davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

an eXecrable monster! When are these
extortions to cease. | ask2"
When swallow instead of peck at the
cherry, madam. Ten t~housand--"
Il have told you that is an impossible
sum"
All, but the diamond n ecklsce. the
heirloom of which my mother often spoke;
kept 80 long for posterity that it is half
forgotten and never inspected. ] can put
IL to a better USE"
Mrs. Rasdell started and stood intent.
What's that2" she whispered. "A loot
fall? Some one is moving upstairs; a
moment nay bring exposure. Quick.
quick. have you the papers here? Yes.
the letter. the certificate. there's the neck
lace in exchange for them. Now 20 and
good radiance go. quick"
As rapidly as the exchange was effected,
as the young man slipped ont, as the door
was closed and locked, Cronkite glided into
the library and out the veranda window.
In another moment he had Philip Montague
by the throat.
81 am a private detective" he said. Il
rave Just Witnessed your eXtortion. Make
choice at once -compromise or trial, Judge
M~arcellus or the police court
The devil or the deep sea" reflected the
young man. IF ] don't go to Marcellus and
make hard terrSs with him he'll go TO the
court and make long terms for me. The Jig
is up. Take me To the old devil OF q lawyer
and be damned TO you both!'
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14
".

A good DAYS work, Abe. and not vet 2
o'clock. said Judge MaroelluS complacently
a. he sat over his breakfast rolls and coffee.
Phillip Montague il oil for parts unknown,
never TO return, you may be sure. The COM
promising papers are in the safest Of hands,,
Mrs. Rasdell's.
All, there's a true woman for you. Here
in this box is the price Of them, the diamond
necklace recovered by your very ~oreditable
work. The snake il scotched and killed"
His stock in trade was fraudulent for the
most part, | SUPPOSE" asked Cronkite,
whose face lid not reflect his masters salts
faction.
Yes, but Of that most vicious. i~ntractable
sort which has a foundation of truth.
-Rasdell was involved with an actress,
Clarice Montague, many years ago. There
was some kind OF marriage and he went TO
undue lengths TO get a divorce, but she was
a had lot.
This young man is her son. not Ras-
dell's, mind. He forged Rasdellhs name
a few years ago. and out of considers ton
and fear of scandal Rasdell let up on him.
That in how | came 10 n Of the affair.
Il still have the forged check. n thus
had a hold on Montague. A nasty mess:
no wonder that Rasdell has forced himself
20 forget all about IL, Ans we'll that ends
well; though you don't look ash you thought
My mind is in doubt on two points. sir"
replied the detective, musingly. My
part in the affair, which you have been so
good az 10 praise, was apparent enough.
u was easy Tor me TO conclude from their
open. ingenious actions on receipt Of the
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

escaped. II is well known TO fishermen that
if one fish by chance happens to disoov
the straight road to freedom the others,
like sheep after the bellwether, will fall
in line behind him. and every one OF them
will take exactly the same course.
The big hauls. like Richard Soldiers
the other day, are made in the pound nets;
but good catches are made with ordinary
seines lowered away from dories half n
mile apart and pulled in to the beach by
horses. Spme of the fishing
keep "a lookout busy all day watching for
schools of bluefish TO wander into hsllow
waters. When that HAPPENS all boats are
out. small seines arc used and even hand
lines increase the harvest.
The bluefishermen have a curious way
of cumming their quarry. They cut uH
menhaden, of which bluefish are exces,
sively fond. n shake the fragments into
the ocean.
The bits of menhaden cave an oily faint
in the water which brings the blueish
around the boats in a hurry. In the old
days they used TO chop up the menhaden
with hatchets on a wooden block. but now
machines something like sa usa ge machines
which grind the menhaden up into hashl.ks
pieces.
Another improvement Of modern DAYS
is the motor boats. Some II the well g. d.
fishermen have equipped their fishing
a speed Of seven or eight knots.
BY | or ? O'Clock in the afternoon they
AVE emptied their nets or made the day Z
catch. As quickly as possible the fish
are brought TO shore, hauled in wagons 70
iceing stations. barrelled and shipped hy
boat or train to the New York ma rkeis.
BY nightfall the hsherfolk ara tired to thu
bone and very glad to dangle their hsra
legs over a dock and smoke strong tobacco
wh.le they tell of marvellous catches.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

that there might I've an honorable though
not sensible reason for each suspicious
action, and when instructing him To send
word of any discovery, good, bad or in
different.
What then did such reservations and
precautions hetoken? Remembrance on
incident Of Mr.. Rasdell's past. which the
prosperous. self-sntisfled banker Of to-day
had long been pleased 20 forget, they sus-,
gested that the very things of which he
complained might have been done for
his sake.
Far fetched? Yes, but 40 was the light
Of day. What difference how far, il only II
dispersed the shadows and restored the
genial warmth Of home? He reviewed
The scene Of the bankers announcement
of his ruin. and while resignation. terror
and panic were manifest. guilt did not
clearly appear.
The time was ripe for action. Fred
might gain resolution while he was ont.
Ethel's sickness might secure a nights
respite for Mrs. Rasdell. Already the
pacing 10 and fro had ceased. as IL the
banker, tired Of waiting. had gone to bed.
Feigned recovery, too, might give the girl
a chance if her stress were desperate. Yes.
the time was ripe for action.
Cronkite deity made two packages OF
tissue paper tied with tape, as MIR. Rasdell
had told him the necklace had been wrapped
and bound. One of these packages he
deposited in the hiding place Of the vase.
the other he took with him when he turned
out the lights and proceeded noisily TO his
room.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

faint. fantastic shadow. Down the stairs
stole a girlish figure in white.
The lamp she carried showed the sorrow
that smouldered in deep girlish eyes and
the fear that trembled on sweet girlish
lips. 1t was Ethel Rasdell; and Cronkite
stoutly protested to himself as he gazed
that he was more like to impute wrong, to
a Christian martyr than to her.
Il must. I must she imoaned as she
passed to the library. as distracted as II in
sleep. ""Tis the only thing that officer
can't know about. Papa won't miss it
for a while. He mustn't. he shan't have
more to worry about now. When matters
mend | will tell him all, all, the dreadful
all; at least he will be safe"
In a moment she came out Of the library
sobbing. and as she slipped up the stairs.
with many n backward glance Cronkite
saw that she, too, bore with her a small
white package.
A longer wait, but as patiently abided.
II was an hour later when Cronkite heard
from the garden at the side a whistle. low.
yet shrill and persistent. one that might
pass unnoticed had it not been noticed be-
fore.
Quick. firm steps responded through the
upper nan btlu uOWU lHt fNdtlH. ~
head carried high and lips de~terminedly
set Mrs. Rasdell stalked by, a small white
package in her hand. She turned on the
newell post light. She opened the front
door.
"Come in. ne'er do we'll. who keeps doing
worse and worse" she said,
A young man. with a certain reckless
comeliness Of face, form and dress. entered,
twirling his soft hat at ease.
at is in the blood he answered lightly.
'You know through whose fault, o most
adorable of stepmothers."
81 know nothing except that through
some evil devices you have got possession
of papers that might be distressing to
my husband"
"Yes, my dear husband, Philip Mon
tague. You can't fool mo as you have
fooled that innocent child Ethel, that
weak but good hearted lad Fred, by your
yarns of bigamy. illegitimacy. what not.
-Ah. you see. l know the threefold de-
ceit you have been practising. Mr.. Ras-
dell may have dom wrong to rid himself
of intolcrable conditions. but ! am sure
from the very fact that you came 10 ma
rather than TO him that the divorce itself
wds lawful.
'"oh. you are as cunning as you aU vile.
You have figured that II would hurt him
to have me know what he has long be-
lieved TO he buried in oblivion. and so you
nave traded on ny love for him; traded
repeatedly, and eac time c~heatingly.
never keeping our word. always coming
again, even beguiling the children. What
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

New Workers., who eat more bluefsh than
cny other people in the world. may have
read with a good deal OF interest a story
in TBE Sun the other day which told how
Fisherman Solder Of CliHwood Beach drew
forty tons Of bluefsh out Of the ocean with
one haul Of his big two house seine
Such hauls as Soldiers, which was worth
about 1000 and figured up $4,000 pounds.
are unusual, but the big. fair haired Nor
wegians and Svedes who make a living
catching blueflsh for the New York market
around Raritan Bay and along the Jersey
coast think nothing Of trapping a hundred
bushels at a time in their big pound nets
and weir when the season is good. They
have to keep busy to supply the enormous
demand.
Hardly thirty years ago people turned
mp their noses at the s~ucculent bluefish.
insisting that they weren't food fish al all.
and two cents a pound was paid ~grudgingly
by such persons as had a fondness for the
delioacy. Even now in cities along tho
south Atlantic coast bluefish are not re-
garded with much favor. Some people
object to them because Of ar unpleasant
odor OF the skin and because the fish will
not keep well.
In this town during the summer months
there arc few kinds of fish which sell better
than the fighting pirate. which destroys
or eats every day more than his own weight
in maokerel. weakfsh or menhaden. Deal
ers OF tho Fulton fish market estimate
roughly that it takes about 5000, OOO pounds
every season TO supply New York's bluefsh
hunger. and put a value on this
catch OF from $500 900 TO S4OO.0 600,
When Coney Island Is running full blast
and all the little hot fish sandwich sta nds
along Sur avenue. the Bowery and the side
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

news Of ruin that Mrs. Rasdell was )
signed. and the young people were
anxious.
THE knowledge of Mr.. Rasdell's hiding
place for the necklace being limited to the
three, and no other resources being posi-
ble, 10 was logical for me to suppose that
Mrs. Rasdel had already taken the neck
lace, and that Miss Ethel and young Fred
would each be forced by whatever was
pressing them to try to get II. Accordingly
prepared and used the two dummies, IA
! have related.
That is all clear and simple; but here ara
my two queries, First, how did Mrs. RaS-
dell know that Montague had also been IL
communication with the young people
/ am positive when she went upstairs after
dinner that she felt she was bearing eN-
clusively the burden of him.
Second. why did Mrs. Rasdell pretend
to Montague that there were footsteps over
head? There wasn't a sound and she knew
there wasn't
Your problems are interesting enough,
Abe.' interrupted the Judge somewha'
querulously, but too academic for con-
slderation at this time of day. Let me See,
this necklace is all right. of course. but II =
best 70 verify property before turning 10
over"
The Judge united the tape and remove
the tissue paper. He lifted the DOVER
and then he and Cronkite faced each other
with consternaticn and chagrin. The box
was empty.
1T is one Of the dummies I prepared las
night" mu.tered the detective.
Then where il the diamond necklace
asked the Judge.
At this critical insta mt the telephone IN
the adjoining room rams mistakenly az =
Echo herself were at the other end. Pre-
emily the Judge returned from . ,
the call with beaming face.
"It was Rasdell,- he explained, "a glc.i.
fed Rasdell. He saws that whoever Won n
your services are not required furtlI
The necklace has been found: his wife is 30
angel. his children, perfection.
"Cruesus il himself again, and plent"
again rules in his palace. He didn't spara
time to tell how all this came about. Ras
dell takes things for granted when they a."
coming his way. and i don quite see ny
self
Here il where my two problems age mot'
interesting and less academic than Y
supposed, Sir. interposed Cronkite. Nj.
Rasdell must have met Fred and Miss Fth'i
respectively when they came urstars
each with a dummy package. must have
learned how they had been troubled a..
what they had done. must have s~ecut'.I
their cooperation in restoring peace the
morning
That settles the first point. Then sho
must have gone down stairs and workc!
OIL one of the dummies on Montague
no wonder she hurried him away befcn
he could examine it-and kept the neckLl "
which she had taken a day or so befoI".
10 give TO her husband. That disposes II.
the second point.
1T doesn't appear how much or how IT,
tie she told Rasdell." mused the judy.
good, true m Cronkite. a very prescr.
help in time OF trouble
The, ~touchstone works both ways, sis,
after all ~.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

fore breakfast pipe Of strong tobacco.
drinks a lot Of hot coffee and takes a bite
or two Of solid food and is then away for
the pound nets set o N poles. There are
usually two men 10 a dory, but sometimes
the boats are big enough TO accommodate
four or five, and when the haul is unusually
large every man is needed.
The pound nets are really great cubical
traps dropped into the ocean and entirely
covered nj high water. Running from
them for forty or fifty feet or so towardt the
shore is n single not, which the fishermen
call n leader.
Bluefish wandering in shoreward touch
the leader, become alarmed and heat out
toward the open sea. Like foolish sheep
following a straight line they make for the
open along the course of the leader net
and find themselves at length passing into
a narrow triangular shaped opening into
the big net.
The opening is barbed, the barbs pointing
inward. II is easy for the fish 70 get into
the big square cage but very hard for them
to get out. Ii is not impossible, however,
as was once proved in a case in court when
it was attempted 10 show that certain
fishermen were trapping bluefisb.
The counsel for the fishermen showed
that the pound nets were not traps, since
there was always a possibility for the fish
10 escape. He brought fishermen who
testified that often they had lost as much as
500 bushels of bluefsh by being half an
hour late in drawing up the nets.
The bluefsh cruising around inside the
net found the one way TO escape, a narrow
o-itice straight between the barbs, and
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

A youth lolling at the table dropped
his gold trimmed glasses and staredl some
what after the p~aternsl fashion.
Love doesn't butter parsnips. does IL,
popG' he drawled. we want the ready
for that, hey1r
You are right, Fred Mr.. Rasdell re-
our parsnips; and !, for one, don't know
where We are going 20 get H."
What" and Fred's jaw dropped.
Yes; I have lost everything / possessed.
My creditors with unusual consideration
have deferred action for ten days and will
keep my ruin a secret.
Meanwhile, at my own suggestion, their
representative, Mr.. Cronkite, a worthy old
fellow. is put in charge Of this house and
its contents while a committee is engaged
at the Office with my books and securities,
their intention Is laudable, but abso-
lutely hopeless; therefore. not n stick or
silver must be touched by me or mine
Adele, look at that grill She has faintedl'
From across the hall Cronkite saw Mrs
Rasdell minister tenderly to her step
daughter, who had dropped at the table az
IL from a sudden blow. and help her, half
leading. half bearing her upst airs. He
saw Fred Rasdell. with a feeble assumption
OF indifference. light a cigarette and take
two or three puffs upon il, only to cast IL
into the hearth and hurry miserably from
the house.
He saw Mr.. Rasdell. smiling cynically,
call the old family butler to him. He heard
| the instructions for his own comfort. He
heard the warning that not a hint OF inner
trouble should penetrate without.
He saw the banker mount the stairs
heavily, and as the house below grew still
and the night hours heightened he heard
his steps to and fro. like those Of a prisoner
waiting in suspense, on the floor above.
Deserted and still was the lower floor as
the night hours heightened. In h high
ceilinged, man recessed library the
shadows gathered close around the centre
table where Cronkite worked under the
green shade that softened the single light
He could scarcely discern the high Etruscan
vase in the corner by the veranda window,
/ the top OF which. after a half turn back
and forth. completely revolved and dis
blessed a secret receptacle, the receptacle in
which the necklace had been hid.
So closely. too. gathered the shadows
around the light in the detectives mind
the single light by means Of which he might
elucidate the mystery. In his hurried de-
parture from the Office there had been but
time for a word Of counsel apart.
-Rasdell should remember that chickens
come home 20 roost.' Judge Marcellus
had whispered with an ~oracular nod.
Evidently this germ Of a possible solution
' bad affected the old jurist when suggesting
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

they sometimes disgorge in order to ill up
again.
IL has been estimated that 1900. 900, 600
bluefsh swarm In the Atlantic Ocean be-
tween the south Jersey coast and Monon-
omy. and hat every one of hem eats or
destroys ten menhaden. mackerel or weak
fish every day. That would be 10. 900, coo, 900
victims for them every day. which figure.
multiplied by 100, the number of days that
bluefsh are schooling in these waters.
produces an almost unbelievable total.
They are frantic fighters and make good
sport for the line fishermen. 1t has been
said OF the bluefish hat he can jump higher.
come low quicker. dive deeper and stay
under longer than any other fsh. Ger
tsinly the men of Belmar and other little
towns along the Jersey coast who make
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14
~TTEE. ST1rE WE1AT 50WVTsE.

streets are dishing out smoking slices Of
bluefsh between covers Of white bread
II takes every big day about ten tons
Of bluefish for Coney Alone. Bluefish
broiled with bacon, bluefsh fried, blue
fish boiled, bhcfish served in a dozen din
ent ways are on the menu cards Of the
most expensive hotels and restaurants
az a d~elicacy, and the thousands of little
cheap eating houses must have them for
their customers. When the oyster goes
out the bluefsh comes in.
From May until late in the autumn blue
fish swarm along the Eastern coast Of this
country, but for some reason are never
found on the Western coast. There are
some in the Gulf waters. but their great
feeding grounds lie south OF Cape Cod
and north Of Chesapeake Bay. Waters
of the coast Of Jersey seem to have the
greatest attraction for them.
Scientists like David Starr Jordan and
Prof. s.. F. Baird, as well as Curator Town
send Of the Aquarium, who have studied
the bluefish and observed what a ferooious
rascal he is nave declared that he is a pro-
fessionsl murderer, always eating, staying
and destroying. Prof. Baird described
him as an animated ~cbopping machine,
and otherwise destroy as many fish as pos
sible in q given time.
Going in large schools in pursuit Of fish
not much inferior to themselves In size.
they move along like q pack OF wolves.
destroying everything before them. Their
trail is marked by fragments Of fish and by
the stain Of blood in the sea. a. when the
fish are too large to he swallowed whole.
the blues bite OF the hinder part and leave
the anterior part floating. So gluttonous
are they that when their stomachs are full
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14
THE %TOUCHSTONE
OF TROUBLE.
Mysterious Doings IN Banker Ras-
.defps Home and a Diamond
Necklaces Flight.

The t~ouchstone OF love. Mr.. Rasdell;
ls trouble remarked Abe Cronkite.
Tho banker stared and wiped his brow.
.Eh, what's that?' he retorted. Il should
say that the touchstone Of trouble was
love. Fool that I am. at my age. with a
srownup son and daughter. TO have mar
red agatni / don't believe a word OF IL.
The next thing you'll be saying. ! suppose'
10 that the tombstone OF beauty Ia virtue.
Poofi I know better
Don't; Rasden.' expostulated Judge
Marcellus, with reproving glance over his
glasses. Appearances are deceitful; and
30 are conclusions drawn from insufficient
PREMISES. There may be something in
CronkIte's suggestion. II 1 comprehend it.
Let us see.
-rou come TO me with a family mystery
TO be solved. You are suspicious OF your
wife. your son. your daughter.
Yet you may be mistaken. There may
he an honorable reason-mind, l don't
say a sensible r~eason-for every one OF the
actions you lay up against them.
Il say. Give them a chance. put them
to the test 'How?' you ask. And my
man Cronkits suggests hat trouble Ia the
touchstone that will make manifest their
true feelings toward you
Rather superfuous TO ask whether you
are hurt after you have been knocked down
and kicked sbout. isn't it?' grunted Mr..
Rasdell. 81 learn by the merest chance
that my wife, Adele. has been meeting
secretly a strange young man. OF course
| say nothing about IL.
Then. through another bit OF luck, I
hear that my daughter Ethel is seen in
the grove at the end Of my grounds in close
conversation with a stranger Of ike ap-
pearance. and | treat her with the same
consideration as I do her stepmother.
FINALLY, I am warned hat my son Fred
has been carousing nights with a fash
fellow who answers the description in eacb
Of the other cases. That touches my busi-
ness, possibly my fiduciary relations. !
tax him with il, and arm met with fat, sweep
ing denials.
is il any wonder. then. that ! have re-
Trained TO speak TO any OF them about the
loss Of tho diamond necklace. though they
alone have known where ! have kept itp
What's the use II ! am TO be met by only
deception or falsehoodp
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

The bluefish are consumed rapidly and in a
fresh condition. New FORK city takes
fully a third of the total catch
Thousands of men living in villages
along the Jersey coast and the New York
coast make "A good living bluefshing.
Nowadays big fish dealers of the Fulton
market send out splendidly equipped fishing
boats, some Of them Of 1875 or $50 tons, which
gather the fish in the early morning and
get them to market 10y noon of the same
day. nicely packed in barrels and iced.
Most of them are caught. however, as they
were years ago. from small dories Of peculiar
construction or from the big square pound
nets and weirs.
The Belmar bluefish erman. like his follows
along the coast, il an early riser. He is
up by . O'Clock in the morning for his be-
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-14

q business Of capturing him believe il.
The total cath of hlucli,h along the At
laniic coast is ahout l7.OOO.OO o pounds a
year. which is wo tn roughly about s0u,0o0
The seaboard New England States pro-
duce about 100000 pounds, worth $4,000;
the North Atlantic States. principally
New York Ind New Jersey, send something
like rs. Nh 900 pounds to the markets, worth,
say, ss5O,OO0, and the South Atlantic and
Gulf States send in about ] ,5O0,O00 pounds,
valued at about SIS, 900.
The blueiish industry is much less inn
portant than that of the Pacific coast salmon
business. which produces something like
2O8, 900. 900 pounds a year. or the menhaden
fishing. from which comes nea rly So. 900 600
pounds, but menhaden are not food fish
and salmon are timed and preserved.