Lakeland Evening Telegram Newspaper, April 16, 1915, Page 6

BUYING OLD BOOKS By WALTER JOSEPH DELANEY. “On this of all days!” sighed John | Pembroke, manager of the antiquarian | bookshop of William Abercrombie. ‘ He had looked forward to this day a8 a red letter one in the calendar— as the day, in fact, when he was to ask his circumspect, hard-headed em- ployer for the hand of his daughter, { Jessie, whom he had loved in secret ever since he had secured his preu-' ent position and had surreptitiously courted for the past six months. Mr. Abercrombie has been away for two weeks inspecting a famous private library which a client wished to buy. He had left John in full charge of the bookshop. Business had been good and John felt proud over it and had counted on his re- port placing his gruff, practical-mind- ed employer in good humor. Then he intended to tell him outright that ; Jessie and himself were engaged. Late thc cvening previous, how- ever, John had received a note from Jessie that disturbed him and com- pletely discouraged all his ambitious ; plans. It ran: “I don’t know why, but papa is in a dreadful temper. It is something about the old Spectator set of books you bought.” And now John worried and chilled, | and tried to guess out where he could | possibly have been wrong in the pur- chase in question as he was sum- moned to the private office of his em- | ployer. Mr. Abercrombie's brow was like a thundercloud. He had the Specta- tor set in question on his desk. As | John entered he pointed at the vol- umes with an angry stabbing finger. “You bought that trash I under- | stand?” he growled out. “Why, yes, sir,” admitted John. | “And paid six hundred dollars for | e “That was the price, sir.” “Well, you have been swindled. The set i8 a copy—a rank forgery. To an old expert like myself, such a bare-faced imposition seems impos- sible. I have just this to say: the set would not sell for ten dollars and spoken of a set of books representing the works of an obscure and well-nigh forgotten German savant. These cov- ered some abstruse psychological ideals, and had been a great favorite with him, he said, in his younger days. “You might take a run around and see if you can find any trace of the set,” Mr. Abercombie suggested to John one day. “Profesor Marsh seems very eager for it and has offered two theusand dollars if we can deliver the ccmmission.” John went the rounds. The vol umes were nowhere to be found, in fact very few of the booksellers had ever heard of them. One afternoon, however, he was met by the manager of a rival book house. “l say, Pembroke,” observed this individual, “I think I have located those books. In fact, I have found a man who has a complete set. If I direct you up against him, what is there in it for me?” “Ten per cent.” “All right. I'll send the man to you.” He appeared the next day, a seedy, hungry-looking fellow, who suggested the actor on a forced vacation, or the average literary hack. Mr. Abercrombie cast a look of vain pride at his manager as he “turned the fellow outside out,” as he boasted |chn¢kllngly after the bargain was made, and beat the price down from fifteen hundred dollars to eleven hun- dred and fifty dollars. “Follow my tactics,” he observed to John. “Get your order before you buy, as I have done.” The owner of the set of rarities ap- peared the following morning in a cab. The volumes in question were unloaded, the man was paid his price. Mr. Abercrombie turned up his nose at the books as he looked them i over, “A clear profit on a lot of old truck with no real value,” he observed. Professor Marsh did not appear as usual that morning, nor in the after- noon. Mr. Abercrombie began to get uneasy, the next morning anxious. He sent John to the hotel where the erudite college president had been stopping. “Gone, sir, left last night,” reported John upon his return, “You—you don't mean permanent- 1y?” questioned the bookseller, a quaver of suspicion in his voice. “I do,” replied John. “Then—" “I fear you are swindled, sir,” re- minded the young manager. “Pro- fessor Marsh left with a man precise- ly answering to the description of the person who sold us the books. It was a well put up game, I fear.” Mr. Abercrombie looked bored, more, humiliated. He put on his hat The New Manager By Mory Barrett Howard (Copyright, 1912, by Ax)nd‘ud Literary Mrs. Amos Rood was bustling hap- plly about her neat kitchen, her pleas- : ant face even more beaming than usual. A “Amos Is sixty years old today,” she explained to the milkman from whom she bought a half-pint of cream besides the customary pint of milk, “an’ I'm goin’ to get an extra nice dinner.” The 12 o'clock whistle had sounded. The peach meringue pie which was to be the crowning touch of the feast had been brought from the pantry and set upon a side table; the roast chicken was done to a turn; the tomato bisque was ready to pour into the tureen, and as every housewife knows, toma- to bisque will curdle if allowed to stand. “l do wish Amos would come,” the little woman fluttered. “That cream o' |tomato won't be fit to eat.” Glancing uneasily out of the window | she started at sight of a curiously |familiar, yet unfamiliar, figure coming slowly up the street. Sure that bowed, bent old man could not be Amos! He had never looked like that, even when his rheumatism was at its worst. But the next instant she had flung open the door and was running down the garden walk. | “Oh, what is it—what alls you, Amos?" she cried, putting her arms | sbout him to help him up the steps. “Don’t be scared, Lucy—I aln't sick,” the man said, with a brave at- tempt at a reassuring smile, But once under the shelter of his own roof, safe from prying or pitying neighborly eyes, Amos Rood broke down altogether. Sinking into a chair he dropped his head upon the little table, so gayly decked In honor of the day with tea-roses and hellotrope from the garden beds, and Mrs. | Rood’s | . traversed many a rapid mile auring the next few hours. It was about midafternoon when Justus, pursuing a remote route, drew up and slowly approached a wagon tilted on one side in a deep rut. His face grew serious as he saw that it was loaded with sealed up casks and jugs, the more so as he recognized standing beside it the fa- ther of the girl he loved. “The very man I need!” hailed Mr. Telford cheerily. “My load is heavy and the horses tired out. You have arrived In just the nick of time. Hitch to and pull the wagon out of the rut, will you?” Within a few minute’'s time the wagon was on a safe level basis. ! Justus lingered. As he viewed the honest face of Mr. Telford, he hesi- tated about informing him of the sus- picions rife back at his home. | “Well, thank you, and I'll get along,” | spoke Mr. Telford. “I am getting my 'load over to a point near the rail- i road.” “Mr. Telford,” began Justus, “I want to warn you—" “Eh!” exclaimed his companion, with a stare of surprise. “Yes, sir. The officers of the law— | too late!” It seemed so, for just then there i rounded into the road three revenue officers. They road at a wild gallop up to the astonished Telford. Two covered him with revolvers, the other advanced, waving a legal-looking docu- | ment. “You are my prisoner on a govern- ment warrant,” he shouted. | “Hello! what have I been doing | ; now?” inquired Mr. Telford quietly. “Illicit distilling.” “Yes, I've been distilling right | enough,” confessed Mr. Telford, a i grim_twinkle of humor in his good- | natured eye, “but it happens to be | water. 1 “Eh!"” . “Yes, sir, that's the fact. 1 discov-' | ered near here a month ago the most valuable mineral spring you ever ! heard of. T've kept it quiet till T got a deed. TI've been analyzing my big ' find chemically and—ha! ha! honest !uld David Telford a moonshiner? Oh, ' ' mo! Say, officer, try a drink of the aqua pura. It may cure your dark sus- picions.” It took a mere superficial investiga- | | tion on the part of the revenue men to establish the fact that they had made an egregious blunder. Ina, fretting for her lover, Mrs. Tel- ford, dreadfully upset and anxious,: both flew toward the gate early the next morning when the two loved ones in question drove into the yard. “Innocent!” breathed Mrs. Telford, | fervently, as her husband told his l story. “I knew it could not be other- wise.” past. | and unaccustomed spectacle. FINDING A NEW LIFE By EGBERT WARRING. H v. G. Chapman.) '\'\1?{:1?15’(‘:919;;3?1; ‘;f g brief ml:.ulg! minute, Doctor Abernathy “0“3 v.?le< a dozen words that pronounce Lo seeming doom of Walter ffllu“esi Within an hour the young _man in q“d tion had analyzed the s_lluauox:o e was phflo-ophlcauy remgnefll s Within the week Thorne saw a no¥ name on the glittering plate glss: G dows, paid up all his debts, sent: <; - uncle in another city the capl(;& o had supplied to start him in business, and gave up his elegant club. o Walter was sorry, but resigned. & counted up his resources, all liqu g and amounting to some twenty thou: lars. “:lde dl?ld donated half of that to 3| school for indigent juveniles. Five‘ thousand dollars he had sent to e: poor, remote relative. He calculat 9 that $1,000 would be abundant to d on, and the other four went in indis- te charity. | c"vr\ll"::‘:ar finally settled on the Ozark mountain region as a final destina- tion. He approached it by slow stages. The last 100 miles he made on foot. He felt weary at times. The | lack of hope and ambition gave him ai motiveless sensation. Ope thing he/ noticed, however: He was eating with | an appetite now, a rarity for ten years 1 One evening he was belated by fli storm between towns. He remained | within the shelter of a mountain cave til] the rain had passed on. It was aft- er midnight when he reached a rail- road junction. It was to view a novel ‘ Local freight trains were standing | on different tracks, headed in various directions. Lanterns were flashing ev- erywhere, and the scene was one of | extraordinary activity. All kinds of | vehicles were standing beside the cars, unloading their contents, long, low boxes, nailed tightly and handled with care, | “What is in those boxes?" Wal!eri 3 ventured to ask. | “Strawberries,” was the explanation. i “Within eighteen hours they will beon | the home tables of every big city In} the middle West!” Then Walter knew that he was at the main shipping point of the great- | est berry producing section in the country. Oue old woman with only two cases | carried them to the cars with the aid of her aged husband. Two boys had carried their boxes in a little wason NEY YOU EARN? DO 00" IERODY ELSE WHO DOES NOT ERAN 113 ™ YOUR “EARNING POWER" CANNOT LASTIALWAYS, WHILE YOU ARE MAKING MONEY BANK IT AN FOR OLD AGE. JUST DO A LITTLE THINKING. NK W us. WE PAY 5 PERICENT INTEREST ON TIME DEPoSITs, American State Benk | “BE AN AMERICAN ONE OF us.” £ @ iFlour! Flour! Fg Ina stood with downcast eyes. She : {; which was attached two dogs. Wal- | felt that she had been unjust in ever tor experienced renewed interest s | e indulging the thought that Justus pe gaw a common hand cart appear. could cease to love ber. Ix girl navigated it, a strap running | | She came up to him trembling, ber }qrnegglike lovely eyes filled with tears. “Forgive!” and went out to investigate. He was ! subdued and crestfallen when he re- ! turned. Jessie- happened to be pres- ent when he returned. The bookseller pottered around for a spell. ' from the propelling | handles across her shapely shoulders. He Gave His Name as Professor Marsh. I sha)l expect you to make up my money you have so recklessly squan- dered.” John's heart sank fast and deep. He knew that discussion was useless. 8ix hundred dollars! Why, even if the old man favored his suit concern- ing Jessie, that would put off all idea of a speedy wedding. “I beg to say—" began John, but the old tyrant waved all explanations aside. John could have reminded him that o standing order had been with the house for the very set in question. The books looked genuine. John had even submitted them to a very good authority. The dictum of his employer, however, was final. “It should be a lesson to you,” ob- served the old man grufly. “It would be a very wise and shrewd man who could play such a swindling trick on me!” John had a hasty talk with Jessie, who decided that the momentous question at issue should be postponed until the six hundred dollars was made up. So, John showed no sullenness or resentment to the arbitrary ultima- tum of his hard-headed employer, but went cheerfully about his duties as usual, willing to abide a better condi- tion of affairs, | One day there came into the book- shop a veritable old fossil, so far as long straggly white beard and old- tashioned goggles and clothes were concerned. When he announced him- self as the president of a newly in- stituted college in far-away Alberta, the bockseller never doubted his word, for he looked the antiquated peda- gogue complete. He gave his name as Profes: Marsh and stated that the college trustees had set apart five thousand dollars to buy a library. For a week he inspected the shelves of the book- store and its catalogues, writing down | a list of innumerable volumes and thelr prices, and old Abercrombie rubbed his hands quite jovially at the | prospects of making a big sale with broad profits. Several times the old professor had Tommy's Costly Vietory. Mrs. Bacon—“What's the matter with Tommy's face and hands? They are badly swollen.” Mrs. Egbert— “You see, they offered a prize at his school for the boy who would bring in the greatest number of dead wasps, and Tommy won.” Not So as to Be Noticed. “Pa, when you say you're laying fo@ & person it means you have a grudge against him, doesn't it?” “Generally, my son” “Well, has the hen & grudge against the farmer, pa?’—Bog ton Transcript. and John, who were conversing casu- ally. believe we will say no more about that money you invested some time since. In fact, we'll call that trans- action square.” “Why, thank you, sir,” spoke John gratefully. “And 1 would not let anyone of our rivals know how clevbrly 1 was duped.” “Indeed not, sir.” “And—I have eyes, and perhaps 1 am getting past my usefulness, A mistake like this! We had better discuss our business mutually after this—" Jessie was beaming. She nudged her lover. “Speak now!" she whis- pered. Then John proffered his request. Surely opportunity was knocking at his door, and quite graciously old Abercrombie smiled upon the engaged pair and blessed them. (Copyright, 1915, by W. G. Chapman.) A WAY TO INDOOR HEALTH Set of Rules Given New York Shop Workers Are Worthy of Much Attention. Suggestions for indoor workers such as bookkeepers, clerks, shopworkers, tailors, shoemakers, stenographers, saleswomen, dressmakers, garment- workers and milliners are contained in a booklet distributed by the New York health department. They in- cluded the following: “You should pay careful attention to fresh air, correct position, proper and sufficient lighting, rest and rec- reation and finally to food and drink. “Constantly keep the shop windows open. “Spend part of the lunch period out- doors. “Don’t ruin your eyes. Watch for the early signs of eye strain. “Study your job. Often the um- healthy position is merely a faulty one assumed by you. “If you do hard indoor work you need at least one hour for lunch and recreation. “Why not ask your employer if you can use the roof of your building dur fog lunch hours? “The midday meal should be light, but wholesome. “Bracers are harmful—this applies to the use of tea, coffee and alcoholie beverages.” Sidestepping Them. “Both your admirers are going to be at the ball tonight; are you going? “Not me. The one that can't dance | wants to dance all the time, and the | & damp, underground office and not one that can't talk wants to talk all the time.” We Cenquered Nature. “Yes, gentlemen,” said the geolo- gist, “the ground we walk on was once under water.” “Well,” replied the patriotic young man of the party, “4t simply goes to show that you can’t ncld this country down.” First Gold Found In California. The first discovery of gold in Calle fornia was made in 1848 by James Marshall, who happened to pick up & gilttering nugget in the bed of a stream. Since that time the state has ylelded more than one and one-half bil- lion dollars in gold. Marshall died & poor man. Then he came up to Jessie | ! “Ahem!” flustered the old man, “I Found the Solitude He Craved. cherished ‘“wedding” china, and his big, shrunken frame shook with a man's painful, tearless sobs. His wife sllently unclasped his clenched fingers from a letter which bore the seal of a great corporation, and as she swiftly scanned the few curt lines it contained she walled aghast: “0 Amos, it must be a mistake! The company wouldn't take your pen- sion from you just because you are able to earn a little something extra, now and then?” . “It's the new manager, Lucy,” Amos Rood responded dully. “He's trying to cut expenses, and he says it's no part of the company's policy to pension able-bodied men.” “Able-bodied!"” the little woman echoed, with a hysterical laugh. “I guess I know what you suffer, Amos, even on your best days. But don't you worry, dear—we'll get old Dr. Moore to write that new manager a letter that will make him ashamed of him- self.” “It woulda’t do a mite of good, Lucy,” the mam said, shaking his head. “He says he's got proof I canearn & good living if F'm a mind to—but—I'm afraid I can't. I'm pretty good at fig- urin’, and when the merchants here get their accounts balled up they're apt to send for me to straighten 'em | out, but 1t's hard for & man of my age o get a steady job, even if I could | keep It up day in and day out. Per- ibhaps I was foelish to snap up those chances to add a little to our in- come. And yet,” he added with a sigh, “that pemsion wasn't a very big one for two people to live on.” “I should it wasn't!” agreed Mrs. Rood tly. “I call it pret- ty doin’s!"” she went on flercely. “Here’s you all broken down, and all | those years yeur salary was so small that though Fve been as saving as I knew bow, we've just managed to pay for this place and put a few hun- dred dollars in the bank.” “We'd never have done that much it it hadw't beem for you, Lucy,” her “Td like to know if it ain't, Amos Rood!™ she flashed. “T'd like to know {12 you wa'®m't kept all those years in al- lowed half the help you'd ought to have had? Varied Menu. The chorus girl dines one day em & erust and the next on a crustaceam— New York Evening Mail. Unbusinesslike Transaction. Probably the smallest money order ever sen‘ rom Eatonton, Ga. was sent recently. A man walked into the post office, asking for a moroy order for three cents, which he owed to she choked out brokenly. | “Forgive what, my troubled dar ling?” Inquired Justus, in honest ig- norance. “I fear—I thought—" and there Ina broke down utterly. 1 Never, even later, did Ina tell Justus | of her great fear, of the infustice she i had done his noble, loyal nature. ' And in the succeeding days Justus | marveled at a new gentleness on heri part, and manlike, attributed her in- creacing devotion to his efforts to save : her father from apprehended trouble, ! At the wedding the Invited gues drank long and deeply of the marvel- ous crystal spring water, which baae fair to bring them all a fortune. | (Copyright, 1915, by W. G. Chapman.) ! WAS NOT AT ALL NECESSARY Witness Proved That She Did the Best She Could In Just One Glance. In a recenc breach of promise suit (as we have been informed by some who were idle enough to go and hear it) the attorneys spoke to the star witness as follows: “You say you saw this plaintiff go- ing by? How do you know it was this plaintiff? How was she dressed?”’ “I can’t remember,” replied the lady witness. “Abha! You are sure you saw her, and yet you can't remember how she was dressed?” “Certainly not. I only had a glance at her out of the corner of my eye. I merely noticed that she had on a Iit- tle turban with a veil, a mink boa, a ! gray suit trimmed with jet, cut broad | in the revers and gored in the skirt, patent leather shoes with gray tops and one of these cheap $3.96 walrua shopping bags, gathered at the top to look like the $14 kind popular last | Christmas. 1 only got a glance at her, and 8o I ean’t remember the detadls of | her costume, your honor. What did you expect me to do—stand on the street and rubber at her?” “It was not necessary, of course,” put in the judge, and the lawyer changed the subject ere he asked the next question.—Cleveland Plain Dealer. Sheep a Protective Function. In am article on “Sleep,” Dr. Borls Sidis says: “Sleep is not a disease, not & pathological process due to the accumslation of toxic products in the braio er in the system generally. Sleep is not an abnormal condition, it is a normal state. Like the waking states, sleeping states are part and parcel of the MNfe existence of the individual. Waking and sleeping are intimately related—they are two different mani- festations of one and the same life | Goat Is Regimental Pet i The everyday goat is responsible for | the nickname of the Royal Welsh fu- sileers—the “Nanny Goats.” A goat is : later, seated in a stout, light wagon ! with a sturdy horse attached, he drove | found a new interest {n life. : by day the gentle, lovable Netta grew | more and more precious to him. Her | claimed, and then Walter was sorry | to marry him, Tn the weird, flickering light about her she was a rare picture of earnest, healthful industry. There was & cheery token of duty and vitality in her beautiful face that enchained Wal- ter. He asked a man who she was. “That's Netta Oliver,” was the re- ply: “the sweetest lassie on Beaver | creek. Her father and mother are | both {11, and she has buckled down to keeping the flour barrel full, like the jewel she is." Walter stopped at a hotet that night He could not get the face and name ! of the girl he had seen out of his mind. The next day he made some further inquiries about the Ollver fam- fly. He found that they were too poor to afford a horse and wagon. He pit- fed the girl, who night after night did the service of a beast of burden, dragging the rackety handecart over the uneven country roads. He made a whimsical resolve. Two mornings into the yard of the little 20-acre farm where Netta Oliver lived. She was among the vines, wearing a neat, coverall apron. Her radiant eyes somewhat abashed him as he asked for her father. latter and his wite seated comfortably on the porch of the little cottage, eon- valescing from an attack of chills and fever. “I've_heard of you, Mr. Thorme,” spoke Walter. “I am an fnvalid in quest of health. 1 like this spot. Could you board me for a few weeks”" And then Walter went on to tell that he had a little money, but that he would give the rig he had bought for a month'’s board. For 30 golden days Walter Thorne He be- came a real worker—and a lover. Day 1 parents were up and about now, and the one desire of the father was to ge. cure an additional 80 acres of land It would mean a fortune in time, he | he had given away his fortune. | One day Walter went to town Ho | proceeded to the office of the leading physiclan. He left it with an eager, hopetul tace. : 'h“Ydou are a perfectly 6 doctor had said. “Whatever ¢ - | ened yon two months ago, rnvl:lr:::\' y I':: h:; neutralized. Only—keen away | m the wear an : { T d tear and turmol) ot | That evening Waite, healthy man.” P T asked Netta and she consented. He | had written to his unele, telling hll: of his resolve to stay close to nature, | And upon the wedding eve there came a glowing response from his rel. ative, in the shape of a generous gift Walter Thorne to his new life with the coveted 80 ::!h: added to the Oliver tarm_ Expensive Wood, One of the most the regimental mascot and is led at ! d the head of the column. On St Da- vid's day, in the officers’ mess, the goat, escorted by drums and fife, is marched around the table. owing to nature and what to labor, we shall find that nine- a hundred are wholly account of the labor. 1t has cents a cu by the thousq walls on 'hlc‘:"m i It grows by draw; Superfiucus moistyre from them, = He found the | Now is the Time to Lay In a Supply & Sacks Best Plain Flour Sacks Best Plain Flour Sacks Best Plain Flour Srlf-Rising Flour G. TWLEDLLL PHONE 59 i S s We Know Not What's Before Us | But you'll know that you have i A Load of Good Sound Luxber | behind you, when perched on your wagon, homeward bound, aftcr haviny been | Loaded in our Yards 1 WE SELL THE BEST | o e RS Lakeland Manufacturing Company LAKELAND, FLA. | ~———__ PHONE 7 S MWhere He Drew the e During the trial of some for succeas, ghay) %0 secure it, ang Test—Admirg) with them?” solemnly. ' “Yes, 1 would dfi Farragu thing but a hen or a falor