Lakeland Evening Telegram Newspaper, October 12, 1914, Page 2

PAGE TWO TWO BROKEN EARS By GEORGE ELMER COBB. (Copyright, 1914, by W. G. Chapman.) Rufus Burt was poor, miserably poor. He had a little ten-acre farm and a comfortable house on it, but it ! was not entirely paid for. Five chil- | dren, the oldest one fourteen years of age, a boy, Robert, pretty well kept | his nose to the grindstone. With a cheery industrious wife and these five rollicking loving branches, Rufus could not be unhappy long at | a8 time. Once in a while Netta, the mother, lamented that they could not | get the burden of debt off their shoul- ders and enough ahead to give the! children a good education. And she used to say: ' “Why don’t Uncle Zed give up his stony-heartedness with all he's got, and help us a little over the hard places!” But Uncle Zed Mills, fifty miles | away, had long since ceased recogniz- | ing his relatives, not even allowing' them to visit him. There had been a | family feud. Poor Netta was in no | | barn. | singled us out particularly.” | in a great muddy rut. THE EVENING TELEGRAM LAX ELAND, FLA., OCT. 12, 1914. had trled to break in on his solitude, only to be driven away by the fierce- visaged, implacable Starkey. “Poorer than ever,” announced Ru- fus one morning, coming in from the “It looks as if misfortune has “What i it, dear?” inquired his wife in her gently anxious way. “Horse and wagon gone—stolen!” replied Rufus. “Well, I suppose all I can do is to try and get trace of the rig.” Rufus started out. There were guiding hoof marks and wheel tracks across a field and then along an ob- scure and unfrequented road. Rufus had gone about five miles when he started up with new energy. “Why, there’s the rig,” he exclaimed joyfully. Sure enough, faced in the direction from which he was approaching was old Dobbin. The animal stood by the side of the road unhitched from the vehicle. The wagon itself was stuck A boy about the age of Robert was trying to pry an imprisoned wheel free with a fence rail. Rufus viewed the lad curiously as he approached. He was a ragged but bright-faced youngster. The way he ' asked him a few questions and learned ‘that his name was Barton Hale. He supposed the bandhge covering one 'ear and the side of his face was oc- casioned by a toothache and did not press him with inquiries. They got the wagon out of the rut and started for home. i “You go into the kitchen,” advised Rufus when they reached the little farm, “and get a meal. You look as if you needed it.” | “Yes, sir, I do,” replied his guest, humbly and gratefully. He acted like a new being after a hearty lunch pre- | pared by motherly, smiling Mrs. Burt. ! Rufus put him at chopping wood and he did it with a will. Then there | was a field of hay to rake up. The lad seemed actually to enjoy the task. | Rufus was telling him how his wife had fixed up a cot for him in the at- tic and hinted at hiring him perma- nently, when Robert dashed by on his way from school. “Why, what's the matter?” inquired Rufus, as he noticed the lad staring open-eyed after Robert. { “Is that your boy?” asked his com- | panion in a strangely quivering tone. “That's right,” was the prompt re- | ply. | “Half of one of his ears is gone, back. Just received, a con}plete line of 10 acd 12 inch MODEL HARDWARE (i \‘ DHOGOSOE Do GBIt Wm*”*fl*fi%io\%‘ [srinEY] PLOWS Orange Plowé 10 to 14 inch Regular Turning Ploy: The Brinley Plow is built especially for Florida soils. Ey, on: is sold with a guarantee of satisfaction er your mon;: | BRINLE}® —_— it vl C. E. TODD, mgé’ toiled and perspired at his task rather isn't it?” pleased Rufus. It showed that he “Yes—had it frozen when he was was not afraid of work. The lad a little kid.” looked up and suspended his labor as; ‘“See here.” way to blame for it, but after a gen-| eral row far in the past, Uncle Zed ; Phone No. 340 - you give me a lift here?” { There was the perfect prototype of They had heard of the miserly old| * «well, you're a cool one” ejaculat- Robert'’s distinguishing mark—halt 5 4 recluse living in & lonely house all| o4 Rufus. “Do you happen to know . an ear. on to get them to an orphan asylum. f il by himself. Near by was the hut of| w10 1 am?” “Why—why, what does this mean?” | I put on that bandage to hide my ! ' had closed heart and doors to every | living relative he had in the world.| saying he intended to leave his for- tune to charity. a man named Eli Starkey. This per- | “Why, There's the Rigl” son the hermit hired to attend 'to his daily wants. He had filled that func- tion for ten years. The last the Burts heard of their relative, he was blind and deaf. Severa] of his relatives R C R ET YT M T G Y ey SEL LI EA I LIS LI O RoeBs e B oy SO SO B OO B O Rufus came up to him. “Say, mister,” he spoke out, “won’t “I don’t,” answered the boy. “I happen to be the owner of that rig.” “O-oh!” observed the lad looking embarrassed and troubled. He hung his head and dug the gaping toe of his poor shoe into the earth. Then he looked up bravely. “Mister,” he said, “I'm sorry and I'm glad, both. I was on my way to take the rig back to you and I had to face you anyhow, so why not now. Maybe you .wouldn't feel hard against me if you knew why I borrowed the rig.” “‘Borrowed’ is good, rather,” quizzi- cally suggested Rufus. “I'm going to pay you for the use of the horse and wagon,” said the boy quickly and earnestly. “For the dam- age I've done to it, too. Not in mon- ey, for I haven't any, but in work. Yes sir, I'll make {t up to you, sure.”: “What was you doing with it any- way?” inquired Rufus, but the boy shook his head obstinately. “I mustn’t tell,” he insisted. ‘“No harm, mister, you can count on that. When I'm all square with you may- be I'll tell you, but all I want you to think of just now, is how I can work out my debt to you.” Rufus studied the lad curiously. He CROHO SOPEPPPID g, wovssse when we d Telephone Number 37 | To the amazement of Rufus the lad removed the bandage about his head. demanded the bewildered Rufus. . “I didn’t know myself till just this | moment,” replied the lad. “You called that boy Robert. It gave me a clew. Listen, sir.” Then the lad told a strange, strange story. Two years previously he had lost his father and mother. He was stranded on the world with two little sisters. The careless fling of a scythe had severed his ear. That ac- counted for the disfigurement. | He happened to wander with thel little ones near the home of Eli Star- key. That individual immediately took , a peculiar interest in him. He offered ' to give him a home and the little ones as well. Starkey took the lad to see blind deat old Zed Mills. The latter | felt over his head and located thsl broken ear. That seemed to identify | some one to him. Before the family quarrel the old man had taken a great fancy to Robert. Undoubtedly he had ; asked Starkey to bring Robert Burt | to him. Starkey had substituted the other lad, in order that the money | Mills regularly gave might not slip through his fingers. “I knew there was a mystery, may-, be fraud,” explained the boy. “Be ' sides, Starkey began to abuse the lit- ' tle ones. So I ran away. They gave Accuracy Taste, Style o it, looks just right. out errors in it, that will make you ashamed of it neatly and squarcly cut—and not look like it was handsaw. The type used will be the latest and mos presswork will be such ihat every letter will show u printing won’t look pale and sickly, Workmen who know how, with thou modern machinery, enable us to “do it better.” We invite your next Order e ——— S gt SRS} SO B R T A TR T TR Y T e N e v FUPEPPODEQIUTQRPOBOPOTREIN OB PP IHDPUPPDOIGPOPOEOPOTAPQTOFO FOSOSFREOIDOOTOFUECOFRIFIADFDO D C LT OIOEOIVPRPOID S0 broken ear, for I feared Starkey might try to find me. Oh, how strange things have turned out!” They turned out grandly for the Burts, for the real Robert was taken by his father to Mr. Mills and Starkey exposed and a reconciliation took place. And, amid their new fortune, the Burts invited the strange lad and his little sisters to make their permanent home in their happy midst. TO BE TAKEN WITH CAUTION Sharp Limitations as to the Value of the Testimony of Dumb Animals In Cases of Crime. It s a nice question how much | weight should be given to the testi- | mony of animals in criminal cases. | Brute instincts, and habits, and psy- chology are involved in such a way that expert testimony regarding the interpretation of these phenomena, appearing in any particular case, is very desirable if not essential. In a recent murder trial in India where bloodhounds were shown a cap and turban in the murdered woman's room, and then ran straight to the house of the accused, Lakeland Evening Telegram The Lakeland News Evening Telegram Building First House on Main Street Head of Things mission of the fact as evidence on the ground that the dogs could not be cross-examined. It is not clear whether the judge sustained the objection, but he did point out the sharp limitations of such testimony, ! ! which should not, he thought, be used | | TN e A for “probative purposes.” The real function of the bloodhound was to hunt down known or suspected crim- inals. The fact that it led the police authorities to any particular individ- ual must be used as testimony against that individual only with the greatest caution, and only in the light of “ex- pert evidence of the best descriptions,” as to just what weight -should be given to the action of the dogs in the circumstances involved. A Skeptic. “Do you believe in telepathy?” “Not fully,” replied Mr. Dustin Stax. “If it could be practically demon- strated there would have been a com- pany formed to promote it long ago.” Strange Contortions. “Ts that woman over there having a fit?” “No. Her arms are full of bundles the counsel for and she's trying to see what time it is out on the jaunt and I used your wag- thg defenge objected to the ad- by her wrist watch.” PR PPR SRR PLERRRRE R CHCHI B OO B OCHEHB O O 280 AR DR T m s m A B HAT’S what you want in your Printing, no matter whether it be on your visiting card, your little advertising dodger, or your big, expensive booklet. 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