Newspaper Page Text
“The Least
Of These”
Ey LULU JOHNSON.
Copyrighted, 130$, by Associated
Literary Pres*.
Betty shuddered as the heavy Iron
gates clanged behind her at and she real
ized that she was actually within the
prison yard. It was her first visit to a
jwnitentinry. and. though she found It
not half so forbidding as she had an
ticipated, the atmosphere sent a chid
through her whole girlish figure.
Instead of rock piles, with convicts
monotonously breaking the stone, here
were flower bordered walks and
awards of softest green. But for the
high walls and the barred windows she
might well have imagined herself in a
municipal park or on a million dollar
estate.
When she reached the office her bas
ket of delicacies was consigned with
others brought by loyal friends for the
delectation of other convicts, but tlie
keeper looked curiously from the tag
on her basket to Betty’s face.
"No. 11,800 hasn't had a visitor since
he came here five weeks ago," com
mented the man significantly. "Are
you a relative?”
"No,” said the girl simply. “He was
just good to me when I needed help."
“Fie was good to lots of folks,"
grunted the warden, “but somehow
they seem to have forgotten It. He’s
in the hospital.”
The warden made a sign to a trusty,
and with fast heating heart Betty fol
lowed the man In the direction of the
great gray building. In one wing of
which was located tlie hospital.
Moreton, ex boss of the —th district,
was propped up in l>cd, and at sight of
Bessie Vynne he smiled radiantly.
Five weeks he had lain there fighting
grimly for tlie life that he had begun
to think was hardly worth the saving,
for Mon-ton had indeed been through
the valley of political humiliation.
Less than two years before it had re
quired two husky men to guard the
door of his headquarters and keep
buck the crowd of importunate callers
who wanted financial help, influential
word or perhaps just the chance to
fawn upon the powerful political
leader.
Moreton had been the boss of his
district, ruling with a rod of iron. He
had controlled the machine through
sheer force of will power.
His enemies both without and with
in the party had fought doggedly to
break his sway, but the boss had
gritted his teeth the harder at each
fresh attack and beaten the malcon
tents into submission.
But there had come an end to his
rule, as to almost all one man control.
The opposing party had secured the
services of a political revivalist. “In
the interest of good government," they
had explained, but the whole city
knew that it was a ruse to rid the dis
trict of Its dominating boss. It meant
turning the district over to another
clique as bad, but less experienced in
municipal villainy.
And the political world had sat back
and watched the warfare with grim
smiles. Perhaps, after all, the boss
would win again. But in this they
were wrong. By a mere quip of fate
the wheel spun the other way.
The boss lost, and after loss of power
came scandals and lawsuits. The lat
ter took most of the fortune he had
filched from the city, much of which
he had spent on the care of those who
needed it more desperately than the
taxpayers from whom he had filched it
so remorselessly. In reality the boss
when the blow fell could have counted
his fortune only In thousands when
his enemies ran It up to tens of thou
sands.
When he left the civil court room al
most penniless he found himself face
to face with criminal charges. Stoic
ally he had accepted his sentence of
five years In the penitentiary. Stoic
ally he had accepted his desertion by
those who had fawned upon him in
prosperity and power. A child of the
streets who had started carrying the
water bucket for the marching club
he had become a ward heeler, a lieu
tenant and finally the boss without the
aid of family ties or family influence.
Stoically he had accepted the decision
of the hospital staff He had an incur
able disease. He probably would not
live out his sentence.
Yet at sight of Betty Vyrme's face
his stoicism vanished, and after tin
radiant smile of welcome came a ten
derness almost pathetic.
"What are you doing here, child?" he
asked as be stroked the band th.r
clasped his. "Sing Sing's a good way
for a girl to come who's ouly making
her eight a week.”
The girl lavghod. but her voice was
►laky.
"Just listen to the man! And I'm get
ting ten—right in this town. I read in
the paper—about—about your being so
lonesome”— The man smiled grimly.
So the papers were commenting on the
fact that he was a deserted as well as
deposed leader of men. "And I saw
the ad. of a lawyer up here who want
ed a stenographer, and 1 came and
got the place. 1 ucb kettei
here than in town. And lean come
to see you once a week.'*
Moreton. deposed boss, leaned over
anil looked into her fact*.
“You— com*—up—here—K> be neat
me ?”
The girl nodded her head.
"And I’ve got the nicest boarding
place with a widow, and you ought to
see her flower beds" —
Just then a physician in white uoi
form came toward them.
“You can stay only five minutes. ’ he
said without waiting for the formality
if an introduction. “I cannot have my
patients unduly excited. In a few
weeks we shall have him in fine trim.
1 hoi*?, but we don’t want our treat
ment upset by too much company.”
Moreton"s lips set in grim lines. The
young doctor evidently did not know
that this was his first visitor.
“Hr. Lindsay, this is one of my best
friends. Miss Betty Vynne. and her
coming can’t hurt me. Why. say. I
feel like a two-.vear-old right now.”
Nevertheless the young doctor stood
near the door, and when the five min
utes were up lie led Betty from the
wa id.
“You can come again, as often as the
rules permit, but do not stay too long."
The next' time lie made the rounds
Dr. Lindsay found Moreton oddly
quiet, his fever reduced, ins pulse nor
mal.
“Doctor.” he said, with a smile, “that
girl’s coining did me more good than
all your dope. It’s good to know that
there’s one person that hasn’t forgot
you."
And then the young doctor saw that
something more than an organic dis
ease was aiming for the old lions’
hea rt.
“Daughter of an old friend?” he
asked casually.
"Not much—just a kid I picked up in
a tenement; took her from a sodden
old tiling who was beating the life and
spirit out of her. 1 turned her over to
the sisters. They did the rest.”
Lindsay smiled, but he understood.
It was the ex-boss who had paid the
sisters for the girl’s care and put her
through a business school and set her
on her feet, saving a girlhood like his
own boyhood from the slums and the
gutter.
After that Moreton slowly but surely
began to mend. There was no curing
the disease, but there was every chance
to prolong his life for years if he want
ed to put up the fight. And every time
that Betty Vynne came to the hospital
he seemed stronger for the fight.
For a time Dr. Lindsay watched the
case with purely professional interest,
but gradually this feeling became dis
tinctly personal. He generally met
Betty in the reception room of the hos
pital, lingered near Moretou’s bedside
during her stay and escorted her to the
entrance when she departed.
And. oddly enough, he found many
excuses for sitting with Moreton and
learning more about "the kid’s" plucky
fight for education and self support.
Before the first year of his sentence
had passed the ex-boss read young
Lindsay's secret, and one night after
Betty had paid her usual call the two
men talked it over.
“Mind you. she ain’t anybody. Nei
ther she nor I know where site sprung
from. So it’s up to yon.” said Moreton
warningly and yet with loving anxiety
in every word.
Young Lindsay studied the cracks in
the flooring for a few seconds, and then
he turned resolutely to his patient.
“She's true blue. There are not many
like her, no matter what sort of blood
was behind her, and I’m going to take
chances if she’ll have me. And. what
is more. 1 am going down to see her to
morrow when I’m off duty,”
“Is it all right, Betty?” inquired the
ex-boss as he stroked her hand tender
ly the next time she came. “Is it all
right, little girl?”
The girl smiled into his anxious eyes.
“Oh. Mr. Moreton, do you think I’m
half good enough for him?"
“Mind that, will you?” inquired the
invalid, as if addressing an audience;
then he drew the girl close. “Let me
tell you something. Betty. He wouldn't
let me tell you before for fear you'd
think you owed him something. He
wanted you to love him for himself
See? But Dr. Lindsay’s got some of
the boys started, and it looks like a
pardon, Betty; it certainly does."
She sank on her knees beside the
bed.
“Oh. that is too good to be true.”
"And that ain't all, Betty. I had
some shares in a gold mine; thought it
was a dead one, but Lindsay he’s been
looking into it, and mebbe —well, just
mebbe 1 can take you and Lindsay on
a wedding trip over to Germany. Lind
say says the springs over there would
do wonders for me, and Lindsay needs
a change, and—well, Betty, I'd been
dead by this time if it hadn’t been for
your coming "
He looked up to meet the shining
eyes of young Dr. Lindsay.
"Sav. Lindsay, ain’t there something
in tlie good 1 ook somewberes about the
least of these? 1 want to' find that
verse. I'm going to learn it. I cer
tainly am. All. there is so much fer
me to learn and so little time!"
A girl may threaten to scream if
a man attempts to kiss her, but
she seldom does it if there is a
chancefof one's hearing her.
THE CHEEPFUL TURTLE.
This Queer Creature Enjoys Many Pe
culiar Advantages.
“To be or not to lie—a turtle? To be
certainly, if I could not be a man,” de
clares one who speaks with knowledge
of his subject. “Basking in tropica!
suns or cruising leisurely in cool
depths, the turtle lias an exceedingly
good time. As soon as the baby turtle
emerges from the egg lie scuttles down
to the sea. He lias no one to teach
him. no one to guide. In his little brain
there is implanted a streak of caution,
based on the fact that until a certain
period his projecting armor is soft
and no defense against hungry fish,
and he immediately seeks shelter in
the tropical profusion of the gulf weed,
which holds within its branching
fronds an astonishing abundance oi
marine life.
“Here tbe young turtle feeds unmo
lested and knows that his armor is
hardening apace. Once he lias attained
the weight of twenty-five pounds he
may ’cheek’ freely any monster of the
deep. After that no fish or mammal
ever interferes with him. Intending
devourers may struggle all day to
break through his iron shell. They al
ways fail.
“The turtle. like the sperm whale,
has but one enemy—man. Now, even
that sperm whale must come pretty
frequently to the surface to breathe,
and if it got beached high and dry on
land what would become of it? But
the cheerful turtle can stay below the
surface for a week if he wants to, and
lie often does, while if he had to spend
an equal time on land he would enjoy
the change and be none the worse for
it. He is neither fish, flesh nor fowl,
yet his flesh partakes of the character
istics of all three.
“Eating seems a mere superfluity
with him, since for weeks at a time be
may be placed in a barrel, with the
bung out, and emerge after his long
fast apparently none tbe worse for his
enforced abstinence from food, from
light and almost from air. Of all the
warm blooded organisms there is none
so tenacious of life as the turtle. Inju
ries that would be instantly fatal even
to fish leave the turtle apparently un
disturbed, and his power of keeping
death at bay is nothing short of mar
velous.”
AN EFFECTIVE SERMON.
Trumpet Elast That Drove the People
to Repentance.
Old refer Cartwright was a famous
preacher and circuit rider many years
ago.
The exhorter was holding a camp
meeting in Ohio. TheVe was a great
number of campers on the field, and
the eccentric speaker addressed vast
concourses at every service, but he
thought too few were being converted.
He felt that something should be done
to stir the sinners to repentance, so
he prepared a strong sermon on the
second coining of Christ. He told how
the world would go on in its sin and
wickedness and at last Gabriel would
sound his trumpet and time would
come to an end. lie described the
horrors of the lost and the joys of
those who were saved. The sermon
grew in intensity, and he brought his
people up to a grand climax, when sud
denly the sound of a trumpet smote
the ears of the anxious throng.
There was a great sensation, and
many fell upon their knees in terror
and began to repent and pray. Women
screamed and strong men fcroaned.
Pandemonium was let loose for a few
minutes. After the terror had some
what ceased the preacher called to a
man up a tree, and he descended with
a long tin horn in bis hand. The
speaker then turned in fierce wrath
arid upbraided the people. He cried
out in stentorian tones that, if a man
with a tin horn up a tree could
frighten them so, how would it be in
the last great end when Gabriel’s
trumpet sounded the knell of the world!
The sermou had a great effect upon
the vast audience, and many hundreds
flocked to the frout and were con
verted.
The Plot.
Doctor—l think 1 shall have to call
in some other physicians for consulta
tion. Patient—That’s right. Go ahead.
Get as many accomplices as you can.—
Ijondon Telegraph.
Thinks !t Saved His Life.
Lester M . Nelson, of Naples,
Maine, says in a recent letter: ‘‘l
have used Dr. King's New Discov
ery many years, for coughs and
colds, and I think it saved my
life. 1 have found it a reliable
remedy for throat and lung com
plaints, and would no more he
without a nottle than i would he
w.thou* food.” For nearly forty
years Nev Discovery has stood at
the head <> f throat and iung rem
.edies Asa preventative of pneu
monia. a’ and healer of weak lungs
it has no equal. Sold under guar
antee at G. W. DeLaperriere’s
drugstore. 50c. and SI.OO. Trial
bottle free.
TORTRIfaHi MtlAiymiMiLES
jr FIRL PROOIF^
That is another of their good features, an important one, as hun
dreds of fires occur annually from sparks settling on the roof.
Better put them on the roof now than wish you had later.
They’re cheap enough. Last a life-time. Never need repairs,
and they turn the appearance of any house into a heme.
Come in and see them.
LEATHERS & EAVENSON,
Winder, Ga.
Captivating a Queen.
It was by his graceful execution of a
dance that young Hatton first capti
vated the heart of Queen Elizabeth,
says Edward Scott in his book on
“Dancing In All Ages.” He bad been
brought up to the law and entered
court, as his enemy, Sir John Perrot,
used to say, “by the gaillarde,” as his
first appearance there was on the occa
sion of a mask ball, and her majesty
was so struck by his good looks and
activity that she made him one of her
band of pensioners, who were consid
ered the handsomest men in England.
It is said that the favors which the
virgin monarch extended to her new
favorite excited the jealousy of the
whole court, especially that of the Ear!
of Leicester, who, thinking to depre
ciate the accomplishments of the
young lawyer, offered to introduce to
Elizabeth’s notice a professional dancer
whose saltatory performances were
considered far more wonderful than
Hatton’s. To this suggestion, however,
the royal lady, with more vehemence
than elegance, exclaimed; “Pish! 1
will not see your man. It is his trade.”
An Inspiration.
Little Willie—Say, pa, what Is an in
spiration? Pa—An inspiration, my son.
Is the sudden recollection of someone
who will probably stand for a touch.—
Kansas City Newsbook.
The Bible's Good Use of Words.
The Bible as n standard for the cor
rect use of words has been urged upon
readers by Professor Lounsbury of
Yale, writing in Harper’s - Magazine.
"Make up our mind,” says Professor
Lounsbury, "that the Bible is a guide
to be followed grammatically as much
as it is morally. The language of our
version belongs to the sixteenth cen
tury. It therefore .naturally contains
expressions which, though proper at
that time, are not in accord with the
common usage of our day. When it
was originally translated, which was
generally the relative pronoun refer
ring to persons. Hence we say, ‘Our
Father which art in heaven.’ More
than this, the subtle distinction found
in the employment of shall and will
had not then become established in the
language But these do not affect the
correctness of its procedure in regard
to expressions still met with every
where. In such cases accept its au
thority without question and conform
your practice with it.”
He Went.
Mr. Lingerlong—l had a queer adven
ture this afternoon. Miss de Muir
(with a swift glance at the clock) —You
mean yesterday afternoon, 1 presume.
—Exchange.
The Meaning of “Muff.”
The record of the fact that muffs
were once worn by more men than wo
men in Paris suggests the old ingenious
definition of a muff as “a soft thing
that holds a lady’s hand without squeez
ing it.” “Muff” appears to have come
to us from German, in which language,
curiously, "muff” means not only a
band comforter, but also a sulky per
son or a growling dog. These seem,
however, to be two different words.
Was our own metaphorical “muff” an
allusion to the effeminacy of muff
wearers or simply an intimation that
the person was distinctly “soft?”— ■
London Chronicle.
True to the Adage.
. "My son, ray son!" exclaimed the dis
mayed mother as she saw all her boy’s
t*eloiigiiigs stacked in a corner of the
closet. “Haven’t I tried over and over
to teach you that you should have a
place for everything?”
“Yep.” said the son cheerfully, “and
this is the place.”—Chicago News.
Fame.
“Who was James Boswell?” asked
the teacher of the class in English lit
erature.
"He was Dr. Samuel Johnson's press
agent.” answered the young man with
the bad eye.—Chicago Tribune.
Good temper is like a sunny day—it
sheds its brightness everywhere.—
French Proverb
One cheer is better than a dozen
howls.
WITH THE
KURFEES PAINTS
(pure Ccao and Zinc Products)
For inside and out, walls,
floors,- barns, porches,
V roofs, etc. A particular
kind for each job, and
each kind particularly
good. :: :: :: :: :: ::
SOLD BY
Woodruff Hdw. &
Manufacturing Cos.
WINDER, GEORGIA.
HUMAN MACHINERY.
The marvelous mechanical inventions
of today are but mere toys compared to
the human body. This is one machine
that must be given constant and intelli
gent care. Once permitted to run too
far without skillful repair, the wreck is
just ahead.
STUART’S BUCKU AND JUNIPER
has repaired more human ills, relieved
the strain on weak parts and completely
checked the cause thin any other invigo
rating cordial. It relieves kidney dis
eases, catarrh of the bladder, diabetes,
dropsy, gravel, headache, dyspepsia, pant
in the back and side, loss of appetite
general debility, neuralgia, sleeplessness,
rheumatism and nervousness. STL ARI c
BUCHU AND JUNIPER positively re
lieves these diseases. At all stores, Sl.o<
per bottle. Write for free sample.
Stuart Drug Manufacturing Cos.,
Atlanta, Ga.
Mr. Business Man.
When you are in position to use*
another stenographer or bookkeeper
or the two in one, phone or write
the employment department of the
Athens Business College, Athens,
Ga. You will appreciate securing
help that is thoroughly trained to
meet the practical demands of your
office. The largest business college
in the state must necessarily turn
oat the best trained help. Our serv
ices are free to you. Give us a trial
and thereby do yourself and some
worthy young man or woman a
favor.
A Grand Family Medicine.
“ It gives me pleasure to speak
a good word for Electric Bitters,”
writes Mr. Frank Conlan of No.
Houston St .N- w York. It's
a grand family mecicii e fordyspep
gia and liver complications, while
for lame back and weak kidneys
it cannot be too highly recom
mended,’‘Electric Bitters regulate
the digestive functions, purify the
blood, and impart renewed vigor
and vitality to the weak and
degilitated of both sexes. Sold
under guarantee at Dr. G. W. k
DeLaperriere’s drug store. 50c.