6
THE CAMEi. COMPLAINS.
t am a camel, a long suffering camel, who
patiently labors from night until morn.
Who brouses on briars as did his granU
slres, and often In sorrow regrets he
was born;
t"»n strangely constructed, Inside tnany
ducted to carry an ample wet water
supply.
Then thanks to my thinker I can be a
drinker far off In the desert when oth
ers are dry.
For flexible poses, stop-valvefl In our noses,
for sharpness of sight and of sense we
are great,
And though we don't shout It, and men oft
en doubt It, the camel has plenty of
brains In his pate.
We patiently labor for stranger or neigh
bor, though sometimes protesting In
dolefullest dumps,
And our Gothic arches sustain us In
marches, the fine architecture you
people call "humps."
We've musical voices, and this fact re
joices the lovers of harmony all the
world through,
Ail army bands drumming "The Camels
are Coming," an old song so fine as to
seem always new.
Though prim and prodigious, we're also re
ligious, for camels spend much of the
time on their knees;
And though men belie us, sneer at and de
cry us, no true pious soul would at
such habits sneeze.
In nearly all nations they put us on ra
tions too small to be thankful for,
crumbs by the way;
"Hear this with misgiving?" Well, Just you
try living on one little cactus or noth
ing per day.
ret we must keep tolling, with proud man
despoiling us even of milk and our
scant stock of hair.
The latter transmuted that he may be
suited with garments and luxuries
women can wear.
Bo we must keep going despite the poor
showing of earthly reward for our
strife and our pains,
In hot worlds hereafter ours may be the
laughter, we having the water while
man has the pains.
I. EDGAR JONES.
FREE-LANCEI
By CHAUNCY C. HOTCHKISS
(Copyright, 1897, by D. Appleton & Co. All
rights reserved.]
CHAPTER XVI.—CONTINUED.
A lighted lantern hung from a carline, the
remains of a meal were spread on the table,
and there, half reclining in a bunk and witji
his head in a bandage, was Capt. Scammell,
haggard from fe%er and somewhat the
worse from liquor, while on the transom
end by his side sat my whilom mate, John
Lounsbury, of Rye, late risen from the dead.
Here, then, were my two arch-enemies;
probably the only living souls whose animos
ity tfcward me was both of a personal and
political nature, saving perhaps that a!
Clinton himself. Possibly my gorge would
have r;»*i sooner against Scammell than at
the man by his side, though the latter was
none the less a villain, and it seemed as
though fate, having given me friends when
In need, h«d guided me thither to test my
mettle to extremity.
Giving no thoughts to those in the boat, I
settled myself to hear the opening dialogue
of the two, for it immediately transpired
that Lounsbury had but just arrived.
"My God! 1 thought you would never
come!" were the first words by Scammell.
"What news do you bring?"
"None to warrant a grin," was the an
swer. "I can give ye no end o' advice,
though, an' 'tis to get from this an' have it
out wi' Clinton while there's yet a chance."
"Damn your advice! What's your news?"
"Well, Belden goes scot free, an' is back
in favor an' on the Sprite. He lays the
fault o' palming off that devil Thorndyketo
ye. He says ye called Thorndyke by my
name in the tavern yard, and that he is in
nocent of all fraud."
"(,'urse the stunted coward! And is not
Thorndyke caught? or—or —the girl or her
brother?"
"Nay, but a peg worse. Thorndyke has
brained Lowney, whom ye must know, and
then escaped, God knows how, being mixed
up with a Quaker at Stryker's tavern on the
road. Stryker was arrested, but afterward
let go, for he was not to have had a
finger in the pie. As for the boy an' girl,
naught has been seen o' them—not a smell
—and there ye have all I know. They say
the girl is in the woods to the north, but
she may ha' gone to Heaven by this!"
"What? what?" said Scammell, starting
up, but sinking back with a curse as he
placed his hand on his bandaged head. "In
the woods! Known to be there and not
taken! Are ye all cursed babies on the
trail? 'Fore God, you are right! I was a
fool to fly at a shadow! I'll back to Clin
ton and plead fever explain my absence.
I'll back with you this night. The first tale
told is thfe best! Is it not known whose
name she mentioned to Clinton?"
"Nay, man, she gave no name that I can
find. Clinton but suspicioned ye. Goto
him, an' yer r.ot a fool, while I bide Ijere
the while. What made ye pick this xpot to
hide in?" he continued, carelessly passing
his hand over the smooth woodwork of the
bulkhead.
"Because 'twas right beneath their noses,
and the guard was in my pay. In faith,
Lounsbury," he went on, with something
like relief in the easing away of his body and
the long breath he took while he laid his
hand on the brace of pistols sticking in his
belt, "there was another reason, one with
money—"
"Ah! what?" interrupted the other, sud
denly withdrawing his wandering hand and
bending eagerly forward.
"Ay, the reward, you know; I'm nigh
done up for cash. That and revenge, for,
mind you, I thought that Thorndyke might
take it into his lead to come aboard his own
ship, thinking, like me, it was the least
likely place to be searched. His paper gave
me the idea. I hoped to lie by here until
the trouble blew over, or roll in the glory
of taking the hound if he came. He is equal
to attempting a surprise, but I was ready
for him. The guard is none too bright; had
you not better step up and take a look
about?" And with this he patted the
gleaming pistol stocks and looked toward
the companion way.
"There will be no g. dto meet him this
night," answered Lout. ry with a laugh
which also betokened re. . "I let him go
till sunrise, and his musket lies fog-soaked
on the deck, the ass! Ye hive the vapors.
We be safe enough. The fog lies like a fleece,
but—but—"
"But what, you fool?" was the irritable
rejoinder.
"I meant 'twas a new thought, that o'
the chance o' his coming. Ne'er mipd. Go
ye ashore with the guard when tie gets back,
and I'll bide here against Thorndj-ke's
boarding the schooner."
l''«.r a moment or two there was silence,
and during it I fancied I could trace the
working of the minds of both; ScammeU's
bent on the probable result of delivering
himself to Clinton, and Lounsbury's on the
dawning chance to get his finger on my gold
still sale in the bulkhead. Presently the
cavalryman smote his knee with his fist and
broke out:
"My God! why—why did I not spit the
fellow while I had the chance two days
since, or shoot him? Why did I not know
him for a spy? ' I'would have saved all this!
Is there no trace of him?"
"None since he passed the lines an' put
Lowney to sleep. They tell me he killed the
green sentinel with his fist. Faith, my head
aches at the thought o' him, an' ye may
thank God the ewer was cracked, else
'twas your skull that broke an' not the
pitcher. By the powers above, I begin to
fear him, an' ye—"
"Shut up!" was the ungracious answer.
"Hand out the bottle and help me get on
deck for air. I hate this hole! I have been
buried three days!" And with this Scam
mell struggled into a sitting position, reach
ing out his hand for the dram Lounsbury
was already pouring.
Now that 1 had these two at a saber's
length, it went against me to think of their
coming on deck and possibly spoiling the
plans I had already hatched in their behalf.
Slipping from my cover, I crawled over the
cabin house and got to the door. There
was a lock on it, but the key had long since
gone and I had been used to make a shift
of fastening the companion by padlock,
hasp, and staple. As I felt over it I missed
the padlock, though hasp and staple were
still intact. While fumbling for my knife
to use as a bolt, in the light from the cabin
window I caught the glint of a musket ly
ing along the deck under the tarpaulin, and,
quickly unshipping its bayonet, thrust the
steel through the iron loop, and the two be
low were prisoners. There was another door
in the cabin, but it opened into a small space,
or " 'tween decks," and I knew a mass of
lead had been piled aft and against it to
give the vessel a proper trim, so that mode
of egress was blocked.
My scheme was simple enough. I would
now go the whole pace and take with me a
couple of prisoners, and if I failed I would
be no worse off than before. In any event
there would be a sudden ending to my diffi
culties if I was to be taken, and the kidnap
ing would not hasten my final swing.
Still unshod and silent, I made my way
forward, and with some difficulty, owing to
the darkness and need of stealth, the scow
was emptied of her load, and at last we three
stood on the deck. So far all had gone well.
My next move was to away the ground
tackle, leaving the boat's painter still be
layed to the cable. As the last strand part
ed and the schooner shot jiwav, leaving the
scow still fast, I fancied the astonishment
cf the guard on finding the Phantom had
dwindled to a rusty, mud-spattered con
trivance but a peg removed from a raft.
As the schooner gathered force and fled,
now broadside to the ebb, I told in whispers
what I had found and what done. I was
well aware that not many minutes would
elapse before those below would discover
something out of gear. Between the cov
ered dead-lights and the fog they could have
no notion that the schooner was free, for the
nater was as flat as ice, there being no more
apparent motion now than before. Unless
we fouled something, they could make no
guess at what had happened, but the door
would bother them, and in all likelihood
they would end in an attempt at breaking
it down.
To balk this I led the way aft, bidding
Ames be spokesman if it came to words, and
to act as he saw fit if it came to blows.
Placing Mistress Gertrude on the top of the
house, and so out of harm's way, Ames and
I bent our ears to the door, though I kejit
my eye open for what might at any minute
confront us from out the depths of the fog.
We had not long to wait ere hearing from
those within, for soon a hand was placed on
the fastening, and the door rattled in the
forcible shaking it received. Its failure to
open was followed by a round oath, and
we plainly heard the voice of Scammell sug
gesting that it Vie broken down. After a
parley betwixt them as to what was the
probable cause of the trouble, another at
tempt was made to force the door by shak
ing, and then there was worked through the
joint of the companion way the blade of a
sword. This I could not see, but felt the
steel with my hand, and, thinking the situ
ation had better lie known at once, I picked ,
up the musket and with a blow of its stock
broke the protruding weapon close to the
panel.
To the two below this was the first in
timation that aught was going wrong, and
their consternation must have made a fine
BIIOW. Possibly ten seconds elapsed before
they recovered from their surprise, and
then the voice of Lounsbury demanded:
"Who's on the deck?" but on receiving no
answer, the panels were assaulted with a
force that well-nigh sprung them from their
frames. Now I bade Ames speak, and,
placing his head conveniently near a dead
light, he called out:
"Below there, Scammell and Lounsbury,
you two be prisoners in the name of the
United Colonies, and I demand the surren
der of your arms! If yyu force the com
panion, it will mean death to both; you are
outnumbered."
"Who are you?" came from within, this
time from Scammell.
"Call me the ghost of Donald Thorndyke,
if you will, but pass out your arms." At
which I laughed outright, despite the situ
ation.
The laugh must have been heard by them
and my locality fairly well marked, for there
came a volley of curses, and then through
the door two pistol shots in quick succes
sion.
It was fortunate that I was well at the
side of the companion, else the assault would
have finished me. It showed the temper of
my captives, as well as the necessity for pro
tection against another similar attack, for
should it come to our getting off and using
the sails the helmsman would be in sore
danger of being shot as he stood at the
wheel. There were no window openings
in the cabin fore or aft, and, save the door,
no possible weakness in the structure; but
this door exactly faced the helm and was in
danger of being forced or so riddled with
bullets that it would become -*\ outlook for
the two royalists who could thus command
the wheel and adjacent deck.
It would have been an easy matter to
shoot either or both of the prisoners and
I so put an end to our internal danger, but at
I this juncture I did not like the report of
firearms, nor had 1 yet arrived at a blood
thirsty mood. Moreover, I felt that the
bringing into the patriot lines of a brace
of live tories would redound more to my
credit than a tale of a couple of carcasses,
which ryust needs have been thrown over
board at once.
With this menace from within, and with
out a dagger even greater, my nerves were
keyed to a pitch that equaled if not ex
j ceeded their state at the time Scammell
j held me at his pistol's point. At least an
j hour of uncontrolled and uninterrupted
| drifting must elapse before I might draw a
long breath and begin to count on th<» final
CAMERON COUNTY PRESS, THURSDAY, JANUARY ir, 1900.
mceess of our attempt to escape; and in
that hour there was no knowing what the
aesperadoes below might not venture upon.
At all odds, the door must be secured.
There was no time to fumble about for tools,
so bidding Ames shoot down both tories
should they force the way, 1 went forward,
nnd by sheer strength of arms and back
lifted the main hatch cover clear from its
combings and, carrying the unwieldy mass
of timber aft, set it upon edge against the
companion.
Here, then, was a shield of solid oak
which woul,' resist any pistol shot, and I
had no further concern as to the danger of
being winged from the cabin while steering
the vessel, should fortune get us to sea.
CHAPTER XVII.
TIIE PASSAGE OF THE BAT.
Now for some time after this no sound
came from within, and I stood by the helm
anxiously keeping one eye on the fog and the
other on the cabin. As there was now no
knowing whether we were drifting by the
bow, stern, or broadside, I sent Ames for
ward to hold a lookout at that end of the
vessel, standing guard on the quarter-deck
myself, that I might control any possible
outbreak from below.
Still on the cabin house sat the young
lady, apparently unmoved by what had oc
curred, and certainly unmoving, as her form,
which was just to be made out from my
post, was as quiet as the schooner's figure
head. Once 1 had gone close to her to mark
her state (somewhat marveling at her self
control), and found her pillowed against the
great main boom with its furled sail. She
had greeted me with a touch of her hand,
the first she had ever vouchsafed irie, while
the quick turn of her eyes and the gleam of
her teeth (which was all I could see of her
face) showed me that 6he was alert and still
self-contained. But not a whisper of a ques
tion did she bother me with, though for that
matter she had spoken not a word since
leaving Turtle bay. I had a mighty respect
for her if only for her knowledge of how and
when to keep from obtruding her helpless
ness, and would have lifted to my lips her
smooth finger tips, only I dared not. Even
had she not resented the act, it might be but
for the reason that through gratitude she
would save my feelings, and the thought
was not comforting.
Dropping her hand, therefore, with the
word that all was going well, I returned to
my post. In my expectancy and dread of I
knew not what, the minutes seemed to
lengthen to quarter hours. The white muf
fle of mist appeared thicker than ever, and
once or twice I fancied I caught on my wet
cheek a cooling breath, as though the dead
air was giving a first faint heave of coming
activity. I felt that the wind was not far
off, and feared it, but come what might I
must now hold my course and drift into free
oom or eternity.
And still no sound from the cabin save
now and then a cough, showing that the
lungs of the two were harried by their own
powder smoke. 1 dared not explore the in
terior for fear of being greeted by a shot,
and could only await some overt act to show
me what was afoot. Suddenly from below
there came a dull, jarring thud, and the fog
about the quarter-deck was lighted by a
brilliant flash, apparently from lieneath the
tarpaulin,, while at once following came the
"The two bolow wero prisoners.'"
voice of Lounsbury calling for water and
"Air, air, for the love of God!" Almost on
the instant, and before I realized that sorne
tlrng untoward had happened below, seem
ingly from the muck directly overhead a
hoarse voice shouted:
"The deck, ahoy! There's a schooner
adrift and almost on us! Did ye see that
light?"
"Ay! Where away is she?" came an an
swer close at hand.
"On our starboard bow, sir; coming stern
first and no sail set. She's like to foul us!"
"Can you make her out?"
"Naught but the foreyard and topmasts
show above the fog, sir."
"What the devil can be the meaning of
it?" came the return, and then I heard the
scuffle of feet on the stranger's deck, fol
lowed by a quick call:
"Scheoner ahoy! What schooner's that?"
Hitherto my policy had been silence, but
now it instantly struck me that to pay no
attention to the hail would be but to pre
cipitate ruin while yet there was a forlorn
hope. If we came in collision, unless I an
swered they would board us in the twinkling
of an eye, while if we missed they would
be suspicious and start a search, which,
blind as it would be, might end by their
running across us. Therefore I at once sent
my voice back with all my power and with
out the least hesitation:
"Ay, ay; we've parted a shackle and are
lesing ground. Will bring up in a couple of
cable's lengths if we clear you. Stand by
<o take a ♦flow. What ship's that?"
"His majesty's sloop-of-war Ajax! What
schooner's that?"
"The Sprite," I returned at a venture,
that vessel being the only sfhooner I could
then call to mind. The answer hurled back
at me was startling.
"Ye lie! The Sprite wept outside this
morning on patrol. Come to, or I'll sink ye!
Stand by for quarters! On deck, the watch
below!" Then, evidently to guard aloft:
"Where away is she? Damn the fog!"
In- the quick bustle, the shrill rattle of
the boatswain's whistle on the deck of the
enemy (which sound seemed to fill the har
bor), and all that followed, 1 heard no an
swer to the call aloft. There was enough
close at hand, for from our own cabin theru
came a bedlam of shouts that drowned the
details of the notes of preparation made on
the Ajax.
"Treason!—treason! Help!—help! 'Tis
the Phantom cut out by the rebels! 'Tis
the villain Thorndyke! We are prisoners in
the cabin! Board us, for God's sake!" and
matter of this tenor which crossed the water,
and was as plain to the ear of the officer on
the adjacent vessel as it was to mine.
And now for us the game appeared to be
played to the end. With face# evidently
pressed close to the open dead-lights of the
cabin the two below had sent forth the
alarm and made the muss past mending.
From the Ajax came loud orders, and just
as I caught the glimmer of that vessel's an
chor light as it swept by in a thick yellow
halo, there came the rattle of a drum beat
ing to quarters, and it was at once followed
by a similar but faint alarm from some ship
anchored east and toward the Brooklanc!
shore. Then we slipped into the darkness
again, and went whirling on our way.
We had missed a collision, but by a close
shave only, as I think there lay not two rods
betwixt me and the light I had seen. Our
move had been exposed, and the only thing
gained by us was a knowledge of our speed
and whereabouts. The Ajax I knew had
been anchored for upward of a month about
a mile below the "grand battery," and the
way her riding light had slid by us be
tokened the fact that just then we were mov
ing at the rafe of four or five miles an hour.
Therefore tve were now off Nutten's Is
land, but the bulk of the British fleet still
lay below. They were fairly close to the
Staten Island shore, however, and there
would be small danger of fouling them, the
tide always setting the fairway well into the
center of the Narrows. But of danger from
the forces below I was not now thinking.
More fear had I of the boats that would put
after us from the vessel we had almost
fouled, for as we passed her and the noises
on her deck faded in the distance, I heard
the dull clashing of tumbling oars and the
sharp splash of a boat as it dropped from
the davits into the water.
As though to guide the enemy, erer and
anon there came a cry from our cabin—a
cry that shot into the quiet air like an alarm
gun and drove me to madness. I was now
as one who, having broken through a quick
set, was carrying the thorns in his flesh.
Danger hung over me like a descending
bludgeon, though instead of cowering be
neath the coming blow it set my blood on
fire. With a curse which must have caused
the girl to shudder, I seized the musket, and,
driving its butt through the nearest dead
light, felt the iron stock shoe crunch against
flesh and bone. There came from within a
yell of agony, and after silence, and then I
spoke:
"Another shout, ye villains, and I'll fill
the cabin with flying balls. Mind this, if
yonder boats board us, before being taken
I'll kill ye both! Ye are dealing with Don
ald Thorndyke, and now lie and stifle, and
may God have more mercy on ye than have
I, ye spawn of the devil!"
And with this I cut away the seizing that
held the tarpaulin and rolled the heavy cov
ering close to the windows, thus blocking all
ventilation below. So long as this re
mained undisturbed it would muflle any
noise they might make, and, I fancied,
soon bring them to terms from lack of air.
Hailing Ames (who had thus far stuck to
his post) in a voice which I took care
should be heard by the prisoners, I ordered
him to fire into the compartment at the
first attempt they made to move the smoth
ering cover, and then I hurried forward to
prepare for being overhauled by the boats.
Being on my own ship, everything was
familiar, and I easily got a lantern from the
galley and dropped into the hold, carrying
with me a line. Here I selected four or five
of the largest lumps of lead which in my
hurry I could light upon, and. drawing them
to the deck, placed them at different points
near the rail, that they might come handy
to drop into and stave any boat that came
close alongside. This done, I reprimed all
firearms, even to the guard's musket, which
was loaded, and from the after davit quietly
lowered the dingy, that, if worse came to
worse, it might be possibjp to escape by
our getting into her and disappearing. Then
1 waited.
[TO BE CONTINUED ]
A Iloy's F.xsuy on Hornets.
A hornet is the smartest bug that
flies anywhere. He conies when he
pleases, and goes w hen h« gets ready.
One way a hornet shows his smartness
is by attending' to his own business,
and making everybody who interferes
Tvith him wish they had done the same
thing. When a hornet stings a feller he
knows it, and never stops talking about
i* - as long as liis friends will listen to
him. One day a hornet stung my pa
(my pa is a preacher) on the nose, and
he did not do any pastoral visiting for
a month without talking about that
hornet. Another way a hornet shows
h!fe smartness is by uot procrastinating.
If he has any business with you he will
attend to it at once, and then leaves
you to think it over to yourself. He
don't do like the mosquito, who comes
fooling around for half an hour sing
ing: "Cousin, cousin," and then when
he has bled you all he can, dash away
yelling: "No kin." A hornet never
bleeds you; but if he sticks you, you
will go off on a swell. I don't know
anything more about hornets, only that
Josh Hillings says: "A hornet is an in
flamible (Josh was a poor speller)
buzzer, sudden in his impreshuns, and
rather hasty in his conclusions, or end."
—Philadelphia Saturday Evening Post.
A Fifteen Story of 17M4.
In the Courant of March IG, 1754, we
printed the following queer story,
which our readers will pardon us for
repeating. Some of them may have
forgotten it:
"Hebron, Feb. 5, 1784.—This day de
parted this life Mrs. Lydia Peters, the
wife of Col. John Peters and second
daughter of Joseph Phelps, Esq. She
was married at the age of fifteen and
lived with her consort three times fif
teen years, and had fifteen living chil
dren, Thirteen now alive, and the young
est fifteen years old. She hath had
three times fifteen grandchildren. She
was sick fifteen months, and died on
the flftei'i'*h day of the month, aged
four times? ifieen years." Hartford
Courant.
lie Wn.lll 't Afraid.
Hef I'apa —You must remember, sir,
tlmt my daughter has been used to
an atmosphere o£ refinement.
The Voting Man —Yes. she told me
the other night that the perfume she
uses costs $2.40 an ounce, but I know
*»}iere I can g»t a big discount on the
same stuff. —Chicago Daily News.
Common Case.
"YVhe.il I first knew Bro vts. he let his
money go like wat«/."
"And now?"
"He »eeins to ba\> trozwj now." —
Indi»fj'«v>lis Journal.
Very Ketmirkalile.
"It is strange that banks are such
quiet places."
"Why strange?"
"Because money talka, jou know."—
Harlem Life.
"KAH-PEE-KOG" CLUB.
IIV \VniGHT A- FATTERSOtt.
YOU realize, gentlemen," said
L/ Smith, as the numbers of the Kah
pee-kog club gathered around the avening
fire, "that this is to be our last evening to
gether in these woods for at least a year?
To-morrow our vacation in the MusUoka lake
district ends, and by to-morrow evening, if
nothing unlooked for happens, we will hava
nailed up the door of the clubhouse, reeled
in our lines for the last time this year, stored
our boats, and the night train on the Grand
Trunk will be carrying us swiftly back to
the states and to our various vocations.
"Without going into particulars, or men
tioning names, it has seemed to me that this
would be an excellent time to confess our
prevarications so that we may quit this beau
tiful spot with a clear conscience. 1 would
suggest—"
"To what do you refer, Brother Smith?"
asked the Pastor.
"To put it in plain English," said Smith,
"I think we have all lied more or less, and
that now would be a good time to tell the
truth."
"I presume that you realize that there
are exceptions to that statement of 'all,'
Brother Smith," said the l'astor. "Now,
1-"
"I made no exceptions, and intended
none," said Smith. "As for myself, I am here
to state now that 1 have lied; lied as big
as I knew how and still make it a lie that
might believed, and 1 guess you fellows
swallowed it without much question."
"I have not believed a single thing you
have said about fish since you have been
here," said the l'astor.
"Nor I," echoed the others.
"The biggest lie that I have told since I
have been here was that one about the
number of bass Yorker and I caught i»
Healey lake. We were trying to outdo the
L'astor, and did so far as the lie was con
cerned, and if he did not believe our story,
it was because his own was not true. \\ hat
we—"
"I shall have to refer this matter to the
congregation when we reach home, Brother
Smith," putin the l'astor.
"I would advise you not to," replied
Smith, "but as I was going to say, what
we did catch that day was all in the boat
when we returned, and, as several members
of this club counted them, it will not be dis
puted when I say there were 138 bass of
over the legal length."
"It was only 128, for I counted them to
gether with Husky Bill," said Tice.
"What is the matter of ten bass more or
less, anyway?" replied Smith. "But tihere,
gentlemen, in my confession, 138 bass in
stead of the five or six hundred that I told
about, and I believe that every one will feel
better if they follow my example."
"I believe that the advice Smith gives us
is good," said Yorker, "and I realize now as
1 never did before the enormity of the lie I
told in reference to the muskellunge 1 caught
in Crane lake."
"You don't need to make any confession
of that," said the Pastor, "for everybody
knew that it was a lie when you told it."
"It seems to me that I remember distinct
ly of your going to Crane lake to tish for
muskellunge on the strength of that story,"
replied Yorker, "and it was not as bad as
your Crown island bass story at that."
"My veracity is not in question at the
present time," replied the Pastor.
"No, we will hear from you later," said
Yorker, "provided, of course, your con
science is not too elastic. But to return to
my Crane lake story, I simply wish to say
that I did catch a muskellunge, and that it
did upset our boat, but that was due to our
awkwardness, rather than the size of the
fish, for when we got it on shore, which we
finally did, it only weighed 42 pounds."
"You told me the truth of that Crane
lake story the day we were at Healy lake
together," said Smith, "and you said it only
weighed 37 pounds."
"What is a matter of five pounds more or
less in the size of a muskellunge?" said York
er, and Bill Keeves nudged Husky Bill when
Smith did not reply.
"I have told so many different tales re
garding the size and weight of fish that I
have caught in these Ontario lakes and
rivers," said Tice, "that 1 hardly know
where to begin my confession."
"Why not straighten out the Moon river
story of 38 muskellunge, 79 bass and 120
trout in ten hours?" asked Husky Bill.
"That might be a good place to begin at,
as that story was exaggerated somewhat.
The truth is that I only caught 35 muskel
lunge, tiO bass and no trout at all, for 1
did not tish for them. There are any num
ber of trout in that stream and its tribu
taries, however, and I do not doubt that it
would be quite possible for a man to catch
as many fish as I said I had caught in the
Moon river in the length of time 1 claimed
to have fished. In reality I only fished nine
hours and three-quarters. As for the other
stories I have told about fishing in Kah
pee-Kog and the surrounding lakes, 1 can
cover all of them with the single statement
that I never caught more than 110 bass
in any one day in any of these lakes, but
that, I imagine, is better than any of the
rest of you ever did, if the whole truth was
known."
"Gentlemen," began the Pastor, "when
Brother Smith started this little experience
meeting, I did not realize the good that it
was to accomplish. In fact, I was afraid it
would result in more harm than good, and
that the prevarications—l cannot bring my
self to the point of calling them lies —that
have been told by several of you around these
evening fires would only be again exag
gerated, and that some of you at l*ast would
return to your homes witji an ado-d weight
upon your conscience. It has pleased me
greatly to listen to such confessions as have
been made this evening, and I am sure
that you feel the better for having made
tliein. There is one thing for which lam
sorry, and that is that Brother Barnes is
not here to retract the story he told of
catching more fish than 1 caught at Crown is
land several years ago. lam sure that had
Brother Barnes been with us to-night he
would have been moved to tell the real
truth of that story, and so remove a load
irom his conscience."
"What are you going to do about that
story of yours that stai»ed the trouble?"
asked Tice.
"I wish to say in regard to anything that
I may have told since 1 have been here, that
to now deny the story, and offer a so-called
confession would be but a farce and a lie
in itself. When I told of those 590 bass my
self and a friend caught in one day—"
"You said 560 before," said Smith.
"Possibly I did, but 590 was the correct
number, and I only 'vished to correct my
former statement."
"1 guess those bonds you put up guaran
teeing the Pastor's reputation will be de
clared forfeited when you get home," said
Ilusk Bill to Smith, as they walked back to
the clubhouse.
"Well, it has taught me a lesson, any
vay," replied Smith, "and I won't be so fool
ish again very soon. lam sorry for his sak«
as well as my own."
SSOO Reward
The above Reward will be paid far *»>
that will lead to the nrrest
conviction of the party or parties whe
placed iron ind slabs on the track of ti»
Emporium & Rich Valley R. R., noaj
he east line of PraokHn Houaler's farm,
« the evening of NOT. 21st, 1891.
HJCNRT AVCHV,
88-tf. I'rrmdemL.
FINE LIQUOR STORE
—n*—
EMPORIUM, PA.
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loan and Imported
WHISKIES,
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Choice Una at
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C*LL A.ND BEE MB.
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PEOPBIETOB, EMPORIUM, PA
& F. X. BLUMLE, 112
W IMPOIiXUM, I>A. M
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£ WINES, 7
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IOHN McDONALD, Proprietor.
Near P. ti B. Depot, Emporium, Pa.
Bottler and Shipper of
Rochester
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BEST BUT9B OF EYPORT.
The Manufacturer of Bofl
Driaka and Dealer In Choice
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We keep none but the very b«s"
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