davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27
Beneath The Shadow OF The Law -

Island. Again the men met us IS be-
fore. 1 sat in the car while they went
to the inn where the liquor was kept
The truck had gone to the inn.
Suddenly the truck came rushing
by at flying speed. 1 had never
seen a truck go 40 quickly. A few
minutes later Antonio and the sales
men came rushing up dragging a fat
man between them. From their loud,
angry voices, and profanity l
gathered that the fat man was a Gull
prit. Later l learned that when the
truck was loaded, two of the three
buyers jumped on it and ran away
without paying. The fat man couldn't
get on the truck with the same
alacrity as his simmer friends. Cas-,
sese and his salesman had managed
to pull him off.
A Low-CIass BOotlegser.
There was terrific time. The
man said:
Il can't understand thas. They
have money. But l will give my own
check"
Antonio growled between his teeth
You give me the check and l will
see that we know where you are until
we collect it,"
The putting fat man was carried
There he stayed until the check was
found to be mo good" He was kept
barred in a room. He was even FED
there. AS days Went by he became
more and more frightened. He cried
most of his time.
Captivity was very wearing on
him. Be begged on his knees to be
allowed to go. But his captors held
firm that he should not go until
he called up his associates, who had
absconded with the liquor, and make
them either pay for it or return it.
The fat man insisted that we go
with him to his friends and he said
that he would guarantee payment.
Cassese was too wise for this ruse
He knew better than to go into the
quarters where the prisoners gang
were.
Finally the prisoner was broken
down. He called up his friends and
told them to either pay for the liquor
or return it. They returned it that
day. The man was released
This man belonged to the lower
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

class bootleggers. Bootleggers have
their stratas of society just the same
as any other profession does.
During this time, Cassese met
many people. Many conversations in
Italian were held in the car, obvious
~ for protection. They were
very mysterious.
On the morning Cassese had to APP
pear in Mneola to have his bail set,
Antonio commanded me to stay at
home, but I would not. | stood close
| by him all the time. WIFI we were
standing in the corridor, mana
horrible man-came toward us. He
said in a gruff voice, growing out
of the corner of his mouth to Cassese.
Il have come to take you away"
| thought | should perish there that
minute. My hearo seemed to stop
beating.
Mr.. Cassese's attorney would not
permit Antonio to be taken away,
but he was arrested on a charge of
rum running.
In court, his bail was changed from
81 600 to $4,000 on the new federal
charge. The case was postponed for
two weeks.
Two days later Cassese and l were
driving. He took me down to the
docks in Brooklyn. There he showed
great big old clumsy thing. We did
not get out of the car, althor gh Joe,
the chauffeur, got out and went
aboard the boat. l remembered this
incident later. Antonio saw some
people who knew him. He spoke to
them md they spoke to him. But [
noticed that he sat we'll back in the
car and made himself as inconspicu-
Gus as possible. 1t appeared that
there was quite bit of business to
attend to.
The days tha- have gone by since
Antonio's poStponement of trial were
piling up. We had only enough of
days left, of the two weeks allowed
by the court, to make the trip to
secure affidavits for his care from
Florida.
Permission to make the trip to Sc
cure his evidence had been granted
Antonio provided he be escorted by a
member of his counsels office.
O o O
A Temporary Respite.
And so, Antonio and I, with this
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27
By Edith
Stevens

l do believe, How many half.vlts
there are in this bright world of
ours, nd how they dim the glory OF
the business OF rum running.
We lay at anchor that night. In
the dawn of the next morning Cas-
sese took the spy glass and spied
good sized island not far away. By
this time l was sufficiently wrought
up to think that if there were any
people on that island. in such
strange part of the sea. they must be
cannibals in the first stages of man.
l recalled my study of anthropology
and the viciousness of savages.
At this moment Cassese said:
I'VE will go to the island and find
out where we are. / see smoke"
Don't do that" | cried in dis
may, They will eat us up"
We'll see If they do at any rate.
for that couldn't be any worse than
being stuck here to perish of thirst"
He smiled at my fears, which
Gained me a little
We went over to the island and
succeeded in getting the attention
of three scantily clothed brown men.
Their white master came down. at
tracted by the extraordinary sight of
a boat off the shores of this island
This man lived on the island with
the three colored men. Why? | can
not imagine, unless he was in hiding
or practically hermit OF some kind.
He was gentleman and gave us
water and food He told US how TO
go on and then to make sure that we
got TO Nassau. he put one of his men
on the boat to direct US. We found
we were only 80 miles out of the
way.
We landed that afternoon in the
Bahamas and went to stay with our
friends, the Ambrasters, as usual
The next day / told Antonio that [
would not go back on that little boat.
Cassese broke his contract with the
captain. When we were coming
back from the court house, where
the old captain had tried to hold
Cassese to his return trip and collect
his $3.50 who should run into us on
the street, but Joe, Mr.. Cassese's
chauffeur, l was enormously sur
prised Something was up. How
did he get there? His sympathy for
Mr. Cassese struck me as being
spread on too much to be genuine.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27
THE PHANTOM
FOG HORN
BY CHART PITT

Pete Kettleson. keeper of the
Muk -muk lighthouse, heaved sigh
Of relief as he settled down in his
easy chair. He lifted his fat hand
and scratched his bald head thought
fully. He had Toasted upon his ia
vorite lute-fisk-and Dogfish Dan
Swanson was dead at last.
Ten years ago Dan had wrecked
his schooner in fog. The YAM
pire had piled upon the rocks right
in front of the lighthouse-wrecked
within pistol shot of the silent fog
signal-and Dan had blamed Keeper
kettleson for it all.
For ten years Dogfish Dan had
glowered at the faithless light
keeper. and did not speak. For 10
years his one purpose in life had
been to make trouble for Pete The
Muk -muk light had been reported
more than all the rest of the lights
in the district-and it had kept Pete
Kettleson busy jockeying the rec
ords to save his skin.
But Doefish Dan was dead now,
and Pete still chung to his govern
nent job over at the lighthouse.
Some uncanny impulse had COM
neral of the man who had hated so
long and bitterly. But now when it
was over he wished he had stayed
at home. For Danny Swanson, the
old mans son, had glared at him
from across the coffin-and the boy
had grown to look like his father
too much like his father to suit Pete.
One by one the lights of the town
went out. and the light-keeper be-
gan to feel sleepy there in his easy
chair. The clock licked off it's min
utes upon the wall. 1t. too, was get
ting drowsy, and its voice seemed
farther and farther away to the nod
ding man. Midnight came; tho eery
hush of dreaming world hlna over
the lighthouse where Pvte k.stN kson
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

of the week when Loria was coming
to New York. He had an apartment
in street uptown and it was clear
that they often met there.
My first impulse was to kill Mag
dalena when she returned that night;
my second. to wait and Kill the two
when they were together But a
third impulse came, and ! knew that
if ! could hold myself in hand till
the right time | had in my power the
one and only way to purlsh such a
woman as MaGdalena.
That night, after the theatre and
next morning | looked at her chin.
Sensitive, on the alert always when
her beauty was concerned, she eX-
claimed: ITS true. then, was
afraid, I wouldn't let myself be-
lieve it, but"
Just small operation-hardly
half what you went through before,
and you'll be Magdalena at her love-
liest once more" | coaxed.
OF course she agreed. | fixed an
hour of the day before the meeting
she had arranged with Loria. She
need not give up her acting unless
she chose, ! said. The small wounds
when stitched would not show under
the masses of her glorious hair.
She came quite confidently to my
office as she had come the first time,
l was waiting. in the inner room,
dressed in my white surgical smoek.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

and make arrangements for us to go
across to the Bahamas He found
that the boats that cross back and
forth twice a week from Miami to
the Bahamas were running irregu-
larly. Antonio said to me:
Everything depends on our max
ing good connections. We cannot
time left before we are due back in
New York, The only way to get
across is to charter a small yacht.
yes, that is the best" | agreed.
So for $500 Antonio chartered a
pretty little &acht called stranger"
for the round trip. We lost ou
legal attendant in Jacksonville about
this time.
A Dangerous Trip.
Antonio d | set out on the
southern waters for what should
have been day and a half trip. MY
but the waters were rough! And the
captain was old. And alas, the boat
couldn't have been nam~d better.
Stranger" was her name. and
| stranger she vas. She. was pretty
little boat, but the smallest L had
ever been on-on4s As feet Ions
and drew only 3l2 feet of water
/ The only redeeming feature of the
stranger" was the steward Ever
| though | was seasick in the rough
waters, | could eat. He cooked won
derful southern dishes.
This trip wa almost disastrous
The crew consisted of the captain
who owned the boat, his son-in-law
| and the steward.
We steamed along into part o
the\second day. 1t was time for u!
to arrive at the Bahamas. Thu
captain couldn't spy a thing. Wate1
--limitless water-n sign of land
Antonio was getting fidgity-I lief
4 him alone. He is a bear when he il
at all uneasy and 1 know better thai
to get in his way.
Plainly we were lost at sea.
Suddenly we ran into shoals ant
shadows. We were aground. TIL
old captain made feeble attempts t
extricate himself from the sands
The more he tried the more secured,
we stuck on the sands and rocks.
The day was almost gone. We ha'
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

blowing for fog-now his ears We're
beginning to play him false. To keep
awake nights, as light-keepers were
supposed to do, was out of the ques-
ton. That habit of taking at-naps
was too firmly fixed to be broken.
For an hour Pete Kettleson
tramped back and forth across the
lighthouse grounds. He was afraid
to go to sleep again, and it was al
most impc ssible for him to keep
awake.
Then he heard it--a fog whistle
out of the night. He wheeled toward
the signal-then he stopped. 1t came
Observation-Disclosures whistle such as
never blew on land or seattle
whistle of the phantom fleets that
steer their eternal courses across
the ocean of the damned.
For a moment the guilty light
keeper stood there with his wide
eyes staring out into the black night.
Then he remembered about Dogfish
Dan-who was dead.
1t had been 10 years since the old
fisherman had spoken to him--but
those last words rang like ban
shee's cry in his fear-sharpened
ears.
You slept on your watch, Pete
Kettleson-and I lost my ship be-
down with the Vampire would
have come back and haunted YOU!
Now Dogfish Dan was dead-and
the phantom horns were blowing
out there on the reefs of the Muk-
muk-where the bones of the YAM
pire lay.
He rushed into his quarters and
bolted the door, q fear-haunted man
who knew retributlon had found him
at last. Back and forth across the
floor he walked, while out in the
murk of the lonely night the phan-
tom horns kept blowing-the voice
of lost ships cursing him from the
graveyards of the sea.
In the gray gloom of the dawn,
canoe came creeping in from the
reefs of Muk -muk. Danny Swanson
smiled softly to himself as he hid
the boat among the weeds. Then he
stole away toward the cabin on the
hill--with basket of assorted
whistles under his arm.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27
His Wife'S Keeper

like him myself. But he's impulsive,
and impa tent with conventions. Just
word Fan, that's all. l know you
would do the same for me.
"Affectionately.
PHIL"
Wylie heard someone coming, he
hastily threw the letter back in the
basket 1t was Buxton, the butler,
with his professionally masked eX-
preston.
Did you ring, sir? Oh, Mr.. Wylie!
| thought-I-" He allowed himself a
flash of bewilderment. He bore a
tray and on it a copy of a London
society magazine.
Il know Buxton" his master said
genially. mo. Captain Romano hasn't
come yet. He's still playing with
Mrs. Wylie out on the courts, l be-
lieve. Put it down. I'll look over
the latest London gossip while you
bring me my hat and coat
Buxton brought in the coat, cane
and hat. His master waved him
aside.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

sat in the depths of his easy chair.
sleeping on his watch-with his edu-
Gated ear close to the open crack of
the window, so he would be sure to
wake up if the boats began whistling
for fog.
The faithless light-keeper slept
peacefully on, and out in the night
the neglected light blinked on-with
none to watch 1t except the eye OF
the Almighty.
Then Pete Kettleson sprang from
his chair, with the echoes of fog
horn still ringing in his ears. The
haze of sleep was in his eyes as he
bolted for the engine-room and
started the fog signal. When the
machinery was in motion. Pete went
outside. He was bit curious to
know if there were any ships close
to the rocks-and whether Muk -muk
light was due for another lnvestiga-
ton.
Then he swore.
Above him the midnight stars We're
burning-bright and clear. He looked
out to sea, but there was no trace
of fog.
He hurried in and stopped the sig
nal and returned to his quarters.
He poked up his fire, then settled
down in his chair again, with his
educated ear close to the crack IN
the window. once more he was
sleeping, as he had slept for 90
years-on his watch.
The clock upon the wall licked off
the minutes. Deeper and deeper the
d-headed light-keeper sank into
the black boys of Morpheus But
that wise old ear of his was at the
window, listening. listening for some
alien sound in the night.
Then once more Pete Kettleson
sprang to his feet. The whistles
We're blowing again. Almost auto,
maticallv he staggered outside, and
started the engine For 20 years he
had tended the lights, and his hands
had grown used to doing the work
with little aid from his sleepy brain.
But at the first blast of the signal
he remembered something-and
dartcd outside.
The light keeper became alarmed.
For a score of years he had slept on
his watch trusting his sharp ears
to awaken him If the boats began
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

Antonio Cassese is in grave danger.
He, the millionaire rum runner, is
in not only great physical danger
but financial danger also. The fact
that he has been arrested and must
face trial, perhaps life imprison-
ment-hangs over me. With the cap
ture of the Edith" our lovely
yacht, we lost hundreds of thousands
of dollars and we did not know to
what great expense we might be put
in the near future.
l decided to leave the expensive
hotel where l was living. Antonio
suggested that l could live very
comfortably with a family up on
Washington Heights. SO / found such
family. They were very fine,
wholesome people. Later, they stood
between me and .rison bars.
Every day Antonio came to see me
and took me with him on his business
rounds. l could not endure to be left
alone for single day. Sometimes l
think men cater to small women
more than they do to more statu-
esque beauties.
Selling "The STUFF
One night we drove out very far
on Long Island. We came to
lonely place. At certain point of
the road we stopped. Four men got
out
Antonio left me in the car and went
with the four men to what must have
been nearby secluded inn. truck
came up. \ man who was one of the
automobile party came out and di
rected the truck to the inn.
\ half hour later the truck drove
away with a load of boxes.
Cassese came back with the men,
He shook hands with them and when
they were gone, he confifed to me:
My salesman has some new cuSto-
mers. He sold them fifty cases of
the stuff "
The stuff" was the term Antonio
and | always used to refer to liquor
Antonio continued to explain:
My salesman says these men are
reliable and that they will buy lot
of the stuff. Tomorrow we will meet
them again and sell them 80 cases
more"
The next night found us again In
the same deserted spot of Long
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

only carried provisions. for IT, day
and a half trip, and we were out OF
drinking water. To be thirsty in a
salty sea and to know that you are
lost in deserted sea-there's a sensa-
ton for those who enjoy the variety
of sensations, re were ma. ned.
The thought came to me of a friend
of ours who had starved and fam
ished to death while lost at sea
in mis- rumrunning boat. Fifteen men
had perished before they were acci-
dentallY pick, up.
This story was never told, for the
suffering of pirates can not be told
without bringing on more suffering,
such as Imprisonment and financial
losses. The rum runner must bear
silently, take no glory in recount
ing his johnson Crusoe adventures.
Cassese realized Immediately what
we were UP against tern mouthed,
steely-eyed, he took command of the
stranger" 1t was the captains lot
to obey. The men on board took
poles and poled away from the
shadows on one side. only to run
| into them n the other. Scilla and
| Chary I'D were nothing compared
to these seemingly endless s allows.
| At one minute we coulC get out
| and wade in waite. up to ouT knees.
In another minute we We're in deep
| water. We were on top of the peaks
| and platcauX of mountains in the
| sea-juttng up here and there. on
some of these mountains in the sea,
there are two or three trees sticking
up in the air, reminding one of a
person with some sort of abnormal
growth, The sands were as white
as the dust of old bones.
have never minded the times
when we had nearly drowned-but
starving to death-that struck fear
| into me.
Cassese's temper got worse and
worse. He snapped his orders be-
! tween his set teeth.
Don't go this way! Go that way
must certainly give Antonio
credit here. Though he was not a
navigator, he succeeded in maneuver
ing us out of these shadows. He
was the captain that trip In the
rum running business one runs into
more fools Unexpectedly than in any
] other line of business in the world
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

soft heart-and just as eager later to
fall out again.
Philip Wylie loved his smart little
wife devotedly. He knew her to be
the salt of the earth, the best little
woman living but, when crossed, the
most stubborn little mule in all crea-
ton. He had tried with intricate
tact to handle this threatened rift in
his marital peace of mind.
He reached down and picked up
his letter. now torn in two, out of
the tiny wastebasket near his wife's
ecrltoire, as Fanny Wylie no doubt
intended he should. That much for
his pains. And patience! He read
it again:
Fanny, Old Girl:
q can write this better than I
can say it. There's gossip going the
rounds. Silly gossip surely. But
watch your step, old dear. l know
Captain Romaine is fine fellow.
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27
DO YOU RUN A HOME OR
A "HOTEL?"
by MRS. CHRISTINE FREDERICK

Conundrum, What Is the dlflerehee
between home and hotel
We read glowing advertisements
which assure us that this hotel has
all the comforts Of Il home, or TINS
restaurant has home cooked food,
but in spite of their claims the diff
cult something" which means home
appears lacking. Just what is it that
makes "a home of your own, be-
cause surely no one ever thought of
wanting a hotel of your own
A little thinking seems to show
that one important hotel ideal is
comfort and freedom from The re
sponsibilities of management. The
same ideal governs mans club or
how else explain why Father so often
prefers to go to the club where he
can trail his ashes across the floor
and scatter the entire sunday supple
ment at his feet without marital re-
proof?
AS far as Mother is concerned,
hotel means freedom from inexor-
able domestic subsection to servants,
order and possibly the actual WORK
of running a home. She can go out
shopping when she feels like it, with
no baking or mendine day hanging
heavy heavy over her head. She can
put all her service problems up to the
room clerk or manager and throw
all her meal and laundry problems
onto the head waiter and the maid
But why cannot the home afford
as much comfort and personal free
dom as hotel? Why not let Father
scatter the ashes and the paper and
put his feet on the pillows if that
makes him happy? Why SO order bak-
ing and cleaning and laundry that
they are a Veritable milestone around
Mothers neck? Can't we make the
domestic routine subserVient to the
more important comfort and happi
ness of the inmates of the home?
Indeed, no housekeeping is sue
cess which puts schedule and routine
and the skeleton of management
above the spirit of the home, If there
is one advantage which the home
should have above every other living
place it is the opportunity it offers
to each of its members for individual
ity in their actions. 1t is this free
dom" this privacy, this right to do as
you please which makes ii that
strange Something which people
mean when they say "a home of your
own"
| Many women sacrifice their life
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

other. The waste basket was in
plain sight.
He didn't have long to wait. He
heard the voices of Fan and Captain
Romaine, merry over something mu-
tual. He heard Buxton respond to
bell, receive his order to make the
captain comfortable in Mrs. Wylie's
morning room, then. quizzed, his
telling of the masters recent leaving.
Wylie, pretending to be asleep in his
chair. heard his wife excuse herself
for the inevitable change of toys be-
fore they went out, and, moment
later, he saw the debonair captain
make himself much at ease in the
next room.
Idly elancing over the latest Lon
don chatter. Romano cast the sheet
aside. got up and strolled aimlessly
about the room. Philip Wylie could
not follow him but he could see that
waste paper basket and that was all
that mattered. Would Captain Ro-
maine run true to form?
1t seemed an hour to Wylie be-
fore his surmise was proven excel
The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27

lent character reading. He saw Ro-
maine pass the basket several times
then reach down furtively and take
the torn note out, reading it quickly
and glancing about, place it back
there again.
Wylie could remember every word
of his second, his decoy note.
1t read:
Fan. Old Namp:
I've got to GO Can't wait.
Sorry we quarreled. But l will
warn Romano if you don't stop
leading him on | will tell him
about our bet, which | certainly
didn't intend you to take Sc
riously; even if he does deserve
having some clever woman turn
the tables on him. He's good
sort, if bit thick above the
chin. l won't have you make
nny of him just to win
gold necklace and the smokers
of our set. I've gone to buy it
now. You win. old girl
Affectionately.
! PHIL.