AUGUST 19(
\ - A '
: 55,r ■
FUtLj FAIR* CLEAN, AND ACCURATE NEWS
MUCK or VMGINIAN.
AUGUST 19/
RlCHMONft^yiRGlNlAN
rtnuMso Puir Day Exr*rf Spkday
ft
THE RICHMOND VIRGINIAN COMPANY. Iwa.
SAKriL w. Mm.Ifwin#M ViMjr
KP. Wwwrw.. Ma*ac%ne Bd*tor
1Office: T?»® \ >fjifeiftn BuilJm*. Governor and R-w*
RICHMOND,.VIRGINIA
Daiit Ok* Vu* Po*tao* Paid.$4 00
Da it r Fi* Momt. PotYAasPajd..*.$200
Daii . Tnnn Mo.vm*, Poatau* Paid.#1.00
*» p*cond-«H**A nutter. January 2S. I$I0. at th* pcmtniftcm
tiaktooBd. V|k, under act of March 3. 187$.
Let the Virginian Follow You.
If you intend leaving Richmond for a vacation,
have The Virginian sent daily to your cottage
or hotel. You may then enjoy the mountain
or seashore air and at the same time keep In
close touch with all that is happening in the
city and State, and country—political, social,
business and sporting circles.
USE OF AN ENGINEER.
Engineer Bolling's defense of the failure of
Bis department to safeguard ihe work of contrac
tors engaged in digging up the- streets of the city,
that he has not nun enough to appoint an in
spector to watch the work, will not commend it
self eithe r to the pojmlar idea of the reasons gov
truing the employment of an engineer, or to
avert age and ordinary business sense.
According to Mayor Richardson, the popular
Idea of the scope of duty of the city engineer is
the correct one. town, that he is expected to do
exactly what in this instance he claims that ho
cannot spare a man to attend to, and that is to
Bee that work affecting city property shall Ik1
done in a workmanlike and proper manner. Nc
k'-:
matter how conscientious he may be, a eontrac
tor's interest is necessarily to some extent ad
verse to the city; the logit’ of an engineering de
partment is that in the prosecution of city work
-conrraetOTs there should be present an au
thorized factor whose interest shall l>e tirst wilt
the city and secondarily with the men who are
ffe forking for It. The (contractors can, and must
if they are to succeed, look after themselves; it
is of the highest importance that in their opera
tions affecting the interests of the city, the cits
should have present someone to look out for it.
As we have said before, this necessity is not
met. by remedial action of an rx post facto char
acter. It i* not sufficient that, the harm having
Txeu done by faulty work, payment should lx
withheld until such time as the abuse already
existing shall have Ixen done away with. What
of the streets in the interim { What of the dis
comforts, the interruption of business and traffic
the more remote but none the less possible jeopar
dizing of health itself? These things eon»tifut<
a present and continuing loss to the city, abso
lutely regardless of whether the contractors art
losing anything or not. There is nothing what
ever remedial in sustaining a loss, that someone
else should lose. The proper purpose of the city
is not to punish a contractor for doing a thing
wrong, but rather to prevent him from doing it
in any other than the right wray.
The statement of the City Engineer, printed
in yesterday's Virginian, that at. any rate the
city would not Jose anything by reason of the de
fective work upon Broad and other streets in the
city is therefore a half truth, with the better half
of it, out of line with the actual facts. What the
KSkitOT treasury will lose. <»r will ik>t lose, is FhoTeast
result of an ahu.se that has and still is resulting
jp • in continuing In-- to the people who make the city
! itself.
1
C. <y O. STAYS AT HOME.
Tim prompt denial by President George W.
Stevens, t printed in yesterday'a State edition of
'£h*' Pinjiiunn, > of the rumor that the offices of
the Chesapeake and Ohio would Ixt moved from
Richmond to Cincinnati comes gratefully to both
City and State. The rumor was no doubt the
child of Cincinnati's hopt—a hope not only’ pre
mature, In;' hopeless. Richmond will keep the
headquarters of this distinctively Virginia cor
poration. both on acount of its place in the bis
—|e*y of-the mad and because, as already one of the
greatest of .-" Utla-m cities, its future is assured
a- a point with which in the Southward trend of
i i •-. * V \ i ••tool I,
i years suec<-.-rfully com pelt*.
“Soulle-.*. a« ci>r|M»rttti*>ns are supposed to T>e,
It is a curious fact that their success does not.
seem to he divon-ed from sentiment. The cor
poration that, "-lav- at home" when it has grown
largo is apt to he the corjwration that will grow
largest. Ky following this policy great corpora
... tious not only retain the valuable asset of good
' vill from the jieople whom they were formed
originally to serve, hut they acquire also a stead
ifjptness ami conservatism that in time of trial
serves them w> 11. There aro several instances of
this sort of corporate sentiment that will readily
, suggest themselves. The really hig man never
grows so large a» to lose an interest in his home;
in some such way the really big corporation is
/..ftltalsriy iirihancwl.
Thor® i.- every reason for congratulation that,
tempted as it ma.v have l>een, the Chesapeakb and
Ohio has determined to say where it belongs.
WILL TAFT FIGHT i
The whirlwind of events in Republican poli
tics has curiously enough resulted in the long
looked for independence of character of the Pres
ident being at last open to the question raised
by the attitude of so fortuitously placed an in
ividual as Son-in-Law Nick Longworth.
Considering the hammering which the admin
ti«n has been forced to undergo, the affront
offered Colonel Roosevelt by Mr. Taft through
the agency of the Republican “Old Guard”tin
New York was the natural and even manly
thing, albeit the foolish policy. Since the Col
onel's return it has l>een quite evident that he
was prepared to desert the man whose election
as President he forced. No doubt he considers
himself, by virtue of having been his creator,
the master of the President. A master naturally
looks with impatience upon the different policy
of a servant. On the other hand. .Mr. Taft, no
jdoubt felt the necessity for at least making the
I show of being President. High position destroys
the obligation of servitude. In the light, there
1 fore, of the clear, if unexpressed animosity of
the ex-President, Mr. Taft has attempted to take
the bull by the horns, and to bring about a de
claration of open war from his powerful one
time friend. Although be can have the war
1 without the .-hadow of a doubt, the virtue of the
declaration of independence is weakened by the
statement of the equivocal Lortgworth.
Mr. Longworth. despite his position as the son
in-law of the cx-President, lias been the most
[savory of thiek-and-thin standpatters. Yet, at
the very moment when the inevitable bn-ak lx
tween Roosevelt and Taft seems imminent, he
! barks water with an authorized interview in
which he announces that he is done with Cannon.
There are several solutions of this action, all
in character with Longworth, all combining to
keep the situation one that is full of doubt. Long
worth may have, acted entirely upon his own in
; itiative, as lie claims. Merely out of consideration
for his own political fortunes he may have acted
at the behest of Roosevelt, as an indication of
'an attitude which the ex-President himself pro
fuf + V»ia t i mo tn\t tn l n
terms. He may again, and this is the assumption
I perhaps most reasonable and least creditable tc
| President Taft, have received the tip to his ac
tion from Beverly. If this last be the true solu
! tion of the departure of this conspicuous rat from
i the Cannon ship, it. will still further weaken the
confidence of the people in the President. It
will mean that .Mr. Taft, having sought an open
'break with Roosevelt, is shuddering at the
| prospect and seeking to show a lark of sympathy
with Cannon, which he.does not care personally
to declare. That is not the part of a lighting
man, and the country would feel hotter if. at
this time,
light.
right
<>r
wrong,— Mr. Taft won!
It needs little power of prophecy to see that,
barring the always possible chances, Mr. Taft is
already discredited. Roosevelt is waiting foi
lf*12. 1 lie Democrats are taking heart. In tin
equation of the future, the battle will he drawn
; between the ex-President and the man whom tin
| Democrats shall name. ilr. Taft, must see this
as the whole country sees it. Seeing it, he would
present a picture more in keeping with America!
ideals should lie determine to show his hand. t<
force the issue, and go down, if lie must, will
colors flying.
THE FREE BRIDGE.
Renewed reports of flu* had condition of tin
Free Bridge do not necessarily imply tiiat tin
| ancient and venerable structure is unsafe. It
the nature of the ease the old bridge bet.weet
; Richmond and Washington Ward is necessarily
'in had condition. Tt. is a relic which every day
j further outwears its usefulness. It is not re
motely in keeping with a city of the size, the
importance, or the traffic of greater Richmond.
Vet it was built to stay, and for this reason it is
the harder to tear it. down._
The legal management of the bridge at present
presents an anomalous condition growing out o1
I the recent consolidation of Richmond and Man
| Chester. Originally the property of a corpora
i tion, in which the two cities acquired the stock,
I its control was placed in the hands of a com
mission which has not yet been legally dissolved.
It is this commission, therefore, to which the
| City of Richmond must look for such temporary
repairs as are needed. Pending the determina
ition of the proceeding to place the control of the
bridge in the city, where it now logically belongs,
improvements will necessarily lx* of a temporary
! character. Upon the determination of those pro
Oi./n 1 l III IV t 1 w > iiil i*ia i .1 t ll n 1 vim / 1 in k tc i 1 1 1 .ill
of tho most pressing of city problems.
While ji new bridge at this point will he a very
(expensive undertaking, the city should tinder
l tako it at the earliest possible moment. Even
if the structure be entirely safe, the fact remains
that it is entirely inadequate as the means of
connection between the old City of Richmond
and the old City of Manchester.* The footways
are entirely too narrow, and the condition of the
roadway, divided as it is between vehicles and
i street, ears, renders passage congested, slow and
tedious. With a modern bridge across the James
at this point, the saving in time alone of street
cars, teams and individuals would in a year far
more than pay the interest, upon the large in
vestment necessary to establish it.
UNCLE JOE TRIES PATIIOS.
Pathos 'does not lie well in the mouth of
“Uncle Joe” Cannon. Some fingers are too
i heavy to play well when the organ is at the soft
.stop. Some countenances are too gufly'-washed
;bv experience to lend themselves gracefully to
the gentle rains of tears. Even the always sad
dening prospect of dissolution appears in the
light of some pugnacious characters an incon
gruous jest.
It is so with Speak Cannon. For years he
j has stood foursquare to gll the winds that blew—
domineering, impndent, caustic. He has defied
I nature, and nature’s laws. He has held the bit
terness of a young socialist in solution with the
| cynicism of an old hanker. He has posed be
. fore the country as the arch insurgent of them
. all—an Insurgent against the passage of timo.
The Speaker has begged to he scalped until now,
when it appears that tho political braves of the
other camp have him all but thrown and tied,
there is little left to scalp. From the vantage
ground of his over three score years and ten the
Speaker can well afford to laugh at his enemies
in the knowledge that their victory will in all
probability be robbed of its pleasure by the vic
tory of a greater and more certain foe.
Appreciating his position, it comes with a cer
tain ludicrous sense to hear the Shaker, at a
convention of “Old Settlers’’ in his district,
discarding tlie rasp of his voice for the trem
; ulous statement that probably he was speaking
to them for the last time; that the world would
!go along without “ITtide Joe”, and that shortly;
that he was an old man, his race all but finished;
(that the ‘‘Old Settler” was going home ut last to
the quiet- places of the church-yard, with no pock
jet in his shroud, with no memory of the strife,
in that peaceful l>ed. Another might have done
this effectively; for “Uncle Joe”, apostle of un
canny youth and fiery personal passion, to try
it on was a failure as ridiculous as inapropos.
It is therefore a pleasure to report that the
Speaker, even in this new departure in oratory,
did not dally long with trying his toes in the
waters of the Styx. He was, in fact, scarcely
[well bestowed in the churchyard, before he was
jout of if again, a lively and militant ghost.
1 Scarcely had the sound of his tender sadness died
(away on the astonished air before he was at the
Insurgents again. tr>oth and nail. Imprecations
flew as fast as hailstone-. The old familiar
!epithets trooped forth in all their old time glory.
! Kverylnxlv except Uncle Joe, the railroads and
! the Old Settlers instantly became damagogues,
i hypoerits and populists, rude Joe was liirn
t self again, none the worse for his little imagina
tive iannt into the unknown. If it was all a bit
of stage claptrap, we do not doubt that it was
effective. We can hear the cheers with which
the good old sinner was welcomed back to his
stamping grounds. We can imagine the frown,
the champing and the pacing of the old, em
battled but still youthful warhorse. The “Old
Settlers” were no doubt tickled in their midst,
that, one of them at least was still able to do
his mile under a three minute clip.
If appears that they have “got" Uncle .Toe;
hut. there is left a kick or so in the old inau yet.
HIGHWAY DEATH TRAPS.
Commenting on the fatal accident at Cape
May. in which five lives were lost as the result of
a collision at a crossing ljetwccn a train and an
■ | automobile, the Petersburg Index-Appeal says,
| “It is hardly practicable to have gates and guard?
I at all rural railroad crossings hut there is one
thing that, the law can do, and should do, and
that is, compel railroad companies to hare all em
i bankments at such crossings so leveled that a
- train approaching from either direction would
he visible the distance of at least half a mile.”
Not the least, of the evils attendant upon the
vicious practice of over-capitalization has been
that resulting in a false economy in the con
struction of tracks and roadbeds of railroads in
America. In England and on the Continent
such a thing as the American “grade crossing”
is not known, and would not he for a moment
; > tolerated. Vast as the expenditure would be to
make all crossings eiilnr above or below the high
ways. such a practice is the only one consistent
with the mutual rights and privileges of railroads
and public. 1 he greater systems in the more con
gested districts have been forced by the mere cx
kh*
iu this country. It u
generally for the preservation of human life, for
the loss of which the heaviest damages are but
poor compensation, besides merely adding to the
net loss of catastrophe. Although the abolish
ment of the grade crushing is undoubtedly a con
summation not held by the near future, there
is an entire want of excuse in the maintenance
by railroads of crossing- at which the view of the
track is prevented. Every accident at such a
place is scarcely more than corporate murder.
In Chesterfield County, within live miles of
Richmond, we know of one such crossing that
is a veritable death trap. In every such instance
the law should force t! < railroad to an election
of leveling its right of way so as to irive an
1-0 7t
m.-t ultimately lx* adoptee
unobstructed view, nr .-rahlishtng gates for the
protection of the traveling public.
! Notwithstanding the advice of that four mil
i lionaire negro farmer from Arkansas , the aver
age citv gentleman of color will continue to Ixj
from Missouri until lie is shown how to “hack
j to the farm” without, getting corns on his hands.
If the aeroplane is r<ally to he brought to the
! Richmond fair we trust that the “dude” aviator
| will be selected for the performance. For tire
j dude looks the “high flyer” whether he is or not.
Getting its streets in rendition for the exercise j
of Alpine climbing at home is one incident of ;
the life of great cities that Richmond will cbeeiv j
jfully forego.
Since Mr. McMurrav's sweeping denial it re- j
mains only for the Indian investigating com-i
| mitfee to decide the always nebulous question,
| “Who lied ?”
Speaker Cannon will scarcely renounce his |
candidacy for Speaker because Nicholas Long
worth withdraws his support.
i Colonel Roosevelt is no doubt strong enough j
to turn the trick, but he will have to use a bigger j
stick than Son-in-Law Nick to do it with.
Hr. Tafts early recollections doubtless re
tain the memory o( how it feels to be “It”,
If this thing keeps up the “Free Bridge” will
soon have been condemned as frequently as
| “Fuele Joe” Cannon.
Virginia Comment
A Rattier Heavy Load.
Some of our people grew a little pale yesterday
when It was stated by competent engineers that the
cost of filling the present breaks on Baldwin street
would foot up to $11,000 at the very least. They saw
a little Increase In taxes possibly, a thing not very
; pleasant to contemplate, they saw a necessity for ad
ditional Increase In assessments possibly, since there
! Is a standing deficit of *7,000 on the city's books,
and has been for over a year. They saw a bond Issue
possibly to relieve the past and present difficulties—
at least they did not see an overflowing treasury.
The financial question Is one always perplexing, and
■ this Is the one which h» confronting Staunton Just
now, because the unexepected occurrence of last
Thursday has laid a burden on the shoulders of our
f city fathers which must be carried. In addition to
i any other burden that may have visited them before.
It is hoped that conditions may be met In a satis
factory way, and without strain, or pinching, or priva
tion, or the cessation of other work, so Important to
the city, and that the present "financial chasm" may
be bridged. In a way which will enable the “new
chasm" to be bridged, without breaking the back of
our heavy laden beast of burden, the taxpayers.— j
Staunton I'Ispatch.
The Vulgar Rich.
Roanoke sends out a story about a certain newly j
rich Virginian, now resident In New York, who ar- |
rived in the Magic City on Monday In his big touring
car and offered a thousand dollars for a new “cuss
word” when a spring under his big car broke, de
laying his tour of the south. This man with a big
| roll, which he evidently flourished announced for the:
! edification of the wtdr-oyed Roanokers that If he I
could not get his machine repaired by Tuesday morn- j
ing he would charter a special train and proceed to j
I Salisbury, N. C., his destination. It Is further related
that while passing through Buchanan. Vo., In his
; motor car he amused himself by tossing a hundred
dollars In silver among a crowd of curious men and i
boys. Just to see them scramble for the coins. All
this may be very Interesting to some, but to us It is a ,
disgusting exhibition of the vulgar rich. Some people j
appear to be rich In dollars and cents and paupers In j
Intelligence and good taste. However, the law does I
noi mirnire wun any posing uroesus waning nis
surplus dollars In any way which may amuse him.—
Danville Bee.
The Ian Hopper.
Richmond now has ei!tty-seven new laws. Are
there sixty-seven people In the city now know what t
ten of them are?—Richmond Virginian.
It's dollars to doughnuts that there are sixty-seven i
times sixty-seven who do not know what one of these;
j 1xty-c ven ordinance i, and that at least half of the i
I’ouncllmen who voted for their enactment do not;
know Just what half of them provide. Verily, in this
j country, in this day and generation, of the making
! of laws there Is no end—and of the enforcement of !
; iaws. tn probably a majority iST cases, not even a'
| beginning.—Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.
Popular Huinbnggery.
The Vlrgtnlan-Pllot, we think, has made it plain i
that it is no admirer of Theodore Roosevelt. On the
r< ntrurv, It has labored, In season and out, to impress
upon its readers the patent fact that he is a fraud,
drunk with ambition to monopolize the public eye
and puffed up with an exaggerated sense of self
importance which prompts the assumption that he
holds a divine commission to set to rights all the;
tangled affairs of this old gray world. But none nor
all of these things hare we permitted to blind us
to his consummate abilities as a politician or to the
hold which he still retains upon the popular mind.
Barnum said the American people liked to be hum- j
bugged. The history of American politics, from the j
foundation of the government down to this hour,
furnishes no more striking and convincing Illustra
tion of the general truthfulness of that dictum than is |
contained in the career of Theodore Roosevelt.—j
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. j
No "Black Belt."
The Rlackstone Courier says that within a short
while there will he no "black belt" In Virginia. Ts
there any black belt now? If so. where is It. and I
what is the evidence of It" It certainly does not ex
ist in Southslde Virginia, which is under white Demo- '
erutic government, with white Democratic represen
tation both at Richmond and at Washington. It ts
true, as the Courier says, that emigration has done
much to change the complexion of the situation in this
section, but legislation and education have done even
more to mitigate and to eliminate the evils implied
In the phrase. These Influences are steadily Improv
ing the negroes and qualifying them for better stand
ards and higher ideals of citizenship, and the time Is
not distant when the presence of tl* negroes will cease
to be objectionable In any sebtlon. but, on the con
trary, will be regarded as an economic advantage._
Petersburg Index-Appeal.__
The Xoblo Duke.
When the Duke of Abruzzl marries Miss Elkins
he probably will seek a safety deposit vault for hts
decorations and other valuables before venturing into
America on his honeymoon. The last time the duke
visited this country, during the Jamestown exposition,
souvenir hunters came near depleting his ship of In
terior furnishings and fixings and even swiped the
buttons “f his dress coat. In honor of the occasion
the versatile James J. Montague, of the New York
American, perpetrated a pathetic little ditty entitled
"A Wail From a Duke,” which closed after this fash
ion:
1 love da You-nito State.
I how to da freedom's brave lan':
My hearts ees stirred by da bold Eagle bird.
And I lova da Star-Spangled ban',
1 hopa I glva da country
No reason to taka offense, j
But on my next trip I shall hnva my ship
Surround with da barb.wlre fence!—Newport News
Press.
The Talk “Down Home”
Battler's Battle Nipped in Bud.
Behold, what is poJiibly "the snaka story” of the
season, in which a black champion ami a yellow cham
pion of the rattlesnake persuasion meet to do battle,
possibly for the supremacy of the black or yellow
standard, when the battle royal was cut short by
the untimely interference of a man.
H, E. Jones was walking through Carlisle cove,
about six miles southeast of the city. His attention
■wns attracted by the peculiar rattle, while It is said
one never mistakes for anything but the music of the
rattler, even though one may sometimes mistake the
song of the dry fly and other similar sounds for the
rattle of a snake.
He looked. It may be said that he lost no time In
looking, and there, very close to the path, were two
large rattlesnakes, with heads and tails raised, evl
Vntly angry with each other and only waiting until
they finished their defiant war songs to engage In
deadly conflict.
Mr. Jones did not wait for this conflict to take
place. He unmercifully slew them. One was a black I
rattler, with 17 rattles, showing him to be 17 years
old. The other was yellow and had 13 rattles.
Then Mr. Jones skinned them and took off the
rattles a trophte hewing that the white man was too !
much for the "yellow and black perils.”—Asheville
CHtisen.
Peculiar Wreck at Greenville.
Passenger train No. 69 on the branch line of the
Atlantic Coast. Line between Weldon and Kinston,
was wrecked yesterday afternoon at Greenville and
the cause of the wreck as reported Is rather peculiar
for this section of the country and such a cause la
not usually seen on the report sheets of the company's 1
office in this city. Yesterday afternoon a heavy rain
at Greenville had Just proceeded the arrival of the
train, which Is due there about six-thirty o’clock,
and the train was running at a lively ojip whan It I
struck a huge sand pile on its track at the Intersec
tion of Second street. The engine, tender and the
baggage car left tha track but they were running at 1
such a rate of sped that they went twenty-five yards .
beyond the point of derailment, and the engine and <
tender turned completely over and rolled down the ;
embankment. The baggage car remained upright 1
though derailed.—Rocky Mount Record
Not Even An Earthquake
By M. J. PHILLIPS.
(Copyright, 1910, by Associated Literary Press.)
"Tell you what," said Tergott, "let's lire twenty
■hots apiece. Low score digs out and leaves a clear
Held to the other fellow. What you say?"
Dicbrow said nothing for a time. He was consld«
erlng his friend's proposition. They were both In iova
with Belle McNee. Though they had worked side bjf
side for a year, that fact had never been referred tq
before.
Tergott was fair-haired and blue-eyed. One locked
at him and supposed Tergott to be frank and straight
forward whereas he was crafty and unreliable. Thin,
dark, Disbrow was also belled by his look. At first
glance strangers thought him sly, whereas he was
only shy. He had no genius of Inventiveness or bril-*
nancy- out he had a way of carrying through what
1< f’ouner men were mechanical draftsmen in a
ug Western plant. The superintendent thought they
ZV? *^at Tergott *ave otI bright Ideas as a lire
?!L!*h, <!hpar*Lu.t he cou,d not snare them with
practicality. Working on a Tergott Idea, Disbrow
pegged away until the thing wag done, to the glory
of the superintendent among his superiors. They
w<|Ee a ^andy pair to have around.
They were enthusiastic national guardsmen, and
every Saturday half-holiday found them on the rlfie
range at practice. Just now they' were lying on
the thousand-yard point. Three-fifths of a mile away
the thirty-six inch bull's-eye wavered in the heat
mirage, a minute black speck that often seemed tq
wink out for a moment.
The rivals were both clever riflemen, but Disbrow
was off form to-day, As he strained his eyes and
frotc his muscles at the moment of firing a disquiet
ing vision would float into his mind—a vision of las*
night, when Tergott and pretty Belle McNee strolled
down the street together as he came to call. A
man cannot shoot well when a giri’s eyes stare th»
bull s-eye out of countenance, and tendrils of soft
brown hair twist themselves about the trigger finger,
f upld knows all about arrows, but he Is a strange#
to bullets.
Tergott. the quick, had noted his friend s abstract
Uon and poor marksmanship, guessed the reason, and
so made his epochal proposition. He wanted P»g
brow out of the way. He knew better than Dls
brow himself how deep an Impression that youth had
made on Belle McNee.
He rolled An hla l.ncb nn^ _A* —
up at the sky, while Disbrow was coming to a decision.
A tierce anxiety was surging in the brain behind hia
comely face. Ht was afraid liisbrow would not ao
cept his challenge; and he did not relish future
months of rivalry. True to his nature, he wanted to
hu>*ry through the stress.
Ilisbrow pondered silently. He did not attribute
ut:wortihness, to Tergott. He believed his fnen 1 and
rhal had challenged impulsively, never dreaming that
Tergott was taking an unfair advantage of his tem
porary lapse from form He thought deeply. Finally,
as Tergott was almost ready to yell from sheer ner
vous suspense, he said: -111 take you. Boh."
So the momentous match began. They fired alter
nately. Tergott started brilliantly; his first four shots
were bull’s-eyes, Disbrow, unsteady, gradually' pulled
himself together. He crept toward the "bull." The
fifth shot was in the black.
When half of the twenty shots had been fired,
Tergott was heartily sick of the contest. He was
still shooting well. But Disbrow was better. Ths
gravity of the occasion sent abstraction flying and
cleared hia troubled brain.
On the twelfth shot Tergott began to slip. It wag
not In him to go through to the end. On the four
teenth h« lost the lead. His twentieth effort left hlin.
a margin of three points only against the last shot
of Disbrow. A four would beat him. and Disbrow
had been getting fives steadily. L'nless a miracle
intervened lie was beaten.
A miracle did intervene. Disbrow choked down his
breathing and the beating of his heart. His aim
was perfect. But Just «» his finger squeexed the trig
ger. the sun-browned hills began to blur. Ths ground
crept and trembled stokentngly. A baby earthquake
was upon them.
Disbrow tried instinctively to release his pressure
on the trigger, but his brain oould not get »he mes
sage to his fingers quickly enough. Just previously
it had signaled the muscles to contract. As th*
quake Joggled the mussle of his rifle off the target,
they did contract. The shot went wild.
The trembling was over in a few seconds. Tin*
frightened markers returned to the pit from which
they had fled, in due time they signaled to ths pair
lying pale and thoughtful on the firing lino. Dis
brow had lost by three points.
He knew, and Terg.dt knew, that he had not lost
fairly. The firing regulations do not Intend that the
riflemen shall buck earthquakes. But Tergott, thg
adroit, said quickly:
Too bad about that mis*. The wind veered Just
before you fired. But you beat the earthquake."
Disbrow looked at him curiously, with a lonesome
ache at hie heart. A man la lfitely to feel bereft
when he has lest faith In a friend.
Tergott took it for granted that everything «ai
settled. He began to talk regretfully of DUbrow'a
to Spokane and got his rival a place wtth better pay.
By subtle suggestion ha set Disbrow a departure *
scant two weeks ahead.
Disbrow had lost a friend and a sweetheart, and th#
one hurt almost as much as the other. He tried to
ease the latter wound by teiling himself philosophi
cally that Belle MeNee had never really been hia
sweetheart They had been friends, and he had taken
her to the beach and the theatre. But she was friend
ly with Tergott. and went to places with him, too,
Disbrow had intended telling her, when he had |100
saved up. that he loved her.
Hut that was all off now. He had made a bargain
with Tergott. and was going through with It. That
Tergott was not playing fairly did not releaaa hit*
from responsibility.
The night before his going away day he went up
• o the little Mission street house where Belle McNea
lived with her Invalid mother. The girl waa whole
somely, daintily sweet, and she managed to mak*
the tiny, spotless home reflect her own characteristics,
despite the fact that she worked all day as book
keeper in a department store.
en* oo 4 l, A .. t -1. A iL . -X.. __ n il _
did not talk much, and when aha did it wm with
a. queer flippancy that made Idshrow uncomfortable.
It wasn't an occasion for flippancy.
It was 11 o’clock before ha got up to go. They
shook hands, the girl with a few Jesting words that
grieved Disbrow. There was a hard little (mil* on
her face, as he could see by the rays of the electric
light on the corner. Hla throat choked up; he could
hardly get out the word "Good-bye.” But he did,
somehow.
At the gate he Jumped as If someone had stuck a
pin In him. For a voice was speaking to him, a
strange, broken, yearning little voice, half-tears—a
voice that sent a million mad prides along his skin.
"Tommy," it said. ”1 know. I—I made him tell
me. Tommy, you silly boy, you aren't going to let
a little old earthquake beat you?"
Tommy went back In three bounds and gathered
her to him hungrll>, while,her arms went round hla
neck He kissed her hair and her wet cheeks and
her lips as he said, over and over: “Sweetheart, sweet
heart, sweetheart! Not even an earthquake—not
even an earthquake!"
Smith's Mind Relieved.
Mr. W. F. Smith, of No. 3 township, who went
to the Pasteur Institute, Raleigh, on Monday night,
returned home Tuesday night. Mr. Smith wai
treating a hog that showed signs of Illness, when
In some manner the hog threw some saliva In hla
face and mouth. It was afterward feared that the
hog had hydrophobia and Mr. Smith went to Ra
leigh to consult with the physlctans at the stpstl
tute as to the results of his experience with tha
log. They told Mr. Smith that there was not the
(lightest danger of hla having hydrophobia, even If
the hog did have It. which was very doubtful. The
nany friends of Mr., Smith throughout the county
rejoice that all fears of any evil results from hla
unflfcasant experlance have been removed.^Coa.
:ard Tribune.
Statesville Marathon Racers.
A number of Marathon racers are developing In
Itateavllle, and almost any evening or night the young
nen may be seen running on the Wllkesboro road.
iVhlle there are a half dosen or more who run often,
desars. Harper Brady, Frank Harbin and Thomat
Vnderson practice moat regularly, and these thret
;an now hold up on lopg trips and make good time,
t is said that young Anderson can run twelve |o flf.
•en miles without stopping to rest'—but please -
hat “It it —*d »—/ww Jfin^nTHfc