The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1913-04-04

trihKets into the satchel. 1t was too
much for the little Old lady's little
OLD husband. He fairly shrieked:
Young man, you're a damned
scoundrel, and the best argument /
ever saw for hell-hre!"
Mrs. Temples grief changed to hor.
ror at such bolt from the blue:
Walter!" she gasped. such IAN
guage!"
But her husband answered in self.
defense: Even minister has right
10 swear once In his lifetime
Mallory almost dropped in his
tracks, and Marjorie keeled over on
MIN. as he gasped: Good Lord. DIR.
Temple, you are IA Minister"
Yes, my boy" the old man con-
fessed, glad that the robbers had re-
l1eved him OF his guilty secret along
with the rest of his private properties.
Mallory looked at the collapsing Mar
Jorie and groaned: And he was in
the next berth all this time!"
The unmasking OF the old fraud
made second sensation. Mrs. Eos
dick called from far down the aisle:
DIR. Temple, you're not detective"
Mrs. Temple shouted back furious.
~: How dare you?"
But Mrs. Fosdick was crying to her
luscious-eyed mate: "Oh, Arthur, he's
not detective. Embrace mel"
And they embraced, while the rob-
bers looked on aghast at the sudden
oblivion they had fallen into. They
focused the attention on themselves
again. however, with ferocions:
Here, hands up" But they did not
see Mr. and Mrs. Fosdick steal kiss
behind their appraised arms, for the
robber to whose lot Mallory fell was
gloattng over his weii-tilled wallet.
| Mallory saw 1t go with fortitude. but
noting piece OF legal paper, he said:
Say. old man. you don't want that
marriage license, do you?"
The robber handled 1t as II 1t were
hot-as If he had burned his fingers
on some such document once before,
and he stuffed it back In Mallory's
pocket. ~ should say not. Keep 1t.
Turn round"
Meanwhile the other felon turned
up another beautiful pile of bills in
DR.. Temples pocket. mot SO worse
for parson," he grinned. You must
be one of them Fifth avenue sky.
shaffures.'
And now Mrs. Temples gentle eyes
and voice filled with tears again: "Oh.
don't take that. That's the money for
his vacation-after thirty long years.
Please don't take that"
| Her appeals seemed always to find
the tender spot of this robbers heart,
for he hesitated, and called out:
podner?"
Take 1t, and shut up, you molly.
coddle." was the answer he got, and
the vacation funds joined the old gew.
gaws.
And now everybody had been
robbed but Marjorie She happened to
be at the center Of the line. and both
men reached her at the same time:
~ seen her first" the first one
shouted
You did not" the other roared.
Il tell you | did"
~ tell you | did" They glared
threateningly at each other. and their
revolvers seemed to meet, like two
game cocks, beak to beak.
The porter voiced the general hope.
when he sighed; "Oh. Lawd. if they'd
only shoot each other.
This brought the rivals to their evil
senses, and they swept the line with
those terrifying muzzles and that
heart-stopping yelp: Hands up"
Bill said:N"You take the east side Of
her, and I'll take the west"
"All right"
And they began to snatch away her
| side-combs, the little gold cnaln AT
her throat. the jeweled pin that NAL
lory had given her as the first token
of his love.
The young soldier had foreseen this.
| He had foreseen the wild rage that
would unseat his reason when he saw
| the dirty hands OF thieves laid rudely
on the sacred body OF his beloved.
But his understanding had drilled
him to govern his impulses, to play
| the coward when there was no hope
| of successful battle, and to strike only
when the moment was ripe with per-
feet opportunity.
He had kept telling himself that
when the finger of one OF these men
touched SO much as Marjorie's hem.
he would be forced to fling himself
on the profane miscreant. And ne
kept telling himself that the moment
he did this, the other man would
| calmly blow hole through him. and
drop him at Marjorie's feet, while the
other passengers shrank away in ter
ror.
He told himself that, while 1T might
be fine impulse to leap to her de-
a. ,,,, n foot innnujsa To lean