davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
CHAPTER XIII.
TIE LETTER.

s Lady Creech and Hawcastle
~ entered the garden, where
Horace was still holding the
hand of the fair countess, they
encountered Almeric, who was stroll
ing in aimlessly from the direction OF
the village. Hawcastie beckoned to
him.
Anything unusual down therer he
asked. pointing to the village.
"Rawther! Carabinieri still hunting
that bandit chap" said his hopeful son
languidly.
Don't humble your wordsr snapped
the old lady. and Horace and madame
turned sharply and confusedly. AL
merlc made gesture Of impatience
and putting his head close to his re,
rpected aunt's ear, shouted:
"Hunting a bally bandit! at which
the old woman screamed sharply.
Hawcastle took him by the shoulder.
"What do they say, about him?" be
demanded.
THAT he Is still in the neighbor.
hood" replied his heir, with languid
sigh.
what did tell you" asked Lady
.creech triumphantly. And the ear
mnde a gesture Of impatience.
"Almeric. find your betrothed and
bring her here" he said. And the
young man trotted OF slowly. Horace
came slowly forward.
whats the row, drT he asked, and
the earl smiled
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
For Unbelievers Only.

To-day, when the back number farmer
who does not believe in spraying is allow
ing his apples to lie on the ground ano
rot because there is no market for wea-
zened, wormy, worthless fruit, or occas
ionally getting a few cents more than the
value of the barrel and the labor of the
picking from some near-sighted suckers,
statistics like the following may be suffi'
ciently striking to awaken even the sleep
or to occasionally help out his bank ac
couut and save his trees for his heirs anC
assigns. In one orchard in Ohio, sprayed
in the winter for scale, sprayed just be-
fore bloom time with Bordo mixture
sprayed just after the blooms fell with
Arsenate of Lead, yielded 4,S33 perfect
apples and just Is wormy ones. All thii
from one tree. Unsprayed tree, same
variety, same age, same condition, lex
cept omitting the spraying), yielded 2,S9s
sound apples and |, ,l80 wormy and worth
less mockeries. Nearly half of them
did not pay for the gathering. We are
indebted to our friend, Director Chas. Z
Thorne of the Ohio Experiment Station
for this object lesson data.-Long Island
AgrOnOmist.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
The New England Fruit Show pro-

The New England Fruit Show pros
poets are already beginning to loom large
as shown by the fact that a premium list
of $4,000 or more is now practically
assured. OF this amount, Massachusetts,
has already raised Sl,5O0, Connecticut
upwards of $1,000, and the other states
interested lesser amounts. But the To-
te-est is lively and Maine bids fair to
make good showing by the time this
matter has received attention in her 42O
subordinate Oranges. A few dollars
contributed by each for this worthy
cause, will boost the prize fund OF Maine
to a splendid figure in conjunction with
the sums being promised by the county
Oranges. At least, one orchardist OF
Maine has promised carload exhibit oi
apples for the show at Boston and the
spirit of the contest is steadily spread
ing. It's move in the right direction.
Push it along.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
BE Kissed her hand rapturouslv.

were agitated violently and the head
of Lady Creech popped out Of the case
mcnt with the suddenness Of Punch
From the keen look on her face one
might have imagined that had 1t not
been for her deafness she might have
heard every word Of the conversation
that had gone on below her. AS 1t was,
after gazing anxiously in the direction
of the road she withdrew her head
sharply and within a minute came out
of the door Of the hotel just In time to
encounter Horace and Nine. de Cham.
pigny coming in from the grove. She
approached them at once.
Have you seen my brother" she
demanded excitedly. "Where is Lord
Hawcastle?"
Horace looked at her with surprise.
ION the other side Of the garden,
Lady Creech," he answered, down
there on the terrace" and watched
with some amusement, the speedy ef-
forts of the grim old lady as she hur-
ried off. The amusement, however
rapidly gave place to more interest
ing pastime. for, summoning all his
callow courage, he set himself vigor-
ously to hint at possible union be-
tween himself and the noble countess.
1t was evident from the first word
that the lady was prepared for him
and that while she intended to offer
him every bit Of encouragement in her
power, she would not be satisfied with
anything short of a definite proposal
and more likely before witnesses II
possible.
He made his initial move with some
gayety. She returned his banter with
a mock seriousness and In answer to
his challenge on her somber mood re-
piled:
"But l cannot believe you are al
ways serious, my friend"
"Try me-" he demanded eagerly.
Set me some task to prove how seri-
Gus ! am" She smiled at him.
Gladly" she said. Complete this
odious settlement. Overcome the re-
sistance Of this bad man who 80 trou-
bles your sweet sister"
Horace took her hand and murmur-
ed:
You promise me that when it is set
tied may speak to YOU
"Yes. You may speak to me-when
you please" And at the words he
kissed her hand rapturously.
In the meantime the suddenly reju-
venated Lady Creech had found her
brother-in-law and had impaired to
him words Of the utmost Importance.
She had temporarily forgotten her
deafness, or else the agitation that pos
sessed her had removed 1t, for she was
bordering upon "a state Of mind"
She walked him back to the hotel
when she found him and talked con-
tinuously all the way, and as she
talked his excitement grew to match
her own. AS they approached the gar
den Lady Creech said to him:
~ couldn't hear distinctly. for they
mumbled their words, but upon my
soul. Hawcastle, even II l couldn't
hear we'll, l saw enough"
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
Dlenfv of Work

Secretary Wilson, after trip through
the West, reports a great shortage OF
hands on the farms that will seriously
interfere with harvesting the crops. He
said: 81 found the farmers in the West
more interested in the weather than 10
the tariff, and more concerned with the
prices of hogs and farm products than
with politics of any sort There is
great dearth Of farm labor, however, and
many farmers are overworked. All this
in the face of the reports that the large
cities are overrun with men who are
out of work. American Federation o.
Labor officials asserted not lorg ago thai
there are two million unemployed men II
this country. A great part OF this al
legged number could obtain work II they
desired"
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
Maine First in Fruit Legislation.

Maine has clearly led the way in the
matter of state supervision of the pack,
ing and grading of apples. The legsla-
rure which closed April 3, passed an act
something similar TO the Fruit Marks
Act Of Canada requiring that growers
who ship apples must state what they
sell and sell what they state" If this
law is carefully enforced there can be nc
more little apples in the middle Of the
barrel bearing the mark Of first quality
IL is understood there was no great oppo
sition to the measure as it was finally
amended. Some b, lieved 1t would work
hardship to farmers who had few ap
pies, but who do not take as good care OF
them as the larger growers. On the
other hand one of the sections of the
new law provides that farmer can sell
any sort of fruit, provided the barrel OF
box is marked unclassified." The
working out of this new law will be fol
lowed in New England with much inter
est. II is clearly step in the right di'
rection and whether the legislature hs'
overstepped the mark or taken the steI
too soon remains to be seen.-N. Z
Homestead
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24

doing well, but Annie could not get
into the Kokomo Ladies' Literary so
ciety, and her name didn't show up In
the society column four or five times
every Saturday morning, so she gets
her pa to give her the money to marry
Artie Seymour. the minister's son, and
q regular minister's son he was! Al
most broke Annie's heart and her pas,
too, but he let her have her way and
went in debt and bought them house
on Main street. That was two years
ago."
Pike paused momentarily.
"Annie's working at the deepO candy
stand now," he resumed, "and Artie's
working at the hotel bar-in 'front.'
drinking up what's left Of old man
Observation-Disclosures
She flung away from him in tenn
per and then wheeled on him In a
flash.
"And you say you understand-you,
who couple the name Of tippling y0-
kel with that Of st. Aubyn, whose
ancestors have fought on every field of
battle from Crecy and Agincourt to the
Crimea"
But you won't see much Of bis an
cestorsw complained Pike.
"He bears their name," she an.
sw cred.
"That's 1t. and It's the name you
want. Nobody could look at you and
not know it wasn't him! It's the name!
And I'd let you buy it II It would make
you happy-if you didn't have to take
the people with 1t. Don't you see
they're counting on It? The earl-he's
counting on living on you The In
dianian became excited. "Why, Terfe
Haute pickpocket could see that! And
this old Lady Creech-she's counting
on 1t, and this Frenchwoman that's
with them-isn't she trying to land
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24

your brother? The whole kit and boo
die of them are on the track Of John
Simpsons money!
81 gave Almeric my promise. 1t was
forever. and shall keep II" she an,
swered slowly, as II she had been i'm,
pressed with his earnestness. He look.
ed at her quietly.
"Pm not going to let you," he re.
piled.
Then I'll throw your interference to
the winds. I shall marry without your
consent
do you think they'd let you" Pike
asked quickly. For moment she
stood still. and then came the sound OF
1.-The guitars from over the wall. Pike
went on after time.
Sounds kind of foreign and lone.
some," he said I'D rather hear some.
thing that sounded more like home
Sweet Genevieve,' for instance. You
know it. don't your
81 used to-" she answered, hanging
ller head Its old fashioned and com
mon, isn't IT."
"That's why like 1t. guess" be
answered. 81 couldn't get you to sing
1t for me before go home. could II"
She looked at him thoughtfully for a
moment.
T'm afraid not" she answered and
went quickly into the hotel. leaving
him looking after her curiously.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
other talk with our friend here, and

other talk with our friend here, and.
believe me, all will be we'll"
With q bow he left the garden. and
Ethel stood staring after him. Pike
looked up quickly from the letter he
was reading and crossed over to her.
T'm glad you've come" he said
"Pve got something here / want to
read to you. When got your letter at
home l wrote to Jim Cooley, our vice
consul in London, to look up those
Hawcastle folks and write me here
how they stand
"You did thatm she cried In anger
You had the audacity to pry into the
affairs of the Earl Of awcastle"
"Why. I'd "a done that II it'd been
the governor of Indiana himself" he
replied, with surprise. Besides, Jim
Cooley's home folks His office used
to be right next door to mine in Ko
komo. l haven't opened the letter yet.
but / haven't much doubt but Jim II
have some statements in 1t that'll show
you I'm right about these people"
"How do you know that?" she de
manded heatedly.
Because I've had experience enough
Of life
I'm Kokomo" she asked scornfully.
"Yes, ma'am." he answered. There's
just as many kinds Of people In Ko-
komo as there is in Pekin. and | didn't
serve term In the legislature without
learning to pick underhand men at
sight. Now, that earl. let alone his
having q bad eye-his ways are too
much on the stripe Of T. Cuthbert
Bentley's to suit me. T. Cuthbert was
q Chicago gentleman, with fur lined
overcoat. that opened up bank In our
town, and when he caught the Cana
dian express three months later all he
left In KOkomo was the sign on the
front door. That was painted on. But
there. here's the letter. Read 1t for
yourself"
He handed 1t to her and watched her
while she broke the seal and then be-
gan to read:
Dear Dan-The earidom Of Hawcastle is
one of the Oldest in the kingdom. and the
St Aubyns have distinguished themselves
in the forefront of English battles from
Agincourt and Crecy to Sebastopol. The
present holder of the title came into II by
accident He was younger sons younger
son and had spent some years In Russia
in business under another name. Nothing
here In his English record IL seriously
against him. though everything he has Is
mortgaged to the handle.
She finished with look Of triumph.
"What a terrible Indictment! she
said scOrnfully. $50 that was what
you counted on to convince me Of my
mistake? shall tell Lord Hawcastle
that you will be willing to take up the
matter Of the settlement the moment
his solicitor arrives"
Pike shook his head sadly.
mo, wouldn't do that. because l
won't take up any settlements with
him or any one else"
"Have you after this any objection
to my alliance with Mr.. st. Aubynr'
she inquired. her anger at white heat.
ut isn't an alliance with Mr.. st.
Aubyn you're after" he replied calm
ly. you're after something there
amt anything to. II I'd let You buy
what you want you'd find 1t as empty
as the judgment day the morning
after. You think because I'm jay
country lawyer don't understand.
Why, we've got the same thing at
home. There was little Annie Hon.
meyer. Her pa was a carpenter and
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
Apples in Barrels, Not Boxes.


W. p. Atherton, well known success.
ful and extensive apple grower of Kenne-
bee County says concerning the usual
shipments of Western apples into Maine:
'Tis true that many varieties of ap-
ples-some OF which cannot be success
fully grown here-grow larger and hand
sOmer in the far Western States, out
they lack the excellent flavor and long
keeping qualities of our best Maine ap-
Piles. The demand for fancy fruit in
boxes is limited and very much more so
in year of great abundance in New
York and throughout the New England
States. Several years ago l packed a
number of boxes of fancy fruit as you
England. They sold for enough to pay
for the boxes, the freight and but little
more. then wrote to one of the largest
and best shipping houses in Liverpool
10 give me their opinion; they wrote
back, Send your apples in barrels, the
demand for apples in boxes is limited.
Since then have sold apples in the Bos-
ton markets in the spring from S. so to
$500 per barrel. A portion of the same
apples might have been sent in boxes
and sold at higher price, but the gen
eral average would have been no more.
The local markets could not or would
not grant such prices. have been rails
ing and packing apples for over half
century and | know what | am talking
about when say Maine orchardists are
not wholly to blame for poor or unat-
tractive packing. Some of them may
be, but the major part of the poor or
dishonest packing can be laid at the door
of the buyer or dealer and his packers.
Most orchardists sell to buyers at one
uniform price and have nothing to do
with the packing. Time and again |
have seen buyers put in fruit that l
should be ashamed to send to any mar
ket. All buyers, however, are not of
that kind, but those who do have greatly
injured the reputation of our Maine
fruit. am glad to say that l know of
many Maine orchardists who raise nice
fruit and are not afraid to pack and send
it under their own names to any part of
the world"
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
"Not one ruble for myself

"Not one ruble for myself. sioedr It! :
abject misery and contritlon Pike step
ped forward and laid his hand on the
Germans arm.
"The mans down." he said gently.
You wouldn't go back on him now?'
He waited an instant and then chuc.
kled grimly In thin, humorous way.
Besides. ou've made yourself one Of
his confederates. doc" he finished.
AS he spoke Won Grollerhagen
glanced at him quickly. and his eyes
took on tinge of surprise.
Upon my soul. but have. my
friendr' Then he laughed outright.
"Ah. from the first sight Of you in the
hotel at Napoli saw that you were a
great man."
Daniel looked at him and grinned in
his face.
What you doing. doc-running for
congress? %, he asked. and the German
Joined him In the humor of the situa.
tion and then turned grayely to the
Russian.
II fear the carabinieri did not depart
without suspicion"
"Suspiciony' echoed Ivanovitch bit.
terly. "They will watch every exit
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
The Useful
Banana Plant.

Every need Of the human appetite
for food seems to be supplied by the
banana. 1t Is nutritious; II is fatten-
ing and very palatabIe. 1t can be
eaten raw or 1t can be cooked In more
than q dozen different ways.
The bananas we eat come largely
from the West Indies and the Central
and South American states bordering
on the Caribbean sea.
The banana Is really. like the Indian
corn plant. only highly developed
grass. Like Indian corn. it grows from
a pithy stalk. but the fruit hangs from
the stalk in punches of from 100 TO
100 separate bananas. Occasionally
the great punches become so heavy
they break the stalk down. The
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
OriSen of the Baldwin Apple.

The Baldwin apple originated from a
chance Seeding in lane on the farm OF
John Ball, in the town of Wilmington,
Mass, and bore its fruit about the mid
die O. the eighteenth century. For
mary years after tho original tree came
into bearing the variety was confined to
the immediate neighborhOod Of its orr
gen. Having attracted tbs attention of
Col. Baldwin of WoburD, Mass, it was
proprigated by him and rapidly dissent,
mated throughout the adjoining towns.
Before the middle of the nineteenth Gen.
tury il had become the leading variety In
New England nurseries. At about the
same time it became popular In New
York and soon after 10 Michigan. II
was at one time planted further south,
but Ii was found that tho fruit ripened
prematurely and did not keep we'll.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24

"My dear young man. he said. Z"
congratulate you that you and you
sister need no longer submit to al
odious dictation."
He was about to say more. but a
that moment Daniel came down tht
steps and walked across the grass t
the motor. AS he passed the group ht
smiled genially and observed:
"Looks to me as II 1t was going Il
clear up cold"
"Good afternoon, Mr.. Pike" answer
ed the earl and motioned the others t.
leave.
Pike merely nodded his head. an6
Hawcastle came up to him.
ut is pity that there should have
been any misunderstanding In the mat
ter Of your wards betrothal." he said
and Pike smiled grimly.
'Oh, wouldn't call 1t misunder
standing" he said. and the earl went
on.
1T would Ill become father to press
upon the subject Of his soma merits
he began. but Pike cut him short.
81 won't talk with you about him.
he said. 81 don't want to hurt your
feelings"
Hawcastle glared at him ard was
about to reply when Mariana entered
with a letter on tray, which he hand.
ed to the lawyer, who regarded 1t curl.
ousiy. There was growing menace In
the earl's attitude. and as his anger
grew his suavity grew with It.
"There is another matter to which l
want to call your attention." he went
on, and Pike answered him at once.
"I'll talk about anything else with
you." he replied and looked up to see
Ethel coming down the steps. She
came forward to the earl and said:
"You wished me to come here?"
81 wish to tell you that see light
breaking through the clouds. Have an
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
plain Facts for plain Dairy Folks.

Plain Facts for Plain Dairy Folks.
After we get good cows, good dairy
utensils and good pasture there are still
some things to be learned.
On our own farm We found it SO. In
the first place, 1t was not long before we
learned that keeping milk down cellar In
the summer and in the pantry In the cold
weather is not the way to make the best
butter. Did you ever stand back In q
members of the household are up and
stirring about, and watch the little parti-
cles of dust as they sift through the air
between you and the window?
Now, there are always more or less of
these all the time floating around in the
air of house in which we live. Natur-
ally they settle after while; and it can
not be expected that many of them will
not fiud their way into the milk pans,
and every time this happens, there is
trouble in store for the butter maker, for
dust ought never to get into butter. We
found this out and as soon as we could,
we made milk house away from the
farm house. We never did better
thing. After that we could keep out
most of the little specks which drift
about in the house where we lived.
And then, we found that by taking
milk away from the stable just as soon
as We could we kept still more of the
tiny particles of matter which so often
make mischief with the butter maker.
1t took a good while for us to find out
some of these things, especially that 1t
pays to make the cows bags as clean as
they can possibly be before we begin
milking. Why is it that we think this
wasted time? 1t isn't Every second
counts and counts highly.
Nor is this all. If you had a glass
powerful enough, it would astOnish you
to see how many living creatures have
their home in our milk pals, pans and
cans. We think them clean. Are they
so? Or are there bits of matter clipging
here and there to the ears of the pals
and in other places? These are what fer
ment and bring myriad of living things
into the butter. This is all there is to
the word bacteria" It means that
something has begun to rot and breed
tiny creatures that live and work against
good butter. The little bits of stuff we
leave in the pals are what decay and
make us 80 much trouble. So how care
full should we be to wash clean, to scald
and air all the dairy things.
When we learned these things, we be-
gan to make better butter. Not that we
have learned it all yet. We never expect
to do that. There is always another
round to the ladder. But it is fine
thing to get the feet firmly on the bottom
round, with the eye fixed toward the top
and the heart determined to climb.
The beginning of success is readiness
to learn. That leads to better things
Edgar L. Vincent.
Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-08-24
The Man
From Home
By BOOTH
HARRINGTON
and
HARRY LEON
WILSON

from the hotel and grounds. What cal
do until darkT' Pike interrupted
him quickly and motioned to the hotel
"Whv. doc. he's got the whole lowe
HoOr of this wing. You're his chauf
feur"-
81 was about to suggest It," inter
rupted Won Grollerhagen. In his turn
with some grimness Of manner. 81
have a room that can well bU spared
for Professor Ivanovitch."
"How can | ever thank you? God
bless you both!' said the Russian, go.
Ing toward them with outstretched
bands.
Huh! Don't waste time talking
about It." said Pike. 81 shouldn't be
surprised If you were hungry"
He took the refugee by the arm and
Fteered him in the direction Of the ho-
tel. and as the three entered the wide
door the curtains above the entrance