The Winder news. (Winder, Jackson County, Ga.) 1909-1921, February 10, 1910, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Through a T elescope A Tragedy In the Alps That Was Seen by One Who ILept His Own Counsel. By F. A. MITCHEL. Copyright, lfilO. by American Press Assockit ion. If you go to Interlaken it is quite possible you may see the man who told me this story. You will find him standing almost any day when the at mosphere Is transparent and the glori ous Jungfrau looms up beautifully in a notch between two of the foothills, standing beside the main street of the town, showing the mountain through his telescope to tourists at half a franc a “look.” I do not mean to say that he put the facts at the bottom of his yarn together as a story. Nevertheless they are a story, and it is my part to arrange them in proper form. Here it Is as he told it to me, with certain transpositions of mine necessary to its ready understand lug: One day a few summers ago 1 was standing here showing people the mountain when a party came along consist lug ol' it young girl and two young men. The girl and one of the young men were Americans. The other young man, 1 judged from his accent, was French. The American man was a quiet, steady looking fellow. The Frenchman was handsome, with all the vivacity of the French people, while the girl was one of your American beauties. The names of all three I after ward learned, ami I shall never forget them. The American ran was Archi bald Wallace; the Frenchman was Jean l.e Yerian; tin* girl was Alice Clark. )h, there is a teh's-op:*!” exclaimed Miss Clark as t>he approached me. *‘l to let's have a look.” With her American impulse she put lit a' eye to the eyepiece, while 1 made the adjust meats. "Isn't It wonderful?” she said en thusiastically. "What beautiful slopes! What awful gulfs! liut it is fascinat ing. I’m crazy to go tip there.” The very next afternoon 1 was stand ing here, as usual, waiting for people to come along and pay me for a look through my telescope, when, seeing a mass of snow cti the mountain begin ning to move, I put my eye to tin* glass. After witnessing an avalanche turning the glass about over the moun tain 1 saw three figures, two men and a woman, not far above the snow line. My glass did not reveal their feature's, but 1 suspected they were the party who had been with me the day before. I watched them for some time. Aft er awhile 1 saw one of the men stroll away around a snow covered rock, where he was screened from the oth ers, and look over a cliff. Then he went part of the way back and, 1 fan cied, called of course 1 could not hear him to the other man, for the latter went around the rook and joiued him, and the two stood on the edge of the cliff together looking over. Suddenly I saw one figure behind the other and the front one fall over the elilf. There was a sleep incline at the cliff's base of hard snow. The mo ment the figure that had fallen struck this snow 1 saw him glance, then shoot down on the surface, lie passed be hind a peak, and when In* again ap peared 1 saw him still sliding. Then lie slid around a bend and disappeared. As soon as 1 was convinced that 1 should not see him again I turned my glass back to the other figure, lie was running toward the woman. When he reached her there was a pantomime which Indicated he was telling her that the other man had fallen over the cliff. But 1 knew very well that he had pushed his friend--or enemy, as the ease might be over. While I could not distinguish the woman's fea tures. 1 knew by her motions that sin* was terribly moved by the tragedy. She went with the remaining man to the cliff, and the two seemed to be looking down at Its base to see If they could get a glimpse of their compan ion. Then they turned away and de scended the mountain. I was satisfied that one of the men had pushed the other over the cliff and that they were Wallace and l.e Verlun, tliouch 1 could not teil wli'.-h was the victim. ! knew full well that the matter would soon be reported ami resolved to keen my own counsel, cu rious to know In what form the trag edy would be made known. The same night 1 heard that a terri ble accident bad happened to a young American stopping at the J. hotel. I went there and got the story from the concierge. He said that while a Mr. Wallace, an American, was look ing over a cliff a crust of sumv had given way under his feet and lie had fallen 100 feet to the bottom. He had doubtless been killed. A party was be ing made up to go the next day to look for his body. Making further Inquiries. I learned that he had gone up the mountain side with a Jean Le Verkin, a Parisian, and a Miss Clark of Philadelphia. While t was permitting people to tell me about what I knew much more than they, Be Yerian passed me. lie looked very somber, as one might be expected to appear who had witnessed the trag edy he had reported. I tried to de fect the look of a villain in his face, but failed. Either he was not guilty, ns I supposed, or he carried the con sciousness of his guilt so well that it would not betray him. The next morning I joined the party that, set out to find Wallace’s body, my object being to follow, if possible, the route he would be forced over and to determine whether he could have es caped with his life. Having reached the bottom of the cliff, the party were surprised to find no traces of the body, and we all followed the incline to the point where it had disappeared from my view. A short distance beyond tills there was a fork in the possible route, one branch leading to a gradual rise, upon attaining which he would have soon stopped; the other leading to the edge of a crevasse into which he would have fallen to an unknown depth. Every member of the party agreed that Wallace must have slid into the crevasse. As for me, 1 said nothing, thinking the chances either way were even. We returned to Interlaken, and the party reported the result of their investigations, with the opinion that the body, being in the crevasse, could not easily be recovered. I resolved to await developments. If Wallace had escaped we should hear from him with in a reasonable time. A few days later an old gentleman came up to me while 1 was standing beside my telescope and asked me if the place from which the American had fallen was visible from where we stood. I assured him that it was and directed my telescope toward it. He put Iris eye to the glass and since it was in the center of the field of view seemed to recognize it at oner*. "If any one had been looking through your glass at the time the accident oceured, would he have seen it?” ho asked. "Certainly,” I replied. “Fau figures and faces In* distin guished up there through your tele scope so as to know them?” “Not surely.” “Could yen see an act in which two figures were involved?” "Not very clearly.” Something in the man's voice was familiar to me. As he turned and faced fine 1 saw that lie was "made up,” as the theatrical people say. Then something suddenly burst upon me. Was it a droop of one shoulder? Was it the interest he had manifested in tin* tragedy? 1 could not tell, but 1 knew the old man was young Wallace disguised. "I was hiking through my glass,” I said, “when that tragedy occurred.” 1 felt a grip on my arm, and the man was fairly glaring at me. "Were you? What dkl you see?” he said, trying to master his emotion. 1 told him what 1 had seen as 1 have told it here. He would not permit me to leave out the slightest detail. When 1 had finished I added: "You are Mr. Wallace, aud you were pushed over that cliff. I saw enough to convince me that what 1 witnessed was an attempted murder. Now tell me of the man’s motive.” lb* told me that Miss Clark was an American millionairess; that he had known her at home and they had re cently become engaged. In Paris Le Yerian had been introduced to the girl, had joined the party with whom she was traveling and had been trying to win her. Doubtless recognizing that Wallace was the main obstacle in the way of getting her and her millions, be bad attempted to put lfini out of the way. Wallace had landed where I sup posed In* would land, being only shale en up by (lit* glance be had made at the bottom of the cliff. Realizing that if be accused I.t* Yerian of trying to murder him he would have no evi dence of the fact, he had. disguised himself and returned with a view to watching his rival without being known to him. He had not 'ot made himself known to Miss Clalk. being desirous to discover bow she felt to ward bis would be murderer. From what in* bad observed he feared that l.e Yorinn was making some I eadway lu his suit, but could not tell. Lis fiancee bad been apparently much shocked. Having learned that 1 would bo able to testify. Mr. Wallace resolved to make himself known to Le Yerian and Miss Clark. lie came to see me tin* next day and described the seem* as it occurred at the J. hotel. He had taken a private parlor iw*d sent a mes sage to l.e Yerian and Miss Clark that if they would come to the apartment they would learn something of CJeorge Wallace They came, the girl looking hopeful ly anxious, tlie man very much .agi tated. Wallace, who was dressed as an old man. threw off his disguise and stood before them as himself. The girl started toward him with a cry and fell in a swoon in his arms. The man stood looking like a serpent about to strike a final blow for life. Wallace put <mt bis hand and touch ed a bell. Li* Yerian stood trembling like a leaf. A waiter entered, and Wallace told him to call the proprietor. He came, and Wallace deefared him self to be the missing American and denounced l.e Yerian as his would be murderer. At that moment Miss Clark came to herself and heard his accusation. I never learned what became of Le Yerian. I heard nothing about a trial and inferred that Mr. Wallace and his fiancee shrank from prosecuting him. But the next summer while I was showing the Jungfrau to some tour ists I heard a familiar voice say: “Can you show me the cliff from which Wallace, the American, fell?” 1 turned. There stood Mr. Wallace himself with the American girl on his arm. “Mrs. Wallace and 1 would like to see the place.” he added. But the lady shrank away with a shudder, and her husband failed to In duce her to take even a glance. Yes; I made something out of it. Wallace liTid given rue money before he left. Interlaken and gave me more when he returned. I invested it In some American securities he recom mended. STRAN3E COMPANIONS. The “Happy Family” and a Kitten and a Hawk. The fir public exhibition of a “hap py famil}" in England was given about fifty years ago, when there were shown a monkey, a cat. several rats and three or four pigeons in one cage. The monkey was on excellent terms with the eat so long as puss would allow him to warm himself by cud dling her; otherwise lie would show liis vexation by slyly giving her tail a nip with his teeth. The birds perched on the cat's back and peeked at her fur, and the rats were as friendly with their natural enemy as if she were one of fheir own sort. A lady walking in the Isle of Wight observed a little kitten curled up on a mossy bank taking a midday nap. As she stopped to stroke it a hawk swooped down and. pouncing upon the kitten, hid it: from sight. The lady, fearing for the life of the kitten, tried to rescue it, but the hawk firmly faced her, stood tit bay and re fused to move. She hastened to a fisherman’s cottage and told the in mates of the impending tragedy. "It’s always so,” they said, laughing. “That hawk always comes down if any one goes near the kitten. He has taken to it and stays near at hand to watch whenever it goes to sleep." The lady, greatly interested, made further inquiry and learned that the kitten’s mother had died, after which the nursiing was missed for several days. One day the hawk was seen about the cottage picking tip scraps of meat and carrying them to the roof of the cottage. The fisherman climbed up and found the lost kitten nestled in a hole in the thatch and thriving under the care of its strange foster father. It was brought down and restored to the cot tage. but the hawk would not resign Ills charge.and was always at hand to rescue the kitten from the caresses of strangers.—Philadelphia North Amer ican. Dictionary Lore. ■‘Poison’’ and "pmion" are doublets, the former being an older form of the latter. Both are derived from the Latin "potare," to drink, and “poison" in its original sense signified merely something to drink. While the word “human” used as meaning "a human being” is now only colloquial or humorous, I.owell in the introduction to the “Biglow Pa pers” chi led Bartlett for including it in his "Dictionary of Americanisms" and remarked that it was Chapman’s habitual phrase in his translation of Homer and that it is found also in the old play qf “The Flog Hath Lost Ills Pearl.”—Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. • A Flame Combination. !f a small quantity of chlorate of potash be powdered and mixed with an equal quantity of'powdered sugar a candle may be li fitted by means of the mixture without matches. Place a little of it in the depression around the wi k of a candle that luts been previously used and then touch ti e mixture with a glass red the end of which lus been dipped in oil of vitri !. H will burst into Came, light ing the candle. An Cvsrive Answer. “We dtned at Mrs, CrankVeigh’a last night." “I suppose you h id n good dinner." “Well, wo found out that Mrs. Crankialgh Is an active member of the society for bo;, coding nil the high priced fa> dtiffs Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ce'f Protection. “You didn’t really need a wig." "I was driven to it. Now the bar ber won’t try to soil me any fofiics or hair restorer."—Louisville (Courier Journal. Never add the burden of yesterday’s trouble to that of tomorrow. The one is past; the other may uovtr come. There Is more to a Fertilizer than Analyses The mere mixing of materials to obtain analy sis requires no special knowledge. The value of a fertilizer lies in the source from which the plant food is obtained. Each ingredient in Royster goods is selected with a view of supplying the plant from sprouting until harvest. The plant is not overfed at one time and starved at an other. Twenty-five years experience goes with every bag. TRADEMARK^ REGISTERED Sold by reliable dealers throughout the SciutSi. F. S* Royster Guano'Co. NORFOLK, VA. Condensed Statement of the Condition of THE WINDER BANKING CO. WINDER, GEORGIA, JANUARY 31, 1910. RESOURCES Loans and Discounts $176,681.73 Stocks and Real Estate 5,800.00' Furniture and Fixtures 2,465.50 Cash on Hand and in Banks 26,137.69 $211,084.92 Our Furniture Invites Your Criticism. \Yo like to have it looked it. We like to give bur time to explain its pood points. Never fear that you will bother ns too nm<*h. oil can't bother mat all. Anyway we will be ahead by having you look, even if you don’t buy. For if you nee you can’t forget, and it’s surely worth something to us to have you remem’ tier. Worth something to you, too, when furniture buying comes. Bring us your ideas and we will match them for teat at prices may be lower than you imagine. Come to see us. W. T- Robinson. Hew He Knew. In a Kansas City court recently, a nefro on the witness-stand was being questioned about a sick horse. “What was the matter with the horse?” asked the lawyer. “He was ailin’,” replied the witness “Yes, 1 know,” said the ques tioner, “but what was the matter? LIABILITIES Capital Stock $ 50,000.00 Surplus and Profits 27,706.31 Deposits 124,498.02 Re-Discounts 8,880.50 $211,084.92 “He wall jes ailin’.” “But what was wrung? With what dis ease was he suffering?” “Jes ailin’,’’ persisted the negro. The lawye r was qu.it a moment. Then he had a bright idea. He would" try to get at the horse’s symptoms. "Well, how do you know he was ailing?' - he asked. “’Cause he died " replied the witness. Schedule Seaboard Air Line EASTWARD. No. 52 For local stations, Mon roe and Columbia... 9:45 a m No. 32—For Norfolk, Washing ton and New York... 2:49 p m No. 58 —For local stations to I Athens 6:55 p m * No. 38—For local stations north of Athens, Richmond and East 11:25 p m WESTWARD. No. 41—For Atlanta, Birming ham and west 5:40 a m No. 57 —For local stations and Atlanta 7:52 a m No. 33—For Atlanta, Birming ham, Memphis and West 4:02 p m No. 53—For Atlanta and west 6:55 p m These arrivals and departures given as information and are not guat** inteed.