Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-08-29

IL. lfit be Of such vAlly amt going
| to part with Il 10 the first bidder.
know what's doc to myself and Il. I'm
keeping IT," with increasing hilsrity,
"til, l makes mp my mind II it's worth
my whites to let it Co."
"Prom where did you get isG"
"Yon big mouad; jest aGer them lot
who came in vans had left so in this
iuevertnt bean-feaster fashion de-
scribing the respected members OF .
learned antiquarian society 10 their baud
some two.hDrse wagonettes. - had Just
topped the bill and sat me down for
little, being trihe blown. j be short.
wjrded. Miss. stretches out my old
legs" bringing those appendages again
to The front, much to Miss Goriog's
secret disgust, "and knocks my left 'un
seen summat hard in lump Of airth
that the folk had loosened. SO |
reaches it TO me aud bricks it open With
INV sticks. and finds this bit of bone
ei,h these qheer little scratches on 1t
when peeled away the Dirt
Are you sure that these carvings
scratches, mean" hastily correcting
herself. "were on IL when you tirSt
discovered il? Are you sure, quite,
quite sure 2" breathlessly. yet with
the educational tone Of the High School
very percectible in each wellarticu-
lated syllable. "Can you give me
your sacred word Of honor that. to the
best OF your belief, no one could posi-
bly, have touched that bone before you
took il from the tumulusS
"Ainp sure. Miss? Amt speak
in Gospel truth? Well, here lswears
on the Book" bringing his right hand
down with hearty thuup on the we'll
worn cover of an adjacent Bible, that
no one could have laid so much as
letlle finger on this ere bone afore |
fetched it out Of you mound, or toOm-
lee as the gentry call it," promptly and
proudly eDrichiDg his vocabulary.
'Thsnk you, almost inaudibly.
Well, l will come again aud have an
Other talk with you about it. In the
mean time don't let any one, no matter
what they say or promise, induce you
to part with that bore" emphatically.
"Ycu may depend on me, Miss. !
rayther think that ere Young gent
won't get the inner side OF Jeremiah
Muceins-whirh is me, Miss" lifting
polite finger to his forelock.
Mechanically bestowing a small sill
YER coin in Mr. Mugeins's outstrstched
palm, and utterly obliyiOus of the glass
Of water coming from the well at the
back, Helen left the cottage. Thirst,
heat, fatigue, all physical sensations
were lost in the tremendous tumult
evoked by the sight Of that old
scratched bone. Was it possible? Did
that simple old peasant indeed hold for
the present what Helen Goring was de-
teimiDed to obtain for the future-a
perfectly unique specimen of the cary
irgs of Prehistoric Man? A figure
etched by a sharp, fint-headed insiru-
ment on the horn Of one Of the prehls'
toiic oxen slaughtered at the chief
tain's fuoeral feast. whose body had
lain under the barrow at the TOP oil
| Chadhury Hill! a portrait Of PRINT
tive Man of the newer Stone Age By
himself. Doubtless 50 depicted during
a pause in The hideous riot Of his blood
stained hanqnet. A severely archaic
sketch, mainly consisting Of straight
and horizontal strokes, yet with GER
tain rude force in the upright attitude,
with two outsptead arms terminating
in five lies that represented somewhat
Extraordinarily large hands, circle
for a face inclosiug two smaller circles
for ewes, and slit for mouth.
What was that much.lauded prize, the
drawing Of TIE Mammoth on its own
tusk bv that Landseer Of still remoter
davs, the Caveman Of the DOrdogue, to
thlsg This Grst formulated forerunner
Of the frieze of the Parthenon, the
elories of the Renaissance, cut clear
and sharp, despite its begrimed condi'
ton. as if it we're but yesterday. Poor
prtbistoric artist-soul, pent, darkcned,
striving after its own MANNED fashion t.
give utterance to a diviner impulse than
the brutal everyday life OF his fellows,
the feastipg, the hunting, the Staying
What would not the members OF that
archaeological association who potiered
around and above 1t, unseeiog aud
unsuspectirg, only few months ago,
have given for such a matchleSs anti
oua1ian treasure? Oh the rapture OF
reading a lengthy paper on her stupen'
dOus discovery to a circle OF open
mouthed graybeards, with all tho al
ulnhet after their worldrenOwned
names, What vista Of fame il opened
Fame that she would leap into with one
bound! Fame that at last would vim
dictate woman's claim to be handed
down to posterity as scientific bene-
factor Of the human race . Bat the
Young gent who bid for it," The
chastity lhoughtsuddenly chilled her en-
tbusiasm to2ero. lie will lay a superior
claim. lie certainly will not relinquish
such a splendid opportunity of distin-
gushing himself without keen slrng'
gle. Well-pluckipg up her spirits
be ought 10 be able TO circumyent hin
with ber womsn's wit. Men have beer
so went TO talk about woman's Wit !
the kindly, patroniziog zone they lie
scant on ANIMALS instinct, that 1t wa
high time they should learn what
formidable weapon it was. This wa
in reality heroic duel between th'
sexes. knowledge, enlightenment. per
severance or the one side; tradition
intolerance. and brute force on tn,
other.
Next morning Helen was up betime
and out. In an Incredibly short tim
she bad gained tho caske' Of Der trea
sure. the homestead Of the Mugsinses
AS che opened the li.tle wicket gait
he heard voices ia high discussion, on
Of which made her heart sink with
sense of baiiied despair. 1t was he
Iivsl's.
"Aie YOU aware. Mr.. MGggias, that
leaving out he comparative worthless
ness Of the thing-th the Natural liistor.
Museum is stocked with infinitely su
peJior specimens-sre you aware tia
your reprehensible conduct IN thus pun