Heppner gazette., April 09, 1908, Image 6

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The Firm of
Girdlestone
B Y
A. CON AN DOYLE
CHAPTER VI 11. (Continued.)
The meeting just described took pla "e
trpon a Tuesday, early in November. On
tb Saturday Ezra Girdlestone had fully
made up his mind to turn his back upon
the diggings and begin his homeward
journey. He was pining for the pleas
ures of his old London life, and was
wt-ary of the perpetual glare of the South
African sun. His tusk was done, too, an J
jt would be well for him to be at a d's
tanee before the diggers discovered the
manner in which they had been hoaxed,
lie began to pack his boxes, therefore, and
to make every preparation for his depart
'ire. He was busily engaged in this employ
ment upon the Wednesday evening when
thnre was a tap at the door and Farin
tosh walked in. accompanied bv Hurt and
n't,- .
v iinams. (.milestone glanced lip at
them, and greeted them briefly, lie was
not surprise! at their visit, for they had
come together several times before to re-
pcrt progress or make arrangements. Far
intosh bowed as he entered the room. Hurt
nodded, and Williams rubbed his hands
together and looked amiably bilious.
"We looked in, Mr. Griddlestone," Far
intosh began, "to learn if you had anv
commands for us."
I told you before that I had not,"'
Ezra said curtly. "I am going on Satur
day. I have made a mistake in speculat-
in
ing J-.-'
"I
kf v.,
r lower."
Trices are sink-
d
an
e.
ir. .
. i- to hear that," said Farin-
-:netically. "Maybe the mar
Jie a turn."
i 'iope so," the merchant answer
Joesn't look like it."
: s a flash Hurt sprang upon him
i -k him down with a life-preser
V h a gasping cry and a heavy thud
i ' it face downwards upon the floo,
. gash in his head.
" ry neat very pretty indeed I" cried
x-parson, in a quiet tone of critical
faction, as a connoisseur might speak
specimen which interested him. He
' ' already busy at the door of the safe.
" .Veil done, Mr. Hurt, well done!" cried
niiams in a quivering voice.
"Here are the stones," said Farinto-ih,
In the same quiet voice. "Here are some
notes and gold. We may as well have
them, too. Now, tie the bag carefully.
That's the way. If we meet any one on
the stairs, take it coolly. Turn that lamp
out, Williams, so that if any one looks
In he'll see nothin. Came along!" The
guilty ,trio stole out of the room, bearing
their plunder with them, and walked
down the stairs of the hotel unmolested
nd unharmed.
The moon as it rose oyer the veldt that
night shone on three horsemen spurring j
n aiong tne Capetown road as though
tr.eir very lives depended upon their sneei
Its calm, clear rays streamed over the si
lent roofs of Kimberley and in through a
particular window of the Oriental Hotel,
throwing silvery patches upon the carpt
ana casing strange shadows from the fir
ore which lay a,s it had fallen huddled
In an ungainly heap upon the floor.
CHAPTER IX.
Ezra was endowed with rare vitality,
which enabled him not only to shake off
the effects of his mishap, but to do so
in an extraordinary short space of time.
There was a groan from the prostrate fig
ure, then a feeble movement, then another
and a louder groan. Gradually raising
'himself upon his elbow, he looked around
h;m in a bewildered way, with his oth?r
hand pressed to the wound at the bak
of his head, from which a few narrow lit
tle rivulets of blood were still meander
ing. His glance wandered vaguely over
tht table and the chairs and the walls, un
til it rented uion the safe. He could ?e
In the moonlight that it was open, and
empty. In a moment the whole circum
stance of the case came back to him, and
hi staggered to the bell with a hoarse cry
of rage and of despair.
Whatever Ezra's faulta may have been,
Irresolution or want of courage were not
among them. In a moment he grasrd
the situation, and realized that it was ah
eolutely essential that he should act, and
at once. The stones must be recovered,
or utter and irretrievable ruin stared him
In the face. At his cries and ringing the
landlord and several attendants, white
nd black, came rushing into the room.
"I've been robbed and assaulted," Ezi
said, steadying himself against the man
telpiece, for he was still weak and giddv.
"Don't all start cackling, but do what 1
ask you. Light the lamp '."
The lamp was lit, and there wag a mur
mur from the little knot of employes, rc
enforcpd by some late loungers at the bar,
as they saw the disordered room and
great crimsm patch upon the carpet.
"The thieves called at nine," said Ez-a,
talking rapidly, but collectedly. "Their
names were Farintosh, Kurt and Wil
liams. It is now half-past ten, so they
have no very great start. You, Jamieson,
and you Van Muller, run out and find if
three men have been seen getting away.
Perhaps they took a buggy. Go up and
down, aDd ask all you see. You, Jones, go
as hard as you can to Inspector Ainslie.
Tell him there has been robbery and at
tempted murder, and say that I wnt
half a dozen of his best mounted men
not his best men, you understand, but his
best horses. I shall see that he ia no
loser if he is smart. Where's my ser
vant? Pete, jet my horse saddled and
bring h-r round. She ought to be able
to catch anything in Grio,ualand.
As Ezra gave his orders the men hur
ried off in different directions to carry
them out. He, himself, commenced to ar
range his dress, and tied a handkerchief
tightly round hia hea4
"Surely you are not going, tlrT" the
nndlord said. "You are not fit."
"Fit or not, I am going," Ezra said
resolutely. "If I have to be strapped to
my horse I'll go."
A great concourse of people had as
sembled by this time, attracted by the re
port of the robbery. The whole square
in front of the hotel was crowded wilii
diggers and storekeepers and innumeri
bl Kaffirs, all pressing up to the portico
in the hope of hearding some fresh details.
There was a buzz of excitement among
the crowd when Ezra appeared on the
steps of the hotel, looking as white as a
sheet, with a handkerchief bound round
his head and his collar all crusted with
blood. As he mounted his horse one of
his' emissaries rushed to him.
"If you please, sir," he said,' "they have
taken the t'aietown road. A dozen people
saw them. Their horses were not up to
much, for I know the man they got' them
from. You are sure to catch them."
A smile played over Ezra's pale face,
which boded little good for the fugitives.
"Those police," he cried, "are they never
going to come !"
"Here they are !" said the landlord, and
sure enough, with a jingling of arms and
a clatter of hoofs, half a dozen ' of the
Cape Mounted police trotted through the
crowd and drew up in front of the steps.
They were smart, active young fellows,
armed with carbine and saber, and their
horses were tough brutes, uncomely to
look at, but with wonderful staying pow
er, ttzra noted the tact with satisfac
tion as he rode up to the grizzled sergeant
iu command.
There's not a moment to be lost, s?r-
geant. he said. They have an hour md
a half's start, but their cattle are not
up to much. Come on ! It's the Capetown
road. A hundred pounds if we cat?h
them I"
For the first few miles the party gal
loped in silence. The moon was still shin
ing brilliantly, and they could see the
white line of the road stretching out in
front of them and winding away over the
undulating veldt. To right and left spread
a broad expanse of wiry grass stretchiag
to the horizon, with low bushes and scrub
scattered over it in patches.
Out once more upon the Capetown roa
it was a clear race between the pursue
and the pursued. The former knew that
the fugitives, were it daytime, would pos
sibly be within sight of them, and the
thought gave them additional ardor. The
sergeant having a fresh horse rode in
front, his head down and his body for
ward, getting every possible Inch of pace
out of the animal. At his heels came
Ezra, on his gallant grey, the blood-stain
ed handkerchief fluttering from his head
He was sitting very straight in his saddle
with a set, stern smile upon his lips. In
his right hand he held a cocked revolver,
A hundred yards or so behind them the
two remaining troopers came toiling along
upon their weary nags, working hard with
whip and spur to stimulate them to fur
ther exertious. Away in the east a long
rosy streak law low upon the horizon
which showed that dawn was approach
ing, and a grey light stole over the land
scape. Suddenly the sergeant pulled h s
horse up. "There's some one coming to
wards us." he cried.
T3zra and the troopers halted their pant
ing steeds. Through the uncertain light
they saw a solitary horseman riding down
the road. At first they had thought that
it might possibly be one of the fugitives
who had turned, but as he came nearer
they perceived that it was a stranger
His clothes were so dusty and his hors?
so roam-necKed and weary that it was
evident that he also had left many a long
mile of road behind him.
"Have you seen three men on horse-
beck?" cried Ezra, as he approached.
i spoke to tnem, the traveler an
swered. "They are about half a mile
ahead."
"Come on ! Come on !" Ezra shouted.
"I am bringing news from Jagersfon
tein " the man said. '
"Come on !" Ezra interrupted, furious
ly, and the horses stretched their stiff
limbs into a feeble, lumbering gallop. Ezra
and the sergeant shot to the front, md
the others followed as best they might.
Siiddenly in the stillness they heard far
away a dull rattling sound like the cat
ter of distant castanets. "It's their
horses' hoofs !" cried Ezra, and the troop
ers behind raised a cheer to show that
they, too, understood the significance of
the sound.
It was a wid, lonely spot, where the
plain was bare even of the scanty foliage
which usually covered it. Here and there
great granite rocks protruded from the
brown soil as though Nature's covering
had in bygone days been rent until her
gaunt bones protruded through the
wound. As Ezra and the sergeant swept
round a sharp turn in the road they saw
some little way ahead of them the three
fugitives, enveloped in a cloud of dust.
Almost at the same moment they heard a
shout and crash behind them, and, look
ing round, saw a confused heap upon the
ground. The horse of the leading trooper
had fallen from pure fatigue, and had
rolled over upon ita rider. The oth..r
trooper had dismounted, and was endea
voring to extricate his companion.
"Let us see if he is hurt," the sergeant
cried.
On ! on !" shouted Ezra, whose passion
was increased by the sight of the thieves.
ot a root Daca.
"He may have broken his neck," grum
bled the sergeant, unslinging his carbine.
"Have your pistol ready, sir. We shall
be up with them in a few minutes, and
they may show fight."
They were up with them rather sooner
than the policeman expected. Farintosh,
finding that speed was of no avail, -ind
that the number of his pursuers waa now
reduced to two, had recourse to strategy.
There was a sharp turn in the road a hun
dred yards ahead, and on reaching it the
three flung themselves off their horsea and
lay down behind cover. As Ezra and the
sergeant, the grey horse and the bay, came
thundering round the curve, there was a
fierce splutter of pistol shot from
amongst the bushes, and the grey na.uk
down upon its knees with a sobbing moan,
Btruck mortally in the head. Ezra sprang
to his feet, and rushed at the ambuscad-
while the sergeant, who had been grazed
on the cheek by the first volley, jumped
from his horse and followed him. Burt
and Farintosh met them foot to foot with
all the Saxon gallantry which underlies
the Saxon brutality. Hurt stabbed at
the sergeant and struck him through the
muscle of the neck. Farintosh fired at
the policeman, and was himself shot down
by Ezra. Burt, seeing his companion fall,
rang put his two assailant vita a
: ! :
vicious side blow at the merchant, and
throwing himself upon the aergeant'a
horse, regardless of a bullet from the hit
ter's carbine, he galloped away and wis
speedily out of range. As to Williams,
from the beginning of the skirmish, he
had lain face downwards upon the ground,
twisting his thin limbs about in an agony
or fear, and howling for mercy.
"He's gone," Ezra said, ruefully, gaz
Ing after the fugitive. !;We have nothing
to go after him with."
"I'm well nigh gone myself," said the
policeman, mopping up the blood from his
stub, which was more painful than dan
gerous. "He has given me a nasty prod."
VNever mind, my friend, you shall lot
bo the loser. Get up"this to Williams,
who was still writhing himself into the
most extraordinary attitudes.
"Oh, please, Mr. Girdlestone," he cried,
clutching at Ezra's boots with his long,
thin, fingers, "it wasn't me that hit you.
It waa Mr. Burt. I had nothing to do
with robbing you, either. That was Mr,
larintosh. I wouldn't have gone with
hira only I knew that he was a clergyman,
so I expected no harm. I am surprised at
you, Mr. Farintosh, I really am. I'm very
glad that Mr. Girdlestone has shot you."
The ex-parson was sitting with his back
against a gnarled stump, which gave him
some support. He had his hand to his
chest, and as he breathed a ghastly whist
ling sound came from the wound, and
spurts, of blood rushed from his mouth.
His glazed eyes were fixed upon the man
who had shot him, and a curious smile
played about his thin lips.
"Come here, Mr. Girdlestone," he croak
ed, "come here."
Ezra strode over to him with a face
as inexorable as fate.
"Y'ou've done for me," said Farintosh
faintly. "It's a queer end for the best
man of his year at Trinity master of
arts, sir, and Jacksonian prizeman. Not
much worth now, is it? Who'd have
thought then that I should have died like
a dog in this wilderness? What's tho
odds how a man dies, though? If I had
kept myself straight I should have gone
off a few years later in a feather bed as
the Dean of St. Patrick's maybe. What
will that matter? I've enjoyed myaelf"-
the dying man's eyes glistened at tho
thought of past dissipations. "If I had
my time to do over again," he continued,
"I'd enjoy myself the same way. I'm
not penitent, sir. No deathbed sniveling
about me, or short cuts into heaven.
That's not what I wanted to say, though,
I have a choking in the throat, but I dare
say you can hear what I am driving at.
You met a man driving towards Jacoba-
dal, did you not?" i
Ezra nodded sullenly.
"You didn't speak to him? Too busy
trying to catch yours truly, eh? Will you
have your stones back, for they are In the
bag by my side, but they'll not be very
much good to you. The little spec won't
come off this time. You don't know what
the news was that the man was bring-
Convenient Harrow,
After working several years among
stones, stumps, grubs and young or
chards, I learned I needed a special
harrow for the
work. I could
find none to suit
uie ; so studied
and planned and
made one last
spring, which
does even better
good haruow. than I expected.
The cut will to some extent explain
how it Is made. I made mine of oak
timber 2j Inches by 3 Inches, 4 feet
long and 0 feet 3 inches wide. It Is
composed of a middle section and two
wings, the latter fastened to the mid
die section by Inch bolts 8 Inches
long, on which the wings fold very
easily. The teeth are scattered over
the harrow so that they are 9 inches or
more apart, and yet cut every 3 inches,
and are placed In the harrow sloping
back, about 20 to 25 degrees from a
perpendicular. They cut just as well
and do not catch as If placed In per
pendlcular, and are easier on man and
team. I have heddles to the middle
section of mine, and a rope from each
heddle to the outside corner of each
wing, so as to lift it conveniently and
quickly. I can pass readily between
trees or stumps less than 3 feet apart
It Is Just the thing for orchards and
rough ground, while on clean smooth
ground It works Just as well as any
other smoothing harrow. A. J. Um-
holtz.
ing?"
A vague feeling of impending misforr
tune stole over Ezra. He shook his head.
"His news was," said Farintosh, lean
ing up upon his hand, "that fresh dia
mond fields have Been discovered at Ja-
gersfontein, in the Orange Free State.
So Russia or no Russia, stones will not
rise. Ha ! ha ! will not rise. Look at h!s
fa ft a T T'a itrV. Itoi" rVian mino TTo T !v.a T
ha !" With the laugh upon his lips, a
great flow of blood stopped the clergy
man's utterance, and he rolled slowly over
upon his side, a deafl man.
(To be continued.)
Cheese Under False Colors.
According to a recent consular re
port about 2,000 Imported empty Ca-
membert cheese boxes, bearing the
names of well-known French cheeses,
were Imported at New York on one
steamer recently. Duty had to be paid
on the printed matter on their 2,000
labels and another duty on the import
ed boxes. According to a New York
trade journal, these boxes are distrib
uted In New York State, filled and sold
in this country, and represented as
being made abroad. It Is said that
many dealers claim that their domestic
cheeses when put up In the Imported
boxes, can not be told from the Import
ed brands except by experts.
ACCIDENT FAKIRS.
Men Who Are Able to Swindle the
Insurance Companies.
"Accident Insurance companies are
very 'suspicious of all accidents Involv
ing Injury to the knee, for It Is on his
knee that the accident fakir mainly
relies."
The speaker, a surgeon, frowned and
went on :
"There are men who make a living
out of fake accidents. They travel from
city to city; they Insure In every com
pany that issues accident policies;
then, with a fake injury, they proceed
to collect dues.
'An accident fakir for so we -call
these men has usually a knee that he
can slip out at will. He purposely
stumbles over an open trap or gome
hard, sharp obstacle, puts his knee out
deftly, raises a big holler so as to se
cure a lot of witnesses and then hob
bles home.
"He doesn't notify his Insurance com
panies until the next day. By then
his knee Is so Bwollen that an accurate
examination of it is impossible. We
cannot tell whether It is one of those
fake, self-slipping knees or not. So we
pay tha man his money, and he seeks
new pastures.
"There was one man he Is In JaL
now who in nine years collected over
$11,000 in accident policies with the
help of a knee that he could slip out
as easily as I slip my hand out of my
glove." New Orleans Times-Democrat
When Tree Are Blown Over,
Should excessive winds blow the top
of a tree out of shape, which often oc
curs, cut it out, leaving a nearly erect
southwest branch to become the new
central stem. Shallow, loosely planted
trees sometimes blow over. They may
be put back by excavating on the op
posite side and pushing the tree back,
tamping the earth as firmly as possible
on the side toward which It leaned.
Care should be taken not to wrench
the roots loose In this operation.
Value of Ilomna,
Humus is decaying vegetable mat
ter In the. soil,
2 'It Is the storehouse of nltrogeni
the most expensive and the most nee
essary of all plant foods.
3. It contains the food upon which
the soli organisms live, whose func
tion Is to convert organic nitrogen Into
nitrates In order to be available for
the use of plants. It materially as
sists In decomposing the mineral con
stituents of the soil, Buch as potash
and phosphoric acid, making them
available for the use of plants.
4. It Increases the power of the
soil to hold water without becoming
water-logged.
5. It makes clay soil more opeik
and friable. It serves to compact
sandy soli and Increases Its drouth-resisting
power.
f. It prevents washing to a great
extent; thereby diminishing the loss of
fertility by that cause.
7. Soil filled with humus more read
ily admits the air so necessary to all
useful plant growth.
8. There appears to be a distinct
relationship between the amount of hu
mus In the soil and the amount of
available nitrogen therein. It has been
observed that when It is absent from
the soli there Is a distinct reduction
of the ability of that soil to grow
crops. Hence In practice In order to
obtain the best crops we have to re
sort to barnyard manure rather than
the use of concentrated fertilizers.
Rural World.
THTVEEKLY
15
Grading Apples.
Some apple growers have been using
the grading board shown In the fig
ure. A common board or piece or
pasteboard Is hung up before the
wiper. In this board holes are cut
the size of various tiers, such as three,
three and one-half and four tier, etc.
As the apples are wiped they are prop
erly tiered. The advantage of this
method Is that the packers have the
apples practically graded and can do
GRADING BOARD.
much more work In a day, and after
the first half day the wipers can usu
ally accomplish fully as much as with
the old method. Denver Farm.
Lore la Deaf.
"And you mean to say that football
player kissed you?" exclaimed the Irate
mother.
"Yes, ma," replied the blushing
daughter.
"Why, the Idea! Didn't I tell you If
he tried to kiss you to yell 'Stop!' as
loud as you could?"
"I I did, ma, but he had on his ear
guards and couldn't hear me."
Proved Correct.
MIggles There's more truth than
poetry in that old saw, "Where there
Is smoke there Is fire."
Wiggles W"hat do you know about
It?
MIggles It was against the rules to
smoke In the office where I waa em
ployed. I lit a cigarette and was fired.
Ills Motto.
"My motto," said the obese passenget
with the multi-colored tie, "Is, Tbere'a
always room at the top. "
"What's your liner' aaked the bard
ware drummer.
"I manufacture a hair tonJV ax-
plainad tha heavyweight
Cutting- Back Trees.
In highly interesting experiments at
the Woburn (England) experimental
fruit farm In cutting back apple trees
when planted the ultimate result was
found to be that trees not cut back un
til the end of the first year continued
to form wood In subsequent years, and
the crop borne by them during the first
ten years was only one-third of that
borne by those which w'ere cut back
when planted.
A Balanced Ilatlon.
In the ration-fed farm animals either
alfalfa or clover should be given to
balance the corn. Either one of these
legumes will likewise be needed to
"balance" the effects of corn on the
soli. Considerable plant food, espe
dally nitrogen, Is removed from the
soil by corn, while alfalfa or clover
gathers a great deal of nitrogen from
the air and places It back In the soli,
Nitrate.
In purchasing nitrate of soda, the
most quickly available source of nitro
gen for plants, buyers should steer
clear of low grade nitrate. The more
usual adulterants are common salt, and
salt cake from the manufacture of
acids, both worthless as fertilizers and
containing no plant food. Nitrate of
soda now comes In original bags, which
now contain about 200 pounds. The
old 310-pound bag was very clumsy.
Watering the Ilorae.
A successful horse raiser says: "1
count the swallows my horses take
while drinking a pailful. Some take
larger swallows than others, but I know
theiu all. If I am out on the road and
come to a trough, I get out and count'
while my horse drinks, so that he will
not take too much at once. I give watet
often, and so keep my horses free from
bowel trouble caused by overdrinking."
Excommunication of Queen Eliza
beth by Fope Pius V.
1031 Birth of Henry Stubbe, "the most
noted Latin and Greek scholar of
his age."
1043 Assassination of the Indians by
the Dutch at Pavonia, N. J.
1073 Charles II. leased Virginia to Lord
Culpeper and the Earl of Arlington,
ton.
G7G Indians attacked the settlers of
Weymouth, Mass.
1704 Indians attacked and destroyed
town of Deerfield, Mass.
I7G.T British House of Commons passed
the Stamp act.
1777 South Carolina militia defeated a
large force of American royalists.
1780 Russia issued a declaration of
armed neutrality.
17S3 Denmark acknowledged the Inde
pendence of the United States.
1797 The Rank of England suspended
cash payments.
1799 Bonaparte reached the city of
Gaza in Palestine.
1808 Denmark declared war against
Sweden.
1815 Napoleon I. escaped from the isl
and of Elba.
1831 Poles defeated the Russians at
Prague.
1832 Poland declared a Dart of Russia.
1842 Lord Eilenborough appointed gov
ernor general of India.
1847 Americans defeated the Mexican
in battle at Sacramento, Cal.
1857 Beginning of Indian mutiny at
Merhampore.
1801 New constitution of Austrian em
pire declared.
1S71 Congress set apart the Yellow
stone valley as a national park....
A joint commission met in Wash
ington to settle disputes between the
United States and Great Britain.
1S73 Committee on the Credit Mobilier
scandal recommended the expulsion
of one of the United States Senators
implicated.
1881 Boers defeated the British at Ma
juba Hill.
18S0 French troops suffered a disastrous
defeat at Madagascar.
1S8S Union Square theater, New York,
destroyed by fire.
1891 Yuma, Ariz., nearly destroyed by
flood.
1890 Receivers appointed for the Bal
timore and Ohio railroad.
1900 Gen, Cronje and the Boer forces
surrendered to the British. .. .Relief
of Ladysmith, after a siege of 120 ,
days.
190") Beginning of the battle at Muk
den, Manchuria, between the Rus
sians and Japanese.
When Horsea Are In Condition.
A bright, clear eye, a brilliant coat.
high f-pirit and mettle, are good signs
of perfect condition In the horse. To
this might be added sufficient flesh thor
oughly to "round him out" but not
enough to Interfere In the slightest de
gree with his natural action, which on
r.o account must be Impeded.
Pruning.
In trimming trees the wound made
oy cutting off a limb close to he
trunk will soon heal over, while the
wound made by cutting off the limb
two or three Inches from the trunk
leads to decay and sometimes causes
the ultimate loss of the tree Itself.
Sawduat aa Fuel.
Sawdust Is turned Into transportable
fuel In Germany by a very simple pro
cess. It Is heated under high steam
pressure until the resinous Ingredients
become sticky, when It Is pressed Into
bricks.
Quick-Growing; Seed.
A turnip seed increases its own
widght fifteen times in a minute. On
iieat grounds turnips have been found
jto Increase by growth 15,099 times the
I weight of their seed each day they stood
jupon tha soil
Wood Aahea.
It Is seldom that a farmer can ac
cumulate a sufficient amount of wood
ashes for a large field, but on farms
where wood is used there Is a limited
supply which can be put to good use
on the garden or on the young clover.
Ashes are excellent also on all grass
lauds and In orchards. They are ap
plied broadcast, In any quantity de
sired, as many as 100 bushels per aero
having been used on certain soils.
Making; Swamp Land Tillable.
A drainage ditch twenty-four and
one-quarter miles, long that will drain
85,000 acres of Iowa land Is fairly
under way in Monona and Harrison
Counties. It will cost about $750,000,
and will empty Into the Missouri River
Just a little above the town of Little
Sioux. The swamp land reclaimed will
make some of the most valuable farm
land In the State.
An Interprlaon Contest.
Rev. A. G. Gates of Hutchinson, Kan.,
is endeavoring to interest prison chap
lains throughout the country in an inter
prison literary contest, after the type of
an intercollegiate prize competition. The
subject proposed is "What Is True Lib
erty; Its Value, and How Obtained."
The composition may be in either prose or
poetry, but must be the individual work
of the prisoner submitting the manu
script. The prizes are to be one of $25,
one of $15, one of $5 and five of $1.
These prizes are offered, "not with the
belief that they are of sufficient value t
call out the best efforts of the writers,
but in the hope that they may serve In
adding interest to the result, and be an
expression to some slight degree of the
donor's gratitude for the article submit
ted on a subject so full of interest to all
of us."
Cure for Roup.
A recommended roup cure for chick
ens is to take two parts sweet oil,
one part gum camphor, one part tur
pentine. To each ounce of this mixture
add ten grains menthol and one tea-
spoonful listerine. Take a small drop
syringe or oil can and put this remedy
Into the roof of the mouth and In the
nostrils twice a day.
Would Withdraw 3S,0O0,000.
From all the money centers of the coun
try come reports of bank deposits again
up to or exceeding the normal before the
panic. This being the case, the Secre
tary of the Treasury has made a further
withdrawal of public funds from the de
pository banks to the amount of 25 per
cent of their holdings, where the total
is $100,000 or more, 10 per cent payable
on or before March 9, and the rest on
March 23. Under this call about $35,
000,000 will be returned.
Farm Notea.
Many orchardists make a great mis
take planting trees too deep.
Hogging down corn has a great deal
In Ita favor, but tne hogging process
should be finished before heavy anowf
come.
The advantage of testing each ear oi
seed corn separately Is that nearly all
the poor seed can be thrown out II
only one ear In each bushel Is found t
be lmff U will pay to do the test
In
State Commlaniona Legal.
The New York Court of Appeals, by a
unanimous vote, has sustained the consti
tutionality of the former State Gas Com
mission. This decision Is considered as
practically affirming the validity of tha
Public Service Commission law, which
merged the duties of several separate com
m Unions into two general bodies, one hav
ing jurisdiction in New York City and
the other in the remainder of the State
Coatlr New Rank Ralldlna;.
The National City Bank of New York,
commonly known as the Standard Oil
bank, has begun to demolish the old cus
tom house on Wall street,' which it pur
chased some years ago. On this site it
ia planned to erect the most imposing
bank structure in the world, to be twenty
five stories high and cost over $2,500,000.
It is said to be the desire of the bank
officials to erect a building that will re
mind people of the Bank of England,
while being far more magnificent ane)
complete,