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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1910)
BT RICHARD SPILLANE. IK AST age or by any race Tecumseh would be. considered great. Of all American Indians there, perhaps, is no more patriotic figure. He loved truth and had a contempt for everything mean and sordid. In intelligence and humanity he was superior to his people. He fought against the United States, hut he fought as a brave man fights. No charge of barbarity or of crime stand 3 against him. Clean living, courageous, noble In spirit and in deed, ha was a magnificent example of all that is good in the abor igine. He had the imagination of a poet, the zeal of the patriot and the patience and fortitude of a stole. His dream, like that of Pontiac, was to unite all the scattered tribes into one great con federation which would drive back the whites or prevent them from further en croaching upon the lands of the Indians. He knew their weaknesses, their jeal ousies and their centuries old tribal feuds, so he took a leaf out of the book of the missionaries and sought to join them by the bonds of religion. For years he labored to nationalize the In dians. As an orator he had few supe riors and in the councils of nearly every trlbe between the Great 1-akes and the Gulf, east of the Mississippi and west of the Alleghenies. he was heard. His brother, the Prophet, posed for a long time as the leader in the movement, but when a. crisis arose Tecumseh assumed control. Brothers Strangely Vnllkc. Rarely were brothers more dissimilar than these two. It is said they were twins. Tecumsch means Shooting Star, singularly appropriate in view of his career. The Prophet's name, Laulowasl kaw, signifies the Loud Voice. This, too. was fitting. Later he changed his name to Tenskwatawa, or the Open Door. Tecumseh was majestic looking, tall and magnificently proportioned. He cared nothing for finely or for show. He was kind and attentive to the old and infirm. He abhorred liquor, and, unlike most Indians, never was known to overeat. When spoils of battle came to him he distributed them with no thought of himself. He dressed simply in deer skin and never painted his face or wore feathered headdress. Glory was his am bition. In the hunt, in game's of skill or strength and as a warrior, he waa un rivaled. The Prophet was short, stout and one eyed. Before announcing himself as a prophet he had been a slave to liquor. Whereas Tecumseh was frank, generous and humane, the Prophet was crafty, avaricious and cruel. In speech alone did he surpass Tecumseh. He was eloquent to a high degree and could spur others to deeds of daring, but he was as cow ardly as he could be. The Prophet's skin was of the tiue Indian shade. Te cumseh's was brown. These two were the sons of Pusheshin wau, a Shawnee brave. There were six sons and one daughter in the family. Five of the sons distinguished themselves. For Tecumapease. his sister. Tecumseh had the deepest affection. He showed a respect for her that Indian rarely holds toward woman, and he would do anything within his power to gratify her whims. Cradled in Strife. The Shawnees were rovers by nature, famed as warriors, and when Tecumseh and the Prophet were born, in 176S or 1765. occupied a goodly portion of that beautiful country that now makes up the REMARKABLE ADVENTURES OF MARY ZEAL The occasion was a dinner given by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jones in their brand-new home. It was while await ing the arrival of the guests that Henry Jones sought out Mary Zeal, and, lead ing her behind the obscurity of a large wedding present. pointed out a little cloud peeping above the new horizon. "You're the only person who can do it:" he began. "I know it's asking a lot of you. Mi as Zeal, but I'm hanged if I can resist taking advantage of your food nature." "Don't w-aste time apologizing. " iid Mary impatiently. "Have you been hav ing your first scrap with the late Nancy Billings'."' "It hasn't come to that yet." he an swered. "But. you see it's poor old Billy Bender. You know he shared our bache lor quarters, and he's still with the old crowd. Well, he's an awfully good sort and tremendously clever, but the home liest man that ever trod the earth. And bashful! He's a terrible frost socially. The boys have guyed him so unmercifully in Nancy's presence that she's preju diced before she has even seen him. Now. I think the world of Billy and want to make it pleasant for hint. Had all I could do to persuade him to come to din ner tonight. Nancy says- she doesn't want to bore any girl here with him for a dinner partner they'd never forgive her. and all that sort of thing so " Henry fixed Mary with a pleading gaze " 1 iJi I state of Ohio. There were four bands, and the one into which Tecumsen was born had its wigwams near the present city of Plqua. Tecumseh was cradled in the strife of the Indian wars of the Rev olutionary period. Before he was 10 years old the Shawnees were engaged in a deadly struggle with the Long Knives the Virginians, who. led by Daniel Boon. Simon Kenton, George Rogers Clark and others, were crossing the Al leghenies into the Shawnees' old hunting grounds In Kentucky, or floating down the Ohio River, were seeking sites for homes along Its banks. His father was ' killed in the battle of ICanawa. in 1774. and his mother soon after went south to Join the Cherokees, leaving the children to shift for themselves. Where Tecumseh got the knowledge of French, English and American his tory, of which he gave good evidence at various times, is a mystery. Per haps some missionary lightened the monotony of liis days in the Shawnee village by telling- the Indian boy the stories of France and England; of their wars in Europe and their wars in the New World: of the treaties' between France and England and between Eng land and the United States, and of all three of these nations with the vari ous Indian tribes. However, the in formation came. It was stored in the brain of Tecumseh, later to be brought out in detail to illustrate his argu ment when he told of pledges broken by first one government and then an other, of sacred obligations ruthlessly Ignored, of dishonor piled upon dis honor, and all to the injury, all at the expense or the people the Creator had put upon American soil first. His I irst right. Tecumseh, like Frederick the Great, fled in his first battle. But he never turned tail again. He was less than IS when the village in which he lived was attacked by Captain Ben Logan and a party of whites-. Most of the braves were away. Logan made 30 prisoners, the majority of them squaws and chil dren. Tecumseh, who had run at the first fire, was broken-hearted when he realized how poorly he had con ducted himself, but within a year he redeemed himself. In a fight near the Ohio River he was foremost in the at tack. All the whites were killed ex cept one. and be was burned at the stake the next day. This spectacle horrified Tecumseh. He made a speech to his companions so eloquent and so appeal ing that they all agreed never to burn a prisoner again. Harmer, St. Clair, Wayne. For the next year or two Tecumseh hunted and campaigned. Twice he had encounters with parties led by Simon Kenton, and each time he distinguished himself by his- coolness and courage. Then the Shawnee fever for travel took possession of him. and for three years he wandered through the West and South. Incidentally he joined the Che rokees in their war on the whites. When he returned to Ohio he found his country in turmoil. The Federal Government had sent 300 regulars and 1100 Kentucky volunteers into the Miami district to destroy the Indians' cornfields. The Indians, egged on by the English, who retained various forts in the Western country, had committed various depredations, and it was con sidered about time to punish them. Gen eral Harmer, who commanded the ex pedition, was led into ambush, and his' force cut to pieces. Soon after Tecum seh rejoined the Shawnees General St. Clair, with 1400 men, attacked the In dians, only to meet with disaster more "so I hope you don't mind, but I told her you just doted on Billy. That you would be hurt if you didn't draw him for a partner. She said if you liked him, then he must be nice and she wouldn't let her first prejudice count against him. So " v "And I'm supposed to be fascinated with a masculine wallflower whom I've never seen!" lnterruptd Mary. "Charm ing prospect." "I've told him all about you and that you've agreed to be sort of a social step mother to him." went on Jonesi fnthu s4astically. "He'll be wax in your hands. I bet you will be a liberal education for that poor chap. You see, girls always give him the cold shoulder, and a little kindness " "There he is now'.' whispered Mary. 'Don't give Nancy or any of the other girls an opportunity to talk with him. Introduce him to Nancy and bring him to me at once. Oh. on second thought don't introduce him to any of the others." "You have been kind enough to waste your time talking to me." he said, "when you might be having a pleasant time with the others." "Well why don't you try to make It pleasant for me?" she asked bluntly. "1 know $hat Henry Jones- has asked you to bother with me." he said frankly. "I don't flatter myself that a girl like you would " "So that's why you are not popular?" broke, in Mary. "Your own attitude de THTE SUNDAY mm. crushing than Harmers. Tecumseh was one of the scouts of the Indian force, but was not present at the battle. These two victories of the Indians aroused the rerlmen to a high degree, and perhaps started Tecumseh to-dreaming qf holding the whites in check or driving them back across the moun tains. But the Indians had a far differ ent man to deal with the next time the Federal Government sent a force into the Ohio country. "Mad Anthony" Wayne did not fall into the traps that brought disaster to Harmer and St. Clair. He trained his men well before he started, and when he moved he struck right into the heart of the In dian settlements on the Grand Glaize. In the battle of Fallen Timbers, he crushingly defeated the Indians. No one fought more gallantly in this battle than did Tecumseh. Time after time he rallied the Shawnees, and it was not until the day was lost that he retreated. One of his brothers was killed by his side. For a greater part of the battle Tecumseh fought against a regiment commanded by William Henry Harrison, who afterward was to be his chief an tagonist. Although neither had any thing to do with the planning of this fight, they acted well their parts. Sorrowing Tor His People. . The defeat broke the spirit of the In dians. W"ayne had laid waste their vil lages, destroyed their crops and taught them a bitter lesson. They were anxious for peace, and a deputation of chiefs, headed by Blue Jacket, the Shawnee, sent la flag to Wayne, but British agents intercepted it. and it was not until June. 1795, that the peace of Greenville was signed. By this treaty the Miamls and various other Indian bands relinquished large stretches of land for settlement. The Shawnees, however, did not agree. Te cumseh hated that treaty as he hated everything that gave advantage to the whites. By its terms he and his people were driven further West. It brought peace, or comparative peace, to the borderland, but it also brought droves of whites. Each year the influx was larger and larger, and -each year the Indians saw their lands encroached upon more and more. They held coun cils and discussed their wrongs. In these councils Tecumseh was the prin cipal orator. The interpreter, Dechou set, found it difficult to translate the lofty flights of Tecumseh, although he was as-well versed in Shawnee as in French, his mother tongue. He said Tecumseh's speech sparkled with poetic thought.- like that of the chief who de clared "the very leaves of the forest drop tears of pity on us as we walk be neath." In 1801 the Northwestern territory, which comprised the land between the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, was di vided, the state of Ohio being formed as it is today and the remainder be ing called the Indiana territory. Of this territory William Henry Harrison was appointed Governor and Vincennes was made the- capital. Tecumseh, sorrowing for his people, had been meditating for a long time on a plan to unite them in a great con federacy. Soon after the division of the Northwestern Territory, Laulewasikaw announced himself as a prophet. He preached with much earnestness against Indian women marrying whites. He denounced drunkenness and witch craft, and said that since becoming a prophet he had gone up into the clouds and in the home of the devil he had found it peopled with men who had died drunkards. Flames of fire issued from their mouths. The duty of the young fies a girl to be nice to you! Don't you think it is rather a selfish pose?" Bender gazed at the audacious Miss Zeal in astonishment. "I'd never thought of It in that light." he admitted at length. "I'm so handicapped I never feel that anything I may say or do would interest any one." " " o a are as tiresome as a self-complacent beauty!" declared Mary tartly. "Of course, if you don't try to be agree able, girls do perfectly right in avoiding you." "They usually just look at me once then turn away before I get a chance to make good," he sighed. "Would you like to be the lion, of this occasion?" asked Mary. "I'd luce to show some of these chaps that I'm not suit a bump on a log a6 they think I am:" he muttered. "They've got a new joke on me, and I suppose 1 11 never hear the last of it. You see, they all go about a lot. and always' are talk ing about the pretty girls they know and it probably will sound very silly to you that a man could be so sensitive, but the other day I got a photograph of an aunt of mine, who is rather young and stunning-looking. I didn't tell them it was only a relative, and for several days they took a new Interest in me. Then they stumbled on the truth:" Mr. Ben der blushed sheepishly. At that moment Harry Jones appeared. "Miss Zeal. -Nancy- wants to speak to you just a moment. "I'll stay here with Bender." Nancy took Mary into another corner. OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, 11 Ah;,.MmMMwimsMi:. to the aged and helpless he dwelt upon as one' of the most sacred of obligations and he proposed a community of prop erty practically the same as that now advocated by Communists. Innovations in dress by the Indians he inveighed against and he appealed to their pride by declaring the Great Spirit had told him they were his most, beloved people. So far the prophet was not a bad teach er, but lie was not content. He pro fessed to have received power from the Great Spirit to cure any disease, pre vent death on the battlefield and crush anyone who opposed him. The Prophet's Kise. There can be no doubt the Prophet really sought the good of his people. He got followers in large number.. They were the young men of the tribes. Un der his exhorting they abstained from liquor and in many other ways prac ticed their leader's precepts. But the Prophet's teachings aroused the medi cine men. They saw a powerful rival rising and they combated him at every turn. The Prophet retaliated by de nouncing some of them as witches, and this led to the most violent acts of fa naticism. The reports of the religious unrest among the Indians worried the officials at Vincennes and at Washington. Thomas Jefferson, writing to John Ad ams, declared the Prophet was more rogue than fool. Governor Harrison addressed a letter to the Indians, beg ging them not to be misled. "My chil dren," he said, "tread back the steps you have taken, and endeavor to regain the straight road which you have aban doned. The dark, crooked and thorny path you are now pursuing will lead to endless woe and misery. Who is this pretended prophet who dares to speak In the name of the great Creator? Ex amine him. Is he more wise and vir tuous than you are yourselves, that he should be selected to convey to you the orders of God? If God has em ployed him, he has doubtless authorized him to perform miracles that he may be known and received as a prophet. If he is really a prophet, ask him to cause the sun to stand still, the moon to alter Its course, the rivers to cease to flow, or the dead to rise from their graves." This challenge was unfortunate. The Prophet took it up and announced that on a certain day he would make darkness come over the earth. On the day ap pointed it became dark at noon. This was the day of the eclipse of the sun in 1806. The Prophet probably had heard the date from some whites. Thereafter his followers grew more rapidly. From north, west and south came pilgrims to the Prophet. Within one year 1600 Indians passed through Fort Wayne on their way to visit the Prophet. Many of these wert from 1000 miles away. The English w-ere known to be assisting in the excitement, and there was fear all along the border of a general Indian uprising. An Indian Confederacy. Meauwhile Tecumseh traveled far and wide visiting the tribes of the South and those beyond the Mississippi and awaken ing as far as possible through the reli gious movement of his brother a spirit of union and harmony. He added much to the Prophet's power by his own noble presence and influence. In the Spring of 1808 the Prophet moved his headquarters to land on the Tippecanoe in Indiana. He had visited Vincennes and had talked so plausibly to the Governor that Mr. Harri son was deceived into believing he meant no harm to the whites. -But Harrison soon was undeceived, and in the Summer of 1S10 he demanded that the Prophet visit him again at Vincennes. Evidently the center of the stage this evening was not for her. "Oh, my dear!'' began the new Mrs. Jones. Tm in such a dilemma! You know what a little cat Suzanne Smith is? Well, she came to me and said she thought it was awfully mean of me to let you monopolize the most Interesting-looking man in the room she thinks he must be, since he's talk ing ito you and she just has had a quar rel with 9am Adams and she had the nerve to ask if I couldn't make you swap!" Mary hesitated one tactful moment. "Why, I'll do anything for you Nancy. Even to giving up that fascinating Mr. Bender." "Is- he really anything but a stick?" asked Nancy, with a puzzled frown. "Is Mr. Bender a stick:" repeated Mary, as if the idea stunned her. "Why, Nancy'! I guess you don't know Billy Bender"' "Henry likes him," admitted Nancy. ''But even you must admit he looks er rather unattractive and the other boys make all kinds of fun of him." "They must be jealous of him," sniffed Mary. "Jealous of whom?" demanded Rosa mond Rhinestone, a tall, supercilious blonde. "Of Billy Bender:" supplied Mary promptly. "Of course you know him. Miss Rhinestone?" "I don't think I do." said Rosamond. Two other girls came up. "Of course," elaborated Mary, "he MAT 1. 1910. Instead. Tecumseh went there with 40 warriors. In the council that was held Harrison and Tecumseh each distrusted the other's good faith at first. The Gov ernor had intended the meeting should be on the portico of his house, but Tecumseh refused to go there. He suggested a near by grove. "The earth r my mother, and on her bosom will I repose," he said. Tecumseh's speech was to the effect that the Great Spirit had given this g-eat island (America) to his red children and had r"t the whites on the other side of the .water. The whites, not contented with their own, had taken that of the red men. They had. driven the Indians from the sea to the lakes, and the Indians could go no further. The whites had taken upon themselves to say this land belongs to the Miamis, this to the Delaware?, and so on. The Great Spirit intended the land as the common property of all. "Since the peace was made," he con tinued, "you have killed some 3iiawnees. Winnebagocs, Delawares and Miamis, and you have taken our land from us. and I do not see how we can remain at peace if you continue to do so. You try to force the red people to do some injury. It is you that are pushing them on to do mis chief. You endeavor to make distinc tions. You wish to prevent the Indians doing as they wish to do unite and to consider their lands as the common prop erty of the whole. You take tribes aside and corrupt them. By your distinction of Indian tribes in allotting to each a par ticular tract of land you want them to make war with one another. 'Brother, this land that was sold to you was sold only by a few. If you continue to purchase our lands this- way it will produce war among the different tribes. (Brother, you should take pity on the red people and return to them a little of the land of which they have been plundered. The Indian has been honest in his deal ings wilh you, but how can we. have con fidence in the white people? When Jesus Christ came on earth you killed him and nailed him to the cross. You thought lie was dead, but you were mistaken. You have many religions, and you persecute and ridicule those who do not agree with you. The Shakers are good people. You have Shakers among you, but you laugh and make light of their worship. You are counseled by bad birds. I speak nothing but the truth to you." General Harrison's answer was that the lands recently bought belonged to the Miamis. It was absurd to say the Indians were one nation or the lands were owned in common. If the Great Spirit had meant the Indians to be one nation he would not have put different tongues into their heads. The Shawnees had no right to com; from a. distant country and control the Miamis in the disposal of their prop erty. Almost a Row. This angered Tecumseh and he spoke so vehemently in reply and aroused his fol lowers to such a pitch of excitement that it was feared for a few moments there would be " bloodshed. The Governor's Guard was called out and the council closed in confusion. Next day Tecumseh and Harrison had a talk with only a few persons present. Harrison promised to submit Tecumseh's argument to the Great Chief of the Sev enteen Fires tthe President of the seven teen United Stales). "Well," said Tecumseh, "I hope' the Great Spirit will put sense enough into his head to direct you to give up this land. He is so far off he will not be injured by the war. He may sit in his town and drink his wine while you and I have to fight it out." The Governor said he had one request to make. In case of war he hoped Te cumseh would prevent the cruel and disgraceful method Indians practiced doesn't care for the average sort of girls. And perhaps they wouldn't care for him for the simple reason that they wouldn't understand an unusual type. He's so refreshingly different and origi nal." Henry Jones overheard this last re mark and whispered in Mary's ear: "Keep up that line of advertising and you'll make Billy as popular as a new religion in Boston!" Mary just had time to prompt Billy in his new role before he was introduced to the young women, now eager to make his acquaintance. She told him several things to say to each one. which he took the precaution to put down In shorthand on his cuff. His sudden success brought wisdom to the shy Bender, accustomed to hiding his light under a bushel. Yet it turned his head just enough to relieve the self consciousness that usually held him tongue-tied. After dinner Mary did some lobbying for her bashful protege. Henry' Jones called it hypnotism. He was delighted to see the four good-looking and popular young men with whom Bender shared a home glower at the ugly duckling of the flock as he developed swan qualities right before their eyes. "Say. Rusty." complained Sam Adams, buttonholing Jones, "that Bender is a wolf in sheep's clothing! Here we've been warting our pity on him all along." Henry thought the age of miracles had returned when, as their guests were de Tretinoin toward women and children and those no longer In a situation to resist. Te cumseh agreed and kept his promise. From the council with Harrison Te cumseh turned South. He visited the Semlnoles, the Creeks and the Musko gees and was successful in getting their promise to take the warpath if the time for a general Indian uprising came. From one nation to another he traveled in the Southern country, and in only one in Mississippi was he opposed. There Tecumseh, who probably had im bibed a little of his brother's mysticism and pretentions to prophecy, turned on the chief who opposed him and said: "Your blood Is white. You do not be lieve the Great Spirit sent me. You shall know. I leave here directly and go straight to Detroit. When I arrive there I will stamp "on the ground with my foot and shake down all your houses here." Tecumseh departed, A few weeks later there was an earthquake and every house in the village was de stroyed. The Indians shrieked, "Tecum seh has got to Detroit!" It is an estab lished fact that the earthquake oc curred the very day Tecumseh reached Detroit. Tecumseh found all the work of years wrecked when he reached Detroit. While he was in the South General Harrison had gathered a large force of regulars and volunteers and marched on the Prophet's town. The Prophet, disregarding Tecumseh's orders to avoid an open rupture, had roused his followers to frenzy by his incantations and his promises that the bullets of the whites would not harm them. The In dians attacked Harrison before daylight on November 7, 1811, and after a des perate fight were routed. The Prophet kept at a safe distance and fled 'when he saw his force defeated. He explained the defeat by saying he made a mis take in compounding his concoction. But Tecumseh was not to be checked by this disaster. He went to work gathering his scattered people and brought order out of chaos. Early in the Spring he visited Fort Wayne and asked to be sent to Washington to see the Great Chief of the Seventeen Fires. Permission was refused. Then he asked for ammunition. This, too, was refused. He felt exceedingly bitter toward Har "TEACHING A WORM TO TURN" BY HELENA SMITH DAYTON parting, he heard Nancy urging Mr. Bender "to come over to dinner next Tuesday to meet her friend Miss John son from Chicago!" Henry Jones overtook Mary on the avenue one afternoon two weeks later. "I want to talk to you about that erstwhile shrinking violet Bender." he said abruptly. "He's malving no end of trouble. Can't you think of some way of putting him back in his shell?" "What! Undo one of the most artistic bits of work I've accomplished in a long while?" demanded Mary. indignantly. "I'm proud of that . negative I devel oped." "I don't, mind his taking Suzanne Smith to see 'The Watched Kettle," nor going to musicales with Miss Rhinestone and suffrage meetings with Miss Telham. nor calling two evenings a week on Elizabeth Evans and cutting out the other fellows. But when I hear nothing else from Nancy but 'Billy Bender this' and 'Billy Bender that,' it's going too far:" "I thought you wanted Nancy to like vour dear old friend Biily:" reminded Mary- "I wanted her to . tolerate him," growled Henry. "I can't prevent Mr. Bender being as fascinating as nature intended him to be!" declared Mary innocently. "And I think it serves those conceited bachelor friends of his perfectly right for him to et back at them for some of the un 8 rison for the destruction of the Froprn efs town and he announced that if he could not go to the Great Chief or if h could not get ammunition he would so to his British father and would not be denied by him. And lie did. The first battle of thw Warof 1832 was fought at River Raisin. A force of 70 Indians and 40 Brit ish soldiers, commanded by Tecumseh, defeated an American detachment un der Major Van Home. Thereafter Te cumseh was the most brilliant soldier in the British service in the lake dis trict. For his stubborn bravery at the battle of Brownstown he was made a brigadier-general. The surrender of General Hull added much to Tecum seh's influence among the Indians and his force of redmen outnumbered the British. Tecumseh was successful in nearly all his engagements in 1812, but in 1813 there was a turn in the tide. With General Proctor he besieged Har rison in Fort Meigs and made such, headway that he thought the fort sure ly would fall. But it didn't. In July there was another attempt to capture Fort Meigs, but this, too, failed. An attack on Fort Stephenson, which was defended by the youthful Major Crog han, was equally unsuccessful, and then came the Battle of Lake Erie between Perry's fleet and that of Barclay. This contest was witnessed by Tecumseh. It vessels lie ever naa seen ana ne was deeply Impressed. After the Battle of Lake Erie Proctor retreated up the Detroit River. It was not until he reached the Thames that he halted. Early in the battle of Oc tober 5. 1813. Tecumseh was killed. When he fell the Indians fled. Before the battle Tecumseh had predicted his death. With liim fell the Indian con federacy. He erred in supposing the whites could be turned back. Had he lived a century earlier he might have had a larger measure of success. He waa greater than Pontiac, far greater than Joseph Brant. He was defeated, but through the inherent superiority of civilization rather than through lack of ability. As commander, diplomatist, orator and statesman he ranks the Inchest of his race. Copyright. 1910. by Richard Spillan. merciful guying he's endured at their hands: Besides, It s not as if they really were engaged to any of. the young1 ladies:" "They might be if this incredible stats of affairs hadn't developed," said Jonea gloomily, "No accounting for feminine taste," murmured Mary. "How much longer have we got to keep up this Bender business?" groaned Suz anne Adams. The other girli !ookd questioningly at Mary Zeal, as sh nib bled one of Nancy's "hand-made" tea cakes. "Relief is at hand," said Mary calmly. "And I want to congratulate you girls on the success of the scheme. Now this is to be kept secret until certain gentlemen have been brought to time. Encouraged by his success. Mr. Bender has gained courage to win a girl whom he always has admired and who, it seems, always has liked him. The engagement will be announced soon." "May I use your phone, Nancy?" asked Suzanne. "I think I'll accept Sam's invi tation for this evening. He has been teased enough." "The only danger of helping a worm to turn," remarked Mary, "is that onca started it is liable to roll like a hoop. If I hadn't known about that other girl I never would have dared suggest Wm plot.. A turned worm is a dangerous nl-, mai."