davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

Some of the wise ones advise US to
do our letter writing early in view
of the increased postage rates.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

At the present price there may be
some excuse for crying over split
milk.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

Football isn't the only game where
men are manned or killed. The duck
hunting season seems to. be landing
it's share.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

St. Paul housewives are urging
the use of skim milk to increase the
regular supply of milk.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

Lest we forget, we say it yet
Editor Bob Moser is certainly max
ing the Elmwood Press hum"
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

Some peoples teeth are like the
stars-they come out at night.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

100 acre farm, known as the Moul-
ter farm in town of Troy for sale.
Inquire at this office. adv.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

For sale cheap if taken at once,
two horses. Inquire at Journal Of
fee.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

r room house for rent. w. E..
Winter.-adv.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25
CLASSIFIED ADS.
HOUSES FOR SALE

HOUSES. FUR SALE
For Sale-Two story brick building
on Main street, Prescott, w s.
!. For terms call Jung Brewing Co.. !,
St. Paul, MINI.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25

For Sale-A good coal or wood stove.
Inquire at Journal. t2.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25
HOUSES FOR RENT

For Modern house on 9th
street. Apartments on End street.
J. III. Grimm.-adv.
River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-10-25
TAKE NOTICE

For Sale-Choice building lot on
18th street. M. A. Shepard.
Evening star., 1917-05-27

Automatically 1 ducked behind thorn
bush.
He was q typical low-class Hongkong
river rat. 1t was evident that he had
been posted there as sentinel and
that he was waiting for the half caste,
for as soon as he saw him he lifted his
hands with beckoning gesture and
purred a few sing-sOng gutturals
Mascasenhas did not answer. but he
followed him to the anchorage.
The Chinaman gave a long-drawn.
high pitched. quivering yell. Twice he
repeated it; and Immediately the rub
bings and thumpings which had been
steadily drifting over from the main
land ceased as if obeying prearranged
signal The boatman dropped into n
rowboat. Mascasenhas followed and
sat in the stern. Then the Chinaman
cast off. gripped the oars and started
across toward kowloon with massive.
sweeping strokes.
/ waited for r few seconds and looked
across the river When everything
seemed safe / rushed down to the an
chorage. l jumped into the nearest sam
pan i could lay my hands Oh, cut the
lines with my pocket knife, and was off.
The Chinaman was rowing at q good
clip: the green tail light of his boat
was rapidly disappearing. So put my
Evening star., 1917-05-27

dressing table. With firm, deliberate gait
he walked to the door, opened it and
left the apartment. j followed close
at his heels.
We crossed the outer hall, the public
corridor, and descended the broad.
sweeping stairs. We paused by the
sleepy Chinese houseboys. The Eura-
sian night clerk. stealing forty winks
in the security of his wire cage in the
lobby. did not notice us. nor did the
huge Manchu watchman who was rest
ing his fat-incased body against It
broken plinth in front of the hotel
We walked into the street.
1t was then Il little after 1 o'clock
in the morning.
Masca senhas walked along steadily
with long, swinging step. like man
sure of the way.
At the corner of the Admiralty road
a drunken soldier from the sunners'
barracks hove in sight. He nearly COL
iued with the Goanese. But the latter
sidestepped him easily. And even
then, in the fiaring glare of an arc light
which swung overhead, L could see that
his eyes were tightly closed.
Mascasenhas quickly swung down the
length of the street and turned into
the native town. The streets were de-
serted. Not Il single coolie was roam
Evening star., 1917-05-27
- THE OTHER NANCE b Trsds

matters" was Kane's curt and stern
comment. Then
Does your father know of this visit?'
mo, OH. no, SIR" was the tremulous
but evidently truthful reply.
you must understand, I am sure. Miss
Ackeriy. that II is merely the fortune
of war, and ordinary usage in the city
is no respecter of persons. said Kane,
quietly, and then with a sudden change
OF manner and a genial smile he went
on: But such a sweet suppIicant must
not go unrewarded. You may leave 1t
to me-your father shall not suffer"
He stopped her thanks with a wave
of the hand. and then inquired:
"And how is your recital coming
along? Can I be of any assistance
there
"If you only would the girl began
timidiy. Zone needs so much infu-
ence in London. YOU know.
Say no MORE said Kane quickly. 81
see how it is; you shall have good
house.
Hardly was she gone. new light
shining in her pretty eyes. than Kane
dispatched a messenger for so guineas
worth of seats, and put his secretary
at work addressing notes to the moro
influential of his friends. begging their
acceptance of the tickets inclosed. and
bespeaking their attendance at the
Ackerly's fortune was made.
II can he hard as nails Kane said
when taxed with soft-heartednesS
anent this performances: "Ackerley's a
cur and richly deserved to be made to
squeal: but every man should know
how to temper Justice with mercy. I've
been in too many tight places myself
not to realize how it feels to be jump
ed on
So there you have the unique person
ality. outward and inward. then newly
Ia unched in the cream of English So
c;ety.
No smart function was complete
without him. and in response to his
own lavish entertaining in town dur
ing the season he was deluged with
invitations to visit some of the most
exclusive country houses in England
for the shooting season. Being
bachelor. with not a relative in the
world as he said. he was naturally
regarded as a big fish in the matrimon-
ial swim. and might have married
titled beauty before the summer was
over thus reversing the accepted An
glo-American procedure in rectn years.
In course of time Fossiter Kane's
round of autumn visits brought him to
Denecroft.
Three years had passed from the date
of Richard Dysarts self-expatriation.
Time had brought no outward change
in the lives of those hitherto concern
Evening star., 1917-05-27

last, and he was hard hit. He had es-
capped the meshes and the Vaccinations
Of managing mammaS all through the
season, only to surrender at discretion
to this motherless girl whose thoughts
were more for her absent brother than
for the chances OF picking up hus-
band.
And then, Of course, she had not
known him very long or very we'll But
this was a matter that could readily be
remedied by master mind, and Kane
took care that Stellar Dysart should
have plenty Of chance to become ac-
quainted with him in the two weeks he
spent under the baronets roof.
Day after day. although a splendid
shot he would decline to go out with
the other guns: morning after morn
ing found him at her side in long rides
through the Dorset woods and uplands:
night after night in the drawing room
he strove, like Othello. to awaken her
interest by recounting strange tales of
adventure by flood and field of which.
it is but fair to say. he was only oc-
casionally the hero.
Nor were his efforts in vain. Stella
Dysart was half-won when her curiosity
was excited and her expectation aroused
by the many moods of this extraordinary
man.
From the instant of their first meeting
Evening star., 1917-05-27

ing about. The houses were shuttered.
They were dead. massed together into
a dim gray. compendious unity.
Once Mascasenhas stopped in his
ward. Again his head dropped a little
to one side. Again his whole attitude
expressed intense listening.
And once more the hazy resonance
of a temple gong being rubbed and
thumped drifted across the distance.
This time 1t seemed a little nearer. 1t
was whispering in language of dread
stiffness with dull, muffled beatings and
thumpings.
Mascasenhas listened. Then he walked
on. following the sound as he would a
voiced direction. / kept close behind.
So we walked to the very end of
Hongkong roads. and there. at the foot
of Victoria. the sound seemed nearer
again. 1t was steadily becoming more
real. more palpable, and it came evil
IDENTIFY from the direction of the main
land of the colony.
There is q little settlement of scrag-
gly. ricketty huts there, inhabited by
the. very dregs of Canton, with a
q few black flag pirates in search of
temporary asylum. The whole place
was like a warren, with crisscrossing
streets. strongly savoring of murder
amenities of Mongol life. Even these
streets were practically deserted, ex-
cept when once in a while a blue
bloused coolie would come ambling
along on padded slippers, picking his
way among the reeking puddles and
heaps of evil filth which Uttered the
streets.
Mascasenhas walked along with
great swiftness. perfectly sure of his
way. And I followed. So we reached
the end of the island. The channel
which separates 1t from the mainland
reaches here its narrowest point. The
distance is hardly mile. and there is
n little bay. which provides a safe am
chorage for boats and small launches
'''-'- = "'n.ic'iir. ii'ei. T. Il. %,.i .,,I'
Evening star., 1917-05-27
fcHAprER ur-continued., !,

,(CHAPTER III-Continued.)
But for the interruption occasioned
by the arrival of more guests Kane
might have added that he had been a
veritabie Jack-of-all-trades - team
ster. mail carrier, prospector, miner
and gam bier in that free-for-an coun-
try known as ''the west" Drifting
around the world to South Africa. he
successfully clerked in an up-country
store. dealt faro. and played the piano
in dance houses In Kimberley and Jo-
hannesburg. where he had also picked
UP some knowledge Of the diamond
country.
How had he come by his wealth in
diamonds" Found them. like many
another man, of course. Success had
come to him very suddenly strike.
he called it-and then changed the sub
!ect.
Men sought his society for the mar
ket tips" he could give; women liked
him for the air of quiet power which
pervaded every word and action.
Said one titled dame to some inti-
mates over their afternoon tea:
My dears. his house is a marvel of
chaste elegance. and his weekly din
uers are dream. In his waking hours
he is surrounded by crowds OF clients.
guests. or dependents. How he stands
the pace is more than can fathom, yet
he is always smiling and debonair, cooi
and collected. and never at loss for g.
timely word or n suitable remark. De
Lacy says he seems equally at home
with dpwagers or debutantes. with
dukes or cab-drivers, with money kings
or crossing Sweepers-
And it was true. every word of il.
one episode. widely reported at the
time throws a flood of light upon the
character of this much -canvassed per-
sonage.
Kane had manipulated 4 big corner in
..Cochineal Consols,'' one of the fancy
stocks of the day, and had the market
at his mercy. Among the shorts
was a small speculator named Acker1y
who on more than one occasion had
run foul of Kane and his schemes
When settling day came, AcEerly
stood to be ruined IL Kane chose to
force matters. 1t SO happened that his
daughter Rose Ackerly. who had been
studying music. was to make her pro-
fessional debut the same night at
Queens Hall.
Upon the eventful morning that
would seal her fathers fate she drove
up to Kane's Office and besought an in
terview with the great man. Her eyes
suffused with tears. and her voice trem-
bling with emotion. she begged the
financier's Indulgence for her father.
Women should not medd1e with such
Evening star., 1917-05-27
BY Frederic Reddale

hand while he pressed the other to his
wounded side.
At sight of the blood stained jacket
and the dark pool which discolored the
clicks. while the poor. faithful. half
famished blacks watched their master
anxfously.
Slowly and painfully the details of
the tragedy came back to his throbbing
and fever-parched brain. His gaze
sought the ground on either hand. then
he Eroaned:
Robbed! The damned hound!"
Reaching out his hand for the prec-
ious flask. he took another gulp of its
contents, and then made as II he would
rise. but fell back, helpless as a child.
His limbs were cramped and stfff with
the nights exposure to a freezing tenn
perature. and he was. besides. awfully
weak from loss Of blood.
But Dysart knew what must be done
II he would save his life, and SO he
whispered:
strip me, Joey"
Tenderly as women the boys did his
bidding. Slowly and amid many smoth-
cred ordinations of pain they got his
belt and jacket off; then his heavy
flannel shirt. and a silk undershirt-
tho last refusing to bulge until all
around the wound had been well wet
ted. Then was disclosed an angry red
puncture just below and little to the
left of the right armpit. There was a
larger and more jagged wound at the
back. where the heavy-caliber bullet
had plowed its exit. lodging between
the flesh and the clothing. whence it
dropped to the ground as the last gar
ment was removed.
Joey picked it up with a click and a
grin of astonishment and handed it to
Richard, who coolly slid it into his
trousers pocket. Under his directions
the wound was washed clean, and then
carefully bandaged with the silk shirt
torn into strips.
BY this time the warming sun had
done its genial work, ana Dysart's legs
were thawed out. So. by dint of both
boys bracing themselves and tugging
on his sound arm he managed to stag
ger to his feet and totter to the wagon
where. after much boosting and groan-
ing on their part and his. he was made
fairly comfortable on the heavy mat
tress which covered the bed of the con-
veyance. Then the wounded man col
lapsed.
The days ran into weeks and the weeks
mounted into months before the lonely
adventurer began to mend. Fever wasted
him to a skeleton; malaria sapped his
vitality. Help there was none within q
hundred miles: he could not stand the
jolting of the wagon. and in his lucid
moments he sternly vetoed Joey's offers
to go for help. He knew what that would
mean-a rush Of strangers to his claim.
Evening star., 1917-05-27

ed in this story. Stella Dysart was
still reigning mistress at Denecraft-
Sir Arthur. as may be imagined, lost no
time in putting the all-important ques-
ton to Marcia Churchill. only to be
met with a gracious but kindly refusal
and the tidings that his brother had
been beforehand. Thenceforward he re-
mained single, nor showed any signs Of
transferring his affections elsewhere.
Marcia kept her troth, although little
had been heard from the absent lad. A
brace Of letters in the first six months;
then long silence; finally single
impassioned appeal. inclosing his pic
ture, for which she had asked. reit-
Grating his undying love, begging her
to wait for him. limiting at all sorts of
bad luck, but intimating that a GER
tain venture then impending would
make or break him. After that. silence
and suspense.
True to his word. Sir Arthur paid two
thousand pounds to Richards credit at
the family bankers, but It was never
drawn against. Whatever he was doing,
swim by his own unaided efforts. The
baronet, on his part, felt too deeply
wounded to write or make any overtures
at a reconciliation.
So Marcia waited, her beauty enhanced
and spiritualized by her faithful love and
daily hope.
''He will come back" she said for the
hundredth time.
Rick had been her favorite brother, and
in these latter days she and Marcia
learned to love each other as sisters, and
jokingly vowed to live together as old
maids to the end Of the chapter.
Rossiter Kane had met Stella Dysart in
town. likewise Marcia Churchill With
the former he appeared to be at once en-
presse, and it would be hard to say which
of the two girls liked him best. With Sir
Arthur, too. he got along famously, for
his was the happy faculty of adapting
himself, chameleon-hke. to the surround
tngs or the person with which or with
whom he happened for the moment to be
brought in contact. He could interest
himself in Sir Arthur's old manuscripts
and early Italian canzonets. although, as
he quietly confessed to Stella, he had no
personal appreciation of their beauty or
their value.
II started too late In life. Miss Dysart''
he would say, land what I need most is
some kind person to take pity on me. be-
come my mentor and lick me into shape,
as we used to say out west"
1t needed no oracle to interpret the
inference. Rossiter Kane. had the NOM
ination been left to him. would have
chosen his mentor then and there, and
the post would have possessed a life
tenure.
Evidently kane's time had come at
Evening star., 1917-05-27

shoulders to the oars with a will and
college stroke.
Twenty minutes later Mascasenhas'
boat bumped the opposite shore Of Kow-
loon. The coolie helped the Goanese
ashore. Then he jumped into his boat
and rowed rapidly back toward Vic
toria
1 had braked my oars and drifted on
the stream for a dozen feet or so to
toward shore. landed. jumped out and
made my stolen sampan fast in the
shelter of friendly bush.
For a moment Mascasenhas stood per-
fectly still, q picture of indecision and
expectancy. The moon, a bloated thing
of copper settling among the trees,
threw down a single broad ray Of orange
which slashed across his face. And
again l saw that his eyes were tightly
closed.
Suddenly the sounds which had guided
Mascasenhas all the way from our
apartment in the Hotel Alexandra
doomed forth once more. This time /
made out distinctly the scientific rub
n little hill to the west of the Kow-
loon anchorage.
At the very crest I could see the fan
tastic, exaggerated contour of a pagoda
shaft Of light stretched out like long,
osseous, yellow hand. Mascasenhas
walked toward 1t at a good clip. fol-
lowed. keeping in the darkness Of the
trees and the houses.
The Goanese stopped in front Of the
temple. The rubbing of the gong
snapped off suddenly. The painted,
carved teak-wood doors swung open,
and Mascasenhas crossed the thresh-
old. Noiselessly tn egates closed behind
him.
I crept up to the building. There was
a window at just about the level of my
eyes. ! stepped up to it and looked in.
The temple was in the shape OF n par
ailelogram with spacious central
Evening star., 1917-05-27

kloof there fioated pale wisps and
wreaths Of silver mist, out Of which the
f1at-topped kop5es rose like islands in a
ghostly sea- The surface Of tho Moot
river was hidden by thicker pail OF this
same fog.
With the coming Of the sun there came
a merry breeze, which swept kloof and
kopje clean as with an invisible bosom.
eparkled and rippled in the glorious SUM-
shine Of a new day.
But 1t was yet cold-horribly cold-re-
minding one Of the hill country OF North
India. Gradually the sun gets in his
work. and the chill Of the air gives place
to genial warmth which before the
meridian will turn to an oppressive heat.
An antelope and its mate came trot-
ting to the waters edge to drink, but ere
quenching their thirst shifted the air sus-
piciously. and then galloped or down
stream. their hard little hoofs rattling
like castanets over the stones. A hun
dred yards Off the wild creatures halted
and gazed timorously back.
On the bank. by the gray embers Of a
dead fire., lay ghastly thing: huddied
and dusty, a great reddish-brown stain
on the khaki jacket, the ends of wav-
ing brown beard matted and clotted with
the blood which had dripped and oozed
Richard Dysart! Alive?- perhaps.
Dead?-if not. he surely soon will be un-
less succor comes.
Down the little kloof through which
the old wagon had creaked SO cheerfully
the day before there stole like shadows
two dusky Kaff1r boys. Timidly they
gained its shelter, and cautiously peered
through the spokes of the heavy wheels.
They point eagerly at the recumbent
figure. and chatter to each other in their
queer, clicking speech. Then. looking
fearfully around and over their shoul-
ders they advance, and Joey drops ON
his knees beside his master.
"Baas. Baas" he whines. and with
thumb and forefinger raises an eyelid
to see If there be left any life.
The blue and parched lips move, and
there Is whispered moan:
Water! Water!"
The other boy looks on stupidity and
stolidly, but Joey dashes to the wagon
for a tin cup, which he fills at the
stream. and, raising the head of the
sorely wounded man, manages to tilt
some of the blessed liquid down his
throat.
Catching sight Of the neck of flask
protruding from the sufferers pocket,
Joey sends some brandy chasing after
the water. and the vivifying effect of
the cordial is almost magical.
Dysart opened his eyes. drew a few
shuddering breaths, and then managed
to sit UP, supporting himself with one
Evening star., 1917-05-27

So there. on the banks Of the Mooi
river, he fought his second fight with
death. tended and nursed only by his
faithful Kaffirs-and won out at last!
intervals OF delirium and the tedium OF
convalescence, he planned and plotted
vengeance on the miscreant who had
robbed him. He would chase him round
the world and back again II need be
Daily and hourly he looked for q rush of
diamond seekers to the new field. That
known robber must have kept his own
counsel and was doubtless far enough
away. enjoying the fruits of his unhoiy
spoil
But there were enough shining stones
left on tho beach TO make another fortune
several fortunes. in fact-and Dysart
was still a rich man.
The first thing was to get TO the coast.
would make for the nearest seaport rather
than for Kimberley or Pretoria. Richard
determined to strike for Ladysmith, at
that time the nearest town whence ran
the railroad for Durham.
1t was on a bright morning late in the
South African spring when the word was
given to fnspan and trek once moro, Z"
the huge delight of joey and his brother
The oxen had waxed fat over their long
idleness and good speed might be looked
for.
The little party reached Ladysmitll
without mishap further than the loss OF
water" There Dysart disposed of some
of his smallest stones not to excite
too much inquiry, suitably rewarded Joey
and the other boy with a handful of yell
low sovereigns apiece. made them pres
ent of a new wagon and dozen oxen.
entered and proved his claim to the new
field on the Mooi. replenished his ward
robe, got a shave, a haircut and a bath.
and then was ready to turn amateur de-
tective.
He stumbled on his first clue by acci-
dent
"A middIin' fine passel o. stones, Blister
Dysart," said one Of the dealers. named
Moses Plish, to whom he sold n small
part of his find after the purchase was
concluded. There vas another gent ere
avile ago With jest sich a lot: in a steam
in 'urry e was. too"
Indeed" said Richard, as nonchalantiy
as possible. keeping his eyes averted lest
old Plish should espy their angry CLEAN.
''Yessir; cool an 'aughty customer e
was. low much for the lot sezzee. an
no qvestions arsed?' / 'ad done a leetle
business With i'm before. an / knowed
lis Ways"
That's curious said Richard. II won
der if / have ever met your man. / don't
mind telling you, Plish, that I've located
and proved a new claim. and | supposed
l was first on the ground. But you can
Continued on Fifth Page)
Evening star., 1917-05-27

IN this second story of the
0thrilliuK series of tales of ''The
God of the Invincibiy Strong
Arms the mysterious cloak of
the mysticism of the far east
fairly enshrouds you, and the
personality of Yuan Kee, the
blue-eyed Manehu, In one that
will Imprint itself upon your
memory and remain. In this
story. like stuart Vandewater.
you feel yourself being drawn
frresistibly into the plot, whether
you will or not.