davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

for the best--that Judith and Barcus
would soon show up in front, that
something might happen to hinder the
pursuit-neyer knowing whether the
latter lost or gained
And thus catastrophe befell
Round the swelling bosom of a wood
ed mountainside the motorcycle swept
like hunted hare. and without the
least warning came upon Barcus and
Judith, dismounted, Barcus bending
over his cycle and tinkering with its
motor, at a point where the road ran
narrow between the heavily foFested
hillsides and a terracelike slope of
bare, brown earth, shooting downward
at an angle of nearly fcrty-ive degrees
from the horizontal, and fully ninety
feet in length from the roads edge to
the underground that masked little
stream idling through the bottom OF
the canyon.
For one manipulating instant COLI
sion seemed unavoidable. Barcus and
Judith and the motorcycle occupied
most Of the width Of the road: there
was little room between them and the
declivity, less between them and the
forest. To try to pass them on the
latter side would be only to dash his
brains out against the trees; while to
make the attempt on the outside would
be to risk leaving the road altogether
and dashing off into space
And 1t was impossible to stop the
al -. sv,ef
In desperation Alan chose the outside
of the road; and for the space Of
single heartbeat thought that he might
possibly make it, but with the next
realized that he would not-seeing the
front wheel swing OF over the lip of
the slope.
At this he acted sharply and upon
sheer instinct. AS the cycle left the
road altogether he risked a broken
knee by releasing his grasp of the
handlebars and strengthening out his
leg and driving 1t down forcibly
against the roadbed. The effect of this
was TO lift him bodily from the sad
die: the machine shot from beneath
him like some strange projectile
hurled from the bore Of great gun;
and Rose crashed against him In the
same fraction OF a second.
Headlong they plunged az one down
the hillside, struck its shelving sur
face a good twenty feet from the brink
OF the road, and flying apart tumbled
their separate ways down the re-
mainder Of the drop and into the
friendly shelter Of the underbrush.
Something nearly miraculous saved
them whole. Beyond a few scratches
and bruises and a severe shaking up.
they escaped unframed And they
were picking themselves up and re-
gaining their breath and re-eollecting
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
CHAPTER XIX.
Sacrifice.

But Tom Bareus hadn't failed 10
profit by the warning implicit in Alans
accident
Alan, he told himself shrewdly.
would never have run his cycle at SO
foolhardy a pace without good rea-
son; and under the circumstances good
reason was synonymous solely with
pursuit.
He was therefore on the alert, quick
to see the racing automobile when it
came hurting round the bend, and in
the very nick of time grasped Juditfs
arm and swung her bodily with him
back out of harms way. amid the
trees that bordered the inside of the
road
OF necessity his motorcycle suffered.
Abandoned in the middle of the ROAD.
it was struck by the buffers of the
motor car and flung aside as If it had
been nothing more ponderable than a
truss of straw-landing halfway down
the embankment. hopeless tangle Of
shattered tubing and twisted wire
At first blush the circumstance
seemed surprising. that the car did
not stop. But then Barcus reminded
himself that Marrophat and Jimmy
could not possibly have witnessed the
accident involving Alan and Rose. who.
together with the wreck of their ma
chine. remained well-cloaked by the
underbrush at the bottom of the can
yon. In all probability. then. the as
sassins had assumed that Alan had
hurried on; and since their own first
business was concerned exclusively
with them. they had done likewise,
reasoning that they could return and
deal with his unfortunate friend at
their convenience after overhaulng
their quarry whose life they most
coveted
AS for Rose and Alan--heaven alone
knew what had happened to them. So
Barcus set himself to find out what
ever Providence knew without more
delay. The racing car was barely out
Of SIGHT when he snrang from the
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
from a standstin into tun flight.

It must have been an hour later
when Alan, checking his motorcycle
as II surmounted the summit OF a
long upgrade. looked back and dis
covered, several miles distant on the
far-fung windings of the mountain
road. small crimson shape that ran
like a mad thing tirelessly pursued
by cloud Of tawny dust like Z gold
en- ghost.
a motor car. beyond all question,
and one of uncommon road-devouring
quality; it might or might not CON
tain Marrophat and Jimmy, once more
In pursuit. Whether or not bitter
experience had long since educated
Alan in the gentle art of taking no
chances.
Though IT was his life that they
sought so pertinaciously, no later than
yesterday tand then by no means for
the first time). they had proved that
If Rose were with Alan they would
include her ruthlessly in whatsoever
scheme they might contemplate for
MS personal determination.
Nor would Tom Barcus be exempt.
II they were caught in company
though Judith might be, In view of
Marrophat's iilfatuation for the girl
These two were far ahead. out of
sight, indeed; and must somehow be
oVertaken and warned-no easy mat
ter, since the machine which bore
them was. IL anything. faster than
Aian's, just as the racing automobile
was faster than either
From its jog-trot the cycle swept
into its greatest speed; ventre a-terra.
ears back, tail a-stream, 1t reared
down the road at such speed as tore
the very breath from the lips of those
whom it carried.
Alan kept his gaze steadfast to the
road before them. daring not once to
look up and round or back. but con
strained ever 10 watch their way. for
at such frightful speed as they were
now making the slightest obstruction
was fraught with direst peril: one little
sidel0ng swerve from that narrow and
tortuous path. and death would be
their portion.
So sinuous and meandering vas its
course, indeed, that Alan seldom coulu
see hundred yards of it ahead. but
must pelt on in panic flight, hoping
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
Never Had ,Em.

Old Dick was a plantation darby.
He was rarely sick. and he always
claimed ii was due to the way he had
lived, One day as he was walking
down the street a local merchant,
taking advantage of his ignorance. &C
costed him thus:
Dick. one of your best friends has
just told me that you have ancestors
OF the worst sort"
"Now, look heah. Cap'in Gawg. 1
doan want to hurt nobody. but | jes'
want to know who dat man was wet
toll you, an sho will go after him,
cause he done gone and cult me.
Me got ancestors? Why. cap'in. that's
as big lie as was eber told: neber
had nothin' in my life but the mumps
and olic."-National Monthly.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

sheltering trees and, Judith at his
heels, pelted headlong down the slope
to the spot where the others had van
ished.
To find them not only alive but
practically unscathed affected that
loyal soul almost to tears.
But when congratulations had been
mutually exchanged, there fell ali
awkward pause. The eyes of the four
sought one another's ruefully. each
pair quick with the unuttered but In
exorable inquiry: What next?
In the outcome. 1t was Mr.. Barcns
who advanced the suggestion which
was adopted--though this was its re-
ception more through lack OF better
than for any actual appeal intrinsic
In the proposition.
When we broke down, saw" he
ventured, with a backward jerk Of
his thumb to indicate the road, "a can.
yon branching off from this one about
quarter of mile over yonder. II it's
all the same to you people, we might
stroll round that way and see what its
natural attractions may be--if any
But it's sure d mighty poor sort Of a
canyon that doesn't lead anywhere
and nothing could possibly be more
fatiguing to our mercurial and rest
less tempers than 10 squat down here
and fold our hands in our laps and
wait for something to turn up-and
anyway we cant be worse of than we
are-and--"
Sufficient" Mr.. Law interrupted
with bleak smile.
Crooking a deferentiaI arm, Barcus
offered it to Judith.
Everything is lovely in the formal
garden" he insisted-''so sweetly ro-
mantle. Are you game for an idle
saunter, just to while the idle hours
away7
The woman found spirit enough for
wan smile as she tucked her hand
gratefully beneath his arm.
You're the cheerfulest soul I ever
met" she said demureIy. what I'm
going to do without you when-if ever
we get out Of this awful business,
goodness only knows"
Let's talk Of something else" he
suggested hastily.
Unless, Of course she pursued
with unbroken gravity. II marry
you. :"
Heaven" the young man prayed
fervently, "forfendi"
That is hardly gallant"
Il mean-heaVen forfend that you
should throw yourself away"
"Humphl" she unused. 'Perbaps
you're right"
Their banter was not without a
subtle object, namely, to reassure the
girl who followed, supported by her
lovers arm.
In the course Of the last "a hours
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

rain. His eyes started in their sock
cts, the blood drummed in his ears
with q roar resembling distant thun-
der. His fingers grew numb. bis throat
dry
He felt that he could not hold on
another instant when, abruptly. that
torture was no more The rope had
been relieved OF its burden. He heard
scream from below echoed by one
from above. then the thump of Judith's
body falling on the shale. then the
slithering rumble of the landslide
gathering momentum.
Barcus. at length arrived. assisted
him to a place of security. Spent
and faint and sick with horror, he lay
prone and shuddering.
Only the assurance of Barcus that
Judith had somehow escaped being
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
OOpgright. lGl4. b. Lsais Joseph Vance


wrist, Mr. Marrophat sent the card
spinning and sailing out through the
open window to lose itself in the night
The watcher didn't see it fall. and
though he spent an uncomfortable
time searching for 1t in the deep dust
of the roadway, he went his way in the
end with curiosity unsated: Fate had
reserved that card for a higher pur-
pose.
Undisturbed, it lay where it had
fallen, face upward. not a dozen feet
from the front door of the Mountain
house. until another day dawned on
Mesquite
Then, in the clear light of that dawn.
four more strangers struggled into
town-tfo weary and haggard men,
two footsore and bedraggled women.
One of these last was dressed in a
suit of mans clothing, much the worse
for wear. The other members of the
party one and all wore the look of
people who have escaped the jaws of
death by the narrowest of Imaginable
squeaks.
At sight of the Mountain house the
party betrayed slight symptoms of a
more cheerful spirit: rejoicing in its
promise of food and drinks and beds
withal wherein to sleep. the four
quickened their steps.
But of a sudden one of the women
she who wore the garments of her
sex-paused. uttered low cry,
a-thrill with terror, and clutching the
arm of the man nearest her, pointed
down to the card that stared up from
the dust at her feet.
1t was a trey of hearts.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

Urine, distorted with grimace OF the
cruelest Joy that ever heart of man
conceived. He saw Marrophat aD-
proach his master with a drunken
awagger and a speech which, though
fndistinguishabIe to the unseen au-
Sitor. unquestionably afforded both Of
the other men ample excuse for &c.
static glee. Toward its conclusion
Mr. Marrophat apparently capped the
peak Of jubilation by fumbling in his
coat pocket and bringing forth some
thing which strongly resembled a sin.
gle playing card.
Nov when he had contrived to
master his mirth, the cripple made a
gesture which eloquently abolished
this card. a gesture which said quite
plainly: IAN that is finished. The
thing has served its purpose! To
hell with it,"
WhersRpoR. wASh smart Jerk Of his
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
CHAPTER XVII.
The Last Warnlnn.

Inc Last Warning.
In the chill, violet-shadowed dusk
OF that clear evening, chap-fallen
motor car crept sluggishly into the
little mountain town of MESQUITE at
the heels of two mutinous mules. driv-
en- by chauffeur who steered with
one hand while the other fiourished
a cracking whip-lash over the backs
of its sole motive power
Its one passenger, a cripple as help
aesS as the car itself, huddled in d
corner of the rear seat, saluted Mes
quite with snarl Though he was in
sore need of such rude comforts as
the town stood prepared to afford him.
ms demeanor toward it was that of
one who suffers an indignity rather
IMAM begs accommodation.
And now, as the car crawled to
pause before the Mountain house
Mosquitoes one caravanserai-and
Mesquite itself, to the last flea bitten
hound, gathered round to view this
wonder. Mr.. Trine's indignation and
chagrin distilled words of poisonous
import. He sat still flor the simple
and adequate reason that he could
not move without assistance) and
sawed the air with his one able arm
and blistered his thin old lips with
curses as black az his hate-ridden
heart
Far from resenting this, Mesquite,
pipe in mouth, hands in pockets, ad-
mired and applauded, and rather re-
scented the change that befell when
two other strangers (whose earlier ap-
pearance in town had helped make
that one day memorable beyond all
others in Mosquitoes history charged
out of the Mountain house and inter-
rupted the elder devil with cries of
greeting and jubilation.
The leader of these answered to the
name of Marrophat his companion
was a person named Jimmy Mes
quite acquired this information
through paying close attention to the
substance of their communications
with the cripple. More than this. how
ever, 1t learned little. Something
seemed to have been accomplished by
the two, something that was highly
gratifying to Seneca Urine: for one
guarded word from, Marrophat was all
that was required to change the old
mans oaths to phrases of honeyed
appreciation, his scowls to such smiles
as called to mind fugitive flashes of
sunlight athwart a snowbcund land
scape. And he was chucS!ing almost
mirthfully when lifted from the car
and carried into the hotel.
What passed between the trio after
they disappeared behind that bed
chamber door Mesquite could by no
means guess. But that a celebration
of some sort was il progress was evil
denced by the frequency with which
Marrophat and Jimmy called on the
bar for more liquid refreshment, as
well as by bursts of laughter long and
leud and somehow strangely cynical
or accent.
And toward midnight one belated
Mesquite paused in the street outside
the Mountain house for one last curl
Gus stare at the lighted windows Of
Mr.. Trine's quarters, and so witnessed
an incident which puzzled him by fits
and starts throughout the balance of
his days.
He saw, clearly silhouetted against
the glowing oblong of the window, the
Mephistophelean profile of Seneca
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
SYNOPSIS.

The of Hearts Is the "death-sign" en-
2loyed by Seneca Urine in the private war
OF vengeance which he wages against
Alan Law, son OF the man now dead who
was innoeently responsible for the acct
3dent which rendered Urine helpless Grip
Rie Tor life. Alan loves and is loved by
Iflne's daughter Rose. Judith Roses
Twin and double. but woman OF violent
Ahd uncertain temper. promises her father
70 compass Alan's death: but under dra-
matte circumstances Alan saves her life
ana so unwillngly wins her love as well
a Roses. In spite of her jealousy OF
rose, judith refuses 10 serve out the VOW
sue made her father and at the time this
story opens is actively assisting Alan and
Rose and their friend Tom Barcus to es-
cape the persecution OF Urine and his
Marrophat.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
STOP THAT
ECZEMA NOW
Instant Relief from that Awful !ichins
and Burning Palm.
Hox-EMA Does H. There Is No Case Of Ska
Disease, sOaIy Skin, chaiiag, chapped Hands,
Itching Piles, Which Eex-EMA win Not
Instantly Relieve and Quickly Heal
Why Suffer Langer7
Send for Free Trial Paoksss-ae stamp.

It's useless and foolish TO stand the tortures.
the dreadful itching. the burning pain Of Eczema
when one application of Nox-Ema will give in
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Salt Rheum. chapped hands. chafed skin,
ulcers, old sores. burns, scalds. sunburn or any
and all skin troubles quickly yield TO the use OF
Nox-emR.
No matter how obstinate your case may be-
40 matter how many remedies have failed. you
will find instant relief In the use of Nox-Ema. II
does not stain the skin soil the clothes, but IL
does the business. All itching and burning stop
once.
Nox-ema Is sold at ei.O0 per package by most
druggists or by mail prepaid on receipt OF price
Address Hegtmuth Laboratories. Milwaukee.
Wis II Is sure to give you instant relief If you
never found Ii before.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

precipitated over the caves of the
shale roof reused him and gave him
nerve enough to resume the climb
1t was true. when he found courage
to look and see for himself she lay
within three yards of the brink SUI
pine. her face uplifted to the sun. I'M
stirring; she dared not stir: single
movement was calculated to set the
shale bed again in motion.
Painfully he realized that II, as Bar
Gus asserted, she had deliberately cut
the rope herself. Judith had offered
up her life to spare his own.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
Just Any Kind.

Betty and two of her playmates
spent an hour shaking Betty's bank
and then rushed to the corner store
with the single coin they were able
to entice through the slot.
What's for you. little ones?" asked
the storeman.
Throwing the coin on the low glass
case. Betty replied with an air of con-
tented Indifference:
"Our folks are all rich. Jist give
us a cents worth of any kind OF
candy"
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31
A II Seemed to Eltzstop.

WAS your father pirate?" asked
young F1tzstop of the girl of his choice
at a clandestine meeting, after the
old sea captain had urged his exit
from the family mansion on the hill
by the use of his pedal extremity
mo, my darling" was the reply.
"Why do you asK?"
"He seemed to me to be a good deal
of a ee-booter." said the young man.
reflect;vely.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

their scattered wits when, with i'm
petus no less terrific than their own
had been. the pursuing motor car
swung round the bend and hurled it.
self directly at the two who remained
upon the road above.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

Church-What do you think OF this
six-cents-aloaf bread?
Gotham-Well, l don't think II Is
any better than the flve-cent loaf.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

A man gets down to bed rock when
he has to keep the cradle in motion.
Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1915-03-31

From Warsaw to Berlin is a dis
lance Of 1898 miles.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-24

cession, any more than n well dressed
man repeats with his neckties."
And then he queried, do you re-
member touching me on the shoulder
the other day on Congress street,"
/ nodded
We'll" he said soherly, never do that
with fellow of my experience. 1t gives
a man an awful shock"
For an instant a look Of fear and
horror showed in his eyes. and caught
a vision of what 1t means to live every
hour of the day, year after year, for
lifetime, increasingly haunted by the
thought that at any moment a heavy
hand may be laid upon ones shoulder
while harsh voice growls, II want
you!"
1t Is fourteen years since Watson
committed a criminal act, but his old
furtive instincts still influence him.
His criminal conscience is gone, but his
criminal consciousness remains. These
old habits and fears are the prison odors
upon him. They are spurs that prick
him to his work SO long as ne shifts
his hats, so long as the touch of an
unseen hand will send a SILVER to his
heels Watsons sympathy with men In
prison pens will not fail, and his efforts
to help them will add momentum TO his
own progress.
! tcopDrtGht PGGct Newspaper Sereice.)
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-24

welcomed. They made him feel as much
at home as If he were in prison. II was
the first time outside of prison he had
ever been an integral part even for an
hour of so large a social group of men.
The experience moved Watson greatly.
1t moved him SO much that presently
he got up and made a speech. Being
the first speech he had ever made in
his life it was a rather unorganlzed
chaotic sort of utteranCe lie merely
opened the trap doors of his soul, and
a burst of his experiences, first as an
undesirable citizen and then in his en-
deavor to reform, eXuded. At times his
language impressed his hearers as a
trlfle strong, even rancid, bbt Watson
had been rubbed down 10 the raw. He
was like a man in the heat of battle
whose very prayers sound like oaths and
whose oaths are meant to be prayers.
This speech seems just about to have
competed the reformation of Watson.
In it he had discovered that he had a
message. Henceforth his own life must
live up to that message. Preaching to
society that criminals could be reformed,
he had to demonstrate that he himself
had been reformed.
He went into the class a rather
trembly, uncertain conscience branded
individual. lie came out strong. His
prison brand had become the badge Of
his new calling. He had discovered his
power. He, Watson the crook, the
par.ah, had stood up before TWO hundred
free men who had never worn a stripe,
nor felt the nip of steel, and he had told
them what was what.
lie saw that his ideas had power over
these men. He saw their eyes fixed
their mouths agape, their checks 60
pale-a sort OF awe upon their faces
He, Watson, had done it. From this
hour he was no shifty struggler in the
half light between crookedness and hon
esty. He was straight. He had become
an ambassador in stripes to the man
who never wore a stripe on behalf of
the men who had,
And Watson was quite right in his
estimate of this first address. II found
himself invited to~ speak before other
classes, before clubs and associations Of
various kinds. Feeling very sure of
himself, exceedingly proud Of his own
achievement in climbing out of the pit,
he did not hesitate to burt out his very
emphatic and often very crude opinions
upon the most abstruse and complex
of social questions.
a body of college professors or a
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-24

&c. "All about where 7 was last year,
the year before that and so on to the
day was born" explains Watson to-
day with a grimaCe. He knew If he
filled out that blank nobody would EN-
ploy him. and he was absolutely un-
willing To begin his new life of integrity
10y the writing of lie, so hc laid down
the bla and the pen and wont out
Then followed search for employment
that was long and discouraging.
But Watson was unu su1l.y pcrsis emit.
He was not a broken down felon who
had quit the game because he had lost
his nerve. lie had plenty Of se,f-Con-
fdencc and could make good "ap-
proach." still he was unable to get a
footing His money waJ slipping away.
one day with his last dollar gone. or
to be exact, with less than p cents in
his pocket, he dr.ftcd across the Com
mon. But one resource remained--the
memory of Helen-what she, woman,
could do he. a man, could do. Because
of this memory he would not give up.
Saunterng out on fremont street and
staring into the window Of a book store