davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
Reuimental Histories.

Among the good services rendered
by the late General Rodenbough was
writing a history Of his old regiment,
the Second dragons, now the Second
cavalry If many officers followed his
example we should soon have a libra
~ of great value to military histori-
ans Several regiments have their his
torians, but as q whole the immense
mass of interesting matter to be found
in the archives of the different orgapi
cations yet remains to be compiled.
General Rodenbough was more than a
compiler. He had the historical vision
for tho facts of environment, which
enabled him to seize as an apt illus
tration Of the spirit of the times John
Quincy Adams protest against anoth-
er regiment when the old Second was
raised. The little army Of the middle
thirties was a portentous monster"
to the ex-president-as Mr.. Adams had
then become. Apropos of those early
army days, there is not a more lumi-
nous passage than that in President
Folks diary in which he sets forth
the opposition Of leading Democrats
to his action In appointing q Wing
major in a new regiment. Polk stood
firm and the regiment had a Demo-
cratic colonel, Democratic lieutenant
colonel and a Wing naturalization
Transcript.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
NejQhborIv Hint.

people as keep ems" observed the
lady at No. II Acacia terrace, should
keep 'em at 'ome. One O. these odd
days, when your fowln come scrappin
In our garden, you'll be missin' some"
The lady of No. 10 shifted the air
In defiance. If you was to feed your
cat prop'ly, p'raps it wouldn't go
'untin' round for bulbs" she observed
Then you wouldn't lay the blame on
ems what belongs to your neighbcrs."
week later the lady of No. II
again addressed her next-door leigh
bor
Thanks for your int about treatin'
our cat BETTER" she said
PLEASED you found it pay" return
ed No. -.
1--WE should never a-fOund out what
wonderful cat it was if it 'adn't been
for YOU" smiled No. H. "Since you
spoke about it I made it up a couple
Of straw beds in the tool ouse and
sprinklcd little barley about, and
blest if that cat amt laid two nice
eggs every mornin' since"
And next day there was wire fence
round the hen house at No. 10 that
an elephant couldn't break through
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
ONLY ELEVEN on THIS JURY
Judges Refusal to Exempt Deaf Lip
Reader Left the Tribunal One
Man Shy.

In one Of our city courts the judge
was examining a number of men who
were trying to be relieved from jury
duty. There we're all sorts Of men and
all kinds of excuses, and his honor
was getting restless. One Of the men
drawn on the panel was genuinely
deaf but like a number of people af
fected in the same way, he could
watch the speakers lips and know
what he was saying, even though he
could not catch word by sound. The
judge sat for a few minutes with
out uttering a word, and then in a
very low tone said: so you wish to
be excused from jury duty because
you cannot hear?" The man was
looking directly at his lips, and conse-
quently understood the question of the
judge.
Yes, sir, that is the reason" was
the prompt reply.
We'll, If you can hear me when 1
talk in that tone of voice l guess you
are a fit juryman. You are not ex-
cused," was the decision of the Judge.
There was no help for it, anC the
deaf man took his seat in the box,
with the result that he heard little or
none of the testimony, and that parti-
cular jury was practically composed
Of only eleven men.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
Short Aatpin Law.

We have observed disposition In
the newspapers outside of Massachu.
sets to belittle the law against long
hatpins that will become effective
early in April. There is one excep.
tion however. The New York Sun,
which used to boast that it shines
for all takes a sane view of the mat.
ter. THE protection of life and limb
declares the Sun, cannot be deemed
sumptuary legislation. Is it not rea.
sonable to approve the Massachusetts
statute just passed providing that the
deadly end of hatpins worn in public
shall be sheathed? The rapier is not
less beautiful with a foil The hat
pin scabbard can be made esth'.tic;
the fears of man can be allayed, his
miserable life spared Sovereign wo.
man can still Stay with her eyes; she
needn't put out the other fellows"
No, she need not, and it is within her
power to make the penalties of the
new law harmless by setting the fash
ION OF wearing protector. Let her
heed the advice Of the Sun and make
the scabbard of the hatpin esthetic
AS already suggested, let the feder-
ated clubs address themselves to this
troublesome problem and the affair
can be settled to everybody's satislac-
ton within very short time-From
tho Lynn Item.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

started to hurry across the little yaro
to- where the rear OF another fiat
showed. l stepped of the porch,
made my way to the side of the house,
then, with gasp. rushed back.
Il had seen shadowy form-two
OF them-three. The thieves had ar
rived. Like the little fool that had
been, had allowed myself to be
caught, l had spoiled everything.
gave one wild glance about me in the
dim light, then jumped for the rear
porch again. A dumbwaiter had
shown before me. A leap and l had
climbed into it, closed the slide, and
was praying, yes, praying, that the
child in my arms would remain as
quiet as she had been-a whimper
would have meant death for me.
Maybe there's something in pray
ers,' Miss Clement added thoughtfully.
The baby turned in my arms the
least bit, it raised a tiny hand that
touched my throbbing throat, then it
settled back to sleep again. l heard
step on the porch. Muf1ed voices
came from a few feet away.
Dye think I'd better shin it to
the second story?'
"A voice from the door answered In
a whisper:
No need of it. It's a connected
joint. Family affair. Old man and
his wife on the first floor, two married
daughters and their husbands live on
the other floors. All connected with
stairway; We can get into from
down here. Hand me the nippers'
Tnere was grating, a scratching
OF metal, soft cursing. The man at
the door seemed to have turned.
Cant nip the key. Gimme the
Jimmie
Hurry up came from the other
man.
signal Bill and the gang to come
on, was the reply: we're goin' in
There was rending sound, a
cracking, a snap. The lock had been
forced. l heard one of the men step
to the edge of the porch and whistle
softly. A second later the answering
tread Of soft footsteps sounded on the
porch. A few words. The door closed
All was STILL"
The music of the cafe had faded for
me, too, now. Only the woman's face
was before me, the face that was
echoing the tense agony of that mo-
ment of the past My cigarette burned
my fingers; I dropped it to the tray
almost unconsciously. My eyes were
straight ahead.
And then" I prompted
The diamond pendant seemed to
have. planted its rays in her eyes.
They were swapping electrically.
Them" She laughed bit queerly.
Then prayed again. knew thief
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

Ia3tSa a
Heved me- crazy. He did not move. /
rushed to him, seized him by tho
coat sleeve. :..
QUICK! urged again. There are
a set of thieves in a fat not two
blocks from here. You've got time to
surround the place and get every one
OF them. They think they're safe;
they've got two watchers, but know
wnere they are. I saw them get into
the place-won't you come-cant you
see the need to hurry-sergeant?
Can't you
Ihere was no need of further plead
ing. The sergeant was already on
the way to the door. Three patrolmen
mad sprung to their feet and were
following him. saw the jailer and
hurried to him.
Hold the baby commanded, and
laughed somewhat Historically at his
surprised face. Then l whirled and
was gone to join the sergeant.
"A half hour later six shadowy
forms skunk forth from the side of
the fiat building. There was a half
glitter as four revolvers were pointed
anead, a sharp command, shot as
one OF the men attempted to run, and
then the hands of the gang of robbers
went into the air. With the capitula-
ton there came a frightened little cry,
the sound of the sobbing voice of a
Woman-and I'm thinking right now"
(there was twinkle in the eyes
across the table, that the voice was
that Of Alice Clement"
She paused, and once again she was
the simple little woman, listening to
the music of an after-the-theater or
chestra. She tapped her fingers idly
on the table to the rhythm of the song,
and there came the smile that has
made her famous in the police world
of Chicago.
And that was the making of little
me-" she said with a laugh. Il found
out that night that while my work
might have been crude, had the in
sttnct of a detective in me. The next
day I went to the police station. I
learned that the secondhand shop had
been raided, that the Jews had been
arrested and with them ten other
men. l learned also that something
like $4,000 worth Of loot had been re-
covered, and then-well, then I went
down into the cell to see the man
whose memory had caused it ALL
How do you like it,? asked him
as he paced about his cell.
The man, who had given the name
of Mitchell. turned and glared at me.
"'Tve seen you BEFORE he said,
shortly.
Ives, last night answered. You
saw me before that, too. only guess
you don't remember The next time
you slug a man and rob him, take care
that there's not a woman around.
That's ALL laughed at him, happily.
He, In turn, only glared.
"'What?' he snapped.
Nothing in particular answered.
and left him.
The orchestra and the cabaret were
reveling in the sympathetic tones of
the Sextette from Lucia. lit another
cigarette.
Revenge is sweet-sometimes," I
ventured.
Its sweet to the extent of eighteen
years in Joliet for the honorable Mr..
MITCHELL" she answered, and then,
humming softly, while the tapping fin
gers again kept time with the music,
she looked around the cafe.
isn't it just awful how some of
these Chicago women paint" she
asked innOcently.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
Vt! GET EVERY MAN you CAN AND COME WITH Me-"

was what her profession made her,
tracker of men again. The story went
on.
81 knew that sooner or later the adj
dress would be spoken, for the expla-
nation of everything had come to me
now. This secondhand shop was
that only in name. In reality it was a
fence for thieves, a meeting place and
rendezvous for robbers-and I had
stumbled into the knowledge of their
plans! Oh, if some one would ask
for that address! If some one would
speak it! felt numbly that l was
cold, that I was shivering, that my
fingernails were biting into the flesh
Of my tightly clenched hands. Just
for the address, just one word!
Il started. l pressed closer against
the window. The men, who evidently
had been sitting at a table, were
moving around. sprang to my feet
and hurried up the fire escape. The
address had come!
There was a maze of few mo-
ments In which neither knew nor I'M
derstood what I did, nor why. When
l came to myself, I was turning the
corner of Chicago avenue and State
streets on a half run for a street car,
with my baby in my arms. What
was going to do, did not know. The
thought of the police had not touched
my mind; all knew was that must
get to the house they planned to rob
before they got there, that I must
IND some way to circumvent them.
The street car stopped. l boarded it..
1T was not until l reached the
block in which the fat was that be-
gan to realize the risks I was taking.
1t dawned upon me then that was
carrying my baby into place where
1t would not only be in danger, but
where 1t might cause danger for me.
What If there was no ono at home, no
one could warn? The realization
flashed upon me that there would be
no one, for knew that in the plans
had heard the robbers felt sure they
would be safe in their work. for a
while at least. 1 hurried to the fat.
rang the bells, one after the other.
Not tube answered. I circled to the
back. l pushed. the buttons for the
servants. There came no reply.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

until four months ago I began giving
Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com
pound trial and now l am in good
health. Mrs. WILLIAM H. GILL, Is
Pleasant Street, Auburn, New York.
"Doctor's Daughter Took IT,
St. Cloud, Minn.-"I was so run down
by overwork and worry that I could not
stand it to have my children talk aloud
or walk heavy on the floor. One of nv
friends said, Try Lydia E. Pinkham's
Vegetable Compound, for l know doc
tors daughter here in town who takes
it and she would not take it if it were
not good
IL sent for the Compound at once and
kept on taking it until was all right"
Mrs BERTHA NJ. QU1cKsrADT, 727 9Th
Avenue, S., St. Cloud, MINI.
Lydia E. Pinkham's Vegetable Com
pound may be relied upon as the most
efficient remedy for female ills. WHY
don't you try 1T
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

the grinding of car wheels to my
nervous ears: Ipaused. The laughter
and noise from within continued. l
lifted the glass cutter again. Again I
made the circle. g The edge had cut
deep. The crucial time had come
the time of chance. If luck was with
me the glass would hang in its socket
as l gave the blows that would free
1t from the main body. II luck was
against me!
i trembled. lifted an edge Of my
dress, and placing it against the pane
to deaden the sound, raped the glass
gently at the lower end with my
knuckles. My lungs seemed devoid
OF breath, my heart had stopped beat
ing. raped again. The glass gave;
1elt that my hands had recoiled, then
reached forward graspingly. A great
wave OF relief shot over me. The cir
Gle OF glass had hung! It had swung
IN the center, as though on a pivot
my fingers had clutched it, and now
1t lay within my hand while I, dazedly,
stared straight ahead.
words were coming from within,
in voice that recognized, A thrill
shot through me- I placed an ear
close to the hole in the window. That
voice had heard before, in the years
that had gone, tense, cursing, as he
had sent down the blows which had
telled my husband. 1t seemed the
revelry had ceased now. They were
discussing something more important.
heard the voice Of the Jew, then the
voice l recognized again:
well. I'm not goin' to go at this
thing alcue, and I'll tell you that right
now it's got to be too quick
haul; there's enough Of us to make
cleaning of the whole place; we
can get in while they're at the show,
90 the job in half hour, then get
out. 1t it's going to be done at all,
It'll have to be done that way. That's
all there is to it, and if you guys
want to try it some other way, we'll
Another voice had broken in.
A line Set of dubs we'd be,
whole gang Of us, paradin' out there
like circus mob! What d'you want,
an army?'
'Which'd be worse, six Of us han
din n thing right an gettin' away
with t. junk In a way We wouldn't
be noticed, or one O: two guys luggin
a lot of stuff ar Cettin' pinched for
Investigations came the voice that
knew
"A third chimed in.
"'That's right
How her eyes flashed. as the pic
lures of the past came before them!
Once again she was huddled on that
fire escape, listening to the formation
of plot beneath. Cafe, lights, music,
all had faded for Alice Clement She
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

in the darkness to where the little
secondhand shop reared its leprous
form-thinking and planning and
scheming for some way to find that
face again. to catch the man hated.
Alice Clement cooked no supper that
night. Early morning still found her
sitting by the window. still thinking"
The music Of the cafe was loud
now. There was laughter. there was
singing from the cabaret vocalists who
lounged at one of the tables. But the
detective did not hear. She was liv-
ing in the past. One hand was tap
ping the table nervously. Her head
was forward, her body tense
Il had seen men with suit cases go
into that little secondhand store be-
fore, usually at night. That fact weigh
ed on my mind. l worried about it,
figured out every possible reason, but
no solution came. Yet there was
something, some reason; l knew it.
The next day l studied the wall of
the building below me. Only one
window appeared, dark. ade-drawn.
The fire escape led within foot Of It,
right at place where the walls of the
fiat in which l lived was blank of
windows A chance was there-a
poor chance, but determined to take
It.
Might came, and with it l put my
child to bed and clothed myself for a
long vigil. Then I stepped out on the
fire escape. Slowly. cautiously, l
made my way down to where l might
crouch by that little window, and
there. baff1ed by the closely drawn
shade, l felt the tears coming to my
eyes and a choke in my throat as l
realized that my chance of learning
the secrets of the little building were
fading. But suddenly, the inspiration
came. climbed back up the fire es-
cape and set out to find hardware
store that by some chance would be
open. In two hours was back on the
! fire escape, with glass cutter in my
hands.
Prom within there came sounds,
loud sounds, but indistinct l was
thankful for the nervousness; it would
hide the grating of the glass cutter.
Slowly I began to trace a circle on the
pane. The scratching sounded like
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

had been placed to watch just within
the door; I knew there was one
shadow which might aid me-but
that the first wrong step would bring
the watching man laundering upon me.
knew the child in my arms might be
aroused by my first movement and
that she might cry. l knew that my
woman's heart was quailing, that it
was crying out to me to remain
where I at least stood a chance of
safety-and I knew l must fight that
impulse down. Something warm
coursed its tiny way on my chin. l
had bitten my lips to bleeding. Some
thing cold gripping my heart, some
thing steel was seemingly binding my
brain into dumb. helpless lack of
thought. l shuddered. Then, like one
plunging into an icy sea, stepped
forward
Step by step I made my slow way
from behind, no sound. I had passed
the first watcher. turned quickly to
the blind side Of the building and
crept along the fence. knew it was
impossible to retreat by the front
way, for there would be a watcher
there also, somewhere in a dark cor
ner. One by one l felt the panels of
the fence. Lower and lower my
heart sank. Then, suddenly it leaped
I had found loose board.
"A vacant lot was before me-
Crouching low, stumbling, my dress
catching and pulling, twigs striking
against my face, made my way
through the high weeds, shielding my
baby as best could, hoping, praying
against that it would not awaken. A
light flashed before me as hurried
into an alley. Tears came to my eyes,
and yet I laughed, laughed with all
the nervousness, all the anguish of re-
lief that woman could know. saw
the sign ahead:
POLICE STATION"
'The old desk sergeant started as I
entered, my hair flying, my eyes wild.
A patrolman attempted to stop me.
pushed him out of the way.
"'Quick!' I gasped. Sergeant, get
every man you can and come with
mel
He looked at me as though he be-
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06

tectives had failed. AS far as l knew
the case was outlawed; even should I
find the man who had attacked my
husband there would be little chance
for retribution. But still I searched,
still my eyes roved, ever looking for
the face they sought. and one night"
Inc orchestra had begun the play
ing of a pla;ltive melody. Alice Glenn
ent paused and looked far away, while
the pendant at her throat poised and
Tell and rose again. There was a
dangerous CLINT in. her eyes now;
saw that she was living with her
memories. remained silent. At last
the voice began again.
There was little secondhand
store next to the fiat l occupied. a
small two-story affair that was run by
two Jews. The place was dark, dirty
Il had always passed with a queer
little shiver which I never could un-
derstand
Il had been a little late that eve
ming on my trip to the grocery store.
Darkness had already come and was
hurrying along the street that might
reach home before the baby became
frightened. Through long space of
shadow l had travelled, and then came
the i1are of dingy light as the door
OF the secondhand shop opened and a
man stepped forth. suitcase in his
hand. turned my head to him. then
gasped. The face!
He did not seem to notice me, but
walked past rapidly. l whirled and
tried to follow. 1t was in me to
scream, to seize him if l could, to
tear his throat with my hands. My
teeth clenched hard-it seemed that
all the fury that woman can know had
suddenly surged into my heart at the
sight of those features: l could have
Killed and not have been sorry for
the deed. But ! failed A half block
and the man was lost in the shadows
For an hour l searched, then walked
slowly to my little apartment home, to
take my baby in my arms and sit Won
deringly by the window, looking down
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
PAIR Of large, dark. 1nno-

PAIR Of large, dark. 1nno-
cent eyes glowed laugh
ingly at me from across
the table. There was a
smile, too, on the childish
face, an appreciation Of
the goodness of life and
the joy of living in every
feature. Those about us
in the cafe, where the
lights glittered and the
walters hurried forth seem
ingly from nowhere, to
stand a moment at their
tasks and diSannear a pain
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
Much Of World unexplored.

Despite the discovery of both poles.
a large portion of the earth still re-
mains UNEMPLOYED. Roughly, 1t is esti-
mated that about 100000 square
miles, or approximately e-eighth Of
che total land surface of the world, is
still a mystery to civilization. lnclud-
ed in this area are vast tracts of polar
region, portions Of Arabia, jungles and
mountains in South America, spread
Ing wastes in Australia, regions in
the Himalayas, dark haunts In Dor.
neo, and the Congo basin, and
stretches Of the Sahara.
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
An Amateur Case
Copyright. by ". q. Chapman.)

Editors Note-On the payroll of the
municipal detective department of the city
Of Chicago appears the name of Alice
Clement, sleuth. To the crackers Of men
who make their headquarters at the bu-
reau at 179 North La Sale street. she is
known as 'Alice of the Smile" Fearless,
resourceful, dangerous in hundred SIM
pie little DISCUSSES which mask her, yet
do not hinder her, she has found the evil
dence which has sent many a man and
many woman to the penitentiary. There
Is hardly dangerous dive Of the great
city which she, in her twelve years of de-
tective life, has not visited. More than
once has her life been in danger, many
times has she been compelled to use the
dirk or the revolver that she carries for
protection. And yet, through it all, she
has remained pretty, vivacious. full OF
life and the love Of living-and always
deserving Of her name. "Alice Of the
Smile" Too, she has always remained re-
ticent non-communicative about her ad-
ventures. until Mr.. Cooper persuaded her
TO tell her adventures for the first time)
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
She Was Tired.

ihe nervous old lady approached
the porter in the sleeping car anx-
iously.
"Oh, porter, porter, where do
sleep?"
What is de numbah OBJ youah berth.
ma ann" he asked.
She lookd at him questioningly for
a moment, then said:
Il don't see what that has to do
with it, but If you must know, it is
third; there were brother and a Sis
ter born before me-"
The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1913-06-06
REGULARLY Endowed

He3UIaTIy EUP1oyeu.
InQuisitive Old Gent-And what are
you digging for, my good man?
Knight of the Pick-Money.
l. o. G.-You don't say! And when
do you expect to find it?
X. of P.-Saturday night.-Judge.