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__ , | Achievement I The Richmond Planet lHUIFeatL?e7eSt 1 $ c*. •_ s 5 features ,* | $ Stories $ $ | § ^ ' &BZZzmZBBEmZEZB2Z2^a& \ 7/;w/w»w/ww//a>mwm;/?//777?> .... — ----- ^1“““""-"— "- '. -717111-—-— “ ' " “7“Pictures In the Illustrated Feature Section were posea. BEN DAVIS. Jr.. W. B. ZifT Co.. C08 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, ILLUSTRATED FEATURE SECTION-FebmaiT 1, 1930 and do not depict principals unless so captioned. Feature Editor Foreign Advertising Representatives , __ _______— Obeyed Orders at the RisK 08 His Life By GEORGE JONES What happened when a faithful employee obeyed the orders hastily flung at him by his employer, who left him in charge of a fortune in diamonds. .. MOSE MORTON, the unassuming young fellow, whose daring surprised and thwarted a dangerous thief. MOSE Morton, formerly of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, lived through a terrible ex perience when his master in structed him to guard the priceless diamonds he left behind in an enormous house near Egypt Mills. In this small town Mrs. Andrews, sister of the employer of Mose Morton, resided in the winter months. In fact, the experience was so unusual that Mose had stepped, al most before he realized it, in to the spotlight of the state. AH eyes are on him, and no doubt, before another month has passed. Mose will in some way be rewarded for his faithful services. It is known that the employer, Tom Waite, is now planning to surprise his brave employee with a nice sum of money. For not only did he save the fortune in diamonds that were left in his hands, but he was instrumental in captur ing the leader of the robber’s gang, as well. That night when Mr. Waite took his departure from the house, bound for a country dance, he said to Mose: “If any suspicious characters ap pear here, shoot, and shoot to kill.” Mose nodded his head, manifesting that he would obey instructions. And he did not hesitate to do it when the occasion came up a short while later. Just how Mr. Waite happened to leave the diamonds in care of his | employee is uncertain, but it is es tablished that Waite is a jewelry salesman who sometimes takes his valuables home with him over the week-end. Be that as it may, he was visiting his sister in the big brick house, with a fountain in the yard, flowers, summer houses, tennis courts, and everything. And Waite had all the jewelry he carried on his selling trips, in his possession. Sometimes Waite had to take back defective gems that his customers had sold only to have brought back, and besides these, he usually car ried a fine display of samples. At any rate, on this particular night, he had something like thirty thousand dollars in diamonds which he gave to Mose to look alter. Mose didn’t step into Waite’s con fidence over night. He had been working in the family for a long number of years. Mrs. Andrews had testified that he was absolutely honest. Moreover, she had often spoken to her brother about Mose. She felt safe living alone there in that big house, with this venerable colored lad to look after her. She believed that if the occasion present ed itself, Mose would make the su preme sacrifice for her safety. Mose knew he was in the favor of Mrs. Andrews, and this, of course, put him in the respect of all the help in the house. Everyone had im plicit confidence in Mose. But Mose was going away. Mrs. Andrews was to be gone South for approximately three months, during which time the big house at Egypt Mills would be closed. In the mean t while Mose was to be with Tom Waite, and he was packing his things to leave with his new em ployer the next morning when Waite stepped unobtrusively into his room with a black traveling bag in his hand. ‘•Mose," he said quietly, “there’s a fortune in diamonds in this grip, and j I’m going to leave it with you to guard. Also. I’m going to give you ! an automatic pistol. Can you handle one?” Mose was not excited, although he could not help but realize the weight of the responsibility that had been placed on his shoulders. “I never did use one much, sir.” i he confessed stoutly. “But I can i certainly try.” Waite handed him the gun. “This bag is in your care. Guard it with your life. Don't let it out of your sight for a single moment. And—if any suspicious characters loom up around here, shoot to kill.” The words vent whirling through • Mose’s head. “Shoot to kill.” It j meant considerable to kill somebody. IA human life was something that couldn't be given back. The gun felt heavy in- his hand. iSure enough, he had the bag of dia ] monds. It contained a fortune in ! diamonds. And he had been instruct ed to guard it at the expense of hu • man life. He heard the roar of a motor out ■ side, knew the folks were leaving. ! heard the car thud its way down I the gravel path. The sounds became muffled by distance, and eventually died out completely. Nasty job. he had. But the orders he had received had come from the man he respect ed and worked for. I Mose felt that he was duty bound. I They might do anything to him. but ' as long as he lived, they couldn’t : take that bag- of diamonds from him. He determined to die before anything , of that sort could happen. Mose was alone in the house. All t-he other help had gone to the i dance. The house was still. Not a j sound. Nothing to be heard, save I the whisper of the wind, and the j creak of a board blown back and i forth. Mose remembered having nailed this strip above the garage door that morning, to stop up a crack through which snow sometimes fell. He carried the black suitcase with him. There was an enormous nreuwce made of crude stone, and a large log in the grate, burning cheerfully. Here Mose stood, with the mantel of the fireplace being above his head, holding the gun in his hand. He set the grip down at his feet. He waited. He didn't knew for what. But he felt a premonition thaj; he was waiting for something. He had. in other words, one of .those nerve racking presentiments. Hours passed swiftly until, sud denly. he heard a sound at the front door. It was shoved open. It slam med back against the wall. A pic ture was jarred off, clattered to the floor, broken in many pieces. A strong draft of cold air swept through the red walled room. Then came the sound of slithering feet. Mose knew somebody was approach ing him. He whirled about. His re volver was ready for instant action. Mose cursed himself for leaving that door unlocked. However, it was the custom of this community to leave the front door unlocked. "Stop!” Mose shouted the command to halt. But the dark bulk continued to advance toward him, drawing nearer and nearer. Then, without waiting. Mose fired twice. The first bullet cut the robed figure to his knees, the second cut him to the floor, but while he was on his knees, I the man in the black robe fired one shot at his opponent, sending him staggering into the. enormous grate. When Mose fell into the grate he burned his hands. His clothes caught on fire. The black bag was scorched, for Mose had picked it up before firing a shot. But he managed to remove himself from the flames, The band of robbers made their headquarters in the railroad tunnel (pic tured above'. Three of them waited here while the leader slipped up to^tlie house, believing that the black robe would frighten the colored lad. The hand intended to hide the diamonds in a hole made in the wall of the tunnel. and with the bag in his hand, ap-< proached the fallen man who had worn a black robe and opened a door i without knocking. Mose felt that: he had done the right thing. He had; carried out the orders that had been hastily flung at him. He hadn’t kill ed the man. He saw a thread of blood staining the black robe, mak ,ing a little crimson line against the black silk. That was a terrible adventure, and the story of it reads like a chapter from a sensational novel, but Mose Morton can testify that it is true. Yes—Mose had a close call and a terrible experience, but he obeyed his employer’s instructions. Mamba’s Daughters - THE LAST INSTALLMENT , Seven years after her arrival in ' Neiv York, Lissa 7nakes her debut, which is a phenomenal success. When Wentworth recovered from his trancelike absorption the house was applauding: the large Negro chorus was taking a curtain call. The demands of the audience became deafening. Lissa's great hour! She advanced to the footlights and bow ed. Now, in the full light she was plainly visible for the first time, a mulatto, a little above medium height, and of superb p^pportions. Went worth noticed that she wore no make up except a slight darkening of the lips that made them seem fuller, more deliberately Negroid. This struck him as significant. Fropr the light bronze of her face her eyes looked out. large, expressive, and extraordi narily brilliant—Mamba's eyes —yes, and Hagar's. Now’, for the first time, he noticed that she appeared self conscious, anxious to be away. She bowed for the second time, and with out waiting for the curtain, withdrew’ among the chorus. But the audience would not let it rest at that. They got to their feet and cheered. They kept the clamour going with a sort of mad persistence. After five minutes of it the curtain was seen to move, rising slowly on a ^bright vacant stage. Lissa stepped from the wings, and the clamour plunged into silence. The trace of embarrassed self-conscious ness was gone. She seemed detached, oblivious of both herself and her au dience. The conductor rose and look ed up to her for his cue. Apparent ly she did not see him, for she gave no sign. Instead she stopped where she was just out of the wings, and unaccompanied commenced to sing the National Anthem of the American Negro. Apparently most of the audience had never heard of it. Wentworth never had. From the first note he was aware bf an absolutely new sensation. Against his perception beat the words of James Weldon Johnson’s inspiring poem swept forward in the marching rhythm of Rosamond Johnson's music: “Lift e'cery voice and sing Till earth and heaven ring. Ring with the harmonies of Liberty: Let our rejoicing rise High as the list'ning skies. Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught its, _ Sing a song full of the' hope that the present has brought us: Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on til. victory is won." (Continued on page two! The Stormy Career of Jack Johnson--No. 14 Drawn by fred b. watson On the day of the Jeffries-John^on fight, the su-i was violently hot. But this in no way affected the crowds nor the actual ring battle. At no time during this battle did Johiison lose his “golden smile” as he de cisively put an end to the last “white ho»>e.” AfCer the famous Jeffries fight, Johnson, his wile, then the former Etta Dur.vea, sailed lor London and Paris. In Paris there were insistent demands for Jack’s appearance at music halls and other houses of amusement. At these places he often made short speeches. When he went to London, the Coronation of King George was in progress, but despite this fact, whenever Jack’s car appeared on the London streets, the King was forgotten by the crowds as they struggled for a glimpse of the black champion. Jack soon returned to Chicago and opened an elaborate night club. It was kr.own as the Cabaret de Champion. The opening was one of the most spectacular ever seen in this country. His friends from all over Ihe world took part in this event. _ _