davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12

in q house which is honored by the
presence of a noble, heroic woman"
At these words long shivering sigh
went through her frame and seemed to
convulse her. He glanced anxiously at
her and saw that her face was radiant
with a strange Joy, that two tears were
glistening in her eyes.
THANK you," said she simply in
low voice. "Thank you for your kind.
ness. But what you are good enough
to think Of me does not alter what you
think of-of'-
She stopped, her voice shaking, her
lips trembling. Mason then spoke In
the same low voice as before and In
the same deeply respectful manner.
II am ready to hear whatever you
may have to tell me about any ont" "
said he. "In the meantime you must
remember that you are not strong yet,
that you must-must get some rest"
She sprang to her feet.
"But your said she. What will
you do? Where will you go? I-I"-
She stopped. drew long breath and
went on in a tone which she tried In
vain to make composed and indiffer-
ent. "Of course you will be quite
safe
But when she got as far as these
words she broke down, sank again into
the chair and, burying her face In her
hands, broke into passion Of hys-
terical sobbing. He put his hand frn
ly on her shoulder.
"Come," said he in tone which he
made determined and almost stern.
"Now l must speak to you as the doc
tor. You must 60 back to bed. you
must try to sleep. and you may rest
quite sure that shall look after my
self very carefully till morning" She
was shaking her head. clinging with
one hand to his sleeve. Come" he
went on in a gentler. more persuasive
tone. Guardian angels, you know.
must take care of themselves. II only
for the sake Of the persons whom they
guard"
"Yes, yes," said she, 81 understand.
And-and l will. l will rest. will be
careful. Only, only tell me this: What
will you do? Where will you go till
morning?"
81 shall 90 down stairs into the
kitchen. 1t Is 3 o'clock. l shall not
have long to wait before some one Is
about. And l will be as prudent and
as cautious as II my life were as val
liable as my best friends seem to sup
pose."
She listened eagerly, solemnly. When
he had finished speaking, he took her
hand in his. She was still sitting In
the armchair and trembling violently,
but the firm grasp Of his fingers SEEM
ed to exercise upon her calming In
fiuence, and after a couple Of seconds
the clasp of her own hand was as firm
and as steady as that Of his.
"Good night" said she In low voice
at last. 81 won't say goodby. Take
care. And-and tomorrow l will ex-
plain. Oh. yes, can explain"
She suddenly snatched her hand
away from him, and he retreated and
stumbled down stairs.
But when he reached the bottom he
saw against the dim light which came
through the open doorway Of the room
he had left the figure Of the girl as she
stood outside, watching him as far as
she could, guardian angel to the last.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
CLIPPINGS.

Note which fowl lays the greatest
number of eggs.
Soft butter is never good butter, nor
will it bring good price.
There is no animal on the farm that
will respond to kind treatment quicker
than the hog. Ii naturally likes TO be
in gentle manner.
There are more than 100000 persons
engaged in the culture of bees in the
United States alone, and the present
census shows ike present apiarian prod
ucts to be in excess of twenty million
dollars.
Skimming stations may be profitsbly
maintained where there are good ship
ping facilities, where the winter milk
output is small, where it Is desirable TO
produce uniform grade OF butter for q
special market, and where the small
dairy farmers lind it difficult to get ice,
and cannot of course put in artificial
refrigeration plants for the hot weather.
The farmers institute has been re-
markably potent factor In improving the
condition of country people. lt is the
one meeting of the year where farmers
get together TO receive practical instruc-
tion and to be benefited by an exchange
of experiences concerned exclusively
with the growing of crops, the care OF
live stock, the development of the home.
As only one meeting of this kind each
year is possible in most localities, topics
not directly related to farming must moi
be permitted to appear on the program
The farmer can get his moral and re-
li0ious instruction from the church, hi:
n0litics and news from the daily Ol
weekly paper, his literary culture anC
his knowledge of foreign lands from
books and periodicals. The farmers
Institute must tell him what kind of croE
will do best in his neighborhood an.
how 70 grow it; what dairy product
will nav him best TO manufacture, wha
small fruits are most hardy and profit
able for him. IL the institute fails to d.
this, interest will disappear, the attend
ance fall of, and the influence OF Tn
meeting will not be for the good OF agri
culture. We do not believe that insti
tutes have outlived their usefulness. Ol
the contrary we believe that only GOO
beginning has been made, but we war
state and local associations that unles
they maintain strictly agricultural meet
lings where the interested farmer cal
, learn something, they will lose the SUP
port of the agricultural public, and th
not inconsiderable influence they nov
swield.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
He JoEea Nh More.

"Jake," inquired one of the younger
Of the knights Of the road Of an old
drummer, what made you lame"
"Overexertion at practical joking"
"Tell that to the lambs"
"That's dead right. sonny. Cracked
one too many, and 1t left me lame for
life. Ask any Of the old boys. That
game Of cinche came In when l was
travelling to what were then the new
silver mining districts In Colorado
You call 1t pedro in this state, I guess.
"Well, / had a reputation for joking
those days-sort Of an advertisement
you know. There was good deal Of
shouting and shooting through the cell
Ing that night. but everybody was good
natured and jolly until five hands were
played without a pedro being caught.
The bidders did nothing but 60 In the
hole and were getting uglier every
deal.
"At last I could contain myself no
longer, and announced with an up
roarious laugh that l bad abstracted
the five spots. The general storekeep-
er was e. friend Of mine and promptly
threw me from the second story win.
dow. But they are great wing shots
out there. and two Of them got me.
You'll notice that the lobe Of my left
ear is gone. The other bullet was ex.
tracted from my leg under the super
vision Of the vigilance committee. I.
have been an ex-joker ever since."-
Detroit Free Press. 4
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
fro BE Continued
There Was a Mistake.

IT think" he began as he halted a
pedestrian, 81 think made mistake
with the cabman who drove me to the
Corcoran Art gallery. am quite>sure
gave him $40 bin but he must have
mistaken it for 81 bill"
"And you hope to find him again"
asked the man of the stranger to the
city.
"Why, yes, | have hopes"
"Well, you are about as green as they
make 'em. That cabman deliberately
swindled you out Of many dollars" +"
81 can hardly believe 1t. He looked
10 honest and truthful that I--I"-
"That you ought to have asked him
to hold your watch and the rest Of your
money! My dear old Josh from the
cornfelds, let me say
At that minute a cab ratified up, and
The driver dismounted and said:
"See here, old man, there is a mis-
take. You probably meant to give me
a 50 bill, and thought it was one when
gave you 81 in change"
"But think it was ten. my friend"
mo; it was a twenty. and l have
been driving about for half an hour to
find you and restore the money. Here
It is"
"And what was it you were going to
say to your dear old Josh from the
cornfelds" asked the old man as he
turned to the wise person.
But the wise person was there no
longer. He was flying for car as II
running for his life.-Washington Post.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
CHAPTER XVIII.
:, r,,r ,opr WITH cocH TAI

IN THE LOFT WITH COCH TAI.
Mason stumbled into the kitchen,
which was quite dark, lighted a candle
and sat down, not to sleep again, but
to think over the fresh developments
of the night.
Who were the perpetrators OF the
outrage upon him? That question,
narrow as were the limits within
which 1t could be answered. was as
difficult to solve as ever. He had heard
and seen nothing to help him to any
further knowledge than this, that more
than one person had been concerned
In 1t. The probabilities were, he
thought, in favor Of the belief that the
attack upon him had been made by the
lad Tom and Coch Tai, with the con-
niyance If not the actual assistance OF
the old woman.
That Tregaron had had hand In 1t
he could scarcely believe. The farm
er's conduct throughout had oeen
straightforward, while the manner OF
the other three persons toward himself
had been uniformly suspicious and
bad.
That their object had been murder
he could not doubt. What plunder
would he be likely to yield worth such
a crime? That was the mystery. Sure
" some other motive must be sought,
and this, he thought, could hardly be
other than jealousy on the part OF
Coch Tai or fear lest Mason should
find out the truth concerning his broth
er's fate.
Here again there was a mystery.
Granville had not carried on his per
son either much money or much prop
erty of value, certainly but a poor
booty for which to run the risks at
tendant upon murder.
As for Gwyn, he could not think OF
her without q softening Of the heart,
glow of gratitude and admiration.
That this girl had sacrificed her own
comfort, her own rest, during the past
few nights, he was now convinced be-
yond a doubt. She had feared some
such outrage as that Of which he had
been made a victim and had conceived
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
NUMBER 7.
A MATCH FOR A MILLION.
Winning a Wrestling Bout the Fouz
A.tInu NJ n Enpfnne.

Winning a Wrestling Bout the Fouz.
dation Of . Fortune.
"Had I caught my train that night"
laughed the man who has had nothing
to do for a quarter Of century but to
sit and watch pine trees grow to swell
his bank account, II would probably be
a farmer now trying to raise mort
gage and a few other things. had
gone to a little town In lower Wiscon-
sin to see colt that man there want
ed to sell. was good judge OF stock
and pretty shrewd on trade, but .
greener country lad never broke into q
town. would have walked back to
the farm after found myself too late
for the train, but I saw handful an
nouncing a show that night and could
not resist the temptation to see 1t,
though it did cost quarter.
"In my hilarious appreciation ! was
more of an entertainment than they
had on the stage, especially as l was
utterly oblivious to the fact that did
not look like any one else in the audi
ence. Toward the end of the perform
ance huge fellow came out, tossed
cannon balls in the air, held men outI
at arms length and lifted heavy
weights. After this showing Of his
prowess he offered $40 to any one
whom he could not throw inside Of
two minutes. was the crack wrestler
in all our section. though none present
knew it, and felt as though the chal-
lenge was aimed directly at me.
turned hot and cold during q few sec
onds Of extreme silence. Then sprang
up and as came out Of my old blouse
shouted, I'll go you, b'gosh!
There was a roar Of laughter, and
then some of those about me urged me
not to go up there and have my neck
broken. But one old man told me to
go in and do my best 1t was q tough
Job, but I finally threw the giant al
most through the floor with hip lock.
There was little hesitancy about CIV
Ing me the SO, but the crowd shouted
until | got it. The old man took me
home with him. and In q week had
charge Of all the teams In his lumber
camps. In time | became q partner.
and he cleared the way to make me
rich. That was really match for .
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Star.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
EDUCATE THE YOUNG FOLKS.

As time goes on it becomes more nec-
essary to give our boys and girls prac-
tical education. Agricultural colleges
are springing up in every state. We are
sending our next generation of farmers
to these schools now to fit them for bat
tling with close competition on all mat
ters that pertain to successful farming.
These schools of training are COM
mendable, but the large per cent OF the
farmers in the future will come from the
farms without the advantage of science
AS developed at these schools. 1t there
fore stands US in hand to make the best
use of our home schools, the farms.
Every boy and girl likes to own some
thing, and for the educational purposes
alone they should own something. Moth
ing fills the bill better than an incubator
and flock of poultry. 1t cultivates u
sense of care aud business management
that would be lacking when they were
called on to do business with cOmpet-
ing public. Ii is in their time Of life
that impressions are permanent, good or
bad.
The writer of this was boy once,
raised on farm; owned every colt-or,
rather, owned new colt each spring
owned it until it became really valuable,
then he had the privilege Of trading it
for the youngest again, and was educated
10 think the young colt more valuable
for boy than colt old enough to bring
n good price. The result of this line of
training and encouragement, he landed
in business at 2l, regular pumpkin
head TO do business. The farm had no
attractions for him he could see nothing
in it but plow aud harrow and doing
without money from crop TO crop. | am
not blaming dad; he simply did not
know how To educste a boy. Had there
been An agricultural college or other
school that occurred TO him TO be good
thing for boy, money would not have
stood in the way. AS above stated, he
was not aware that he ran the best
school on earth, right at home among
realities. 1t would certainly pay to
really give the boys and girls start,
even if it was nothing more valuable
than hen and chicks. An incubator
will soon be wanted when the young
folks get start in the poultry business.
In buying an incubator for the young
poultry raiser, it is just as important
that ne should have good one-one
large enough for business and well
enough made to do the work properly
as il is that his father have good imple-
ment for his work. Poor tools discOur-
aye the users. Give the youngsters a
fair chance.-M. NJ. johnson, in Farm,
Field and Fireside.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
PROSPECTS FOR MAPLE SEASON

So far as can be judged at this time
there is good reason TO expect fair
crop of maple sugar. Weather condi-
tions at the time will, however, discount
all predictions, and it is altogether un-
certain as to the outcome. There Were
no forest worms last season. Where
trees have been defoliated two or more
years in succession quite percentage
die. should say that where the forest
worms worked extensively for three
years about one-hslf the trees have died
There is nothing new in regard TO
malate of lime. We remove it with felt
strainers from all goods that we send
out. The dark goods go largely to the
syrup houses that adulterste, also To
tobacco manufacturers. Some is wanted
by consumers but not large amonnt.
The dark, poor grades are the rock upon
which maple sugar makers are likely TO
get wrecked. IL all the product was of
high quality there would be little work
needed in finding market for it.-V. l..
Spear Vermont.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
FACTORS IN MAPLE SUGAR
PRODUCTION.

The maple sugar industry presents
many features peculiar to itself. The
limited area on which the rock ms pie
reaches its perfection AS sugar produc-
er, the season of the year when the crop
is harvested. the extreme susceptibility
To changes of the weather, the purity of
the finished product and the enormous
quantity of counterfeit. goods placed on
the market as genuine, are some of the
factors which make sugar making one
of the most interesting of agricultural
pursuits.
The maple is very shallow feeder,
having no deep, penetrating roots. On
gravelly loan soil, fully SO per cent Of
the roots are within one foot of the sur
face. They extend over large area and
the number of feeding rootlets is simply
enormous. This explains why the tree
so quickly responds to changes in tenn
perature, moisture, fertility and COM
position of the soil. To do best, it
should have cultivation and sunshine.
The nearer our sugar bushes become
maple orchards, the more satisfactory
are the results. This is more noticeable
in the quality of the sap than in the
quantity. There is individuality in the
sugar bush the same as in the dairy.
Some heavy-running trees produce rich
sap, while others will yield neither good
sap nor much of it. A black bark tree
is always considered good for sap. The
birds find where they can procure sap
the easiest, bore minute holes with their
oeaks, the sap oozes out, runs down on
the tree and stains the bark black.
The common belief that very cold
winter will be followed by good sugar
spring, or that intense cold makes sweet
sap, is all humbug. The reverse is more
often the case. The flow of sap depends
entirely on the vitality of the tree and
local conditions, such as moisture,
changes of temperature, etc., during the
sugar season. believe the richness of
the sap is governed by the conditions of
the previous season. III il was one of
much moisture and rapid growth, poor
quality of sap would naturally follow,
while if the growth was only moderate,
the season rather dry and sunshine in
abundance, a larger surplus of saccha-
rine material would be stored and the sap
the following season would contain u
larger per cent of sugar. The limited
area on which the maple succeeds us Il
sugar tree will forever preclude the pos
sibility OF Over-production OF the pure
article. The states of Vermont, New
York, OhiU and Michigan, in the order
named, produce the bulk of the CONNER
cisl crop.-G. p. Haskins, Ohio.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
What A Watervflle Man
Did.

This statement was made by Henry
J. Collins, IA Drummond Ave-, Water
vile, Me-, on the oath of June, 1900:
81 weighed one hundred and twenty
four pounds.
"My face and body were covered
with pimples, and for nearly 8 years
had been troubled with my kidneys.
81 now weigh one hundred and
fifty-six pounds.
"My lace and body are free from
pimples, and my kidneys do not trou-
Bile me at ALL"
What did he do for himself?
That is q pertinent question.
Before it is answered, let it be said
that he did what he was told to do,
and that was what thousands had been
told to do and had done with entire
satisfaction to themselves.
And yet it was what many are delay
ing to do, simply because they cannot
make up their minds to do it, in spite
of the fact that pimples are pimples
and kidney complaint is kidney COM
plant, and what has cured these things
in one person can be reasonably ex-
pected to cure them in another.
He took Hoods Sarsaparilla, which
has an unequalled record Of perma-
nent cures of pimples and kidney COM
plant, as well as of all other cutaneous
eruptions, all scrofulous diseases, ca
tarrh, dyspepsia, rheumatism and
general debility.
Hoods sarsaparilla acts directly and
peculiarly on the blood, and by making
It pure, rich and abundant, strengthens
the stomach, liver and kidneys, per-
fects digestion, secretion and sxcretion,
clears the complexion, increases the
weight, and builds up the whole system.
lent remedy, is one for which substi-
tutes are sometimes offered. They do
not act like Hoods, and it is expensive,
in view of the result, to experiment.
with them. .
Hoods sarsaparills u obtainsble Of
al druggists.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
A CREDIT CHECK SWlNDLE.

Trick by Which One Firm Got Dol.
lars Without Selling Shirt Waists.
That there is no end to the ways Of
imposing upon the suffering New York
public was illustrated by the failure [
of small store recently. The newly
appointed receiver was surprised by
having many women come to his office
with credit checks. These checks were
for small amounts, ranging from 81 to
$40. At first the receiver couldn't un-
derstand it, but upon investigation he
learned the details Of pretty system I
Of fleeing.
The firm, 1t seems, had made spe- -,
ciaIty Of silk and cotton shirt waists.
These were, with few exceptions,
shapeless, i'll fitting garments, and
when the unfortunate women shoppers
got home with their purchases and
put them on they were disgusted to
find that the bargain sale waists we're
baggy and puckery and altogether SO
poorly fashioned that 1t would be
next to impossible to make them 1T
even by complete ripping up and
remaking. Such being the conditions
they invariably took the goods back
and demanded other waists or their
money. 1t was contrary to the prin-
ciples Of the firm to refund money!
and as they seldom had waists more
becoming either in style or shape than
the ones returned, they were driven =,
to the extremity Of credit checks.
I'VE will get in new supply OF
waists in a few days." was the suave
assurance Of the manager and his
well trained assistants. Your check
will be good at any time. and when we
replenish our stock you can select
waist that suits you"
But the new stock never arrived, and
in spite of the good dollars received
from deluded customers without de-
creasing their capital Of waists. the
firm became insolvent and then the
women began to come with credit
checks. So far the receiver has been
unable to compensate them for their
loss through the swindle which, In its
way. was rather neat-New York Sun.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
ROYAL s:';;*s ss*"ts
y ABSclUrEN PURE
Makes the food more delicious and wholesome

"Where will you sleep tonight" she
asked abruptly. in n tone which be-
trayed that this question had been
Troubling her.
Mason hesitated. Then a thought
struck him.
"In the loft with Merrick, II he'll let
me-" he answered at last.
But Gwyn was startled by the pro-
posal.
"No, no." said she, "you must not.
Let me think"
"You will never think Of anything
better than that. said he gently.
"Give me an acknowledged enemy
rather than treacherous friend"
"What do you mean? Whom do you
mean by a treacherous friendT"
81 mean no one in particular" an
swered Mason. "But Merrick Is the
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-02-12
CONDITION OF THE ROADS.

What is the condition of the roads
through the country? Where the road
is nearly level and good chance to
make it, it Is all right; but II it Is rocky
the ditch is made inside the old one, and
the road to-day Is so narrow that double
teams can hardly pass each other; bushes
and trees are allowed to grow so near
that load of hay cannot pass over that
road without getting badly brushed, and
considerable of the tax Is worked out
cutting bushes. There is piece OF road
from Otisfield to Oxford that runs beside
Thompson Pond. When the pond Is full
in the spring there are places where the
water stands right across the road and
you are obliged to walk your horse, and
for half a mile there are more rocks than
dirt. Now, how are you going to have
good road there? should say, move
rock-crushing machine on the ground
and build McAdsm road; when once
done it will be Joy forever. Narrow
roads must be widened, culverts better
attended to, hilly roads cleared OF small
stones and kept In better preparation foI
sho wers, then will we have good roads
The first cost Is what Is dreaded, so We
endure and complain.-C. r. Brett
Otisfeld, In Maine Farmer.