The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-03-27

give you cream pitcher full or fresh
milk and half a tumbler of port wine.
And hurry back. Don't drive-run. l
want you 10 get back some time this
week"
The doctor looked me over with
great politeness and as much careful
calculation until he had decided that
I might do.
''It is only a case OF insufficient nu-
| triton" he said-'1n other words, the
result Of poverty. pride and starvation.
Mrs. Caswell has many devoted friends
who would be glad to aid her. but she
will accept nothing except from that
old negro, Uncle Caesar. who was once
owned by her family"
Mrs CaswelI.'' said 1 in surprise
And then I looked at the contract and
saw that she had signed it "Azalea
Adair Caswell.''
81 thought she was Miss Affair.""
said.
Married to a drunken. worthless
loafer. sir said the doctor. 1T is said
that he rObs her even of the small
sums that her old servant contributes
toward her support
When the milk and wine had been
brought the doctor soon revived Azalea
Adafr. She sat up and talked Of the
beauty of the autumn leaves that were
then in season and their height of col
or. She referred lightly to her fainting
seizure as the outcome of an old palpi-
tation of the heart. Impy famed her
as she lay on the sofa. The doctor
was due elsewhere, and 1 followed
him to the door. / told him that it
was within my power and intentions
to make a reasonable advance of
money to Azalea Adair on future con-
tributions to the magazine, and he
seemed pleased.
by the way he said. perhaps you
would like to know that you have had
royalty for a coachman. Old Caesars
grandfather was king in Kongo.
Caesar himself has royal ways. as you
may have observed"
AS the doctor was moving or / heard
Uncle Caesars voice inside, Did he
git bofe of dem So from you, Mis- Ia
lea?"
"Yes. Caesar 1 heard Azalea Adair
answer weakly. And then L went in
and concluded business negotiations
with our contributor. / assumed the
responsibility of advancing $50. put
ting it as a necessary formality in
binding our bargain. And then Uncle
Caesar drove me back to the hotel.
Here ends AN of the story as far as
/ can testify as a witness. The rest
must be only bare statements of facts.
At about q o'clock | went out for a
stroll. Uncle Caesar was at his cor
ner. He threw open the door of his
carriage. flourished his buster and be-
gan bis depressing formula: step right
I'm. sub. Fifty cents to anywhere in
the city. Hacks puffickly clean. sub.
JUS got back from a funeral
And then he recognized me. l think
his eyesight was getting bad. His coat
had taken on Al few more faded shades
of color. the Irvine strings were more
frayed and ragged. the last remaining
button-the button of yellow horn-was
gone. A motley descendant of kings
was Uncle Caesar,
About two hours later 1 saw an ex-
cited crowd besieging the front of
drug store. In a desert where nothing
happens this was mama. SO l edged
my way inside. On an extemporized
couch of empty boxes and chairs was
stretched the mortal corporeality of
Major Wentworth CasweH. A doctor
was testing him for the immortal in
gredient. His decision was that it was
conspicuous by its absence.
The erstwhile major had been found
dead on dark street and brought by
curious and ennuied citizens to the
drug store. The late human being had
been engaged in terrific battle-the de-
tails showed that. LOafer and repro
bate though he had been, he had been
also a warrior. But he had lost. His
hands were vet clinched so tightly that
his fingers would not be opened. The
gentle citizens who had known him
stood about and searched their vocab-
ularies to find some good words, if it
were possible, to speak of him. One
kind looking man said after much
thought, when Cas- was about fo'teen
he was one Of the best spoilers in
school"
While 1 stood there the fingers of
the right hand OF 1.-The man that was"
which hung down the side of a white
pine box, relaxed and dropped some
thing at my feet. ! covered it with
one foot quietly and little later on
1 picked it up and pocketed it. ! rea-
soned that in his last struggle his
hand must have seized that object I'M
Willingly and held it in death grip.
At the hotel that night the main top
fc of conversation. with the possible
exceptions of politics and prohibition.
was the demise of Major Caswell- 1
heard one man say to a group of lis
teners:
I'm nv opinion, gentlemen. Caswell
was murdered by some of these no ac-