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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 13, 1896)
A MAN'S VENGEANCE IT was a stiff climb from Pongelly mid tin basket of lish Isaac lloeken carried wiih heavy. At tlic top of tin; hill he wus fain to stretch himself oil tin- turf and rest his bent old back against the low stone wall which In closed John Tregon's Held. "No use going up to the house; John's nt market and the misscs'll be turning the idace topsy-turvey," ho reflected. "What with spring clennlu's all the year round and the drlvlu', Hertha h is had n terrible hard time. And they do Kay In the village Well, well," In; muttered, checking himself, "It wasn't 1o be expected with hci' pitliy f.ii'c thai Jim's her first sweetheart. And If Will Carter deceived her, inebbe sluillLthiuk the more of him. Jim just dotes on her. More fule, he! Had wives are of no iiccoiint whntlver, and suiiosin you do hap on a good woman and It pleases tlie Lord to take her, the year won't till the emptiness In you she leaves be hind. I ought fo know," and Isaac heaved n mighty sigh. "I've hurled wives of both sorts three of 'em." Not n breeze stirred the lifeless calm; nnd the midday sun poured fiercely down. Presently he sought the shade of a spreading tree which overhung the wall n few paces from him. Rut lie was no longer solitary. Voices fell on his ear Ilertlia Tregon's and that of the man who report said had jilted her. ".My poor Herlha! You've no cause to fear me. I know exactly how it wus you forsook mu for James lloeken. Hut 1 wrote whenever 1 had the chance." "Xot a single letter renched me." "Because your mother waylaid the postman." Despite the heat, Isaac shivered. Will's Insight was making clear much that had puzzled him. "Perhaps. What matters now?" nsked Hertha in forlorn tones. "Ytm should have kept away. It would have been kinder." "And let you continue to think that I was false. I.oukee here, Hertha, you promised to he my wife before ever lloeken courted you. And now you know I've been faithful to you " "I durslu't break with Jim. Mother Is set on li tin. Oh, why did you come? You'll get n fresh sweetheart, but Jlui won't. I feel he won't. And 1 shall keep my promise to hlin." Hut Itertha's love was unchanged, nnd to the breathless listener on the Hiltlier side of the wall. Will's tender pleadings were the knell of his son's hopes. What girl who loved hlin could resist handsome Will Carter? (intuit and grizzled, with weather lieateii, strongly marked features, he had always known that Jim wasn't one Hint a girl would fancy. And Hertha had only accepted him at her mother's bidding, believing that Will was untrue to her. It was all so plain to hl;n now. Poor Jim! Even a tlower that Hertha had plucked was precious to hlin. Hadn't he found a rose withered and dead in his pocket? And all his love In vain! Isaac whipped out his handker chief ('lid mopped his face. Yet, if Will luiin't returned I'.ut. (jontrary to his expectations, the girl waVi firm in her resolve. "I wt'fYl listen to you," she said 'It last, roused by Will's upbraldings. "Jim Isn't to blame he knew nothing of our sweetheartlng-iior am 1. It didn't enter my mind thnt mother might "ve got your letters. How should It? As If you nlone suffered!" she faltered. "Let us part friends." "Sweethearts or nothing," said Will, grntlly. v tin tne swish, swish of feet through the long grass, crawling to his knees. old Isaac peered cautiously over the wall. Hertha was running toward the house nnd Will Carter, with his head thrown back, striding In an opposite di rectum. "Bless the little inn Id!" he ejaculated. "One time 1 was afenred for Jim. Hut lie h got n goon grip o tilings. Yes, plenty more sweethearts for Will," he chuckled, observant of the pose of his lieail. "aim there s but one in the world for my lad - Hertha Tregon. May my tongue l slit If I let out to him.' Hislng, Isaac shouldered his basket nnd proceeded on his round. i ue oiu iisiicruiHii nan neen some what rash, however, In his conclusions Hy her own admission, Itertha's do clslon had been prompted solely by fear of her mother and consideration for James Hockeu. Hut If on reileetlon she were still willing to sacrifice her happ1 ticss. Will Carter certainly had no in tent Ion of yielding to her weakness. A tine seaman, of whom Pengelly was proud, for the last year Will had been on board a yacht cruising in the Medit erranean, Hut for reasons best known to herself, Mrs. Tregou had discounte nanced his suit, slid, although ho had vry confidence lu her, Bertha's si lence had Inspired misgivings not easy to allay. Once more free, he hud re turned at the earliest (late to England, anil at Plymouth, where lie landed, had met a friend, who, among other Items of Pengelly news, informed him of her desertion, adding: "And she'll be .Mrs. lloeken in a fort night." determined to demand a full explana tion fi i Herlha herself. Will made no comment, but his laugh was un inlrthful. And witli rage In his heart hi! had hailed a passing cab, driven to the railway station una taken the tram for Wmieiii iiige. Thence he could walk to the Trogoiis". Hut the house In view. In crossing the Held, Will had espied Herlha in the gar den nnd, with a mutlled ahoy! sped to the tree that sheltered old Isaac. She had swiftly joined him. Nevertheless, the shock of his return was visible in her while face, and her trembling lips would frame no welcome. Looking at him Imploringly, her blue eyes tilled. And. longing to clasp her lu his arms, the reassuring words which, whilst en lightening hlin. hail chilled Jim's fath er, did duty for the reproaches lie had come primed with. Hut Will had taken Hertha by sur prise, and between her dread of him ami terror of her mother, who ruled the Tregon household with a rod of iron, he rightly divined that she had cnught nt the readiest means of escape which In her distraction had presented Itself to her. Yet his faith lu her lirm ness was limited; the revival of fond memories would tend to lessen her mother's Inlluence. And cunningly cal culating that apparent Indifference would further Incline her to be guided by his counsels later, he devoted a week to his friends and generally enjoy ing himself. Ills disappointment treat ed thus lightly, he succeeded In delud ing everybody, Including Hertha, who shed bitter tears lu secret that he snould be so easily consoled for her loss. The bare sight of James lloeken almost maddened her, and she had to hide her aversion to him anil listen evening af ter evening to his dull talk. And in nu- otlier week she would be his wife. The tree beneath which she nnd Will had parted became her favorite resort. Here she could Indulge In tin luxury of a "good cry" uurclmkcil, nnd, grown desperate with the nearer approach of the wedding day, sitting on the gnnrled roots one nfternoon, she burst into a very passionate grief. A face Will's appeared above the wall. A liny! Whatlver's the matter. Miss Tregon?" he gravely inquired. "Shall I fetch Mr. Hockeu to 'ee?" "1 hate him! I hate hlin!" she sob bed hysterically. "That's bad." said Will, sympathiz- ingly. "What's he been up to?" "I'p to! Isn't lie old, Isn't he ugly, isn't he stupid? And and I hate him. Mother may storm, but 1 don't cure." Will vaulted over the wall. On the day appointed for Janies llocken's nuptials the wdiole village Hocked betimes to the church. Hut uelt tier bridegroom nor bride put In an appearance, and by and by It was known that Will Carter ami Hertha Tregon were missing, and that there would be no wedding at Pengelly that day. Weeks and months rolled by, nnd no tidings could be gleaned of the grace less couple. They had clean vanished, leaving no clew to their whereabouts. Mrs. Tregon's tongue sharpened to a dounble-eilged sword, ready to Slav friend and foe alike who alluded to her daughter. And the dumb misery In Jim's plain face was pitiful to see. Old Isaac's heart ached for his son. If he had only prepared him for the blow! To have hlin so imposed on! And with his experience of womankind. Curiosity was at length appeased. An acquaintance of the runaways visited Loudon mid returned with a woeful story. She had seen Hertha. who had ontlded to her that after being mar ried nt a registry otllce Will nnd she had decided to go to America, but while looking in n shop window he had been robbed of his savings, nnd that subse quently they were reduced to great straits. Then he had brought her the welcome news that he had obtained n berth on n steam launch, nnd tlie next morning bade her good-by to go aboard. since when she had never clapped her eyes on hlin. Mrs. Pegg nlso said that Hertha had refused to give her address. Hut Jim ascertained thnt she had met ner nt uoiiiernnne, nini that was enough for him. "I'm off to London," he announced when he came downstairs, after pacing the floor the livelong night. "I shall never rest until Carter and me nre face to race. "Thee be a fule, Jim," his father, who had been disturbed by his monotonous tread overhead, said peevishly. "If you must stir in this business, find ilertliii. IfU be a charity. For all her sharp temper, her mother's frettin' her self Into tins grave. Take what money you want out o' my leather hag: only nroiulse. hid." noting the sullen tire in his deet-sot eves, "not to meddle Will." "Trust me to lind Hertha! Hut she would be destitute." he said hoarsely. "And Hiii! limy have become a shame to her kith nnd kin. And In that case no promise would bind me, father. I'd 'vo his life If I swung for it." Hut Pengelly was convinced that Will had betaken himself to "foreign parts." And. recalling tills, old Isaac was en couraged to hope that Jim would be de nied tin opportunity of vengeance. .tin. hail been II Loudon inrei' iS. months; his quest had been unsuccess ful; yet he continued to hunt the prin cipal thoroughfares, tramping north, south, east anil west In turn. Hig Hen had struck one; he was re i.i,,c:iiHr Wuctniliwter bridge to his lodgings when u woman crouching by -is. a lamp post ahead of him fell forward "Dark Liulit." in a heap and, liasteiilng his steps, he Monsieur Le Hon, a French expon enileavored to raise her. Hut. with the rnenter, reports that he has obtained liglit falling on tlie pallid, hunger-plncli- outline photographs on n dry phi to ed face, a groan escaped hiiu. His ; through a sheet of iron, simply with the quest for Hertha Carter had ended. nld of an ordinary kerosene lamp. He At that moment a policeman came up. gets the best effects by backing the iron "Poor soul! she's dead." he said at a ( with a sheet of lead, hut the rays do glance. "Hotter so than the leap into not, like the X-rays, penetrate black the water sin my eye on ! was bent on. I've hud r since 7 o'clock. She seemed dazed." The body was conveyed to the mor tuary and the verdict at the Inquest was in accordance with the medical testimony, that death was due to star vation. Outwardly calm, his sole thought to avenge Hertha, Jim staggered out of the court. Ills Inquiries for the inn a who hail robbed him of the one Jewel he coveted, to cast it from hlin, nt length elicited that a seaman answering to his de scription of Carter was homewnrl bound from Singapore. Thenceforth, knowing neither hunger nor weariness, lie was watchful of new arrivals at the docks. 1 Ills desire for revenge wns by now a monomania. And to-day he had a strange prescience that Will nnd he were soon to meet. Self-absorbed, in crossing the street, he was knocked down by a dray, nnd, stunned, convey ed to the hospital. On recovering consciousness, his first request wns for his discharge. "Not yet awhile," said the nurse. "Hut you won't be dull. That poor chap yonder," Indicating a bandaged object In n distnut bed, "has been ask- i ing for you. Y'ou don't recognize him? No wonder! He was brought In months ago after the tire In St. Thomas street, i He wns looking on, nnd a woman and some children appeared nt a top win dow. The firemen were beaten back by the blaze below, and poor Will he won't tell us his surname couldn't withstand their cries, nnd he climbed up the wnterspont on to the roof with a rope, nnd threw oue end to them, and had actually lowered two of the chil dren In safety when the walls collaps ed. He was picked up so terrlbiy In jured that we had little hope of him. Hut he has done splendidly. If you" Hut Jim was midway across the ward. Oh, heaven, to think that this poor man gled wretch wns "handsome Will!" And so sorely misjudged! Leaning over the brave fellow, Hocken's emo tion was hard to restrain. "Don't give 'em my name," whisper ed Will. "I'm maimed for life. And wouldn't 've my poor little Bertha sad dled with a helpless husband not like l.v- To have happened just when the tide had turned!" he groaned. "Where is she?" She has reached port before us," said ,11m, lu a smothered voice. "Don't 'ee take on. Will." Ills own tears were coursing down his rugged cheeks. "We'll go back to Pengelly. I can work for both." You work for me"? Y'ou " We both loved her," Jim reminded him "If so be you'll trust yourself to me. You will be doing me a favor." Feebly pressing the hand that grip - ped his, Will mumbled Indistinctly, and hastily covered hold Words. his face. House- Pathos of Presidential Convention?. No oue can examine the records of Presidential conventions, with their personal successes and failures, and easily escape the conviction that there Is far more of tragedy than comedy In our national politics. There are touch es of humor here aud there, but the dominant note Is that of pathos. He hind every great success there Is to be seen the somber shadow of bitter dis appointment, of wrecked ambition, of lifelong hopes In ruins. As oue pursues through biography, autobigrnphy, and memoir, the personal history of the chief figures In the conventions that have been held during the sixty years which have passed since thnt method of nominating Presidential candidates came Into use. he finds It nlmost Invnrl. ably ending in sadness and gloom. Not one of those seeking the Presidency with most persistence hns succeeded l getting possession of that great otllce. and few of them, when final failure uas come, have shown themselves able Lear the blow with for..ui to tury. Bit1 Mrll, ? i-w .TtA '",-) Tumbling: Mustard. It is said that the tumbling mustard, n weed Introduced from Europe about twenty years ago, has become very .troublesome In Manitoba and other parts of Northwestern Canada. Prof. Fletcher, of Ottawa, estimates that a single plant bears no less than l,5t:0,U(J0 paper. He call the radiation which produces the photographs "dark light." The Cradle of Mankind. The recent discovery In Somnlihind by Mr. Seton-Knrr is regarded as an Important contribution to the evidence by means of which men of science hope, eventually, to be nble to locate the cm die of the human race. The implements referred to nre Identical lu form with those found In Northwestern Kurope and In India, and this fact Is thought to be an Indication that lu the remote pre historic times called the Palaeolithic age the Inhabitants of Asia, Africa and Europe belonged to a single race. Kxtertninatinir Butterflies. Collectors of butterflies lu England are somewhat alarmed nt the prospect of the extinction of several localized species, mainly through the effects of overcollection. It apears that three spe cies of butterflies have already been exterminated, nt least from their known haunts, and that three other species are lu Imminent danger of ex tinction, and the Entomological Society has been requested to take some action for the protection of the Insects. Some of the much-hunted species. It Is said, will probably take final refuge lu the Irreclaimable feus of Norfolk. Valuable Fox-Skins. The most expensive and beautiful of all fox fur, according to Knowledge, Is that of the American silver fox. The color Is usually almost entirely black, rexcept the tip of the tall, and certain gray-white mnrklngs ou the back, thighs and head. Occasionally a com pletely black specimen Is found, aud there are also some which are com pletely gray. The animal was once comparatively abundant, but is now scarce, nnd about a year ago a single flue skin was sold lu London for the surprising sum of 873. In 1S04 many skins were sold for more than $ot)0 apiece. The cheapest skins are the pale-colored ones, some of which do not command more thou $2". A Walking Fish. A queer fish, called the "walking goby," or the "hopping ash," Is found in the Iudiau Oceau as well as along the shores of West Africa. Crowds of ! these c"rlo"s creatures, resembling tad poles In their outlines, bask In the sun on a muddy shore and scamper off on being disturbed. Mnuy of them keep me ends of their long tails dipped In the water, while they lie ou the sun heated mud, or sit ou mangrove roots, and Prof. Hnddon has suggested that there may be an organ of respiration !n the end of the tall, additional to the similar organs In the gills. A more re- i cent Investigator, Dr. Forbes, of Liver- P00' thinks the fish are able to store ' a sufficient quantity of water In their B'1,s to maintain aquatic respiration during their prolonged absences on the shore. Great Tide Waves. Those who see the rise and fall of the tides In our Atlantic harbors seldom think of the wonderful career of the moon-raised ocean-waves which cause the tidal flux and reflux. Such billows uot only cross the sea, but flow from ocean Into ocean, aud In this way com plicated movements are set going. Thus, as Mr. Vaughan Cornish has re cently reminded Eugllsh readers, once !n every twelve hours the moon raises a tide billow In the Southern Indian Ocean. When this billow passes the Cape of Good Hope, nt noon, Its suc cessor Is already born, and by the time the first billow has reached the Azores isianas, at miunigut, the second Is rounding the Cape, and a third has come Into existence In the southern ocean. By 4 o'clock In the morning fob lowing Its passage of the Cape the tide billow reaches the English Channel and there the shallow water delays it so uiucu mat it noes not arrive at the hi T . "mu,lu a' "' "tc ' wtraits of Dover until to rise very high and almost puts an van to uie wave, in the meantime an- other branch of the billow runs arouai the western side bf the p.ritish Islam, rounds the north point of Scotland i moves slowly down the eastern . of England, until it llnally flows una' Thames, and In pa the wharves ufl' don. Tree-Kin us. On May !!S mention was mnde lnth( column of a curious theory ciiiiecniiii. the history of a very old llr-tree frUJ North America, a section of the luWt,, part of whose trunk Is preserved iuEj. gland. The growth rings in the lruilk allow that the tree lived for several hundred years, and that when It ai about a century old something ha. pencil which Interfered with and J,, layed Its growth. The effect wus to pro. duce a series of rings very narrow and close together, followed by rings ut Mr usual width, Indicating that the tree had suddenly regained Its vigor. At. cording to the theory mentioned iiitlueuce that retarded the growth of the tree was a series of atmospheric dis turliauces in the Middle Ages w liich caused widespread epidemics in Kurtipe and Asia, and presumably in Xnrtb America also. Mr. H. E. Feniow, ot Washington, writes to Nature that he .i.i.. i... .i.t.. i r. i it.. . - "! j nanny liiui. Zones of narrow rings, he says, are common In all of our trees, and liemig. Bests this explanation: Let a tree, lite the tir lu question, grow up under fj. voruble conditions for a hundred years, and then let a hurricane break off a large part of its crown. Suddenly, at least within a year, the rings of growth will become narrow. Within nliuut thirty years the crown recuperates, hut still the food-inaterlal descending from the leaves Is scanty for the lower por tion of the trunk and narrow rings con tlnue to form there. 1 Uglier up the tree, however, the rings will be found widen ing. Finally, and rather suddenly, the supply becomes normal lower down and the rings resume their regular width. Thus various accidents occur ring to a tree record their effects lu its rings of growth. Knglund's Food Supply. Strong as the English war tleet is, It is very far from being strong enough to successfully engage a possible combina tion of fleets and ut the same time pro tect our sea borne food supply, saji the Nineteenth Century. If the tinted States and Russia declared war with England there would practically be no food supply left to protect. They would keep the Immense supplies we now get from them at home, aud the fenr of capture or destruction would effectunlly prevent Argentina aud other neutrals from sending food to us in any sufficient quantity. What Is wnnted Is that. Instead of only a precarious week's supply, wi should have stored up In this country enough corn to last for ot least twelve months. Experts In the corn trade agree that there would be no Insupera ble difficulty in gradually accumulat ing this store of corn. It would he for experts to advise ns to the best meth ods nnd plnces of storage. Perhaps the best plau would be to dis tribute it over the country lu magazines nt the military depots, giving the mili tary authorities charge of It, but If It wns In the country nnd safe It would not so much matter where It was. Al though most of our corn Is made Into flour at the great ports, It would uot be wise, seeing that most of them are so defenseless, to store It there. The entire control und management of this great national store of corn should be under some permanent gov ernment department. Although Its ex istence could uot fail to have a steady ing effect ou the corn market, It should be outside all speculative Influences, the price nt which It would be sold, when necessary to sell It. being fixed law. It would be no sacrifice, in the long run. for the country to provide such a reserve of food, as It would al ways be worth Its cost. Other nations accumulate gold for use In war time. We should have a war chest of corn. If we have It. what will It do? It will give our navy time to devote Itself to the crushing of the navy or navies opposed to us. It will give us time, with out great resources, to aug ment our fighting fleet to almost any extent, and It will give our farmers time to grow three or four times as much corn and breed a much larger quantity of cattle and sheep than they now do. Protection Against Snorers. Now a New Jersey justice has passed judgment on a man who was charged with disturbing the neighborhood wlt his snoring, which the prosecution likened unto the noise from a boiler factory In full operation. The justice advised the man with the wonderful snoring power to move or readjust hia breathing apparatus. It was claimed by the neighbors that he could be heard snoring a square or more away. A" Individual with such lungs would doubtless make a good cornet player. Over In Jersey they do not want to give a man a chance to even sleep without disturbiug him. Harrisburg Patriot. rirst American Hallway. The first American railroad was laid in lS3tj. It was three tulles long, from the granite quarries of Qulncy, Mass, to Neponset River. si
