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About The Medford mail. (Medford, Or.) 1893-1909 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 1895)
1 ...SIGN OF... THE FOUR BY "CONAN DOYLE (CONTIXUED FROM LAST WEEK) CHAPTER Xn. THE STRASGE STORY OF JONATHAN SMALL A very patient man was t he inspector in the cab. for it was a weary time be fore I rejoined him. Flis face elonded over when I showed him the empty box.- "There goes the reward," said he, gloomily. "Where there is no money there is no pay. This night's work would hare been worth a tenner each to Sam Brown and me if the treasure had been there." "Mr. Thaddeus Sholto isa rich man," I (-aid. "lie will see that you are re warded, treasure or no."' k The inspector shook his head de spondently, however. "It's a bad job." he repeated, "and so Mr. Athelney Jones will think." His forecast proved to be eorrecf. for the detective lookcfl blank enough when J got to Haker street and siiowtld him the empty box. They had only just arrived. Holmes, the prisoner and he. for they had changed their plans so far as to report themselves, at a station upon the way. My companion lounged in his armchair with his usual listless expression, while Small sat stolidlv op posite to him with his wooden leg cocked over his sound one. .s I ex hibited the empty bos lie leaned back ia his chair anil laughed aloud. "This is your doing. Small." said Athelney Jones, angrily. "Yes. I have put it away where you shall never lay hv.nd upon it." he cried, exultantly. "It is my treasure: and if I can't have the loot I'll take darned good care that no one else does. 1 tell yon that no living man has any right to it. unless it is three men who are iu ; the Andaman convict barracks and my- j self. I know now that I cannot have; the use of it. and I know that they cannot. I have acted all through f,r them as much as for myself- It's leen j the sign of four with us always. Well I I know that they would have had me i do just what I have done, and throw j the treasure into the Thames rather than let it co to kith or kin of Sholf. or of Morstan. It was not to make I them rich that we did for Achmet. You'll find the treasure where the key I is. and where little Tonga is. W'hen 1 j saw that your launch must catch us. i put the loot in a safe place. There an no rupees for vou this journev.'v " "You are deceiving us .Small."' said ; Athelney-Jones, sternly. "If yoc had j wished to throw tne treasure into the Thames it would have been easier for j you to have thrown box and all." "Easier for me to throw, and easiei for yon to recover." he answered, with a shrewd, sidelong look. "The mar that was clever enough to hunt m down is clever enough to pick an iror box from the bottom of a river. Now that they are. scattered over five mile or so. it may be a harder job. It went to my heart to do it. though. I wa. half mad when you came up with us. However, there's no good grieving over it. I've had ups in my life, and I've had downs, but I've learned not to cry. over spilt milk." "This is a very serious mattei. Small." said the detective. "If yon had helped justice. Instead of thwarting it in this way. you would have had a tietter chance at your trial." "Justice!" snarled the ex-convict- "A pretty justice! Whose loot is this, if it is not ours? Where is the justice that I should give it tip to those w ho have never earned it? Look how I have earned it! Twenty lone years in that fever-ridden swamp, all day at work under the mangrove tree, all night chained up in the filthy convict huts, bitten by mosquitoes, racked with ague, bullied by every cursed blacks faced policeman who loved to take it out of a white man. That was how I earned the Agra treasure: and you talk to me of justice because I cannot bear to feel that I have paid this price only that another ma v enjov it! I would) rather swing a score of times, or have one of Tonga's darts in my hide, than live in a couvicc's cell and feel that anotherman is at his ease in a palace with the money that should be mine." Small had tlmpicil his mask of stoicism, and all this came out in a wild whirl of words, while his eyes blazed, and the hand-cuffs clanked to gether with impassioned movement of his hands. I could understand, as I saw the fury aud the passion of the man. that it was no groundless or nn- j natural terror which had pose.N;d j Maj. Siholto when he first learned that t the injured convict was upon his track. 'Yon forget that we know nothing of all this," said Holmes, quietly. "We j have not heard your story, anil we can- not tell how far justice may originally have been on your side." "Well. sir. you have liceu very fair spoken to ine. though I can see that I have you to thank that I have these bracelets upon my wrists. Still. I bear no grndge for that. It is all fair and above-board. If you want to hear my Rtory I have no wish to hold it back. What I say to you is Jod"s truth, every word of it. Thank you: yon can pnt the glass beside me here, and I'll put my lips to it if 1 am dry. "I am a Worcestershire man myself bori near Persh'ore. "1 da'fe" say you would find ' a heap of Small living there now if vou wrre to look. I hnTe often thought of taking a look round there, but the truth is that I was never much of a credit to the family, and I doubt if they would be so very glad to see me. They were all steady, chanel- ---- . going folk, small farmers, well known ana respected over the conntry-siae. I Handling our own weapons, aim hlmv while I was always a bit of a rover, j ing our own bugle culls. At Agra there At last, however, when I was about I were the Third Hengal Fusiliers, some eighteen. I gave them no more trouble. ! Sikhs, two troops of horse and a battery for I got into a mess over a girl, and of artillery. A volunteer corps of jould only get- out of it again by tak- clerks and merchants had lieen formed, ing the queen's shilling and joining and this I joined, woodcu leg ami all. the vhird Huffs which was just starting for India. "I wasn't destined to do much sol- liering. however. I hail just got past the gHse-step ami learned to handle my musket, when I was fool enough to 'Xo swimming in the (Janges. Luckily for me, my company sergeant. John Holder, was in the water at the Nunc time, and he was one of the finest swimmers in the service. A crocodile took me, just as I was half way across, and nipped off my right leg just as clean as a surgeon could have done it, jnst above the kee. What with the shock and the loss of blood I fainted, and I should have becu drowned if Holder had not caught hold of me and paddled for the bank. I was five months in hosp. ' over it, ami when at last I was able. t limp out of it with this timber toe strapped to my stump I found myself invalided out of the army and unfitted for any active occu pation. "I was. as you can imagine, pretty down on my luck at this time, for I was a useless cripple, though not yet in my twentieth year. However, my misfortune soon proved to be a bless ing in disguise. A man named Abel white, who had come out there a an indigo-planter, wanted an overseer to look after hisoolies aixl keep theiu up to their work. He happened to be a friend of our colonel's who had taken nu- interest in me since the accident. HOW Hit LOST III I. Mi. To make a long story short, the colonel recommended me strvnsrlv for the pM and. as the work was mostly to In done on horseback, my leg was no great obstacle, for 1 had enough knee to keep a good grip on the while What I had to do was to ride over the. plantation, to keep an eye tn the nicu ' as they worked, and to report the idlers. The pay -was fair. I hail com fortable quarters; and altogether I was; content to spend the remainder of my ; life in indigo-planting. Mr. Abelwhite was a kind man. and he would often, drop into my little shanty and snioke a pipe with me. for white folk out there , feel their hearts warm to each other as they never do here at home. "Well. I was never in luck'k way . long. Suddenly, without a note. of; warning, the great mutiny broke upon , us. One month India lavas stiilaiol; eaceful. to all appearance, as Surrey J or Kent: the next there were two hun-i dred thousand black devils let loose.; 1 , ....... lw.ll I kf course vou know all about it. frontlc-f men a deal more than 1-do, very like ly, since reading is not in my line. I only know what I saw with my own eves. 4 hir .plantation was at a pla.-t- called Muttra. near the border of the northwest provinces. Night after: night the whole sky was alight with the burning bungalows, anil day after: day we had small eomanies of Hiiro-' peans passing through our estate with their wivesaad children. on their way to Agra, where were the nearest troops. Mr. Abelwhite was an obstinate man. I He had it in his head that the atfairj had been exaggerated, and that it would blow over as suddenly as it had sprung! np. There he sat on his veranda.) drinking whisky pegs and smoking cheroots, while the country was in a blaze alxiut him. f course we stuck by him. I and Dawson, who. with his! wife, used to do the bookwork and the) managing. Well, one tine day ; .-rash came. I had been awav" on B dUtant plantation, and was riding slowly home in the evening, when my eye fell upon .something all huddled together at the bottom of a steep nullah. I rode down to see what it was. and the cold struck through my heart when I found it was Dawson's Mifu. all cut into riblxms. and half-eaten by jackals and native -dogs. A little further up the road Dawson himself was lying on his face, quite dead, with an ! empty revolver in his hand and four I Sepoys lying across each other in front I of him. t reined up my horse, wonder ing wnich M-ay I should turn, nut at that moment I saw thick smoke curl ing up from AbelM-hite's bungalow and the flames beginning to burst through the roof. I knew then that I could do my employer no good, but would only throw my own life away if I meddled in the matter. From where I stood I could see 'hundreds of the black fiends, with their red coats still or. their backs, dancing and howling round the burning house. Some of them pointed at me. and a couple of bullets sang past my head: so 1 broke away across the paddy-fields, ami found myself late at night safe n ithin the walls at Agra. "As it proved, however, there was no grat safety there, either. The whole country was up like a swarm of bee. Wherever the English could collect in little' bands they held just-the. ground that' their guns commanded. Every where else they were helpless fugi- 4rM - . . .. ' tives. It was a fight of the millions .igainst the hundreds; and the crudest part tf it was that these men that 'we fought against, foot, horse and gun ners, were our own picked troops, . . whom we had taught and trained We went out to meet the rebels at Shahgunge early in July, aud w ! heat them back for a time, but. oui powder gave out and we had toful Hack upon the city. Nothing but the worst news came to us from every side which is not to le wondered at. for if you look at the map yon will see that we were right in the heart of iu Luck now is rather better than a hundred miles to the east, and Cawnore ulnmt as far to the south. From every point on the compass there wns nothing but torture and murder and outrage. "The city of Agra is a great place, swarming with fanatics and tierce devil-worshipers of all sorts. Our hand ful of mek were lost among the nar row, winding .streets. Our leader moved across the river, therefore, and took, up his position in the old fort of Agra. I don't know if any of you gen- tlemen have ever read or heurd any- I thing of that old forU It is a very I queer place the queerest that ever I j was in, nud I have liecn in some rum ! corners, too. First of all. it is enormous j in size. 1 should think that the inclos- nre must 1-e acres and acres. There is I a modern part, which took all our gur- : risoii. women, children, stores and everything else, with plenty of room ' over. Hut the modcru part is nothing like the ir of the old quarter, where nobody goes, and which is given over to the scorpions and the centipedes. It is all full of great deserted halls, and ' winding passages, and long corridors twistuiir in and out. so that it is easy : for folks to get lost in it. For this rea son it was seldom that anyone went I into it. though now and again a party . with torches uuiMil co exploring. "The river u ashes along the front of the old fort, and so protects it, but on the sides and tichind there are many doors, and tlios.- had t.i Is- gtnirdcd. of course, in the old (iiarter as wi ll as in that which was aetuallv held by -mr troops. We were short -handed, with hardly men enough to man the anui.s of the building and to wrve the guns It as mip-xstble fr ns. therefore, to station a st ron;j guard at ever one of the innumerable gates Wh.it we did was to or;ili!.'.e a central gu.irdiion-e in the middle of the for!. .:n.l to !.-.ic - t-ai-li gate under the lU.irgc of ,nc white tunn and two or thro- natives I was si leoted to take i liai se l:!! in-,' e.-r-tain hours of the ui-lit of a -i:i.iH iso .' lated li.mr iijhmi tin- sou:h-.el si,!,- ,.f ' the building. Two Sikh tr--js is Mere S placed under inv coinuiai-.d. .ni-1 I Mas I instructed if anything went nrom.' to i fire my musket, w In n I un'ht rely uhui i help coming at once fnmi thcccutr.it , guard. As the guard was a g-I tn ' hundred ces away. hoi, i r. and us the space lcteeu Mas cut np into a ' labyrinth of passages and corridors. I had irrrat doubts as to whether Uu v con hi arrive iu time to l-e of any use in : case of 1.11 actual attack. ' "Well. I was pretty prom I at having this nnall command giveu me. since I was a raw recruit, and a ifame-b-gol one at that. For two nights 1 kepi the watch ith my lunjnulccs. They rre tall, fierce-looking chaps. Ma homet -inch and Abdullah Khan by name. lxth old fighting in.-u who had borne arms against us at I hiliuiiwal lah. They could talk F.nglisii pretty well, but I could get little out of them. They preferred to stand together and l ' r all night in their queer "sil; 1 lingo. For myself. I used to stand outside the gateway, looking down on I the broad, winding river and on the j I winkling lights of the great city. The : leating of drums, the rattle of tom toms, anil the yells and howls of the rebels, drunk with opium ami with bang, were enough to remind us all night of our dangerous neighlsirs across t lie stream. F.vcry two hours the otli eers of the night Used to come round to all thtt posts, to make sure that all was well. ""The third night of my Match m.is dark and dirty, w ith a small, driving rain. It was dreary work standing in 1 the gateway hour after hour in such ) Meat her. I tried again and again to I make my Sikhs talk, but w ithout much ! succkss. At two in the morning tin- . i . a i .1. . . "ouiuis passe.,. a.,., ..rone lor a moment ,lu' "earinessof the night. Finding that uiy companions would not be led into conversation. I took out my pipe, and 11,1,1 dmvn '"' "et to strike a I "-"" " msia... ue io .-.khs were upon me. will1 in mem suaiciis:i my fireliK-k up and leveled it at my head, while the other held a great knife to my throat and snore In-twecn his teeth that he would plunge it into me if I moved a step. "My first thought Mas that these f.-l-lows were in -league with the rebels, and that this uas the beginning of an assault. If our door Mere in the hands of the Sepoys the place must fall, and the M-omeii and children le treated as they Mere iu I'awiipore. Myl- you gentlemen think that I am just making out a case for myself, but I give you inv Moid that when I thought of that, though I felt the point of the knife at my throat. I opened iny mouth with the int-.Mition of giving a scream, if it was my last one. which might alarm the main guard. The man who held me seemed to know inv thoughts; for. even as I braced myself to it, he whis pered: "Don't make a noise. The fort is safe enough. There are no rebel dogs on this side of the river." There was the ring of truth; in what he said, and I knew that if 1 raised , my voice I Mas a dead innii. I could read it in the fellow's brown eyes. I waited, there fore, in silence, to see what it m-s that thev wanted from me. (fONTI.Mia NKXT WKKK.) ROYAL ' Baking' Powder, Highest of mil Im leavealag timgtb.V. . QaaMt Heawrt- HOW TO SECURE HEALTH. Mkntau worry, it is thought, is the chief cause of cancer. Dn. Hammond says that thin soles are the worst propagators of disease among women. Nf.VKU use the first M"ater that comes from the tap. It has lieen in a lead or iron pipe all night, and is not healthful. St.KKl'lN'o-HooMS ought to be located not lower than the second story of the house, and should be large and airy. I'mv air and plenty of it is more effica cious than drugs, and is cheaper. Kkkp the back, especially la-tween the shoulder blades, well covered; also the chest well protected. In sleeping in a cold room, establish the habit of breathing through the nose, and never with the mouth open. While as yet we have discovered no way of avoiding contagion which comes to us in the air, we know, from recent investigations, the extremely impor tant fact that the air din's not liecome contaminated with bacteria unless they are allowed to dry. Honey is one of nature's purest sweeUs, valuable both as food and medi cine. It has always lieen esteemed a luxury the food of kings. Katen in small quantities with other food it is very nourishing, and favors the cure of pulmonary diseases and colds. Fli'tk-I'i.atin for women is recom mended as a means of health and liodily development. "Filling" a flute neces sitates lung expansion. The continued daily practice begets deeper and deeper inspirations. Stooping shoulders 1h--come thrown back and the chest con tracted by the habit of tight lacing be comes expanded ami broadened. Auaixst damp or cold beds a med ical writer suys: "Not only the guests, but the family, often suffer the penalty of sleeping in cold rooms and chilling their bodies at a time when they need all their liodily heat, by getting 1m--t wee n cold sheets. Il is a needless jM-ril and the neglect to provide dry rooms and lds has in il the elements of mur der and suicide." PILGRIMS TO PALESTINE: Sltlil ami Srenr. on the Italia, of thr Kurr Jordan. The crossing of tho Jordan by the . Israelites was accomplished in tho most perfect order, because they had N-cn ti :iincd under .Ai.ises to perfect ' military discipline, which wuscontin-m-d under Joshua. It was an occasion hen almost, any large body of men uonid hat.; Iss-n thrown in"..) con- : fusion unless lhoro::jh di-eiji'.ino can !h ir,suijHs.d. '. '.his was tho first gre:.t pKgrMiiago, to tho Jordan, it certainly was not the-lust one Thou sands of devout pilgrims from differ ent parts tf ihe world visit this river every year. They bathe in it; and carry water from il to their distant homes, tireater numbers come from Kussia, than any other one country; but every country in Europe is repre sented, as well as North aud South America and Australia. I have seen the road from Bethany to the banks of the Jordan literally crowded with pilgrims on their way to this sacred stream. In groups of ten, twenty or fifty, as the case might be, they were scattered throughout the entire dis tance, like the remnsnts of a routed army. They numbered probably two ; thousand or more. Once, on arriving at Jericho, I saw tho bushes covered with garments, like the washing of a mili : tary encampment, and soon ascertained that they belonged to a crowd of pil grims that had just returned from .bathing iu the Jordan. The clothing in which they bathe is preserved with 'great care, and it is theso garments in .which they desire and expect to be .buried. Tho current of the river is very strong, and by ropes and other means precautions are taken against ai-eiuenls while the pilgrims are bath ing. Il not infrequently hapen. however, thet persons lose their lives; but it is usually those w ho have con fidence in themselves as being good swimmers. Such persons pity little heed to cautious. They run risks, and in a moment are carried beyond the reach of help. Theso facts serve to illustrate the difficulties tho Israelites would have found in crossing tho river had they not lieen miraculously aided. Three years ago the (.overnor of Pal estine had a narrow bridge built over the Jordan. It was called an 'American bridge;" and at the opening, to which I was invited, the valley presented a strange and lively scene tents, horse men, a multitude of people, and tho sound of trumpets, as if some new Joshua, with another invading army, had arrived in the "borders of Jeri cho." Interior. Cattle Killed hy r.ik: A raiu-litiian living on the Nut sop. Col., uissed lliree head of I'attle. and notii--iii a conprepalion of buzzards a short distant-- away proceedr-d l. mukfv an intfstijration and found all three of the animals lying deud. their bones al) broken, their horns knoeked off. scurve I v any hair left m them, and the ground around thotu all torn up nilh elk trai-ks. Apparently a band of elk hud come up and atta.-ked them in ail opening, hooked and tied them down, and pawed and stamped them to dentil. A Tree That Own. I. anil. There is a tree at Athens, (ia.. which isa property holder. In the early pari of the century the land on tvhii-h il Mauds was owned by Colonel W. II. .lai'kson, who took rreat dclijrht in watching its growth and enjoying its hade! In his old age the tree had reached maguiucenl proportions, and she thought of its being dest roved by those who would come after him was so repugnant, that he recorded a deed con veying to it all land within a radius eight feet of it. ,Ime Russell J,owlU it is laid, will devote thirini!i!hsr of hl life to trniel itiid readinir. 1 H aj that hla literary woi-lc i mil Aon. - Neat Pin-Cushion Cover. Take a cushion six inches square and cover ihe top with dark green satin eight inches square. Sew all around the edges of the cover before attaching to cushion a band of rose pink satin throo inches wide. Put the right sides of satin together and sew it in slashes one inch wide and one and one-half inches deep. Cut the slushes out with the scissors, turn Ihcui carefully, and then with a needle and thread tuck ouch slash half way over, diagonally, showing tho pink satin aguinst the green. Under the rihishes all around put a frill of luce, and on the upper corners of the slushes put tiny chenille balls of rose pink. Embroider or paint in the center of cover a design of wild rosea Fasten this cover firmly to the top of the cushion. Detroit Free Press. Kuaaian Kcme.ly for Toothache. ' A Russian practitioner recommends the use of hyoseyamus seeds for tooth ache. His plan is to burn the seeds and to convey the smoke through a little pa per tube to the hole in tho tooth. He declares that in nearly all eases one ap plication, or at most two, w ill suffice to cure the toothache. What is Castoria is Dr. Samuel Pitcher's prescription for Infants and Children. It contains neither Opium, Morphine nor other Narcotic substance. It is a harmless substitute for Paregoric, Drops, Soothing Syrups, and Castor Oil. It is Pleasant. Its guarantee is thirty years use by Millions of Mothers. Castoria destroys "Worms and allays fererishness. Castoria prevents vomiting Sour Curd, cures Diarrhoea and Wind Colic. Castoria relieves teething troubles cures constipation and flatulency. Castoria assimilates the. food, regulates the stomach and bowels, giving healthy and natural sleep. Cas toria is the Children's Panacea the Mother's Friend. Castoria. r"atrria is &a exeel!col nwsiicin for chil dren. lH-rs ha rr-pratcoir told m uf its rffrcl upon their ciiildrrn. Di. G. C. Osgood, Louvli. Mo-n. i c-"T;a i t! best rrmcstT for childrrn of which i ton .ciuaintrj. i hope 1!h Cay is fl far dittant w brn mothrrs willouosfcier the reil Intrmt of thr children, and ww Caaroria in crad of the nrtoul quack nostrum which are d euro rim tneir lonl oars, bjr fordo opium, morphlno, aoothmc arrup and other hurtful afectc dowa their throats, the re b rsdin; Lhem to prematura graTea." Da. J. F. KntcaaxOB, Cbowar. Ark. Tk CVsmtamr Coaapu, TI Union Ltivery Stables, C. n ING US & SON, Proprietors. Successor to ED. W ORM AN. ... Having lately purchase this jnipular stable and stocks! it with new rigs, safe and fast teams I am now prepared to meet the wants of the traveling public in a satisfactory manner. COUNKK SKVKXTII AND 1?. MKDFOKD, OKKt.OX. THE VERY BEST OF x BRICK AND MASON WORK. S. CHlLiDEHS, 90HTRAQT0H iPfilLigfs. I manufacture a splendid article of Hrick see samples everywhere about the city. Yard one block north of Brewery. Residence north C street. Medford, Oregon. MEDFORD BRICK O. W. PRIDDY, Prop'r. MEDFORD, ... OREGON. First-class quality of Rrick always promptly rilled. . . BRICK WORK OF All KINDS PROMPTLY EXECUTED. liive me a call when in need of anything in my line 9 iSSUit NHNTP AHTOR " ,P JOBBIjSTO OF1 ALL KITSTDS. All work guaranteed first-class. Plans and estimates furnished ot sll kind of work either brick or wood. Hills of I.UMBfcR of all kinds tilled on short notice. SnMi. Doors il Mill --work ' vt al Kinds any thlaf In the sfcap ef weed werk eaa had on short notice. M edford, - - - - - Ofpob Blinks' Coachman (colored) "I fought you iayed yoah folks was so log-gone rich?" Jinks1 Coachman (Celtic) "So they are, ye black divil." Blinks' Coachman "Huh! I guess not. I looked in de winder las' night and seen two ob de young ladies play in' on de same pianny. Guess you all has ter economize." America. Northern gentleman (who has been reading on the subject of Voudooism among the colored people, and thinks he will make a little orig inal research) "Jasper, do any of your people carry charmB about them for protection?" Jasper "Oh ye, snh; but I nebber hear dem call charms 'fore; more ginerally call dem razors, sah." Harper's Bazar. Some men never like to be alone. Because a man is judged by his com pany, you know. Yonkers Statesman. --House and lot for sale. Inquire at this oBicc. ' Fruit paii" at Tiik Mail office any quantity. Legal Blanks for sale at this office. Castoria. Oartnr-a is so well a-iat I Rcomarnil it ts superior u 1 r.Jreni r. UA-l ip kuo n to uic." II. A. ACBa.3t. D-, :n So. Oifurd S, Brooklyn, S. T. "'Our physicians in the children's depart ment hate spoi.cn hipuly of their experi ence in their outside practice with Castoria, and although we only hro among our uirdml supplies what is known as regular products, yet we are free to confess that tkm menu of Castoria has wun us to look mrtas faror upon Cams Boarrrai. asd DiarxsaaBT, Boston, J lan C. Sbti, Varraj Strwrt, Hw Trk City. YARD, on hand. Large and small trieur . . . . . . V.W.1NT B il I, til . and "DTTTT.TIP.T?