Carolyn of the Corners
BY RUTH BELMORE ENDICOTT
OopjrUbt, 19U, by ixxjd, SJfia . Pompiof , Iniw i
MltlllllWltWll'MlltMllltlllllllullmWII '
CHAPTER XV Continued.
15
He knew very well that wlmt she
had snld about his daughter nml Jo
seph Stags was quite true. In his self
ishness he had been glad nil tlue
years that the hnrdwnro merchant was
balked of happiness.
The carpenter had always been a
self-ceutered Individual, desirous or
his own comfort, and rather miserly.
He had not approved. In the llrst place,
of the Intimacy between Joseph Stngg
and his daughter Amanda.
"No good'll come o' that," he had
told himself.
That Is. no good to Jedldlah Parlow.
He foresaw at the start the loss of the
girl's help about the house, for his
wife was then a helpless Invalid.
Then Mrs. Purlow died. This death
made plainer still to the carpenter
that Maudy's marriage was bound to
bring Inconvenience to htm. Especial
ly If she married a close-tlsted youug
business man like Joe Stags would
this be true. For, at the reading of his
wife's will Mr. Parlow discovered that
the property they occupied, even the
shop In which he worked, which had
beeu given to Mrs. Parlow by her par
ents, was to be the sole property of
her daughter. Mainly was the heir.
Mr. Parlow did not possess even a life
Interest In the estate.
It was a blow to the carpenter. He
made a good Income and had money
In bank, but he loved money too well
to wUh to spend It after he had made
It. He did uot want to give up the
place. If Mnndjr remained unmarried
there would never be any question be
tween them of rent or the like.
Therefore, If he was not actually the
cause of the difference that arose be
tween the two young people, he seized
and enlarged upon it and did nil In
his power to make a mere misunder
standing grow Into a quarrel that nei
ther of the proud, hlgh-splrltcd lovers
would bridge.
Jedldlah Parlow knew why Joe
Stagg had taken that other girl to
Faith camp meeting. The young man
had stopped at the Parlow place when
Amanda was absent and explained to
the girl's father. But the latter had
never mentioned this fact to his daugh
ter. Instead he had made Joe's supposed
offense the greater by suggestion and
Innuendo. And It was he, too. who
had urged the hurt Mnndy to retaliate (
by going to the dance with another i
young man. Meeting Joe stagg later,
the carpenter had snld bitter things
to him, purporting to come from
Mnndy. It was nil mean and vile; the
old man knew it now as he had
known It then.
All thee years lie had tried to add
fuel to the lire of his daughter's anger
against .loo Stngg. Anil he believed
he hail benefited thereby. But, some
how, during Urn past few months he
lind begun to wonder If. after all, "the
game wns worth the candle."
Suddenly he had gained a vision of
what Amanda Parlow's empty life
meant to her.
Carolyn May. Interested only In see
ing her friends made happy," had no
Idea of tho turmoil she had created In
Mr. Parlow's mind.
During the time that the nurse was
nt the abandoned lumber camp caring
for Judy Mason, Carolyn Slay hoped
that something might take Uncle Joe
there.
The next Friday, after school was
out, Miss Amanda appeared nt the
Stagg home and suggested taking Caro
lyn May Into the woods with hnr, "for
the week-end," as she laughingly snld.
Tim, the hackman, had brought the
nurse home for a few hours and would
take her back to Judy's cabin.
"Poor old Judy Is much better, but
she Is still suffering and cannot be left
alone for long," Miss Amanda said.
"Carolyn Mny will cheer her up."
Mr. Parlow would drive over on Sun
day afternoon and bring the little girl
home. Of course, Prince had to go
along.
That Friday evening nt supper mat
ters In tho big kitchen of tho Stagg
house were really at a serious pass, Jo
seph Stagg sat down to the table visi
bly without appetite. Aunty Hose
drwile one cup of lea after another
without putting a crumb between her
lips.
"Say, Aunty Hose," demanded Mr,
Stagg, "what under tho sun did wo do
before Huniiuh'H Cur'lyn camo here,
miywiiy? Seems to mo wo dldu't really
live, JII wet"
Aimly ItHu md no unswor to make
to these questions.
In tho morning thoro wns n smoky
fot: over everything u fog that tho
Hill dlil not (llshlimlo, und behind
uJilCh it looked like un ftuirmivis suf.
fjllil l) If,
lr Hlwftf went lown to (ho utoro an
usual. News camo over tho long-distance
wires that thousands of acres
of woodland were burning, that the for
est reserves were out, and that tho farm
ers of an entire township on tho far
side of the mountain wero engaged In
trying to make n barrier over which
the flames would not leap. It wns tho
consensus of opinion, however, that
the tire would not cross the range.
"Scarcely any chance of Its swoop
ing down on us," decided Mr. Stagg.
"Beckon I won't have to go homo to
plow tire furrows."
At the usual hour he started for Tho
Corners for dinner. Having remained
In the store nil the morning, ho had
not realized how much stronger tho
smell of smoke wns than It had been
nt breakfast time. Quite Involuntarily
he quickened his pace.
The fog and smoke overcast tho sky
thickly nnd mnde It of n l.rnssy color,
just as though a hugo copper pot had
been overturned over tho earth. Wom
en stood nt their doors, talking hack
and forth In subdued tones. Thcro
was a spirit of expectancy In the air.
The hardware merchant wns striding
along nt a quick pace when ho enmo to
the Parlow place; but he was not go
ing so fast that he did not hear tho
carpenter hailing him In his cracked
voice.
"Hey. you, Joe Stagg I Hey, youl"
Amazed, Mr. Stagg turned to look.
Parlow was hobbling from the rear
premises, groaning at every step,
scarcely able to walk.
"That sciatica's got me ng'ln," he
snarled. "I'm n'most doubled up.
Couldn't climb Into n carriage to save
my soul."
"What d'you want to climb Into a
carriage for?" demanded Mr. Stngg.
"'Cause somebody's got to go for
thnt gal of mine nnd llttlo Cnr'lyn
illliii
He Plunged Forward Leaped the Blaz
ing Brand and Galloped Down the
Road.
May. Ain't you heard or Is your mind
so sot on inakln' money down there to
your store that you don't know notliln'
else?"
"Haven't I heard what?" returned
the other with line restraint, for ho
saw the old man was in pain.
"Tho Are's come over to this side. I
saw tho flames myself. And Aaron
Crummlt drove through nnd says that
you can't git by on the main road. The
fire's followed the West Brook right
down and Is betwixt us and Adams'
old cn rap."
"Bles3 mo!" gasped tho hardware
dealer, paling under his tan.
"Wait" snarled Parlow. "Goln' to
stand there chatterin' all day, or bo
you goln' to do something?"
"Somebody must get over to that
cabin nnd bring them out," Joseph
Stagg said, witiiout taking offenso nt
tho crabbed old carpenter.
"Wall" exclaimed Parlow, "glud tur
sco you'ro uwnke."
"Oh, I'm nwnko," tho other returned
shortly. "I wus Just figuring on who's
got tho best horBe."
"I have," snapped Parlow.
"Yes, And I'd decided on taking
Cherry, too," tho hnrdwuro dealer add
ed, and swung Into tho luno toward tho
carpenter's burn.
"Hoy, youl Needn't ho so brash
about It," growled tho carpenter, "Ho's
my boss, I s'poso?"
Joseph HImbk wont straight abend,
and without answering. Having nuco
decided on his con rue, ho wasted no
lime,
lio rolled hack I ho big door rind snw
Cherry already liurniwl In bis box.
(dull,
Together thoy backed tho nnlmnt be
tween tho shafts, fastened tho traces,
nnd Mr. Stagg leaped quickly to tho
seat and gathered up tho reins.
"You'll hnfter take tho Fallow road."
tho carpenter shouted nfter him. "And
hnvo n care drlvln' Cherry"
Horso nnd buckboard whirled out of
tho yard nnd his voice was lost to tho
hardware merchant.
Cherry, stepped out splendidly, nnd
they left n cloud of dust behind them
as they rolled up tho pike, not in tho
direction of the abandoned camp. Fore
warned, ho did not seek to tako tho
shortest way to tho cabin wltcro
Amnndn Parlow and Carolyn Mny wero
perhaps even now threatened by tho
forest fire. The Fallow road turned
north from the plka three miles from
Tho Corners.
Flecks of foam began to appear on
Cherry's glossy coat almost nt once.
The nlr wns very oppressive, nnd tfioro
wns no breeze.
The strcnk of flamo that had fol
lowed down the banks of West
brook moved mysteriously. Ho could
sco tho smoke of It now.
Amnndn Parlow and his niece might
even now bo threatened by tho llaincsl
Now that danger threatened tho
woman he had loed all these years, It
seemed as though his mind nnd heart
were numbed. He was terrified be
yond expression terrified for her safe
ty, nnd terrHled for fear that some
body, even Jt'iHdlnh Parlow, should
suspect Just lu" be felt nbout It.
The horse's h-mrs rang ihnrply over
tho stony path. Presently they enpped
a llttlo ridge and started down Into n
hollow. Not until they wero over tho
rldgo was Sir. Stagg awnro that tho
hollow was filled, chokingly filled, with
billowy white smoke.
Another man- -one ns cautious ns
the hardware merchant notoriously
wus would have pulled tho horso
down to a walk. But Joseph Stagg's
cautiousness hud been flung to tho
winds. Instead, he shouted to Cherry,
nnd tho beast Increased his stride.
Ten rods further on tho horse snort
ed, stumbled, nnd tried to stop. A
writhing, flaming snake n burning
brnnch plunged down through tho
smoke directly nhoad.
"Go on I" shouted Joseph Stngg, with
n sharpness that would ordinarily havo
ret Cherry oft nt n gnllop.
But, as tho snorting crenturo still
j shied, the man seized the whip nnd
lasncu poor inerry crucuy niong uis
flank.
At that the horse went mnd. Ho
plunged forward, leaped the blazing
brand, and galloped down the road at
a perilous gait. Tho mnn tried neither
to soothe him nor to rctnrd ihc pace.
Tho smoke swirled around them.
Tiie driver could rot see ten feet be
yond tho horso's nose. Tun minutes
later they rattled down Into tho
straight road, nnd then, very soon,
indeed, wero at tho abandoned camp.
The fire was near, but It had not
reached tlds pluce. There was no sign
of life about.
The man knew which wns Judy's
cabin. He leaped from tho vehicle,
leaving the panting .Cherry unhitched,
nnd ran to tho hut
The door swung open. Tho poor
furniture wns In place, Even the bed
clothing was rumpled In tho old wom
an's bunk. But neither she nor Aman
da Parlow nor llttlo Carolyn Mny was
there.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Laurel to the Brave.
Tho heart of tho man was llko a
weight In his bosom. With so many
hundred acres of forest on fire, and
that, too, between tho abandoned camp
and Tho Corners und Sunrlso Cove,
how would Amnndn Parlow and Caro
lyn Mny know where to go?
Certulnly tho place must havo been
deserted In hasto. Tliero was Carolyn
May's coat. The man caught It up and
stared around, as though expecting tho
child to bo within sight.
Tho old woman's clothing was scat
tered about, too. It did not look ns
though anything had been removed
from the hut. Coming out, ho found
another nrtlclo on tho threshold ono
of Amanda's gloves,
Joseph Stagg lifted tho crumpled
glove to his lips.
"Oh, God, spnro horl" ho burst forth,
"Spare Ihem both I"
Then ho kissed tho glove again nnd
hid It uwuy In tho Inner pocket of his
vest,
Tho linrdwnro dealer tried to think
of Just what tho fugitives might havo
done when they escaped from tho
cabin,
If It wero true Hint Amanda would
not run toward tho tiro, then sho moro
than likely hud taken tho opposlto 'di
rection on Icavlnif tho rabln, There
fore, Joseph Stngg went thnt way sot
ting off down tho toto road, lending
Cherry by his birdie.
Suddenly ho remembered calling
Prlnco tho day Carolyn May had been
lost on tho Ice. Ho raised his voice In
a mighty shout for tho tlog now.
"Prlnco I Prlncoy, old hoy I where
nro you?"
Again nnd again he called, but there
wns no reply. Tho smoke was more
stilling and tho heat moro Intcnso
every ml mi to. Mr, Stagg realized that
ho must get out quickly If ho would
snvo himself nnd the horso.
I to hnd Just stepped Into tho buck
board again, when there wns an ex
cited scrambling In tho underbrush,
and n welcoming bark wqs given.
"Prlnco I Good boy I" tho man shout
ed. "Where nro they?"
Tho excited dog flow at him, tenpins
on tho huckbonrd so as to reach hint.
Tho mongrel wns delighted, nnd
showed It ns plainly ns a dumb bruto
could.
But ho wns anxious, too. Ho leaped
back to tho ground, ran n llttlo abend,
nnd then looked hack to sco If tho mnn
wns following. Tho hardware dealer
shouted to 1dm again:
"Go ahead, Prlnceyl Wo'ro coming I"
Ho picked up tho relni nnd Cherry
started. Tho dog, harking his satisfac
tion, ran on ahead and struck Into n
sldf pnth which led down n glado. Jo
seph Stagg knew Immediately where
this path led to. Thcro was a spring
nnd n small .morass In tho bottom of
tho hollow.
(TO II B CONTINUHD.)
"LOVE THAT SUBDUES EARTH"
Robert Q, IngersoU'a Beautiful Trib
ute to Women Hat Been Sur
patted by Few Writer.
It tnkes n hundred men to make
an encampment, but one woman can
make n home. I not only nilmlre
wnmnn ns tlto most beautiful objec
ever created, but I roverenco her ns
tho redeeming glory of humanity, the
sanctuary of all tho virtues, the pledge
of all perfect qualities of heart und
head. It Is not Just nor right to lay
the sins of men nt tho feet of women.
It Is becnuse women nro so much
better thnnjnen that their faults nre
considered greater. A mnn's desire Is
tho foundation of ids love, but a wom
an's deslro is born of her love. The
ono thing In this world thnt Is con
stant, tho one peak that rises above
nil clouds, tho ono window In which
tho light forever burns, tho ono stnr
that darkness cnuuot quench, Is wom
an's love.
It rises to the greatest heights, It
sinks to tl lowest depths. It forgives
tho most cruel Injuries. It Is pcren
nlnl of Ilfo and grows In every cllmnte.
Neither coldness nor neglect, harsh
ness nor cruelty, can extinguish It. A
woman's love Is tho perfumo of tho
heart. This Is the real love that sub
dues tho earth tho love that hns
wrought all miracles of nrt thnt gives
us music nil tho wny from tho crndlo
song to the grand closing symphony
thnt bears tho soul away on wings of
fire. A love that Is greater than pow
er, sweeter than Ilfo and stronger than
death. Hubert 0. Ingersoll.
Hapten Clarlbel't Encounter.
The sun wns slowly sinking In tin
usual place. Clnrlbcl Sklppenhop, over
whoso youthful bend senrco thirty-seven
summers had lightly flown, sut In n
regulation slzo hammock, Idly swinging
her foot to tho tunc of "Keep the
Homo Mars Squirming," played on a
.Hottentot bngplpo -12 miles nwny.
Suddenly n thought seized her. Sho
tried to scream and break Its hold. Sho
succeeded In both. Probably ono nnd
fifteen clght-mllllonths of a cubic
second was allowed to clapso between
her scream nnd tho tlmo tho thought
wns cowering at her feet.
"Avaunt," sho cried. "Don't you
know this Is my thoughtless day? Now,
doggono It, I'll hnvo n headache."
Then sho went back to swing her
foot and tho hummock.
Margery Disapproved.
Margery's mother took her to n cot
tage prayer meeting. The meeting wns
led by a returned missionary who be
lieved strongly In tho efllcacy of pray
er. And sho bollovcd In prayer not
only from tho honrt but from tho
knees, ns well.
When Margery's father returned
that night ho began to question her
regarding her experience. "I under
stand you went to your first, prnyer
meeting today, daughter," lio said.
"How did you enjoy It?"
Tho youngster's nnswer enmo in n
flash. "I didn't llko It nt nil, daddy,
not at all," sho said. "They didn't do
n thing but Just sing nnd turn over I"
Surely Hat "Done Hit Bit."
"I think (his man Is doing his hit,"
writes nn army correspondent who
sends tho following dispatch to tho
Army and Navy Journal ;
"George Borden, a negro, of Golds
boro, N. ( has furnished sons to the
war In the sum of nearly two squads,
llu Is tho father of 115 children, 27 of
them living and 1 1 of them In t lio Unit,
ed Hlntes army either In Oils country
or In I 'm nee.
"Ho has been married llireo times
nml on four occasions Ims been tho
father of quadruplets,"
TflC
PLAN FOR BETTER DAIRYING
Joint Ownership of Purebred Slret
Enables Herd Improvement at
Minimum Expente.
Dairymen who would like to uso
purebred hulls to Improve their herds
hut who cnuuot afford to purchase
such animals should Investigate the
advantages 't " co-operative bull as
sociation. These organizations are
formed by farmers for the Joint own
ership, use nnd exchange of purebred
bulls. The purchase price and cost of
maintenance nro distributed according
to the number of cows owned by ench
member, thereby giving the dairyman
nn opportunity to build up his herd
at u minimum expense. The organi
zation also helps Its members to mar
ket dairy stock and dairy products, to
fight contagious dlsensen of cattle In
telligently, and In other wnys to assist
In Improving the dairy Industry.
Tho typical co-operative bull asso
ciation Is composed of from fifteen to
thirty farmers, who Jointly own five
hulls. Tho territory In which these
farmers llvo Is divided Into five
"breeding blocks," one bull being as
signed to each block. As mnny us fifty
or sixty cows mny belong to tho farm
ers In each block, and tho bull In tho
block should bo kept on n conveniently
located farm. To prevent Inbreeding
ench bull Is moved to the next block
every' two yearn. If all the bulls live,
and If nil are kept until each has mnde
one completu circuit, no new bulls need
to bo purchased for ten years. In this
way each member of the nssoclntlon
hns tho uso of good purebred bulls for
many years, ut a cost of only a small
part of the purchase price of one good
hull usually less than Is Invested In
n moro Inferior hill owned by Indi
vidual dairymen.
In n survey conducted by the United
States department of agriculture on
1,111) farms In eight districts In Iowa,
Minnesota and MnssachtiHclts In which
there were no nssoclatlons, It was
found that there were 817 hulls, hav
ing an average value of $70. Had the
owners of these cheap bulls been prop
erly organized the same investment
would have purchased the necessary
bulls of an average value of In
one association having moro than 1(X)
members the original cost of good
purebred bulls to each member wns
only When questioned regarding
tho value of co-operative hull associa
tions, I.V) farmers In Maryland, Mlchl
gnu and Mlunesotn estimated that tho
iyrT
i
Purebred Bull.
uso of bulls belonging to the organiza
tion Increased tho value of the off
spring In the first generation from 110
to 80 per cent, with un uverngo of 0T
per cent.
The selection of the bulls for nn as
sociation Is one of the most Important'
considerations. A good purebred bull
will make rapid and marked Improve
ment In tho herds, nnd tho nssoclntlon
Interest Increase In proportion to the
improvement obtained. If n poor dairy
bull Is used tho milk production of the
members' herds Is sometimes reduced,
tho Interest Is lessened, and these
conditions may lend to tho breaking up
of the association. Success In the op
eration of an association depends a
great deal on tho care that Is used In
Its organization. Dairymen contem
plating forming an association should
consult tho local county ngent, wrlto to
the stntu agricultural college or to tho
dairy division of tho United States de
partment of agriculture nt Washington
for advice and assistance. Tho fann
ers' bulletin previously mentioned will
ho found of great value along this line,
particularly the suggestions which nre
given In connection with tho constitu
tion und by-laws.
ATTRACTIVE CONTAINERS
Tho use of neat and attractive
containers for butter, standard
ized to a uniform size and style,
Is highly desirable both for local
and foreign markets, Carelessly
packed butter litis not only n
poor appearance bui also usu
ally brings ii lower price.