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TTTF ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. MONDAY. APRIL 28. 1913.
THE BAPTISM
OF FIRE
The Dingbat Family
The Juice Raised the Deuce
Copy i I. 1013. Tn‘*Tnational Now* Se-rioe
By Herriman
To-day s Complete Short Story
I T h»d neemwi to me at the time that
I could do the thin* in entire aafe-
• ty. Our troops were ordered out to
take and destroy a village which la>
In the valley by the riverside, and their
operations would be confined to the
lower ground. The heights above would
be entirely untroubled, unoccupied.
And so I had galDed theiie. after walk
ing five miles over gentle slopes of short
scrub grass, and then had lain me down
on the ridge and watched the skirmish
ing. the attack, and the capture through
a pair of glasses
From a distance it had all seemed
very tame There were little puffs of
gray smoke, men fell, others came on
at run, zigzagging in and out in entire
disorder, made their weapons and ac-
coigrements glitter in the sun. and they
<1 lsa>ppeared under cover of the mud and
bum boo village
More smoke arose in puffs from the
lanes between the houses And then a
stream of Black Flag Chinese began
to pour out at the run, some of them
pk<?h«*i forward and lay still, and t!V?
others opened out to pass these by, and
others limped and lagged behind the
general rmee and quite Irregular crack
le from the village, like the burning of
brush"wood, told me what was ca.using
1 those things.
Bat wb*yn the RaJck Flags were out
M ram*** and the firing ceased the val-
fe*T <gvpped into dread quietude and
Khsiwv^s nothin* more to see. I yawped
over ft gor another half-hour and then
vrafloed a dozen yards down tfie slope,
■moterd #t non pie of cigarettes and began
mr dedeuner The regiment of Black
Flags which came down upon me must
have started oMmbing the hill face the
v*ry minute 1 quitted the ridge
Ron Like a Dog.
Instinct, aa I say, jerked me to my
twet. and instinct must have given me
a prodlgiooH start, for when first my
wits name 1o me I found myself run
ning like a frightened dog.
It seemsfl as if ten million bullets |
whisked past me, and I had a notion 1 ,
was hit In twenty places. But nothing j
ologjped mv legs, and although my heart
was trying to jump olear of Its moor
ings J ran on at a freshened pace ;
Thera wasn't a more terrified man in j
Asia that minute. The shots came drop j
ping after me. shots and cries In bar
barous Chinese, and the world swam in j
front.
Terror, undiluted, made me a running
automaton.
Beyond a doubt the most cowardB
Frenchman in the Fast that moment
was myself. 1 did not attempt to con
trovert this fact; 1 ran on. cringing
from every bullet that rustled past me
or spurted up the ground beside my
leaping feet, but 1 sought to And ex
cuses for my conduct.
For good behavior they had raised !
me from the ranks to a non-eommis-
sioned officer.
How long I ran on In tfrls bllndec
ata^e 1 cannot tell; but a sharp sting
of pain set my wits a-going It felt
like the scar of hot metal burning and ;
frying, and the hurt coma somewhere
from the round of the left shoulder.
Instantly' my mood woke again. For
the first time there grew upon me a j
vague resentment against the crew who J
were yelping and firing In chase; and
as I scurried on, and the 111-aimed bul
lets threw their rushing halo of sound
around my hand and limbs, this in
creased to a wild, poisonous hate
Remembered My Revolver
Then, for th£ first time. I remem
bered my revolver. With bungling 1
fingers l unholatered it. and, turning,
fired six rapid shots. One man clapped
hands to his face, screamed shrilly |
like a child and pitched to the earth,
his pigtail swung up in the air as
thought It had been a black whiplash.
1 was no longer a French gentle- i
man then—I was a savage beast, lust |
ful to tear my enemies’ throats
I turned again and fired on \ whole
fusillade of vengeful shots wore ex- !
changed in return, hut none of them
found a mark in me. and I laughed
aloud In triumph Whatever happened
now I had killed my own weight of j
enemy.
But, as I say. 1 wanted desperately
to do more, and now that the paralysis
of terror and excitement had flashed
away my mind was beginning to
work with craft and curjning Ahead
of me and running athwart my course <
was a muddy wallow they railed the
road and which our troops had pass
ed along barely three hours before to
the capture or the village To the
left were the French lines and safety
In front, and a ball's throw beyond
the road, was the yellow' turbid |
stream of the river.
It was ImpossiMe lo reach the camp
even had I risked it The Black Flags
had anticipated the move and had de
railed off a party to outflank me in
that direction By turning off to the
right I might very well bring down I
the enemy upon our expeditionary
force on their march back from the
village. They might be prepared to
receive them, and again they might
not. and I would have died ten times
sooner than any move of mine for my
own safety should bring disaster on
my comrades Our branch of the
service gets sneered at enough as
It Is
Shots Thick and Fast.
8o 1 raced on for the road and
passed It. and labored down t<< the
river The shots came fast and thick
now. and two more bullets galled me.
hut I waded through the shallows
without further hurt and gained the
deep, tawny river beyond
A sampan Was moored a hundred
vards out ami a little downstream.
I made for it with long, bursting
dives There were half a dozen men
on board, Jumping, gesticulating, and
crying warnings, and once, when 1
came up from an underwater *wim. one
of them let fly a match lock at in.
Another dive and 1 A' ; ‘ v upon them,
and they received me with knife -sta -
and how the fight turned next 1 could
not lell Rut of a sudden, with a blink
and a gasp and a downward blow I
. nine by my wits again, ami found that
1 was on board the sampan with a curv
ed Chinese sword in my hand, ufid one
man lay dead and bleeding at my feet
another was dead and floating face
downwards with a current astern And
the rest were swimming to the shore,
and twenty Black Flags were firing over
their heads as fast ns they could.
Mv pistol was* gone and 1 could do
no more on the offensive The wish
for fight had left me the lust for
life alone remained 1 cut the painter
and lav on the sampan’s bottom,
whilst she drifted down with the cur
rent into our own lines
And yet my officers were pleased
to call me brave and the general
gave me the war-medal I tried to
refuse It. but they laughed at me
A vedette fit seemed) had watched
me through a glass from the moment
of the first shot being fired, and they
said no man could have behaved more
pluckily.
DonT you t>AGT EAT\
Twfr SOUIC Lemonj
V /AJ AAV HUESENCfc)
\ you 'Finch '
p&o AjoT TftiPL6 uufTH The.
, AfpecTioajs or Tse. Lower
I LK.MCM AAV DOVE TRERS- is
\AAUCH Tt> LEAK*) PfcoM nr _
\Sm I5MC A/fewfaxi ' you KvouA
j G4&NERED MUCH INFO PftOAA]
A /MERE. 4WYfc.
* *t
D-
IT 15 AJtfT HANDSOME-, I ADMIT
nok Does it engage iaj The.’
HACEFU- CCAJVOCUTlOWS OP
TeftRSlCHOSE , AJC* DOES. IT SHIA/rA
in POSES PCASTIQUE BUT,
I PRAY YOU, DRAW NEAR AND'
Give IT A CLOSE. Look
>•
" ■ -
oh
•coot'" !!
The Militancy op\
These women
MOW A DAYS is
. Most exaspeR-AT/Mg •'
y 7
- ■&>
/ If There is one. 5for on
This Ha vet UiHEfte. I wovlp,
I Ufcfet This Eve- KCAfcy
plT 13 bEAR OLb
Z P*** fcow g
?
UlMV
JL
MfcK's-feouL
I SAV Pooh- Pooh (
Toft. That There!
/others, OTHERS
It hat other-s" t
UBiC, 5WED-RoeJ
I6NATZ.' A/NT (
So Worse r,
^Ab^ID fb„,
~ yj>
~0 -
Polly and Her Pals
Even the Worm Will Hide
Copyright. 1918, Intemahona.1 News Service
By Cliff Sterrett
‘Ttaud up aw' lemme
Pit This Skirt °u
VOu.RollV I '
WAUtJA W/EA R.
n Towiorro\«/!
1 (aoTTA
HEAD ACHE, MA
LET DILICIA
DO it!
ELICIA’Y Done All
The Housework
Ju5r SoS I Coold
5evij, aw' “She'Y
\y/or? out !
MY Heart |
BLEEDT TOR:
sbu MA,
But i'll
HAVE To
PA<* l
m- Somebody^
SoTU DO IT OR
i'll know THE
REASON
©ft;
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■
T\]
1
Us Boys
No More “Port” or “Starboard”
All “Left” and “Right”
Rendered United States Patent Office
By Tom McNamara
STARFISH (SiAnTs
doin' TO oET A BRAND
NEW PITCHER !
M
\ HEAR HE'S
A PORT
SlDER '• f 1
V rwAKE DP. YOU
I MEAN LEFT
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SKINNT SHiMMER'6
6006LT DEPARTMENT
NO. 3
SHANE R’ 4
EASY
DRAWING
LESSONS
ft
SNAOKE
C 8l ACk )
dontcha kwouj there
AIN’T MO SECH AMINAL
MO M0RE5THE secretary
OF THE NAVY &AYSJ
SO •
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■Ttvm mSMamaira' —C/’ ^
(TMuo&i t
which Fish has his'
ties mearest ro-
6BTHBR ? - TU€ SNALLSSr
fish of course cony
certainly, sure Any
body kwoluS that:
l i
fisriw tfr-dUufos
FROM 11
LUILLARD MACfc- u.s. A.
tvHY CANT TOO nevsti
TELL WHERe A PIN)
\S dotti6 To ?
AOSujeR TD-^ORRolo
Tragedy and the Movies
By MALCOLM DOUGLAS
(iJ WAS with Booth, the mighty,
j. But Booth, alas, is dead'
So now 1 am with the mo
vies,"
The old tragedian said.
“In Chambersburg and Pottstown,
Knd likewise Kokomo.
You can view me classic features
At h and 10 a throw
“I was with Booth, the mighty.
But Booth has long been dust,
So l get me cakes and cliffee
From the moving-picture trust.
Shakespeare thou wast tm* idol,
Btit thee 1 hadst to can;
Me, oh. Bard, for the movies;
Me for the camera-man!
Not What Pa Meant.
Host's Youngest —Don't your shoes
feel very uncomfortable when you
walk. Mrs Xuryche?
Mrs Xurych-—Dear me. what on
extraordinary question! Why do you
ask, child?
Host's Youngest -Oh. onl\ Vos p.i
said the otiicr tlay. since you'd come
into your mon» \ you’d got far too bi^
for your boots.
CLEEK
By T W HANSHAW
j Copyright by Doubleday, Page & Co.
TO-DAY S INSTALLMENT.
;
H E did so forthwith; and the mo
ment the dry leaves fell on the
remnants of the fire w hich the
caravanners had used to cook their
evening meal, there was a gush of
aromatic smoke, a sudden puff and
then a broad ribbon of light rusYied
upward and dispelled every trace of
darkness. And in the aid of that rib
bon of light Mr. Nippers stw some
thing which made him almost collapse
with astonishment and chagrin.
Recognition.
The great of the world may and
often do forget their meetings with
the small fry. but the small fry never
cease to remember ‘their meetings
with the great or to treasure a vivi 1
remembrance of that immortal day
when they were privileged to rub el
bows with the elect.
Fiv- > cars had passed since Mrs.
Maverick Narkom, Peking a place
wherein to spend the summer holidays
OF THE FORTY FACES
The Habit of Lying
with the little Xarkoms and their
ntirsps. had let her choice fall upon
Bynhaven-Old-Bridges and had dwelt
there for two whole months. Three
times during her sojourn her liege lord
had come down for a week-end with
his wife and children, and during
cr.e of these brief visits, meeting Mr.
F.phraim Nippers, the village consta
ble, in the public highway, had
deigned to stop and .-peak to him and
to present him with a sixpenny cigar.
Times had changed since then; Mr.
Nippers was now head constable for
the district, but he still kept that
cigar under a glass shade on the
drawing room what-not, and he still
treasured a vivid recollection of the
great man who had given it to him
and whom he now saw sitting on the
ground with his coat <>n and his
waistcoat unbuttoned, his mustache
uncurled and wisps of dried grass
• dinging to his touseled hair and all
the dignity *»f office conspicuous by
its absence.
Ol !;nr mv mid Mr Nippers wit -
| a gulp. "Rut down the hammers of
them guns, you two—put 'em down
quick! It's Mr. Narkom Mr Mav-t “Oh, lummy, sir. yes! A murder’s
prick N"«rkom, superintendent of j u9 , been committed, sir—leastwise
Scotland Yard!”
Hullo!’* exclaimed Mr Narkom
“I
shading his eyes from the firelight
and leaning forward to get a clearer
view of the speaker. 'How the dick
ens do you know that, my man'.* And
who the dickens are you, any way?
Can’t say that I remember ever see
ing your face before.’’
Mr. Nippers hastened to explain
that little experience of five years
ago; but the circumstances which
had impressed itself so deeply upon
his memory had passed entirely out
of the superintendent’s.
Just Discovered.
"Oh. that's it, is it?” said he. “Can’t
say that I recall the occasion; but
Mrs, Narkom certainly did stop at
Lynhaven-Old - Bridges some four >r
five summers ago; so. of course. !t's
possible By the way. my man, what i
caused you to make this sudd n j
descent upon us? And what are these]
chap* who are with you bearing arms!
lor? Anything up?”
it’s only just been discovered ; but it
can’t have been long since it was
committed. Mr. Narkom. for Miss
Renfrew, who found him. sir, and eive
the alarm, she says as the poor dear
gentleman was alive at a quarter o
eight, 'cause she looked into the room
at that time to ask him if there was
anything he wanted, and he spoke up
and told her nq, and went on with his
figgerin’ Just the same as usual.”
"As usual?” dropped in Cleek. "Why
do you say as usual,’ my friend? Was
the man an accountant of some sort '.*”
' Rummy! no, sir. A great inventor
is what he is-ror was. poor gentle
man. Reckon you must a heard of
him some time or another—’most ev
erybody has. Xoswortb is the name,
si: Mr. Septimus* Nosworth. of the
Round House. You could see the
tower of it over yon if you was •
step out into the road and get clear
of these trees "
To Be Continued To-morrow,
DON'T know what on earth
makes people lie!” sighed Mc-
Billip. "They just naturally
do it. I suppose. That’s the only way
T can account for it.
“Now. there's ray own daughter,
Annabel. She took a notion into her
head that she would <lo some lying.
She was staying down in the city and
some neighbors of ours went down
and called on Annabel there.
"Annabel turned loose. Such a
string of stuff as she told them;
Every night, she said, she had been
out joy riding until 2 o’clock in the
morning!
" Who did the chaperoning?’ the
neighbors asked, breathlessly.
‘Who did the what?’ asked Anna
bel.
" Why. the chaperoning. Didn't
you have a chaperon?’
" Well, 1 should say not,’ said An
nabel.
"Then Annabel went on to tell that
she had been having such a good
time with actors and actresses. She
knew Maude Adams well, had taken
a joy ide with Maude, and Maude
wanted to take her with her and make
in actress of her. and had promised
her *110 a week as a starter. Anna
bel had also me* Sothern and had
Hked him very we?,, but she had l>een
obliged to treat him coolly becaus*
Julia Marlow e was so jealous.
"She had met a famous aeronaut
and he had coaxed her and coas
her until she finally made a flij
with him. and she enjoyed the c
perience very much and had receU
several letters and photographs fr.
the aeronaut since he left town.
"Soon after the neighbors got ba
home with these thrilling tales
what was going on in the cltv I *
word of it. I took the first train
the city. Every bird In the aii
/thought might be some aeronaut f
ing off with my daughter. I had ms
up my mind to yank her out of 1
aunt's house, where she was vlsitl;
without a word of explanation a
get her home at once. *
"But when I got to the house
thought better of it. ‘What in 1
world do you mean,' 1 said to ]
aunt, ’by allowing my daughter, a *
of tender years, to tty around w
aeronauts and actors, and go out r
ing at all hours of the night \vith<
a chaperon?’
" Are you crazy?’ asked her au
•Annabel has been with me e\ <
night and has always gone to bed
10:30. There have been no aerona
nor actors near her that I know
1 have been with that child ev<
minute, too.’ ,
• When 1 s»w Annabel she said t
had made up those yarns just for f
She said she was bored and wanted
start something. The neighbors 1
been so easily shocked when tl
called on her that she couldn’t h
giving them the full voltage,”