Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, December 3, 1904, Page 6

WEASEL JOHN. BY: B. PAUL CHAPTER XX.—(Continued.) “Well, Pursley, here, he wanted to know a bit more before he promised. But at this the tall man called on two of his ruffians to hold him, while he pulled out a murderous looking knife. So, like a wise man, Tom said he wouldn't make any bother, but he’d just do the job as well as he could, and so said the rest of us. “A nasty job it was, too. There must ve been nigh on a hundred barrels s and boxes, and they had to I and k be brought from great holes in the rock, high up, some of them, and oth- rs low down, so that you had to bur- w into them on all fours. It was no joke carrying those weights up and over the rocks with only the of a couple of lanthorns and a tol covering you all the time. At last the job was finished—hard as it 1 don’t think it took us very long ind the boats were full, so that 1 wondered how they'd live in the open “We thought we were safe then; but this man Tripp he calls us to fol- low him, and leads the way past ere we'd been working, over a long, g sort of track. Artful he was, r between each pair of us was! of their lot with a knife or pistol ready. Down we came at last into} hat little bay where you found us. Tripp, he carried no weapon, but in ght hand he swung a lanthorn and in the other a keg such as we had been lifting. “When we were all fair on the beach he waited a bit till all his evil crew, or nearly all, were standing round. A pretty set of Tyburn dogs they looked, too, with their black faces and their rs. Then he says, speaking ft and pleasant—didn’t he, Tom?— “Aye, that he did, the hound,” growl- ed Pursley. ‘So, my lads,’ he says, as smooth as anything, ‘you’ve done your job very well, and much obliged we all are you, and sorry to leave you behind, s got to be, like it or not. How- like * he says, ‘we'll part h that he opens the keg, takes a good pull and passes it to Will. ““There, he says, ‘when did you ste stuff like that, you rogue? your bellyful and thank your stars for it. But Will smelled a rat. I expect ought it was a trick to fuddle us So he said, rather I thought so, too. and loud: , I don’t want none.’ “It was like a match to tinder. ‘Oh, you don’t, don’t you, you dirty jubber You're too fine and dainty to < with the likes of us, are you? We'll soon see about that.’ NEUMAN. 7 ful figure, his courage began to return, and the almost frenzied struggles with which he had met their outstretched hands entirely ceased. “How do you come to be here, Phil, at this time of the night?” asked the curate. “The bad man’s over there,” cried Phil, pointing towards the front of Wedge Hill. “The bad man?” repeated Mr. Leife. “What man do you mean?” “The bad man,” reiterated the boy, as though this description must be amply sufficient. “He means that Weasel John,” said Owen, quicker than the curate to catch the lad’s meaning. “Do you mean Broad? Did you come over here with him?”+ pursued Mr. Leife. Phil nodded twice quickly. “In his boat—hidden—he’d have killed me if he’d have known. “He’s got my lizard, but—” here the boy’s face suddenly lit up with a strange smile—“I hit him with a stone on the head.” “In the boat?” asked Owen. dead?” Phil shook his head. “No, it was be- fore he got into the boat. I was look- ing for my lizard then and I thought I heard him coming after me, and the wall opened and I fell into a dark place, like a cave—and a lot of men came, and I hid in the boat, but he didn’t see me, and he rowed out to Wedge Hill.” “Oh!” cried the curate, putting his hand up to his forehead, “whatever is the boy talking about? It sounds like a pack of nonsense.” “Where was the lot of men?” asked Owen. “In the dark place.” “And where was that?” “Under his house.” “Whose house?” “The bad man’s.” “Are they there now?” The lad shook his head. “IT don’t know.” “Tt’s no good,” said Mr. Leife; “we can’t make head or tail out of it. What had we better do now? Shall we try to make the shore in this boat or go back towards the Wedge, or shall we go up“there”—he pointed to the recess in the rock at the back— “and wait till the tide goes down?” “The boat’s no good, sir,” called out Pursley, who had been examining it closely. “That last drive in has done her business. She’s all ripped up un- der here. We should never get through this surf in her. But I believe the boy’s right—it’s the Weasel’s boat right enough.” “Wait up there, I say,” cried Carr. “Is he “He just gave a look at his men, and a couple of them threw them- Ss upon poor Will and bore him down struggling. We made a move- ment and in a trice our hands were fast behind our backs. But Tripp took no heed of us. He knelt on Will’s chest SE Prise his ugly jaws open,’ he and as they were not quick gh to suit him he gave Will an y buffet on the mouth. ‘Now, then,’ he shouted, and began g the stuff down. ‘Will squirmed and spluttered, for was choking, and still the big he brute went on tilting the keg into his mouth. At last with a mighty effort the poor fellow broke away from the men who were holding him down, got one arm free ,and with a big sweep knocked the keg clean out of Tripp’s hands on to the stones. Then he haif sprung up, but the tall man swung up the keg like lightning and brought it down with a horrid thud right on Will's crown. Down he went as if fhe’s had a bullet in his brain. Tripp stood for a minute looking at the empty keg and then at us. “Very good,’ he said, ‘you shall Rake your water neat.’ Then in quite another voice he snapped out to his ellows: ie them up proper, and put the stoppers in again.’ “When they had finished he bade them lay Strong where the water would reach him first. Then he lean- ed over us as we lay sprawling and burst into a fit of laughter. “Good-bye, my merry gentlemen,’ he said. ‘I leave you, just as I prom- ised, all safe and sound except that fool who angered me, which it is never a wise thing to do.’ “And with that he turned his back “I believe that’s the best thing to do,” said the curate. “Why, whatever is the matter with the boy?” he add- ed, taking a step or two towards the cliff and peering in that direction. Phil had climbed up and was now standing in front of the opening, wav- ing his arms and throwing stones on to the shingle in order to attract at- tention. “They all hastened to the foot of the rock. “All right, Phil,” ‘cried Pursley, “what is it?” “In there is where I found my lizard before,” exclaimed ‘the boy, evidently in great excitement. “Perhaps he’s there now. I’m going in to see. I know the way out at the other end.” “Never mind the lizard,” muttered Carr to himself; “if you can get us out through there, my boy, it’ll be the best day’s work you’ve done in your life.” As he spoke he scrambled up beside Phil, and the others followed. “Are you sure you, know how to get out through here? Where does it bring you out?” inquired the curate. “It leads into the old quarry. I know the way,” declared Phil, with a certain air of pride, ‘“and”—pride changing to anxiety—“he may be wait- ing for me inside there now.” “Lead the way, then,” said Owen, “and don’t let us waste any more time. “We've got some work to do to- night before we go to bed.” And there was a ring of determina- tion in his voice. Phil obeyed with alacrity, Carr at his heels,his heels, followed by Purs- ley. The curate and Owen were about to join them, when, by accident, or by some curious instinct, they both turn- ed to look back across the bay. As upon us and went off with his crew, and that was the last—” “What's that?” interrupted Carr, Jeaping up and pointing seaward. “It’s a boat, surely,” said Mr. Leife, and without another word they all ran down to the beach as fast as they could go. The next moment a heavy breaker rolled in and cast at their feel Phil (Ugloe, in the Weasel’s skiff. CHAPTER XXI. It would be difficult to say which of the little group was most astonished, ‘ut as to who was most alarmed there could be no doubt. For Phil’s first dea was that it must be Weasel John who had pounced upon him so unex- pectedly. When, however, ke failed ¢o recognize the well-known and hate- they did so Owen gave a gasp and clutched the curate’s arm. “Call them back, sir,” he whispered. “We must see what this means.” At the same time he stepped closer to the shelter of the wall and drew his companion with him. Upon the opposite spur of rock that divided this inlet from the one where Owen and his comrades had so nearly perished ,stood a solitary figure visi- ble by the light of a lanthorn he car- ried in his left hand. That figure— squat, thick set, the head almost sunk between the shoulders—there was no mistaking—it could only be the tenant of the bilge, Weasel John. CHAPTER XxXil. When Mr. Leife returned with Phil, Carr and Pursley, Weasel John was still in sight. s pered Owen, “but each time he came back. It looks as if he’s uneasy about something.” “He can see in the dark,” muttered Phil, who was trembling at the sight of his enemy. Eyen now as they watched him they thought they could detect an air of irresolution. He advanced a step or..two, then retreated; held up his lanthorn and turned it about in all di- rections; ‘then set it down on the ground and stood perfectly still. Sud- denly his hesitation seemed to vanish. He picked up the light and began to descent briskly towards the beach. “I believe he’s caught sight of the boat,” said Owen, under his breath; “IT expect he’s recognized it for his own.” “He can see in the dark,” repeated Phil. With remarkable nimbleness the little man made his way down to the shore. Evidently Owen’s guess was correct, for once on the beach the Weasel went straight to the unlucky skiff, dragged it a few feet higher up the shingle, and scrutinized it care- fully. Apparently the examination was not satisfactory, for it was soon over, and the Weasel, springing to his feet, took up the lanthorn and began jto prowl about the beach, bending low every few feet. By the light he carried the watchers on the rock could see every now and again a long knife gleaming in his hand. “He’s coming this way,” said Purs- ley; “can he have seen the hole?” “He can see in the dark’’—this like a low-voiced chorus from Phil. It was soon apparent that he had, indeed, noticed or was familiar with the recess. He came straight towards it, without halting, till he stood di- rectly under the little party. As he drew near Mr. Leife laid himself down flat on his stomach, and motioned to Carr, who was, next to himself, the most strongly built of the five, to do the same. The others drew back close under the shadow of the rock. They could all hear the Weasel making his preparations to climb, and then, by the scraping and grinding against the stone, they could measure his prog- ress. - At last—it could only have been a moment or two at the most, but to them it seemed more like ten—his hands appeared on the rough rock, which rose like a parapet .a few inches above the natural platform on which the curate was lying. Dark as it was, they were so close to the eyes watch- ing intently that the tense grip of the long, curved fingers could be seen quite plainly as they fastened on the rugged surface. Then the _ curate glanced at Carr, and by a_ gesture showed his design. Carr nodded, and each seizing one of the climber'’s wrists, they sprang up together, drag- ging with them the astonished Weasel. But, though astonished, he was not cowed. Without wasting his breath in oaths or questions, he struggled say- agely, desperately. With a fierce plunge and recoil, he snatched his left hand free from the grasp of Carr, who slipped down in the struggle, and with the quickness of a_ striking snake whipped out a knife. At the same mo- ment he aimed a kick at Carr’s head. Luckily Roger was just out of range and caught the foot, bringing him heavily to the ground with the curate on top of him. Then Pursley and Owen joined in the fray, and, writh- ing, straining, kicking and biting—all without a single word, with a concen- tration of fury that seemed to leave him no surplus energy for speech— he was at last held down, disarmed, and his wrists secured with a stont cord. “It’s the rope that was round my ankles,” said Carr, grimly, “and I hope it'll cut as deep on you as it did on them.” t Pursley stooped down and struck the prisoner heavily across the cheek. “Shame!” cried the curate, sternly. “He’s helpless now.” “Do you see that?” answered Purs- ley, holding out his hand, from which the blood was dripping fast. “Bitten through to the bone, you wild beast.” And he stooped again. But the undaunted Weasel spat in his face. “If only it had been your weasand,” he growled, “it would have tasted sweeter.” “Please heaven,” said Pursley, stand- ing erect and speaking quietly, “I shall yet see yours with a rope around it.” CHAPTER XxXiIil. “We have no time to waste,” said Mr. Leife; we'd better follow Phil at once.” At first the Weasel was evidently in- clined to be cantankerous, but a vig- orous kick from Owen and a sharp prick from his own knife changed his disposition, or at any rate his beha- vior, and he went forward quietly enough between Carr and the curate. For some little distance the passage was very narrow and low, so that the taller members of the party had to stoop almost double. Here the Wea- sel’s lanthorn, which he had fastened round his waist when- he’ began to climb the rock, proved extremely use- ful. Phil, who went first, begged to carry it, and threw its light on every side, always with the hope that it might reveal his beloved lizard. After awhile the tunnel was crossed at right angles by another, into which the boy led the way without the slightest hesitation. Here they could all stand upright, and their chief diffi- culty arose from the roughness of the path, which more than once ran by the side of a black and yawning chasm. On these occasions they had to hug a precipitous wall, and several times the curate wondered what would “Three times he turned to go,” whis- have happened if they had been with: out the lanthorn. At the narrowest and most difficult of these places Wea- sel John suddenly stopped midway and refused to budge, inviting with exult ant blasphemy and of his captors to come and move him. Phil and Purs- ley had passed and stood on the oth. er side. Mr. Leife came a few paces behind the Weasel, holding in his hand a pistol taken from that worthy’s belt. This he raised and levelled full at the prisoner’s head. “Now, then, Broad,” he said, “other lives may be depending on us. I will count five, and unless you go straight forward before I have finished I will most certainly put an end to your guilt ylife.” The little man made no sign, and Mr. Leife counted loudly: “One, two, three, four—” “Oh, Mr. Leife,” whimpered thé Weasel, it’s coming on—the falling sickness—I feel it laying hold of me.’ And his knees began to shake pitt fully. “Then heaven have mercy on your soul!” said the curate, “for as sure as I stand here I shall fire in another moment.” “Qh, no you won’t,” laughed Weasel John, tripping along twice as fast as any of the others durst. “My time hasn’t come yet, not by a long chalk.” (To Be Continued.) WHY HE DOUBLED IT. Business Man Didn’t Want His Folly Known. Timothy L. Woodruff of New York tells the story of an old chap in busi- ness in a town not far from Buffalo who recently discovered one morning that his safe was out of order, and telegraphed to the maker in Buffalo to send down an expert. When the man arrived he discovered that the vault, which was an _ old- fashioned affair and locked with a key, could not be opened. After a hasty ex- amination the expert took a piece of wire, and began to dig out a mass of dust and lint from the key. He then opened the safe as quickly as one could desire. With a sickly smile the old merchant meekly asked: “What’s the charge?” “Twenty-five dollars,” was the reply. “Does any one know you're in town?” ‘ “None save yourself.” “Then here’s fifty. You will do me a favor if you will get out of town by the first train. If any one knew that I had paid a man $25 to dig the dirt out of a key for me I’d never do an- other dollar’s worth of business in this part of the state.”—New York World. . TOLD OF KUROPATKIN. Russian General Said to Be a Crack Shot. % The distinguished ‘Russian soldier, Gen. Kuropatkin, has a great deal of experience behind him. The general is said, among his other accomplish- ments, to be a “crack” marksman. When he was minister of war, dur- ing a tour of inspection, he visited Se- bastopol, and strolled with the com- mandant along a highway, where there was a shooting saloon. His host invit- ed him to a contest, and the minister eccepted, each to fire ten shots with a revolver at fifteen paces, the target being a piece of white cardboard. With a revolver the general put all his ten shots into the target, to the’ complete discomfiture of the other competitor, and, when a similar target was put up ten paces farther off, he repeated the performance with a rifle. —Cassell’s Journal. “ENGLISH SPOKEN HERE.” An Odd Sign in a New York Clothing Store. Any New Yorker might fancy him- self in Europe when he encounters in the window of a Fourteenth clothing store the words, “English spoken here.” The letters on the plate glass window might attract even more at- tention were there not announcements of other tongues spoken in the shop. “We ordered all European lan- guages,’ ’one of the clerks explained, “supposing the glazier would know enough to leave out the English. But he put that in along with the others, and perhaps it was just as well. So many people down here don’t talk the language that it is a good thing to ad- vertise it.’—New York Sun. Ses cet ee we ea Absolutely Nothing. Dr. George F. Shrady asked another medical man at a recent meeting of a number of the fraternity if he had ever heard of a three-months-old baby talking. “Oh,” said the other, “of course it is very unusual, but I was called once to attend a sick infant of that age. The case was desperate and past all hope of relief. I was sitting watching for its last gasp when the mother said: “Is there nothing that can be done to save my baby?’ And I replied, ‘Nothing, absolutely noth- ing’ Just then the baby opened its eyes and said nothing, absolutely noth- ing, and died.” Strong Enough. “egome scientist has declared that there is as much strength in three eggs as there is in a pound of beef- steak,” said the observer. “Well,” replied the actor, “I met an egg once that would have eliminated the other two eggs from that proposi- tion.” Overheard during the theatricals: She—How well your wife plays Lady Geraldine, Mr. Jones! I think the way she puts on that awful af- fected tone is just splendid. How does she manage it? Mr. Jones (with embarrassment)— Er—she doesn’t. That’s her natural voice. eee ee NO BALDHEADS YET SINGULARITY OF OCCUPANTS OF THE WHITE HOUSE. President Roosevelt the Second to Wear a Mustache—Most of the Chief Executives Clean Shaven—Chester Arthur’s Facial Adornment. When Roosevelt is inaugurated on March 4, 1905, he will be the second President with a mustache. Cleve- land was the first. Whatever the presidency of this country has done for the incumbents, it has not been productive of beards. The first of our chief executives were as clean shaven as Benedictine friars. J. Q. Adams was the first to break the rule, but he was not a full bearded President. His facial growth of hair hardly came up to what are usually termed side whiskers, but they were a trifle more expansive than the Scotch Presbyterian type. When he retired the beardless presi- dent came in again with Jackson, but his successor, Van Buren, brought to the White House almost an exact pat- tern of the whiskers grown by J. Q. Adams. | William Henry Harrison again set the beardless face. The seven who came after were clean shaven, ‘When Mr. Lincoln was elected there ! was not a hair on his face, but before he finished his first term he wore a sparse beard, with clean shaven upper lip. One of the authenticated stories is that he did this to please a child. Grant was the first President with a full short beard. His immediate successor, Hayes, was the first to wear full, long whiskers, covering his shirt front. Garfield also wore a full beard, but was less luxuriant than that of Hayes. Arthur, who was the most correct dresser of all the Presidents, was the first in the list to grow the Burnside type of whiskers. Benjamin Harrison’s beard was ful}, with a slight tendency to curl at the end, and was tinged with gray. After Cleveland the clean shaven face returned with McKinley. The mustache came in for the second time when Roosevelt succeeded. Most of the Presidents were bounti- fully supplied with hair on top of their heads. The two Adamses were the first to show a slight tendency to bald- ness. Van Buren was bald on the fore- head. Garfield was similarly marked. Polk was the first and only Presi- dent who wore his hair in the ante- bellum Southern style. It was long and reached back from the front, over his ears. Buchanan was the first and only one, so far, to wear the top roach. Cleveland in returning to his second administration showed a tendency to baldness. McKinley was not notice- ably blessed with a heavy growth. But no baldheaded man, as the term is understood, has yet been President of the United States. Value of Learning by Sound. “What do you think of the new idea of teaching children by sound.” asked the Theorist of the Man With a t'am- ily. “I don’t seem to take to it,” said the latter. “I did, of course, at first, for I believe that our educators are achieving wonders in the way of help- ing the youngsters to get their educa- tion with ease. But I had a practical demonstration the other day that the new system has flaws. My six-year- old boy showed me. “It was after his first day at school and he came home considerably puffed up with his own importance and the excitement of the thing in general. “Well, Bill,’ I said, ‘what did you learn to-day?’ “Yes, papa,’ he said, ‘I learned who | made the first American flag.” “‘Good,’ said I. Here was a fine be- | ginning—education and patriotism all at once. ‘So,’ I continued, ‘And who was it?’ “‘Patsy Ross!’ | “And he seemed so pleased that t! hated to tell him he was wrong, and that he had done Betsy Ross a wrong by giving a man credit for her immor- tal performance.” Election Bets Won and Lost. One of the heaviest eastern winners by the Republican victory is Thomas L. Woodruff, ex-lieutenant governor of New York state, whose bank account has been swelled about $30,000. Of this amount $20,000 was wagered with Senator McCarren and his friends that Parker would not have 25,000 plurali- ty in Kings county, $10,000 that Roose- velt would carry the state and $500 even that Higgins would be elected. The bet on the state was made at 2 to} 1. The morning of election Mr. Wood- ruff sent word to the McCarren peo- ple that he had $20,000 more to bet that Parker would not get 25,000 in the county. He could not place the money. Congressman Tim Sullivan backed Parker and is a heavy leser on the result. ESTAS be eee The Bachelor’s Wish. Prantet a eo iit . ‘0 sweeten. life, By bachelor young and healthy! I do not care, So the lady be fair, How poor she may be or wealthy. She must not be tall, Nor yet very small, But beautiful, gentle and young. With eyes that are bright And a heart that is light, And one who can bridle her tongue. with a soul full Me love, And as pure as a dove, Anda form that is slender ‘and airy; With a wolce Mike a bird’ Us. Though of not many words, And Pry light on her foot as a fairy. And when I can find One just to my mind, ‘Who'll love me sincerely and ever— I vow not to leave her, Nor harm ne ya grieve Net, oe Till death s! e pair of us —Alfred Wheeler. Wiggle -Stick => : WASH BLUE, Costs ro cents and equals 20 cent# worth of any other kind of bluing. Won’t Freeze, Spill, Break Nor Spot Clothes DIRECTIONS FOR USES’ Wiggle-Stick, around in the water. At all wise Grocers, Can’t Even Wind It. “And who does the violin belong to, Mrs. Brown?” “Oh, that’s me ‘usband’s, sir. wouldn’t be ’appy till ’e got one.” “But I didn’t know he could play it.” “Oh, no, sir, ’e can’t. Why, ’e don’t rightly know how to wind it up yet.”— ’'E Mother Cray’s Sweet Powders for Children. Successfully used by Mother Gray, nurse in the Children’s Home in New York, cure Constipation, Feverishness, Bad Stomach, Teething Disorders, move and regulate the Bowels and Destroy Worms. Over 30,000 tes- timonials. At all Druggists, 25c. Sample FREE. Address A. S.Olmsted, LeRoy,N. ¥. The Mean Thing. “Of course, Charles,” said the wife, “T thank you for this money, but it isn’t enough to buy a real fur coat.” “Well,” replied the great brute, “you'll have to make it go as fur as you can.”—Philadelphia Public Led- ger. Mrs. Winslow's Soothing S For children teething, softens the gums, refuces ‘ne flammation, allays pain, cures wind colic. 25c a bottla, Genius and Marriage. It was an old bachelor who said that it was futile to discuss the question whether a genius would make a good husband. ‘No real genius, he said, would ever marry.—Somerville Jour- nal. \ Important to Mothers. Examine carefplly every bottle of CASTORIA, asafe and sure remedy for infants and children, and see that it Bears the In Use For Over 30 Years, The Kind You Have Always Bought, An Acquired Habit. Madge—What in the world is the matter with Dolly? Marjorie—Why, don’t you see? She has had a gold tooth put in and now she’s learning to laugh in such a way as to show it to advantage.—Puck. PATENTS. List of Patents Issued Last Week to Northwestern Inventors. Reported by Lothrop & Johnson, patent lawyers, 911-912 Pioneer Press building, St. 1, Minn.: Edward Cachelin, Spearfish, S. D., augur or drill for boring rock, ete.; Albert Ek- berg, Minneapolis, Minn., signal for the deaf; Eva Hall, Minneapolis, Minn., sewing machine needle; Sam- uel Hauser, Minneapolis, Minn., awn- ing roller chain box; Knud Lerol, Jr., Amherst, Minn., wire twister; John Meyer, Winthrop, Minn., cue tip hold- er; William St. Clair, Owatonna, Minn., cash register. Winning Prizes at Ninety-Six. One of the smartest old women in this part of Maine is Mrs. Philip Hub- bard of Palmyra. Mrs. Hubbard is 96 and is the oldest member of the grange in the state. At the recent cattle show and fair Mrs. Hubbard received sev- eral first premiums for articles of fancy work which she made herself. In addition to assisting in the house- work, she finds time to do considerable plain and fancy sewing. , Gles @rbolisalve Instantly stops the pain of Burns and Scalds. Always heals without scars, 26 and 50c by druggists, or mailed o1 i ft Price by J.W. Oole & Go. Black Hiver Falls, Wis ues KEEP A BOX HANDY expands and bursts every starch cell, makes a fine, white, bubbling dough, and brings out every nutritive valueofthe flour. Do you want never-failing good bread? Use Yeast Foam ; it’s Safe Yeast Poor yeast means badly- raised, badly-baked, dangerous bread. Yeast Foam means the best and most strengthening bread in the world. The secret is in the yeast. For sale by all grocers at 5c a package—enough for 40 loaves. “How to Make Bread”’—/ree. NORTHWESTERN YEAST CO., Chicago. BEGGS’ CHERRY COUGH SYRUP cures coughs and colds.