Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, September 19, 1922, Page 2

ILLUSTRATED _ BY R.H.LIVINGSTONE Supposing you . were a young man who had served-in a war the future were rosy with prom- Jbe, aexcepting that fate had called upon you eire umlunu- being that dur- ing the cenflict, .An eutiaw oper- ating upder the Opie Read semi-ganction of "2 sue warfare had raided your home and murdered your father, and then, hanging his body to a tree, had in- solently pinned a card to it bearing the eutlaw’s name! Would not you Ikely do as Virgl] Drace did—swear & gelezan vew 1o find that outlaw, hang hn as high as Haman, and decorate se with your own card? Then, -whil® you' were setting about to exe and had the satiefaction of flndl.nl your affection sincerely reciprocated. Then supposing it developed that the #irl were the daughter of the man upon whom you had sworn to wreak '-nlllnco. ‘What would you do? Is tisfactory web upon which /e an intensely interesting story ot rompnce, especially when the inci- leats occurred in the South following heé Civil war, the young man a north- ern officer, the girl a beautiful, flery episodes of the South and that bulent period which marked the days of reconstruction? Would it not be more absorbing if, as in this case, the author were one of the Ereatest of American novelists? You will find this stirring romance worked @ut ip ‘the most charming way in { “Periwinkle House,” by Ople Read. No man in the United States has wyttten as many stories as Opie Read, and. no-author has had a larger num- Mer_qf- readers. He was born in a J@mal town in Tennessee in 182, fol- lowed. newspaper work for awhile In g cky, and then moved to Little where he edited the Ar- #nm tte from 1878 to 1881. He a8 next on the staff of the Cleveland J40.) Lesder and then returned to Lit- tie Roek; where he established -the ] Arkansaw Traveler, a humorous paper WHICh -attsacted the attention of the entire - English-speaking world. Mr. Read furnished most of the material Apat went into the publication. He ‘égnducted 1t from 1883 to 1891 and then meved to Chicago, where he has since resided, eiigaged In literary work. It s doubtful if Ople Read himself ‘¢ould recall the titles of all the books ‘has written, without referring to s 1ist.- One er more of them s In nearly avery heme where fiction Is indulged Ja; ®roughout the land. They form a conspicuous part of the fiction section. of #very public library, and are car tied ‘in. stock by every enterprising bptk dealer. During late years he has ess. prolific, due to the fact that not had the lelsure for writing, fer .he has become one of the most weught .after lecturers, and his time is practically filled with Chautauqua, Ly. um and special platform engage- maeits. -In this work he has covered praetically the entire nation and has visitéd some sections. several times, for. thers always is a demand for his’ return. CHAPTER | _@ut.upon the sheen of the mighty river the pine-torch flames fell in mppling streams, and'the full moon, peepiag over the tall timber, made menths at herself in the wrinkled mirrer of flood. On the steamboat Leens the negro deck-hands were chanting the buoyart anthem of the Jane rise. In the gilt, enameled sa- lnon, a sweet-stringed waltz, centuries rémoved from the melodic bellow of the ‘black bucks below, swelled out upon a breeze that seemed eager to mingle with it, while sentiment smiled aad gallantry bowed in the studted graces of a floating ballroom on the Mississippl. All ceremony was precise ‘with the inherited observance of pre- cedent, save when some hair-greased and less refined dandy of the woods, haviag lingered too long at the bar, 1et liquor fly to his heels to cut a re- ‘bellieus pigeon-wing. Phe boundless ranch of the West ‘wes: urkmown, and along the lowér Mississippl lay the great plantatjons of America. Except for the toll of the slaves, industrial life had been only a xprt ‘of happy indolence; but society »qJd many a thrilling charm, and with 1ts libraries from Europe, ig'tellectual Use imdulged the luxury of, ceremoni- iy }cunueim This 4Atmosphere was mu breathed en the big Missis- Mnu-beats, tor ta‘itasies which -;(gr peetic the eond'tlon of us all | lnset on the water affer hawing been duived from the land, Iz the ballroom dress of the men shd the women was wariegated with tke odd ends of dif- ferent periods of style. Old chests, hidden durlng the Civil war, only & few years past, had been opened to i } the Leona the give up the faintly scented fluffs and gourd-flowered vests of Andrew Jack- sex’s day; and the brigadler In ruffled shirt poured gallantry’s extravagast of ‘speech upa the gon Jeusg due nmyd l; the #ilk LT 48 bad adorned the form of her grand- mother when in the village of Wash- ington she waltzed with Lafayette. During a lull in the music-measured capering a tall, handsome young man, garbed In the fashion of the day, passed with long and careless strides trom one end of the saloon and out toward the upper deck. Admiring eyes were bent upon him; and one lady turned to her partner and said: “Oh, please, Colonel, tell me who he 18.” The Colonel placed his right hand on the bosom of his ruffied shirt and bowed. “Miss Lucy,” he said, “it would be one of the satisfactions of my life to gratify your more than natural curiosity, but that pleasure is denied me. I can't tell you who he 1s.” And thea—because the Colonel had sighed his own sentimental distress in the presence of Miss Lucy and because her curiosity ' concerning the young stranger stirred a Jealous qualm—he added: “He looks like a Yankee to we.” The young man was a Yankee. And decause he was journeying to the South upon a grim and terrible mis- sion, the gayeties of the ballroom had grated upon him and he had sought ‘he solitude of the upper deck. Yet it was this moment that Fate chose ‘o bring him face to face with one ~ho was to change the whole course >f his life. For as he turned into a long pas- sageway, aflame with lfght but de- sertetl, there suddenly entered at the ‘ar end a girl thrilling. tn litheness and umost barbaric in dress. In swift un- :q(lsclousness of him /she approached, « great handful of roses In red glare Alding her features. iShe lowered her "2und; he caught full view of her face; ind it seemed to him, that his heart ":eased to beat, like a pendulum caught and halted, then thrown again into motion. She did not look at him;as “he slowly pas.sed' her. l-‘je gazed .into | her eyes she’ bent+them- upon- ihe, roses held out in front of her; and ! then he-wheeled about to follow her. She turned into a cross-passage, ‘was zoney he ran to the- entrance, but she nad vanished. Ip the young man’s heart was a m—ugglo to call her, but there was no appropriate word; and then sobered, the Yankee smiled at himself. But the smile did not balm his delicious wounds, and be continued his search into the ballroom. There were many handsome wy)men, belles of proud vil- lages, but /> none did he give a sec ond glance, Again he passed out to- ward the upper deck. For a time he stood gazing down apon the mexver-solved mystery of night on ‘the Mpussissippl. The fiddles were golng agaln, and he heard slippered feet whispering over the floor, but it seemed to him that this scene of gay- ety was forced, like m melancholy laugh; it xeminded him of a book of poems in ' tatters, of a love-letter in faded Ink L Built ¢ fbout one of the smokestacks was a stanty of boards called the “dog ho gse.” Turning a corner of the shanty, ' the young man stumbled agalost some one; & man growled in resentry ant. “I bef ; your pardon!” “I sh ould say you do!” A young fellow of unusual height and of hu- morous slimness came forth out of the shadoy -. The boat was landing, and & tus)rentine-torch om the shore re- veal pd him, pale and long of face, wit'a cellar cut low and chin standing hirgh. “Yes, sir,” he added, “and although 1£ may mot be necessary on this occa- sion, yct if you knew who I am, you would apologize soe more.” “Ah, ywou don’t say!” replied the Yankee, smiling. *4nd as yru seem to be forad of the \husle of :pology, will you please tell ms who ysu are?” “I can 'do that eam- enough, but I don’t wi sh to frighten you.” “You :re consideratt. But the fact is I ragher enjoy tho -sensation of fright.” “The p stremble: X,am Kdberty Shot- tle.” “W 8at, ivou den't mean mc you are real'y Libierty Shotude: “f swerir it.” o *p/ell, well! And w ‘w1l you ple/1se enfighten me as to who Liberty Sy ottle isi? And why do you suppose tr at peorfe who have heard of you, t remble i your presence? What have you done?®* “Sir, modesty puts a clamp on me. . And now would you mind tell- ing me your naige?” Not at all. My meme Is Virgil Drace.” “You don't say? Well, well! But I never heard of you. either.” Now they laughed, the joyous and unsuspicious THE BEMIDJ! DAILY PIONEER wn upon the deck-hands, ing freight, lis! ng to the stream of the second mate's profanity, who swore his emotion by the stars, the moon, the river, the universe; and when the Leona was on her way again, the fiddles going, the muddy roustabouts singing, Liberty Shottle and Drace seated themselves on campstools, eagering toward swift acquaintance, the friendship of two natures far apart in aim and principle. “If you'ye got two cigars, I'll joln :Jou in a smoke,” said Shottle. “Thank: you. Youisee, my.peqple,; Whint, fe \0f- them--are- left, say that I don’t' exist. _They haven't cast me off, o Rfl thing--of -that sort, but -being: of d hablts themselves, they.sweag i h X am too unreal to exist. Lord, iwhat is. the world but queer? . What your game?” AN "I haven't any—any gapie.” fartied the Northerner. “But what are you daing on this boat yourself?* “I'm going down to. New:'Orleans,” replied Liberty, “to see how long 1 can stay there. I had a pretty fair job a couple of months ago teaching a school near Memphis. They liked me, too. I've got a sheep’s hide from ‘Chapel Hlll university, North Caro- = : — == “Then Tremble; | Shottle.” lina, with all the wool singed off and the board acknowledged my qualifica- tions, but they caught me shaking dice with the boys and told me that as there were some branches of learning they didn't care to have instilied, I'd better get a professorship in some’ higher institution. Have you been In there?” Liberty Shottle waved his hand; and Drace, thinking'hie meant the ball- room, answered him: “Only passed through. I've been rather worn with that sort of thing.” “Oh, you think I meant the ball! 1 meant the poker-room.” “Yes, I sat In there for a time.” “How did you come out?” . “Not very well. Lost two hundred.” “You speak of losing two hundred as lightly as if it were a matter of breath instead of blood. Would you mind holding my hand till you say it again? Two hundred! Why, you! know, a fellow .would teach bullet-: heads and sissies for two months for two hundred dollars . . . Now, let me lay down a proposition: I am lucky tonight. I lost fifteen dollars, all I had, but I'd just got up to the point of winning when I lost my last dollar. Just one more anté€, and it would have come my way. I saw it coming, but a blundering fool headed it off. No here’s my scheme, and it’s a good one you want your two hundred back; you stake me to a hundred, and I'll go in there and make a cleaning. Don't re- fuse, ‘now, until you have let your' mind digest the situation. Most of the errors in this life come from snap Judgment.” “Ah, you think you can win, because you lost?” ° “My dear Virgll, there s, you might say, & psychology in everything. Who wins a fight? The man who believes; he can’t? No, the man who knows he can. And I know right now. 'Why, I'd stake my life on it. You give me the hundred and stay right here and wait. As for my honesty, I can give you ref- erences—the mayor of New Orleans and Judge Hebbins of Memphis—but he died last week. No matter — I'd Jump into the river and let the paddle- wheel beat me into sausagemeat be- fore I'd deceive you. Liberty Shottle, that's my name!” Drace leaned back and laughed. “Liberty, a thing astonishing to me is going to happen. I'll stake you to the hundred.” No superstitious devotee ever re- celved from the priest of the gods a 1ibatidn with more of emotional strain, than. Liberty Shottle evinced when he elo”d in tight clutch on Drace’d’ ad- $edturous: hundred.” Then he bowed lnd‘dlnppeered ¢e sat musing, and soon .lie be- ‘ni.to wonder why he had Yeeh, h, 'S¢ weak ‘as ‘to give $100 to this pecnnnr fellow, a stranger. Well, Liberty fiad| gmused him. Made him laugh,-and in this world there is more money spent for the promotion of laughter than for the relief of tears. Presently Shottle returned. "He sat down and though physically he was light, the camp stool groaned beneath him. Drace waited. The Leona blew her great horn and all' the world seemed to tremble. When the sound had died, cchoiug miles away, the gambler coughed lightly and groaned. mirth of youth. Th&y stood looking Dpnee woudered _why he_should “be e e —e—— Tqfilred TIEKIEd over aily obe's misfortunse, put he felt a merry tingling in his blood. “This boat’s got a good bass voice,” he remarked. -“Bass voice! Do you know what T'd-Mke to do? I'd like to bore a ten- ifich hole in her bottom and let her go down.” “You must have lost, Liberty.” “Don’t call me Liberty. Call me Lib—just Lib; that's enough. But let me tell' yon' something, Never in all 'my Tite have T ever cqme as'near be- g 2 rich:man as: I was just now..I d_ won—by George, T, Nad’dp much ‘money stacked up:in front vt e thnt ‘a’ mulatto, from. the North:¢iTled, ‘mnrster And then a cog nllppcd. '!Va {could havé'split 4nd had, & $mgl’ tune aplecg » O “Blundering. fool again?! Dracy s, siy; jand, I was the fool. -wanted to be a rich man+~and came twmun on¢' of it.,. You khow, some- times Fortune hesitates.as to whether : she shall ¢rown you or slap you.” “In your case, she didn’t seem to hesitaté long, Lib.” “No the hairtangled hag! And then do you know what she did just as I was forced to get up from the table in as ;hot a fever as ever scorched & man’s blood? She smiled at me. Now, I'll swear to that. But it's all over. A fellow has his little day, and then stretches out and lets the ndertaker measure him.” “Yes, Lib, and, I'd adyise him to bring along extra tupe when he comes after you.” Shottle attempted to smile, but the fever within him was still so hot that his effort ended in a grim tightening of the motith. “'That’s all right, Virgil, but you must remember that you are one out of a million. How a fellow can lose $200_at poker and get up from the table with money still in his pocket is beyoml me. However, It means that ; you Navemt got poker in your blood, i which of ‘jtseélf is a marvel. But I want to tell you that every man is food for some sort of desperate passion, If it is0't gambling, it may be love. How about” that?” “Hasn't caught me yet,” answered Drace, stoutly, even though the pic- ture of the girl in the passageway was at the nioment floating bright before his mind’s éye. “Of course,” he add- ed, “I may marry, Liberty; that sort 1 Bu: I don’t thiok the subject very in- teresting. - 4T grant you...Jn this we walk shoulder " to “shoulder. 'But there is something. of \'lufl interest. Just now —I lost.” I “Yes, and 2 very. natural thing,” Drace agreed? “° - “No, It .Wusn't nat rsl It was un- natural that X‘ghuul lose just at that It was-an.accidenf, Listen to ln\lte Anybody can time. e for just dog -or a cat orany otfer animal al-! ‘ways does. s doing the thing that natgre Alidw't: intend .that* marks the progress of, flvumflop., ‘Now, I .have a proposition to make that may seem unnatural.- Perhaps no man you ever met before wonld make it. - But you never met. §i¢h"a man ’as I am, be- fore. ‘You couldn't look forward and see nie.”'Could you?’ "I aidn’t,” Dnce cheerfully admit- | "And it would have been hard for | you to beliéve that X exist, which I don't, according to the belief of some of-my folks. Now, then, what are we getting at? Another stake? No, I am not going to ask you to risk any more of your money. But this is my proposition: You let me have $100; if I win, I'll pay back all I owe. And if I don't, I'll belong to you—your property, body and soul — but with his understanding, I am not to per- | form any ‘menial service in public. | And . it is further understood and i agréed upon that if by any chance I can-faise $100, I am to have the privi- ' lege of buying my freedom. The first $100, you understand, was a stake and not g loan. Before you decide, weigh the advantages of owning & man. I will. be your Greek, your enslaved pht- losopher, be your Epictetus and turn your mill. We will revive the ethics of | ancient society. Wen't that prove that history really does repeat itself?” “Yes,” answered Drace, “but I dou't care any more whether history re- peats herself than I do that a stam- mering man repeats himself.” “Now my dear friend soon to be my master, I hope—I -ask you; isn’t it slave?” “Yes. By the way, do you know New Orleans very well?” “What! Does a bloodhound know the scent of a darkey?” “All right, Lib—here's $100. And I believe that within an hour from now you 'll be my. property.”. ' (Continued in Next lllfll} { SUBSCRIBE FOR THE, PIONEER Now is the time, . Summer- rates ofill in effgct. Entoll now and save $25.' Twin Gity+ Barber, College, 204-Hennépia "Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. Bicycles ——:Motorcycles Harley-Davidson Line XEW AND REBUILT Order Your Parts Frem Us GENERAL REPAIR SHOP —_— peF | of thing runs in.our family, you know. | Am Liborty something to own a companionable TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 19, 1922 THE TRUE SHIRTWAIST wash silk or linen, makes its appear- ance every season for the benefit of sportswomen and for wear with plain tailored suits. A late model is pictured above, made of dimity with tucks down the front and on the collar and cuffs, 1t fastens with pearl buttons. Elephant’s Foot. . \Sometimes, during the war, we had rather curious bread, but we were never—so far as we know—treated to “Hottentot’s bread.” This is the name of.a tropical plant, a name given to it because its root-stock is used as a food by the Hottentots. And because this L root-stock Is a large, fleshy mass, cut oft at the end, and covered with a corky, cracked bark, the plant is also called “elephant’s foot.” Out of this rough “foot” springs a climbing stem, bearing leaves and flowers. The 'name of “elephant’s foot”. 15 also given to a genus of plants found in India, having root-leaves which bear some resemblance to the foct 0“SU < CRIBE. FOR THE PIONEER an eleohant. North Bound No. The true shirtwaist of fine cotfon, Our Dry Cleaning saves you the cost of new clothes, %“ gives you practically new | garments. Economize without sacrificing looks—see TRAIN SERVICE RESTORED | e - anesota & Imemalmnal R R COMMENCING SUNDAY, SEPT. 17 P‘assenger Trains will Arrive and Depart from Bemidji as follows: 'North Bound. No. 33—Arrives 4:00°A. M. Departs4:25 A. M. Dally 31—Arrives 6:10 P. M. Departs 6:20 P. M. Daily except Sunday South Bound No. 34—Arrives 11:30 P. M. Departs 11:45 P.'M. Daily South Bound No. 32—Arrives 7:25 A. M. Departs 7:35 A. M. Daily except Sunday I will erase. DIMPLES.--- What's more lovely? You watch them come and go like s sunshine on a cloudy day. It's my mission to help you to keep a record of these dimples that time H altkerup STUDIO Bemidji :— We are now making sittings for Christmas delivery —: BEMIDJI CLEANERS Dry Cleaning,: Dyeing and Repairing of all Wearing Apparel. We call for and deliver —PHONE 578— Out-of-Town Custom- ers: “Send your clothes by Parcel Post.” First ClAu Work and Prompt ’Bemld_u ‘Cleaners Papermaster, Mgr. Huffman & O’Leary FURNITURE AND UNDERTAKING O. M. OLSON LICENSED EMBALMER AND FUNERAL DIREC- TOR | Day phone 178 ‘ Night phones 332 or 358 - and Undertaking Company ‘H. N. McKEE Licensed Embalmer and Funeral Director PHONE 222.W RESIDENCE PHONE 222.R 120 THIRD STREET { McKee Furniture | ! | | SPECIALISTS EXAMINING EYES FITTING GLASSES Office, First Floor 213 Third St. Office Phone 131 Res. 310 i Larson & Larson COMPOUNDED WITH CARE Our pharmacists are registered and graduate chemists. They know! Our drugs are fresh, pure, strong, ective. We may charge a little more than some prescriptionists, but then you are sure of getting “what the doctor ordered.” And that means everything. City Drug Store LALIBERTE & ERICKSON \ —Phone 52— WILL DPEN will be used. Phone 252 SATURDA’Y SEPTEMBER 16 By which name you will be able to order with the assurance that nothing but the purest ingredients Also a Full Lne of Pastery Housewives are invited to call and inspect this clean and wholesome bakery. Try One Order—See Hew Good Bread Can Be Made Across from Rez Theatre 7 -4 Sanitary Baking Company ALL THAT THE NAME IMPLIES Laesl s Broadcast YourWarts Don’t keep ’em a sec- rét! The more people who know about what you want—or have ' to offer the better your chances, The ones you want to get in touch with read the Want Ads, and will find you through them. Try one immediately —it will get recults. Call 922