davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1909-03-04
OAKLAND TO HAVE
CHARTER ELECTION
Important Amendment Will Be
Passed Upon by Voters
Tomorrow
New Boards, Added Rights to
Electors and HarbOr
Matters Up

OAKLAND. March Extraordinary
interest IS being displayed throughout
the city In the special charter amend
ment election which viii be held next
Friday. On that date the voters Of
Oakland VIII be called upon TO cast
their ballots for or against the pro-
posed changes which the mayor and
the city council have recommended to
be made IN the present city charter.
A detailed explanation of each of the
proposed amendments, with brief
statement OF their purposes. follows:
Amendment No. relates 10 the crea-
ton OF & park commission As the law
stands now the board Of public works
has control OF the public parks and the
object OF the amendment IS to place
the public parks Of the city under spe-
cisl charge Of a board of park com
smisssoners.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
RARE OLD INSTRUMENT FOUND

splendid Stradivarius. The soloist
tucked the Duiffoprugear under his
chin, drew one rich pulsating chord
from it and stopped in amazement.
Other local musicians say that the
superb tone of the old instrument Is
the most remarkable violin voice to
which they have ever listened.
The body of the violin is perfect In
condition, and the peculiar fgurehead
above the tuning pins is entirely un-
married. Its back, which is now dark
with age, is an exquisite piece OF Span
fish inlay, representing a walled city OF
the middle ages. Around the edge
runs a quaint inscription in what Is
declared by a learned priest to be q
mixture of old Spanish and Latin.
Mrs. Brown also possesses another
violin, which has no artistic worth, but
is Of interest to the antiquarian. 1t Is
Of wood, practically u~nvarnished. n
was taken from an Aztec tomb in Mex
leo. 1t Is modelled. somewhat crudely,
after the European violin pattern.
showing that 1t was made. in all prob
ability, by natives after the Spanish
invasion. 1t is an oddly in that 1t has
a double set of strings, one lying lust
below each string played by the bow.
Mr.. Brown has presented the Duifo-
prugear to his daughter. It is not for
sale, but its value Is far up In the
thousands.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
SYNOPSIS.

The story opens at Harvard where Col.
Rupert Winter, U. S. A, visiting, saw the
suicide of young Mercer. He met cary
Mercer, brother of the dead student.
Three years later, in Chicago, in 1906.
Col. Winter overheard Cary Mercer ap-
parently planning to kidnap Archie. the
c~olonel's ward, and to gain possession OF
Aunt Rebecca Winters millions. A Miss
Smith was mentioned, apparently as a
conspirator. Winter Unexpectedly met a
relative, Mrs. Millicent Melville. who
told him that his Aunt Rebecca, Archie
and the latter's nurse, Miss Janet Smith,
colonel and Mrs. Melville. A great fnan-
cial magnate was aboard the train on
which Col. Winter met his Aunt Rebec-
ca, Miss Smith and Archie. He set his
orderly, Sergt. Haley. to watch over Cary
Mercer. Col. Winter learned that the
financial magnate is Edwin S. keatcham:
On approaching Cary Mercer. the colonel
was snubbed. Winter, aided by Archie,
cleverly frustrated a hold-up on the
train. He took a great liking to Miss
Smith, despite her alleged connection
with the kidnapping plot, which he had
not yet revealed to his relatives. The
party arrived in San Francisco. 1t was
thought that there were big persons be
hind the hold-up. gang. Archie mysteri-
ously disappeared. Fruitless search was
conducted for Archie. Blood in a near
by room at the hotel caused fears for the
boys life. No Roadway was made in the
search for Archie. The lads voice was
heard over the telephone, however, and
a minute later a woman's voice-that OF
Miss Smith. Col. Winter and a detective
set out for the empty mansion, owned by
Arnold, a Harvard graduate.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
Violin with MelIowness Of 400 Years
Discovered in Los Angeles.

There was unearthed in Los Angeles
a little while ago a wonderful violin,
which Is pronounced just in its prime
By experts, although it is almost 400
years old, says the Los Angeles Times.
This rare instrument, which was
made in 1916, is an absolutely perfect
specimen of the work of Gaspar DUR
foprugear, who is said to have come
from Spain, and who, according to
antiquarians, was the first man to give
the violin its present shape and pro-
ductive qualities. He belongs to an
age so long past that most musicians
have never even heard his name.
Stradivarius and other master makers
Of his period are generally considered
the pioneers in fine violin manufact-
IRE. but their grandfathers had not
been born when Duifoprugear lay
peacefully in his grave.
This violin is the property OF w. a.
Brown, who lives near Slauson juno
ton. He cannot play 1t. but his young
daughter, Daisy, has more than ordi-
nary ability, and through her perform
ance Her father has derived an inter-
est IN violin music and violins.
Among his acquaintances Is q maker
and member, who In some way q
come into possession of the old instru-
ment. but it was broken and could not
Be mended, he thought, SO that It's tone
would be pure. So he sold It to Mr.
Brown for $3.50.
Nj. Brown had it repaired In accord
ance with his own ideas and when Inc
work was completed carried It to .
well-known musician, who owns =
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
Haley.

vulgar little detective who gave a
glance, rapid but full of admiration,
at the shelves and pile of missals on
the table, anonymously jostled by
magazines of the day.
Winter faced the Jap, who was
sheathed again in his bland and i'm
passive politeness. Where is Mr..
Mercer?" said he.
The Jap waved his hands in an clio.
quent oriental gesture. He assured
the honorable questioner that he did
not know any Mr.. Mercer. There was
no one in the house.
The colonel had seated himself in a
priceless armchair in Cordova
stamped leather; he no longer looked
like an invalid. "Show your star.
please" he commanded Birdsall, and
the latter silently flung back the lapel
of his coat.
Il ought to tell you," continued
Rupert Winter. that the game is up.
1t would do no good for you to run
that poisoned bit of steel of yours into
me or into any of us; we have only to
stay here a little too long and the pc.
lice of San Francisco will be down on
you-oh, 1 know all about what sort
they are, but we have money to spend
as we'll as you. You take the note l
shall write to Mr.. Mercer, or whatever
you choose to call him, and bring his
answer. We stay here until he comes"
Having thus spoken in al even. gen.
tie voice, he scrubbed a few words on
a piece of paper which he took out OF
his notebook. This he proffered to
the Jap.
On his part, the latter kept his self.
respect; he abated no jot Of his as.
urance that they were alone in the
house; he insinuated his suspicion
that they were there for no honest
purpose; finally he was willing to
search the house if they would stay
where they were.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23

IF you blow us up, l kill you fist"
Kissed the Jap, and his knife flashed.
"Chito. Chito!" soothed the colonel,
lifting his revolver almost c~arelessly.
simultaneously two brawny arms
pinioned the Jap's W arms at his
sides.
"Shure, Mister Samurai, it's the on
grateful chap youse u.s." expostulated
Haley. Il hate to RESTRAIN We, but
if We thry any jehujits on me twill be
sahanara wild youse mighty quick"
mo understan'," murmured@ the
Jap, plaintively. why you hult me?'
Come, put out the fire first" said
the colonel; you know the house, you
go ahead"
The Jap darted on ahead so swiftly
that they had some ado to follow;
which seemed necessary, since he
might have clashed a bolt on them at
any turn. The %colonel's stiff leg kept
in the rear, but Haley was neve a
hands breadth behind the inner
They found smoke in two places, but
they easily extinguished the tiny
flames. In both cases the bombs
turned out to be no more dangerous
than a common kind Of fireworks
yielding a suffocating smoke in an in
closure, but doing no special damage
on safe and fire-proof ground, like a
hearth. They were quickly extin-
guished. In their search they passed
from one luxurious room to another,
the Jap leading, until he finally halted
in a spacious library hung in Spanish
leather, with ancient, richly carved
Spanish tables and enhancing Spanish
chairs of turned wood and age-mel-
lowed cane, and bookcases sumptuous-
ly tempting a book-lover. But the colo
mel cared only for the soul of a book,
not it's body; the richest and clearest
of black letter or the daintiest of tool
ing had left him cold; moreover, every
fiber in him was strung by his quest;
and Haley, naturally, was immune;
strangely enough, it was the cheerful.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
CHAPTER viii.
Face to Face.

When the two men got into the
house the dim rooms made them STUN.
BILE for a moment after the brilliant
sunshine of the outer skies; but in a
second Birdsall's cropping hand had
found an electric push-butttn and the
room was flooded with light. They
were in a small Office off the kitchen,
apparently. Smoke of a peculiarly
pungent odor and eye-smarting char
acter blurred all the surroundings; but
during the moment the Jap halted to
explore it's cause the others perceived
two doors and made for them. One
was locked, but the other must have
been free to open, since Haley, with
his watering-can, bounded through it
while they we're Juggling at the other.
Almost Immediately, however, Haley
was back again shouting and pointing
down the dark passage.
"The fires there" screamed the de-
tective. Il can smell smoke! The
smoke comes through the keyhole!'
But while the Jap fitted q key in the
lock and swung back the door, and
Haley, who had paused to replenish
his watering-can at a convenient fau-
Get, darted after the other two. the
colonel stood listening with every audi
tory nerve strained to catch some
sound. He yelled Fire! help!" at the
top of his voice, but not moving 9
muscle. "Too far off," he muttered,
then he yelled again and threw q
heavy chair as if he had stumbled
against it. Another pause; he got
down on his knees to put his ear to
the floor. Directly he rose; he did not
speak, but the words that he said to
himself were only: "Just possible.
Some n down cellar; but not under
here" Meanwhile he was hurrying In
pursuit of the others al swiftly as his
stif knee would allow. He found them
in q side hall with tiled or brick floor,
gathered about a w-ater-soaked heap ct
charred red paper.
",Tis terrible!p announced Haley:
"a bum for surei q dinnermfte bum!"
fishing dut something like q tin tor
mato & from the sodden mass.
anyhow. there goes the real thing
observed the colonel. cooIly, as =
formidable explosion Jared the cir.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23

leFSI tOuS. Diu yOu 6cl thdI oloiy
from my aunt, or was it Mrs. Melville?
I'm pretty certain you got your BIZ
ography from that quarter. My aunt
might have told her."
THAT would be ~betraying a lady's
confidence. I'm only a detective,
whose business is to pry, but / never
go back on the ladies'. And think,
| same's you, that the lady in question
is a real nice, heightened lady; but |
| can't disregard the evidence. | never
give out my system, but I've got one,
all the same. Look here, see this
paper?"-he had replaced the envelope
in his pocket; he pulled it out again;
or, rather, so the colonel fancied, until
Birdsall turned the envelope over, re-
vealing it to be blank. There's a
sheet of paper inside; take it out.
Look at the water-mark, look at the
pattern; then compare it with this
discriminating the colonel the orig
inal envelope. Same exactly, amt
they?"
The colonel, who had studied the
two sheets of paper silently, nodded
as silently; and he had a p~remonition
of Birdsall's next sentence before 1t
came. We'll, Mrs. Melville Winter,
this morning, took me to Miss Smiths
desk, where we found this and a lot
more like it,"
you seem to be right in thinking
the paper widely distributed OBJ
served the colonel.
And you don't think that suspi-
cious?"
81 should think it more suspicious If
the paper were not out on her desk.
If she is such a deep one as you seem
to think, she would hide such an in
eliminating bit Of evidence"
"She didn't know we suspected her.
Of course, you haven't Swallowed her
a little bit?"
There is a limit to detective duty
in the case of a gentleman" returned
the colonel, haughtily. Il have not"
Little Birdsall sighed; then in a
propitiatory tone: well, of course,
we both think there are other people
in the job; I don't know exactly what
you mean by bigger game, but | can
make a stagger at it. Now, say, did
you get any answer when you wrote
to Keatcham HIMSELF"
yes" said the colonel, grimly, Il
heard. You know the sort of letter l
wrote; telling him Of our dreadful anx-
iety and about the lads being an or
phan; don't you think it was the sort
of letter a decent man would answer,
no matter how busy he might be-"
Sure. Didn't you get an answer"
II did," The colonel extricated him
self from his wrappings enough to find
a pale blue envelope, which he handed
to Birdsall, at the same time taking
the motor handle. you see; type
written, very polite, chilly sort Of let
ter, kind to make a man hot under the
collar and swear at Keatcham's heart
lessness. Mr.. Keatcham unable to an
swer, having been i'll since he left San
Francisco. Did not see anything OF
any boy. Probably ran away. Has
no information of any kind to afford.
And the writer is very sincerely mine.
. The minute / read it / was sure Mer-
Ger wrote 1t; and he wrote it to make
me so disguised with Keatcham /
wouldn't pursue the subject with him.
Just the same way he snubbed my
aunt; and, for that matter, Just the
way he tried to snub me on the train.
But he missed his mark; I wired every
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
HOLY RAIL TO MECCA
Abdul Hamid Hopes 1t win Bind
His Empire in Asia.
Road Now Runs to Mohammeds Tomb
II Medina and win Be Completed
to Mecca in 1918 at Cost
of ~$4o,0oo,Coo.

Springfield, Mass.-On Tuesday.
September q, 1908, the holy railroad
was opened from Damascus to Me-
dina, and no avowed Christian is 10
be allowed to pass further nan
Medina,Saleb into the country OF
Hejaz. So there is a SAVIOR Of mystery
about this holy railroad, which runs
near the tomb of the prophet. OF Me-
dina, the present terminus OF the
road. 1t is the holy city that received
Mohammed when Mecca cast him out
as a hereto, d%enouncing paganism ana
idolatry and preaching. There Is n
God and Allah is his name" 1t was
in 622 A. D. that Medina allowed the
young reformer to preach his new
faith. Finally his new gospel was
preached by the force of the sword,
and Mohammed won the reputation or
q miracle worker. He conquered Mec-
ca and made it the center of Islam,
and the kaaba, or sacred pantheon,
was made the great temple OF the
Moslem faith.
At Medina Mchammed died and was
buried, and was laid in his mosque
tomb, where the faithful for centuries
have worshiped their leader. This
mosque Is the hottest spot OF the Mo-
hammedan world. 1t is said to be
decorated with costly ornaments m
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
CHAPTER vII.-continued.

His employers satire did not ever
flick the dust off Birdsalls compla'
cency; he grinned cheerfully. ooh, I'm
not so bad as that; l don't suppose she
did kill the boy; / think he's alive, all
right. But say, colonel, I'll give it to
you straight; l do think the sonora
coaxed the boy off. You admit, don't
you, he went off. Well, then he was
coaxed, somehow. Now, who's got in
fiuence enough to coax him? You
cross out the maid; so do 1. You cross
out Mrs. Melville Winter; SO do 1. ]
guess we both cross out the old lady.
Well, there's you and the senior left.
l don't suspect you, general"
Really? I don't see why. | stand
to make more than anybody else, if
you are digging up motives. And how
about the chambermaid?
Birdsall flashed a glance of reproach
on his companion. Now, colonel, dc
you think / amt looked her up? First
thing. Nothing in it. Decent Vermont
girl, three years in the hotel. Came
for her lungs. She amt in it. But
let's get back to Miss Smith. Did you
know she is Cary MERGERS sister-in-
law"
He delivered his shot in a casual
way, and the colonel took it stonily;
nevertheless, it went to the mark.
Birdsall continued: Now. question is,
was Mercer the secretary? You didn't
see the man in the elevator, except his
back. Had he two moles?"
81 couldn't see. He had different
clothes; but still there was something
IKE Mercer about the shoulders"
"Burney didn't get a chance to take
a snapshot, but he did snap the stove
man. Here it is. Pull that book out
Of my pocket"
Obeying, the colonel lifted a couple
of small prints which he scrutinized
intently. at the end admitting: Eyes,
it is he all right. Now, do you know
what I Think"
Birdsall couldn't form an idea.
Il think the Keatcham party is in
1t; and / think they are after bigger
game than Archie. Maybe the train
robbers were a part of the scheme
although I'm not SO sure of that"
"Oh, the robbers we're in it all
right. But now come to Miss Smith;
where does she come in? Or are you
as sure OF her as Mercer was in Chi
cago?"
# he had expected to get q spark
out of the Winter finder by this scra-
ping stroke, he was mistaken; the sol
der did not ven move his brooding
gaze fixed On the hills beyond the
house roofs; and he answered n 9
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23

@'' ShSPSI IKE
gifts from the devotees. To-day an
electric light illumines the veil that
~conceals the prophets tomb-which is
about as great a miracle as the hegira,
or flight of the prophet to Medina.
Mecca is the ultimate end of the holy
railway. Into Mecca the pilgrim must
enter in the seamless garment, like a
penitent, and performs all the cere-
monies as old as his faith.
The great kaaba, the ancient pam
theon of Arabian idolatry, must be
walked round seven times. The pill
grim must stone the devil, and listen
10 a sermon delivered from the gran
lite blocks of Arafat. Such are a few
of the fervent devotions of "the
hadjs." or pilgrims at Mecca.
The Egyptian orator who spoke at
the Inauguration Of the holy railroad
said: THE prophet did not permit
| the railway to reach Medina until the
khalif. or sultan, had granted a con-
stitution,' which is now the cure-all
for every Moslem ill.
For eight years the work on the
holy railway has gone on, and it is not
yet finished. The engineers say it will
not be until 1913, when the trains will
! run through to Mecca. This huge I'M
~dertaking, it is estimated, will cost
$40, 600, 900.
Turkey has lost n after another Of
her provinces in Europe, and Mace
donna is but a question of time, but
she hopes by means of the Damascus
Mecca railway to have more intimate
contact with the Moslem world, and
to bind together her empire in Asia
for beyond a doubt with time this So
called holy railway will become a po-
litical railway, and the sultan has per-
fectly understood the Importance of It
from this point of view, leaving out
side its value as a means of transport
for the military. Fifteen years ago,
so or 60 miles south of Damascus, in
an Independent little country. one Of
the heads of the administration wrote
to Pierre Lott: "In the name of Allah,
who is all in all. and not in the name
of the sultan of Stamboul, who is NJ
one"
The sultan sought to give to the
Mecca road a paIislamic character
under the direction of Moslem engi-
neers, Turks sent from Damascus
but this program has not been strict
ly carried out, for Germans, French
and Belgians lave all been called in to
push on the great enterprise. Sub
scriptions were opened in every part
of the world. The shah of Persia was
one of the first to head the list with
$500, 900; the khedive of Egypt added
$500, 900; from India many hundreds
of thousands of dollars have come, all
from Moslem sources, but finally these
subscriptions of the faithful were not
sufficient, so the money of Christian
investors had to be accepted with a
good grace.
The sultan has wen resorted to SELL
ing decorations, which are so dear to
the heart of the Turk. The first class
is a medal in nickel, bestowed on those
who subscribe from five to ten dol
lars; the second class in silver, for
tho officials, for those who subscribe
FROM $40 to $40; and the third-class
medal in gold, to be worn about the
neck, and bestowed on those who sub
scribe more than $40.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
Reverence.

why did o lift your hat to that
man? He didn't look like a preacher,
and / haven't heard anything about q
great statesman or a renowned phIlos-
opher living in this town"
Gee, didn't you know who that
was? That was old man McSweeney.
He's the father of n of the greatest
pitchers in this part of the country"
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23
There Were Others.

Tess-Yes, Mr.. Grouchy called upon
me last evening.
Jess-Oh, the idea. He's q perfect
bear. isn't he?
Tess-Oh. / don't know. He didR't
hurt so hard.
The Tupelo journal., 1909-04-23

Blinks-You're not looking well.
old man.
Jenks-No; I'm all broken up.
Blinks-What's the trouble?
Jenks-My health is broken down,
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-21
MUSIC FESTIVAL At AUGUSTA.
Nine. Eames, the Worlds Greatest So
prano. and D~amrosch's Famous Or
chestra in Three Concerts.

Augusta ia planning for a great Music Fes-
tival, April 26 and q. at which Nine. Emma
Eames, prima.dona assoluta. perhaps the
g~reate>t Of all oncart SOPRANOS, will aing, and
Damrosch's New York Symphony Orchestra
will play. In addition on Tuesday night a
auce OF notable soloists render Rossini is
Stabat Mater in English. This chorus has
been rehearsing for two months and is IN
perfect mastery OF this wonder music. 1t will
be worth going hundreds Of miles 10 hear.
Th ere IS no other festival In the South that
will present Nine. Eames and 1t Is the only
opportunity to hear her to be had outside OF
the big cities Of the North. Seats for the fes-
tival are now on sale and will be sold in th Is
place BY sgent prior to the opening OF The
will be held on the evening of Decoration
day will give many q chance TO be present.
The prices for the afternoon concert Tuesday
will be lower than for the evenings. Further
information will be furnished upon applica-
ton to J. j. Farrell,
Augusta, Ga.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-21

If you are a business man
or a woman looking for a site
for a home, or for an invest
ment it will be worth your
while to invest in Abbeville
real estate. It will lot wear
out, or burn up; the market
may sometimes be dull but
the value is there and will
surely increase. Nothing else
is as safe or solid or good.
We have listed with us for
sale some very valuable city
property-lots and dwellings
close in which we can sell at
a bargain, on long easy terms
to suit the purchaser. Let us
serve you. Abbeville, Insur.
ance and Trust Co.
The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-04-21
HELPFUL WORDS
From an Abbeville Citizen.

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