davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1905-12-10
erein Dime-of-the-Most Wrecked the Village Drug
Pushed Mr.. Goddard Up Against Precedent

fists in his pockets. mr. Goddard
leaned against the counter and gave
himself up to plausible reflections,
superinduced by the Dime-of-the-
Most His expression was red and
gorgeous. The three young sponge
inspectors gazed at Mr. Goddard IS
one wao could also soak up some.
Buiwarl1ed behind the prescription
case the little clerk grew vindictive
and warlike. The Bub burned into
the sensitive soul of Mr.. Fay worse
than acid. He couldn't stand it.
Blind, unreasoning hate CLEANED
from his eyes and his pale face grew
gray. Leaving the prescription care
fully incorporated, he sought the
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

these touched the lead, which was left
large and blunt.
This, said the reader CT pencil
points, belongs 10 a person of contra
dlcAory character Careful as to minute
uetalis, ana also parsimOnious in bust
ness matters, he or she. though 1 think
spend Iavishly.
Not artistic. though she would be
greatly surprised to be told SOL as
sumo the pencil belongs to woman
she likes fine furnishings, fine gems
handsome materials rich combinations
ana because of this she fancies herself
4 person OF taste. but she does not know
now 10 combine and separate in a way
10 make these things she loves attrac-
tive accessories
How do ] reach this conclusion? To
begin with, this pencil is Of the cheap
harsh sort. which no highly organized
person would care 10 use
The careful way in which 1t is cut
on one side indicates the extreme char
acteristcs, az to business matters 1
have pointed out; The long, careless cut
= tendency 20 spend at times in an un-
thinking, unreasOning way. The irregu-
lar cuts which follow this show a love
ok excellence, but no sense Of proper
ton. OF that tine fitness which cOnsti-
tutes beauty. is this correct2"
The person VINO had secured the pen
ell answered that II belonged to a widow
VINO successfully conducts the business
pertaining 20, a feet of sailing vessels
left to her by her husband and that the
delneatiOn was quite correct
The next pencil examined was dark
brown. OF standard make and evenly
cut Win long, strong point but little
sharpened.
This" said the woman. as she rolled
the point between her thumb and finger
belongs 10 painstaking, exact person.
Every cent, nay, every mill. must be
where il belongs, not so much Us q mat
ter or economy as Of business.
The Washington times., 1905-12-10
Continued from First Page)

Continued from First Page)
symbol of his life and desolation-
ashes,
Full of infantile details the ladies
returned from their inspection of the
doctors son and heir. The new
grand piano was opened and Carlos
made TO sing the love songs of his
repertoire. He sang to her. Each
note scraped and twisted every nerve
of the doctors tortured heart, but
his brain was ice.
Then some one played a waltz, and
Carlos caught her in his arms; they
whirled about the room. Suddenly
he stopped. She gave a little shrek
as he tottered and fell into a chair.
The doctor smiled and his hour had
come.
Carlos was a good actor, but the
doctor was a better one. No one
could have expressed more surprise
and sympathy and gentleness than
he, as, bending over the patient with
avery semblance Of professional and
anxious effort, he pretended to re-
suscitate Carlos from the pretended
faint He took his hand. How strong
was the pulse; how hot youth leaped
through the arteries. The priest
crossed himself; the women sobbed
as the doctor shook mis- head. "Ir-
{ regular" he murmured. There was
the temperature; it was normal
THE fever is much too high" said
the physician.
Il am on fire." moaned the other.
1.-The heart-the heart is very
weak" The doctor laid aside his
stethescope
Il cannot bear the pain"
Very cleverly the doctor questioned
Carlos, mixing him confess in the
presence Of the witnesses to symp-
toms which would make all that was
TO follow seem beyond doubt the re-
suit of some dread disease. And
Carlos in his efforts TO deceive his
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

as the owner of the pencil is an architect
who has TO his credit at least one build
ing in New York. which is much discuss
cd and admired.
The next pencil point taken up was
scarcely point at all. as il had been
hacked into such shape as il had with
a dull knife. leaving "a small, unsharpen-
ed bit of lead exposed A cheap AFFAIR in
the beginning II had evidently been long
in use.
It was said that this pencil indicated a
person whose point or view was ever
the material aspect of things; person
OF little delicacy. much greed and a
iondness FOR contemplating things that
represent an immense amount OF phYSi-
cal labor. Energetic fOrceful. deter
mined. IN certain way the pencils
owner. II successful. must have achieved
success through bodily force. neither
using nor recognizing the power which
is finer
This delineation again was quite true,
as the person who contributed the pencil
had begun as "A day laborer. and ia the
er Of a trucking business
hardly know what to make of
this, said the student of pencils,
scrutiniZlng one neatly sharpened an
one side and cut in two deem las,es
that extended into the lead. on the
one person"
Nt isn't" said he who had collected
the pencils. 4 asked a woman who is
good deal out of the common I'm a
certain way TO sharpen pencil fC- me-
she cut Into 1t twice and then gave II
Up stEin$ sh@. could not do X and
THAT makes X plain said the wo
man. and III wager a dollar To pen
ell stubs that she has a beautiful hand,
with IONS. pointed fingers and a small.
Shapely thumb. | have found that the
character indicates by the sharpeuiux
@E a pencA IA verified In the hand
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

staple drugs and things. The tur-
pentine expert was entirely too many
for him. Mr.. Goddard tackled low.
He hooked up with the heels of the
clerk and proceeded 10 fail the inter
ior CT the pain store to q finish. The
countenance OF FIR. Fay, as his body
whirled at random, inflicted copious
dents in the wire cabinet containing
sponges, brcke down table laden
with toilet articles and putty, and
bent the nozzle on the soda foun-
tain. The prescription case and bot
tled-studded shelves got in TIE way
and collapsed. Iodine and eau de
cologne sprayed incense on the ruins
and added much to the demoralized
aspect of Mr.. Fay.
The Washington times., 1905-12-10
Store and

committed the assault. The States
own witnesses establish that fact.
and move for acomttal"
Mr.. Goddard Iurned en- a far
reaching smile. in the middle of
which his nose loomed up like pur-
pie oasis. The spectators looked
upon the defendant as one who had
been w-ongfully accused, and public
sentiment swayed largely in MS
favor. Then the Court spoke.
MY duty in this mater is plain.
and | will, therefore, employ pre-
cedent in deciding the case.
Few of those present knew what
a precedent was like; but as the
Court was scratching his head at the
time, they kept bright lookout. No
precedent could get away from them
Late one very dark night" con-
tinued the Judge, when l was a
young man I met another youth in
the street. We had mutual grudge,
and both agreed 20 fight it out right
there. I pounded him good and went
on home. No one saw the fight or
knew a thing about it. but all the
while my conscience troubled me.
In my heart / felt | had disturbed
the peace of the community. Unable
to bear the strain, went before
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

everything with him is accomplished
according 20 well established processes.
As to imagination. he hears about il.
and sometimes vaguely wonders what
it Is"
The pencil belonged 10 a bank taIlor
VINO mas grown old I'm the service OF the
hiSulutloh "ith which he is connected.
The next one considered was a bright
yellow pencil that had been cut with
dtep strokes starting from each OF its
StN EiotS- Ihese cuts were not even.
ana lett the lead for an unusual dis
tanee straight and bare.
AS the woman held the pencil before
her aud turned IL slowly, she exclaimed:
ere Iiere We nave imagination that
counts! This person rides no useless
Pegasus. lie does not catch at straws,
but they show MIN which way the wind
blows, and he sets his sails accordingly
See the strong. swift way in which
lie niusl have made these cuts They
are not regular, but were effectively
and quickly done.
He is frank. rapid. sure A little er-
ratio. just enough 10 give him individu-
allty and ZeSt. This last is indicated
by tire way the wood Is left TO run
down on 10 the lead ut one point. and
the slight irregulaTity.'
The pencil was the property of a
writer whose work IS well known
very nice
The pencil that brought forth this as
seruon was neatly cut. both rs 10 the
wood and the lead, with here and there
a slight deviation which added TO the
general graceful outline
The person who Is responsible for this
pencil ls at once accurate and artistic
While precise as TO things Fundamental
the attractive. the beautiful Is ever. i'm
mind and brought 10 the fore an the
proper time and place. but rather 70
adorn the useful than as an end i'm it
self"
This deIineation was particularly good.
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

should assist him now. He went %
the door and gently asked her to
sing; it would soothe the patient
What shall | sing?"
A grim thought entered his mind.
AN Ave." he said.
She sang Luzzi's ave Maria" She
prostituted the noble hymn; she sang
it TO her lover. Carlos knew it; the
doctor knew it. ''Adeso, a nell ora
della nostra morte, Ave Maria" And
while she sang the doctor, with his
hand on Carlos pulse, gave the
tonic" to the boy. and Carlos, listen
ing to the voice he loved, drank and
heard no more. The song and the
life were ended together
Then the messenger came that
Carlos had planned. The doctor read
the letter.
Il will CO." he said.
She got his coat. kissed and said
she adored him. and begged him tc
hurry home.
Through his darkened Office he
stepped. He raised the window cur
tain: moonlight flooded the room.
This time he slammed the door HIM
self and waited in the shadow of the
bookcase.
There was p rustic of petticoata.
the pattering OF slippered feet. Warm
arms wound around Carlos throat
a kiss, a screamI She turned and
saw her husband.
When he had cared for her and
the maid had taken her to her room
the doctor turned to his unfinished
manuscript He wrote: There ara
no reported cases of it's effect on
human organism. In the absence OF
any demonstration the symptoms
would probably be CLASSY and pro-
truding eyes, rigid jaw, slight froth
at mouth. The pulse would cease in
about six seconds. One-tenth OF q
gramme would probably produce in
slant death if administered to q
healthy adult"
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

thought of that. A doubt came into
the husbands heart and the anguish
of that doubt decided it.
The doctor carefully weighed out
tenth gramme of the drug and dis
solved it; then he stopped. He re-
called his experiments at the hos
pitaI; he remembered the convul-
sions in which the dogs and the
guinea pigs had died. His wife was
in the next room; she might hear the
death struggle The doctor smiled.
She had helped to deceive him; she
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

passive giant, still leaning against the
counter, jumped up like bantam
rooster and pasted Mr.. Goddard a
violent thump on the nose.
I'll be dinged," exclaimed the big
man, looking away over and beyond
the small creature who had stung
him. Thereupon Mr.. Goddard wiped
his nose on the back of his hand.
drawn lengthwise, gazed at the broad
crimson streak and made grab for
MIR. Fay. The fight was on.
While the little clerk was game to
the core, he played but a thinking
part in the general oyerhauling,
renoyating, and cleaning out of
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

by the sin which had found him out.
The doctor looked again. There at
his hand glimmered the blue phial.
be reached and took it. Again he
peered into the gloom. Clear and
distinct he saw the crucifix, the sym
bol of redemption. The doctor paus-
ed; the reaction had come. All his
generosity was awakened and trying
TO rise where it lay stunned. Should
the man who had wronged him have
one last chance? And then from the
room above came the sound OF a lit
tie cry. Her child He had not
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

{ II he way in which a pencil
IS sharpened is an unfailing
index Of character" said a
woman who speaks Of living
In beautiful silent world" when she
refers TO the fact that she is deaf.
1t was after she lost her hearing that
she began TO study the relation between
people and the pencils they sharpen.
Having a fancy that the use of either
ihe sign language or lip reading would
separate her from common humanity by
relegating her 10 "a class. she declines
10 use either, and depends on written
answers 10 her questions.
This makes a pencil a constant neces-
sitv. and she has observed pencils with
unusual attention and results.
when understood" she continued,
"a sharpened pencil is an outline sketch;
a brief statement Of what the persoi.
who mas done the cutting can do. and
also what he thinks he can do. which Is
quite as essential in reaching a cOnclu>
sion in regard 10 lin.
Just ask 4 person 10 point a pencil
Tor you. or better. to lend YOU one he
has himself selected and sharpened, as
The Kind used signifies much. and you
nave before you a dependable dclinca-
ton Of his leading qualities"
To prove that she can In this wav de-
cirher character, and also 10 demon
suatc how she does it, she asked thar
a number OF pencils be collected and
submitted 10 her, sipul2ting only that
lhe more pronounced characteristics of
the owners should be known 10 the one
presenting them
The ilrst pencil examined was one OF
lhe cheaper kind. On one side the cutting
Was done with many short careful
strokes; on the other there was a deep
hasty slash ard several others irregtl-
iarlS ana earelessly made. None of
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

stranger TO them; but common sense
told the inspectors that no man, not
even drug clerk, could lose four
gallons of blood d minute and sur
vive the drain on his system. So in
the interest of humanity they inter
fered and halted the massacre. Mr..
Goddard uncoupled himself with ap-
parent reluctance. He had good
thing.
News of the combat spread quick
IS, like boarding house molasses, and
the leading men of the village as
sembled 20 view the remnants of the
drug store and the clerk Among
those present was the city marshal.
pale but determined. He locked
some rusty hardware on the hairy
wrists of Mr. Goddard, who passed
q pensive night III Jail without the
solaee of another Most
to allay his thoughts and nose The
drug store proprietor. an excellent
doctor, came and patched up the
clerk with fragments from the ruins
and vouched for his appearance at
the trial.
Early next morning Dope Springs
rallied to the tribunal on the lower
floor of the hall. Those who were
working took a day off to gaze in
awe upon Justice as she if meted out.
During the summer a local captain
of industry opened fruit and soda
water emporium ON the site of the
present tribunal He did we'll until
one fatal Saturday night an enemy
to progress worked of lead nickel
during the rush hour. On Monday
the captain of industry made an as
signment, but the preferred creditors
had not removed the visible assets.
Court, therefore, opened with His
Honor, the Judge, acting ex-oficio
Justice of the Peace, pro tem., on the
same bench that once upheld the
dignity of bananas in punches. In
one hand His Honor choked cigar
which showed a disposition to die
hard. The other hand rested lightly
on the valve of the late soda foun-
tain, as though His Honor meant to
dispense justice tempered with lemon
and vanilla instead OF the chestnutty
wisdom and mercy.
The large turpentine man was for
mally arraigned on charge of as
sault and battery, preferred by the
drug store proprietor, who repre-
sented by proxy the battered form
and features of his clerk. A lawyer
sat beside Mr. Goddard and examined
the three young sponge inspectors
who appeared as witnesses for the
State. One by one the inspectors
emitted expert testimony-how Mr..
Goddard stood at the counter asleep
on the hOof like a cab horse, when
Mr.. Fay emerged from among the
pills and smote him on the nose.
Our case,' said the lawyer in ac-
cents replete with legal verbiage:
we have shown that the other man
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

that Carlos must remain with him
the night, Carlos burst out laughing.
"Hysteria," was the doctors explana-
ton.
Very gently the doctor assisted his
wife's lover to the lounge in his of
flee, while she sat alone in the dark
ened room and waited. Carlos pre-
tended to sleep; he was bored. Would
the messenger never come? The doe
tor paced up and down the room,
thinking OF what he was about to do.
There was no danger now, Carlos
had played into his hands with the
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

and copious Dimes Most sus-
tanned Mr.. Goddard during the mar
tyr period, while his mud-caked muls
enjoyed Waldorf-Astoria hospitality
in the village livery stable.
AS for the original prescription
which brought Mr.. Goddard to town,
/ know not whether it ever was fill
ed. We had no suitable place to
carefully compound anything when
Mr.. Goddard left the drug store. so
far as know, the invalid in the tur-
pentine swamp passed away or got
The Washington times., 1905-12-10
Wherein

1t is considered de trop to imbibe
from anything but a tumbler.
So, the large man withdrew to the
dripping cedar tree and endowed his
vitals with the Dime-of-the-M Most.
Vastly refreshed, inVigorated and in
famed, the large man moved on TO
the Dope Springs Pharmacy. Paints,
Putty, Wall Paper, etc; >PrescriD-
tions Carefully Compounded. The
drug store was about to embark in
darkness at this important epoch,
which was 1880 p. NJ.
Three reckless village youths. who
loved to keep late hours, loitered at
the back of the store admiring some
IS and 20 cent sponges. The clerk,
a little sawed-off chap, stood alone
with the swells behind the counter.
He >was making up the cash assets
in that frivolous and desultory man
ner common 10 those who handle
other peoples money. The crown of
his felt hat displayed a small black
disc above the showcase.
Here, bub." said the big man, ex-
tending a slip of paper toward the
hat crown, run along and ask your
pap to fiji this prescription. Mans
awful sick
Slowly the hat crown dipped to the
rear until there arose, like the pale
moon, face, a scowl and Buffalo
Bill moustache of frightful dimen-
sions.
My name is not 'Bub,'" the face
retorted- I'm Mr.. Fay, of this city,
and I'm thirty-four years old"
The large man was amused and
likewise astonished; and his late
Dime-of-the-Most inclined him to
repartee
kin you prove it?" he queried.
Mr.. Fay moved his right arm, hid
den below the counter, and some
thing clicked before he replied:
1--WE got here some of the con-
yincingest pills ever compounded.
"Oh, come now," said the large
man. None OF that. Put away them
implements of the chase. There
amt no harm in me, nohow. and
never was none. My names God
dard, fifty-three years old, and I'm
from Missoury," he added by way of
extenuating circumstances.
Where you're from and who you
are makes no difference to me- the
clerk coldly replied "Only don't call
ne 'Bub.' Bear that in mind"
Mr.. Goddard smiled affably and
pushed huge paw across the coun-
ter.
I suttinly won't if it makes you
feel bilious and bad. And say. Won
needn't prove your age. 1t amt none
OF my business. Just fill the pre-
scription."
Mr. Fay shook hands with the in
sulting turpentine man and moved
away To carefully compound. accord
ing TO the legend on a ground glass
screen. The fight was off. With his
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

confession of those imaginary symp-
toms, any of which would have ex-
planned his death.
To the doctor everything in the
room seemed blurred and to recede
and then to become blotted out. The
doctor was alone with eternity for
an instant. He aroused himself.
hooked at the boy who had wronged
him, lying there at his mercy, bound
hand and foot, by the circumstances
Of his own lies, caught in the meshes
OF net OF his own weaving, betrayed
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

need OF heroic treatment, anG he call
ed at the proper shop.
Its a bum night" he said to the
man behind. Gimme a Dime-of-the-
Most"
"Suttinly," replied the chemist.
Reaching for the patients bottle, he
poured in half a pint, or ten cents
worth, of hot whisky. The ethics Of
tipping do not sanction the absorb
tion Of bottled goods in the place.
The Washington times., 1905-12-10
IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS.

\ boy. alarming. finds the scheme
OF college life:
Death turks upon the football team,
And In the strife
Attendant on that annual rush
Yclept the cane.
Are swiftly slain.
In baseball he may bite the dirt
From blow Of bat.
And should he come through IL unhUrt
There is the frat"
A college man must ever look alive,
| wish TO state;
The only won0er Is that some survive
10 graduate.
Louisville CnuriaS-Journai
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

well without medical attention Sick
people have done both
Two years after the incident here
in narrated the turpent:ne man,
while inflated by an extra Dime-of-
the-Most, tried to scalp baekwcods
negro with a new axe handle. The
negro took a peevish view of the
idea, and when the smoke cleared
away the Coroner did the rest Our
drug store has been repaired, and
prescriptions are now carefully COM
pounded day and night.
Copyright. 1876. by Charles DryeenD
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

In a supreme final effort the giant
scored touchdown with the back
Of the other fellows head on tall
glass cylinder filed with radiant
liquid standing near the open door.
-9'he bottle broke and a red torrent
deluged the front steps.
He shore will bleed to death at
that rate" whispered the frightened
young sponge inspectors, who had
gone outside at the beginning of hos
tilities. I'VE all better stop him
soon.''
A native delicacy prevented the in
spectors from butting into the fight,
since Mr.. Goddard was a total
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

Justice, confessed my crime and paid
the penalty. By virtue of that prece-
dent, l fine Mr.. Goddard $40 and
costs for disturbing the peace"
That settled it. The Courts con-
science-stricken precedent was en-
tirely too stiff for Mr.. Goddard. His
face took on another and different
smile, in the setting Of which his
nose looked more horrible than be-
fore. He paid the fine and fingered
days in the village posing as mar
tyr to the latest precedent. Frequent
The Washington times., 1905-12-10

leading 10 Dope Springs. The man
was fastening in from the turpen-
tine swamps with an urgent pre-
scription. Being a wise beast, the
mule knew all about the hurry. lie
walked even slower than the Five
Dollars Fine stipulation against
rapid transit posted on the bridge.
The mule was educated and could
read plain print
Three hundred yards beyond the
bridge the large man hove to under
the lee of the village barroom and
moored the mule to a dripping cedar
tree. The original prescription for
the invalid at the turpentine works
could wait while the messenger got
one filed for himself. He felt the
The Washington times., 1905-12-10
PENCIL SHARPENING AS AN UNFAAMG INDEX TO CHARACTER

{ - He way in which a pencil
is sharpened is an unfailing
index of character" said a
u-nrrlnrl III. ..r..., L.. .--t..r.-.-
Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1905-11-23
POWELL EORD

Miss Carrie KEENAN,, OF Mexico,
spent last f riday with her sister,
Mrs. VIM. Mason.
Mrs F. B.Cook has been suffer
ing with blood poison for the past
week is much better now.
Many were disappointed Sunday
on account of the Indictment wealth
err. No preaching at Sunrise.
Mrs. Romans and Annie johnson
of Benton City, spent Saturday
night and Sunday with Mrs James
Powell and Sunday night with
Mrs. Tina billiard.
Mrs. F. p. Carter aud Mrs. S.
Hamilton of Mexico spent Thurs
day with 7. j. Powell aud family.
Mrs. Ellen Mason .Of Columbia
is visiting relatives in this vicin-
ity.
Mrs. Henry Schultz of South
Dakota is visiting Conrade Schultz
and family.