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Fathers Conspiracy By GEORGE MUNSON {Copyright, 1916, by W. G. Chapman.) The last time I had seen father was In the court. He was standing up in one place and mother in another, and I was between them. The judge was at the top, on a high seat, and he looked at father so angrily that I didn’t feel like doing anything but cry. Before that father had been away for a long time, and mother and Mr. Griggs told mo he was never coming hack, and I must forget him. How could I forget him when ho used to play soldiers with me and we'd go fishing together and have such lots of fun? The judge told me I’d have to go home with mother and forget him, too. I guess I was only a kid then — I’m nine now, and that was a long time ago. Anyway, I forgot what hap pened for some time after that, but I didn't forget father. I remembered him all the time, es pecially when Mr. Griggs was at our house. One day mother asked me how I’d like Mr. Griggs for a new father, and I said if he were my father I’d run away. I guess mother didn't like that, and she told me Mr. Griggs would be a far nicer father to me. But Mr. Griggs never played anything with me, and he didn’t know a fly from a worm. Then came the time when I saw father. I’d been to the store at the end of the lane, and I heard a noise In the bushes, and who should step out but father? He was all roughly dressed, but I guess I didn’t think ' ii» i <n Father Looked as Black as Thunder. about that. I just ran to him and he kissed me as if ho was never going to stop. “I thought you weren’t coming back.” I said. “Well, 1 don’t know that I am,” said father. “But I’ve come to see you, anyway. How's mother?” "She’s all right,” I said, “but I wish Mr. Griggs wouldn’t come so often.” Father looked as black as thunder. “How often does he come?” he asked. “Every evening,” I answered. “And I guess he’s going to be my father now. Mother says so, anyway.” Father looked blacker than ever. “See here, Roddy, can you keep a se cret?” he said. “Sure,” said I. Father and I had always had our secrets together, “But this is a real one,” said fa ther. "You mustn't even let mother know. How would you like to come for a week's tramp with me? Fishing and fun in the woods?” “I’d love to,” I answered. “Mayn’t I tell mother, though?” “No,” answered father. "You must promise. That's the secret. Suppose I was to be here with an auto tomor row night at twolve, do you think you could slip out of the house and meet me?” I told father I could, and I prom ised faithfully not to say a word about It. But It was hard work not letting mother know, especially as she looked so kind when she kissed me good night. Mr. Griggs was there as usual, and I heard him say, when I was out of the room, “Thank heaven the kid’s gone, Minna. Now you and I can talk sense.” “You mustn’t take too much for granted, Lionel.” I heard mother an swer. “How about a little moonlight ride? I can get my auto here in a jiffy,” said Mr. Griggs. I thought mother said no, but that was all I heard. I waited hours, until I thought mother was gone to bed, and Mr. Griggs away, and then 1 slipped cut! It was a bright moonlight night, and I walked hurriedly up the lane. And there stood father, waiting for me, ■with his little car in the roadway. It wasn't half as big as Mr. Griggs', but somehow it seemed much nicer to me. Father took me in his arms and kissed me again, and then I hopped in. And father got down to crank. Just then a big car came along in the ether direction, and. as it slowed down to pass us I caught sight ot Mr. Griggs, and mother at his side. They would have passed without recognizing me, I think, because they seemed to be whispering to each oth er, but I was so overcome I couldn't help shouting to mother. She knew my voice, and the car slowed down and came back toward us, and I beard mother scream. “Mother! Here's father!” I shout ed. You see. I was a kid then, and I hadn’t been told not to tell that. And I thought how nice it would be to have father home again in place of that horrid Mr. Griggs. Mother screamed at the top of her voice, and just then father got the car cranked and jumped in. And all he said to me was, “You’ve went and bust the show, kid. However, we’ll see what my own little jitney can do.” We were off in a moment, with the little car going licketysplit, and the big car going rackety-rack behind us, and mother screaming; and then it began to dawn on me that mother was angry. And somehow I saw that fa ther was taking me away from moth er, because, just as the judge had said, they couldn’t both have me, and so I had to go to the injured party. Though I am sure father never injured moth er in his life. “They’ve got us,” said father, and just then we came to a bend in the road, and father wheeled the little car sidewise and stopped and jumped out. And the big car came snorting up to us and crashed into it just as father pulled me to the ground. “Give me back my boy, Charlie!” screamed mother. Then, as father pushed me behind him toward the wrecked car, she cried to Mr. Griggs, "Knock him down, Lionel. Take the boy!” Mr. Griggs looked so funny. He came up to father in a weak sort of way, and father doubled his lists, and then Mr. Griggs suddenly turned and bolted like a deer. Father wont after him, and mother caught me and began kissing me and crying over me. And I think she would have run away w r ith me, but just then father came back, dragging Mr. Griggs by the scruff of the neck. It looked so peculiar, because Mr. Griggs was quite as big as father, and fatter, and there he was crying like a baby. “I’ll have you arrested for as sault. Let me go. Let me go.” Father marched Mr. Griggs straight up to mother. “Here’s your now beau, Minna," he said. “A fine sort of chap you're go ing to take f6r the boy’s second fa ther. I guess this deal’s mine.” Mother’s face was perfectly white; and then, all at once, looking at Mr. Griggs moaning and cursing, and at father, with that humorous look he always had when things went wrong, she suddenly burst out laughing hys terically. And father put his arm round her. “Beat it!” he said to Mr. Griggs. Mr. Griggs took one last look at the situation, as the saying goes, and took to his heels. And father and mother began kissing each other. “I guess your taste in beaus isn’t much better than your taste in hus bands, old girl,” said father. “Hap pily we have the same taste in boys. Eh?” So we all wdlked home arm in arm and never thought about the machines. And father is still father, but Mr. Griggs left town next dpy and hasn't come back yet. Emerson as an Essayist. Emerson’s essays constitute his continuously popular writings. Virtual ly all his prose consists of essays. Their point of view is uniquely unitary and self-consistent. They form pleas for freedom of personality. All set forth enthusiastic and constant faith in the worth of every individual, be cause Emerson believed in the inner goodness of all men. and the necessity of each of us standing immovably in himself. He taught the eternal truth that men have founts of joy in them selves, and quickened faith in the soul. He stood for the large attitude toward life. He regarded the whole world as an expanded circle of brothers. His message was that of Keats: 'Beauty is truth, truth beauty;” and he cared equally for each. He exemplified tho highest function the essayist can per form. His interpretation of life, con duct and character is the spiritual and idealist interpretation. His Judgment | of men was so nearly infallible, that it seemed that of fate, and proved again | that the man of ideas judges the man of action more wisely and justly than the man of action the man of ideas Frederic Perry Noble in the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review. Wanted Another Arrangement. It had been an unusally hard day for little Theo, who was visiting her great-grandmother, at whoso house lived her grandmother and her Uncle Wallie a’so. This uncle, who indulged her with a fine disregard of conse quences, was a great favorite of little Theo. On this particular day she had been naughty, calling forth many re proofs from her two grandmothers. At last, weary and discouraged, she sat down indignantly in her little rocker, and, eying her grandmothers with evident disgust, remarked with a loud sigh: "I wish God had not made me so many grandmas, but had made me more Uncle Wallies.” * ———————— Pony Lacked Avoirdupois. John had a new and spent a large part of his time feeding it, but was never seen to ride it. "Why don’t you ride on your pony?” asked an in terested neighbor. “Oh,” John sadly replied, "I have to wait until he gets fat enough to fit the saddle.” DUCK RAISING IS FLOURISHING INDUSTRY GROUND PLAN | L '« Five-Pen Breeding House for Ducks. R. W. Curtiss of Ransomville, N. Y., who raises about 30,000 duck 3 a year and makes big profits at the business, says it is harder manual work to raise ducks than chickens, and the business requires patience and good judg ment. He selects eggs from the stronger birds and sets them in incu bators and broods them until they are eight weeks old when they are fattened for market. “Before these ducks are fattened we sort out our breeding stock at the age when the ducks are old enough so that we can tell the sexes. I go,” says Mr. Curtiss, “through a large number of ducks and perhaps I might get five or ten fit to breed from out of a large flock of one hundred. That seems like a lot of work. Every time you change the feed the ducks won’t eat, and if you change gradually they will probably be off their feed for two days; and just at that time we sort out the breeding stock, and it is just at the time we change the feed so that we do not lose anything. “We handle the ducks by the neck; we never take them by the legs. We hold the duck up and look at him, and if he has a good broad breast all the way through and fairly deep keel, and broad back, and not too long a neck, and his head not tob long, and if he fights a great deal and tries to get away, showing ho is strong, then we will pick out that duck. He has got to bo a certain weight; we do not actually weigh them because that is too much trouble. “We take the ducks out in May and they are taken out in flocks of two hundred. We start and drive these ducks over to the pasturo and in driv ing them we will say that we have two hundred and ten or two hundred and fifteen. “We keep them in a large wood lot. We take lots of time driving them along, not too slow and not so slow as you would drive market ducks. We keep them moving and when we get them half way over two or three of them will break down and flap their wings, and they cannot walk. These House for Growing Ducks. ducks are left right where they are. It is simply the survival of the fittest, and when we get to the breeding pens there will be ducks strung all the way along whero we have been driving them. It is only the ducks that have strength to walk this distance, being urged all the time, that are put in the pen. Then we go back and clean up the ones that are left and they are put. into the marketing pen. It does not matter how nice a duck they are, because it is strength we are after. “We put one hundred to two hun dred ducks in a pen, and there is no shed or anything for them to run un der. It is just simply a wood lot. It ; would be just as well to have them ! run in a field, provided they had some ! artificial shade, but decidedly you have got to have some shade for ducks. If you put ducks in a hot field in the summertime there is danger. I have seen full-grown ducks get sunstruck and lie down and die. “We feed them there for five months on light food. We do not want to fat ten them. If there are any ducks that get off their feed they are taken right off; they are not kept. We keep lan terns burning in the trees on dark nights to keep them from getting scared. “A peculiar thing about ducks is that they will run and trample on each other and jump in the corner of the pens if they get scared on a dark night. If it is a bright moonlight night we do not light the lanterns. “The feed for these ducks is four parts bran to one part of flour and one part cornmeal and one-twentieth beef scrap. For green feed we use four parts clover. The clover should bo about one-third or a little more than one-third of the entire feed. You can feed them all the green feed they will eat. A good indication is to watch their troughs, and after they have eaten their feed if they leave a little clover in the trough you know they are getting all they want, and may be a little more; and if they clean this trough up they haven't quite enough to eat. If they have too much to e<A, they pick the green feed out and leave nothing but the mash, and then you know they haven’t enough green feed. “We feed them wet mash; mix it a little «iore moist than you do for chickens. These ducks must not be fed all they will eat, because if you do they will get in good condition. They are not to be starved, but you must keep them Just a little hungry, and they will go out in this one or two acres of land and eat more or less green feed, and they will ruu up and down the pen and it will give them muscle. “We keep them in this manner until they are five months old, and then we change and put them in permanent quarters. Most any kind of a build ing will do for a duck house, it does not require very much light, but if you want eggs all the winter you must have it warm enough so that the eggs won't get chilled. If you go through pretty often and take up the eggs they will not get chilled. “We do not have any nests in our duck houses; we simply bed them with shavings. We did try nests, but we could not see any great benefit from them. They will dig a hole in the corner and lay the egg and cover it up and when you go through in the morning you have to be careful that you do not walk on the eggs. “We breed from a pullet, we never breed from a yearling duck. A duck will take on fat very easily, and if you keep them over the second year they get too fat, and they will not lay as early, and the eggs are not fertile, and we cannot get good results. “We mate one drake and five ducks. We start these in October, and as the season advances, say about the first of March, we watch the ducks, and if we see two drakes get to fighting, we catch one of them; we catch the poorest and put him in a pen by him self. Whenever we see any fighting, we take out a drake, and when there is no fighting, we leave them alone, and they balance themselves up. “Sometimes you will find they will run for a long time and there will be no fighting; then, there will come a rain storm, and there will be puddles of water in the' yard, and if you go out you will find dozens of them fight ing, and they will tear each other to pieces. They will get the blood started and your five drakes will get after one and fairly eat him. I have seen it when we would not have more than one drake to ten or twelve ducks, and we would get just as good eggs as we got in the winter.” RAISING FEED FOR THE FLOCK Farm That Produces Its Own Grain Is Always Most Successful—Oper ating Expense Reduced. “The poultry farm that produces its own feed or a goodly part of it is al ways the most successful,” according to William H. Pfeifer of Allenton, Mo., “because the feed is always right at hand when needed, no drayage, no waste, the range birds seeing to the latter. “The shattered grain does not go to feed sparrows, crows, etc., but pro duces chicken-meat and eggs. The droppings go back to the fields as fertilizer and the operating expense or upkeep is greatly reduced. "Such a farm has a great advantage over the one that has to buy all its feed, hauling it over miles of rough country roads, paying dearly for the time wasted in drayage and extra han dling. This in itself is important evi dence of why the farmer can produce cheaper poultry and eggs than the pbultryman. Those who after serious consideration decide to go into the business should bear this advice in mind.” EGGS SHIPPED FOR HATCHING Should Be Nested Deeply and Careful ly Wrapped in Excelsior —Cover Basket With Cloth. Eggs to be shipped for hatching, if packed in baskets, should be nested deeply in excelsior and each egg care fully wrapped in excelsior. The basket may be covered with a piece of cloth which is sewed to the basket at the edges, or held in place by tacks carefully pushed in the bask et. or may have its edge pushed up un der the top strip of the basket, outside, ; with the edge of a case knife. SETTING EGGS FROM PULLETS As General Rule Young Fowls Are in Poor Physical Condition —Hens' Eggs Are Best. Better hatches and stronger chicks will result by setting eggs from hens than from pullets. As a rule, pullets lay more during the winter and are poorer in physical condition at the be ; ginning of the hatching season thar are the hens, which gives rise to larger number of small eggs and moi infertile ones. ONE MAN’S HOBBY By SUSAN E. CLAGETT. (Copyright, 1916, by the McClure News paper Syndicate.) Elizabeth Yeaton laughed as she walked around the beech tree and ex amined the markings on its trunk —• two hearts pierced by an arrow and encircled by the legend, “Pansies for thoughts, rosemary for remembrance.” “Were we ever so foolish as that?” she asked herself. Then the laugh died in a sigh as she talked on, push ing her w'ay through the tangle of ragweed that obstructed her path. Be low' her, Cabin branch rippled with a soft murmur. Everywhere were mem ories and mingling with them a soft, clear whistle, once so familiar a sound it occasioned no surprise when she reached the farm gate to see a man stretching out a hand to open it. “I thought you would come," he said quietly. “The years have made no change in you. You are not one day older. Your eyes are sparkling and your mouth has the same adorable kink at the corners that —” He came through the gate and stood beside her. “You received my let ter?" “No. Did you write?” “Then I owe my good luck to Provi dence. I asked you to meet me here. But I had hoped for a different recep tion. 'Elizabeth, won’t you give me a word of welcome?” “I have first to forget years of ab sence and silence," she said slowly. She smiled at him with unconcerned eyes. “What have you been doing all the years you have forgotten friends and country?” “Working hard. I wanted a home. When I needed recreation I cultivat ed flowers. You should see my gar den.” “That would indeed be pleasant. And your wife?” she asked ccfurte ously. “You are still an adept at fencing, Elizabeth,” he interrupted. “Are we to continue the same old game?” “I do not understand. We are too old to play pussy wants a corner and hide and seek. Those are the only games I remember. Perhaps I will recall others later on,” she said. “It will be pleasant to rummage among old memories,” he laughed shortly, “but at present I am interest ed in knowing when you received my wedding cards.” “They never reached me. But a home suggests a wife, doesn’t it?” “Not necessarily. The purchase was the result of a settled purpose. May I trespass upon your hospital ity? For the first time in years I can treat myself to a short vacation.” “You are most welcome,” she re plied cordially. “You have been sad ly missed.” “Thank you. Your voice then held its first note of friendliness. I -was beginning to feel homesick. Eliza beth, will you let me give you lessons in gardening during my stay?” She threw back her head and laughed heartily. “It would be wasted effort. Plants never thrive for me, so I leave the borders to Uncle Pink.” “Perhaps you have never tried hard enough. I want to talk and I am curious. Are you really as indiffer ent about that letter as you would have me believe?” “I had forgotten it.” “Then, I presume, since the letter is so easily forgotten, memory will be at fault in regard to several things I have been hoping you would remem ber.” “I remembered you,” she replied pleasantly. "Ten years is long to keep one in mind, especially—” “Especially?” “When one tries hard to be forgot ten.” She brushed the litter from her dress. There was a finality in the movement that made him stretch out a detaining hand. "Don’t go. It is very pleasant here even if I am disappointed in the warmth of my greeting, and I do so wish to tell you of my garden.” She shook her head even as she paused. “I am afraid you ride an old man’s hobby. Come to the house and tell me in the firelight. The air is getting frosty.” “No. I must tell it here.” He hesi tated a barely perceptible instant. “It is a hobby. Dear, you should see my beds of pansies and rosemary.” The color flared into her face. “You had prepared me for a garden of or chids, but even old-fashioned flowers can be an outlet for surplus energy. You always did throw yourself body and soul into whatever you undertook to do.” “Why not, Elizabeth? This is Mon day. I must be in my office Thursday morning. Important business requires my attention, else I would remain here and begin at the beginning of things. Ten years is a long time, but you have never been absent from my thoughts. I would have written, .but there was nothing to say. I had noth ing to offer you. The best I could do was to work for a home for you. It has taken me ten years. Will you ac cept it? Will you go back with me Wednesday?” Her eyes swept the fields. She paused so long that the man beside her caught his breath and grasped the rail of the gate until his knuckles showed white. Then she turned to him. “It will be a delight to see those old-fashioned flower borders.” she said simply. WIFE TOO ILL TO WORK IN BED MOST OF TIME Her Health Restored by Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound. Indianapolis, Indiana. “My health was so poor and my constitution so run | .down that I could not work. I was i i p a * e wea k» weighed but 109 eh pounds and was in I bed most of the • time. -'I began tak *3S||!pl{] ing Lydia E. Pink -'"'m&W'-' barn’s Vegetable ilpjP§gfljj§y Compound and five l l «fPIIp months later I M / weighed 133 pounds. L f & ’JI do all the house work and washing for eleven and I can truthfully say Lydia E. Pinkhara’s Veg etable Compound has been a godsend to me for I would have been in my grave today but for it. I would tell all wo men suffering as I was to try your valu able remedy.”—Mrs. Wm. Green, 332 S. Addison Street, Indianapolis,lndiana. There is hardly a neighborhood in this country, wherein some woman has not found health by using this good old fashioned root and herb remedy. If there is anything about which you would like special advice, write to the Lydia E. Pinkham Medicine Co., Lynn. Mass. __ Why Not? “I’m willing to admit that baseball Is a great game,” said the golf expert, “but at the same time I can see sev eral ways in which it might be im proved.” “For instance?” “Well, instead of having all the bats practically alike why not have differ ent bats for different purposes? It stands to reason that a bat suitable for hitting a straight ball cannot be equally well ad’apted for hitting curves and that a bat used for bunts should be of a different design from the one that is used in making a home run. Each player should have an assort ment of clubs and a caddy to hand them to him as he wants them.” To Drive Out Malaria And Build Up The System Take the Old Standard GROVE'S TASTELESS chill TONIC. You know what you are taking, as the formula is printed on every label, showing it is Quinine and Iron in a tasteless form. The Quinine drives out malaria, the Iron builds up the system. 50 cents. Cause of Sickness. Bacon —I understand a lot of cigars are exported from the Philippines to this country every year. Egbert—That’s none of my affairs. I should say that it was up to the board of health. SOAP IS STRONGLY ALKALINE and constant use will burn out the scalp. Cleanse the scalp by shampoo ing with “La Creole” Hair Dressing, and darken, in the natural way, those ugly, grizzly hairs. Price. SI.OO. —Adv. The National Guard of New York has an armored train. Makes Hard Work Harder A bad back makes a day’s work twice as hard. Backache usually comes from weak kidneys, and if headaches, dizziness or urinary dis orders are added, don’t wait —get help before the kidney disease takes a grip—before dropsy, gravel or Bright’s disease sets in. Doan's Kidney Pills have brought new life and new strength to thousands of working men and women. Used and recommended the world over. A Georgia Ce.se _ „ J. M. Pitts, chief "wry Picture Tells • Story” of police, 218 East «A ve ~ Cedartown, Ga., says: “I was in awful shape with kidney trouble. My body bloated and my face was swol ien all out of pro portion. I was weak and every little thing I did ex hausted me. I had awful dizzy spells, too. After everything else failed, Doan’s Kidney Pills cured me.” Get Doan’* at ABy Store, 50c a Box DOAN’S K p , i D Ji.V r FOSTER-MILBURN CO., BUFFALO. N. Y. The Wretchedness of Constipation Can quickly be overcome by CARTER’S LITTLE LIVER PILLS. Purely vegetable N<\ —act surely and Any CD'S gently on the sf'.lS I liver. Cure WiJ&apr wjJTLE Biliousness, tjIVER Head ness, and Indigestion. They do their duty. SMALL PILL, SMALL DOSE, SMALL PRICE. Genuine must bear Signature O B<*na ten cents stamps to Mrs. Jennie 31l>|\ I Anderson, one twenty eight Hickory street for Booklets, Pictures ana full Information all about Hot Springs, Aikan&aa IGALLSTONES Avoid operations. 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