Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1910-12-09
tain STATED"

i 10 the next Governor OF the Noun
r. ~ tain STATED"
II you won't come, COO. rIease, 40.
You're the only relative she has. And
Eshe's so unhappy"
f. Just as you WISH" acceded STAN
Edish, with no great willingness, but
FIJI be sorry to have to-night's happi-
Eness marred by another row with Con-
Eover."
/ Il gather from what she says he is
Pin no condition for row with any,
fone. l told her we'd come at once.
PLEASE hurry, dear. l hate to think
of that frightened little woman trying
to meet any sort of crisis alone"
In the great, comfortless drawing
room of the Mausoleum, on a couch
hastily pushed into the centre Of the
room under the chandelier, lay Caleb
Conover, Railroader. Two doctors,
who had been working over him, had
now drawn back a few PAGES and were
comforting in grave undertones. At
the foot of the couch, clad only in
nightgown and slippers, as she had
been aroused from bed, her sparse
hair tight-clumped in semicircle of
kid-curlers, Mrs. Conover crouched in
q moaning, rocking heap. Scared,
whispering groups of servants blocked
the doorways or peered curiously in
from behind curtains. The air was
thick with the pungent smell of anti
septics.
The Railroader, lying motionless be-
meath the unshaded glare of a half
dozen gas-jets, was swathed of head
and bandaged of arm. He was coat
less, and his shirt and waistcoat were
thrown open disclosing his mighty
chest. Across the couch-end his feet
still booted and spurred, protruded
stiffiy as a mannikin's.
1t was upon this scene that Anice
and Give entered. At sight of the
girl, Mrs. Conover scrambled to her
feet, and with wild outburst of
scared sobs, scuttled forward to meet
her, the bedside slippers shuffling
and sliding grotesquely along the pol
ished floor. Anice took the panic
stricken, weeping creature into her
arms and whispered what words of
comfort and encouragement she could.
Meanwhile Give, not desiring to
break in on the doctors conference,
turned to the doorway again and
asked question of one of the SER
wants. For reply the groom, Giles,
was thrust forward and obliged to re-
peat, with dolorous function, for the
tenth time within an hour. the story
of the accident.
"You see, sir" he said, lowering his
voice as though in the room with a
corpse, "Mr. Conover sent word for
me to ride with him. We started off
at dead run, and my horse couldn't
noways keep up with Dunderberg, so
follows along behind as fast as 1
could, but l couldn't keep up to the
right distance between us to save me.
Mr.. Conover turns out of the drive,
up Pompton Av'noo, sir and on post
the Mumason place, me a-followin' as
fast as l could. All of sudden l
catches up. It's in that dark, woody
patch of road just this side the quar-
ries. The way l happens to catch up
is because Dunderberg was havin'
one of them tantrums of his an Mr..
Conover was givin' it to him for all
he was worth, crop an spur, an Dun
derberg a-whirlin' around and passag-
in an tryin' his best to rear. An
every time that horses forelegs goes
up in the air Mr.. Conover'd bring his
fist down between his ears an down'd
come Dunderberg on all-fours again.
They was takin up all the road, wide
as 1t is, an Dunderberg was lashin'
an plungin' like he was crazy, an
Mr.. Conover stickin' on like he was
glued there an sendin' in the spurs
and the whacks of the crop till you'd
"a thought he'd kill the brute. Then,
Dunderberg makes a dive ahead an
gets out alongside the quarry-pit an
tries to rear again. Right on the edge
Of the pit"
| "Yes," said Give excitedly as the
groom paused, "and them"
why. sir, can't rightly tell. the
light was bad. If it'd been anyone
else but Mr.. Conover, I'd say he lost
his nerve, an when Dunderberg
reared up he forgot to bring him down
like he'd done those other times. or
maybe he did hit the horse between
the ears again an didn't hit hard
enough. Anyhow. over goes Dunder-
berg backward-clean fifteen feet drop
Into the quarry. An Mr.. Conover
under him. An then"
But Give had moved away. The
doctors had finished their consulta-
tion, and one of them-Dr. Hawes. the
tConover family physician-had again
approached that silent figure on the
couch.
At sight of Standish the second doc.
tor came forward to meet him. -
NO" he whispered, reading the un-