The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-09-30

eye to see that he was up to his neck
in poverty. Yet he had asked credit Of
no one, nor had he ever been known
to ask an abatement in the price of an
poverty was Objectionable. rendered al
most criminal by the profound indif-
ference With which he seemed to ig-
more the matter, not even going so
far as to attempt to hide it from his
neighbors.
This poverty had not always tor
mented him. In the early part of his
perity had deluded those who wished
TO be cheated into a belief that it was
going to continue.
Meanwhile there was preparing a de-
luge of misfortunes which We're des-
tined to inundate him. First, bad crops
followed one another for several years
in succession, and some of the best
horses which he had bought, died from
accidents of various kinds, always UNI
%avoidable.
1t could hardly be expected that the
most rigid economy beforehand would
enable him TO withstand these Grip
ping blows to his finances, and those
who had no idea what his
might be beyond what their eyes old
them began to hazard conjectures. AL
ready their exaggerated imaginations
had pictured the sheriff selling off the
farm d a chatte mortgage. and
certain gossipy tongues had even hint
ed that such had been the case. while
oters aYerred that the horses in his
stable had nothing to live upon but pine
needles and might be expected to drop
down with the mails at any minute.
These troubles and prosecutions coN-
cred a series of years, and amid all of
them the same u%ndaunted demeanor
continued to characterize the victim,
who, to judge from his appearance,
might be "a man of marble or iron, in
stead of flesh and blood.
1t was evident that he was in fear
fully straitened circumstances. and yet
his heartlessness was a theme of con-
slant A lawyer from Lewis
ton was eventually seen in the act Of
taking a memorandum of the farming
implements and one of the two horses
left to him turned up incurably lame.
Still he seemed determined to fight
it out to the bitter end, and without
moving a muscle; his stoicism was i'm
pregnable.
But what was urmis and limited at
by the b~usybodies bore only a thin re-
semblance to the actual and terrible
facts. BY a careful calculation he had
found that upon the eigth day of the
succeeding month he would have ar
rived at the limit of his resources.
by careful driving, his n remaining
horse might be relied upon to stan the
strain of double duty until then, but
ON that date a crisis was inevitable.
The outraged bosoms of all Passa-
quodmush, burdened with a long accu-
commiseration, We're waiting to dis
charge their spontaneous tribute.
Their was almost a feeling of silent
eNultation over the fact that the VIC
tim who had so long eluded them was
at last to be delivered into their hands.
1t was the morning of the long-eX-
pected eighth, and it had been a record
breaking morning for Miss Stotts. The
glow in her cheeks radiated health and
pleasure as she pulled up her horse at
the top of Fiddler's hill. She heard the
familiar sound of the mail-buggy just
behind, and waited to let it pass down
the hill before her. 1t came along with
what she fancied was an undue degree
of speed, and ratified on downward, but
she noticed with reinsurance that the
imperturbable driver managed to slack
en- his pace before he was half way to
the foot of the sharp incline. But her
reinsurance was temporary only, for,
when the buggy reached the bottom,
the driver, either through wilful inten-
ton or some sudden paralysis, let his
horse deliberately describe a slanting
course toward the outer side of the
curve that carried the continuation of
the level roadway out of view; her
$500 SSo'i VI " SIN saw lIldl lle
obvious finish of the horses course
must be the tossing of the buggy oven
the cliff that here bordered the road
way.
The horse, proceeding unchecked, had
by this time drawn the buggy about
haly way, in an oblique line, to the
cliffs edge-in a few seconds the horse,
driver and vehicle would be tumbling
w hundred feet into the limekilns be-
low! a horrible sensation, physical
and mental. seized Miss Stotts; she
could not move, h could not cry out
me tragedy would occur before her eyes
without her being able to lift a finger
to preven it. She heard. or
thought she heard, a strangely familiar
sound coming from the direction of the
fatal curve. 1t was the very sound
she had come 10 Passaquodmush pu1-
posely to aNoid-a sound that had all
ways offended her ears; never before
had she heard it OF these remote roads
of Maine wilderness There was
no installing it--yet She listened to ii
now as a starving. besieged garrison
listens to the CHEEKY bugle call of a re-
lievlng army. There was indeed
throb-throb of a motor car! In an in
more the car had rounded the
curve and came clear into view-the
horse in the mail-bugev. startled at the
unaccustomed apparition. backed vio-
lenllN, Its fatal career an
inch or two from the cliff, and, finally
running one hind wheel into the ditch
on the inner side of the road, over
turned the buggy with a crash and Law.
struggling and painting, but safe now,
in the tangled harness.
SO you'll admit that a motor car
may serve a very useful purpose after
all 2"
1t was Jack" Stebbins who spoke,
had one arm round Miss Stotts'
seemingly %supernuous atten-
tlon just now, seeing that it was fuli
f1Ne minutes since she had ]ecovere
from her fainting fit. With the other
hand he was holding her horse by the
bride. And think what would have
happened If the auto hadn't brought
me here In the nick If time"
To save me from falling off nv
horse, and the mail driver from falling
over the cliff.
The color was returning to her cheeks.
and there was a mischievous twinkle
in her eyes.
Yes, Jack" she said, and better
still. you have shown me a way to end
the troubles of that unfortunate mail
horse-1-l'm going to give his master
an-an automobile!"
Confess, Miss Stotts, that your init
al mistake was in abusing the auto
Il take it all back. I've changed nv
opinion"
Jack" stebbins BEN his head a little