davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Robesonian., 1910-06-02

~
terror croSSeu the 'o'' 10 II NV
tired, tear stained face. She shrank
away from him.
What is it? Where am T. she
moaned. "Oh, let me go. What have
] done that you should bring me here ?
Let me go, Mr.. King. You are not SO
wicked as
II bring you here.' he interrupt
ed. aghast. Then he understood. TT
ter dismay filled his eyes. You think
that | have done this thing to you?
God above us. Look. l. too, am Il
prisoner here. They are going to kill
| me after tomorrow
"Oh, Mr.. King, what does it all
mean? Forgive me. | see now You
are bound; you are suffering; you are
years older. What have you done I:
What have l done:''
Don't shrink from me- he urged
| 'Try to calm Yourself
Then, with the utmost gcntleness. he
| persuaded her to rise and walk about
| the little room with him.
ut will give you courage" he urged.
"Poor little girl!''
| ,e looked up into his face. a new
| li--.t coming into her eyes.
| Don't talk now,' he said softly.
'"Take your time. Hold to my arm
please. There
| For five or ten minutes he led heI
back and forth across the room very
tenderly At first she was faint and
| cn1sfa in OFT
wits came back to her. courage took
the place Of despair. She smiled wanly
and asked him to sit down with her.
Where are we: What is it al
about:" she asked.
Not SO loud.' he cautioned. I'll bt
perfectly candid with you. You'll have
to be very, very brave. But wait
Perhaps it will be easier for you t.
tell me what has happened to you. 81
far as you know. l can throw ligh
OH the whole situation, | think.
She became more excited. Her eye
flashed: she spoke rapidly. On tn
morning Of the 23d she had gone fo
her gallop in the famous Ganlook road
attended by two faithful grOOms from
the royal stables.
II was in for longer ride than usu
al she said, with sudden constrain1
She looked away from her eager listen
er. Il was nervous and had not slep
the night before. A girl never does
l suppose"
He looked askance .'Yes:' he que
ried.
She was blushing. he was sure Q
it, Il mean girl is always nervou
and distrait after-after she has prom
, ised. don't you see.''
NO: l don't see.''
Il had promised Count Ves Engo til
night before that / Oh, but it reall
= has nothing to do with the story. r.
Truxton was actually glaring at he
. "You mean that you had promised
. marry Count Vos Engo!' he stamme
= ed.
How very strangely you talk! Al
YOU sure-I mean. do you think it
- fever? One suffers so'-
= He sighed deeply. well. that
over. Whew! 1t was a dream. L
Jove-'
She waited a moment and then, loo
inc down. said very gently, I'm s
!. - sorry for you
Then she resumed her story.
- She had gone six or eight miles do"
the Ganlook road when she came
with five troopers of the royal guar
l. One Of the troopers came forward al
> ! respectfully requested her to turn
e into another road until detachme
;" passed. in charge of a gang of desper
h does taken at the inn Of the HaN
and Raven the night before. Unsu
:" pecting. she rode off into the fore
lane for several hundred yards.
1t was q trap. The men were II
1. i troopers, but brigands got up in
nj uniform of the guard. Once aw;
n from the main highway. the! ma
OF prisoners Of her and the two groom
The Robesonian., 1910-06-02

food and drink. 1t was high
time. for he was almost fam
ished. Thereafter twice day he was
led into the larger room and given a
surprisingly hearty meal.
Peter Brutus had just voiced the
pleasure of the majority 10y urging the
necessity for physical torture to wiring
the governments secrets from the pris-
oner. King. half furnished. half crazed
by thirst. had been listening to the
fierce argument through the thin door
that separated the rooms. He heard
the sudden. eager movement toward
the door OF his cell and squared him
self against the opposite wall. ready to
fight to the death. Then there came Il
voice that he recognized
A woman was addressing the con-
spirators in tones Of deadly earnest
ness. His heart gave bound 1t was
the first time since his incarceration
that he had heard the voice of Olga
Platanova. she who still must lie bis
friend.
''No! You shall not torture him.
have said he is no spy. | still say it,
she was exclaiming.
"G"d, girl. wc cannot turn him loose
now. He must die" This was from
Spantz.
I'VE cannot release him, grant
you" she said. and Truxton's heart
sank. Not now. but afterward, yes.
When it is all over he can do no harm
But hear me now. all Of you. If he is
harmed in any way shall not perform
my part of the work on the 26th. This
1s final''
you cannot withdrawn exclaimed
Peter Brutus. You are pledged. You
are sworn. 1t is ordained
u. Olga Platanova. say this to you
1t Is not plea. not a petition: it is AT
ultimatum. Spare him or the glorious
cause must suffer by my detection"
"Sh! Not so loud. girl. He can hea,
every word you sayw
Let him hear. Let him know tha
j, Olga Platanoya, am to hurl the thin;
that is to destroy the life Of Prime,
Robin. l am not afraid to bave hin
know today what the world will know
next week. Then the world will sa,
that Olga Platanova was not beast
but delirerer. creator. Let hin
hear"
The listeners blood was running
cold The life Of Prince Robin. Al
assassination! The thing that vii
destroy" A bomb.
For half All hour they argued wit
her, seeking to turn her from the stan
She had taken. Then they came t
terms with her. Truxton King owe
his life to this strange girl who kne,
him not at all. but who believed in hin
Truxton was brought into the ROOF
few minutes later. He was whit
with emotion as he faced the commi
ice Of ten. Before word could b
addressed to him he blurted out:
You towards. Weak as | am.
would have fought for you, Miss Pl;
tanova. If | could have got throug
That door. Thank you for what yo
have done to convince these dog
Only don't do this awful thing! Thin
Of that dear little boy"'
Olga Platanova cried out and covere
her eyes with her hands. She ws
led from the room by William Spant
Peter Brutus stood over King, who's
arms were held by two stalwart mel
"Enough.' he commanded. Nv
spare you not for her sake. but fl
the sake of the cause we serve. He:
me. You are to be held here prison,
until our plans are consummated. YC
will be properly fed and cared fo
You have heard Miss Platanova s:
that she will cook the food for yt
The Robesonian., 1910-06-02
CHAPTER NJ.
UNDER TIE GHOt Nd.

UNDER TIE GEUI Nd.
I'M He second day after his incar
ceration began King was given
Ri food and drink. 1t was high
time for he WAS almost fam
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

Oh Nne NE&Wa0ls
came into Burma up the Irawadi river.
The capital, Rangoon, from where 1 write.
lies about twenty miles from tho mouth Of
one of the streams forming the delta. The
lrawadi is one OF the greatest Of the
worlds great rivers. 1t rises somewhere in
Tibet and flows a thousand miles through
this country before IL reaches the sea. 1t
carries down so much silt that the blue
waters Of the Bay OF Bengal are made
yellow by It. In coming here we Travelled
for hours through what looked like pea
soup before We caught sight of land, and
IN the river itself the water was as brown
as oatmeal gruel and almost as thick. II
left a rich sediment In the bath tub Of
the steamer and gave the atmosphere a
yeiowish tint under the tropical sun. The
deposit is so great that the shore creeps
on into the sea several inches a year. I'M
mense sand bars are created and pilots
have TO direct the steamers this way and
that The dredges are always kept work
ing and the government is now contem-
plating building a series Of jetties like
those we have at New Orleans. These
will confine the waters 10 a narrower
channel and the force OF the river will
scour the course clean
Coming up 10 Rangoon the stream is
often several miles wide and the shores
al the mouth so far apart that as we
hugged the north bank we could hardly
see the land on the south We passed
SYRIAN where the Burma OH company has
its enormous refineries. and then steamed
ap toward the city which, with its lumber
yards, rice mills and shipping. looked more
like one OF the great ports Of Europe than
Asia Long before the town came in sight
we could see the tall spiTe OF the Golden
Pagoda, and as we steamed closer another
shaft OF gold came into view. II was that
Of the Soule Pagoda, a Burmese monument
which rises high out of the business blocks
in the very heart Of the city. Our ship
came right up 20 the wharves and we
stepped out into one Of the queerest crowds
20 be found IN all Asia.
This city is more cosmopolitan than
Calcutta. Cairo OF Constantinople. II is
East Indian rather than Burmese. and It
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

that for a trifle more than S13 an acre
land which is now Of no value viii be
made perhaps the most productive in the
state. much Of It lying within a hours
drive Of Omaha. the market center OF the
west. Land which could have been bought
almost for the asking few years before
thls reclamation project was born is not
TO be had now for less than $500 an acre
The salvation Of the long flooded lands
Is 10 be accomplished by deep cut water
ways leading from Millard in the general
direction Of the Big PapiIion creek and
again from Ralston along the route of the
Little Papio. to Join later, discharging into
the Missouri river below Fort Crook.
For the construction OF the mighty drain
age system which is to turn the marshes
OF the flood plain Of the Big and Little
Papios into firm. tillabie area, a great
array Of machinery is being put into use.
Al last the sleeping. stagnant waters Of
the creek are to be made TO do some work.
Diverted into the drainage bitches the
creeks will furnish the motive medium for
the floating OF the monster dredEe barges
which are to eat their way through along
the plotted line OF the artificial water
ways to the outlet on the Missouri river.
One Of the pair Of floating dredges which
are to accomplish the Titan task OF cutting
the canal system is now in operation COM
ing down the valley from Millard The sec
ond. which has been dubbed the mud
turtle an sppelation exceedingly naing
for 80 ungainly and utllitarian a craft. was
launched last week in the Papio near sey-
mour lake
Each Of these dredging machines consists
OF heavy barges Of large carrying capacity
equipped with monster machines which
tear their way through the soil. tossing
aside three and half cubic yards OF earth
at mouthful. The greatest OF these ma
chimes is the mud turtle" which was in
trodueed TO the dark bosom Of the Papio
the other day.
The launching Of the Mud Turtle was not
an affair OF ceremony. Two automobile
loads OF engineers and contractors. to-
geiher with the men who have builded the
unhandsome boat were all that gathered
10 see her slip down the ways into the
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

hausted that with difficulty he dragged
himself about But he held to his post
and after nine days. when his food sup
ply was exhausted relief came.
His prsdicament became known through
the fact that his chief had forced a check
and left the vicinity. This led TO an in
vesugation ana the suocoring OF the vigil
keeper such monotony as he expert
enoed often drives lighthouse keepers in
sane. he was not alone fighting against
death b. starvation. but he was keeping
the lights burning and tAe fog horn SQUAD
ing the warning blasts. II was a case OF
human endurance AID the man OF deter
minatiOn won.
Such heroism as his Is the Kind that
counts He did not look FOR the plaudits
Of the world. His thoughts were only OF
his duty. He had TO concern about ad-
vancement. and the pay is not sufficient
10 make q man strive as this man did
He did his duty. The opportunity does not
come 10 every man 10 show such traits
bat every man should be encouraged 20
SET as worthy an example II occasion 70
euires.-WashlnEton Herald
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

muddy stream The Mud Turtle is an hon
est working boat with much more Of
strength than grace. SO, naturally. she had
TO do the wrong thing at the wrong time
IN the presence OF the launching party.
slipping off half way down the slide and
then sticking swkwardly in the presence
OF company. At last the big bulk settled
into the water. where il is now being fitted
with the engines which viii operate the
dredge apparatus. The hull alone weighs
800 tons and the machinery TO be put aboard
weighs 80 tons more. The dredge meas
ures a by LIS feet and is constructed OF
heavy lumber and timbers. A crane eighty
feet long weighing twenty tons viii carry
the big dredge bucket.
The lower end OF the drainage system
where the cut is sometimes twenty-eigbt
feet IN depth, is being cut by what the
contractors caIl in technical phraseology a
drag"
This machine operates directly on the
soil without the use Of a floating barge as
a means Of transportation. The dredging
machines have a maximum excavatinE ca
pacity OF about 10000 cubic yards a month
each. The whole operation Of cutting the
big bitches Will require but about twenty
done by steam power The drag line op-
crates from Gilmore TO Papillion.
Trailing behind the big floating dredges
is floating dormitory and boarding house
for The Vorkmen. =, They are working at
home all the time In their progress down
the valleys OF the creeks
The big canal viii nave a waterway OF
no feet, while the smaller viii have a
waterway Of sixty feet. These big canals
are designed TO carry off ali the water
without overflow, even at flood time. The
efficiency OF the actual cut is to be en-
hanced by the erection Of high banks on
either side by the use OF the soil ex-
cavated
The excavation work is being done by
the Pollard-Campbell Dredging company
Of Omaha. The ToWl engineering company
Of Omaha and Kansas City was employed
by the stockholders Of the district 70 lay
out the work.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

The baby, who has not yet been named.
Vas taken 70 the hospital on February 10,
II had been suffering from an ailrnent
which the outside physicians had been
unable to diagnose or 70 cure. Drs. IAsb-
ovicsh and Cohen examined the patient
and said II was suffering from stomach
trouble. sedative was administered The
case was watched closely. On Thursday
night the baby went into convlusions It's
body became blue and its pulse dropped
10 practically nothing Red and black
splotches appeared on the skin.
Hot and cold water plunges were used.
There was no response. Oxygen then was
given, but without effect The form stiff
fened and the eyes turned upward. Mir
ror and other tests for breath were
applied They showed no traces OF the
chiid's breath. There was a warm area
on the shoulders and the chest. and that
inspired the doctors with hope. Finally
they succeeded In bringing the child back
TO consciousness.
From that time on until early yesterday
the baby was raeked By a series OF con
vulsiOns. with a particularly severe one
Al o'clock. That time even the doctors
thought life extinct. They continued, how
ever. 10 force oxygen into baby's lungs ana
70 resort 20 artificial respiration.
IL Was not until fifteen minutes after.
ward that the heart. lungs. respiratory
organs, and the pulse began 10 assart
themseives.-New York PrssA = > -.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

The traffic about the wharvas ana
through the city is carried on by strange
animals, and in strange vehicles The
passenger cab is the gharry. a yellow or
black box hauled by an Indian pony and
driven by Hindoo or Burman. The
heavy freight is dragged over the roads
IN carts by the bumped cattle OF Hindu
stan and great loads Of goods are pushed
and pulled along by half-naked men. Ths
men work as hard as the animals, and
the white sweat stands out upon their
black skins as they drag the freight on
ward. There are also fine carriages
owned by the Europeans and even auto
mobiles, with HindOo chauffeurs In tur-
bans. 1 ride about in a gharry at a cost
OF about 10 cents trip, and my baggage
was carried from the steamer TO the hotel
on cart drawn by breech-clouted Hin
docs. On the way / saw a BurmAn riding
a bicycle plated with nickle. He had
pulled his red sHk skirt high up his
thighs, and observed that he had silver
clasps on each leg, Just over the knee. TO
hold It. He wore a turban and Jacket
and sat straight as he rode
This afternoon TOOK a street car trip
out into the country. The railway was
an overhead trolley, and the cars were
divided into two classes. the first Of
which costs double the price Of the sec
ond. In order TO see the people 1 roda
second class, sitting between a Bengal
Hindoo in jacket and calico trousers, and
a Burmese girl, dressed in a cotton Ea-
rong, jacket and a pink shawl, which
was thrown over her shoulders She had
a. fat cigar in her hand, and asked me TO
smoke. Behind me were two Hindoos
wearing skull caps embroidered with gold.
and Burmese gentleman, well clad ana
wearing amber plugs IN his ears In front
was a Burmese woman, with a baby in
her arms. The child's head was shaved
clean, excepting a patch on the crown
the size Of a dollar. And then there were
Mohammedan women. close velled, Arabs
in fez caps. East Indian soldiers in tur-
bans and Chinese with queues hanging
down their silk gowns at the back As
we rode on We passed the carriage of the
governor. a magnificent landau. hauled
by white horses, with coachmen and foot
men gorgeous in livery. and a troop OF
outriders IN front We went by rice mh.s
and lumber yards. IN which elephants
were working. and at every turn OF the
wheels saw new picture Of this Burmese
biOgraph show, which is one Of the stranE.
est OF the FAR east
FRANK c. CARPENTER.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

But. before l go further. let me give YOU
a birdseye view OF this country You all
know its location. Better perhaps than
the Bostonian, Who when asked where It
was. replied:
Burma? Burma? OF course I know
where It Is have a cousin out there, but
he calls II Bermuda"
The Burma from which I am writing Is
away off here on the opposite side OF the
world. 1t lies near the eastern shores Of
the Bay Of Bengal. several hundred miles
south OF the Himalaya mountains and Just
across the way from the peninsula OF Hin
dustRn. On the north 1t rcns close TO
Tibet, and on the east It skirts the Chinese
province Of Yunnan and French Indo-
China, with the siamese states on the
south. The country is az long as from
Canada TO the Mexican gulf and wider than
from New York to Cleveland. 1t is bigger
than France, Germany or the Spanish
peninsula, and It has population of TO-
10000, OF whom 100000 are the proudest.
best dressed and most lovable people of
Asia.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17
In the Lumber Yards.

wish ! could show you some of the
huge beasts at work in the Yards They
lift great logs on their tusks and stack
them IN piles. They carry tinbers to the
saws and lay the planks in order for ship
ment. Their every action shows reason and
they seem 20 calculate cause and effect
At one sawrnii I saw two beasts, each as
gether. Each had Burman, clad in
big as Jumbo. plling lumber, working to-
turban and gown seated upon his head.
and he was directed by him. The man
used both hand and heel as well as word
OF mouth to tell the elephant what to do,
and in addition sharp brass hook which
he 5Abbed into him If he did not obey. The
logs handled were OF great weight /
measured some which were twenty feet
long and thick as a cider barrel Either
Of these two elephants could lift one such
log on his tusks and carry Il across the
yard. He would kneel down before the
middle OF a log. crowd his tusks under it
and then, throwing his great trunk over
the top, would raise it bodily and carry il
20 the truck upon which IL was to be
pushed 10 the buzz saw. II the log proved
very heavy he would rest one end on the
ground and drag IL
In shother part OF the yard / watched
an elephant piling lumber. He would lift
the timbers up and lay them down on the
others as evenly as though he had meas
ured each piece. Sometimes he rested a
log on the pile and pushed Il into place
with his trunk. At other times he kicked
IL up with his right hind foot. In some
eases where it was necessary 20 carry two
logs at a time the men tied a rope around
them and the elephant would pick up the
end OF the rope with his trunk and place
81 over his tusk and then, raising his head,
walk off with H.
The elephants gather up the scraps OF
lumber and lay them 50 that the workmen
can rope them into bundles They also
work at piling the boards and loading them
for the steamers.
The managers tell me many OF these
beasts are employed in the forests and
at the lumber camps up country. They
are used for all sorts OF heavy transpoF-
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

fOEsIlY1lsv.H bond stream has been lettering
about In a leisurely wastrel sort
S.AsksD OF way carrying off the water
0I IT'S drainage basin when 1t chose but
Tor the most part allowing it to lie about
over many otherwise fertile acres. Like
certain lazy men. Papnlion creek is a
graceful genius OF Incidence. a sympbonv
IN somno!ence. as it strays aimlessly about
always procrastinating about that little lob
OF carrying the water to the Missouri
which nature imposed when the creek was
seolog1eally put In commission.
Unfortunately for that ambitionIess. slug
gard little streamlet, the farmer folk Of
eastern Nebraska care little for the cul-
uVation OF scenery at the expense OF allow
ing some thousands OF rich acres to lie un-
productive and worse than useless So
certain very businesslike and technical en-
gineers with funny little instruments OF
tripods were set 70 work TO diagnose the
trouble with the Big and Little Papilllon
creeks. "Incurable" was their verdict.
Whereat the farmer folk determined the
discharge Of the vagabond creeks with as
little consideration for their long service
as they would hired man The same en-
sineers were set about the work Of design
ing made-to-order creek 10 do the work
in real efficient way. With that order
executed the Big Papillion and the I.ttIa
Papilion' or Papio as tradition has seen fit
TO dub it with diminutive, viii become
but certain wavy, meaningless lines on the
old maps. Seventeen miles of canals viii
do the work.
The PaPillion Drainage District" a
l,ouiishins uue' indeed. spells the finish
u tne ioiterinS streamlets. Farmer folk
nave banded together and at an assessed
cost OF so much per acre affected. viii
pay Ior the digging OF the big ditehes
"n'eh are 10 reclaim tract OF 1900 acres
OF me richest land in Nebraska A sum
Of approximately saOeooe is TO be expended
In the drainage district within the little
more than a year which remain yet before
its completion on Nay /. 1871 This means
Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-17

has people Of every nation and Of al
most every tribe Of the Asiatic continent.
II has $4,000 Chinese. a large number of
Malays, 5000 Europeans and more than
100000 Indians from AL parts OF Hindu
stan. The people are of all colors, black.
white. yellow and brown. and they wear
all sorts OF costumes The East Indian
coolies are naked, except for a cloth
around the waist and red or white
turban. Their black skins shine like fer
under the tropical sun. Many OF the
chinese are rich, and they are clad in
silks or fine cottons, while the Burmese
strut about in silk skirts OF the most
delicate colors. their heads covered with
gorgeous silk turbsns. They wear Jack
cts Of silk or fine cotton, and move about
Ike human butterflies here and there
through the crowd. In addition there are
tall-hatted, long-eoated Parsees from
Bombay, wOrshipers OF fire. who are de-
voted to banking and trading. and lean.
skinny black Chsttles, money lenders
from Madras, who wear only a sheet OF
cotton wrapped around their bare per-
sons. There are Indian boys in cans Of
gold thread, cotton Jackets and waist
cloths; Hindoo women with rings in their
noses. and Burmese girls clad in cotton
or silk with plugs in their ears The
costumes are so many 1 cannot describe
them.