The Evening standard. [volume], January 13, 1912, Image 11

About The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913

Image provided by: University of Utah, Marriott Library

                
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Jf : BY ELLIS PARKER BUTLER !
.1 i fCopjrlcbt. 3012. H;- the New Tork n-roid Co. All HM. ...
w " B "" traiu from Port Washington,
lie ! L. I pulled into the Woodside
'j '' station, where all passengers
1 i transfer from the steam cars to
"1 ,' the electric trains that cair
1 them under the river. CIofc
d behind us cauic the electric train to which
i i wo were to transfer, and I was one of
$3 the first to step to the platform, but not
hj ' quite the first.
!Jq ' Ahead of mo was a well dressed man
.tl of perhaps fifty years. I noted him par-,
i !i ilcularly, for wheu the train began to
N plow down he crowded to the door hastily,
ii j pii.hinj: the rest of us to one side rather
rudely, and stood on the lower step ready
ill J to jump off as soon as the train came to
it! 3 stop. Even beforo the train hud
i ' Slopped he began looking up and down
T I the platform in an anxious manner, as if
'1 1 seeking some one he had expected to meet
yi ' there- There were already a number of
5J passengers on the platform, dumped there
" i by the Whitcstone train that had prc-
t? I ceded us, and the gentleman of fifty
3i' I looked from face to face. He was so
h 1 intent in his search that he did not alight
3! ' from the car step, and he was so stout
, dm. r was obliged to push gently against
iTj ' him, ns a hint that others wished to
descend from the train. He looked up
Ifl at me for an instant, and I saw he had
I a most benevolent expression, although
' he looked worried. His was just the ex
pression of a nice, fatherly man intent
i on taking his daughter to a matinee and
worried because she was not meeting him
as agreed.
He uttered an apology and stepped to
the plalform, and the rest of us crowded
out, of the car, the steam train pulled
.. I away and the electric train pulled in.
H There was immediately the usual pushing
'A and rushing as the passengers sought to
J pet aboard, but the benevolent looking
ll gentleman did not join in this. He ron-
q tinucd to look up and down the platform,
5 ' glanced nervously at his watch and
2 : seemed more worried than ever. Then,
' as the last passenger was getting
rJ aboard, his face frightened.
From the street, half a block away, a
I , young man was hurrying, and as he cam
J he waved his hand. As he saw 1ow little
ej lime was left before the train would move
I! the young man broke into a run, and as
l ' be ran he drew back his right fist. With
j all the strength of his arm and all the
l impetus given him by his run be struck
1 ' . the gentleman of fifty full in the face
J with his fist. The elder man went down
p. like a tenpin. His hat went in one direc-
' lion and his small handbag in another
and his head struck the station platform
c . vtifh a thump.
$ ;' : The next Instant the younger man was
I i bending over him solicitously, gathering
up his hat and satchel. With the utmost
51 sentiences and affection he raised the vic-
!2 lim from the platform, brushed tho dust
jg from his clothes, and, ns the train began
Tfl to move I saw the elder man's look of
l Pa'nful surprise give way to a smile, of
! pleasure. Not a word had ben said,
'i although the younger man seemed dis-
rjj ' mayed and apologetic, but now the elder
S ' man put out his hand and shook hands
ni! warmly, saying. "Thank you!- Thank
', you I I am very much obliged1" as if, in
-J , knocking him down, his assailant had
'tl : done him the greatest possible favor. So
'ill " : great wns his gratitude the yojmg man
' ' had to push him aboard the moving train
f by main force, and while he stood on the
i platform, smiling ns the train departed.
iJB his rcmnrkablc victim waved and smiled
J : at him and dropped into a scat.
iff ' Naturally I took a seat as near the
tt elderly man as I could, but being a woman
l ' ; I could not engage him in conversation.
' Wheu the conductor passed through the
it ' car he said a few words to him in, a low
S tone, but the gentleman shook his head
i& ' ....
! , ' and actually chuckled with glee as he
r2,l caressed his face, which had already be-
J , gun to swell and discolor. At the I'cnn-
jrS? sylvania station I lost sight of this re
's ' -IS
markablc man, who seemed to enjoy being
f.juf struck a sledgehammer blow in the face.
01 During the next few months I told this
ij story a hundred times, for it was the most
JV; puzzling thing I had ever seen, but uonc
til i of my friends could give mo the' slightest
,$ solution. "Funny things happen,", they
g ; j would say, and I began to fear I wajj
a. md to let the incident slip from my '
5 ; ! memory unsolved, as such things do slip,
P wlica one of my fricuds called my atten-
'I ' a "personal" advertisement in one of
j i ' nc Sunday uew&papers;
K ' i 'm'',i1dJ' tvllns of n tIcIoiis nswult wpon an
1 ; ! i..frw roan by a yunccr mn od tbe Vt'orKituU:
5 ' 1 1 Jn P!atf6rm. V.lnrMtJiT. Juno in, Vln.lli
jg AUoaeyg at LiW. JO I'lno m.. Nnw Y6rk?
; 4Tliere!" I taid to my husband whon ).
!, bad read this. "1'ou have laughed at mo
u ; ' and you have said I was fooled by a mov-
'3 ; ! 'D? Picture imitation assault. Read thatl"
3 ! ; He read it.
ig ; 'lWhat I told you," he said, "was that
lst i 't. vras either a moving picture affair or
$ ; iionie adyertibing fake. You had better
pf ketp out of the whole thing. The first
g. ' l"ng you know your curiosity will gel you
gS into trouble."
or "Now, Edward," I said, "I may be curl-
gL 0U8, but you did not see that affair. If
fjifl ou had tsn a knidly, benevolent looking
jSri pd gentleman struck u tcrrifii; blow in the
1
face, and had seen him got up and thank
the man that hit him, you would want lo
know v-hai it was all 'about. You would
have been In converse tion with that man
inside of three minutes."
"You keep out of it!" said Edward.
"And I feel a duty,"' I Sr6. If that
old man was seriously injured his assail
ant should be brought to justice."
"Sec here, Eleanor!" said my husband
flally, "this is all nonsense. That man
would luive plenty of witnesses without
you. The two trainmen and the engine
driver and tho. news stand boy and the
train announcer must all have 'been
watching that assault', and five witnesses
arc ample in any court. This is some
advertising scheme. You keep out of it!"
Meeting the Assailant.
I am a native of Iowa, and as such I
have been a member of the Iowa New
Yorkers, which I can describe as the
female offshoot of the Iowa Society of
New York, and at the annual banquet,
attended by both societies, I was prome
nading with my husband in the reception
room during the half hour before tbe
banquet was served when, on turning
at tho end of the room, I found myself
)
I
1 S,
facing the young man of the mighty
' fist. I managed, by pressing my hus
band's arm, to call his attention to the
1 'young man, and as soon as we had
' passed him I explniucd that the young
man was the assailant of whom I had
1 told so often. Sly husband promised
: to discover if he could who the young
: man might be, and left me with some
friends while he set aoojt It.
"It is certainly odd," he paid, when he
rejoined nic to lead me into the ban
quet room, "but nobody seems to have
any idea who that young man is. I
' asked the officers of the Iowa Society,
aud none of them knows, and none of the
Reception Committee knows, and no one
else seems to know, but they tell me he
j
could not have got in here without an
official invitation. Some of them are
going to look it up for me."
I had to be satisfied with that. The
banquet was served on a number of
small tables, each seating perhaps six or
eight, and I craned my neck in a rather
unladylike manner, seeking to catch an
other glimpse of the young man, but I
could not 6cc him. and I turned my a In
tention to the long table on the platform
nt which sat the president of the so
ciety, the toastmastor and those who
were to make the speeches after dinner.
The fourth man on tho left of the toast
master was the middle aged gentleman
thnt had received the blow in the face.
On the menu card the name of the fourth
man to the left of the toastmastor was
the Rev. Orpheus Williams.
The banquet proceeded as such nffah-s
do, and after the final ices we settled
down tfi listen to tlie speeches. The pres
ident introduced the toastmastor, and the
toastniasler introduced one celebrity after
another. Finally it came to the turn of
the Rev. Orpheus Williams.
"The best laid plans of miceand men,"
said the toastmastor, 'gang aft agloy,' as
Burns says, bur it is not often that they
can be righted so satisfactorily as we arc
able to right them this evening. The Rev.
Orpheus Williams is not able, for ade
quate reasons, to be vith us this evening,
but we have in his place one you will all
be glad to hear. Iowa has produced many
notable philanthropists, but ehc has given
the world one of whom wc arc all es
pecially proud. I introduce to you the
Honorable Cephas MaxwclL"
"Edward," I whispered, "that's the
tnan that was hit by the young man."
""Nonsense, Eleanor!" eald my hubband.
"You are mistaken. No one would strike
dear old Cephas Maxwell."
"Rut he liked it." I protested. "He
smiled joyfully."
"He may have grinned with pain," said
my husband.
"But he shook hands with the young
man," I expostulated.
"YpU wore doubtless too excited lo no
tJcO closely." said my husbaud good
nuVirodly. "He was probably trying to
hold ticV)ul,g mun h0 tbat Uc miBbt be
captured."1
It wus qo use trying to convince my
hutiband. When I had first come to New
York I was always willing his attention
to faces that resembled some face I hud
known In Iowa, ami he hod not forgotten
this. He called it my "seeing resemblance
mania." Rut for all that I was iuro'
Cephas Maxwell was the man I had seen-struck.
His speech was just such a talk ap.onc
would have expected from Cephas Max
well. Itt was kindly and good natured,
with a vein of helpful philosophy, but it
was not until the last words thaLl Jieard
anything to connect him in any way with
the incident I had witnessed. One of Mr.
Maxwell's pet charities was being assailed
by a part of the press at that time, and in
closing his tnlk Mr. Maxwell referred to
this briefly, saying he bore no ill will.
"Indeed," he concluded, "when such an
attack is made wc should turn the other
cheek, and so far as I am concerned I
am beginning to get the reputation of be
ing n professional cheek turner. If a man
strikes me on one cheek and runs away
I hunt him up and ask him to strike me on
the other. And then he Mibscribes to one
of my philanthropic institutions."
This brought a gale of laughter, in
which the dear old man, or dear middle
aged man, took his seat, and when the
final speeches had been made and the
guests crowded up to bo introduced to the
speakers I took my place among them.
When I was introduced to Cephas Max
well he smiled plcnsantly, but I had a
word to say other than the conventional
greeting.
"Mr. Maxwell," I asked, "when the
young man struck you on the Woodside
station platform was that the first cheek
or the second?"
I do not know what I expected, but the
smile immediately left his face.
"You saw that?" he aj.kcd eagerly. "I
must have your name and address," and
he scribbled them hastily in a memoran
dum book he drew from his pocket.
"Now," said my husband, when we
drew away, "now you have done it.
You'll be called as a witness, probably
when you can least well afford the tinie.y
"But he Was tlie man!" I crowed tri
umphantly. "And I'll know why he was
struck and why he'liked ifso1 well."
"Inquisitive woman!" said my husband
laughingly.
Wc moved toward the cloak robrisrand
in the hall wc separated. 'Hardly hao" my
husband lcf. me to get his coat and hot
when the young man I had noticed
tonchsd me lightly ou the arm. -
Recalls the Blow.
"Pardon me," he said politely, "but
Mr. Maxwell has just asked me to speak '
to you. I believe, since you recognized
Mr. Maxwell, you will remember that I '
am the joung man that walked up to him
at Woodsido station and kno'eked him '
dowu?"
"I'm," I admitted. "I was sure of that '
when I saw you earlier in the evening."
"Thank you," said the young man.
"That Is all I have to ask you, and I beg
your pardon once more."
With that he was gone There was
nothing mysterious about his going. He
turned and walked into the men's hat
room to get his bat and coat, I tuppote.
I got my wraps and was waiting for my
hubband to appear wheu Mrs. Wilton,
whom I had known in Iowa, came into
tho cloak room with her daughter aud un
other young Womun. She smiled when
she sawjno and wc chatted for a moment,
r and then she introduced the young
1 : i " ,s i
woman.
"Yqu ought to know-each other' slip.
-- -ii -a
said. "Miss Frankton has just taken up
her residence with her aunt In your town
on Long..Jslaud. You knowher aunt,
"Mrs. Garth?" . jv ' ." .
( ,"NV I said, "but'T knowiwho shciViF.',
' "You must meet auntleT said Miss
Frankton "She is M n'tyoj
ballon us? I'm destined to beyo'ur neigh
bor for a'whiK at least."
"She evpects to he married in (he
spring," explained Mrs, Wilton. "A, very
worthy poling man, too. AlfiJ peering.
He came with us to-night. Think of me
ns a chaporone, my dear!- What would
wo have thought so few years ago in
Iowa if any one had suggested wp needed
a chapcronc!"
What I might have thought docs not
mutter, for just then my husband ap
peared at the ddof and beside him was the
young man of the virile fist. Mrs. Wilton
took my arm.
"This isiMr. Gcering." she said, going
through the formal introduction .and in
cluding my husband.
- "The Other Man Went Down Like a Tenpin."
We went down in the same elevator to
the street floor, and Mr. Geering took the
opportunity when we w'ere crowded away
from the rest of the party to beg me to
say nothing to Miss Frankton or Mrs.
Wilton of the affair of the Woodside plat
form. Of course I promised.
Mr. Geering wont with us as far as the
Pennsylvania station, and wheu we en
tered the car I managed to get a seal
beside Miss Frankton. She was a most
charmingly sweet young woman and my
heart was taken instantly by hr face and
manner, and her tinge of sadness was ex
plained when she told mc her father had
been dead less than a year. I judged, from
her appearance and a few remarks she let
fall, that he must have been a man of
wealth, but I did not at the time suspect
he was the great Frankton, the artist,
whose works were ouly more celebrated
than his bodily Infirmities. He had been a
cripple for many years, and during those
years his greatest works had been pro
ducedworks so jojous and bright and
full of aunshinc that it seemed as if they
must bo the work of some other thnn the
sufferiug invalid from whose brush they
came.
Wtbin a reasonable time I called on
Mrs. Garth and Miss Frankton. Miss
Frankton did not happen to be at home,
but Mrs. Garth received me most gra
ciously. From her I learned that Mist?
IFrauktou's father had been the greut
artist. '
"He was my brother," said Mrs. Garth,
"but I saw very little, of him during his
Inter years. I think nis illness" changed
him. Grace my niece thinks many of
the peculiar things he did were done
while he was in great pain. He was so
peculiur! Grace doesn't know to this day
whether she is an heiress or a pauper.
The will is not to be opened until eleven
mouths after my brother's death, and
Grace is forbidden to njniry until the
will is opened."
"She seems very much in love," I sug
gested. "And Mr. Geering is a charming young
man," said Mrs. Gaith. "For some rea
son, however, my" lirotb'cr objected to him
most strenuously. I really believe he
thought Mr. Geering wus too kind
hearted, too considerate of the feelings
of others. They had a long interview
just before my brother's death. What ii
was about I cannot guess, but Mr. Geer
ing evidently refused to accede to my
broker's wishes. He refused to speak to
him after that. He eyc-j) refused to allow
him to enter the hoiiiC."
"It was the suffering," I said.
"Yes" said Mrs. Garth, J'and it was
aggravated by the 'Eufopa' afTair."
JI'dqh't ifcmctnber.that," I said.'- t.
'"No iwWdersaid Mrs. Garth. "It
was nothing at. all. ''Europa' was one of
Mr. Frankton's greatest nudes. It was
a wonderful' painting the whole world
admitted that but, my dear, it is not
. true tint 'to the pure all things arc pure.'
Tbinzs that arc pure to the pure of Paris
and New York may acem very impure to
. the pure of New England. Brother had
I given one of the New York dealers per
i mission to exhibit the 'Europa' in his
I window.
"He seldom did this his market needed
I nothing of the sort, and he was avcrfle to
such things but this time he was ovcr
! coaxed, and what was the result? The
president of a virtuc-on-ice society of
, some sort stepped in and made the police
. have the picture removed on the ground
that it was indecent. Imagine ray broth
1 or painting an indecent picture! But this
virtuc-on-ice man was a New Englandcr
or"
I
"Or an lowan?" I asked, smiling.
"lie was an lowan," said Mrs. Garth.
"He was he was Maxwell! Maxwell!
That was his name. Of course, he
thought he was doing his duty, but imag
ino the crudoncss of the virtue tbat would
think tho 'Europa' indecent! At all
events, brother was furious bitterly furi
ous. He tried to go out of the house as
he wns, bent and crippled, to chastise the
'vandal,' but he fell in a faint at the door
of the room. Then he tried to get Mr.
Geering to chusfisc Cephas Maxwell. It
is hard to imagine Mr. Geering chastising
any one, isn't it?"
"I think I could imagine it if I tried
very hard," I said.
"It would tax the imagination," said
Mrs. Garth.
So that wns the secret, was it? Evi
dently Mr. Maxwell had received his chas
tisement. Rut why had Mr. Geering
plucked up ferocity enough to administer
it? And vhy had Mr. Maxwell received
it so gratefully? Philosophy is all very
woll, but bomchow, when I think of
"turning tho other cheek," I think of a
slap, not of Que of thos- cruel, stunning
blows such as Mr, Geering gave Mr. Max
well. At least 'the philosophy of non
resistance is not ofteu carried that far in
tho present day aud age.
It was not until a few months later
that my curiosity seemed likely to be
fully satisfied, and in the meantime I
became better acquainted with Miss
Frankton. She swined to take as great a
liking to me as I felt for her, and as tho
clcveu months drew toward an end sho
became more aud more dejected and con
fided in me moro a.qd more. She said she
feared she could uover marry Mr. Geering.
Against hor father she never said one
word, but she told me she feared he had
taken a violent dlbliko to Mr. Geering
and tha,t the will probably forbade their
mun-iago.
"Rut, my dear," I said, "your father
was ilJ, he was suffering, and .sufferers
have hallucinations. It would not be right
to spoil your life for a sick man's whim.
I should uot consider an Order of that
sort biudiug jn the least. Of course ho
might Ipgally Jcavo his money elsewhere
provided you. did pot marry to suit his
vibics'
"Oh, money !'' she said scornfully. "Let
the money go! If I thought of the money
or if Mr. Geering. thought -Of it wc would
ho unworthj." ,
I did not know- abouf."tba,t. Money ii
not such a bad thing. m what the will
said I was lo.know as soon us Miss Frank-
ton, for T received from the lawyer of the
family a request that I be present at the
opening of the -will at the office, No. 2
Reotpristrcn.' Had I known then how un
usual it Is for outsiders to be present at
such times I would have been more sur
prised than I was.
I went in .with Miss Frankton on the
11:01 train, nnd we had luncheon to
cethcr. Our appointment was for one
o'clock, and we were there in ample time.
Wc had to wait until Mr. Ullmer, the
lawyer, returned from his luncheon, and
before he arrived Mr. Cephas Maxwell
came. I nodded to him, but Miss Frank
ton ignored him. Mr. Geering arrived
soon after Mr. Ullmer. There were- one
or two others, minor legatees.
Mr. Ullmer, as soon as wc were all as
sembled, broke the seal of the envelope
that held the will. "On the exterior oi
this envelope," he said, "Mr. Frankton
has written with bW own hand the fol
lowing words: This' contains my last
will and testament: not to be opened un
til eleven months after my death. I have,
however, instructed my attorney, Henry
C. Ullmer, to deliver a copy of this will
to Cephas Maxwell as soon after my
death as possible.' "
Miss Frankton looked at Mr, Ullmer
blankly. "What did he do'that for?" she
asked.
"Per-haps if I read tie will," said Mr.
Ullmer, "you will understand."
"Then read it," said Miss Frankton.
"The first clause of the will," said Mr.
Ullmer, after he had read it to us,
"means, freed from legal terms, that Miss
Grace Is forbidden to marry John C.
Geering except under the restrictions of
the third clause."
"Read the third claue," said Miss
Frankton.
"I will read the 6econd clause first,"
suld Mr. Ullmer, and he did so. "Which
means," he continued, "that Mr. Frank
ton leaves his entire fortune and all he
may possess to Cephas Maxwell, subject
to the provisions of tho third clause."
Graco was very white. In one instant
nearly her lover and her wealth had been
wrested from her. "Read the third clause,"
she n-hispered, clasping and unclasping her
hands nervously.
"This is the third clause," said Mr. UH
men, reading it, " Third clause: First
a copy ot this, my will, shall he placed in
the hands of Cephas Maxwell within five
days after my death, and I have no in
structed my attorney to do, but any in
fraction of this section of this clause shall
not invalidate this, my last will and testa
ment.' I will say," said Mr. Ullmer, "that
the copy was placed in Mr. Maxwell's
hands as desired."
''IMcasc read on," begged Grace, and he
read on.
'"Second," he read. '"It is my will
and desire that my daughter Grace 6hall
marry John C. Geering, provided John C.
Geering shall, within one year from the
date of the signing this will, assault
Cephas Maxwell and with his full muscular
strength strike him upon the face, knock
ing mm down in the presence of public
1 witnesses, in some public placo within the
city of New Yoik.
" "Third -Should John C. Geering not
assault the said Cephas Maxwell within
one year as abovo set forth the sccdnd
clause of this, my will and testament, is
annulled, and I give and -bequeath all the
property of which I may die possessed
to my beloved daughter Grace, excepting "
(here followed some minor legacies).
Perhaps I have not the correct legal lan
guage, for I am quoting the will from mem
ory, but the effect on Grace was instant.
She threw herself upon Mr. Geering and
clasped her arms around him.
"You shan't! You shan't!" she cried.
"It would be ignoble to strike him! We
do not want the money, John!"
"But Miss Grace," said one of the
minor legatees, who saw her littlo legacy
fade away unless Cephas Maxwell was
soundly assaulted, "you are forbidden to
marry uuless John knocks the old rascal
down. Let him do it!"
Grace turned on her angrily. "Be
still!" she cried, aud then, covering hor
faco with her hands, she put her head on
my shoulder and cobbed.
"I can't give him up! I can't giro him
up !" she wept.
"Listen, Grace," I begged, but before
T could say the word John Geering was
at Iit side. "Grace," ho said, "there
is no need for us to give each other up."
"What!" she cried, with bjazing eyes.
"Would you hit a mnu older than your
self? Arc you a cowurd, John Geeriug?"
He blushed. "Miss Frankton," naid
Mr. Ullmer, "the deed has been done.
Mr. Geering has already struck Mr. Max
well with the full strength of his arm,
and has knocked him down, in a public
place in tho city of New York, before
witnesses."
If Mr. Ullmer imagined this would
calm her he was much mistaken. "Have
you done that, John Geering?' she asked.
"Oh! What have I done to be tossed
about among such men? Money, aijgcr,
revenge!"
She clasped her hands until her fingers
wero a bite. She bit her lip. She pressed
her hands against her cheeks.
"Money! Money!" she inoaued. "That
is why you hit an old man, Jojm Geer
ing" "Pardon mc," said Mr. Maxwell softly
and with hb usuul good natured smile,
"but I'm not quite an old mau. I believe
I could, if so minded, stand up with
John Geering and he would-drop nine
times t w wysfair rules and- no fa
vors." - ,
V
mmmm ITS
"And he attacked yon in an underhand K
way, then?" cried Grace. Sho glared at I
all of us. "The coward !" 1 I
"Not at all," said "Mr. Maxwell. ''"He I
hit me bylroqupst- I begged him 'to hit ' 1
me. I had' to use my ntmost powers of I
persuasion, didn't I, .John?' Xndji am i I
not a weak persuader. I tr'uiyAnjoyed , ill
being knocked down by Mr Geering." !
Graco looked from one to the other o ' iff
us as if she thought we were all crazy. M
Mr. Ullmer turned to me. "If was in I
order to satisfy any doubts Miss Frank- ' P
ton might have that I asked you to lie i
here," he said. "Will yon tell her whether 1
the knockdown was a hearty one, and 3
how Mr. Maxwell received it?" i H
I told the 6tory of what I had seen on '
the Woodside platform. "Mr. Maxwell," I I
I concluded, "went head over heels, I
Grace. The blow was like a slcOge ham- 1 f I
mcr blow. And" then he arose and I
thanked Mr. Geering and shook hands III
with him. It was a very pleasant IKtlo , M
affair, altogether." fyff
"I don't bclicvo it I can't believ 'H
It!" said Grace, in distress. "I believa rjH)
Mr. Geering struck Mr. Maxwell, but I IK
bate the motive that mado him strike an u9j
older man. It was for the money. It was iB
a mean, mercenary affair." 1 (U
"One moment!" said Mr. Maxwell. Ill
"Miss Frankton, how do yon suppose Mr. mj
Geering knew the provisions of tho will?" j'l
"I" Gvaco began, and then hesl- V
ta'ted. "How did he know them?" . I
"He knew them because T, who alone I
had an open copy of the will, told him," 1
said Mr. Maxwell. "I knew John and I , 1
liked him, nnd I knew you, and the money - .f
given mc in hatred could do my wort no I
good. I wanted two fond hearts made II
happy." He emllcd at the triteness of the I
phrase. f
"I did not enter into tho affair willing- ' 1 1
ly," said John.
"I had to beg and coax," said Mr. Max- ( -1
well. "I had to us all my persuasive 'I
powcra. But I think we carried the thing fl
oflVvery well. We chose a public place In fl
the city of New York, as tho will de- ' ' k
manded, but a station platform when every ? 7
spectator Is eager to board the train Ib the 1
place where the public paya least atten- -tion
to other men' affairs. We timed tho
event to "the instant.' , Jj
"Mr. Maxwell," I said, "do yon mind J J
telling me what the conductor said to you a
when he whispered to you in the car?" 'mi
"Not at all," said Mr. Maxwell. "He 1
came to where I was sitting and said ha jSj
had seen me delaying the passengers when !U
they were trying to disembark from the "
other train, and that so far as he was ft
concerned if I tried to make any trouble
for the young man that had hit mo ho t 'i
would testify that I was 'trying to prerent i 'j
h.Im from getting on the train and that
tho licking I got served me right. Then
he asked mc if I meant to make any trou- 'H
blc about it, and I said I did not." H
"But why?" insisted) Grace; "why did H
you want a man to strike you so hard? H
Why did you want to be a3aulted? The 'bH
thing is not possible 1" H
"I admit that," said Mr. Maxwell, smil- H
ing. "And your father would have eaid H
it was impossible that any one should con- H
sider the 'Europa' indecent. But both jH
things happened." H
"I don't see," said Grace.
"Hero!" said Mr. Maxwell, and he led H
Grace to one side and whispered to her. H
Gradually, as he spoke, Grace's seriousness
gave way to a smile. Then she laughed. H
"It is all right," she said whon she re-
joined us. After she was- married sho told H
me what Mr. Maxwell told her then. John H
Geering and Mr. Maxwell had practised H
the blow for weeks, with soft gloves, until, H
like the famous steam hammer, John could H
conio within the tenth of an inch of Mr. H
Maxwell's face without striking it, and H
Mr. Maxwell could fall as if struck, with- H
out, in fact, being struck. It was to carry H
this out best they had chosen the fitation H
platform at the moment of the departure H
of a train, when every witness' attention fH
would be moro or less distracted by other H
things. Rut John had been just a moment H
late and had not counted on tho impetus H
of his running approach, Mr. Maxwell H
had received -a real blow nnd had fallen a. jfH
real fall. H
Of course, when Grace undorstood overy- H
thing she waa grateful, and 6ho insisted H
that Cephas Maxwell accept one of her IH
father's paintings as a souvenir. And H
which do you think ho chose? Tho "Eu- j
ropa !" H
HIGH SOUNDING WORDS. H
WORDS arc made to play strange H
feats in the languages of uncivilized H
peoples. Savages, it would appear, H
like ignorant folk in civilized lands, are H
fond of high sounding words, of which H
the following are specimens: H
"Day" in Pawnee is said to bo aha- H
koorooceshairet. In Katskanai, a Ian- H
guagc of Athabasca, m the north of this JH
continent, the word for "tooth" is said H
to be khotaiakatatkhasia. and that for H
"tongue" is such as one would wish to jl
utter but onco in his life. It is this: H
IChotzotkhltziukhlitsaha, "Star" in Chi- M
nook is tkhlkhckhitnamo. FH
"These," it might be said, in the Ian- jH
gunge of De Quiucey, "are vocables H
enough to split the teeth of a crocodile." M
Certain peoples of Mexico are famous M
for their long words. In one Mexican M
dialect the common address to a priest is H
one word, Notlazomaliiuzteopixcatczin, H
which is aaid to mean "Vencrablo priest, H
whom I honor as a father." H
A fagot is tlatlotlpistiteutli, and in the JM
same tongue "I love you" is rendered M
mimlts-tsikawakatlzanlta. The lovers-ask- fH
ing for a kiss in this strange language M
calls it a. tetcnnamiguilitzli. H