® L •» ~ ^i.{M , * v - • - - - - • - - - - "•"i-rf «••.> •.«••«' 4.t":'"' H < . ;. . ' i ,S fc WV By REX BEACH SSVaU&JCSSt y'iapiBHM their spider? legs lad X >> ':;- nC vfc'-' %:TK s CHAPTER XVI--Continued. 54- " b "'"V ;;-R Kt n»: OflReilly Joined ID the laughter j evoked by this remark. He was quite ; as tattered as the poorest of Betan- "v court's common soldiers; his shoes i were broken and disreputable; his cot- • ton trousers, snagged by barbed wire lend brambles, and soiled by days in 5 the saddle and nights In the grass, were in desperate need of attention. - His beard had grown, too, and his skin, # where It was exposed, was burnt to ~• mahogany brown. Certainly there I"*1' , "was nothing about his appearance to r" bespeak his nationality. f| - The general continued: "I am direct- & , - ed in this letter to help you In some !fV*< enterprise. Command me, sir." I' As briefly as possible Johnnie made ^ v known the object of his journey. The f?V officer nodded his comprehension, but p" - lfv as he did so a puzxled expression |j;' ; crossed his face. 'Yes, I reported that Miss Varona - had gone into the city--I took some pains to find out. Do you Iwve reason :^:-A'to doubt--n ' *??' "Not the least, t$i.n •' "Then--why have youCome all this way?" "I came to find her and to fetch her to her brother." "But--you don't understand. She is factually inside the lines, in Matan- P^aaa--a prisoner." t (»; "Exactly. I intend to go into Mataa- s and bring her out.'* / General Betancourt drew back, as- tonished. "My dear man!" ho ex- rt~ rr claimed. "Are you mad?" O'Reilly smiled faintly. "Quit* -y s'4l»- probably. All lovers are mildly mad, V ' I believe." • *'• "AhI Lovers! I begin to see. Bnt-f fvf.' "^y^how do you mean to go about fhls-*- ' ;this--impossible undertaking?" 'fpT-, J#* *" \ "You told me Just now that I could ^ X 'pass for a Cuban. Well, I am going mhm'i**put; ** to the test- h 1 °nce get int° V f ijthe city I shall manage somehow to get out again, and bring her with me." ? "Um-m!" The general appraised O'Reilly speculatively. "No doubt you can get in--it is not so difficult to en­ ter, 1 believe, and especially to one f. who speaks the language like a native. But the return--I fear you will find that another matter. Matanzas is a place of pestilence, hunger, despair. No one goes there from choice any more, and no one ever comes out" "So I should imagine." The speak­ er's careless tone added to General Be- tancourt's astonishment. "Bless me!" he exclaimed. "What an extraordl-" nary young man! Is It possible that 1 v •: you do not comprehend the terrible |conditions?" A sudden thought struck f him and he inquired quickly: "Tell me, •**}' I y°u are Dot by any chance that hero -J they call El Demonio? I have heard •'-••..•.••Ithat he is Indeed a demon. No? Very -. | well I. Ton say you wish to visit Ma- .> • • ? tanzas, and I am Instructed to help g, *• you. How can I do so?" i O'Reilly hesitated an Instant. Tor on® thing, I need money. Jbrl !»»•«•$ • single peseta." ^ ! "You are welcome to the few doi- X . Urs I possess." 1 Johnnie expressed his gratitude for " this ready assistance. "One thing > * more," said he. "Will yon give my Hi, . boy, Jacket, a new pair Of trousers P^rr and send him back to the Orient at the fJ\. - first opportunity?" " "Of course. It is done." The gen­ eral laid a friendly hand upon O'Rell IT'S shoulder, saying, gravely: "It would relieve me Intensely to send you back with him, for I have fears fop: the success of your venture. Matanzas Is • hell; it has swallowed up thou- ' * sands of our good countrymen; thou- . sands have died there. I'm afraid you £y>4" do not realize what risks you are tak- j|' •. " lng." - I O'Reilly did not allow this well- f meant warning to Influence him, nor V: t M; m. did he listen to the admonitions of those other Cubans who tried to argue with him out of his purpose, once it became known. On the contrary, he proceeded with his preparations and spent that afternoon in satisfying him­ self that Rosa had indeed left the Pan de Matanzas before Cobo's raid. Among Betancourt's troops was a man who had been living in the hills al the time Asenslo and his family had abandoned their struggle for ex­ istence, and to him O'Reilly went. This fellow, it seemed, had remained with his family in the mountains some time after Asenslo's departure. It was from him that O'Reilly heard his first authentic report of the atrocities per­ petrated by Cobo's volunteers. This man had lost his wife, his little son, and all the scanty belongings he pos­ sessed. With shaking . hands up- stretcfeed to Jjeaven, the fellow cursed the author of his misfortunes. **I live for one thing!" he cried shrilly--"to meet that monster, and to butcher him, as he butchers women and children." O'Reilly purposely left his most un­ pleasant task to the last. When his arrangements had been completed and he had acquainted himself as far as possible with the hazards he was likely to encounter, he took Jacket aside and broke the news to him that on the fol­ lowing morning they must part. As he had expected, the boy refused to listen to him. O'Reilly remained firm and Jacket began to weep copiously. He worked himself up to a hysterical crescendo which threatened to arouse the entire encampment. But O'Reilly was unmoved. *Be quiet," he told the boy. won't let you go with me, and that It. It will be hard enougu for, one man to slip through; two would be •sore to fail." •Those Spaniards tKll skill you 1" tfacket walled. "So much the more reason for yon ito stay here." At this the hoy uttered a louder pKf. He stamped his bare feet la a F:\ v.; M'.' •* '*- »• fell SteSmMM frenzy of disappointment. "Yon das- sent leave me--you dassent!" "Listen, people are starving In Ma- tansas; they are sick; they are dying in the streets," "I don't eat much." When Johnnie shook his head stub­ bornly Jacket launched himself Into a torrent of profanity the violence of which dried his tears. His vocabu­ lary was surprising. He reviled the Spaniards, O'Reilly, himself, everybody and everything i he leveled anathemas at that woman who had come between him and his beloved benefactor. The latter listened good-naturedly. "You're a tough kid," he laughed, when Jacket's first rage had worn it­ self out. "I like you, and Td take you lf I could. But this Isn't an enterprise for a boy, and It won't get you any­ thing to keep up this racket." Jacket next tried the power of ar­ gument. He attempted to prove that in a hazardous undertaking of this sort bis assistance would be invalu­ able. He was, so he declared, the one person in all Cuba in every respect qualified to share O'Reilly's perils. To begin with, he was not afraid of Span­ iards, or anything else, for that mat­ ter--he dismissed the subject of per­ sonal courage with a contemptuous shrug. As for cunning, sagacity, pru­ dence, resource, all-around worth, he was, without doubt, unequaled in any country. He was a veritable Spartan, too, when it came to hardship--priva­ tion and suffering were almost to his liking. He was discreet--discretion was something he had inherited; he was a diplomat--diplomacy being one of his most unique accomplishments. As for this talk about hunger, O'Reilly need not concern himself in the least on that score, for Jacket Was a small eater and could grow fat on a diet of dried leaves. Disease? Bah! It made him laugh. His experience with sick­ ness was wider than most fisicos, and he was a better nurse than Miss Ev­ ans would ever be. Jacket did not wish to appear in the least boastful. Oa the contrary, he was actually too mod­ est, as his friends could attest, but truth compelled him to admit that he was Just the man for O'Reilly. He found it Impossible to recommend him­ self too highly; to save his soul he could think of no qualification in which he was lacking and could see no rea­ son why his benefactor would not greatly profit by the free use of his amazing talents. The enterprise was' difficult; It would certainly fail with­ out him. Johnnie retrained carefully atten­ tive during this adjuration. He felt no desire even to smile, for the boy's ear­ nestness was touching and it caused the elder man's throat to tighten un­ comfortably. Johnnie had not realized before how fond he had become of this quaint youngster. And so, when the little fellow paused hopefully, O'Reilly put an arm around him. "I'm sure you are everything you Bay you are, Jacket, and m'ore, too, but you can't gO!" s With that Jacket flung off the em­ brace and, stalking away, seated him­ self. He took a half-smoked cigar from the pocket of his shirt and lit it, scowling the while at his friend. More than once during the evening O'Reilly detected his sullen, angry eyes upon him. General Betancourt and several mem* bers of his staff were up early the fol­ lowing morning to bid their visitor good-by. In spite of their efforts to make the parting cheerful It was plain that they had but little hope of ever again seeing this foolhardy American. Johnnie's spirits were not In the least affected by this Ill-concealed pes­ simism, for, as he told himself, he had money In his pockets and Matanzas was not many miles away. But when he came to part from Jacket he experi­ enced a genuine disappointment. The boy, strangely enough, was almost in­ different to his leaving; he merely ex­ tended a limp, dirty hand, and replied to O'Reilly's parting words with a careless "Adlos!" In hurt surprise the former Inquired, "Don't nc part ^uou friends?" "Sure!" Jacket shrugged, then turned away. Jacket was a likable youngster; his devotion was thoroughly unselfish; it had not been easy to wound him. With keener regrets than he cared to ac­ knowledge O'Reilly set out upon his journey, following the guide whom General Betancourt had provided. It was a* lovely morning, sufficiently warm to promise a hot midday; the air was moist and fresh from a recent shower. This being the rainy season, the trails were soft, and where the rich red Cuban soil was exposed the trav­ elers sank into it as into wet putty. Crossing a rocky ridge, O'Reilly and his guide at last emerged upon an open slope, knee-high In grass and grown up to bottle palms, those queer, distorted trees whose trunks are swol­ len Into the likeness of earthen water Jars. Scattered here and there over the meadows were the dead or fallen trunks of another variety, the cabbage palm, the green heart of which had long formed a staple article of diet for the lnsurrectos. Spanish axes had been at work here and not a single tree remained alive. The green floor of the valley farther down was dotted with the other, the royal kind, that monarch' of tropic vegetation which lends to the Cuban landscape Its pe­ culiar and distinctive beauty. "Yonder is the camlno," said the countryman, pointing into the valley; "it will lead you to the main read; and there"--he turned to the north­ ward--"is Matanzas. Go with God, and don't drink the well water, which is polluted from the rains." With smile and a wave of the hand the man turned back and plunged into the Jungle. - As O'Reilly descended the slope he realized keenly that be was alone and In hostile territory. The hills and the woods from Pinar del Rio to Orlente were Cuban, or, at most, they were disputed ground. But here in the plains and valleys near the cities Spain was supreme. From this moment on O'Reilly knew he must rely entirely upon himself. The success of his en­ terprise--his very life--hinged upon his caution, his powers of dissimula­ tion, his ability to pass as a harmless, helpless paclflco. It gave him an un­ accustomed thrill, by no means pleas­ ant. The road, when he came to It, proved to be a deep gutter winding between red clay banks cut by the high wheels of clumsy cane carts. Inasmuch as no crops whatever had been moved over the road during the past season, it was now little more than an oozy, sticky rut. Not a roof, not a chimney was in sight; the valley was deserted. Here was a fertile farming country--and yet no living thing, no sound of bells, no voices, no crowing cocks, no lowing cattle. It was depressing to O'Reilly, and more, for there was something menacing and threatening about It all. Toward noon the breeze lessened and It became Insufferably hot. A bank of clouds in the east promised a cooling shower, so Johnnie sought the nearest shade to wait for It, and took advantage of the delay to eat his slen­ der lunch. He was meditatively munch­ ing a sweet potato when a sound at his back caused him to leap to his feet in alarm. He whirled, then uttered an exclamation of amazement. Seated not fifty feet away was a bare-legged boy, similarly engaged In eating a sweet potato. It was Jacket. His brown cheeks were distended, his bright, inquisitive eyes were fixed upon O'Reilly from beneath a defiant scowl. "Jacket!" cried the man. "What the devil are you doing here?" "You goin' to let me come along?" challenged the intruder. "Sot .You followed me, after I said I didn't want you?" O'Reilly spoke re­ proachfully ; but reproaches had no effect upon the lad. With a mild ex­ pletive, Jacket signified his contempt for such a weak form of persuasion. "See here, 'now." O'Reilly stepped closer. "Let's be sensible about this." But Jacket scrambled to his feet and retreated warily, stuffing the uneaten portion of the sweet potato Into his chill Ills "You're a Tough KidP He Laughed. mouth. It was plain that he had no confidence In O'Reilly's intentions. Muttering something in a muffled voice, he armed himself with a stout stick. "Come here," commanded^the Amerl- Mill f Jacket shook his head. 'He made a painful attempt to swallow, and when his utterance became more dis­ tinct he consigned his idol to a warmer place than Cuba. Tm a tough kid," he declared. Don't get gay on me." The two parleyed briefly; then, when satisfied that no violence was Intended him, the boy sat down to listen. But, as before, neither argument nor appeal had the slightest effect upon him. He denied that he had followed his bene­ factor; he declared that he was a free agent and at liberty to go where he' willed.' If It so chanced that his fancy took him to the city of Matanzas at the same time O'Reilly happened to be traveling thither, the circumstance might be put down to the long arm o< coincidence. If his company were dis­ tasteful to the elder man, O'Reilly was free to wait and follow later; it was a matter of complete indifference to Jacket He had business in Matanzas and he proposed to attend to it. The boy lied gravely, unhlushlngly. Nev­ ertheless, he kept a watchful eye upon his hearer. Very well," O'Reilly told him final­ ly. "I give in." Jacket's face instantly lit up. ,He radiated good humor; he hitched his body closer. By 1 I get my own way, aoa't I?" he laughed. ' Indeed you do." O'Reilly laid a hand fondly upon his loyal follower. And I don't mind telling you that I'm more than half glad of It. I--I was getting lonesome, I dldo't know how much I could miss you. But now we must make some plans, we must have an understanding and decide who we are. Let me see--yo«r real asms la Narciso--" , ' "Nardso VUlar." "Well, then, 1 shall he Juan Villar, your brother. Henceforth we shall speak nothing but Spanish. Tell me now. what was our father's name, where was our home, and What are we doing together?" During the breathless interval be­ fore the shower the two sat with their heads together, talking earnestly. As the wind came and the cooling rain be­ gan to rattle on the leaves overhead they took up their bundles and set cut. The big drops drenched them quickly. Their thin garments ciung to them and water streamed down their bodies; overhead the sky was black and rent by vivid streaks of Are, but they plodded nnwurd cheerfully. Jacket was himself again; he bent his weight against the tempest and lengthened his short strides to O'Reil­ ly's. He tried to whistle, but hla teeth chattered and the wind interfered, so he hummed a song, to drive the cl out of his bones and to hearten benefactor. Now that he was at last accepted as a full partner In this enter­ prise, It became his duty not only to share Its perils, but to lessen its hard­ ships and to yield diversion. The rain was cold, the briers beside the overgrown path were sharp, and they scratched the boy's bare legs cris^ elly; his stomach clamored for a com­ panion to that solitary sweet potato, too, but In his breast glowed ardor and pfide. Jacket considered himself a fortunate person--a very fortunate person, Indeed. Had he not found a brother, and did not that brother love him? There was no doubt about the latter, for O'Reilly's eyes, when he looked down, were friendly and Inti­ mate. Here was a man to die for. The downpour lasted but a short time, when the sun came out and dried the men's clothes; on the whole, it had been refreshing. When evening came the Villar brothers sought refuge in an old sugar mill, or rather In a part of It still standing. They were on the main calzada now, the paved road which links the two main cities Of the island, and by the following noon their destination was in sight. O'Keiily felt a sudden excitement when Matanzas came into view. From this distance the city looked quite as It did when he had left It, except that the blue harbor was almost empty of« shipping, while the familiar range of hills that hid the Yumuri--that valley of delight so closely linked in his thoughts with Rosa Varona--seemed to smile at him like an old friend. For the thousandth time he asked himself if he had come in time to find her, or lf fate's maddening delays had proved his own and the girl's undoing. O'Reilly knew that although Matan­ zas was a prison and a pesthole, a girl like Rosa would suffer in perils infi­ nitely worse than imprisonment or dis­ ease. It was a thought he could not bear to dwell upon. Signs of life began to appear now, the travelers passed small garden patches and occasional cultivated fields; they encountered loaded carts bound Into the city, and once they hid themselves while a column of mounted troops went by. O'Reilly stopped to pass the time of day with a wrinkled cart man whose dejected oxen were resting. "Going Into the city, are you?" the fellow inquired. "Starved out, I sup­ pose. Well, it's as pleasant to starve In one place' as another." Jacket helped himself to a stalk of cane from the load and began to strip It with his teeth. "Will the soldiers alloy us to enter?" Johnnie inquired. "Of course. Why not? The old man laughed mirthlessly; then his voice changed. "Go back," he said, "go back and die in the fields. Matanzas stinks of rotting corpses. Go back where the air is clean." He swung his long lash over the oxen, they leaned against the load, and the cart creaked dismally on its way. It Is never difficult to enter a trap, and Matanzas was precisely that. There were soldiers everywhere, but beyond an Indifferent challenge at the uiuckttuuse, a perfunctory Ques­ tion or two, Narciso and Juan Villar experienced no trouble whatever In passing the lines. Discipline, never strict at best, was extremely lax at the brick fortinas along the roads, and, since these two refugees were too poor to warrant search, they were waved onward by the sentries. They obeyed silently; In aimless bewilderment they shuffled along toward the heart of the city. Almost before they realized It they had run the gantlet and had joined that array of misery, fifteen thousand strong. The hand of Spain had closed over them. Vit'l -1 •m CHAPTER XVII Rosa.1 rVi' calaba grotesque wi thin faces. " 7 O'Reilly passed a damp hand across his eyes. "Jua$ Heaven!" he breathed, "She--site's one of these !" The recoUcentrados overran Matan­ zas in an unclean swarm; slioets and plazas were congested with them, for no attempt was made to confine than to their quarters. Morning brought them streaming down from the sab- urban slopes where they lived, evening sent them winding back; their days were spent in an aimless search for food. They snatched at crumbs and combed the gutters for crusts. How they managed to exist, whence cams the food that kept life in their miser­ able bodies, was a mystery, even to the citizens of the city; no organized effort had been made to care for them and there was insufficient surplus food for half their number. Yet somehow they lived and lingered on. At the time of O'Reilly's arrival the right presented by these Innocent vic­ tims of war was appalling; It roused in him a dull red rage at the power which had wrought this crime and at the men who perutftted it to continue. Spain was a Christian nation, he re­ flected; she had set up more crosses than any other, and yet beneath them she had butchered more people than all the nations of the earth combined. This monstrous, coldly calculating ef­ fort to destroy the entire Cuban people seemed to him the blackest Infamy of all, and he wondered lf It would be al­ lowed to succeed. Fortunately for the two friends, Gen* eral Betancourt's generosity served to relieve them from any immediate dan­ ger of starvation. After making a few purchases and eating with the utmost frugality, they began their search. Later they stretched themselves out to sleep on the stones beneath the portalea of the railroad Station. They spent a horrid, harrowing night, for now the general distress was brought home to them more poignant­ ly than ever. At dawn they learned that -these people were actually dying of neglect. The faint light betrayed the presence of new corpses lying upon the station flagstones. From those still living, groans, sighs, slek mutterlngs rose until O'Reilly finally dragged his youthful companion out oi the place. (TO BE CONTINUED.} : CREED WORTH LIVING UP TO Man Who Wrote It Had Proper Appro­ priation of the Advantages of Life in the Country. If any country boy ever becomes dls* contented with his lot and thinks there might be more opportunities elsewhere, or a better place to live than in a white farmhouse, let him read the creed com­ posed by Edwin Osgood Grover. The lines might be pinned up on his bu­ reau, where he can see them the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. "I believe that the country, which God made, is more beautiful than the city, which man made; that life out of doors and In touch with the earth Is the natural life of a man. "I believe that work is work where- ever we find It, but that work with nature is more inspiring than work with thp most intricate machinery. "I believe that the dignity of labor depends not on what you do, but oo how you do it; that opportunity comes to a boy on the farm as often as to a boy in the city; that life Is larger ahd freer and happier on the farm than la the town; that my success depends not upon my location, but upon myself ; not upon dreams, but upon what I actually do; not upon luck, but upon pluek. "I believe In working when you work and In playing when you pla$r, and In giving and demanding a square deal la every act of life." ><*f Roea,1 ' >•! t*>*'•> •'.* ' clut^rto#Rellly and pointed a~ shaking finger. "More beggars! Christol And those little children !" The boy tried to laugh, but his voice cracked nervously, "Are they children, or gourds with legs under them?" O'Reilly looked; then turned his eyes away. He and Jacket had reached the heart of Matanzas and were facing the public square, the Plaza de la Llb- ertad it was called. Matanzas ap­ peared poor and squalid, depresslngly wretched; Its streets were foul and the Plaza de la Llbertad--grim mock­ ery of a name--was crowded with a throng such as It had never held In O'Reilly's time, a throng of people who were, without exception, gaunt, list­ less, ragged. There was no afternoon parade of finery, no laughter, no noise; the benches were full, but their occu­ pants were silent, too sick or too weak to move. Nor were there any romping children. There were, to be sure, vast numbers of undersized figures in the, square, but one needed to look twice t ? , / , G e t t i n g O n I n L i f e . ' . "' lioineone whose hair was growing iron-gray said: "I am getting on la life." His friend, who knew. him very well, had his doubts. He mis­ took getting on in years for getting on in life. He was morally and spir­ itually Just about where he had been 30 years before. Nobody gets on 10 life except those that achieve spirit" ually. When boyhood's bad temper persists into manhood, when one Is ir­ ritable, disobliging, selfish, haughty, 1 «ni# |il VUU, OVU OUUIUVU If , one should not talk about getting on in life, even lf one is as rich as Croe­ sus. To get on In life is to rise in moral stature. It is to have a soul big enough to love and admire without envy, to be content with treasures of the mind, to set character first 6< all. The man who is "rich In faith" gets on. The others drift down the years, pr accumulate great posses­ sions, hut In the essential things, the things of eternity, they1 arg water­ logged and stationary. ; ^ i * • ti--r--nr1 r" Dog Is Man's Friend. ^1 However much or little the average dog costs, he pays back to humanity in affection, fidelity, intelligence, serv­ ice and companionship more than be costs. This, all outside his value as a creature, by his very presence among men, cultivating the spirit of kindness and humanity which man still so sore­ ly needs. The real dog lo*er puts no price In dollars and cents on his dog, He simply says: "Money can't buy him." to realize that they were not Dvtrmiea i fk>urler-JournaL Salesmanship. Every man has something to sell- perhaps merchandise, possibly expert' ence, perchance work, mayhap Just plain bluff. Anywhere, any time, man has something to sell. We are all mer­ chants, brokers, bankers, Jobbers, hawkers, hucksters. From the clerk to the cabinet, from the buyer to the sell­ er, from tne regrater to the retailer all men ace concerned In salesmanship. -- i,*. i. " . aII Harmonious, "So ydu are getting good ithoStf from juries of ladies?" "Yes," said the Judge; "they dont want us men to have a cnance te say they couldn't agree."--IxmlsvlUe WUions of Dollars' Worth Goods Are Stolon fta M Transit /V "f£-. r* •- -I >- tseiSi FREIGHT LOSS HEAVY ) •f Protection Bureau Plane Campaign to Run Down Men Whose Plunder Reaches Cnormous Figure. New York.--Freight car robberies have become so frequent since the out­ break of the war that the railroad ad­ ministration, which has undertaken the task of suppressing the spread of such crimes, is launching a national campaign to put to an end the prop­ erty loss which, in 1917 alone, amount­ ed to $30,000,000. Many of these rob­ beries have been accompanied by mur­ der. Acting on Information that the New York city district 1s a "Mecca for freight car robberies," Phillips J. Doherty, manager of the property pro­ tection section of the law division of the railroad administration, 4s con­ ducting a personal "clean up" from the metropolis. Doherty announces that the cam­ paign is national and that concerted action already had accomplished im­ provement In big centers, such as Chi­ cago, St. Louis and Memphis. Accords ing to Doherty, hotwever, "the difficult ahd most important situatt exists in New York." Enormous Increase In Robberies. The work of breaking up the freight thieves involves, besides the co-ordination of the police forces of the railroad organization, the thorough and active co-operation of peace of­ ficers in all the cities, towns and vll<- lages, as well as of railroad employees. Manager Doherty, who has made a close study of freight stealing, de­ clares that the robbery of freight cars has increased enormously in the last few years. He cites an official report that 1916 losses amounted to more than $10,000,000, Increasing to fully $80,000,- 000 in 1917. It is his opinion that the losses for 1918 may reach $39,000,000. Corrective measures have moved rapidly. In a few months more than 800 individuals have been indicted and several long penitentiary terms have been imposed. Among those fouaa guilty were two policemen in a West­ ern city, who were arrested In full uniform while conniving at the rob­ bery of freight cars. In 91 convic­ tions during the last two months the penalties have ranged from $50 fines to 21-year prison sentences. The. new plan which the railroad administration will put into; effect will enlist directly the active serv­ ices of more than 17,000 officers of the law, whose efforts will be directed by bureaus acting under the authorities Many Robberies Have Been Accompa­ nied by Murders. from Washington. The prosecutions for car robbery are to be carried lato the federal courts instead of into the state courts, wherever possible. Land Pirates Worst of Criminals. "These car robbers are the worst of criminals; they are land pirates and vandals, without a vestige of patriot­ ism or conscience, who seize upon war conditions to plunder the needed re­ sources. of the nation,"' Manager Do­ herty says. "They always go armed, ready and willing to murder guards, and generally use bribery also to win the connivance and betrayal of rail­ road, employees, who are the trusted custodians of property. The courta should not deal with these as ordinary offenders, whose misdeeds are due to weakness of character." • . "*<•• His Dream Came True. Steribenvtlle, O.--Edward Nicholson dreamed that Charles Swearingea, night watchman at a nearby plant, had been shot by robbers. He leaped out of bed and rushed to the building. He was relating his dream to Swear- ingen when ' a rifle bullet crashed through a window and wounded the night watchman. Witch Charge Preferred. Wheeling, W. Va.--Mrs. Ma*f Love- all was charged with being a witch In criminal court here by Mrs. Theresa Kullman, who alleged that Mrs. Love-, all obtained ,$600 from her to cast off a "spell" from her son. » He 84, 8he 78, Elope. ' 'Huntington, W. Va.--J. A. Ootfit, eighty-four, and Mrs. John Harper, seventy-five, are now Mr. and Mrs. John A. Cottle. The aged .couple eloped from CatlettsbUrg, Ky„ and were married here. this Woman after »V? . Am*, ••jk-r'C^S After 1 Iran forakmfftlme and a good deal of the time was not •Ida to go aboot; fa our home and one oey mj husband came back from town with a battbk Lydla E. HnE ^ Vegetable Compound and . from my trouble*, th soIioulddoMmt f̂re now hare a little one, aS> owe to Lydia E. Finkhasc't . _ Compooad."-- Mrs. O. & joijMfepV f̂tNo. 8, EUensnoig, Wtplu aiMr women everywhere wha in their homes yet are on account which in cases Wtxrtd readily yield to Lydit rinkham't Vegetable Compound 6ueh women abouldnot give up bona until they have given this wonderful medicine a trial, and for special advice Write LycHa E. Pinkham Medicine Lynn, Mass. The result of 40 experience is at your service. Gear Yoor Skin /Uldm*M*)8o*pS^Oi»tiBMt%*8Q,TaloamS. Saatpl* --ok fre« of "(tettoua, P«H. i, lulu ? hmt No* •mmMm BaMHac Oa., Ill (fful SHfe Maartaa, Va# SHE GOT COMPOSERS MIXE|< - Queen Victoria's Error Must Hava Caused Mascagnl to Paaa an Un> comfortable Few Minutes. '• Sometimes when a great personage's, essays musical criticism embarrassing- errors arise. Once Queen Victoria, Invited Mascagnl, the composer of Cavalieria Busticana, to play for her . at Windsor castle. When the mustctaii was at the piano her majesty Bald: • "I am passionately fond of one d0r •. ' the numbers of your opera." Mascagnl played the Intermesso. "No," said the queen, "that Is not thlc melody I mean." Mascagni played the Prelude. Y "That's not it, either." Mascagnl played the dramatic Duet,V: % ¥^ The queen became almost impatlenti "I'll help you to remember it," sha*"- ' - said, and hummed a few measures. With increasing consternation Mas* cagni listened as the queen sang tlitf v : ^ Prologue to Leoncavallo's "I Pagliae»* cir ' Le Gaulols, In telling the story, doea not say whether the musician informed the queen that she had made a mlf|| take.--Youth's Companion. f il ̂ Editor Finally Turned. ~ "And this," said the alleged oW sol­ dier, pestering a long-suffering edltorf who was an o'd soldier, "is where the Arabs were massed in front of ua> J "Here"--pointing to another place oil, jj a dirty pocket map--"Is where our dl# , vision was drawn up in zareba. ; ^ "We deployed in this direction, and . our left wing was attacked by thia enemy on this knoll. Just at this point I was wounded on the left shoulder,., and a hundred yards further on I got my right arm shattered by a piece of ^ ^ i one of our own shells, and--" ' *• ," "But," Interrupted the bored editor^ .v, "where did you get your brains blow^ out?"--London Tit-Bits. , ' * One Talk. One Penny. ' DonMd had just finished reciting, "Little Boy Blue" when his uncle sal* "Say It over again and I will give yog a penny." Donald did as he was requested, arid ttlien he had ended his uncle again srfihl. -Now say Tom, the Piper's Son^ Donald." Quick as a flash Don asked, "Yo«i~ hasn't got another penny, has yo^ Uncle Bill ?" A Bright Pupil. Teacher--*Into what two great dasei es Is the human race divided? Pupil--Motorists and pedestdaaa. Philadelphia is to have a hospital for wounded negro soldiers.. ' £ sj. .. '*5 Oftc Wcaf^dnd "Tear on that boy of yours during the active years of childhood and youth necessitates a real buildingfcod. Grape-Nuts supplies the essentials for vigorous minds and bodies at any age. "Thereto a Reasoi? M i < - ; • • , " ̂ - v > •